Outdoorsman, writer and prince of the hunting, fishing and shooting world, Kingsley Field has launched a volume of his newspaper columns.
Just being out there - Volume one is a compendium of 25 of his columns which have appeared in the Waikato Times.
Mr Field, whose formative years saw himearning a more than honest living on the family farm out by Pio Pio Aria, has a happy knack of seeing the best of what nature has bestowed on New Zealand - around the Waikato in particular and anywhere he finds himself, in general.
Whether describing a tree waking from winter slumber, a blackbird brightening a winter's day or musings about a stray cat, Kingsley Field manages to make every column a compelling read.
He is justly proud of Just being out there, but not for the content.
He is thrilled that he found Wintec design lecturer Georgie Gaddum to design the book's layout and also the discovery of Wintec student Te Haunui Tuna, whose sensitive line drawings and motifs set off the different story lines.
Since he has written around 170-odd columns, selecting only 25 for the book must have been a challenge. And the 'volume one' part of the initial title suggests there might be more to come.
It's salt of the earth stuff from a man who has just been out there - and never missed a beat.
