The woods are full of them...

The Woods are Full of Them is a cabin game I have for rainy days.  In the game, the woods are full of bears.  Although I have had bears, the woods are full of many other things.  Mainly mountain lions and coyotes.  As you can see, we have two lions.      The one on top is a female.  She has a litter of kittens every year somewhere behind our cabin.  We've come across her several times.  She is extremely skittish and quick to disappear.  Her cubs, not so much.  We have caught them on our cameras romping around and they have had a few kills behind our cabin.  The fellow below is a male and I am not happy about his presence.  You can tell the difference as the female has really black paws and tail.  The male doesn't have any black markings.  I've seen him twice this month.  Both times he wasn't in a hurry.

A few weeks ago, when I took Dollor out before going to bed, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye.  I thought it was a deer and reached for Dollor.  Then under the yard light I realized it was a very large lion lazily trotting across our sidewalk and down the road.  Dollor saw that big, beautiful tail and immediately thought that looked like great fun.  Dollor sprinted after the tail, I sprinted after Dollor, and was yelling for my husband to grab the gun.  Luckily, I caught my wayward pup before he caught that tail. The lion trotted down the road and disappeared into the dark. 

Fast forward 3 weeks and luckily the pup needed out earlier than our normal 6:00 am wake up walk.  I took him out at 5:00 am.  Normally, I wouldn't think that was good but today was different.  I was doing yoga at 6:00 (I should have been outside) when coyotes started caterwauling like crazy.  My husband called out that coyotes were running down the road.  I looked out the window just in time to see... No, not a coyote, but that damn male lion trotting down the road.  I don't know what he did to set the coyotes off.  I am just thankful we weren't wandering down the road when that blew up.  

Tonight, we looked at our game camera caught the female behind the cabin.  This is the time she would have her cubs, and we think her den is somewhere behind the cabin.  Then as I was sitting on the deck enjoying the fire table before the rain rolls in, I heard her calling.  

Not only do we have two lions, but we also have two coyotes.  Also, a male and female.  I'm not as nervous about them, since we always keep Dollor leashed.  If you aren't familiar with coyotes they will chase a dog without hesitation. Long long ago I was taking our Shorthaired Pointer, Ezra, for a run and a coyote was right on his tail as he came out of the woods.  I thought I was going to hit it with my walking stick, but at last second it saw me and took off.  I am confident as long as Dollor is leashed he will be fine when it comes to coyotes. Not so sure the same holds for lions. 

Here is the source of my headache.  So innocent.  He is completely oblivious that it is a dangerous world out there.  I guess it is worth it when he snuggles up to me or as I watch him zoom around in the tall grass.  

If you have a pup, what is your greatest concern?  Probably not lions. 

 

Fall...

 I don't have anything earth shattering.   Just a beautiful fall weekend. 

Not only are the days breathtaking, but so are the nights.

Hope you are also able to enjoy the season.

A fall day...

 What do you do on a rainy fall day?  You bake, make soup, clean up the garden, and go for a hike. My basil got a bit out of control.  I decided to make it into pesto. It turned out pretty good.  I've never made pesto before, but I had to do something with all of that basil.  

Homemade Pesto

1/2 cup walnuts

2 cloves garlic

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

In a small food processor or blender, add the pine nuts and garlic cloves, and gently pulse to break up the mixture until coarsely chopped and chunky.

Add the fresh basil leaves, salt, and lemon juice, and pulse again to break up the basil leaves into the pine nut mixture.

With the food processor running at a low speed, slowly pour in the olive oil through the feed tube or opening. If your food processor doesn’t have an opening, simply add it in batches, running the blade in between, until all the oil has been added.

Add the finely grated parmesan cheese to the food processor, and process again until everything is well incorporated and the pesto is smooth. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper or oil to your liking.

The basil pesto can be used immediately or stored in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or frozen in airtight containers or ice cube trays for up to 6 months.

I put it in muffin cups and stuck them in the freezer.  Hopefully, that will work.  

I tried it on a slice of bread and thought it was pretty good.  I could see using it on my Nana bread pizzas or garlic bread with pasta. 

I got some grow lights and will see how that works.  I brought all of my herbs inside as it is supposed to freeze tonight.  My garden window is certainly a garden.  

It was the perfect fall day, so I made wild rice soup and Texas Roadhouse Rolls. It was a great soup day, as it was a cold rain with hard winds. 

The nice thing about my bread recipe is that it also makes a great cinnamon rolls.  We will have rolls in the morning. 

Dollor did a lot of sleeping this weekend.  We took him on a 3-mile hike down the Michelson Trial on Friday.  That is the longest walk he has been on.  Then on Saturday my cousin and her husband came for lunch.  It was his first time having company over.  A big day for a little dog.  It was the last nice fall day.  We had a good visit.  

My husband harvested his pumpkin on Friday.  It was 73 lbs.  That was a good 33lbs. more than last year.  Every year he makes gains.  My pumpkin was only 3 lbs.  Obviously, I am a slow learner.  

Fall has been wonderful.  I certainly cannot complain.  I've brought in all of my garden decor and cleaned out the vegetables.  I'm sure the snow will fly soon, but will enjoy every minute of fall I can get.

What is your favorite season and why?

Rainy days...

It has been cold and rainy here.  We have been very blessed with a wet year.  It has never really been dry.  I don't mind a rainy fall day. 

This weekend, Dollor learned the joy of a warm fire.  He is a big fan.

I was feeling creative this morning and decided to try popovers.  They weren't bad. Kind of like an eggy pancake.  Very good with syrup.  

 1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 t. salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Add 1 teaspoon of butter per muffin cup and put in the oven until it melts.  When the oven reaches temperature fill cups 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes. I'd include the link, but I cannot find where I got this recipe anywhere. Maybe I just made it up.

Here is my entry for the giant pumpkin completion.  I don't feel confident.  I took down the hail netting and cleaned out the outside garden.  It is done for the year.  

We had some northern lights throughout the week.  Nothing major, but pretty none-the-less.  The sun is coming up later and later.  There was snow in the higher elevations.  I'm sure it won't be long before it his here. 

Did you see any northern lights in your area?  How are the sunrises?  Are the geese or cranes flying over. 

Progression...

Linda from "We Two Travelers" asked that I post my roses progression to pink.  I figured it would be more fun from beginning to end.  It is called Music Box.

The cranes are beginning their progression south.  I truly love to hear them and watch as they make big looping circles as they travel.

The leaves are slowly progressing to their deep golden hues.

Dollor is progressivly growing and learning.  He is learning about my husband's pumpkins.  A nice 20 pounder to decorate our porch.

He is also learning that snakes like to sun themselves on the roads during the fall. This is his second snake encounter.  As you can see it causes him great excitement.

He absolutely loves playing in tall grass.  It is favorite thing to do.  He romps, tumbles, jumps, and then just flops down.  

He goes a hundred miles an hour and then he takes a nap.  He is finally sleeping through the night.  I kind of miss walking amongst the flying squirrels.  Mind you, I don't miss it so much that I am setting the alarm and going out to see them on my own. 

The cabin's decorations have progressed to fall.  Pumpkins, corn, and some mums.  

Are you settling into fall?  Do you decorate your porch?  Did you grow any pumpkins?

Morning walks...

 

I'm actually beginning to enjoy taking the puppy out for morning walks.  It is peaceful and the sunrises are beautiful.  If we get up early enough, I see the flying squirrels.  It seems our little piece of the forest is full of them. I had one go right over my head the other morning.  I thought he was going to land on me.  My enjoyment came to a quick end when I saw the fella below on our game camera right behind the cabin.  I always carry a walking stick and a small gun when we go.  There have been many pets taken by lions in this area.  My cousin had her dog snatched up right in front of her.  Since I am not a morning person, Dollor could be gone before I know what happened. 

 I cleaned out the rose bed this weekend.  Somehow the daisies got ahead of me and were choking everything else out.  I also had to thin out the iris.  Would anyone like some?  I have plenty.  On Saturday, I went to the Deadwood Jam.   Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives played.  They did not disappoint.  I was even able to get in the front row.  

This is my last flower.  The deer have eaten everything else.  It is close enough to the cabin that it has managed to evade them. It slowly turns pink as it ages.  

I am extremely happy to report that I have pears.  I never thought I would see the day.  The trees were planted in 2013.  They aren't the biggest pears or the prettiest, as they have been hailed on numerous times.  Still, the one I ate was delicious.  

My poor chipmunks can't catch a break.  As innocent as he looks, Dollor is obsesses with them.  This is the one time he wasn't following them all around and under the porch.  It is exhausting just watching him.  Finally, this morning I had enough and put the pup in the house so I could sit outside and feed the chipmunks.  Isn't the little bugger just adorable?  I'm glad we were on the porch with them eating out of my hand. 

That is because our resident hawk in the photo below has figured out it is chipmunk heaven here.  She perched above the cabin in the pines.  One chipmunk alarm chirp and every creature in the area disappeared.  

That is life at the cabin.  It sure keeps a person busy.  I'm beat.  I have to go to work to rest.  

A few more early morning walk photos.  I have to say they are growing on me. Now if I could just get a picture of the flying squirrels. 

Are you a morning person?  Do you take morning walks?