Season's Greetings...

 It wasn't a spectacular Christmas.  Pretty quiet.  Kelly and I have the Yule log cake another shot.  This one tasted amazing, but didn't even resemble a log.

Guess we won't win any cake decorating contests.

Ella was wore out.  

I took her for a walk today.  It was actually nice pretty nice out with a warm South wind.

I was able to capture this Solstice sunrise.  A beautiful way to begin winter.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Hello moon

 Not much going on to speak of.  Just keeping my head above water before Christmas.  Today was beautiful and the moon last night was breathtaking.

It looks peaceful.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

Keep your eyes open...

 It was a long miserable week.  I've never been so happy for the weekend.  Yesterday wasn't much better as the wind blew and it snowed some.  Today Ella and I couldn't wait to go for a run.  That was short lived.

Our ridge was covered in fresh lion tracks.  Ella wanted nothing to do with it and headed back to the cabin.

Last week this photo was posted online.

It wasn't taken far from our place.  I'm sure they are the cats that made the tracks I saw today, due to the several different sized prints.  

Ella will be staying on the porch for awhile.  She is so funny, because she barks now before she goes anywhere.  We will have to be extra alert.

Other than that, life is slow.  I am happy to report that I'm ready for Christmas.  Gifts are bought and the lights are up.  I sure enjoy seeing them when I come home from work. Are you ready for Christmas?  Do you enjoy Christmas lights?

Oh deer...

 Hunting is over so I've switched to a camera and have had pretty good luck.  Here are a few local beauties.

Above, this guy's ear is all mashed, so we call him Holyfield.  After the Tyson) Holyfield fight, where Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear.   

They have really been fighting.  Most have broken tines and a few have even broken off the whole antler.  

My Christmas present shipped quicker than expected and was difficult to hide, so it was an early Christmas for me.  Not only that, but we got some snow. 

A new bumper for my Jeep.  Thank goodness for YouTube videos.  I never would have figured out how to get the old bumper off otherwise.  Most women want clothes and jewelry.  Give me Jeep parts any day and let me put them on.  My husband did have to help undo the factory bumper bolts.  I gave it every once of my strength and they wouldn't budge.  I feel better with this bumper as there are a lot of deer around here.  I had this type of bumper on my old Jeep and it held up good.

I took this photo bow hunting last week.  I love sunrises and sunsets.  The colors are always so intense.  Do you have a lot of deer where you live?  Where do you see them most often on the road or in the yard?

Now I watch and wait...

 My red yellow flower bed was abysmal this year.  It used to be one of my more exciting beds.  Then slugs ate my lupins.  My black eyed Susans didn't reseed.  Grass and moss choked out my painted daisies.  It's only the daffodils that gave a show.

That was it for the whole year.  Pretty, but a one shot wonder.  Drastic measures had to be taken.  First, I pulled everything up.  I got rid of the grass, moss, and creeping Charlie.  I added compost and soil.

Step two, I ordered some more Lupins, bleeding hearts, and seeded it with red hollyhocks and black eyed Susans.

Finally, my tulips arrived.    They sure made a trip.  They went from Pennsylvania to Minnesota to Rapid City (an hour from here).  Then they went to Ohio, Kansas, Colorado, Ohio, and Kansas.  I figured they were lost for ever.  When lo and behold...

My husband sent me a text at work.  They finally came.  So you know what I did this weekend.

Now is watch and wait...

Projects...

 I don't have a lot to post.  I've been busy hunting and doing projects.

My log cabin quilt blocks are slowly adding up.  I need 67 and am up to 30.  Almost halfway.  I really enjoy quilting during the cold months.  

I am enamored with nature.  To me natural elements are the most amazing form of artwork.  To celebrate this I've been dabbling in creating jewelry from nature.  We have plenty of antler sheds around to utilize.  My dad is keeping me supplied in porcupine quills and preditor claws.

I don't know if I will try to sell anything yet, but maybe.  Do you have a hobby that you sell occasionally?  Any business plan ideas?  

Bird is the word...

 I finally got a photo of a brown creeper.  They are one of my favorite birds.  I love watching them spiral up and down pine trees.  They don't come around the cabin often and usually by the time I have grabbed my camera they are gone.  Not today.  

I also had a few other bird photos from October that haven't been shared.  Here is a white-crowned sparrow.

This one was a little more difficult to identify.  I call them my little brown hoppy birds.  I think it is an American Tree Sparrow, but if I am wrong let me know.

I finally updated my Bonnie's Bounty list from 2020 to 2021.  November seems a little late, but I guess better late than never.  I don't use my computer much to blog as it is extremely slow.  That is why it has taken so long to update the Bounty and the header.  I made a fabulous quick bread today 30 Minute Cranberry Wild Rice Rolls.  I found the recipe in ihearteathing.com.

1/3 c. butter melted

1 c. milk 

2 T. instant yeast

2 T. honey

1/2 t. salt

1 egg

1/2 c. cooked wild rice

4 c. flour

1/2 c. dried cranberries.

Melt butter and add milk until 110 degrees.  Mix instant yeast with honey.  Add warm milk mixture.  Add salt and egg.  Slowly add 2 c. flour and mix.  Add last 2 cups of flour and knead in cranberries.  Dough will be sticky.  Let rise 10 minutes.  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until lightly golden brown.  Yumm.  Perfect with elk and wild rice stew.  

I did some deer hunting this weekend.  I wasn't really intent on shooting anything as our freezer is full.  I just enjoy watching the world wake up.  It was very refreshing to hear the turkeys coming off the roost, the lone pheasant cackle, the grouse grousing, the ducks quacking, and the geese honking.  The flickers, chickadees, and blue jays hopped from tree to tree.  Occasionally perching above me and peering down with a questioning look.  There was an owl and some coyotes in the background.  A hawk slowly circled over.  I had deer all around me.  A beautiful 5x5 buck was chasing does oblivious to me only 10 yards away.  I also watched a bright white cat stalk across the prairie looking like a shining beacon glowing against the brown background.  A coyote trotted across the pasture on the other side of the river.  My job is very high stress, so those few hours just sitting quietly and watching the world go bye brings me great peace. 

Do you keep track of your yearly harvests?  Have you tried any new recipes lately?  What environment brings you peace?  

Sunrise to Sunset.,.

 

I saw this beautiful sunrise on the way to work a few days ago.  All week I kept hearing how we were supposed to see the Northern lights.  I made it a point to drink lots of water before bed, so I would have to get up and go to the bathroom.  Then I would look outside for the show.  My plan worked, except one night I slept like a log  Guess what night was crystal clear and people saw the lights?  Drat.  I missed them again.

I haven't been up to a whole lot.  I did save the seeds from my pumpkins then fed the shells to the deer.  It is crazy how the love pumpkins.  In town people don't worry about people ruining their pumpkins, it's the deer.  

We have one little spike that is addicted to apples.  Every morning he is under our apple tree looking for fresh drops.  Saturday morning Ella was relaxing on the lawn and I threw her an apple.  She munched it down just in time.  That little buck must have smelled it and came on the run.  He sat there and sniffed where she had been eating it.  Then he came up to us on the porch hoping she had left a piece for him.  My apple tree may be in trouble when he gets bigger.

I got some of the plants I ordered and was able to get them in the ground.  I'm still waiting for the tulip bulbs.  Tracking once said I would get them Oct. 8.  After the 8th came and went it said pending delivery.  Then tracking said it would show up on Nov. 3rd.  Nope and now it has gone back to pending delivery.  It took a month for Fed Ex to get it from Kansas to Colorado.  

That's all from my corner of the world.  When was the last time you saw the Northern lights?  Do the deer eat apples from your apple trees?

Trick or Treat...

 I was going to wait until 8:00 to post so I could have an accurate count of our trick-or-treators.  I think it is safe to say zero.  

It was a great week, despite the fact I don't have any pictures.  We celebrated our 27th anniversary and my birthday.  Normally I have no issues getting older (in fact I love getting older), but so far this week I have lost one of my elk ivories and my reading glasses.  I'm not off to a good start.

If you are not familiar with what elk ivories are, they are remnants of tusks found on elk's prehistoric ancestors.  The tusks were 6-8 inches long.  The elk and walrus are the only North America mammal to have ivory.

Native Americans used the ivories to decorate dancing dresses.  I'm going to have mine made into jewelry.  I guess I am going to have one made into a necklace inlaid into one of my bear claws.  I put the second one somewhere logical.  Someday I'll remember what logic I was using at the time. 

I'm afraid that is my only excitement.  I took the month of October off to elk hunt and celebrate life in general.  I go back to work tomorrow.  Sob... 

I hope everyone enjoyed their October.  It is my favorite month.  Happy Halloween 🎃

How much can you do in a weekend?

 Quite a bit was accomplished this weekend.  I didn't plan it that way.  One thing just led to another and bam!  Things got done.

First, was the last of my elk meat.  Thirteen pounds of meat to season and dehydrate.  While I was in the kitchen, I might as well make some caramel apple jam.  Since I had everything out to make jam I might as well make jam out of the wild strawberries I gathered this summer.  I only had a scant quart of strawberries, but thanks to Ball real fruit pectin I found a recipe that fit my needs.  Voila....

Wait!  Are those cookies in the picture?  One of my other goals was to send some cookies to my nephew and cousin to celebrate their first year of college.  I will put together a care package for them tomorrow.

Speaking of projects for family, we have a nephew graduating in May.  This will be my third graduation quilt.  I'm hoping to complete ten log cabin blocks a week.  Deer hunting starts soon, so I'm not sure how well I'll keep that goal 

Back to my elk.  I am sending an elk ivory tooth and one of my bear claws to a lady in Montana.  She makes necklaces from them.

I'm super excited to see how it turns out.  My husband finished cleaning my elk skull for a European mount.  He did a great job.

I think that is everything.  Six jars of caramel apple jam, 5 jars of strawberry jam, 13 pounds of jerky, two batches of cookies, and ten quilt blocks.  Oh, can't forget, Ella and I squeezed in a two mile walk somewhere in the middle of that.

That has to be one of my busiest weekends.  Do you have one that sticks out as a super achiever weekend? In what type of projects did you partake?  I hope you had a great weekend.

Drat...

Anyone who has followed me for awhile knows what 'drat' means.  

 Drat means shoveling and the beginning of winter.  

At least we were able to enjoy fall, even if it was for one month while winter lasts for 9 months.

I've used my time off to continue canning.  Yesterday, I made some raspberry jam.  Last week, I also went to Spearfish to get material for this year's graduation quilt.  On the way to the quilt shop I passed this gentleman on the road.

I found this woodland panel at the quilt shop.  It will be perfect.  Now I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of it.  I always enjoy working on a quilt during the winter.

So fall fell and now winter begins.  I have a freezer full of meat, berries, and garden harvest.  There is a project to keep me busy.   I'm ready to settle in for the winter.  How about you.  Has fall fallen where you are?  Are you ready for winter?