If you hunted birds
With your son
Over pointing dogs
You bred and raised
Your son did too
And built that bond
Where the dogs are the glue
And a point binds all generations
First, middle and last Read more
If
Blog
Happiest Days
My happiest days
Were spent horseback
Riding at field trials
Watching dogs explore
For coveys of quail
Or sharp tails or Huns
In wire grass or prairie grass
Wheat stubble or weeds
Watching them freeze
Stand rigid and tall
Waiting for handler
To get there to flush
Then watered and released
To stretch out for the front
To find more to point
At the end of a cast
From first breakaway
To the end of the day
Looking for the one
That lays down the great race Read more
Drive at Dawn through Tidewater Farms
I drove at dawn today West through Virginia’s Tidewater counties Soil sandy, flat and fertile British names Suffolk (now a city, used to be Nansemond County) Isle of Wight Southampton Sussex Harvest time has come at last Peanuts dug and in windrows drying Waiting for the combine Farmers fearing rain or freeze or both That renders the precious nut worthless Corn this year grew wonderfully From planting to maturity Most Read more
Dollars and Sense
Reflections on the Cost and Value of Education
I entered college 70 years ago at age 16. It was at Hampden-Sydney College. Room, board, tuition and laundry combined were $1,000. I had it only because of a bequest from a childless aunt. I traveled to and from campus by thumb. Home was on a farm in Montgomery County, Virginia. Read more
A Passing of the Torch ~ Part 2
Ben lined up Pete-Bob Dix and Ollie Eans to judge the first Persimmon Place Open All-Age, scheduled to start on the second Monday of January 2026.
Everyone knew Pete-Bob was not to be trusted in any transaction where he stood to profit... Read more
A Passing of the Torch ~ Part 1
Sam Nixon MD had endured a troubling week. He felt the need to talk it out with his pal, Ben Reach, at their customary Friday afternoon meeting at Ben’s office to plan the weekend’s fishing.
“Ben, I have a problem, or one of my patient’s has: Al Scales has congestive heart failure.” Read more
Two Scout Adventure
The heat ended with
Both dogs unseen
The senior judge said,
“Time’s up, you got twenty minutes”
The scouts on the flanks
Cantered ahead
To search for their dogs
Pointed they hoped Read more
Gallery
They drift over, sleepy eyed,
One by one, from headquarters
Frost coats the wiregrass
Glistening in the low sun
We will ride west, thank God
Here comes head marshal, Slade
Manages Chinquapin, born cross the road
Before him was Joe
Before him Wallace Read more
A Simple Life
When I was young
And saw how much
My father loved our little farm
I formed the wish
To farm there always for my living
Then he died
When I was fifteen
Net worth $29,000
My mom and I soldiered on
For seven years more
Farming just as he had Read more
Denny and Joe and Lucky
Two more different individuals ever lived than Denny Poole and Joe Prince. Yet they were best friends.
Joe was a Virginia bachelor grain farmer (peanuts, soybeans, corn, wheat). He worked at it seven days a week, March through October.
November through February, Joe was a quail hunter, six days a week. Sundays he walked puppies and looked for quail hunting territory. One word described Joe: intense.
Read more