Stephanie says

I went Chanterelle hunting over the weekend.  It'd been two weeks since deer season ended, the last time we'd checked, with none spotted in Terry's favored patch.  Since then we'd had a hard frost and rain.  Torrential rains actually.  Deciduous trees had dropped their leaves.  The road was blanketed in bright yellow alder and red maple; decaying leaf mold adding to the fragrance of damp moss and fir needles in the moist air.  I was instructed to watch for bright orange patches, large maple leaf size, as we languidly drove along. And sure enough, I spotted some.  Ah, the thrill of the hunt!   The mushrooms were at the very end of their short season; the few still intact were water logged, spongy from all the rain, and kind of slimy.  So no Chanterelles this season.  I'm good though as there are some in the freezer. I found this site that specialize in "wild-harvested, traditional and artisanal foods" from the wilds of the Mid West,...

I know, math nerd here.  It's a simple aid to quantify happiness in a myriad of relationships.  How much do you make me crazy?  16% of the time.  So conversely you make me happy 84% of the time.  Go figure.  And I know that I allow myself to be happy, or crazy, blah, blah, blah. It's not up to anyone but me.

I got a good sized pumpkin for $2, after Halloween of course.  I roasted it whole, such an easy method requiring a few slits for vent holes then roast until fork tender.  The end result was 12-cups of pureed pumpkin.  I decided to make pumpkin butter, it sounds very autumn-ish. I figured if crock pot apple butter was do-able, then so was crock pot pumpkin butter.  I browsed the internet and sure enough, there were many recipes and many cooking methods. I doubled the following recipe and have eight half-pints cooling on the counter.  I also have six-cups of puree cooling in the fridge waiting for my next inspiration.  Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter makes approximately 3 cups 4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh homemade puree from a 3 to 4 lb pumpkin or approximately 2 15oz cans) 1 cup raw honey or maple syrup 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon g...

Just finished watching the HBO mini series.   I knew better; I read the book when published some years ago and my general impression was a seriously depressing story.   I got sucked in because the movie version starred Frances McDormand, who I admire greatly.   Go figure, the story hasn’t lightened in any measure in the retelling.   It slowly, slowly builds the dark gloom of depression.   Hand me a dull exacto knife now.   Suppressed emotions, mental illness, withheld love, misplaced affection, ungrateful children; it’s got it all in terms of doom and gloom.   The absolute clincher is the trip to the vet to put the aged family dog down (While my sweet Mooser is perched on the ottoman with his head on my lap, gazing at me in adoration as I stroke his paw.   Rip my heart out now.) It’ll probably take a couple days to regain my equanimity.  

My next door neighbor has a enormous Ponderosa Pine, a diseased tree clogging my gutters with spiny pine needles after every storm, measuring a couple hundred feet (and we all know that my head for this sort of detail is oh, so limited.  But I lost a tree in a wind storm that was something like 175' and this puppy was taller. So I'm sticking with 200 feet.)  I also mention this tree could easily topple right over my bedroom and kill me in my bed.  Not being dramatic or anything...  I do consider this when the wind roars! This lovely Saturday morning dawned; I drank coffee and decided I'd gotten up way too early.  I went back to bed and was enjoying a snuggle with Rosie whose enthusiastic tale wagging often destroys the peace.  This morning, however, it was a mechanical roar outside my bedroom.  And lots of very loud conversation.    It was loggers and the roar was revving chain saws. That tree was coming down.  I am a loggers dau...

I queued up at the hunting license station at the local market and purchased my first ever deer tag that states "2014 Resident Western Deer Rifle," as well as a hunting license.  I had a note in hand just in case it got confusing but the clerks were knowledgeable and encouraging about my first hunt. There is likely a state pamphlet detailing the various rules governing each species but since I'm with a life-long hunter, I didn't bother reading anything.  At some time on our first outing it occurred to me that we were hunting for stags, bucks, the male species.  Which effectively cut our odds by half.  I ran that observation by Terry, who looked questioningly at me but refrained from scoffing.   We spotted an inordinate number of does, to the point that I wondered if I'd be able to recognize a buck.  We peered through field glasses over hill and dale looking for a white-spotted nose with vertical spikes that would focus into a buck camouflaged into its s...

Fog bank on Bell Mountain Spotted a coyote here a few weeks back.  No deer though. Mushroom are flourishing on the forest floor Or just out in the road