It’s time again for another conversation with my neighbor Leland. He’s fourteen now. He just finished eighth grade. He’s got big plans for the summer.
This is the fourth year I’ve interviewed Leland about what he’s doing and what’s on his mind, and what’s on his mind is always pretty interesting.
This year he took me out to his fort, in a pine forest about a half mile from his house. It’s a tarp held up by two beams, and covered with brush piles. There’s a firepit. We sat in a couple lawn chairs and talked about his year, about cow skulls and bear turds and North Korea…
Credits
This show is sponsored by Honey Road, one of Burlington’s most popular restaurants down on Church and Main. It serves Eastern Mediterranean small plates. And it’s the kind of restaurant where you want everything on the menu. You share, you eat, they take away the finished plates and bring new ones. In other words, it’s episodic and fun. It’s also woman owned, woman run, and Allison and Cara have made a sane and happy work environment. You can even buy the kitchen staff a bucket of beer…
Music for this show is by Brian Clark, Mike Donofrio and Peter Cressy, my talented friends here in central Vermont.
Did you know… I Loved this. Love Leland. Loved the White Throated Sparrow song throughout.
Leland you are having a terrific life in the Vermont woods !
so great, being out there with buddies…and PORCUPINES !
Hope you do this kind of thing always …
Denney Morton over in Maine..
Leland, it’s nice to get an update on you again. I hope you all have fun doing the survivor competition.
Balm for the soul! Leland you rock! I feel the same way you do about crowds and trees. And I did NOT know all those cool things about Geography, thank you for enlightening me! I hope to hear how the Survivor challenge went. Sounds so fun! Have a great Summer!
Peg in Calais
hi erica i just gave you 10 a month. would like to encourage all others with any means (mine are modest as you know, but i am an avid listener, so i owe you) to do the same.
Good lord. Now I feel like I have to be so good!
Plus I love that picture of you staring out into the middle distance.
Leland I’m very impressed by your willingness to do the wilderness challenge. I don’t know many boys your age that would be eager to do all the work and put up with all the discomforts of living outside for 5 days. I hope you see lots of critters and have a memorable experience!
Wow, cool thoughts captured here by the “woodsman”… My husband also loves fire and doesn’t really know why. Maybe you are a viking… I teach in PA and many 8th graders here are way too concerned with tv and their phones to ever appreciate the wonders of the woods. Glad you discovered it for yourself. Next steps… Learning how to forage your own edible foods straight from the earth! (So that you don’t have to rely on… ramen noodle! Great show!
This is one of my favorite episodes. Leland is such a charismatic and intelligent young man. I love that he enjoys being out in Nature so much. I hope to hear more from him in the future!