Today On the Dogwatch it is a tremendous pleasure to be able to talk with John Branson, who was a longtime friend of Richard “Dick” Proenneke, and the one who edited and published his journals over five volumes. John lives in Alaska just a five-minute walk from the Lake Clark visitor center for the National Park Service. The region is known for its incredible natural beauty, and as the home of Dick Proenneke, a man who moved to Alaska and eventually decided to build a cabin by hand and live b...

When Lieutenant Commander Ike boards the USS Wasp, the lead amphibious assault ship in the U.S. Navy, people notice. He’s truly unlike any other sailor but immediately commands respect. And we wouldn’t suggest directing any kind of slight at Ike, especially around the Wasp’s crew, which when full is over 3000 people. It’s true, LCDR Ike walks on four feet, chases a ball, and sometimes gets into mischief. He even pees on the deck, which is his unique right on board. But LCDR Ike provide...

There are a lot of ways of getting around in the natural world, from hiking to canoeing to biking to swimming. Parachuting is one that few of us have experience with, but is an important historical and current mode of travel. Fortunately, today we have on the podcast someone who has firsthand experience and is the author of two books that relate to paratroopers in WWII. In our conversation, we talk with James Fenelon about his background in the military and in using parachutes, the idea of u...

Alexandra Horowitz is a cognitive scientist who teaches courses like canine cognition and animal behavior at Barnard College in New York. She’s also an acclaimed author, and a sampling of her books include The Year of the Dog, Our Dogs Ourselves, The Year of the Puppy, and Inside of a dog. Suffice it to say that Alexandra knows quite a bit about dogs, and she’s an expert at sharing her knowledge. That’s why we are so excited to have her on the podcast this week. In our conversation we travel ...

Hello, thank you for joining us today On the Dogwatch, where we consider the natural world and the things that help us experience it. On this podcast, it is like we are on a ship’s watch together, staring out at the ocean, thinking about the world as it goes by, and going wherever curiosity takes us. I am Michael Canfield, it is currently 1952 at the end of the Second Dog Watch, and this is Episode 63. Is The Old Man and the Sea a great adventure book? Why is it so revered? Does it belong in ...

If I’m not mistaken, it was John Keats who said “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” That pretty much sums up Chelsea Clocks. This company is the oldest functioning clock company in the United States, and they make clocks at the highest levels of refinement and luxury. They still make mechanical clocks with their iconic solid brass case. The breadth of their offerings is significant, and they still run a robust repair shop to keep these beautiful timepieces running in top shape. You will fi...

Hello, thank you for joining us today On the Dogwatch, where we consider the natural world and the things that help us experience it. I am Michael Canfield, it is currently 10:37 on the Forenoon Watch, and this is Episode 61. We are back from a break on the podcast and have prepared some exciting new directions and a lineup of guests and topics that we think you will enjoy. Since we gathered last, the podcast has new theme music, and the Dogwatch has a new website. On the website, which...

What can happen when you combine 4,200 dogs and 39,000 people? It turns out a lot of learning and fun. In this episode, we talk with Chuck Delaney of the Armstrong Ranch about Game Fair, a sport and outdoor show located in Ramsey, Minnesota. From Chuck’s perspective after running Game Fair for 42 years, we learn the history of the event, and how it was modeled after similar events in Britain, what happens at the fair–things like duck calling competitions, dog long jumps into a lake, shotgun...

So what is a toothpick, where did these originate, and what happens when you set out to make the finest toothpicks in the world? Our guest today, Peter Smith at Daneson, helps us answer these questions. In our conversation, we discuss the history of toothpicks, and even their use by early modern humans, how these small slivers of wood became status symbols, and eventually fell out of favor. We move on to how Peter started Daneson to make fine toothpicks infused with flavors, why cinnamo...

What happens when you both love to travel and want to take some of the comforts of home along with you on your adventures? You guess it, you turn to campaign furniture and its descendents. Today On the Dogwatch we have the opportunity to talk with Christopher Schwarz, the person who literally wrote the book on campaign furniture. Chris is a longstanding fixture in American woodworking, and even if you don’t know his name you may have seen him before given his appearances on PBS’s The Woodwr...