Jim Casada Outdoors

March 2010 Newsletter

Jim Casada Web site: www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com
1250 Yorkdale Drive E-mail: jc@jimcasadaoutdoors.com
Rock Hill, SC 29730-7638
803-329-4354

The Madness and Occasional Magic of the Month of March

I’m always glad when the month of March rolls around. It means all sorts of good things—rising trout, gobbling turkeys, blooming wildflowers, spring vegetables in the garden, poke salad, dandelion greens—are in the offing in just a few weeks. It also signals the beginning of the end to winter, although I have no doubt whatsoever that there are bitter breezes, killing frosts, and chilling rains yet to come before spring truly arrives. Nonetheless, I saw the first crocus bloom today, buds on red maples are swelling, and bluebirds are checking out a backyard box with a far more serious mien than is the case in their periodic stop-and-look ventures during the winter.

It’s time for new growth and earth’s reawakening, and with that in mind I’m introducing a new feature to these monthly meanderings exclusively for subscribers. Henceforth each month will feature one or two special offers on books. They may be overstocks which have been drastically reduced, a combo offer of some kind, or, as is the case this month, two books available at truly bargain prices. Details on the books and ordering them appear in a sidebar above—just note that payment is by check only and that this deal is exclusive to subscribers to the newsletter. Look for more deals each succeeding month.

Now to return to the matter at hand—the madness and occasional magic of the month of March. My Grandpa Joe used to call March the month of hope and renewal. “It’s really a pretty miserable month,” he would opine, because hunting season is closed, it’s far too cold to fish for trout (that was in the days when everyone waded wet), and more often than not the weather is ornery. Still, March means that April and May aren’t far away, and just thinking of them lifts my spirits. First thing you know we’ll have a mess of black-seeded Simpson lettuce from the garden, and by the end of the month anyone with a decent amount of gumption can gather a bait of dandelion greens.”

Warming to his subject, Grandpa Joe would then reminisce about memorable experiences from his past associated with this general time of year—a late March snowstorm, “yarbing” (gathering herbs for medicinal use), making sweet syrup from maples (we think of that as something confined to more northern climates, but “tree sweetening” was once fairly common in the Smokies), and the like.

One of the things about March which fascinated me then as much as it does now was planning connected with planting gardens. Grandpa firmly believed in planting by the signs, and to that end he studied the Farmer’s Almanac and considered it absolute gospel. If the signs weren’t right seed potatoes would not go into the ground; and if the Almanac said it was a time for root crops to go the ground, then things like cabbage and broccoli would just have to wait their turn. I must confess that I think Grandpa was onto something. I don’t always plant by the signs, but his resounding and consistent success was such it pretty well shredded any arguments about planting when the spirit happened to move you.

Another fond memory from those long ago days focused on Grandpa’s discussion of turkeys. I never saw one of the grand birds until long after he was gone (he died when I was twenty-five years of age), but I had read about them in the writings of one of my boyhood literary heroes, Charlie Elliott. Grandpa talked about the special sound gobblers made in the mating season, and according to him, “once you hear it you realize a bird can shake the ground and stir the soul.” Was he ever right on this score, as was the case on so many other things!

It won’t be long until the rites of the spring woods once more arrive, and already thoughts of being in the woods at dawn move me to the depths of my soul. But then, so do simpler pleasures connected with early spring. To walk through woodlands where service trees add a splash of white to a grim, grey landscape, is to tread through wonder. The same holds true for glimpses of the first flowering bluets, bloodroots peeking through leaf mold, the shiny green of emerging Mayapple leaves, and the first pink of swelling redbud blooms. Early spring uplifts in so many ways, and as I grow older I enjoy the profusion of wildflowers, a parade of color which becomes more beautiful as March gives way to April, and April to May, even more than I used to. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that in the turkey woods or just wandering, I pause and ponder a bit more than used to be the case.

Special Offers for March

Since this is the first of what will be monthly special deals exclusive to those receiving this newsletter, we’ll try to start with a bang—offering not one but two books. I’ll follow momentarily with details on the two books, but first, here are the rules of the road.

There’s no limit on the number of books you can order, other than that imposed by my stock. Obviously if I run out I can’t fill any more orders.
Postage and handling is a flat $5 whether you want one book or ten.
Payment is by check or money order only. No PayPal orders through the Web site.
I’ll sign and inscribe books in which I am involved (and that’s the case in both of those offered this month) as I normally do or as per your special request.
Payment should be sent to me c/o 1250 Yorkdale Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29730, and you can call or e-mail to reserve books if you wish (jc@jimcasadaoutdoors.com or 803-329-4354).

That’s it; now let’s find out about the books.

The first one is a lovely cookbook, Field to Feast: The Remington Cookbook. This is a specially designed cookbook, featuring a hard cover but internal comb binding which lets it lie flat while in use (perfect for the kitchen counter). It was done with the support of Remington Arms Company and features striking color illustrations featuring original art from the Remington collection. There are chapters on venison, waterfowl, turkey, upland game, foods from nature, camp cookery, and even a selection of menus which even suggest a wine accompaniment. I wrote narrative introductions to each chapter as well as an essay at the beginning of the book.

The 204-page work is listed on the Web site for $35, but your price is only $15. Here’s a perfect way to stock up on gifts or just add a fine game cookbook to your shelves. Incidentally, all the recipes given in this month’s newsletter come from the cookbook.

Field to Feast, The Remington Cookbook, Jim Casada

The second book is a special edition of a work I edited and which was, for a time, out of print. This is The Marksmanship Primer, an anthology I edited and compiled. It features tips on rifle and pistol marksmanship from many of the greats in the field from yesterday and today—Jack O’Connor, Townsend Whelen, Julian Hatcher, Charles Askins, Bryce Towsley, Wayne van Zwoll, Jeff Cooper, and many others. It is a long book (x, 468 pages) and this edition is a handy paperback size and its format is paperback-like with leatherette covers.

There’s a lot of reference material and tips of every kind for the shooter, and all for $12 a copy (the original sold for $35).

I hope one or both of these works will appeal to you, and let me know what you think of this feature. I would also welcome suggestions from readers for ways to improve the monthly newsletter or features you would like to see added to the Web site.

The arrival of March, for all that the wild turkey holds a corner of my soul, also holds great meaning for me as a lifelong fly fisherman. I poured my heart and soul into a book on pursuing the sport in my native heath, the Great Smokies, and if you love the long rod and whistling line and haven’t yet acquired it, I would humbly direct your attention to Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider’s Guide to a Pursuit of Passion. I consider it the most important book I’ve ever done, but obviously I’m the last person to judge its true merits.

When I was a youngster the trout season always opened the first Saturday in April, a sharp contrast with the situation now, where some streams (all of those in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) are open throughout the year. That meant building anticipation as March marched along, occasional walks along streams to look for insect life and see if any fish were rising, and maybe a sneak preview fishing for knottyheads and bream in the nearby Tuckaseigee River. Even today, I eagerly anticipate being astream before too long, and I already have an outing arranged on a special Fly Fishing Trail that some far-sighted folks have created in Jackson County, N.C., which is adjacent to the mountain county of my boyhood days.

Another aspect of March which I have always cherished is associated with the old mountain custom of taking “tonics” in this month. These took many and varied forms, from sulphur and molasses to thin the blood to infusions of sassafras tea for one’s general health. Spring greens such as poke salad did double duty as a purgative, and there were always some who thought even the most nauseous of nostrums could be rendered palatable by being taken with a good slug of peartin’ juice (for the uninformed, that’s moonshine). Not too long prior to his untimely arrest and subsequent suicide, I had the opportunity to discuss such matters with the late Popcorn Sutton. He was a genuine mountain character and lifelong producer and purveyor of corn squeezin’s. Popcorn’s studied opinion was that “a body needs some properly made likker, along with a mess of trout and bait of ramps and branch lettuce,” to get into spring in proper fashion. Incidentally, if you’ve never heard of this fascinating character and are interested in the culture of moonshine making, you might want to poke around on the Internet a bit.

I’m not sure Popcorn’s spring tonic was the best, although I will acknowledge that I have a couple of quart jars of his liquid magic that I acquired a year or so before his death set aside for a special occasion. Perhaps more to the point, March is a month for some fine late winter eating. As these words are being written my wife has a savory venison chili simmering in the crockpot, and the marriage of flavors which has been going on all day, along with the smells emanating from the kitchen, has my salivary glands threatening to run amok.

March is a time for some freezer cleaning out, a month for hearty soups, and a time for the simple pleasures of things such as a fine pone of cornbread or a big pot of pinto beans cooked with ham hock. In the past week I think we’ve had soup at least once every day—a hearty potato soup I make, along with venison vegetable soup, split pea and ham soup, and more. I can eat it once a day in colder weather and be happy as a hog wallowing in mud hole on a hot July day. Yeah, I know that’s a somewhat unusual analogy, but it’s my newsletter so I get to do such things.

That brings me to what is happening on the personal front right now. I’ve been busy helping promote the recently published memoirs of Henry Edwards Davis, the author of the greatest of all books on the American wild turkey. In recent weeks that has included attendance at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, S.C., and the S.C. Book Festival in Columbia. The latter was a real revelation to me—thousands of avid book lovers flocking through the exhibition hall and two days of non-stop presentations by authors. I can’t believe it is the first time I ever attended, and I was so impressed that I have every intention of having a booth at the event next year. Incidentally, if you want a copy of A Southern Sportsman: The Hunting Memoirs of Henry Edwards Davis, I have copies signed by both the editor of the book, Ben Moise, and yours truly (I wrote the Foreword to the book). It is $29.95 plus $5 shipping and handling.

Upcoming Schedule

March 12 – Presentation at the weekly literary event, “A Moveable Feast,” sponsored by Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, S.C.

March 19-20 – Attendance at mid-year board meeting of Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA) in Huntsville, Ala.

I also did a couple of signings for my fly fishing book, and I continue to be most gratified by the positive reaction to the book readers have shared with me. It’s available in both hardback ($37.50) and paperbound ($24.95) form. The second collection of Jack O’Connor’s “lost classics” is now in press and should be out in the next month or two. Many of you have asked to be informed when it comes out, and if you haven’t done so and are interested, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll add you to the “to be notified” list.

Right now most of my attention, outside of regular work on newspaper and magazine pieces, is being split between three book-length projects. Carolina Christmas: Archibald Rutledge’s Holiday Hunting Stories is now going through the complex and sometimes confusing process that any book published by a university press undergoes (the publisher is the University of South Carolina Press, the same folks who have done three previous Rutledge compilations I edited). I expect it to be out around November 1 of this year, and I’m encouraging folks to let me know of their interest now. The second project is one of a similar nature, the second Jack O’Connor collection I’ve edited. I expect it out in mid- to late spring. Again, let me know of your interest.

The biggest project right now, however, since the Rutledge and O’Connor ones are now in press, is my bibliography of turkey hunting books. It has proven to be both a challenging and exciting undertaking, and I hope to send it off for layout and design, then on to the printer, before I get enmeshed in turkey hunting next month. I plan to do only a limited, numbered edition (either 750 or 1,000 copies), and I think the work will be a revelation as well as an invaluable reference source for anyone who is a serious reader of turkey hunting literature.

Finally, on the book front, there’s a new development about which I’m quite excited. As some of you may know, better than a decade ago I compiled a book bringing together a solid selection of Archibald Rutledge’s bird hunting and dog stories under the title Bird Dog Days; Wingshooting Ways. In what proved to be an ill-advised move on my part, I published the anthology with Wilderness Adventures Press rather than the publisher of my other Rutledge efforts, the University of South Carolina Press. While Wilderness Adventures did a nice job from the standpoint of the book’s physical appearance, I was deeply disappointed in the sales—less than 2,000 copies. Now the book is long out of print and it will likely cost you three figures to find a copy. The good news is that I’m pretty certain USC Press is going to bring out a new edition. It will include a few more selections, some additional narrative and editorial material from yours truly, and will once more be available at a reasonable price. I’ll keep you updated, and let me know if you are interested.

Clearly I’m busy, although much more of my energy is going into the books than has traditionally been the case. The reason is simple—there just isn’t as much magazine work out there as has traditionally been the case and daily newspapers are withering on the vine. I’m sort of glad I’m not in my 30s or 40s and trying to raise a family as a freelance magazine writer; those days seem to lie behind us. For me though, it just means more opportunity to dig into book projects I’ve long had in mind, and my next really big undertaking, probably as challenging as the fly fishing book on the Smokies, will be a detailed biography of Archibald Rutledge. He’s an icon of American sporting letters and certainly merits such coverage.

That’s enough for now, but as usual we’ll close with a few recipes which I think have special appeal at this time of year.

LOIN STEAKS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

1 pound loin steaks
1/3 cup Dales Steak Seasoning
1/3 cup water
1/2 stick margarine or butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Marinate loin in Dale’s Steak Seasoning and water; drain. Melt the margarine and add garlic; sauté briefly. Add loin and cook to desired tenderness. Remove loin and de-glaze pan with jam. Serve as a sauce over loin or for tipping loin.

BARBECUED WRIGHT DUCK

2 wild ducks, halved

SAUCE

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Mix together sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a low boil and simmer for about five minutes. Place duck halves on a rack in a roasting pan. Spread with barbecue sauce and cover with foil. Bake covered at 325 degrees for 1 ½ hours. Remove foil and spoon on remaining sauce. Bake 20 minutes more at 375 degrees.

TURKEY FRUIT SALAD

1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 red apple, cored & chopped
3 cups cooked rice
2 cups cubed, cooked smoked wild turkey
1 cup seedless grapes
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 (8-ounce) carton light peach yogurt
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
Lettuce leaves

Combine pineapple, apple, rice, turkey, grapes and celery in a large bowl. Combine yogurt, marmalade and orange peel in a separate bowl, mixing well. Add yogurt mixture to fruit and turkey, tossing to mix. Spoon salad into a bow lined with lettuce leaves.

SQUIRREL & BISCUIT-STYLE DUMPLINGS

2 squirrels
2 bay leaves
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
3-4 carrots, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups water

Cut two squirrels into serving pieces. Place in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Add bay leaves and simmer for 1 ½ hours or until squirrels are tender. Skim if necessary. Squirrel may be removed from the bones at this point and returned to stew if you desire. Add onion, celery, carrots, seasonings and two cups of water. Cook 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Increase heat and have stew boiling. Drop dumplings by teaspoons into hot liquid. Cook 15-20 minutes longer or until dumplings are done in the center.

DUMPLINGS

½ cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Slowly add milk to dry ingredients. Drop from spoon into boiling liquid.

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Feel free to contact Jim with your comments, questions or suggestions at jc@jimcasadaoutdoors.com.

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