The River Reporter

The Way Out Here

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My little blue swallow poses in the door of her fancy home.

Aviary abodes

I often like to write about my recent adventures, things I do with my family outside and just a general appreciation for nature, which I feel so inspired by. Sometimes I have a hard time coming up … more

By HUNTER HILL | 7/8/20

My wife Chelsea surveying our winged livestock as we load the truck to harvest our chickens.

Feeding the dream

One by one, my waddling broilers were handed off to my wife as she loaded the transport crate in the back of the truck with our freshly finished meat birds. Catching the chickens was hardly a chore … more

By HUNTER HILL | 6/24/20

Finished with this wood pallet planter, my appreciative wife’s first question was if I could make a few more.

Weathered wood

Take a drive through the countryside; see the blossoming apple trees, the fresh green foliage and the beauty of the wildlife. On my drive to work this morning, I was blessed with seeing three … more

By HUNTER HILL | 6/10/20

There’s some things a country man has got to have on hand: Lassos are on my short list.

It all hangs on this

There I hung about eight feet off the ground with the ladder top a mere foot beneath my outstretched boot. My grip slipping off the newly installed roof, I attempted to surrender as much ground as I … more

By HUNTER HILL | 5/29/20

This oyster mushroom kit was not only fun to grow but only took a week and a half from start to finish.

Making mushrooms

Many folks have taken to new hobbies as a byproduct of being isolated at home: starting seeds, preparing gardening beds, or impatiently planting outdoors in sheer obstinance and rebellion to snowy … more

By HUNTER HILL | 5/13/20

My humble chicken hut functions well, but 25 new chicks have inspired me to expand.

The certainty of sweat

Something you’ve likely heard a few hundred times in the past few weeks is the phrase “in these uncertain times.” If you’re like me, you are “certain” that you are … more

By HUNTER HILL | 4/28/20

There’s nothing quite so satisfying as the first cut into a freshly baked loaf of bread.

Baking memories

The air around was warm and sweet, filled with the scent of flour, coffee and a delectable note of yeast. My black fabric apron showed miniature clashes with white powder and dried sticky dough where … more

By HUNTER HILL | 4/14/20

Fishing tails

Feet kicked up, hat brim low. One eye peripherally guiding the boat as it chugs along as the other resting lazily on the stern where the lines lay taught, spread wide behind the trolling vessel. The … more

By HUNTER HILL | 4/1/20

My neighbor’s sap house cooking down that watery sap into sweet maple syrup.

A sappy story

Smoke filled the sky across the road at our neighbor’s house; white puffy billows came upward from behind their garage. Even fully aware that it was sap season, I was at first startled and … more

By HUNTER HILL | 3/18/20

Although they can be both a nuisance and a blessing, I look forward to seeing my chickens out and about scratching through the fresh soil—hopefully not in my garden boxes like years past…

A look ahead

Have you ever owned one of those nifty weather gauges that gives an insightful summation of the current climate and such? Growing up, our family had a wooden plaque on the front porch with a … more

By HUNTER HILL | 3/4/20

Wayne County Ag Day

Part of living out here means if you aren’t a farmer, then you know at least five people who are. Part of the appeal to living in this area is the closeness to agriculture that we all get to … more

By HUNTER HILL | 2/19/20

My son and I enjoying the annual Wild Game Dinner at Calkins Baptist Church.

Mid-winter merriment

Every year, the Calkins Baptist Church in Wayne County hosts an annual Wild Game Dinner. At the event, dozens of folks bring savory samplings of their recent quarry from the fall hunting season. Over … more

By HUNTER HILL | 2/5/20

The deer who dared race with my car certainly wasn’t the winner, but then again neither was my car.

Oh deer...

The way out here isn’t all good things. Neither is it the thriller-inspiring dark woods that so many urban folks think it is. What I mean to say, in this dichotomy of pros and cons of living in … more

By HUNTER HILL | 1/22/20

Here you see the primal cuts of our hog, separated and ready for further processing.

New year, new meat

A new year is upon us, and that means a couple of things out here in the sticks. Folks are staying indoors, ambitious gardeners are perusing the seed catalogues and, if you’re like me, the … more

By HUNTER HILL | 1/8/20

Here sits our perfect Rorick-sized Christmas tree in all of its two-foot glory.

The perfect Christmas tree

The snow has fallen and most folks have already completed their Christmas decorating and shopping. Families are wrapping presents and putting the final touches on the tree. Many flock to events like … more

By HUNTER HILL | 12/23/19

The family lines up to boast a tailgate full of pheasants and chukars harvested Thanksgiving morning.

A Thanksgiving tradition

Flurries gusted by as the clouds rolled overhead, making for a slightly grey and indecisively chilly Thanksgiving Day. Braving the brisk morning stood my wife and family, clicking shell after shell … more

By HUNTER HILL | 12/11/19

This young four-point buck was struck by a vehicle and pinned under the guard rail.

For the good of the cause

Hunting is about much more than the hunt and the harvest—it’s a lifestyle that permeates much of what you do throughout the entire year. There’s a charge of stewardship that goes … more

By HUNTER HILL | 11/26/19

Autumn archery atlas

Archery season is a very different animal than rifle season. The weather is different, the animal behavior is different and, of course, the weapons are different. But as juxtaposed as the two seasons … more

By HUNTER HILL | 11/14/19

The Noteables Barbershop Quartet performs in four-part harmony for the crowds at the Narrowsburg Logging Days festival.

Country cabaret

Music is an integral part of any culture, often defining the very spirit of a community. In our very regional community, i.e. the Delaware River valley region, there is so much culture collectively … more

By HUNTER HILL | 11/13/19

This emu didn’t seem to mind my company as he strolled along the Callicoon road.

Birds of a feather

Sometimes you never see something coming. I mean, straight-out-of-left-field, sucker punch, catch-you-with-your-pants-down random as all get-out kind of something. When you live around here, … more

By HUNTER HILL | 10/30/19

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Currently viewing stories posted within the past year.
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