Chuck Grimmett
Chuck Grimmett
@cagrimmett@cagrimmett.com

Posted by Chuck Grimmett. Learn more on his About page.

1,193 posts
10 followers
  • I am hosting Tenkara Angler’s 2025 Fall Kebari Swap

    I am hosting Tenkara Angler’s 2025 Fall Kebari Swap. If you are into that sort of thing, sign up and send some flies in by October 15. Send in 12 flies and get 12 back. I’m trying to decide between tying flymphs, peacock futsus, squirrel and gingers, or maybe change it up and do dry…

  • IndieWeb Carnival: Second Person Birds

    This is a submission to the September theme of the IndieWeb Carnival. Children definitely have interests of their own. Charlie loves monster trucks, trains, and any kind of construction vehicle. Just as often, they pick up our interests and become interested in them, too. When thinking about what “second person birds” meant to me as…

  • Weeks of July 28-Sept 1, 2025

    I went into this blogging breaking thinking I’d just skip a week while my parents were visiting, then it turned into over a month. The first week we were focused on getting ready for Charlie’s birthday party, which turned out great. We put up a 20×20 tent since it rained unexpectedly the last couple years,…

  • Week of July 21, 2025

    Mostly photos with a little bit of commentary this week. Trying to get outside when we can, though it has been a week of heat, humidity, and haze. More of all three on the way this coming week, too. Daddy, I’m having fun playing catch! Quotes like that, unprompted, will melt your heart. Sometimes I…

  • Week of July 14, 2025

    It has been a hot week and we are all pretty tired. The main things to report on Monday and Tuesday are that I feel like we had a couple pretty good days with Charlie. Fun playing outside with the hose and on his slide fort, watching a movie together on the projector in the…

  • Week of July 7, 2025

    I am settling back into our regular work & school, dinner, and bedtime weekday routine, so these updates are less interesting than the last couple months. We got our car back on Wednesday. The problem was the coolant valve, which needed to be replaced. Thankfully it was covered under warranty. It was a hot, humid,…

  • Week of June 30, 2025

    I’m officially back to work after my sabbatical. On Monday, my final day of sabbatical, Jeremy Wall and I paddled up the Croton River from the Echo launch at the train station up to Fireman’s Island, which is about the farthest you can get without carrying your boat. Beautiful day and the water was ice…

  • Thunderstorm in a play fort

    We all went outside to watch a storm roll in after dinner, then Charlie and I got caught in it while putting some stuff away in the yard, so we ran up to his swing set/play fort for cover. I really enjoyed the sound of the rain on the roof of his play fort, so…

  • Week of June 23, 2025

    As I write this, I’m sitting on the deck sipping a grapefruit IPA from Captain Lawrence, as the sun sets, the fireflies come out, and cooler air floats in. Charlie fell asleep early tonight, while I was out on the round platform swing, and we were able to carry him in and successfully transfer him…

  • Weeks of June 9 and 16, 2025

    Posting a double header edition because I was sick from Friday-Wednesday last week with what I originally thought was food poisoning, but as it prolonged and got worse I decided was probably norovirus. It was rough. Thankfully Amanda and Charlie didn’t get it. Today is our twelfth wedding anniversary! 💍 🍾 I’m not sure I’ve…

  • Week of June 2, 2025

    Charlie and I spent M-F camping with my parents at Bald Eagle State Park in PA. We cruised around the lake and went swimming in the chilly water. Charlie loves playing in water! We sat around the campfire and ate s’mores. We drove all over the PA Wilds searching for elk. Did you know PA…

  • Week of May 26, 2025

    This post format is feeling a bit stale, but not sure what to do about it. Comment or email me if you have suggestions! Since we had friends over for a cookout the day before, we took it easy on Memorial Day and hung around the house, mostly playing in the yard with Charlie. We…

  • Week of May 19, 2025

    Monday I cleaned and sorted through the Shopsmith parts I picked up from the estate sale two weeks ago. I found the right combination of parts to finally have a safe table saw setup and use a standard 5/8″ arbor instead of the Shopsmith 1″ arbor. I am pretty stoked about that! I also hung…

  • Week of May 12, 2025

    I spent M-F this week fly fishing in the Catskills. I primarily fished small streams in search of native brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis. I’m happy to report that I found some great spots and caught 61 brook trout over the course of the week, along with 7 wild brown trout and 1 rainbow. I caught…

  • Week of May 5, 2025

    Happy Mother’s Day! Monday I kept Charlie home from pre-k and took him to tour the Clearwater. They had a special event for 2-4 year olds! It was fun, despite the rain. Charlie got to help push the tiller, see some real catfish and hog chokers, and explore the deck. We also stopped at Rossi…

  • Leather Net Holster v2

    A week and a half ago I made a v1: I took it out for two days of fishing and, while I didn’t lose my net, I didn’t like how much it twisted and flopped around. Today I made a v2 with two important changes: Cut and glued to prep for hole punching and sewing:…

  • Week of April 28, 2025

    Good week! Monday I put the roof on Charlie’s slide play fort and finished it: That night I made a leather net holster for my fishing belt. It turned out okay for my first leather working project, but I need to make a new one out of thicker, sturdier leather because this one flops around…

  • Two Rustic Ash Bowls From a Log

    My friend Jon dropped off a couple ash logs from their property for turning, so I took one and turned some rustic bowls for his wife, Kristin, for her birthday. Here is the log, marked for chainsaw cuts so I can saw out the pith. After cutting: The bark has some nice bug patterns: Now…

  • Adding a Slide Platform to an A-Frame Swing Set

    Part one is making the basic A-frame swing set: https://cagrimmett.com/2022/08/06/building-a-swing-set-with-a-frame-brackets/ Part two is adding a climbing wall: https://cagrimmett.com/2024/03/07/adding-a-climbing-wall-to-an-a-frame-swing-set/ This is part three. Three years ago I built a simple A-frame swing set for my son. Two years ago I added a small climbing wall. This year I added a slide platform! I wrote this post…

  • Walnut handle for a hook remover

    Quick project from a couple weeks ago: Turning a handle out of walnut for a hook remover. Hook removers are great for quickly unhooking fish without touching them (which can harm their protective mucus layer.) You just hook them on your tippet, run them down and over the hook, and the hook usually slides right…