Pat Neal

PAT NEAL: Anatomy of an orchard

IT WAS DAYLIGHT at the homestead but I was more than a little late for breakfast. The cabin which had been built in the 1890s… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: It is never too late to panic

AS A STUDENT of wilderness survival, it has always amazed me how often wilderness survival experts offer the same wilderness survival advice, “don’t panic.” For… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Heading out to Neah Bay Fest

MAYBE I WAS born too late. Gone are the days when newspapers would send expeditions of stalwart adventurers to the remote ends of the earth… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Tips on getting lost

IT WAS THAT great American philosopher Daniel Boone who said, “I have never been lost but I was bewildered once for three days.” Of course,… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Things could be worse

THERE ARE FEW sounds more comforting than the steady drumming of heavy rain on the roof. Still, some people have a phobic reaction to rain.… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Wooden boat worries

PAT NEAL: Wooden boat worries

IT’S TIME for the 43rd annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Wooden boats are an integral part of our history. Native Americans started building wooden… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Wooden boat worries

PAT NEAL: Backpacking tips

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE like the freedom of the hills, with the mountains spread before you in a scenic tableau of snow and rocky meadows stretching… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: So sad to see them go

IT’S SAD TO see an old friend go away. It begs the question, if they’re leaving why should I stay? It brings the sullen realization… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The tourist’s revenge

IN LAST WEEK’S column, I was making fun of the silly questions that tourists ask. While it’s fun to have fun with tourists for asking,… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: More frequently asked tourist questions

WHETHER IT’S AN effect of climate change, the economy or the internet it has become apparent that we are in the middle of one of… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Root hog or die

“ROOT HOG OR die.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard my aunt Stella say that, I would never have picked berries… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The future of fishing

IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news. Cooke Aquaculture announced plans to begin raising steelhead in net pens in Washington state waters. This follows… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The space race

THIS IS A momentous week in the history of the United States. It was just 50 years ago on July 20, 1969, that America put… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A berry good time

THIS IS THE season we wait for all year when you can walk into almost any patch of woods or meadow and stuff your gullet… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: ‘Lord of the Flies,’ in a raft

IT WAS WRONG to assert in last week’s column that, “Stereotyping and profiling have no place on a nature float. Unless you are talking about… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Youngsters on the river

THIS IS A magical time of year when you see a lot of youngsters on the river. It started with a hatch of merganser chicks… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Wildlife roulette

THERE’S A CERTAIN tension in the woods these days. The animals are nervous, as if they have something to hide. They do. There is a… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The Circus is Coming to Town

THE CIRCUS IS coming to town! No, this one doesn’t involve caged animals. It’s even worse. This is a bureaucratic circus for the enjoyment of… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The woodpecker war, continued

THEY SAY THERE’S no place like home, that home is where your heart is and every man’s home is his castle. All of which may… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The woodpecker war

IT’S NESTING SEASON in this bird watcher’s paradise we call the Olympic Peninsula. Many rare and colorful species of our feathered friends are raising their… Continue reading