For real

Enough to actually shovel from the car parking spot! The weatherman promised "accumulation", we got about 2".
Carrie was kind to our birds, refilling the multiple feeders and suet holders around the cabin. Besides the birds, we are feeding one very fat fluffy squirrel, the large variety - he's bigger than Jetta, as she discovered.

The entrance to our winter wonderland. Another 6 inches, and the snowmobiles come of the barn!

The back porch is too cold for the more tender perennials, they are now frozen. But the winter hardy herbs - chives, rosemary, and thyme are doing OK. The insulation is scheduled to be finished this weekend, then the shelves can go in for the canning storage and I can stop climbing over canners and boxes of empty jars in the kitchen!

Next blast from the Alberta Clipper is due in Tuesday and Thursday, to usher in December!

It's heeeerrrrreeeee....

FINALLY! After a couple of teasers the past two weeks, we actually got enough snow last night to call it an accumulation. The daytime temp never got above freezing, so it stayed around until a few peeks of sun struck, and most of it gradually faded away. But then another flurry went through this evening, and that's the way it will be for a bit. Off and on snow, here and there. A little north of us, they got 3 inches. Across the lake, they got 2 feet.

I stepped out on the back porch landing to get this photo. Didn't even have to take off my slippers!
Then I put my boots on and took seeds out to the bird feeders. The birds were ready for me, they are getting pretty used to me moving around the feeders. A chickadee stayed within arm's reach, and a downy woodpecker hung out just above my head. These are probably chickadee tracks. There were blue jays and cardinals out this morning, too, warming up a cold morning with their flashy color.

This is the little female downy woodpecker. She and her hubby have been regular visitors all year long, raised a family, and now look like they are going to hang around for the winter. That suet is a big attraction!

The snow was dryer this time, little teeny round pellets. Not enough for snowballs which is just as well, because this type of snow doesn't pack worth beans.

Even when the brilliant fall leaves are down, there are always splashes of color. These barberries are what's left of some landscaping around the old house.

I've had my fur-lined winter boots and heavy socks sitting by the door for several weeks, just waiting for the snow. There is a piece of indoor-outdoor carpeting from the front porch out along where we park, cuts down on mud and dirt. Also makes a great contrast to boot tracks! The sunshine was just enough to cast a little bit of shadow.

The front porch is loaded with dry wood, and a stack of bagged pellets. Alot of BTUs right there!

I am so spoiled, I can walk out in my slippers to get wood or pellets, protected from wind, rain, and snow. Although later on I will have to put on a coat and hat and gloves for that little trip. When it gets down around 20. Next week.

Winter snow is such a tease. Now you see it, now you don't. The only constant is the COLD! This weekend starts the deer gun season, just ended the bow season. The weatherman reported on the evening news that the deerstand sunrise temp for Saturday morning, opening day, will be 15 degrees. Daytime high of 27. Hope Brent has his longjohns unpacked from the winter clothes storage...

FORECAST: hot chocolate, with an accumulation of marshmallows.

How cute is this!

Both of these guys register high on the cuteness scale! Leo loves kids. Max is more than willing to aid and abet Leo's quest for treats.

See how they are color coordinated? We planned that. You betcha.

Look out, Bambi

I've addressed the difference between deer hunting in Wisconsin VS Oregon, where I was raised. Besides the Earn-a-Buck program, and unlimited deer as long as you fulfill the tag requirement (one doe per buck), the WAY hunting is conducted in Wisconsin was a real shocker. The hunters sit in trees. Yep. Like a bunch of turkeys. You can take that any way you want. We have many varieties of turkeys here.
Brent, who was raised hunting in Utah, was likewise taken aback. Having just received a great deer rifle, he found that he actually needed a shotgun. Yep. Lest I mislead you, they draw the line at using "buckshot" or "birdshot". They use slugs. But shotguns. I ask you.
Ah well. When in Rome...
The idea appears to be, you climb up in your deerstand or tree, and wait for the deer to wander by and introduce themselves. If they come out of a cornfield, all the better. Corn fattened, already.
If you look very closely, you will see an orange spot in about the center of the trees. Up about 20 feet.

Look closely. This is NOT a turkey. They avoid florescent orange attire. This is a hunter. Next to a cornfield. Need I say more?

Confession: this is actually Brent. Late in the evening, just after work, he could squeeze in a couple hours of "hunting". (I can't help it, it just ain't huntin'...that's where you actually go out and hike around and kick the deer out of canyons, and climb ridges, and ...oh never mind). We do like venison, and Brent did fill some space in the freezers last fall with some good venison. He's adapting. And, I hasten to say, he is NOT a turkey.

This day, Bambi was safe.

Service with a smile...

Living on my own now, I find there are things I can't do. Usually involving lifting, or climbing. That's when I call in the troops. Than and Collin are always so willing to help me, sometimes even riding their bikes over to take care of an SOS from the cabin. Even when they just come for a visit, they walk in the door asking, "Do you need us to do anything, Grandma?" How cool is THAT?!

The last load of firewood needed to be put in the woodshed (front porch). Carrie came over with the pickup and the punks, and it was done in no time at all! With lots of horsing around and laughing, as usual.

The guys stayed for the afternoon, doing a short list of little things that it's nice to have help with. I don't bend over too well, and kneeling - well, my knees just say NO. There were a few things that needed caulking - all I had to do was mention "caulking gun" and they were all over it. I think it has something to do with that hunter-protector gene males come with, which is directly programmed with the word "gun". Collin got the pesky little crack around the door jam that you never realize is leaking air until the temperature drops below 40. It's been in the 30s mostly, so high time to get this done. Thanks, Col. He got the window in the bathroom, too.

Than grabbed the gun to seal up the base of the walls around the back door landing. A good rain storm showed us that the water would find it's way underneath and sneak into the back porch. Not on Than's watch!


Remember all those pumpkins? And all those pumpkin innards? Collin tackled separating the seeds from the pulp and strings - not as easy as you might think, especially if you have an aversion to slimy seeds. He was a trooper, and as soon as Than finished his task, he sat right down to help. They are so funny, chatting and joking together - it's always a revelation to listen to them. They make any job fun.

One of the little jobs I had sitting around for the past month was getting the leaves stripped from the dried basil. I love to do this job, it smells sooooo good! Basil is my all-time favorite seasoning herb, which I believe I've mentioned a time or six.

Than made short work of this little chore. I was sad to turn it over to him, but so happy to get it off the list...

When all the leaves are off, I crumble them up more...

and store them in a glass jar. Labels are important with dried herbs, they all tend to look pretty much alike at this stage. But take the lid off, and you immediately know what you have - there is just nothing to compare to home-grown and dried herbs, the fresh flavor and scent is awesome.

I finally have a porch with huge windows to keep herbs growing all year. At least, that's the plan. In Washington, this would have been guaranteed. Here, with our months of below-freezing weather, it will be a challenge. But for now, the plants I potted up out of the garden are settling into their new home, and we'll just have to see how they do. The guys packed in 6 of the cinder blocks from the dismantled garage foundation, stacked them for supports, and put the planks on for a shelf. Pretty nifty!

This is just an afternoon's sample of how spoiled I am having the boys live just around the corner. Not only do they answer an SOS from the cabin promptly, they do it with a smile and throw in the entertainment free.

The Other Face

Not too many days ago, the punks were saying they would sure like to go swimming in the lake. They had been working, I think. There are a couple of fairly secluded beaches we enjoy for walking and horsing around in the water. I find it intriguing that there are white sand beaches here.
Our area of the lakefront is unique, there are only two places like it on Lake Michigan. This entire area has a strong pattern of glacial movement, where the glaciers retreated and stopped, retreated and stopped, creating some interesting land features. Then the winds came along, and sculpted and dug and added to the topography. We have a special area that is termed ridges and swales, much of which is in our nearby favorite wildlife area, Woodland Dunes. These ridges and swales (the swales are the low areas between ridges)extend out into the lake, setting up some prime wave action when this sea-like lake turns it's other face.

Driving back from Manitowoc last week, I noticed that the lake was in it's warming-up-for- winter mode - nasty.

Did I ever mention, we are in Harley country? Made in Milwaukee, you know. And every town has a Harley shop. I want one. Harley, not shop. I have NO idea what cages are. Makes ya think, already.

This area, once winter really sets in, and we have a nice stretch of 5 degree weather, will be solid ice. Big pieces break off and are pushed up on top of each other. The houses right on the lake have been damaged from ice floes in the past... The ice will extend 200-300 feet out at times.

The Harley sign was in the Yacht club parking lot. All the boats are in dry dock now, hauled up about a month ago. The car ferry to Michigan stopped running the end of October, too. This lake is nothing to mess with, good weather or bad. A marine history display at the library noted all the shipping wrecks and missing boats over the decades. Impressive. There is a whole diving industry here, taking people down to some of the wrecks.

If you look closely on the horizon, you can see the lake change color, more blue. In the summer, the shore waters are mint green and turquoise, almost tropical. It's a lie. That is one cold lake. There is a line a mile or so out, the turquoise stops and the water turns midnight blue where the deep water starts. There are places considered bottomless in the Great Lakes, especially Lake Superior.

In stormy, wind whipping weather, the shallow shore waters, the ridges and swales, churn up sand and turn the water this milk-chocolatey color.

There is a paved path from Manitowoc to Two Rivers, 12 miles of beautiful lakefront called the Mariner's Trail. During the summer, there are always walkers, bikers, folks on roller blades, joggers, dog walkers...it's a favorite destination for hot evenings, catching the lake breeze.

But summer has been tucked away in memories, and fall weather has thinned the ranks. I only saw two people this day, for understandable reasons. There were actually small snow flakes in the air, a fair storm was on its way in. I got home just in front of it. Sure makes you appreciate that cozy wood stove.

Put a little spice in your life

As you all know, one of my "happy places" in life is in the kitchen. I have some pantry pickin's to share that you might enjoy, too.
Here's the gang. Some teas, some spices, some other stuff.

I love the holidays mostly because Bigelow and Celestial Seasonings come out with special tea flavors. When I want to give myself a treat, I use one of my cute tea pots and a special cup. The teapot I found at a local tea shop called the Honey Pot. The cup was a gift from Bill because I loved the black inside!
So here are some of Bigelow's offerings this season. The Eggnogg'n is really good, with a bit of sweetener to bring out the flavor. I use Stevia, rather than sugar or an artificial sweetener. My sister-in-who told me about the Eggnogg'n last year, uses two bags for a big flavor. I found that 1 bag worked for me just fine.

The teapot I found at a thriftstore for $1, isn't it a little cutie?! The cup is one of my favorites because of it's shape and color.

The next tea in the stack is Apple Cider, and it's very good, too. It does the job for me in place of the apple cider mixes that are so full of sugar. Again, I use a bit of sweetener with it.

The bottom box is so yummy - I adore gingersnaps, and while this isn't in cookie form, it's a pretty good substitute! Spicy, warm and satisfying.

Here's another tea I recently "discovered". I have several Tazo flavors, and this one is probably my favorite now. The intensity of the orange is wonderful, very uplifting. All of these teas are in individual foil packages, so it's easy to keep a couple in my bag, or coat pockets. I have my tea wherever I go, I just stop at a convenience store and get a cup of hot water for free, and enjoy a refreshing break on the road. It's nice when I am visiting, too, not everyone enjoys herb teas so I'm always prepared!

Changing gear. I have been searching for a good Greek seasoning. There is one called Cavender's that is great, but it has MSG in it, which I avoid. I'm using McCormick's Gourmet Collection Greek Seasoning for now, it's a nice blend. I use it with everything from eggs to soup, fish, chicken, egg salad.

Then I found these wonderful clear-lidded containers. Also from McCormick. They are actually seasoned sea salt, so the herb flavors aren't as pronounced. You use just a pinch of the salt, and it's OK, but I like a real flavor burst from the herbs, and to get that I'd have to bigtime overdose the salt. So while I love the containers, the salt blends aren't the first thing I reach for. I may have to find them a new home.

Looks very good, huh?! Just be careful the first time you use it, so you don't oversalt.

This canister has nothing in it. It just has a wonderful design! Another thrift store find, 25 cents.
I had to show you this Blue Pumpkin. I'll be baking it tomorrow, so we'll see how orangey it is inside....

Isn't this a marvelous painting? I have it on the counter for eye candy, gives me a little smile every time I look at it. Sometimes it is just as important to feed the soul as the body...

As for feeding the body...vitamins are important, too. Carrie found this super product online, it is very potent, with a huge amount of supporting ingredients. A full spectrum of vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, crucial oil blend, immune support blend, amino acid blend, digestive enzyme blend, and green super food blend. A real power house. We both use this, and have better stamina, energy, and overall "feel good-ness" (is that a legal word??). It can be ordered at http://www.12inone.com/. It's made by Ultimate Nutraceuticals, I thinks it's about $24 for a month supply, 2 gel caps a day.

Last by not least - a new salsa! This stuff is extraordinary - but only if you like cilantro and green olives! Here I'm having it on turkey patties - it's good on eggs, too. Salpica Cilantro Green Olive Salsa. Try it - you might like it!

Well, there's a sample of some of my new kitchen partners. Cooking can be plain and simple, and it often is here in the cabin kitchen. But a few new kid's on the block keep it interesting. Spicy, even!

Carotene

It's rather ironic, orange has never been one of my favorite colors. In fact, I rather dislike it. But one of my very favorite veggies is squash AKA pumpkin. This is the one time of year I LOVE orange. The deep, glowing type of orange that comes over a ripe pumpkin. Pumpkin is packed with carotene and all kinds of stuff that's good for you. I like it just plain baked or steamed. Adding sugar and spices puts it in the realm of ambrosia.
We can store pumpkin in the basement, but if someone happens to leave the window in the storage room open (ALL MONTH) it will freeze and deteriorate into a very uneatable form. Yep, it happened. So this year we're canning it, just to make sure we have it when we want it.
We grew sugar pumpkins this year, just for this occasion. I like the smaller size of this type, they are easier to cut in half than the monster field pumpkins. And easier to disembowel.

Ah, there you are, my little pretties. YOU, my dears, are destined to become a most scrumptious, nutritous snack.

I put the pumpkin halves cut side down on cookie sheets, baking about 45 minutes at 350.

After baking, they have to cool just a bit to handle. Then the innards are scooped out.

The next step is to plop the pulp into the food processor, and voila', a velvety fragrant thick puree of orangy goodness.

Here we are again - hot jars, hot puree which has been thinned just a bit with hot water, hot lids, and my trusty canning cup.

Because pumpkin is such a dense veggie, it must be pressure canned. Or frozen. But we like the idea of not using extra power via the freezer when we have an option, so we can. Besides, frozen pumpkin is a bit more watery when thawed, whereas the canned stuff is thick and ready to rock and roll in our favorite pumpkiny creations.

The pressure canner is a real time saver, you just have to be brave the first time you use one.

Some scary stories out there. But it's easy, honest. Just have to keep an eye on that gauge during the time required for whatever you are canning. For pumpkin puree? 11 lbs for 65 minutes. Packed chunks, which can be done too, only need 55 minutes. I had some sweet potatoes that weren't getting used quickly enough, so I steamed them long enough to slip the skin, cut them into chunks, packed them in jars, covered with boiling water, lidded and processed them with the pumpkin in the last load. Multi-tasking, that's what we're all about here on the farm!

And here we are. 13 pints of pumpkin puree, and 3 pints of sweet potato cubes. All tucked in for winter.

The pumpkin will ultimately morph into pies (yeah, baby!), and one of the family favorites, Squash Biscuits. Not one single person doesn't like those biscuits, and for good reason. They are GOOD!
The sweet potato cubes have a great destiny, too. I like them with cooked cold green beans and chopped egg on a romaine salad. With a pear-avocado dressing. Oh boy. Now I'm hungry.

There is just nothing to compare to growing your own food, preserving it for winter, and then EATING it!

Here's a yummy soup, using pumpkin puree. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

ROASTED PUMPKIN AND CARROT SOUP (about 4 servings)

Bake two small sugar pumpkins (halve, seed, rub skin with olive oil and lightly sprinkly with sea salt; bake about 40 minutes, cut side down on baking sheet, at 375 degrees). Cool.

(OR, use a pint jar of your home canned pumpkin puree!)

In medium pot, saute: 1 small onion, chopped

2 T. oil

After about 2 minutes, add: 3 - 4 carrots, diced

pinch of salt

grated zest of 1 lemon

Saute about 2 more minutes.

Scoop pulp from pumpkins, add to vegtables in pot. Add:

2 c. water

1 c. plain soy milk

Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cook until carrots are quite soft, about 25 minutes.

Blend soup in small batches in blender or processor. Return to pot, over very low heat. Simmer 3-4 minutes to thoroughly heat.

Serve garnished with pan-toasted pumpkin seeds and minced parsley.

The Squash Biscuits would be tasty with this soup, if you don't mind a monochromatic meal.

In a hurry? I just use Bisquick, and use pumpkin puree in place of most of the liquid. You kinda have to go by feel, but if you have made biscuits, you'll figure it out.

You could even have Pumpkin Pie for dessert.