Category Archives: The Cabin

So I had a few eggs I needed to use up. They are fresh from the chicken eggs so they can keep for a week or so unrefrigerated. But I don’t like to push it. Yesterday I made Rivel Soup. So today I decided on some cheesy fried bread. I mixed flour, cheddar cheese powder, eggs and just enough water to make the consistency right. Then I fried it with a foil covering. It turned out very good. Kind of a cheesy bisquit flavor with the texture of smooth cornbread.

I found a new edible and medicinal plant growing on my land.

Oswego Tea. (Monarda fistulosa) Also known as Bee Balm. As it’s name implies it is often made in to tea. It is drank for thirst or to treat a variety of ailments. It has antiseptic properties that helps gingivitis and sore throat. It also treats respiratory conditions and digestive problems, including gas and bloating. It contains Thymol which is used in many modern mouthwashes. It can also be used as an antiseptic poultice for wounds, and treating headaches and fevers.

I have made tea from it, and although somewhat bitter it is aromatic, being a member of the mint family. I can’t speak to the efficacy of it’s medicinal properties but it is worth a try in a pinch. It is found all over eastern forests and clearings.

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If any one noticed the site was down for a while. I changed servers and just didn’t hurry. I may switch again soon just for some improved abilities.

I have been fairly active. Gone on backpacking trips and working around the homestead. But I didn’t feel like recording it. Just enjoying the time. I’ll start posting a bit more now.…

Here’s what I like about my cabin. Even on the road in front of the cabin I can turned all the way around and not see a single person.

You may have noticed the signs on the trees. On the one side is this.

Just informing that the owner, the Seanor Timber Company is kind enough to keep their land open to the public.

On the other side is this.

Not really a problem. A little secret. Most people who post PA Landowners Association signs will give you permission if you ask. Notice the line “DUE TO GOVERNMENT OVER-REGULATION OF LAND USE”. If you give the government an inch they take a mile. If you leave your land open to public use the government takes that to mean they get to control the land use. Farmer have lost the use of their farms by the government taking control. The government thinks it controls the public when it is supposed to be the other way around.

Also this land has another membership sign.

Most of the land around here is either owned or leased by timber companies. Pennsylvania hardwoods are famous.…

It’s May first. The Gaelic pagan holiday of Beltane. Half way between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

And right on queue.

Today I saw the first mayapples pop up out of the ground. Of course these are just the mayapples plants. The actual “apples” aren’t ready until later in the summer. And, while edible, that aren’t really very good and take too much processing to make them palatable. Kind of tastes like bad lemons.

Also many fern fiddleheads are ready. Some types are good to eat. Most are not good, but not poisonous.

As I was walking through the woods behind the cabin yesterday, I heard a strange gurgling or bubbling sound. At first I thought it was my tinnitus. But then it got louder and I noticed it was coming from an old oil well casing. So today I recorded it.

Now nearby Pithole Creek supposedly got its name for deep natural holes beside it. There are tales of people sitting next to the holes and either passing out or dying from breathing the natural gas coming out. I figure it is either natural gas bubbling up through water that has filled the well casing or possibly an underground spring bubbling by the well. The gas seems most likely. Since natural gas has no color or smell the only way for me to know for sure is to hold a match to it. I’m not ready to do that. It may keep burning.

Oh, my daughter says it might be g-g-ghosts.…

I got up early and headed back into the woods. I had a spot all set up with leaves and branches cleared yesterday. I saw two does. At about 10am I decided to go back to the cabin and check on Lily.

While at the cabin I went out on the porch to get some water. I looked into the woods and saw 5 does walking around. I watched for a while when I noticed trucks that passed out on the road slowed or stopped. Then they continued. I figured there must be deer out by the road too. I scanned with my binoculars and sure enough there were several deer. I figured they must all be does since the passing trucks kept on going.

Then I realized that I am in the woods every day. All I wanted today was meat so I could hunt just as easy from the cabin porch. The porch faces back into the woods. Whenever I went inside for lunch I took the curtains down and cleaned the windows so I can look out in the woods.

Right now I am eating lunch and hunting the woods through the front windows.

Based on the many times I have watched deer through this window I see no reason why I couldn’t spot a deer now. I check the other windows every once in a while but I have seen the most deer in this direction. I left my gun out on the porch. If I spot a deer I’ll head out there to check it out.…

A great thing about Christmas time is that the decorations can be found just a few feet into the woods.

Ground pine, ferns, berries and moss.

I even added some ground pine to the gate beside the red reflective tape, which is already in the shape of a pine tree.

I’ll pick up a little more decorations with each walk.…

My daughter came home to visit but it was November 1st. She still wanted to carve pumpkins. So we spent an afternoon shooting all the guns I have (except those lost in that unfortunate boating accident), and her compound bow. Plus we carved pumpkins and put them at the end of the driveway.

And then it snowed.

Speaking of writing, my Dad, who recently passed away, had written a book back in 1991. So I just finished digitizing it and it is now available on Amazon Kindle.

It’s called I Would If I Could But I’m Wood. It is a fictionalized story of his experiences as an United Methodist Minister as told by a church pew. That’s right. First it is a tree being cut down then made into a pew.

Click the book cover to read a sample.

Coming soon. My Dad’s writings about his childhood growing up in Western Pennsylvania called Ramblings: When I Was A Kid.…