Blather

Cooking for Guys

Live to Camp
Camp to Live

Poetry
and Other Lies

Potato Stuffed Morels

Potato Stuffed Morels

  Several years ago, my brothers and I went out in the woods to camp. It had been raining, but that weekend the weather was fair.  It being springtime, we determined to hunt for morels. We were successful enough to enjoy the delectable mushroom with every meal,...

Rabbit Roulade

Rabbit Roulade

We've hosted the Easter Bunny BBQ the day before Easter for decades. Friends and family show up at Bunny Hump Ranch to listen to music, drink beer and eat rabbit. Some times the bonfire burns all night long. The party was canceled this year due to The Contagion. ...

Social Distance Monday

Social Distance Monday

They didn't need me at work Monday, so I did the responsible thing and stayed home and messed with my dugout canoe project. I am just at the beginning stages of burning out the cottonwood log. Using birch bark, pine pitch, dried grass and a ferro rod, I got a fire...

Barley Camp Stew

Barley Camp Stew

Barley makes a hearty, thick base for a stew. It scorches easily, so stir frequently and cook over moderate heat. At camp, we hung the stew pot from a tripod and raised it high above the flames. If you use a Dutch oven, put more coals on top, fewer underneath. Rotate...

Potato Chowder

Potato Chowder

This recipe was a staple for me during my college years. It was cheap, easy and filling. A big pot of it could feed me for a week. I would gather and dry quantities of fairy ring mushrooms (Marasmius oreades) from the little park down the street from my apartment, and...

A Good Afternoon on Pistol Creek

A Good Afternoon on Pistol Creek

The weather forecast was for  hotter than blazes. It met or exceeded expectations, touching near 100f (38.7c) according to the thermometer app on Mike's phone. Anticipating the heat, Mike,  Walter and I headed up to Pistol Creek  to stick our feet in the water.  ...

Walter Gets His Sea Legs

Walter Gets His Sea Legs

The weather forecast this afternoon was for hot to unbearable. Amy and I loaded up the kayaks, Walter jumped in the truck, and we all headed north to Goose Lake in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.                  ...

Good Afternoon

Good Afternoon

  7/5/2025 4:00 79f (26.1c) Tuckered out after a late night last night.           Amy and I ran up to Trout Creek Ridge and bought a stack of books at a garage sale, including Jack London, Earl Stanley Gardner, and Robert Service, for a...

Good Morning

Good Morning

      2/5//26 6:15 40F (4.4C) Calm, overcast with a light mist. Another tranquil morning . The moon, waning gibbous behind the clouds, lends the sky a dull gray glow. The cat is eating breakfast on the front porch. The dog is in watchful repose on the...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/4/26 6:00 40F (4.4C) No wind, no rain. Somewhere behind the clouds the moon is smiling. Owls call back and forth.  A dog barks up the canyon and Walter  answers. A car hurries by, headlights flashing through the oaks. Overhead,  the distant rumble of a...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/3/26 6:15 38F (3.3C) Calm,  overcast, with a light mist  tickling my face. Not much going on yet. A few cars headed to town. Walter is taking a nap between rounds of the perimeter.  The rooster has crowed but is not yet insistent. I slept well and am...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    2/2/26 6:00 38F (3.3C) Overcast, calm, dry. When I went to bed it was cold. The full moon shone brightly in the clear indigo sky. This morning it is temperate. The moon is dropping through the clouds towards the west ridge,  a dim light glowing through...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  2/1/26 6:00 42F (5.5C) Overcast, relatively dry, no wind. Somewhere behind the clouds the full moon is hiding. 42F (5.5C) is pretty damned warm for before sunrise on the first day of February. It was a quiet Sunday morning  until the folks living in the RV...