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A dogwatch is an evening shift of early or late duty, or the people who undertake it. This Dogwatch considers the natural world and the things that help us experience it—from dogs to watches, and everything in between. Ultimately, it’s a place where we go wherever curiosity takes us.
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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...
A bandana is a useful item. It can serve as a napkin, rag, bandage, drain plug, motorcycle repair tool, headwear, blindfold, flag, mask, pouch, or a stylish scarf. But not all bandanas are created equal. Many to most are stiff, paisley-printed and inked with plastisol to create a cheap and ultimately unsatisfying object. Today On the Dogwatch we hear about the other end of the bandana spectrum in a conversation with Thomas Petillo at One Feather Press in Nashville. In our conversation, Thomas...
When you head to the field with your notebook and pen in your hand–to either record the natural world or your thoughts while there–you want materials that will hold up to a wicked squall, a blizzard, or any combination of dirt, dung, misplaced hooves and paws, and even spilled coffee. Today we have the opportunity to talk with Sean Leacy about the ethos of the Rite in the Rain brand, the history of its parent organization, the JL Darling Company, what the Rite in the Rain factory is like, and...
Today On the Dogwatch we have the rare opportunity to talk with Nathan Hall, head of the Canine Olfaction Lab at Texas Tech. Nathan is not only a dog owner, but is also someone who studies dog behavior, has a vast knowledge of the canine literature, and does research on their behavior and olfactory abilities in the lab. In our conversation, we discuss how a dog’s nose is structured and how it works, the myths and misperceptions about how a dog’s nose functions and compares to the human nose, ...
Today On the Dogwatch we cross the Atlantic and head to the Highlands of Scotland in search of the nature of tartan, one of the most long standing and iconic outdoor patterns. Along the way, we meet Miles Kerr-Peterson, a PhD historian who has not only a vast knowledge of British history, clans, castles, but also tartan. We start our conversation with Miles by learning about his research into a buried castle under the driveway at the Keith Marsal estate in Scotland, and broaden this conversat...
In his professional context, you might find Tom Place smashing through the windshield of a bus, getting hit by a car, or in all manner of fist-fights, gun-fights, and falls from the tops of myriad buildings. One would think that somewhere in those activities we could pull on a thread of true crime. However, we have had to look very hard to explore any sinister links. The closest we can get today, talking with Tom On the Dogwatch, is understanding his love of watches and his search for a...
We’ve all heard people talking to dogs like they are small children. Some people find it cute, others consider it absurd, and there are also those who understand it implicitly. So what do we know about how humans talk to dogs? Today On the Dogwatch we are joined by Bob Mitchell, head of the Animal Studies Program at Eastern Kentucky, who has researched just these kinds of questions. In our conversation, we consider where this kind of “baby talk” has been observed in humans and dogs, what we...
When wearing a fine wristwatch, or looking at many other human-created objects of function and beauty, it is easy to forget that it was conceived of and designed by an actual person. Looking at the Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT, C60 Trident Pro 300 I have this feeling, being mesmerized, but these too have a person behind them. Lucky for us, we are able to talk with Will Brackfield, watch designer at Christopher Ward. We discuss with Will how he became a watch designer, aspects of h...
What better way to celebrate the 50th episode of the On the Dogwatch podcast than to have a conversation with someone who has provided steadfast support and positive energy, and has become the de facto patron saint of the podcast, James Cox. Many listeners will remember when James joined us for Episode #28 and told the story of his relationship with Paul Newman, and how he was given Newman’s Rolex Daytona watch. In our conversation today we pick up where we left off and talk about how f...
Today On the Dogwatch we have the opportunity to learn about the Kala Pocket Sundial, and to get to know its purveyor, Matt Kala. We go the distance on this episode, and along with learning a bit about Graz and the beauties of Austria, hear the story of how the pocket sundial was inspired by a farmer’s ring and equinoctial device, and how Matt’s family has developed this device into an accessible tool and ideal gift. We spend time discussing how to use the pocket sundial, as well as timekeepi...
Today we have our first hall of famer on the podcast, and it is with great pleasure that I introduce Dan Egan, member of the Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, extreme athlete, filmmaker, soccer coach, and all around connector. In our conversation, we talk about the development of extreme sports, what it is like to jump out of a helicopter on skis, and off of the Berlin wall on skis, and how skiing has helped Dan interface with the world and people. We also discuss Dans’ experience working wit...
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