Christmas Firetruck Parade 2025

https://youtu.be/tQEbCDfb41s     A small town tradition, the annual Christmas Firetruck Parade rolled through our neighborhood this evening. In years past the neighbors have gotten together around a bonfire out by the street to watch them go by, but that...

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Good Evening

Good Evening

11/18/25 6:00 42F Just got back from a mushroom foray with Walter and Mike. We went out around 1:00. It was an overcast day with enough breaks to provide adequate sun to navigate through the trees. Immediately we spotted Amanita, Lepiota, Russula and Stropharia. Our...

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Good Afternoon

Good Afternoon

      11/9/25 Clear, sunny,  and warm. We decided to forage for cranberries and mushrooms instead of doing yard work, so Amy, Walter, and I piled into the car and headed north. We picked up Mike on the way and by noon, we were on the road to Trout Lake....

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Halloween on the Big Lava Bed

Halloween on the Big Lava Bed

            It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day when Kent and I drove north into the Big Lava Bed. The road was rugged, just ruts worn into jagged rock, winding between collapsed lava tubes and stunted trees finally arriving  at a flat...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

      11/2/25 6:00 40f Overcast and calm out on the lava bed. The weather has moderated. It was still dark when I made the treacherous trek to the latrine. I was relieved when  it hove into view. Andy and Kent put some much appreciated effort into its...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

    12/8/25 6:30 46F (7.7C) Faint breeze, overcast with intermittent rain. I was informed it was time to get up by the dog licking my elbow.  Good morning,  Walter.                          ...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

    12/7/25 6:45 45F (7.2C) Damp, gray, still. An owl calls from the darkness somewhere beyond the front yard. A solitary duck quacks, trailing off to a quiet mutter. A desultory rain is falling, tap tapping the dead leaves like a metronome keeping time in...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

    12/6/25 5:30 50F (10C) It is a warm moonlit morning with a fresh Chinook Wind blowing. I can almost taste the ocean in the breeze. I hear it coming through the firs on the ridge. Arriving, it gusts through the naked oaks and swirls the heaps of leaves at...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

    12/5/25 5:30 46F (7.7C) Raining, sometimes lightly, sometimes  hard, but consistently wet. It is a gray morning,  barely illuminated by a full moon hidden behind the clouds. I am sipping mint tea and watching headlights pass. Are my nieghbors sitting in...

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Good Morning

Good Morning

    12/4/25 6:30 34F (1.1C) There is a faint breeze.  It is cool and cloudy. The moon is full but it cannot be seen.                                        ...

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Because I Can

When I was a child  I couldn't wait to be a grown-up, when I  could do whatever I wanted to. I could have cake and ice-cream for breakfast!      

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Summer Pancakes Over Easy

Summer Pancakes Over Easy

This is more of a suggestion than a recipe since I used a mix and didn't measure anything. I made pancakes over easy for breakfast this morning. I started with Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix. Yeah, I know it's not that hard to make pancakes from scratch, but I have...

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Peas Porridge

Peas Porridge

Peas Porridge is a simple, hearty meal with ingredients that keep well on the trail.    Ingredients   3 cups dried peas any sort of pork from a ham bone to chopped bacon 2 cups broth, substitute bouillon if needed for trail life 2 potatoes 1 onion 2...

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Bushcrafty

Bushcrafty

If you're not bringing a cocktail shaker you are doing it wrong. Bushcrafty: Two ounces Irish Whiskey, two ounces Shanky's Whip, one ounce filtered stream water, one-quarter lemon, one quarter lime-both squeezed and dropped into the cocktail shaker with a handful of...

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Dutch Oven Trailer Trash Casserole

Dutch Oven Trailer Trash Casserole

Trailer Trash Casserole: Tater Tots, diced onion, ground beef, Cream of Mushroom Soup, cooked in a Dutch Oven, finished with grated cheese melted on top. Ketchup added to taste. Ingredients   1/2 bag of Tater Tots 1 diced onion 1/4# ground beef per person 1 can...

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