Blather
Cooking for Guys
Live to Camp
Camp to Live
Poetry
and Other Lies
Grandma Wade’s Mince Meat
Grandma Wade used to make mince meat pies for the holidays. She shared the recipe with Mom,and this delightfully sweet pie has been a treasured memory of mine for decades. The recipe is pretty labor intensive and contains your entire annual dietary allowance of fat in...
Chili and Corn-sticks
Chili and Corn-sticks I had Friday off. I intended to make dinner, but that required an amount of preparation I didn't manage to get around to. I spent the day changing the tire on the Triumph, staring off into space and generally procrastinating. Go figure. Amy got...
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...
Plan B Camp March 2025
It was early March when I decided on a last minute camping trip to the Gifford Pinchot. The weather forecast for the weekend was fair, with rain predicted later on Sunday. Even with no real planning and a late start, I had the truck loaded and ready to go by...
MLK Camp
1/20/25 Jason, Andy, Walter and I hauled into Plan B for an overnighter Sunday afternoon and came home Monday, MLK Day. It didn't reach the predicted low of 17f (-8) but is was pretty chilly at 24f (-4). We managed to stay warm and had an enjoyable outing in the...
Valentine Weekend Camp
Amy and I went to Beverly Beach over Valentine's weekend. I love camping with my wife! The weather leading up to the weekend was sloppy. I got the poles loaded and the pickup tarped Thursday just as it started to snow. I...
Maiden Voyages
Saturday Amy and I went up to Kingsley Reservoir to try out the Kayak I just bought. My brother and his wife met us up there. I gave Andy my old kayak which had been mauled by a bear. This was is first time on the water since he patched it. They had stopped at Walmart...
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...
Good Morning
7/18/26 6:15 55F (12.7C) Blue sky and no breeze. Soon the sun will light the canyon. The rooster is crowing, the hens are clucking. Walter has roused himself from the deck to go bark at something, but he lacks enthusiasm. The sprinkler rattles through the corn...
Good Morning
7/17/26 6:00 51F (10.5C) Clear sky, no wind. The sun is still below the ridge. The canyon is in shadows, light just kissing the crest of firs along the western rim. Birds are active, flitting through the trees and chattering back and forth. I drink my tea and...
Good Morning
7/16/26 6:30 60F (15.5C) The sun is above the ridge, the clouds are breaking up, the morning is calm and quiet. A thunderstorm brushed by yesterday, trailing rain across the deck. I heard rain on my roof off and on through the night. My laundry hanging on the...
Good Morning
7/15/26 9:00 80F (26.6C) I slept late. The sun is up, the sky is blue. There are no clouds and barely enough breeze to flutter the corn tassles. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
7/14/26 6:45 62F (16.6C) Overcast, still. The rooster is crowing, a familiar sound, but a sharp contrast to the peacocks distant screech while camping above Scott's house the past 5 mornings. Rob and I got to my house about 4:30 yesterday afternoon. He still...
