The joys of life...

My husband and I had a wonderful adventure this last week.  We went bear hunting in Northome, Minnesota about an hour north of Bemidji.  

The "hunting shack" was beautiful.  It was a little log cabin built by the brother of my husband's friend.  He is one hell-of-a carpenter, because it was perfect.  The bed was soft and warm.  The cabin was cozy.  I didn't even mind the outhouse.  You just had to watch where the giant wolf spider was before you got down to business.  We did not get a bear, but it was still a wonderful adventure. Our host was more than accommodating and the week was filled with stories and laughter.

We came home to turkeys galore in our yard.  The last 4 days they have just been strutting and gobbling their fool heads off.  We have seen at least 3 different mountain lions on our game cameras, but they sure aren't putting a dent in the turkey population. 

This is supposed to be the peak of the colors in Spearfish Canyon, so we went leaf peeping today.  We were super excited to see many mountain goats.  They were more than obliging for photos opportunities.  The problem is there were too many tourists in the way.

I don't know how they do it.  It was 92 degrees today and they were in full fur.  They looked like fuzz balls.  Poor things were also covered in burrs.  Despite that, they seemed pretty content.

Back to the bear hunt.  My husband did see this little teddy bear during the day.  The big bears came out after dark.  Not only did he see this fella, but he also heard wolves.  I'm a little jealous.  I saw lots of skunks, was swarmed by racoons, and saw wolf tracks.  You may ask was I scared walking back in the dark.  I was, but not of bears or wolves.  I was scared I would wander into a skunk.  

I was impressed with the number of eagles, geese, and sandhill cranes.  It was supposed to be grouse country, but the only grouse we saw was when we got home. 

This beauty posed perfectly for a photo.  He was scoping out our crabapple tree when we got home.

This is the skunk filled cornfield I sat in. There is nothing like sitting quietly for 4 hours to fill your soul with peace.  

 The Northern Minnesota landscape was really breathtaking.  There was more farming than I had anticipated.  Corn, alfalfa, and soybeans.  We even hunted by a potato patch.  I managed to find a few leftover potatoes but forgot them when we left.

We had a great start to our adventure, as we stayed in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on the drive out.  We just picked a hotel, and it happened to be on a lake.  They were wonderful.  There was a walking path around the lake that highlighted the natural watershed planted.  The hotel also had a s'mores bar from 8:00-9:00.  What a treat. 

There were many monarch butterflies around.  I had never seen that many.  Also quite a few small brown chirpy birds that I could never identify.

Traveling sure makes a person wonder.  A cabin on a lake in Northern Minnesota would be very fulfilling.  Yet, our little cabin in the woods isn't too shabby either.  The thing is joy is where you find it.  I'm inclined to believe anywhere is as peaceful and relaxing as you make it.  

What are your thoughts?  Is there somewhere you dream of retreating too?  Are you content with your own little piece of the world?  Where do you find your joy?

Always something to keep me busy...

 Our Harrelson apple had an amazing crop this year.  Unfortunately, the apples were hailed on twice and pretty scarred up.  Luckily, the Zestar also had a great crop, and I was able to use those to freeze apples for pies and crisp.  

The apples had to be picked, because they were harming the tree.  Also, the turkeys were landing in the trees breaking branches as they were trying to get to the apples.  What does one do with two bushels of apples? 

I made hard apple cider and apple cider.  Out of 2 bushels I ended up with 4 gallons of apple juice.  I cut up the apples and boiled them, then used the fruit press to eke out the last of the juice.  The best part was I could do it outside and when I was done, just hose everything off.

My flowers are looking pretty good.  I got this geranium on sale for $2.50.  It is fabulous.  My Grandma used to have red geraniums in the windowsills of her classroom.  I will always remember that.   

I am in shock that the deer haven't munched this bed down to nothing.  They love sedum and usually eat my black-eye-Susan's before they bloom.  All I can think is they aren't eating the flower heads.  I keep spraying them diligently with smelly deer repellent.  

The acorn crop this year is absolutely nuts (pun intended).  The oaks are loaded, and the ground is covered.  I've never seen so many.  

The deer are under this oak every morning.  I'm sure the acorns taste good since the lawn has been fertilized and watered.

It isn't just the deer, the turkeys have also been regular visitors.  It is fun to watch the fawns play with the turkeys.  Once in a while, even a doe will get in on the fun.

I don't have much else to share.  I was pretty busy with all of those apples.  The beekeeper came and thought my hives will end up with over 100 lbs. of honey.  That is tremendous.  

What do you do with your apples?  Did you have any big fall harvest projects this weekend?  

Behold the Bounty...

Deep summer has arrived.  The Wooly Caterpillar was marching across the lawn today.  I admire his spiky hair style. 

The bees are loving my borage.  If you have never planted borage, it is well worth it.  The flowers taste like cucumbers.  My nieces loved putting them in our chicken, bacon, ranch, borage wraps.

I have a few chamomile flowers still blooming.  They are such happy little flowers.  

My black-eyed Susans and sedum are still holding strong.  I am astounded that the deer haven't eaten them yet.  Mybe my smelly spray is working.

As always, the picture doesn't do the garden justice.  It is nice to have something that has survived the hail, deer, and whatever else Mother Nature throws at it.

I am completely in love with this hollyhock.  She is about 9 feet tall.  She looks so regal.  The deer ate the bottom, but they couldn't get the top.

The acorns are crazy this year.  They are huge and plentiful.

The turkeys and the deer are loving the acorn extravaganza.  These polts are getting pretty good sized.  I'm surprised at how many turkey polts and fawns we have as the mountain lions and coyotes are pretty regular visitors on our game camera.

Here is the latest garden harvest.  My colorful carrots are amazing.  We fried up the eggplant and it was delicious.  I am so excited that I was actually able to grow and harvest and eggplant.  I have tried this endeavor since I had a greenhouse.  It was worth the effort.

My sweetcorn is never huge, but it is mighty tasty.  I also had a lemon cucumber.  These are by far my favorite cucumber.  I also have a few beans still straggling in.

I had enough veggies from my garden and a zucchini someone gave me, so I canned them.  Seven pints of vegetables for soups, stews, and pot pies this winter.  

Not only was this day productive in the garden, but I also managed to finish a task I had been dreading all summer.  I stained the upper deck.  My mind had it as a much bigger project than it turned out to actually be.  It took about 45 minutes from start to finish.  It sure needed a new coat of stain.  The wood was so dry.  I enjoy doing my yoga workouts on this deck.  In the morning, I do a 7-minute sun-salutation and in the evening, I do a 20–30-minute practice facing the setting sun.  

Do you can your veggies or freeze them?  I do a little of both.  It sure saves time when you come home from work hungry and don't want to wait for the veggies to soften in the soup.  I'm not a patient woman.  Do you have any last-minute projects that you have avoided doing all summer?  Hope your weekend is as productive as mine was.

Someone asked if we grew the peaches.  The answer is no.  The peaches were purchased.  We get them from the same person every year.  He brings them up from Idaho and Arizona.  Our climate is too cold for such things.

Production...

 It was a very productive weekend.  I got my yearly peck of peaches.  They were juicy and flavorful, as usual.  I spent the whole day canning.  In the end: 6 jelly jars of peach salsa, 6 pint jars of honey spiced peaches, 10 jelly jars of vanilla peach jam, 8 little jelly jars of maple whisky peach jam, 3 pint jars of peach syrup, 4 bottles of pineapple wine. Can't forget I also made a peach cobbler that is unbeatable. 

I was exhausted by the end of it.  I started at 9:00am and finished at about 8:00pm.  It was fulfilling to use tomatoes and peppers from the garden for the salsa.  Speaking of the garden, I had another wonderful Minnesota Midget cantaloupe.  I absolutely love these little buggers.

The banana peppers are producing like crazy.  My bumble bee tomatoes aren't ripening as fast as I would like.  Luckily, I had enough for salsa.  The okra is also doing good.  Okra is quickly becoming one of my favorite vegetables.

If that wasn't enough, today I harvested my sweetgrass from my little patch.  I got 14 bundles.  I think that is the most I have ever had.  I cannot describe the smell.  It is heavenly.  

That is all I have for this weekend.  It truly was Labor Day for me.  I cannot wait to go back to work and relax.  Ha.  What did you do for your Labor Day weekend?