Blather

Cooking for Guys

Live to Camp
Camp to Live

Poetry
and Other Lies

Hot Toddy

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

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...

Lamb Kabobs

Lamb Kabobs

  Lamb Kabobs This recipe pairs the subtle fruitiness of fresh chanterelles with the sweetness of dried apricots. When you arrange the mushrooms on the skewers, sandwich them between a dried apricot and a chunk of lamb, so the mushroom absorbs the flavor of the...

Flip

Flip

  Originally common in Colonial taverns and waterfront dives, flip is basically a beer hot toddy. Andy tells me it does nothing to improve the flavor of beer and I haven’t found anyone who actually likes it, but the drink is steeped in history and it is fun to...

The Nettles Are Pushing Up.

The Nettles Are Pushing Up.

I collected some stinging nettles down along Indian Creek today. Might try making some soup later. Still no sign of Verpa or morels yet.     After I was done foraging, Mike and I went up the Oklahoma Road to see if there had been flooding where my snow camp...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/10/26 6:30 33F (0.5C)  No wind, no moon. A dense fog has settled in the canyon. Birds are twittering, unseen in the brume. Passing cars whir over damp pavement,  poking their headlights ineffectually through the murk. Good morning.      ...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  2/9/26 6:30 36F (2.2C) Cool, clear, and calm. It has stopped raining leaving a sprinkle of mist behind. But for a few clouds low in the southeast,  the sky is clear. The moon, just past half and waning into the last quarter,  is shining brightly down the...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/8/26 7:45 40F (4.4C) Overcast and wet. No wind. Mist drifts down the ridge through the the dark silhouettes of tall conifers. The sky is sodden gray and leaking. It rained all day yesterday.  Apparently, it rained all last night. It is raining now....

Good Morning

Good Morning

  2/7/26 7:00 41F (5.0C) Calm, overcast , dry. It continues to be unseasonably warm. Last night Jody, Dave, Amy and I went to Portland where we met Andrea and Josh and enjoyed the Winter Festival of Lights. It was beautiful and surreal.  An all ages rave in...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/6/26 6:45 40F (4.4C) Still air, cloudy skies, dry, with no wind. It is quiet so far this morning. A few birds are chattering. Occasionally one will flit by. A pair of ducks flew up the canyon,  chuckling as they passed. Walter Dawg has made his rounds...