Blather
Cooking for Guys
Live to Camp
Camp to Live
Poetry
and Other Lies
Chuck Roast and Mushroom Gravy
With the weather gone to cold drizzle I find myself using the Crock Pot more and more. Once the food is in the slow cooker, it can be turned on low and ignored for a few hours. Well, it could be ignored if it didn't fill the entire house with savory aromas. Slow...
The Bombardier
The Bombardier is a drink inspired by the early days of military aviation, when the British airforce was still part of the Royal Navy. Pilots and their crew were issued a daily tot of rum, just like the sailors were. To stave off the cold on long sorties over No Man’s...
Pie Day: Mom’s Pies
Mom bakes all sorts of pies. Two of my favorites are her apple pie and her rhubarb pie. These are pretty straight forward fruit pie recipes, but they are consistently the best pies to be had. Tarting them up would only detract from their wholesome...
Hot Toddy
The hot toddy has long been a favorite cold weather libation around my house. Easy, steaming hot, packed with vitamin C, sweet, sour, and alcoholic, its just gotta be good for you! Substitute liquors, try different sweeteners, use any citrus you feel like using; it ...
Pieday: The Crust
With the holidays upon us, my thoughts naturally turn toward pie. That's not really true. I think about pie all the time, but on holidays and special occasions, my mother's pies are a traditional part of the celebration. Her pies are worthy of celebration in...
A Bear Et My Kayak – Part 1
Pistol Creek Longhouse June, 2022 It had been three years since I had set up my first big longhouse – enough time to forget what a pain in the ass it was and for it to sound like a lovely idea. Why not take a couple of weeks off, set up a forty-foot longhouse on...
Making a 12′ Drop Cloth Tipi
Making a tipi can be tedious; it involves sewing numerous strips of canvas together until you have a large enough piece to cut your pattern from. Buying a pre-made cover is expensive, for the same reason. For several years, Billy Maxwell has been telling me...
June 3rd, 2022
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Easter Longhouse.
We had family up for an Easter Bunny BBQ Saturday. It was the first gathering we'd hosted since The Contagion cast its shadow across the land. We had all been vaccinated but it still felt weird, invitng people, even family, into our home after two years of isolation....
Atomic Lighter – Rechargeable Plasma lighter
I bought this for a fly and camp outing last year. I wanted a reliable ignition source which was safe to carry on an airplane. This is also wind proof and really nice for cold weather, when butane lighters become unreliable. It recharges with a USB charger. I wrapped...
Good Morning
3/29/26 5:30 40F (4.4C) Cloudy and calm. It was quiet until the dog across the road started yapping. That set Walter off, which irritated the rooster. Once he had asserted his authority, Walter settled down and the rooster went back to sleep. A night...
Good Morning
3/28/26 5:45 37F (2.7C) Partially clear, no wind and no frost. Less noise and fewer stars than yesterday. ...
Good Morning
3/27/26 5:15 30F (-1C) The orchard fans are roaring, the night is black. Frost coats the earth. Overhead a Carl Sagan sky stretches to infinity, filled with stars. How many? Billions and billions. ...
Lodgepoles
Lodgepoles leaning on an oak one, more recently peeled, stands waiting bright and yellow against weathered, silver wood.
Good Morning
3/26/26 6:00 32F (0C) Cold, clear and calm. It was dark when I got up but dawn's light is rapidly leaking into the sky. An icy frost coats the morning. Orchard fans are thundering all around me. Now the birds have all decided to wake at once, competing...
