Seasonal Features
March 2016 ...
Master Link
Here's an old trick for keeping the clip in place on your master link. Yes, I know you can form an endless chain using a riveted link and not worry about losing a clip. But for those of us who prefer the flexibility afforded by a clipped master link, the old school...
October Tipi Camp on Pistol Creek
Andy,Rob and I set out Friday for Pistol Creek. Dave McF would join us on Saturday. We stopped to collect a set of poles I had left at Chanty Camp, foraging for mushrooms on our way up. Robert and I found only a few each, but my brother found enough chanterelles to...
The Drought Ends
Friday evening, September 17th, 2021 the drought ended with the first significant rainfall in many months. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest lifted its ban on campfires which had been in place since the beginning of June. More than four inches of rain...
Filling the Permit
Friday morning my brother went with me to help get the last 8 tipi poles to finish filling my permit. Even though I made it out of the house by 9:30 (an early start for me) it was late by the time we got to the woods. We spent a good deal of time stuck in...
The Haint
The fire had burned low. Its flickering light joined the soft glow of a kerosene lantern hanging from the lifting pole at the back of the lodge. I lay on my cot, staring up at the tipi canvas suspended overhead by a cone of slender poles. Walter...
Remembering Dad
My father is dead and gone. Nothing remains but echoes and the footprints of his long walk through life. What can I say? Why would I say it? He can’t hear my words, they are just more echoes in the space he once filled. We had a contentious relationship when I was a...
The Joys of Summer
The air is stagnant filled with the sweet smell of blackberries fermenting under the hot August sun A large animal, grazing the brambles An expert tracker would be hard-pressed to distinguish my scat from that of a bear shapeless, black, and filled with...
Seasonal Concupiscence
Spreading maples throb with bees The air tastes like honey Everywhere, trees are blooming Here and there, beneath licentious conifers and cottonwoods dripping with pollen, a shy morel appears.
Early Spring
Watching the grey clouds shifting east overhead. Spring song fills the air with melodious twitter-are those robins? Roosters near and distant offer a hoarse counterpoint. A raptor glides low across the field. Good morning.
Beer Bandoleer
Carhartt 276100 - 6 Pack Beverage Sling - essential summer equipment. Brown polyester exterior, with an adjustable web carry strap and silver insulated inside, the bandoleer fits six cans of beer. We were out for 4 hours in 95 degree(35c) heat. The beer was cool, but...
Cornbread and Blackberries
I enjoyed a relaxing morning, another day off, due to The Contagion, with Dutch oven cornbread and fresh blackberries for breakfast. The cornbread was left over from a recent camping trip; the blackberries were picked this morning. I tarted it up with butter,...
Stuffed Zucchini
It is that time of year. The zucchini is coming on and gardeners are hiding the stuff in everything trying to foist it off on their friends and neighbors. I don’t go in for the subterfuge – none of that zucchini bread, zucchini cookies, zucchini fudge, or zucchini...
Living My Best Life
Pork chop grilled with herbs from the garden (sage, rosemary, oregano) and a flaming splash of bourbon, applesauce, mashed potatoes, green peas picked and hour before and, of course, a nice salad, Washed it all down with beer from Full Sail in a Lady Washington...
Pie Iron Breakfast Scramble
A quick and easy breakfast for one or two people, this pie iron scramble is a real winner Ingredients 2 servings 2 handfuls Tater Tots 2 slices bacon 1 egg butter pepper, garlic three fingered pinch diced onion (optional) three fingered pinch diced sweet pepper...
