Other Stuff Blue

The tag line (like a subtitle) for this Notes of Blue blog is supposed to be “Rambling on Bluegrass and Other Stuff Blue.” You may not have seen it because I haven’t built out the website yet (working on it).

I thought I would explain what that tag means, what I mean by “…Other Stuff Blue.”

I touched on the subject in my very first blog post “Here We Go,” but I was short on specifics. I mentioned life in Kentucky and rural life. So, in addition to writing about Bluegrass music, let me give you a preview of some upcoming, 2025 blog posts about “other stuff blue.”

I’ve already written one post about the UK Wildcats. There will be more!

For my family and many others I know in the Bluegrass State, spring rain and warmer weather makes morels (we call them Hickory Chickens) emerge from the forest floor. So we go traipsing through the woods gathering them. I plan to write about it and include photos.

Another thing spring brings is fishing. Some people fish year ‘round, but my family and I are mainly warm weather fishermen. I’ll be writing posts about fishing for crappie, bass, and catfish, or maybe my wife Stephanie and I will go bluegill fishing.

Another springtime activity for some in my family is turkey hunting. I used to go after the gobblers with glee. Not much any more. If I do decide to this year, I’ll write about it.

In the fall I’ll be posting a few times about deer hunting, something I was raised to do. Mostly I hunt with a crossbow now.

Most of my fishing and hunting is done on Caney Creek. That place is literally a part of who I am. It’s where my bluegrass band got its name. So I’ll be writing posts about it.

Another hobby for a few folks in the country is digging ginseng in late summer and fall. Not many do it anymore, for reasons I’ll discuss when the time comes.

There is another late summer topic I’m eager to blog about because it’s a tradition my family has let slip by the wayside. We used to do it every year but haven’t for close to 30 years. I hope to revive the tradition just so I can share it with you.

What is it? Have you ever heard of homemade ketchup? I don’t want to share too much yet. Let’s just say it involves green tomatoes and cabbage, lots of salt, a stone crock, and mason jars.

One more summer topic will be gathering and cooking Chanterelle mushrooms. My brother Kevin learned about these just a few years ago. Some people like them better than Hickory Chickens. I’ll tell you what I think when I write about them.

You probably aren’t aware that I’m in another band called Rough Cut. We play country, southern rock and classic rock. We have a couple gigs this year that I’ll write about: McHenry Summer Fest in June and Rosine Autumn Jam in October.

Another of my hobbies is woodwork. I really got into it around 2003-04 as a way to fundraise for The Bill Monroe Foundation. I started making little four-inch mandolins for the foundation to sell. I then started making cedar walking staffs and canes. I’ll most likely write about this subject in the next day or so.

You can’t really talk about Kentucky without mentioning bourbon. It’s a part of our history and our economy. It’s an interesting subject, and I’ll touch on it in a post or two this year.

The fourth of what I would call my Kentucky Big Four is horse racing. Bluegrass, Bourbon, Horse Racing, and the Wildcats. I’ll for sure write about the Kentucky Derby in May.

So these are some specific posts to look forward to this year. A few others might be gardening, camping, trees, chickens, and grandkids. Topics are going to pop up out of nowhere, too. Unplanned topics.

And all this is in addition to the core subject of Bluegrass. Like I said in that first “Here We Go” post, most of my material will be related to the music, like songs, instruments, musicians, events, etc.

One last word—I will gladly consider suggestions from you, the reader. If there’s a topic you think would appropriately fit this blog, mention it in the comments. You never know…I just might agree.

‘Til next time…Au revoir!