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
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...
Down the Rabbit Hole
When we camped at Peter’s place up above Lyle, I found some pretty, red rocks that fractured with a sharp edge and threw good sparks when struck against steel. They were granular, not glassy where they were broken, so the edge didn’t stay sharp very...
The Barge
Walter has been out in the canoe with me several times. He does well - doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about it, but it beats being left home. The canoe isn't as much fun as my kayak but the kayak isn't big enough for the both of us, so I had...
Good Afternoon
7/1/25 2:00 91f (32.7c) Sunny, hot, and windless. Walter, Mike and I went up into the Gifford Pinchot to seek relief from the hot weather in the tall trees. We did a couple of short walks (no mushrooms, no surprise), then sat down had a whiskey and...
Good Morning
5/10/26 6:30 48F (8.8C) Calm air, cloudy sky. Tattered white clouds open and shut across a pale blue sky. The sun has climbed above the ridge. Birds twitter, the dog barks, squirrels run up and down the oaks. It is a mellow Sunday rising. Good morning....
Good Morning
5/9/26 6:00 47F (8.3C) Clear sky with just a tickle of a breeze. The ground is littered with stringy yellow-green flowers, fallen from the oaks. We will likely have a bumper crop of acorns come autumn. The corn starts I put in the ground yesterday look...
Good Morning
5/8/26 5:00 48F (8.8C) Cloudy with an attempt at a slight breeze. Rightous birdsong fills the morning, still cloaked in the dull blue light preceding dawn. The little black banty didn't make curfew last night and is wandering the chicken yard complaining...
Good Morning
5/7/26 6:15 51F (10.5C) Blue sky ringed with clouds.No wind, no rain. Birds chatter in the otherwise quiet morning. Twenty minutes pass. The neighbor's dog begins to yap, raising Walter's vocal ire. The rooster crows. Birds are singing. The sun crests...
Good Morning
5/6/26 6:00 51F(10.5C) Clear sky, dry, no wind. I had poor sleep last night. First night on a brand new mattress. Early to bed and out like a light. Marvelous. Walter got left outside when we went to bed. Around 2:00 he let us know we had forgotten...
Lentil Soup
I made this soup in the Crockpot. You could simmer this stovetop or over the fire or cook it in a Dutch oven. No matter how you choose to do it, you will end up with a thick, hearty soup.Ingredients bones and fat trimmed from a cut of lamb shoulder or chop 2 cups...
Humus
My wife showed me how to make humus. She is extremely camera shy, so there aren't any photos of her, but take my word for it, she's just as cute as a bug's ass. It was nice of her to let me take any pictures at all; she doesn't get the whole taking photographs of what...
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Stew is one of the easiest, most comforting foods to make. With slightly more attention this slow cooker recipe would work just as well in a Dutch oven or even in a kettle on the stove-top or over a fire. You hardly need a recipe, but the dredging the meat in flour...
Dutch Oven Shepherd’s Pie
I love Shepherd's Pie. The thick filling of meat and vegetables, topped with mounds of mashed potatoes, makes the perfect comfort food. The sound of it bubbling, the tantalizing aroma, mixing with the smoke from the coals as it leaks out from under the heavy lid of a...
Mashed Potatoes
There’s not much to making mashed potatoes. They are tasty, filling and inexpensive. If you don’t finish them at dinner, you can fry them in butter for breakfast. Ingredients 1/3rd cup of buttermilk, more or less 4-6 baking potatoes, peeled and cut up 2 cloves...
