My other blogs

© 2010 Joshua Stark

A quick note for those of you who may not know it - I write two other blogs.  Soon, I hope to combine these three blogs into one site, with additional materials and options for readers.

My other two blogs are better developed as far as layout is concerned (though not by much).  My most-posted blog is Ethics and the Environment, which delves into the good, bad, and ugly of human-habitat interactions.  My other blog is more a list of home gardening and duck-raising ideas, notes, and questions.

Please feel free to hop on over and comment at either site.  You are always welcome.

Gear for the Marginal Lands: Pants on the Margin

© 2010 Joshua Stark

I've gone through many different styles of pants, and many different materials, and I always come back to the same thing: I like jeans.

Maybe it's because they were invented in California for California conditions, or maybe it's because I've worn them all my life and my leg-hairs are rubbed off where they should be, but either way, I find jeans the most comfortable, longest-lasting pants for my kind of outside stuff.

Of course, there are specialty pants for particular conditions - waders, in particular, are the only way to go when you are hunting flooded marshes in Winter. But for the vast majority of my outdoors activities, jeans fit the bill.

So I was happy to find a jeans manufacturer in the U.S. who makes hunting pants. Pointer Brand jeans offers a few options, one of which are brush chaps in woodland camo, so I bought a pair to see how they work.

I've always been partial to Wrangler jeans, but unfortunately, they moved their manufacturing to Mexico. Levi's moved recently, too, from San Francisco to China, I believe (though I could be wrong on that). Pointer Brand is made in Bristol, Tennessee, and has been since 1913.

Their jeans fit well, and they have ample pocket space (one of my weird jeans criteria). The zipper is good, but the button on top was not sewn on perfectly well, and had to be touched up. The jeans material is already broken-in feeling, and the cordura chaps provide ample protection from everything up to star thistles. My only problem with cordura during hunting is the constant zip! zip! sound as they rub together.

I do wish Wrangler had stayed in the U.S., because they are very comfortable. But, I can't in good conscience support on this blog a company who will move just a few hundred miles south because it knows the labor is treated worse there and cannot legally move to better conditions. Free trade isn't free if labor cannot freely move, and if governments are not freely elected.

However, there are a number of manufacturers who still make jeans in the U.S. If you are interested, check out this website for a good listing:

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/jeans.htm

Interestingly, many U.S. manufacturers offer prices competitive with the big, imported name brands.

What pants do you swear by?

The Mallard of Discontent with a marginal fishing technique

© 2010 Joshua Stark

Any doubts folks had that the Mallard of Discontent is in Oklahoma can be put to bed.

I only wish I'd thought of it...

Suburban Bushwacker fishing the margins of the Thames

© 2010 Joshua Stark

Check out the Suburban Bushwacker's post on fishing "where the Ravensbourne meets the Thames". Make sure to note the photos.

It is a great 'marginal lands' post - just the sort of experience I love, but haven't lately had the time to enjoy.

I am particularly fond of both the tricycle and the flounder fly.

Nettle Pesto rocks!

© 2010 Joshua Stark

Last night I tried a variation (due to lack of resources) of Langdon Cook's nettle pesto, and it was a big hit! Great stuff - I'm glad I have access to acres and acres of nettles right now.