Sporting Road

An artist who goes around proclaiming that the art he's making is art is probably making a serious mistake. And that's one mistake I try not to make.  — Peter Beard I recently got a copy of Peter Beard : fifty years of portraits / curated by Peter T. Tunney by Beard, Peter H. (Peter Hill), 1938-2020. The whole feeling of his work—photography, handwritten journals, wildlife, travel, found objects, stains, torn paper, memory, sex, danger, and a slightly decadent African-adventurer sensibility---is stirring, an awakening you might say.  Trippy is another word that comes to mind. This  inspired me to read everything I can find about Beard and to study his photographs more closely.   Peter Beard (1938–2020) was a legendary American photographer, artist, and diarist known for his visceral, mixed-media approach to photography. Blending the lines between documentary journalism, fine art, and personal scrapbooking, Beard became famous for chronicling a vanishing Africa, bridging the gap between high-fashion New York culture and the raw realities of environmental collapse.   Beard rarely presented a photograph as just a standalone print. He heavily embellished his images with handwritten text, intricate ink drawings of insects or animals, newspaper clippings, and physical artifacts. Something we would probably generalize as "collage" nowadays, but it is much deeper than that.  For instance, to emphasize the primal nature of life, death, and survival, he frequently used animal blood (and occasionally his own) to paint directly onto the borders and surfaces of his photographs.  Beard viewed his entire life as a singular, continuous artwork. His massive personal journals combined daily travel itineraries with contacts, photos of famous figures, dried leaves, and footprints. Beard's lifelong romance with Africa began after traveling to Kenya in the early 1960s. He

Let me start with a confession:   I’m not a “tactard.” No, that word has nothing to do with tack for your horse, it's an abbreviation of tactical and, well, you can guess the rest.   I shoot a lot, our friends often teach (or have written the books on) cool-guy firearms training classes, and we can run black guns with the best of them. But you won’t find me wandering around in a plate carrier vest or whatever the current equivalent of 5.11 pants happens to be. At this point in my life I’m simply too old to play dress-up, like the bougie hipsters at the range or in the uplands who are taking selfies before they even finish slamming the truck door.   Both have a way of pissing you off before you even get started. That doesn’t mean I dismiss tactical gear. In fact, some of it is remarkably well suited to the way that I spend my time outdoors. I just have little interest in wearing something that makes me look like I’ve been issued a radio and a mission. I spend a lot of time in the field, although I’m usually not talking about packing into the true backcountry for days at a time, at least not anymore. When I’m moving through the woods on foot, for a day trip, I want to carry the essentials without turning myself into a walking gear closet: your favorite piece of iron to spray some lead or a stick to waive in the river, a few basic tools like a leatherman, a decent light, maybe some boots for the dogs, some water, and, preferably, something to eat. I like snacks. What constitutes “essential” changes considerably

Leave your ghosts in the dust and they will only learn to chase you. True freedom isn't found in the distance you run, but in the peace you make when you finally turn around. We can be our own worst enemies sometimes when we dwell in the past about people in our lives that we wish were different, things we wish hadn’t happened, things we regret, or wish we had done differently. But nothing in your past dictates what can happen next in your life - unless you allow it to with your thoughts about the past. What happens next in your life depends on what you are thinking right now. Your tomorrow, your week ahead, this month, and this year, is all in your hands right now. Isn’t that a relief? No matter what has happened before now, this moment you have the power to make every day of your life from here better! Make your amazingly powerful thoughts positive, make your thoughts about what you want your life to be - and that’s all you have to do.

DHARMA   The way the dog trots out the front door every morning without a hat or an umbrella, without any money or the keys to her dog house never fails to fill the saucer of my heart with milky admiration.   Who provides a finer example of a life without encumbrance- Thoreau in his curtainless hut with a single plate, a single spoon? Gandhi with his staff and his wire spectacles?   Off she goes into the material world with nothing but her brown coat and her modest blue collar, following only her wet nose, the twin portals of her steady breathing, followed only by the plume of her tail.   If only she did not shove the cat aside every morning and eat all his food what a model of self-containment she would be, what a paragon of earthly detachment. If only she were not so eager for a rub behind the ears, so acrobatic in her welcomes, if only I were not her god.

I have an Italian friend who upon watching me cook for several days, once asked, "Why do you have to make everything formal?    Just because it’s formal, doesn’t mean it’s better."   It was a fair question.   And a fair observation. When a French chef is presented with a beautiful cut of meat or a fresh catch, their first instinct is often one of transformation. They might ask, "What can I do with this? How can I elevate it, enhance it, and create an impressive, complex dish?" It is a philosophy rooted in technique, layers of flavor, and the pursuit of culinary artistry. In contrast, an Italian chef looks at the same ingredients and seeks simplicity. Their thought process is more likely to be, "This fish is perfect. Perhaps just a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and some fresh herbs are all it needs." The Italian approach is one of reverence for the ingredient itself, allowing its natural flavors to shine without unnecessary interference. While both traditions have evolved and these are certainly generalizations, there remains a beautiful truth in this contrast: one seeks to master the ingredient, while the other seeks to honor it. Whether you prefer the intricate artistry of the French kitchen or the rustic soul of Italian cooking, both offer a masterclass in how we relate to the food we eat.