by Ken M. Blomberg
Ten 16 Press, Waukesha, WI
Retail Price $14.99
I was sharing a tailgate lunch of charcuterie, cheese, olives and fruit with sporting artist C.D. Clark alongside a woodcock covert a few Octobers ago when our discussion turned to the fright of staring at a blank slate. In his case, a canvas; mine, a yellow legal tablet. As our pack of spaniels, brittanys (C.D.’s), springers and a cocker (mine) focused on dropped scraps of salami and Swiss, we continued the conversation, resulting in, “As scary as a blank slate is, releasing the final product is just as frightful, for then and only then will your creative effort be judged.”
I tell this tale because Ken Blomberg’s new release, “Country Journal and Old Man’s Musings” is a collection of deeply personal journal entries, poems and thoughtful essays. His sharing of these outdoor writings reveals his deepest commitments not only to the woods and waters of Wisconsin where he resides, but also commitments to family, friends, gun dogs and conservation. A book that is not just a snapshot of days afield during the fall’s hunting season, but a tour through two years of field study and observations. Like the staff at RGS & AWS, he’s committed to the outdoors 365 days each year – not only the glorious days of autumn.
From the journal entry dated June 13, he writes,
“Insects – bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and a multitude of others – are working the field like an army bent on victory. Working against time, they flit from flower to flower, leaf to leaf, plant to plant, all day long. Rain slows them down, but only a downpour stops production. Before the last drop of rain hits the ground, they’re at it again.”
And, from his Oct. 1 journal entry:
“October. The best time of the year. Waiting for this month all year long is a burden we must bear if only to enjoy the fruits of the tenth month. Frosty mornings, changing colors of the leaves, mass migration of birds heading south, duck blinds, deer stands, logging roads and light snow flurries.”
As the days on the calendar turn, the observations found on the pages remain pertinent. Such as a posting from Dec. 1 when a pond is frozen over, which prompted a question from his youngest grandchild, “Where did the water go?” The author turns this child’s question into a poem that focuses on taking things for granted. This reviewer found the combination of the entry, and subsequent poem, both creative and enjoyable, allowing my mind to visualize the child’s confusion in a heartfelt fashion.
Scattered throughout the book are also essays that look at topics such as a much-loved old pick-up, and other subjects that feel comfortable and additive to the book’s other entries that add insight into the author. As does the author’s line drawings that, while basic, added an additional level of his confidence to his work. The cover illustration of Buster, his beloved cocker is drawn by Bob Bertram.
This slim volume is the fourth book the author has published. His musings, while wide in scope, are narrow in perspective. The observations of being in the field, whether walking behind gun dogs in the covers of Wisconsin for ruffed grouse and woodcock or sitting in a blind for doves, geese or whitetails. He focuses on the scene, not the quest. A field full of grasshoppers in August that will feed a flock of turkey poults or a swarm of blackbirds nesting in cattails become tangible. “Country Journal and Old Man’s Musings” is a book that focuses on the nourishment each season provides.
