Hail, Slainte, and Happy Thanksgiving, Frontier Partisans! May you feast well — and don’t let the Rhenish go to your head... Speaking of Outlandish things... ’Tis my sacred duty on Thanksgiving to peel a mighty lot of potatoes, which Ceili turns into a delectable dish infused with truffle oil. To make the task more congenial, I shall be … [Read more...] about Feast Well, My Friends

  A few days ago, Central Oregon Daily — a local TV news outlet of quality ( a rare beast) ran a feature on my friend and Frontier Partisans contributor Greg Walker. It’s part of a a series titled War Stories by another friend, the talented journalist/photographer/videographer Cody … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — The Power Of Imagination

It should be obvious to anyone reading Frontier Partisans that Clan Cornelius enjoys Halloween to the fullest. For us, it’s not a single date on the calendar — it’s a season. Ceili and her beau Jarod hit the pumpkin patch near Smith Rock off to the east of us and looted it for a barrow full of gourds.   And then we turned ’em into … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Seawitches, Pumpkins And Bloodlines

Deuce Richardson scouted up this curious story. The theory seems far-fetched on the face of it, but... maybe? Seems to be backed up by data. Ivory poaching has led to a “rapid evolution” of tuskless African elephants, as elephants without tusks were far more likely to survive during the height of the ivory trade, according to new research. Much … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Tuskless Elephants & Zero Risk

Our trek through the tanglewood of the spooky season continues... Think I’m gonna sign up for this workshop: Folksongs of Fall, Death, and Mystery Workshop with Saro Lynch-Thomason by Folk Music Society of NY, Inc. In many traditions, late October marks the time of the last harvest, a period of abundance that mingles with an awareness of death … [Read more...] about Folksongs Of Fall, Death, And Mystery

  It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day here in Oregon. The State of Oregon decided to go official on the rebranding of Columbus Day earlier this year. I’m all for recognizing and celebrating indigenous cultures. I hope we actually do. Of course, if I had my way, every school kid in America would get years of immersion in “borderlands history.” … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Harvest Season

I’ve had trouble in mind the past week or so. The Delta Blues are real — the variant is ripping through Deschutes County like wildfire. I’ve seen friends go down, despite being vaccinated — though so far the cases have been mild to moderate. And, speaking of wildfire, we had a run of smoke days that felt a bit like trudging through Mordor. There’s … [Read more...] about Gunpowder Therapy

  “All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse — and a good wife.” — Daniel Boone Can’t argue with a Frontier Partisan authority of the stature of Daniel Boone. He was in a position to know, after all, having put Rebecca Boone through the trials and tribulations of separation (Boone put the long in long hunter), multiple … [Read more...] about The Good Wife

I am an unapologetic meat eater. My family noted my alarmingly prodigious carnivorous instincts and appetites from a very early age. I would have happily lived on a Plains Indian or Mountain Man diet comprised almost exclusively of meat — by preference buffalo. This being Father’s Day, Marilyn is planning to grill a steak in celebration. Which … [Read more...] about Buccaneers, Barbacoa, Boers & Biltong

Somebody ventilated a rhino-poaching kingpin in South Africa. No one is shedding any tears, but it appears to be a criminal hit, so... From Sowetan Live: Alleged rhino poaching kingpin Sydney Petros Mabuza was gunned down in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, on Thursday afternoon. His car, a Ford Ranger, was found riddled with 17 bullet holes.  Mabuza, … [Read more...] about Mr. Big Is Full Of Holes