Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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For the love of...porches Porches come in all types; open air, screened in, wrap around, front, back, covered, multi-season, etc. Porches are what I'd been missing all along. They were right there in front of me, and I simply wasn't seeing them. Perhaps I was overlooking them or looking past them. Have I lost you? If you'll indulge me for just a minute, I can explain. Every year since we moved back to Washington in 2015, I fly back to northeast Ohio to see my folks, now 84 and 85 and in fine...
There are times, believe it or not, when I ask myself just what constitutes "the outdoors." I am, after all, supposedly an outdoor writer. Not an outdoor "rider," a pursuit of which I've been accused on more than one occasion. I do, from time to time, ride through the outdoors. For the past 33 years, I've made my living, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, writing about the outdoors. To some, I was a 'hook and bullet' guy; a scribe of the consumptive order. A fisherman. A hunter. The hook and the...
It's coming, good people. Yes, I know it's warm. Hot, even, with Portland hitting the century mark this past weekend. You know what, though? We're not in Portland. True, I had a young man tell me that further up the Elochoman Valley, the thermometer nudged 93 degrees. That's warm enough, I reckon. The point is fall is coming. I'm not trying to speed-read the calendar, but there's no getting around the fact that August is almost over and September's seasons (dove, archery, deer and elk, muzzleloa...
Why do you hunt? Over the past 53 years, during which time I've called myself a hunter, I've answered that question a thousand times; or, I've at least attempted to answer it. To me, to an extent, it's akin to 'why do you prefer blue' or 'why do you put your left shoe on before your right?' It's this, that, and the other thing, but we'll get to that soon enough. First, I'll give this disclaimer. I'm not trying to convince you that hunting is something you should do, something you should...
It's true. September - and with it, the official start of yet another hunting season - is right around the proverbial corner. However, that's not to say there isn't much to do outdoors during the final two weeks of August. That said, my thoughts as we wind down month eight of 2025: Buoy 10 / North Jetty The Fort Canby boat launch was a busy, busy place on Sunday, Aug. 10, when we had the grandkids. In talking with several different anglers, it appears the bite has moved into the river proper,...
Yes, it is August already. It is said "time flies when you're having fun." Though I believe I am, I'm not sure I'm actually having fun, as the squares on the calendar sure seem to be getting X'd out at speeds upwards of mach one these days. Per usual, there's a lot going on in the great outdoors during the eighth month of the year. Bear season takes place in mid-August, fishing, Salmon Derby, street market, farmers markets, and the Toto/Men at Work/Christopher Cross concert (for which we have ti...
It's funny the things that make me smile. Just this morning, I'm sitting on the back porch, coffee in one hand, dog at my feet. I'm listening to the rooster down the valley greet the day and my girl-chickens waking up for another; when, from stage right, a tiny rufous hummingbird makes his jet-like appearance. As they often do, he makes the rounds of the many blossoms on the porch. A sip from the impatiens, a drink from the Albutilon, a split second to check out the early mums; the geraniums....
First rattle out of the proverbial box, I'd like to thank everyone for two things. One, for a fantastic Bald Eagle Days. The crowd was great. The parade was excellent, and I got plenty of candy. The breakfast burritos from Patty Cakes were top-notch. And the weather? Outstanding. All in all, a most wonderful day. And two, thank you all for keeping Fire Districts 1 through 4, along with the Cathlamet FD, inactive throughout the whole of the weekend. No one, to the best of my knowledge, set the...
Summer is typically a 'down time' for much of the outdoors. Too early and not enough rain for mushrooms. A month away from the opening day of bear season; six weeks for archery deer. Summer steelhead are winding down, and it will be mid-August before the silvers start slipping by the North Jetty. But the garden's going gangbusters, and that keeps many outdoors people occupied as we wander our way toward the end of yet another month. Where's the time going? With that all said, once I sat down...
Friday afternoon, July 4, and the call comes out to the county of a brush fire just east of Nassa Point. The Cathlamet Fire Department (CFD) arrives on-scene with an engine and a brush truck, along with Battalion Chief Will Lutz, who will serve as Incident Command (IC). Skamokawa arrives. District 4. Local law enforcement, with the Washington State Patrol (WSP), close State Route 4. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is contacted, arrives on-scene and, within the hour, takes...
I'll be honest, but I'm sad. Not under the covers and sleep the day away sad, but almost. Why so blue? PIGYS is over for another year. No more Smash burgers and homemade bread pudding. No more S'mores cookies, popcorn, and hot dogs. PIGYS 2025 is over and, while there were fewer sales this year - not to mention the rain on Friday - I'd still call it an overall success. Fish poles, self-inflating air mattresses, spin-glos for steelhead, which, by the way, are already in a box marked "Julie's," so...
If y'all haven't noticed, it's a busy, bustling, vibrant time of year. Julie's strawberries are going plum wild. Truthfully, we've never seen the plants quite as full as they are this year; the cherries, Lapine and Royal Ann, too. However, the robins, jays, and crows appear to be getting their fair share from those particular trees. Still, I'm okay with sharing, and I find it comical to see a robin so full of "my" cherries as to make full flight darn near impossible. We have a pair of yearling b...
Once again, folks, there's a lot going on courtesy of Mother Nature, so we'll dive right into it this week. I'm writing this on Father's Day, so a Happy Father's Day - albeit belated by the time this article publishes - goes out to all the dads out there, including my very own, Captain Michael E. Johnson (U.S. Army, Vietnam 1965-66). Trump administration pulls out of PNW salmon restoration agreement Given the significance of salmon to the people, the culture, the history, and the wallets of...
It’s no secret that college or, for that matter, any post-high school education, is expensive for some. I use the term “expensive” because for some, this next step in the learning process is pricey to the point of being cost-prohibitive. What happens then? The individual in question - and I’ve known many over the past 40 years - doesn’t continue down the road to learning and then wonders, “What if?” Last Friday, I had the opportunity to sit with a group of people whose mission, in large part, is to erase this so-called “What if” and replaci...
Has it really been a week? Time goes fast, it's said, when one's having fun; and, if by "fun," that means trenching the yard, construction projects, mowing, more mowing, and having to have Julie's black Ford trailered back to the Elochoman from Bunker Hill due to a mechanical malfunction, well then I've been full up with 'fun.' Thank you, Randy Coleman for the lift and the assistance. Porcupines in June? I know. Anyone having anything to do with trees, i.e. loggers, tree farmers, and the like,...
June already? Where, if you don't mind me asking, did May go? There's a lot to go over this week. June 6, 1944 – Operation Overlord Gold. Sword. Juno. Omaha. Utah. As most of you read this, the calendar page will soon turn to June 6, 2025. That being the case, it was 81 years ago that history's greatest armada crossed The English Channel and began the liberation of Europe from the clutches of Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich. The statistics of this day, known in the annuals of Time as O...
It's Memorial Day and I, like millions of Americans, are giving thanks and praise to the men and women who serve, those who proudly served, and those who gave their lives in the name of democracy and the people of this great nation. Thank you, one and all, for your dedication, commitment, and sacrifice. Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer. The fact is summer technically begins on June 20 this year; but hey, it's warm, it's nice, the garden's growing, and Julie and I caught...
I'm sitting on the back porch this morning with my black dog, Abigail at my feet. Both of us listen to the boats leave the Elochoman Marina for another day of trolling back and forth. Dropping something magical, colorful, and wrapped in or containing a small piece of Bumblebee product damn near to the bottom. Easing back in the captain's chair with the cap to the old school Stanley thermos filled to the brim and a hunk of fresh-made pumpkin bread at the ready. It's a nice morning, albeit a bit...
The Wonders of Garage Sale Gear I know it's early, but in honor of that most monumental event, the annual Puget Island Garage (and) Yard Sale, or PIGYS, which will be held June 27 – 29 and, owing to the fact it is indeed and has been for some time, garage sale season, I write this week on the finer points of what I call 'garage sale etiquette.' But garage sales and the outdoors? Garage sales can be great places to find outdoor gear at ridiculously low prices; however, not every $2 sleeping b...
As is often the case in the spring, at least when "The Great Outdoors" is concerned, there's a lot going on this week. By the way, if you haven't seen it, The Great Outdoors, starring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Candy, is a must see, but I digress; on to the outdoor news. Final razor clam digs May 10-15 Afraid you might not have enough razor clams in the freezer to last until November? Well, you'd best be taking advantage of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) final digs...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's spring, obviously, and there's a lot of moving parts out there. The barn swallows are back and are remodeling their 2024 nest on the east side of the shop. Sure, they're messy "decorating" the side of the garage with white, especially as the little ones get bigger, but they're extremely entertaining to watch, and anything that eats that many mosquitoes is okay in my ledger book. Across the road, the barred owls are hooting up a storm daily, their...
As of today, we're 10 days into the 2025 spring turkey season here in Washington. I don't have much from the field except for a handful of birds taken during the Youth Turkey Season, which was offered statewide to hunters ages 15 and younger from April 1 to 7. During our 18 years in Iowa, Julie and I 'sponsored' (per se) many young turkey hunters. To me, it was the most enjoyable part of the season. These kids asked questions, sometimes a lot of questions, but it reminded me of the basics of Mot...
I'm writing this on Monday, April 14. It's an absolutely gorgeous perfect morning. The sun is coming up. Anna's hummingbirds are at the feeder. Golden-crowned sparrows are up front. Mama English sparrow is working on her nest in a house I built. Now there's a good feeling. Birds bringing off broods in a house you built with your own two hands. That and picking apples (or cherries or peaches) from a tree you planted (what's it been) four years ago? It's the little things, my friends. The small...
Julie and I took grandsons Tristan (14) and Wyatt (10) to the Radar Lakes on Friday just to get away for a bit. The weather was gorgeous. State Route 4 was virtually empty. The 69-cent rack at Johnson's One Stop in Naselle had recently been restocked. Can you say "Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts?" The lakes were devoid of humans, and the trout were incredibly cooperative. Finish this with hot dogs roasted over a fire, not one but two salamander sightings, and nary a single full frontal dunking, all...
On Thursday, April 3, members of Wahkiakum Fire District 4 addressed Wahkiakum High students on the science behind fire. District training officer and 2016 WHS graduate Jack Leavitt, who also serves as a career / professional firefighter for the Toutle Fire Department, Officer William Peek, and District 4 cadet Jordan Smith presented several fire-related demonstrations to a gathering of students before heading outside. The trio then used a "dollhouse," a two-story wooden representation of a...
