Bushcrafty
New Year Day 2021 ...
My Big Red Kelty
You guys would have loved the backpack I started Boy Scouts with. My father was so proud to hand down to me the pride and joy from his Boy Scout days, a Trapper Nelson pack. Wooden framed, with a canvas bag, web shoulder straps and leather straps with buckle...
When Will I Learn?
“You know, you don’t have to go camping if the weather is going to be awful,” remarked my wife as she eyed the leaden winter sky. Despite the deteriorating weather, I stubbornly clung to my plans. Sure, it was December, but the forecast was for light rain and...
Book Club
Our wives were scheduled to do a zoom book club meeting Sunday afternoon; it seemed like a good time for Andy and I to load up the dogs and head to the woods. ...
Halloween 2020 -Part 3: Striking Camp
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Damp
Damp The clouds have come right down to the ground, enveloping me It is not raining, but I can feel the water particles brushing against my skin with their cold, damp touch
November 9th
November 9th The stars shine in bright defiance of the waning half moon Behind me and to the west the lunatic yipping of coyotes echos A farm dog standing sentry barks and the pack falls silent Frost sparkles on the ground yesterday’s storm has blown...
Early November
Light breeze from the southeast sends golden leaves sailing by one at a time
Lit 101
I had a professor in my freshman literature course who was obsessed with Christian symbolism. Scarred by a Catholic education, he looked for it in everything, from Franz Kafka to used car advertisements. Raised in the Episcopal Church, I sympathized with his biases. ...
Chanterelles
The sun filters through the tall trees Like light through a loosely woven tapestry The woods are damp with recent rain Filled with the earthy, spicy smell Of fresh mushrooms emerging from the moss
Wild Cranberry Syrup
Wild Cranberry Syrup Simple Cranberry Syrup Recipe 2 cups wild cranberries 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp water Rinse and pick out stems from cranberries Combine cranberries, brown sugar, and water in saucepan or small cast iron skillet Bring to a boil and cook for 1...
Baked Couscous
Baked Couscous I've made this dish stove top at home and in the Dutch oven while camping. A savory couscous galette, it is an easy, flexible recipe. You can use any mushrooms, or none at all. The same with the meat: use whatever you have, or no meat at all. I've made...
Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken & Dumplings Chicken and dumplings may be the ultimate comfort food. We had this for Sunday dinner on our Halloween camping trip. To ease the work at camp, I did some prep at home, mixing the dry ingredients for the dumplings in a zip lock bag, and cooking...
Cranberries and Chanterelles
Cranberries and Chanterelles Cranberries ripen at the height of chanterelle season. It was inevitable eventually I would try cooking them up together. I'm only surprised it took me so long to get around to it. Ingredients chanterelles wild cranberries...
Dutch Oven Cornbread
This is a variation of the cornstick recipe I posted earlier. Cornbread recipes are pretty flexible. You can start with equal parts cornmeal, flour, and sugar Use more cornmeal and less flour for more texture; proportionally more flour than meal yields...
