Halloween on the Big Lava Bed
It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day when Kent and I drove north into the Big Lava Bed. The road was rugged, just ruts worn into jagged rock, winding between collapsed lava tubes and stunted trees finally arriving at a flat...
Good Morning
11/2/25 6:00 40f Overcast and calm out on the lava bed. The weather has moderated. It was still dark when I made the treacherous trek to the latrine. I was relieved when it hove into view. Andy and Kent put some much appreciated effort into its...
Good Morning
11/1/25 8:00 Temperate but raining hard. We had a puddle form by the door last night. It has grown to a lake with a river running into it. Constant rain all night with no hope for it letting up today. The tipi won't draft and is filled with smoke. We had...
Good Morning
10/31/25 8:00 cool calm and beautiful . A lovely sunrise Halloween morning out on The Big Lava Bed after a beautiful moonlit night. Got a slow start this morning and had breakfast for lunch. ...
A Wet Day With the Grub
Amy, Walter and I took the kniece and knephew out with their grub to look for mushrooms. It was a damp day but we had a good time and managed to find a few lobsters and chanterelles. ...
Good Morning
2/25/26 5:45 33F (0.5C) Dark, clear and frosty. The the sky and the ground are all a twinkle. I saw a falling star from my bed so I got up to keep it company. Now the dark has gone out of the sky, taking the stars with it. It is replaced by a dim blue...
Good Morning
2/24/26 7:30 32F (0.0C) Calm, overcast and wet. It is sprinkling a light mixture of snow and rain now. It snowed most of last night. At one point we had about 4" accumulation on the ground but that's been reduced to 1" of slush. Even so, schools have...
Good Morning
2/23/27 6:45 40F (4.4C) Cold, hard rain. In the absence of wind, it is pounding straight down. A pair of ducks flew off from the pond, headed towards the creek. No birds are singing, no squirrels are chattering . Everyone is hunkered down, trying to...
Good Morning
2/22/26 7:00 33F (0.5C) A calm Sunday morning with partial clouds and a slight breeze. The sky rapidly transitioned from blue to lavender with clouds shifting through grays and pinks, briefly bursting into flaming yellow before settling into grey and...
Good Morning
2/21/26 5:30 32F (0C) Cloudy with a light breeze spitting snow. No accumulation. It is a dark and quiet morning so far. Walter is laying silently on the back deck, positioned so he can observe everything with the least expenditure of energy. Lights are glowing...
K.P.
Nothing beats a meal cooked over an open fire and eaten outdoors, but how do you deal with clean-up? Dirty dishes and scraps of food are sure to attract pests if not attended to. Rinsing your cook ware in the creek will leave an unsightly mess on the stream bed and...
Rusty Brogue
I recently discovered Shanky’s Whip. A dark, sweet liqueur, somewhat analogous to Drambuie, Shanky’s Whip is a mixture of Irish whiskey, vanilla, caramel, and other ingredients. I have been mixing equal parts of Tullamore Dew and Shanky’s...
Mountain Man Breakfast
Dutch Oven Mountain Man Breakfast The Mountain Man Breakfast is a popular Dutch oven recipe which has been around in one form or another for years. If you need to feed a hearty breakfast to a crowd, this is good one. I used a variation from Gary House I found on...
Dutch Oven Rhubarb Cobbler
Dutch Oven Rhubarb Cobbler Spring hasn’t officially arrived until the rhubarb is up. One morning a few leaves poke through the frost covered mulch; by the end of the week, giant rosettes of primordial leaves on bright red stalks cover that corner of the garden....
Tequila Eggs
Tequila Eggs Like Scotch Eggs but I used chorizo mixed with cilantro, dried tomatoes, diced green chilis, and diced jalapenos for the sausage and crushed tortilla chips and roasted chilis for the crust. cook...
