The first substantial snowfall of winter usually inspires me to read Jack London’s short story To Build a Fire. The storm that rolled through this past Friday and Saturday was no exception and I sat in front of my own fire to read this story once again. I hadn’t previously noticed how many references there …
Category: Photography
Knife Safety
It’s an interesting thing to watch your game plan morph into something else seemingly opposite. At this stage I was thinking we would be halfway through a classic Mors Try Stick. Some of the students are carving spears to overthrow the Wolf Queen and others just want to find out how sharp a stick can …
Striped Maple
The books will tell you that the Striped Maple is of little value. Aside from the leaves making an excellent natural alternative to toilet paper, I would say it makes for excellent eye candy too.
Goldenrod Crab Spider
I spotted a bee tucked inside a flower and it was suspiciously still. I poked it and it rotated in an odd manner, but it was not active at all. On the other side of the flower was Misumena vatia, the Goldenrod Crab Spider. These spiders eat pollinators by ambushing from the flower rather than …
Barred Owl
I was exploring a town forest in southern New Hampshire a few days ago and at one point I heard a lot of nearby birds causing a ruckus. I started rambling on about bird language, telling my hiking partner that we most likely triggered this alarm. Moments later my partner pointed to a tree and …
Tamarack, Larch, Hackmatack, Juniper?
I recently spent the night in a lean-to in the Whites. While cooking dinner near the pond I saw a leafless tree covered in bumps along every twig. For some reason I said “Larch” out loud, even though I was thinking Tamarack (Larix laricina) as I approached the tree. I was puzzled by that initially, …
Little River
Little River, big style.
Winter on Mt Eisenhower
I have yet to summit this mountain. On this attempt, my partner and I made the decision to turn around near the summit due to deteriorating conditions. We were on the cone above tree line, but the nearest cairns were barely visible, and the cold was undeniable. Better to come back another day. Incidentally, as …
Baking in a Reflector Oven
Open fire cooking – Sourdough biscuits in a reflector oven
