Blather
Cooking for Guys
Live to Camp
Camp to Live
Poetry
and Other Lies
Optimus Crux Backpacking Stove
I have had this little stove for a number of years and it is still my go-to on those rare occasions when I choose to backpack in. The stove itself weighs 3 ounces and folds up to fit in the palm of my hand. It uses isobutane-propane for fuel. The stove stores in a...
Tarting Up the Ramen
Ramen noodles are a no-brainer pack food. Cheap, lightweight, quick and easy to prepare, you can eat them right out of the pot and cleanup is fast and effortless. I like to tart mine up just a little. Adding some oil and vegetables and maybe an egg to the mix doesn't...
Baked Couscous
Baked Couscous I've made this dish stove top at home and in the Dutch oven while camping. A savory couscous galette, it is an easy, flexible recipe. You can use any mushrooms, or none at all. The same with the meat: use whatever you have, or no meat at all. I've made...
Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken & Dumplings Chicken and dumplings may be the ultimate comfort food. We had this for Sunday dinner on our Halloween camping trip. To ease the work at camp, I did some prep at home, mixing the dry ingredients for the dumplings in a zip lock bag, and cooking...
Cranberries and Chanterelles
Cranberries and Chanterelles Cranberries ripen at the height of chanterelle season. It was inevitable eventually I would try cooking them up together. I'm only surprised it took me so long to get around to it. Ingredients chanterelles wild cranberries...
A December Foray
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Good Afternoon
12/13/25 2:00 60F (15.5C) Calm, clear and sunny It was a beautiful sunny Saturday, quite warm for December, so Amy, Walter and I set aside our chores and went for a walk. We ended up down at Wy'East Winery. Amy had a glass of red and I had a glass of pink. Walter had...
Good Afternoon
12/9/25 1:30 48f (8.8C) Steady rain, no wind. ...
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...
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...
Good Morning
8/23/26 4:00 62F (16.6C) AQI 19 The early morning is cool and dark; it is cloudy with some stars. 1/10th of a league is a far reach when you don't have the expedient of shitting in the bilges. The hike to the commode is far enough to provide a challenge and...
Good Morning
8/22/26 6:00 60F (15.5C) AQI 19 Calm and cloudy. ...
Good Morning
8/21/26 6:00 54F (12.2C) AQI 34 Faint SE breeze, light mist, no rain. It was dark when I got up at 5:30. Light is beginning to leak in around the edges now. Walter has had a short walk, the tea is on. I had rhubarb pie for breakfast. Kevin arrived...
Good Morning
8/20/26 7:00 54F (12.2C) Blue sky alternating with fog blown about by a light breeze blowing from the NW. A single drip has soaked a spot just above my pillow. I got up at 5:00 to use the head, about 1/8 mile walk in the blackness through heavy swirling mist....
Good Morning
8/19/26 6:30 54F (12.2C) Foggy, calm. Fog horns echo mornfully across the bay. Mist blankets the ocean, cool but not wet or uncomfortable. The tea is on. I hear Amy moving in the tipi. She had a rough night. Apparently the sand is not as soft as it appears. I,...
