Posts by Daryl Gay
New Year’s Bucket List
It’s going to be a great year! Because I’m upright. As opposed to prone. I was prone for a brief bit in 2018. And prone, in case you’re wondering, ain’t much fun. Upright once more, it’s time to look forward to what we’ll be harrying, harvesting and dining upon over the course of the next…
Read More100 Years At Thompson Pasture Hunting Club
As the memories begin to flow, so do a few tears; but like those recollections, they spring from joy. Eighty-nine-year-old Dent Newton can’t hold them back, and that’s OK. The big crowd on hand to honor the oldest member of Georgia’s oldest deer-dogging club has nothing but respect for this gentleman—a word that fits him…
Read MoreDon’t Overthink It!
You’d be surprised how many columns—like this one—I come up with while sitting in a Tom Cat climber. For instance, here I perch way up on this pine, see, silent and still. Glancing to the right, I pick up movement… Does your mind wander? Well, it probably would if you’d put that stupid phone down.…
Read MoreTalkin’ Okefenokeeese
Chaos. Imagine being surrounded by a dozen different languages, all at the top of each screamer’s voice. They meld into an echoing cacophany that renders making sense of what’s going on nearly impossible. Nearly. It has taken half a lifetime to scrape together a pidgin which is workable quite possibly in my mind only. I…
Read MoreWalk This Way?
Ever ask yourself rhetorical questions? Aloud? While hobbling? And bleeding? Example: “How many times does a redneck have to walk around a tailgate before he remembers there’s a trailer hitch underneath?” My shins ain’t got much skin. Mostly because I keep it peeled off by doing such dumb stunts as hurrying to grab a dove…
Read MoreOf Jake And Hormones
It’s only about every five years—and yes, I’m thankful for small favors—that Jake The Hermit goes into rut. I only wish it could be as simple as pawing dirt, licking branches and traipsing around like a schizoid. One question: why me? Well, it’s because Pap, Daddy and I were the only three folks on the…
Read MoreTricky Transportation
The concrete floor in that old enclosed one-car garage is probably just as hard now as it was back on that cold December night so long ago. The day before, I’d driven off in, and started making payments on, my first car—a 1967 Dodge Coronet 440 that I wish was sitting in my garage now.…
Read MoreTrail Cam Glam
So yeah, following tremendous trains/strains of thought and endless categorization, I’ve elevated to the top of your Pre-Op List… a spankin’ new trail camera! Oh, you’re not facing surgery (that you know of) in the immediate future? Well, file the info away for future use; it’s inexpensive and just might come in handy later. Per…
Read MoreOconee River Striped Bass Seek Cool Water In July
The striped bass come and go throughout the year, up and down south and middle Georgia’s river corridors. As the spawning urge kicks in March-April, they begin to range from the Altamaha’s brackish estuary up the Ohoopee, Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers. When the spawn is over, it’s time to seek out cooler waters. Most fishermen…
Read MoreOkefenokee Bear Hunt, Missing Jackie Carter
In the nightmare, terror is just behind and gaining. Big, eight-ball black and much too close, the roaring mass with teeth and jaws popping and claws swiping, steadily closes the distance. There’s seemingly no escape: attempting to run—even for your life—as if in deep water is a dire, daunting, even hopeless task. The only hope…
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