Bushcrafty
If you're not bringing a cocktail shaker you are doing it wrong. Bushcrafty: Two ounces Irish Whiskey, two ounces Shanky's Whip, one ounce filtered stream water, one-quarter lemon, one quarter lime-both squeezed and dropped into the cocktail shaker with a handful of...
A Bear Et My Kayak – Part 2
An Empty Camp ...
Zodi Shower
I've used solar camp showers and never been happy with trying to wash myself under the dribble of tepid water they provide. The water doesn't get hot enough, there isn't enough of it and there isn't enough pressure for a satisfying shower experience. The Zodi propane...
Halloween at Chanty Camp
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A Bear Et My Kayak – Part 1
Pistol Creek Longhouse June, 2022 It had been three years since I had set up my first big longhouse – enough time to forget what a pain in the ass it was and for it to sound like a lovely idea. Why not take a couple of weeks off, set up a forty-foot longhouse on...
Good Morning
4/27/26 5:30 42F (5.5C) Mostly clear with the tickle of a breeze. Birds sing in the dull luminosity of dawn. Somewhere, a woodpecker is hammering. Walter has done his lap of the perimeter, barking where necessary. Now he rests wachfully on the deck....
Good Morning
4/26/26 6:30 42F (5.5C) The city is quiet for a city. The sirens settled down last night and there is little traffic moving this early on a Sunday morning. Amy is sleeping. We came north to Seattle for my aunt's burial yesterday. My brother Dave...
Good Morning
4/25/26 5:00 38F (3.3C) Clear and calm. Stars dot the dark blue sky above. Birds are bursting with the morning gossip, vying to be heard over the loud rattle of orchard fans. Walter, still exhausted from yesterday's excursion, sprawls sleeping on the...
Good Morning
4/24/26 6:45 36F (2.2C) Clear, calm, and beautiful. I am surrounded by the thunder of orchard fans. Three ducks wheel overhead, twisting and turning, describing great arcs and figure eights as they fly through blue sky tinged with pink. Where are they...
Good Morning
4/23/26 6:45 42F (5.5C) A hint of a breeze stirs the leaves beneath a blue sky delicately laced with clouds. Birds are singing, dashing and gliding between the trees. Up on Willow Flat an orchard sprayer drones. Dogs are barking. The sun yawns and...
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...
The Bombardier
The Bombardier is a drink inspired by the early days of military aviation, when the British airforce was still part of the Royal Navy. Pilots and their crew were issued a daily tot of rum, just like the sailors were. To stave off the cold on long sorties over No Man’s...
Pie Day: Mom’s Pies
Mom bakes all sorts of pies. Two of my favorites are her apple pie and her rhubarb pie. These are pretty straight forward fruit pie recipes, but they are consistently the best pies to be had. Tarting them up would only detract from their wholesome...
