I hope everyone is having a good weekend. This is a quick sources-for-stories post. I’m looking for people who’ve done sabbaticals (or are in the process of planning them right now) and people who have been involved in crafting the sabbatical strategy for a company/organization that offers them. Is there a way to make the most of that time? What do organizations hope to get out of it, and does it work? This would most likely be for my Fast Company gig.
I’m also — on a completely different note, and for a different publication — writing about a different angle on food: the idea of hunting/catching your own. There’s a lot of small scale agriculture going on these days with backyard chickens and little farms but I’m exploring the meat side of opting out of the industrial food chain. I’d love to talk to people who hunt and consume what they hunt.
Thanks! As always, you can write to me at lvanderkam at yahoo dot com.
My husband hunts deer and elk and we consume it. His uncle was “serious” (record-setting) big game hunter, which is a different category. You can e-mail me for my phone number if you wish.
Hank Shaw literally wrote the book on hunting, fishing and foraging for your own food. He has a great blog called Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook.
@Marian – thanks for sharing that blog with me. I’ve been enjoying reading it tonight. The “On Killing” essay was amazing.
Laura, You’re welcome. I’m not going to be foraging here in Brooklyn anytime soon, but I do enjoy that blog for a different food and culture perspective.
@Marian – and you definitely won’t be hunting, given NYC gun laws! Another interesting factoid – gun laws very incredibly widely. I knew that, but Hank broke it down for me. In some municipalities — even those with lots of handgun-type regulations — it is much more possible to have a hunting weapon than others. In NYC, it’s quite difficult to own one. Thus limiting the hipster hunter phenomenon.
Please provide us with a link to your article when it’s published. I’m sure the entire interview was fascinating!
A sabbatical tax tip: If you have to move for business for less than a year, you can claim your living expenses while you’re away on your tax return. (A good reason to take less than exactly 12 months off.)
Nobody in my family hunts, but as we’re on the west coast, we have a few serious fishermen, and nearly always have fish that we or someone we knew caught. Last summer, we brought back 30lbs of halibut and salmon from Alaska and spent the year working through it. This summer, we didn’t get so far away, but made sure to have plenty of fish from the San Juans. Not enough to last us through the winter like last year, but still nice to have non-industrial protein for a season. We’re also the pasture-raised beef and local vegetable CSA-getting types.
Regarding hunting, I immediately thought of Rachel Turiel of 6512 and Growing, whose husband hunts with a bow and arrow. Her latest post is about the process of preparing the animal: http://6512andgrowing.com/2013/11/12/the-cycle/. They also have the backyard chickens and an amazing garden, all on 1/8 acre.