Good Afternoon
5/22/25 3:30 54f (12.2c) Breezy and fair. Mike and I spent the afternoon ranging across the ridge between Mosier and my house, looking for morels. We didn't find any, even where we have found them before. The soil was damp and the terrain looked promising, but no joy....
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...
Good Morning
5/2/26 6:15 54F (12.2C) Calm. Quiet, if you can ignore the birds and the dog. The sky is a uniform pale gray, like an old cotton sheet or a dress shirt past retirement. Rain is predicted this evening. From the marks in the dust, it looks like it...
Good Morning
5/1/26 5:45 43F (6C) Birds sing in a pale blue morning shaded pink around the edges. A light breeze sways the birch. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
4/30/26 4:45 41F (5C) The sky is clear and dark, pierced by stars. The moon should be nearly full. I expected it to be shining brightly in the southwest, but it must be too low, behind the ridge. The birds are just beginning to stir. It was quiet until...
Good Morning
4/29/26 6:00 39F (3.8C) Clear, blue sky. A whisper of breeze, heavy dew on the deck. The orchard fans are rumbling again. The birds are a little slow to wake this morning. Perhaps the moon, nearly full last night, disturbed their sleep. ...
Good Morning
4/28/26 5:45 44F (6.66C) Clear with tattered pink clouds moving across a light blue sky. A jay preens himself as an inconstant breeze stirs the willows. The birds sound like an orchestra warming up, playing scales and fragments of stanza. Amidst the honks and...
Peep In a Puddle
1 slightly stale peep 3 tbs. cocoa 1/4 cup peppermint schnapps 1/4 cup Irish cream boiling water In a mug combine 3 tbs. cocoa, 1/4 cup peppermint schnapps, and 1/4 cup Irish cream. Fill with boiling water and stir well. Top with a peep.
Rusty Nail – Praise & Treats
It has been an unseasonably dry winter. Up until Friday, when it started to snow. It has been snowing all weekend. Sunday morning it cleared, revealing a sparkling winter wonderland. With no pressing need to go anywhere, most people elected to stay home, off the...
BBQ Sauce
I made this sauce for the rabbits at the last Bunny BBQ. I cut up and brined the rabbits for 9 hours, then rinsed and boiled them for 10 minutes. They were painted with BBQ sauce and frozen until the day before the party. I thawed them Friday, and put the meat in...
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...
