Processing Tipi Poles
I need forty poles for the longhouse I want to put together next spring, so I stopped by Trout Lake Ranger Station to buy a permit. There are only two plots where harvesting poles is allowed and the selection isn't great, but what are you going to do? ...
Three Days of Gluttony
3-day Menu Day 1 -Lunch Scotch eggs, wrapped in foil and heated by the fire during set up -Dinner Hot Dogs. buns, ketchup, mustard Baked beans Day 2 -Breakfast Mountain man breakfast with biscuits -Lunch snackage and drinks -Dinner Pot roast with taters, parsnip,...
California Fly and Camp
My wife started lobbying early: "The California boys are going camping. You should go. Everybody is asking for you. Damien is cooking." I was reluctant. I didn't want to take time off work. I hadn't gone anywhere since The Contagion started and I was uncomfortable...
Oh Magoo, You’ve Done It Again
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2020 Socially Distant Easter
April 11th, 2020. For the first time in decades, the Easter Bunny BBQ was cancelled, all because of the Damned Contagion. Amy and I decided we would celebrate the holiday between ourselves. It is important to maintain your normal routines when quarantined. With no...
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
The Vastness
Wide awake Staring into the vastness The firmament filled with flickering lights Clouds roll in from the west Extinguishing the stars Each in turn Like the candles on the alter At the close of service I am left Alone in the dark Waiting for the...
Denial
I like my job. It is work that needs doing and I enjoy doing it. I have worked through several public health crises; I was a lab tech and phlebotomist through more than one hepatitis outbreak. I was working when AIDS first began to blossom, before we really knew...
Crab-Stuffed Morels
I returned to a favorite patch of morels for a third picking the other day. Holy Smokes! They weren't just plentiful, they were giant! These were some of the biggest morels I've ever found, several of them were 7" tall with caps hovering between 4" and 4.5", one of...
Mushrooms on Toast
For a simple, quick breakfast it is hard to beat mushrooms on toast. In the spring I use morels, in the fall, chanterelles. Other mushrooms can be substituted. Ingredients toast fresh mushrooms - whatever is in season onion or shallots minced garlic...
Asparagus and Morels
Several years ago, a local timber company locked down the woods behind my house due to fire danger. One of their fallers set fire to the ridge the very next day. It burned for a week. The following spring, we went up there and harvested morels from the scorched...
Potato Stuffed Morels
Several years ago, my brothers and I went out in the woods to camp. It had been raining, but that weekend the weather was fair. It being springtime, we determined to hunt for morels. We were successful enough to enjoy the delectable mushroom with every meal,...
Rabbit Roulade
We've hosted the Easter Bunny BBQ the day before Easter for decades. Friends and family show up at Bunny Hump Ranch to listen to music, drink beer and eat rabbit. Some times the bonfire burns all night long. The party was canceled this year due to The Contagion. ...
