Barn Notions

Here's a few things I've heard said about barns:

~You can't build a barn too big
 ~Every outdoorsman should have a barn
~Your barn says a lot about who you are
~A barn is one of the most under-rated of all rural structures
~A barn gives you a back up place to sleep when you're in the doghouse
~When your man hangs out in his barn, he's not out bar-hopping and chasing women
~Like a good woman, a barn gets better with age
~If you want to offend a man who has a barn, refer to his barn as a shed or garage
~Even a 100 year old barn is a work in progress
~A barn is a good place to keep all the stuff you wouldn't need if you didn't have a barn

I actually made most of these up, but find them to be true.

Silver Fishing off the Yakobi

NOTE: Continuation of our Alaska adventures from several months ago...

~The Johnson's boat, Yakobi

After supper, a good nights sleep and breakfast the next morning, we all climbed on board Paul's big boat, the Yakobi. It was a nice craft, well equipped and ready for business. The cabin was large enough for the five of us to spread out and enjoy the ride. We untied from the dock and were soon on our way.

~Eddie and Matt

The morning was overcast and chilly, but we were nice and toasty inside the spacious and heated cabin. The weather was much the same the entire time we were there-luck of the draw I suppose. Paul told us to help ourselves to the beverages and snacks. As we settled in and motored across the water, it wasn't long before the lodge was out of view. Other than an occasional boat at a distance, we didn't see another sole the entire day.




After an hour or so we came to a secluded spot. Paul and Yard showed us the preferred way to rig our lines and in no time at all we had caught several fish. It was the first time any of us had fished for Salmon and I know I was surprised at how hard they fought.

~Ty, Matt and "Yard"

Paul suggested we try another spot after we'd hauled in a good number of fish. Aside from the great time we all had fishing, it was fun to just ride around in the boat and see the sites. I don't recall how many whales we saw but it was a pretty common occurrence. None of us ever got tired of seeing these awesome beast break the surface of the water and splash around in clear view of our crew.

~Humpback Whale-one of the many we saw on our trip

We saw Eagles nearly too numerous to mention, often times perched in a tree every few hundred yards or so. On more than one occasion we saw Eagles swoop down over the water with their claws extended, grab their unsuspecting prey and fly off, sometimes to a nearby tree or rock to enjoy their catch.

As we cruised from one great fishing spot to the next, Paul served up lunch which consisted of steaming crab soup and salmon salad sandwiches. If you've never had fresh crab soup made from "just caught" crab meat, you should try it sometime!

We fished a couple of other spots and after a few hours of fishing and occasionally relaxing on deck with a cold beverage, we stowed the gear and headed back to the lodge. Although we had fun on each of our day adventures, it was always nice to get back to the lodge and relax. In the entire time we were there we saw almost no signs of civilization outside of the Johnson camp at Gull Cove. For Eddie and myself it was a nice break from the corporate world at the Walmart and Sam's Club home offices.

~That's a huge Brown Bear in the middle left of the picture at the water's edge

Log Cabin Sunrise And Set

~Winter sunset at the cabin

Every day since the beginning of time, the sun has risen and the sun has set and most of the time I've taken it for granted. I was up early several days last week and although it was colder outside than a well digger's tail pipe, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching the world around me come to life as the sun made it's daily appearance.

~Early Winter sunrise 

Sunset is no less amazing and colorful. Depending on your vantage point, the sunset is often times the best part of the day. I love the shadows created by the setting sun and the way it changes the look and feel of the landscape.

~Late Fall sunset behind our Barry County, Missouri log cabin

Each day's sunrise and sunset may look different from yesterday's depending on your vantage point. Variety is the spice of life as they say and this becomes evident with the open and close of each day.

~Sunset view from the cabin deck

If you're like most folks and are more likely to catch the sunset than the sunrise, consider making it point to wake up a little earlier one day soon, get a cup of coffee and go outside if you can to observe what happens when the sun comes up. Focus on the light, the colors and the sounds. It's likely your day will start on a positive note.

Don't Forget

~My life long friend Steve "Beaver" Moss and me "goofing" in Hawaii, August 2006
NOTE: This picture has nothing to do with this post, but like Mark Zuckerberg, I've found folks like looking at pictures 

At the beginning of this new year, I thought it appropriate to post an excerpt from one of my blog post of early 2010. Here it is:

Every individual can make a difference by sending an email, writing a letter, or better yet, making a phone call to their congressmen or senators (key in the search word "congress" or "senate" and get all the information you need). Tell them what's important to you, what you expect them to work on, and how you expect them to vote. Be respectful, but let them know you're tired of the ridiculous crap they continue putting out.

Remember, when a government is afraid of the people, you have a democracy. When the people are afraid of the government, you have something completely different.

Outdoor Life

~Boundary Waters, Northern Minnesota May 2011 with "The Dunning Men"

 As I go through my photo stash it dawns on me how much of my life is centered around the outdoors. Most of the things I enjoy doing take place outside. Trees, lake water, black dirt and rocks seem to attract my attention more than wood floors, tap water, vacuum cleaners and petra-stone.

~Andre' Chevigny and Beat Schwaller from Pioneer Log Homes of BC. I took this picture at Beat's Soda Creek building yard site in the Spring of 2012, before my two friends became famous for their show TIMBER KINGS

Rarely do I run across a person who doesn't have at least an appreciation for a log cabin or log home. Not everyone wants to live in one but I know few people who wouldn't at least like to stay in one a night or two given the opportunity. No one I know fits that category of people more than these two guys. Those are two of my friends from Pioneer Log Homes of BC, Andre' and Beat (correctly pronounced bee-OTT). You'll soon be able to watch them on their new show called "Timber Kings" which airs on HGTV Canada this month and here in the states in March.

~Yellow Stone 2010

 My "Sweet Baby" and I took a 10 day driving trip through and around the Rocky Mountains a few years ago and needless to say, the scenery was just spectacular as it always has been. I recall standing on the deck of the place we were staying one night and staring out at the mountains thinking about the mountain men of the 1800's who lived out here by themselves. Now those were men!

~Our barn 2013

 There's something about a barn that causes it to get better with age. I find the same to be true with a good woman. We built our barn about 8 years ago on our place in Southwest Missouri. After it was framed up and the roof installed, I finished it out with the help of my Dad and my Uncle Raymond. It's wrapped in 1"x12"x10' western red cedar, which should last a life time or more providing the barn doesn't get blown or burned down.

~My big brother "Ace" 1960

 That's my big brother on the tricycle. He's the future star of a new reality series called, "Ace the Unbelievable". He specializes in inventions, airplanes, raccoons, deals, and telling stories about all four. The .22 rifle in that picture now hangs on the wall of our log cabin. It hung on the wall of our Rolla, Missouri home from before I was a baby until I left home in January, 1979 to seek fame and fortune. That gun originally belonged to my Uncle Pat and if I'm not mistaken, to our Granddad Robertson before him. It has a hair trigger so Mom and Dad never let us squirrel or rabbit hunt with it when we were kids. Dad had us convinced that even looking at it too long would cause it to go off. One of these days I'm going to actually shoot it....I think it's time.

~Author Estes Park, Colorado 2010

A great life long friend of mine, Randy Warren (Ran-dell), took this picture 3 years ago while on a day hike during our 8th annual "Rolla Boy Reunion". Randy and I along with two of our mutual life long friends, Rick Miller and Dave Pierson, took an afternoon hike up one of the well traveled mountain trails in Estes Park. We saw only a couple other folks while hiking that day. That's Dave and Rick in the background.

I think I'll head outside for some fresh air and maybe take a picture or two. While out there, it may not be too late for another cup of coffee.

2013 R/W Family Deer Camp

-Charles standing and Ken sitting at Charles's "Meat Stand"

 My wife's cousin's, Ken from Tulsa and Charles from Oklahoma City, made the trip over this past November for our first annual 'Robertson/Williamson Family Deer Camp'. We'd talked about it a few times over the years but this was the first time we actually accomplished it thanks to Charles. Although neither of the three of us "harvested" a deer that opening weekend, we sure had a real good time!

As is usually the case when you get a few men together out in the woods for this kind of event, there ends up being a funny story or two to tell; the kind that typically get bigger and funnier as time goes on. Our 1st annual R/W deer camp was no exception. One of the funniest things that occurred (aside from the flying spider incident of 2013 and of course not counting when Charles duped Ken into setting up on an old worn out deer decoy thinking it was an actual deer) was helping Charles excavate and defoliate the spot he'd picked out where he intended to set up for his opening day deer ambush. Ken and I spent an hour or so helping Charles dig out a spot on the side of a steep hill so Charles would have a good place to sit in his very well used and nearly worn out folding camp chair. Ken offered to buy him a new one but Charles seemed rather attached to this one and turned down his big brother's generous offer.

~Charles working to clear shooting lanes

After digging and pruning and dragging and digging a little bit more, we finally had Charles's spot ready for opening day and he seemed pleased with the results.

~Charles posing for posterity

~Ken clearing an "over the back" shooting lane

Later on as we road around the property and I showed the guys several other potential hunting locations, Charles asked, "Why did you let me waste all our time working on that spot on the side of that ravine when these other spots are so much better?" I told him that since I thought he knew as much or more about deer hunting as I did, I figured he'd seen something he liked on the side of that darn cliff. We decided that going forward this spot would forever more be known as "Charles's meat stand".

~Ken and Charles while the meat was grilling

On the second night of camp, Charles prepaired and grilled some venison back-strap and tenderloin from a "management buck" Ken had whacked a couple of weeks earlier. I will say, that was the finest wild game I've had in my life--bar none!  Nearly everyone I know wraps wild game in bacon (sometimes in an effort to kill the taste of the wild game) and I've had some where you'd a been better off throwing away the meat and eating the bacon, but in this case the meat was actually better than the bacon--simply outstanding!

That's Charles behind the barn bar. I don't know if this was his first picture with a cowboy hat but I thought it turned out pretty darn good. The only beverages that got drank besides my one or two beers was a few "sodies" as Grandma Keil would have said (sodie is "Central Missouri" for soft drink). That empty bottle of Russell's brand bourbon on top the bar is primarily for atmosphere and as I recall got itself drank quite some time ago by a band of rapscallions I had out there for a BBQ and 'Shoot Fest'.

And that's Ol' Ken on our second night at camp relaxing in my favorite cabin chair after fueling up on that outstanding venison back strap--Ted Nugent himself couldn't have done no better. Did I mention it was real good?











I took this picture as the sun set on the second day of our first annual Robertson/Williamson Family deer camp. It was a good time had by all and I'm confident I'll always remember it.

Post Script: Turns out Charles did not actually die after getting bit by the "flying spider"...but dang, to Ken and myself for a while there it sure sounded like he might!

Young Cats

~The Rolla Boys in 1976 L-R...Russ Robertson, Rick Miller, Steve "Beaver" Moss,  John Skelton, Vic Davolt, Tim Tinnin, Craig French and Kevin Carlile

 As I began writing this post, I realized this is probably how Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea for Facebook. My intention in writing on this blog is not necessarily to share my life, rather, to share experiences and sometimes insights into what I'm observing and have observed as I go through life. A good and young friend of mine, Zack "Z-Dawg" Duhamel would probably say my blog is "random", and he'd be right.

This picture was taken in 1976 by Bill French. These 16 and 17 year old kids grew up together in the same small town in South-Central Missouri. They played together, attended birthday parties together, went to school together, played sports together, hung out together, went bowling together, camped out together, rode motorcycles and mini-bikes together, spent the night at each other's homes together, went to the annual Lions Club Carnival together, listened to music together, "cruised the halls" of RJHS and RHS together, shot baskets and "threw the ball around" together, went out for pizza at Alex's and Burgers at Snoopy's and Arctic Circle together, cruised Pine Street and Kings Highway together, and some even went to church together. They had the same teachers, same coaches and for the most part the same broad and assorted group of friends. They lived in the same kind of houses and wore the same kind of clothes. They chased girls together and eventually put on the same black robes and walked down the same aisle together to graduate from Rolla High School in 1978. The one exception regarding graduation was the kid 3rd from right, Tim Tinnin, who's dad was promoted in his job with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and transferred to Jefferson City, Missouri about the time this picture was taken. To this day he still remains our mutual friend, although we rarely see him.

I have stories about each one of these guys and I might share a few as time goes on. I wish all the Rolla Boys would have been there the day Craig's parents, Bill and Judy French, decided to get Tim's closest friends together for a picture, kind of as a going away gift for Tim and a keep sake of sorts for all of us. I imagine there were a few guys Tim would have liked to have had there who for various reasons probably weren't able to make it. I can think of several good friends who over the years most of us shared to one degree or the other: guys like Randy Warren, Dave Pierson, Larry Hodge, Steve Smith, Craig Atkins, Kevin Marling, David Less, Steve Franz and Matt Hilsabeck to name a few. Had I been the kid moving away, I would have wanted Steve Patton, Mike Watson and Jim Ballinger there for sure and if all the guys in this picture added to the list I'm confident it would have been much, much longer. Suffice to say, this picture was representative of the core of "The Rolla Boys" on that Fall day in Rolla, Missouri so many years ago. A good group of young men who shared and experienced much of what life had to offer in small town America in the 1960's and 70's, and I'm proud to still call them my friends!

Post Script: Thanks Bill and Judy for making the effort and having the foresight to get those rapscallions together for the now famous "Rolla Boy Photo". This picture will forever be a part of your legacy!