Garden & Gun February/March 2021

top of the field

Once you teach a dog how to learn, you can really train them in anything,” says Zachary Kellerman, the founder of CedarOak Kennels. Building on his career in obedience training, Kellerman went on to pursue a greater dream: opening his multifaceted gundog kennel in southern Illinois. At CedarOak, he trains pups of all ages and skill levels to be field ready in a matter of months, using a signature method inspired by obedience and traditional English techniques.“If indareal joy in it,”he says.“Our work isso in-depth that by the time your dog is back with you, I have no question it’sreadyforthefield.” Training isn’t the kennel’s only specialty; Kellerman also imports and breeds British Labradors, each from a longline of seasone dretrievers.“There’s an inherent sense of respect with these dogs,” he says. “This is…

yearning for an escape

Like many others, as the pandemic wore on this past year, I dabbled in ways to take my mind off the constant barrage of news of rising cases and shuttered businesses. My COVID hobbies included carving hiking staffs from crape myrtle branches (after I outfitted the family, there seemed little reason to soldier on), learning the art of bonsai (but the idea of not encouraging robust growth ran counter to my gardening intuition), and trying my hand at the guitar (tellingly, I broke a string the first time I attempted to tune it). But time at home also strengthened my appreciation for the freedom to hop in a car or on a plane and light out for places unknown. A few months before the pandemic hit, I found myself at the…

kids afield

No doubt my greatest joy of this past duck season was my son’s first duck hunt. Sam is still too young for a gun, but I suited him up in a new pair of Gator Waders, put on his hearing protection, handed him his own flashlight for the pre-dawn trek to our small wood duck hole, and made sure his first experience was all about him. The woodies were sparse that morning and I didn’t fire a shot, but I did take a brief spill in the cold water while picking up decoys, much to Sam’s delight. It was a morning neither of us will soon forget. The turkey woods are next.…

“the dogs are just endlessly entertaining and begging to be written about”

Jill McCorkle WRITER In the midst of writing novels or traveling on book tours, the Hillsborough, North Carolina, author Jill McCorkle finds inspiration for short works of nonfiction—often right under her feet. “The dogs are just endlessly entertaining and begging to be written about,” says McCorkle, who has authored eleven novels and short story collections. And while the massive Bernese mountain dogs Lena and Blue star in her latest story (p. 74), her labradoodle runs the show at home. “Frankie is a diva,” McCorkle says. “She’s definitely in charge of the big babies.” For her next book, Goat Light, McCorkle teamed up with her husband, the writer and photographer Tom Rankin, for a collection of tales from their family farm. M. C. Taylor WRITER As the front man and songwriter for Hiss Golden Messenger, the…

“my father was asked if he had a knife handy. his reply: ‘i have my pants on, don’t i?’”

TRADITIONS THAT LAST When I lived in Columbus, Georgia, our Piggly Wiggly (“Home for the Holidays,” December 2020/January 2021) was the source for all things wonderful. Local produce, a real butcher, and barbecue sauce from restaurants in town. Where else could you choose from six brands of grits milled less than an hour away? Rachel Sanchez Tampa, Florida Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s essay (“Home for the Holidays,” December 2020/January 2021) reminded me of our family walking O’Leno State Park in Florida. We give the rangers working on the holiday a pumpkin pie and then stroll along the Santa Fe River. Ann Lane High Springs, Florida LAUGHING MATTERS I enjoyed Roy Blount Jr.’s article on pocketknives (End of the Line, December 2020/January 2021). If my late father, a lifelong West Tennessean, was asked if he had a knife handy,…

social chatter

WE ASKED... What’s something that feels Southern but isn’t? On Facebook and Twitter, readers told us what non-Southern people, places, and things seem right at home around here. Poutine. I mean, gravy, cheese, and french fries? How is that not Southern? Kalisa Hobbs Hyman Canadian butter tarts were born to be baked in the South. @AlimoMorrison Creedence Clearwater Revival sounds straight from Muscle Shoals. @quamchata Julia Child felt very Southern to me. Beth Yarbrough Paw Paw, Michigan. The name and the low rolling hills seem like someplace out of the South. Paul Shibley Shania Twain. Rodney Hale The farther north in Maine you go, the more Southern it feels. Rv Wills Scrapple. It originated in Pennsylvania, but we’re good at making and eating weird meat products down here. Susan Kellett…