Campfire Biscuits/Vacation

Yes, we are back but while I catch up around here, I will be doing short posts about our vacation.

While we were at Black Hawk Memorial Park, I cooked for the first time with my Lodge dutch oven.

While I can cook with propane while camping I have been concerned if we can't or don't have propane about putting meals on the table.

So this was my first attempt.

Biscuits ready to go on. 8 coals under the oven. 16 on top. In hind sight, I would have tried to elevate the pan more from the bottom of the oven perhaps inverting another pan under the biscuit pan

Cooking away. Took about 12 minutes for these to cook. Rather simple recipe as well.

1 tbsp yeast
1/4 cup warm water (dissolve these 2 together)

add
3/4 cup reconstitued powdered milk
1/4 cup sugar
1tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
3 cups flour
(I would add an egg to this recipe as well to make it better)

Allow to rise for a couple hours in a warm sunny place, covered.
Makes 10 -12 biscuits.

The bottoms were a tad over done, but they were tasty with some sausage gravy over them.

And now for the gratitous cute Bear photo.

His first swimming experience!

He loves swimming now! The leash is because he doesn't really come well yet but loves being in the water!

Bear's Idea of an Emergency

 We are gonna be super busy today getting ready for trip on Monday (fishing!) so I will leave you with this update about Bear.

This is truly a dog emergency!

WE ARE OUT OF ICE CREAM!!!

M109A3

 Or better titled Call us Crazy Preppers...

Here is the new beast....

Our plans are to turn it into a rv/bug out truck. Bought it at government auction and drove it home on Thrusday. Of course, par with military trucks, we broke down on the way home. The Grey Knight has lots of mechanical knowledge and is slowly teaching me. I even managed to change the tire on it today (which is no small feat considering the tires weigh 450 lbs each)

The trip was nice though. Bear was a stellar dog! So well behaved considering the long trip.
We stopped at a wayside (remember those?? hardly any states have them anymore!)

Here is the gratitious cute Bear photo...

Begging for the last piece of my lunch. Bear allows me to eat a little of my ...wait no his...food. Love the eyes..so soulful.

Later we stopped at another wayside and while The Grey Knight walked Bear, I used the lovely pit toilet. 2 Seconds later, he sees me running to the car chanting I need my camera, I need my camera..Grabbed it and raced back to take this picture for my fellow bloggers!

Well my p

hoto is as fuzzy as they are!

I called them Baby Round Beavers...they had tiny flat tails.

Huddled together for warmth, no mama in sight, just outside the bathroom door.

Needless to say traveling with us is always an adventure!

Try this one!

Spoiled Rotten

Someone is spoiled rotten around here and it's not me!

He loves his new cooling pool. Though he was unsure about it at first. It quickly became the comedy sitcom of the neighborhood with neighbors coming out of their houses to watch Bear frolick in the pool. If you throw something that sinks in, he has to get it out of the pool, and he puts his whole face in and blows bubbles! The pool is good to stand and go around in circles for about a half hour then it becomes a game of tug of war to move the pool around the yard finally spilling it and then running around with the pool in his jaws like he won a prize or something.

Finally got Bears pack done and we have taken it for a test walk. He doesn't seem to mind having it on once he realizes that we are going for a walk.  Wasn't to much of a pain to construct even with the hand sewing.

We used a extra large dog harness and a set of Coleman ATV bags (19 bucks at Walmart).

Place the bag on table with bag openings to the table, then lay the harness in the postion that it would sit on the dog (this is the hard part making sure that nothing is tangled) The coleman bag has a circle hole in the center and this lines up perfectly with the dog's leash hitch on the harness. Pin into place and then tack with a hand sewing, making sure to use strong thread as this will see alot of wear and tear.  I went over some places with the sewing machine just to give it added strength.

And there you have a dog bug out bag or a dog walk backpack for less than 20 bucks (if you already have the harness.

Will try to get pictures this weekend of it on the dog.

The Lists!

I'm a lister. I make tons of lists and leave them all over the place in order to keep on track around here.

I have lists for inside, the farm, prepping, sewing etc etc.

Right now I am working on checking things off the lists. With spring here they get big.

On the sewing list, I have been working on putting Bear's bug out bag (or walking backpack) together. With him being such a large dog, it is impossible to find a premade one. Will do a post on how I constructed it later.

On the farm end of things, (hands head in shame) I am still working through getting this fall's wheat threshed and sorted. I am saving the shafts to make bee skeeps with. Mainly decorative but a trade or barter item with the yuppies around here. We are getting a delivery of dirt later in the week so I can fill the remaining raised beds. Add that to the list....

Put some burdock root, dandelion root to dry for spring tonic, clover looks like it will be up soon. Harvested shepards purse to dry for ointment and also for seed.
After this bout of cold mornings this week, the Grey Knight is off this weekend and will be getting the big tiller out to finish the main gardens. Planting next week before we run off south for a week. We set up a timed irrigation system on Saturday which should work pretty good. We really haven't gotten much rain this spring. Weird weather.

On the prepping side of things, we ordered paracord last night to make belts and watch bands etc. Looking a handgun thats on sale at Bass Pro. We should get some range time in when we are down south.

Today will be spent working on the wheat again and possibly finishing Bears bug out bag. Its slow going as it has to be handsewn. May your days be productive!

Beth chases Bear out with wheat straw in his mouth!

Blowing Dogs?

I know the old saying is raining cats and dogs which is supposed to be a horrible thing...

Obviously they have never seen blowing dogs!!

Newfies shed their undercoat twice a year, this is our first experience with it.
Mind you this is just one brushing, he has had 2 before this and still needs a few more before its all gone.

The dog isnt the only thing fuzzy apparently.

He was pitching a fit to go out after this and then for a truck ride to get a burger.

Wierd thing is I saved the fur. They tell me its good to spin and knit with so when I go south in a few weeks I'm gonna pick up a hand spindle.

Enjoy your fur free house! 

Weekend work

Imagine this full since I failed to take a before picture.

As you can see this is a healthy sized compost bin probably 6 ft by 4 foot in size and a good 2 and half feet tall. Yes this was full before. One goose egg and a mouse family later, its empty!

Here is where its all gone. You can see other summer projects in this picture as well. The roof on the left needs replacing, a gate is being built between the 2 building to hide the area, that wood on the right and all the wood in front of this barn needs to be spilt. We had a big wind storm that was a boon for our wood levels this year. The next raised bed that is being built is around the trees in the right side of the picture, there are 3 of them (small dwarf apple trees). The raised bed will encircle all 3 of them and will be planted with a apple guild then.

The Grey Knight has mandated that I take the day off today to give my hands a chance to heal. I don't know if anyone else has hand issues, but I do so much around here and then go inside to play in the water doing dishes cleaning , dog drool (LMAO) that my hands crack and bleed. I use a hand cream that they use on cow's udders called Udderly smooth, but if i dont use it like 4 times a day, I get in this shape on my hands.

Speaking of Dog Drool.... We are calling him Bear McHair lately as he is blowing out his coat. Tons of hair everywhere!!

Shamelessly cute animal photos

Well a few have been asking for more pictures of the Bear...

This was on a particularly hot day last week while I was out weeding herb bed #1. I had doused Bear in the shower and he was guarding his water bowl (which is really just a mixing bowl). Bear's favorite activity outside is to have me fill this bowl, then he paws into it, upends it and has a great time chasing the water, repeat repeat repeat. Just like a 2 year old sometimes!

Yesterday as I was catching up housework from my being laid up with my back, I noticed it was awful quiet ...Hmmm another 2 year old reference? If he's quiet, he is into something! I go looking for him and here is what I found....

Hmm? another shower Mom??



Please ignore my shower walls. The house is a old camp house with well water that is so hard I don't have to use mordant for dying anything. It's a monthly chore for me to scrub the walls with Iron Out.

This morning, Bear started barking while outside. I go out half expecting him to be barking at something blowing across the lawn (tumbleweeds and garbage from the main road fear Bear!), and found our spring visitors are back, though startled by Bear!

Bob and Daisy have been regular visitors to our farm for the last 4 years. They are a nesting pair who successfully fought off a terroritial dispute on the roof of the house last year. Next door to us, we have a bog which they nest in along with several pairs of Canadian geese.

Yes, they are the only reason I keep bird seed around the farm. Bob is such a good mate, he watches over Daisy while she eats, then rushes to get something into himself while Daisy squawks at him that she's ready to go home. Once they start nesting, we will see them alone in turns. They have never brought babies with them so I don't know if one of them is shooting blanks.

So here are the shamelessly cute animal pics for this week.
Beth and the zoo around here!

A Note from Bear (or how my life has changed)

Bear here,

 I tell you my life has sure changed since January (the last 2 months). Before these new owners scooped me up, I had the run of 12 acres. I spent most of my time outside and only came in at night to sleep on the garage floor. I saw the lady owner once a day when she gave me my dry brown stuff she called kibble.

Talk about trauma!! These 2 people showed up and petted me and handed my owner lady some green flat stuff (my owner pays for stuff i want with it, so it must be worth something, but if you ask me its not it doesnt smell good so its not to eat). Then they stuffed me in this grey big thing they call a truck. This truck was very scary, you aren't gonna believe this!! It moves on its own!!!

Once I got to this new place, they call home, they stuffed me in this box and wet stuff came down on me, they put this other stuff on me that doesn't smell like food but smells okay. But the new owner lady said I smelt better.

They gave me lots of pets and hugs and praise. They even took me to this big box that is filled with dog chewing things (they call it the pet store). I get bones to chew on, balls to pop, and these hard chewy things that my new owner lady calls treats.

Now, I hate to be outside. I've decided this thing they call the bed is much better to be on, though they don't like me on it much when I've been outside and its wet. The bad thing is they make me stay outside when they do this thing they call farming. (Bears owner here --Bear hates to be outside now more than a half hour, thinks he's being tortured) Though if I'm out a while, the owner lady gives me this clear stuff she calls ICE which I love to crunch on.

But I've figured out that if I'm good outside , they give me this white stuff they call ice cream, MAN THAT STUFF IS AMAZING!!! Or they take me out for a TRUCK RIDE which is pretty cool now too, since I get this thing they call BURGERS!!!

So all in all, I think I got it pretty good compared to my old life!
Bear your friendly Newfoundland puppy!

Bear or known by his AKC name,Waskii Running Bear, is our 7 month old Newfoundland puppy. He is a new edition to the farm only being here for the last month or so.

Bear started out with a sad story. He is a puppy mill rescue. We thought we were getting him from a reliable breeder but after traveling 10 hours to get him, we found a place in disarray, horrid smells and a puppy who had been sorely mistreated.

Bear was originally bought by the breeder to
 be a stud, so that the breeder could produce more puppies. Unfortunately or fortunately for Bear's sake, his man jewels didn't fully drop making him undesirable for breeding. So since she couldn't breed him, she put him up for sale and stuck him outside on 12 acres of land to run wild with other dogs she has. Bear only saw humans once a day for food.

Newfies are a very social breed with a high drive to please their humans. Bear had none of those opportunies to please his humans before we loaded him up into our truck and vastly changed his world.


Don't get me wrong. Having a 70 lb (at the time) Newfie that had no socialization skills, had never had a car ride, been inside a house, or a crate, wasn't easy. But that said, Bear has intergrated himself well into the farm life here and is fast becoming spoiled rotten.

He will be starting his backpack training shortly. Waiting for the extra large dog harness to come and then constructing it with a set of ATV bags. Finding things big enough for a 90 lb puppy who will grow to be over 200lbs is hard.

You can't see me, right? Right?

Bear has fast become part of our family around here.