The Omnivore’s Backpack

And it sounds like a lot but all of this can be made up into a fairly compact little bundle with a little thought.

Rumors of my Demise Have Been Greatly exaggerated…

Yet, it’s also been a good year and I have much to be thankful for and I improved my own situation in many ways.

The Peak of the Season

I consider the last week of September to be the peak of the mushroom season here in southwest Pennsylvania. This is when the widest range of mushrooms is mature and when some of the very best species of the season are harvestable. Winter is sparse here, spring offers Morels, Pheasant Back and a few others, […]

Hens in the Woods

In the late fall grasses just behind the Jack o’ Lantern and against a dead tree, there was a gargantuan brown mushroom mass that simply looked like a pile of oak leaves.

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MY BOOKS

The four books of the Woodrise series will appear over the next three years. “Winter,” the first of the series will be available by December, 2023. For now, here’s a link to my first book, The Dying Fish.

Off the Beaten Track

People complain of over-crowding on the hiking trails of the east but that’s only because they’ve sought out crowded times and places.

Embrace The Wild – Keep The Change

At the tail end of a long day’s wade, we crossed a crude barrier splattered with a handful of “Posted” signs barring trespassing in the reaches we’d just finished fishing.

Maturing with mushrooms

Through it all though, I’ve become much less fearful of these fruits of the forest floor (or decaying logs, or trees…) That’s what knowledge is good for – conquering fear and inspiring more curiosity.

deep woods

It was still dark but I knew this was morning. I felt like I’d slept my deepest sleep since… well, since last time I’d slept on the ground.

COLUMBINE CREEK

Just after passing though, he did something radical and unexpected: he left the trail to walk along the stream bank in the snow, peering down at the water as he made his way up. Funny how rare it is to find someone willing to get off the trail, explore and look around.