Blather
Cooking for Guys
Live to Camp
Camp to Live
Poetry
and Other Lies
Broth
Waste not, want not. Take every opportunity to turn left overs and the scraps from carving meat into broth and stock. The turkey carcass after Thanksgiving, the bone from a roast or that steak, wings, scraps, what’s left over from that deli rotisserie chicken...
Rueben Handpie
Last camping trip, we made reubens in the pie irons. They were fabulous! Ingredients rye bread oil, butter, or lard thin sliced corned beef 1 small can sauerkraut horseradish sauce Swiss cheese We preheated the pie irons over hot coals while assembling...
Roasted Pepper and Eggs
Amy found a recipe for roast pepper and eggs in Backpacker Magazine. I think the original recipe called for doing all the prep at home, but since we were car camping, Amy did it in camp. It was simple and made a wonderful breakfast. Ingredients: Yellow or Red Bell...
Spam Pudgies
Dave was a little skeptical of the lunch menu- Spam pudgie sandwiches cooked in the pie irons. Straight from the can, Spam is unappealing, pallid, pink and soft. The prevailing flavor is salt. Heated, it darkens, becoming almost brown. The texture gets firmer, even...
Kentucky Mule
I don't care for vodka, so never acquired a taste for Moscow Mules. Bourbon, however, is an entirely different story. In camp or on the back porch, the Kentucky Mule is sure to refresh. Go ahead, have another. You deserve it. Ingredients 1 oz bourbon-I...
A Day Spent on the Water
My friend, Joe Castaldi, built a beautiful, sixteen foot gaff-rigged Melonseed Skiff from the original plans. He sent word he was planning to launch her for a maiden voyage down at the Hood River Marina, so I showed up yesterday, bright and early to...
Well, That Was Dumb.
My last week before I retired, I decided to ride the moto to work. People expected it of me and I enjoy the ride. It was December, with temperatures down around 15f (-9.4c). I suited up and went out to the garage. The bike had been plugged into a tender, so the...
Good Afternoon
5/27/25 3:30 80f (26.6c) Clear sky, warm breeze. Mike and I went up the mountain to have a look around. Found coral mushrooms, shaggy manes, and a handful of morels at between 3000 and 4000' under mixed conifers. ...
Mardingtop 25L Backpack M6347A
For years my EDC was a Wolfman tankbag. When I was still working, I kept it filled with maps and tools and fuses for my moto, emergency kit, knife, a roll of T.P. and my lunch. I could leave straight from work for the woods when the notion took me. When that bag wore...
Voyagers
Having discovered Disappearing Lake was full and the road free of snow, four of us loaded up our boats and headed into the woods for an adventure. Five of us, if you count Walter Dawg, and really, you must. He has been an integral member of the team from day...
Good Morning
4/13/26 5:30 50F (10C) Cloudy with a faint breeze and a light mist falling. Monday morning. The birds are submitting their resumes. The robins sound cheerful and optimistic, proud of their accomplishments. The turkey sounds increasingly desperate. A...
Good Morning
4/12/26 6:00 44F (6.66C) Overcast without a breeze. The moon is waning into its last quarter somewhere behind the clouds. Birds sing in the wan, gray glow. I sip my tea and let my consciousness blend into the growing light of day. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
4/11/26 5:30 50F (10C) Overcast and raining. Dark, wet, and quiet. A light, steady rain is falling. A single frog croaks in the dark, all alone and without hope or enthusiasm. The birds have yet to wake. Walter inspects the perimeter, ever vigilant....
Good Morning
4/10/26 5:30 48F (8.8C) Cloudy. No wind. The moon is hiding. The air is thick with pollen and the smell of fresh mown grass. No fans or sprayers yet this morning. The songbirds have center stage with a turkey calling in the distance. ...
Good Morning
4/9/26 5:30 39F (3.8C) A clear and windless dawn. The waning half moon floats over the southeastern rim of the canyon. This morning clamors with a thousand birds, two frogs and the incessant whine of one really loud orchard sprayer. Walter can't take it...
