Category: Other Things

The American Field (1874-2021)

September 5, 2021 | Other Things, The American Field | Comments
The American Field Publishing Company is no more, as an independent entity. On September 1 it and its Field Dog Stud Book were acquired by the United Kennel Club, an international for-profit registry for Coon Hounds, Beagles and other working (or sporting) breeds, including curs and feists. It could have been worse. Its website announcement says it intends to continue and honor the Field’s pointing dog trial traditions. Let us hope it can and will do so. Read more

What Do I Owe Bird Dogs?

July 8, 2021 | Bird Dogs, Other Things | Comments
Among the boring habits of the old is talking about their pasts. At least I write of mine, so friends can easily turn me off — just stop reading. So here mostly for my own amusement is an essay on what bird dogs have meant to me. If you are still reading you likely have a similar essay inside you. Read more

An Open Letter to the American Field

February 12, 2021 | Other Things | Comments
As a long time lover of bird dogs and the field trial sport, I wish the American Field Publishing Company only success. And with that success in mind, I urge it to make available to subscribers (perhaps as a premium subscription to give it additional revenue) online access to one of its treasures: the annual records of all field trial results sanctioned by it printed in the back of Field Trial Stud Books from 1901 through 1948. Read more

1961 to 2021: Reflections on Sixty Years as a T & E Lawyer

February 9, 2021 | Other Things | Comments
On May 1, 2021, I will celebrate sixty years as a practicing T & E (Trusts & Estates) lawyer. Here are some thoughts at this milestone. First: my good luck, so much of it. I grew up on a small sheep and beef farm in Virginia’s mountains. My father died when I was fifteen, leaving my mother and me to carry on with the farm. (His federal estate tax return revealed an adjusted gross estate (net worth) of $29, 946.28). Read more

Hope for Quail in Virginia

September 22, 2020 | Bobwhite Quail, Other Things | Comments
As a dedicated quail hunter in Virginia from the 1960s through the 1990s, I have since been in mourning for the bird. Wild quail seem to have virtually disappeared from the Old Dominion. But there may be hope for the noble species, at least in the coastal plain, thanks to joint efforts of the Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Read more