Pretty Not Bad
Amy and I drove up to Disappearing Lake. The water level is dropping fast; I think it will be a short season. We talked about paddling the beaver pond but the shore was teeming with mosquitos so we went back down to South Prairie and put in. ...
A Day Spent on the Water
My friend, Joe Castaldi, built a beautiful, sixteen foot gaff-rigged Melonseed Skiff from the original plans. He sent word he was planning to launch her for a maiden voyage down at the Hood River Marina, so I showed up yesterday, bright and early to...
Well, That Was Dumb.
My last week before I retired, I decided to ride the moto to work. People expected it of me and I enjoy the ride. It was December, with temperatures down around 15f (-9.4c). I suited up and went out to the garage. The bike had been plugged into a tender, so the...
Good Afternoon
5/27/25 3:30 80f (26.6c) Clear sky, warm breeze. Mike and I went up the mountain to have a look around. Found coral mushrooms, shaggy manes, and a handful of morels at between 3000 and 4000' under mixed conifers. ...
Mardingtop 25L Backpack M6347A
For years my EDC was a Wolfman tankbag. When I was still working, I kept it filled with maps and tools and fuses for my moto, emergency kit, knife, a roll of T.P. and my lunch. I could leave straight from work for the woods when the notion took me. When that bag wore...
Good Morning
8/29/26 5:45 55F (12.7C) AQI 18 Cloudy with no wind on the ground. First world problems resolved; the hot tub is working and internet is restored. I tried T Mobile a couple years ago and it was terrible. Very poor coverage and long waits for tech service to...
Good Morning
8/28/26 5:30 52F (11.1C) AQI 17 Dark, quiet, with a clear sky and no wind. The full moon is setting behind the oaks. The rooster still slumbers. Walter Dawg, ever vigilant, sleeps with his eyes open, on the deck to my left. A jet rumbles overhead. I am plagued...
Good Morning
8/27/26 6:45 56F (13.3C) AQI 15 Cloudy with patches of blue. No wind on the ground. The birds chatter in subdued trills and chirps. The Grasshopper fire remains at 76% containment and just under 94,000 acres. There is a fire in Wishram, two near Estacada and...
Good Morning
8/26/26 7:00 56F (13.3C) AQI 21 Blue sky. The sun waits its cue, stage left. The leaves shudder in anticipation, birds chatter and mill about, visiting as they look for a place to perch themselves. The curtain is about to open on a new day. Good morning....
Good Morning
8/25/26 7:15 56F (13.3C) AQI 76 Calm, clearish, smelling of smoke. The sun rises into a clear blue sky, shining yellow light through a thin, almost invisible haze. Good morning. ...
Robert’s Cast Iron Bread
Robert disappeared into the longhouse and emerged a little later with a beautiful loaf of fresh bread. It seemed so simple, and according to Rob, it pretty much was. I asked him for his recipe and this is what he gave me.Ingredients about 2 1/2 cups flour more or...
Taco Things
Taco-things are made from left overs, salsa, and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla folded closed and fried in oil with a little picante sauce splashed over them. Sounds like a burrito, right? Well, when I worked at La Clinica years ago, my co-workers told me it...
Pork Roast with Morel Gravy
This was a slow cooker recipe I adapted to the Dutch Oven. You can use any mushrooms and any large hunk of pork. Ingredients 3-4 pound pork roast 4 large cloves of garlic, minced 1 large white onion peeled and cubed 3-4 cups morels, if you can get them 2...
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...
