Making a 12′ Drop Cloth Tipi
Making a tipi can be tedious; it involves sewing numerous strips of canvas together until you have a large enough piece to cut your pattern from. Buying a pre-made cover is expensive, for the same reason. For several years, Billy Maxwell has been telling me...
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...
Good Morning
5/16/26 6:00 42F (5.5C) Overcast, gray, raining lightly. I believe it rained all night. It has been a damp week. I don't know how long it will last, but it has got to be good for the immediate future. The woods need the moisture. We have already had...
Book Club
Book club was at mom's house tonight, so Andy brought mom up here for dinner while our wives were otherwise occupied. I spent the day scouring the house and cooking. We had pork loin and cornbread. Andy brought a salad, wine and beer. After dinner we had drinks,...
Good Morning
5/15/26 45F (7.2C) Broken cloud cover drifts above wet ground. It rained some more last night. An inconstant breeze flutters the oaks' leaves, making them shimmer. A crow caws over the cooing of doves, like the rasping smoker's voice of a bar floozy...
Good Morning
5/14/26 5:45 49F (9.4C) Cloudy. Calm, no rain. I think I will put some more corn in the ground this morning. If the wind doesn't come up, I'll burn the blackberry briars I cleared from around the rabbit hutch yesterday. Perhaps I should go up in the...
Good Morning
5/13/26 6:00 50F (10C) Mostly cloudy, windy, damp. A solitary spring storm to punctuate the drought. Trees sway and rattle in the gusts, spent blooms and small cones falling like last night's rain. The ground is wet, with puddles here and there. The...
Hot Toddy
The hot toddy has long been a favorite cold weather libation around my house. Easy, steaming hot, packed with vitamin C, sweet, sour, and alcoholic, its just gotta be good for you! Substitute liquors, try different sweeteners, use any citrus you feel like using; it ...
Pieday: The Crust
With the holidays upon us, my thoughts naturally turn toward pie. That's not really true. I think about pie all the time, but on holidays and special occasions, my mother's pies are a traditional part of the celebration. Her pies are worthy of celebration in...
Lamb Kabobs
Lamb Kabobs This recipe pairs the subtle fruitiness of fresh chanterelles with the sweetness of dried apricots. When you arrange the mushrooms on the skewers, sandwich them between a dried apricot and a chunk of lamb, so the mushroom absorbs the flavor of the...
Flip
Originally common in Colonial taverns and waterfront dives, flip is basically a beer hot toddy. Andy tells me it does nothing to improve the flavor of beer and I haven’t found anyone who actually likes it, but the drink is steeped in history and it is fun to...
Simple Chanterelles with Shallots and Spices
I wrapped the cooked chanterelles in foil and placed them behind the cylinders of my Triumph to keep them warm on my ride to town. When I got to work, I topped a plate of biscuits and gravy from the cafeteria with wild...
