June 3rd, 2022
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Easter Longhouse.
We had family up for an Easter Bunny BBQ Saturday. It was the first gathering we'd hosted since The Contagion cast its shadow across the land. We had all been vaccinated but it still felt weird, invitng people, even family, into our home after two years of isolation....
Atomic Lighter – Rechargeable Plasma lighter
I bought this for a fly and camp outing last year. I wanted a reliable ignition source which was safe to carry on an airplane. This is also wind proof and really nice for cold weather, when butane lighters become unreliable. It recharges with a USB charger. I wrapped...
Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica)
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), have serrate leaves resembling mint, arranged opposite on a square stem. Nettles can grow well over 6 feet tall. They are common along streams and rivers and damp, fertile ground throughout the United States. Probably the most...
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
12/5/25 5:30 46F (7.7C) Raining, sometimes lightly, sometimes hard, but consistently wet. It is a gray morning, barely illuminated by a full moon hidden behind the clouds. I am sipping mint tea and watching headlights pass. Are my nieghbors sitting in...
Good Morning
12/4/25 6:30 34F (1.1C) There is a faint breeze. It is cool and cloudy. The moon is full but it cannot be seen. ...
Good Morning
12/3/25 6:00 34F (1.1C) A lavender mist is swirling around my face. ...
Good Morning
12/2/25 5:30 36F (2.2C) Calm, cold, relatively dry. The moon has gone to bed. It is a dark morning. Above me the broken clouds are flecked with stars. ...
Good Morning
12/1/25 6:30 28F (-2.2C) Silvery-gray freezing fog ebbing and flowing, sometimes dense and enveloping, sometimes retreating to the shadows of the surrounding trees. It hit freezing early last night and the temperature has dropped since then, making the first...
Moussaka
The Food Stamp Gourmet by Wm. Brown has been out of print for years, but you can still find it on-line at a reasonable price. I have had my copy since the seventies; it contains some of my favorite recipes. Every so often, I pull it out and choose one of them....
Moussaka Hand Pie
I made moussaka for dinner last night and had some left-over filling. Today I got out the pie-irons and made moussaka hand pies for lunch. Forcing the Greek pita bread into the buttered pie irons, I spooned some tomato paste over the pita, I filled it with the...
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...
