Random Chronicle

The Contenders . . .

2011-11-18T06:58:00.001-08:00

A couple of year ago I was asked to do some holiday baking for a friend of a friend. I set out on my quest to produce for this nice lady a wide assortment of cookies, shortbread, squares etc. In doing, i came across a couple of pretty tasty recipes that I think make good holiday choices for my upcoming Cookie Exchange.

Here is a list of possible entrants:

1.) Chocolate Butter Cookies, These, just like their sugary white cousins are also decorated and are delish !
2.) Glazed Lemon Cookies, These are lemon flavored cookies iced with lemony cream cheese icing also delish !
3.) Not So Plain Marble Icebox Cookies, Traditional icebox cookies light and impossible to eat just one !
4.) Almond Macaroons Yep they are as good as they sound
5.) Chai Tea Shortbread these are spicy and irresistible !! (Leading the pack right now)
6.) Lemon Pie Cookies -- I haven't made these yet but I do like Pie !!

The final entry is probably one of my favorite cookies though not because they are quick and easy to make. My mom used to make these cookies (with my diligent assistance) for a yearly tea she held, when I was a kid. They are just called my mom's tea cookies the recipe card they are on is tattered and worn and whenever I make them I have very fond memories. These are like Oreo cookies on CRACK insanely light vanilla wafers made with lots of butter and whipping cream ( how could that not be good) and filled with an always creamy iced filling. I love these cookies, they are labor intensive and pretty tiny, but good things come in small packages . . . .right ?

So that is the list of contenders I have until Dec 9th to decide . . .may be with some help ?

Recipes . . . Where are the Recipes

2011-11-17T07:47:00.001-08:00

As I have entered my first Cookie exchange I thought I should try out some of my possible cookie contenders out here in Cyberspace. There is also the interesting sub-note that I have not posted a recipe in a long time on my blog.

Stay tuned for the full list of possible contenders . . . . .

Better Late than never. . .

2011-11-16T13:18:00.001-08:00

I forgot, well that's not exactly true I just never got around to mentioning that I finished out my trialing year with another Win. It was in the pro-novice class again . . .but a win is a win. Right !!? Judy Finseth and I secretly took off to Lloydminster to compete in the Stockade Roundup. after departing that the completely civilized our of 4am. we arrived in town shortly before I was due to run. There were two heats followed by a final that was held that evening between the open heats. While not flawless, each run in the qualifying heats was good enough to get into the finals in second. The finals Jed and I worked well together and ended up Winning.

A quick bite to eat and we headed home, arriving at the less civilized hour of 4am . . . .a successful 24 hour Turn and Burn :)

Jillaroo !!

2011-11-13T17:51:00.001-08:00

Jillaroo !!

Jill is a Kelpie puppy that I have big plans for . . . that is of course if she stays away from Cosmo long enough for her to grow up.

Jill 10 Weeks old

No she isn`t supposed to be on stock YET !!

Trialing . . . .for once

2011-10-24T09:54:00.001-07:00

I certainly don't blog here as often as I used to. I guess I lost my sense of randomness as the weather closes in I guess it will return. I also seldom blog about my trialing adventures. I suppose that is because with few exceptions Jed and have struggled as a dog and handler team you'll note the word team, indicating that I am atleast . . .atleast 50% to blame most of the time.

However, this past weekend Jed and I travelled south to Oregon to the Fireridge Vineyard Stockdog trial. Mostly it was aln excuse to visit with my friend Dave, however, as there was a trial I figured I might as well enter. The first day, Jed, and I do mean Jed had it in his mind that he shouldn't listen to me so after a nice outrun/lift and fetch I retired at the drive away panels.

Frankly, retireing was a great move. Jed was pretty shocked to see me coming up the field and after a couple of wrecks I didn't feel like giving him the chance to work it out. The next day I sent Jed out lost 1 off my outrun 1 off my lift 1 off my drive an 3 off my pen for a total of 6 off and Final score of 84 (out of 90) . That was good enough for the win that day and my first pronovice win. The final day Jed ran very similar and were it not for a 7 point deduction on the drive which was all my fault, an some uncooperative sheep at the pen we would likely have done better than 76 . . . Respectable, but a four way tie with 80 points bumped Jed and I down to 7 th place .

Really happy with Jed and my performance the sheep were really tough, as evidenced by nearly half the field either retiring or DQ ing the first day. The field was also tougher than this picture demonstrates. Good time and I'll certainly go back.

posted from Bloggeroid

Ducks

2011-09-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

I haz ducks now . . . . The NCR remains chickenless however.

posted from Bloggeroid

Lacamas

2011-08-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

Nicest trial ever !! . . . . . . So Far. . . . . My first at lacamas is not going to be my last. I met some really nice people and really nice dogs. The trial field was smaller than I thought I would be, and Jed and I had a respectable first day. The seccond, day was not our finest hour.

It was punishingly hot, and just prior to the trial jed did something to his foot and wouldn't put any weight on it. Up until the first morning I was seriously considering pulling him. We were traveling with Dave and Trudy Viklund and they had magic pills that seemed to numb his pain. Given that I wrapped his foot and decided to chance it. It paid off the first day but like I said luck ran out on day two.

What really amazed me was how spectacularly well run this trial was. The number of spectators "WOW" I am posting everything an will sort when I get home.

This is the Parking lot in the main Spectator parking. . . .

Over Flow Parking . . . . OVER FLOW !!!!

Set out at the Prov Nov Field.

Just a really really well run Trial can`t wait to go back next year possibly Jed and I will do better !!

posted from Bloggeroid

On the Road

2011-08-14T11:16:00.001-07:00

Well, before I shutter this blog altogether in my move to wordpress I thought I would post a series of blogs about our trip to the Lacamas dog trial.
Currently, we are on the road, having left at 9:30, a little later than we hoped but enroute, never the less.

posted from Bloggeroid

In need of a name . . .

2011-06-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

I recieved a kitten. The kitten is going to live in the house and is very friendly, active, and as Billie would tell you Farty. All of that said I had chosen the name Dorion, as in Dorion Grey. (for obvious reasons) however, it seems not a popular name. Since I am not going to name him Stinky I am in need of a new name. Any ideas?

posted from Bloggeroid

Someday I'm gonna be a star !!

2011-06-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

Taming the Demon is nearly complete

Fun times with friends

2011-06-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Fun at the farm

Kennel starting to take shape

2011-06-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

I have been puting these kennel off for a while now. Finally, I have had enough of the muddy dogs.and what's more 5 dogs just seems like a lot of hair. So I have knuckled down and this is how far I am so far.

More updates to come as I finish.

Well garden

2011-06-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

The pens for the clini

2011-06-07T09:30:00.001-07:00

So I did up a couple of round pens for Viklund clinic a couple of weeks ago it rained pretty solid the whole time and generally underbrush into pudding they are slowly recovering

Mike on the daily walk

2011-06-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

First fire of the year

2011-06-04T23:28:00.001-07:00

The weather broke today long enough for friends to come over for bbq and campfire a good time was had by all

Limited blogging capacity

2011-06-04T11:06:00.001-07:00

Well I think tweaky is going to computer heaven. I am getting a new one today and the transfer will begin. Until then here are a few things that are new. Sorry about the weather but its the content that matters
So here I go.

Anyway that`s mike the Border Collie he is here while Scot us away trialing. Billie refers to his a demon puppy. He is - in all honesty more than a little naughty.
I built Billie a garden around the old well . . .

It has yet to see its full potential.
Here is the remodeled fire pit.

Also I have a new mode of transport. New could be over stating it but new to me and I love it
Yep its an Argo not too fast but it really is allterrain

The Depths of my Dedcation

2011-06-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

So there was a problem with my newest attempt to continue the blog there is lots new and I do indeed have lots to blog about however ....

once I get tweaky back together I will upload my newest posts

Starting up

2011-05-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I take a lot to get things going. . .I have been really keen a few times but something has always come up. So no more excuses I am pulling out all the stops and re-doubling my efforts.

With some help and some luck

I'll get this blog up and running lickety split

lots more to come

Because some times it's worth the wait

Neglected !!

2011-03-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been a poor blogger. . .but that's not news. Anyway in my efforts to not inundate anyone with pictures of lambs I have neglected the fact that I have more than one now.

While I am still waiting for some ewes to finish their business, I currently have 6 ewe lambs and 2 ram lambs. They are pretty neat to watch, and with little exception, the moms have been pretty good.

This Katahdin, was supposed to be dog food, alas as further proof of my poor shepherding skills she got knocked up and produced my two cutest lambs to date:

They constantly snuggle with each other and in general are pretty sweet.

Yep that's pretty much my lambing blog for this year. . . just waiting on two lazy ones to get their business done

Dry Spell

2011-03-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

Or rather a Cold Spell,

It has been ridiculously cold, and frankly we all have suffered through this so I won't rant on and on about it here. I really have just been waiting for something to blog about, something worthwhile, intriguing, etc. . . . . Well, here goes.

On Sunday, Judy and I had out sheep sheared, I was hoping when I booked it (months ago) that it would be warmer out, alas, it was was -26 out to greet my newly sheared sheep. Luckily they have a barn with a ton of straw in which to seek refuge.

The lady who does the shearing has a real job as well but shears small flocks, llamas, and alpacas, whe did a great job and for $7 you can't really go wrong. Turns out shearing is a family affair with lost of visitor coming and going to watch I can't say it was all that warm while we performed this task either, though we were in a barn and out of the wind.

The fruits of our efforts are destined for naught as wool is essentially worthless,

The main reason I wanted to shear my sheep was to examine just how far along my ewes were in their pregnancy. Turns out, pretty close Two day later Tuesday TODAY in fact,

I came home from and excursion for pie to find. . . my first lamb, he is a ram soon to be not so ram-ish. He and his mother appear to be doing well.While the shearing went on we discovered that all of the ewes are pretty close this one is not the one anyone expected first.

He's a little squirmy and wasn't that easy to photograph.

Anyway, finally really had something to blog about this could have been two but I thought I would economize.

I believe I found it . . . .

2011-02-17T08:33:00.001-08:00

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3966802457/

This is by far my favorite movie right now. . . It is AWESOME !!

Seriously !!!

2011-02-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, I Have Seriously Had Enough !!! I am quickly approaching my limit before I embark on a murderous RAMPAGE !!!

Strange Time Friends Strange indeed . . . .

2011-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Rooster Stabs Man to Death at illegal cockfight. . . .
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/08/rooster-stabs-man-to-death-at-cockfight/

Fox Shot by man with own gun. . . .
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/01/14/fox-shoots-man-with-his-own-gun/

End Times are Nigh. . . .

More Dan

2011-02-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

Dan and His Babysitter

Meet Dan

2011-02-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

Hi !! My name is Dan the Man "Dan"

I am an Australian shepherd, and I am only 10 weeks old. My new house has lots of Rules that I don't like. Additionally, there are 4 huge Dogs here that I am hoping to grow up and beat up. For now I only play with them. One is Way too cranky and doesn't like me at all. (Cosmo) One is to fat and Lazy and really not that much fun to play with. (Ozzy) One is WAY WAY to serious and has informed me that he will be interested in me when I "live up to my Hype. . . Whatever that means. (JED) and One. One is Just Right.

Gus is young, just like me he is slightly more serious than me and kida big and scary. But he tolerates me and I really like playing with him. Sometimes he even lets me win.

Finally, Something to Blog about !!!

2011-01-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

SO !! it's a good thing I don't make New Year's Resolutions because if I had it would probably have been to Blog more frequently. It would subsequently, been a failed Resolution. That being said, I have had lots to blog about but it's all been depressing, that was until of course, Billie went and got the mail for me.

I don't check the mail very frequently, I don't care about my Aussie Times, I do enjoy my catalogues, and the like, but more times than not, I could do without whatever I get in the mail. It's 2011, I was expecting killer robots, trips to the moon. Frankly, snail mail seems a little . . . . . .pedestrian.

Before I RANT. I received something I wanted SO DESPERATELY !!! And while the year is young, it has indeed made my YEAR.

Jed's new Flashy Flashy Collar !!

The collar from the buckle side, note the barbwire theme, the buckle has barbwire embossed around, as does the leather collar. It is even better than I thought it would be and I really really love it. Keep in mind this will not be his "around the yard collar" But when it's time to perform, he will be adorned with this.

This Collar, was hand made by my Brilliant, Talented, Gifted, Smart, Friend: Terry Stickle. Did I mention talented !! Any doodle, she is going to be taking orders for collars and show leads and lanyards etc. I can't say enough about how much I love this collar. But did I mention this?

I felt. . .Quite correctly that I deserved some bling as well, so here is the lanyard she sent with he collar. I love it too.

In other news, Billie and I are working our way through the freezer full of Delicious Bar Pipe Meat !! expect new recipes soon. :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. . . .

2010-12-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

Not Christmas . . . .My new Favorite Day of the Year is (drum roll)

MEAT DAY !!!

Cosmo is also a Fan

I am looking forward to consuming my beef AAA Grass fed Bar Pipe Herford. :)

Anyone need any ground beef??

How Billie Got her Groove Back

2010-12-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

MY worst nightmare is to have to watch chick flicks all night in a house full of women. . . . There I said it and I'm not even ashamed..
.
.
.
At least I thought that was my wost nightmare. . . .

Meet Gus

2010-12-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry pal, it's minus 12 outside. Gus is a 10 month old Kelpie, I hope he works out for me but as many of you know if he doesn't. . . . . . . . . . . . .well I just will not blog about him any more. Gus was delivered to me Via Louanne's dad from Texas. Alas it is not quite as warm here as it was in Ft Worth. It's :http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/76102 But it is Sunny.

Koko

2010-12-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Koko is my Llama, I have resisted blogging about him due to the politics that are inherent in the blogoshere. However, at this point,. I am confident that Koko is a good thing.

After some uncertainty the sheep and Koko have finally bonded up. More times than not they can be seen lounging around together. So long as Jed is not and @SS when he goes to get the sheep Koko seems fine to allow the interruption to the flock.

He is ever watchful however. Jed doesn't seem to care.

Sweet MOTHER OF GOD !!!

2010-11-25T11:12:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/EpicMealTime

i HAVE NOTHING TO ADD !!

Chores. . . .and Odyssey . . .

2010-11-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

If you have Cows, or you are a cattle rancher, then this blog is going to be boring and a waste of your time.
I . . . .However . . . . .Do not. In fact when asked to do chores, I am genuinely excited to do so. The chores aren't particularly special and not all that difficult, except they are different for me, completely our of my normal routine. I would like to mention that I think I would prefer to do chores when it is not -30.

This was the weather as I left this morning to do chores. I have to admit I didn't exactly get to it lickety split this morning. I kept sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and hoping. . . praying it would warm up. Alas, it did not. So I bundled up and headed down the road with my not so willing partner.

I am confident that my "Australian Kelpie" would have preferred the weather in his native land . But, he's stuck with me. We were not the only ones upset about the weather, Feeding the bulls in the morning is a funny thing, they are fed grain, and as I get there with their pails of grain they stumble up and roar and moan much like sleepy, grumpy teenagers.

The pails of grain the bulls are fed are unfortunately, not exactly, ready made. That task is also part of the morning chore.

After mixing a little of this and little of that into the hopper I then roll a bunch of grain to arrive at a specific weight. The only really exciting part of this activity is when I get to jump into the grain bin and shovel it closer to auger as it clears the area immediately around the spinning screw of death I am reminded as I do this of ASTAR

Blogger wants this sideways, I don't know why. this is the final step after I have made the morning brew. It doesn't really show in this picture, however, I have made a contribution to this chore. The last time I had to do chores, the chute was propped up with a shovel. I have to confess that this seem a little to po'dump for me so I rigged it up with a cable so you could direct the chute more accurately. This was a little self serving because I never made it in time before the shovel fell and grain would shoot all over the place.

After the grain has been mixed up you need to bring the bulls down to the feeders, and when I say you, I mean Jed. If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice Jed is looking over his shoulder as if to say:

"REALLY ??" Unfortunately, I really did mean it especially when he got to the top of the hill and thought that was far enough.

It wasn't.

I sent him further.

SO after the bulls have been fed their grain the really fun part begins. . .

I KNOW RIGHT !!! I wouldn't let me drive this either. . .that being said as I climb into this I feel myself being, not so slowly, transformed into a little boy. I need to use this bad boy to roll out some feed and some hay. I say this with a very pubic admission that I suck at this.

Driving the tractor? I got that.

Moving snow? I got that

Rolling the Bales???? Not so much.

You see, you need to grab these stupid things pretty close to center or you are left with a pretty big core of crap in the end. Oh yeah, and you need to ensure that you roll it the right way behind the tractor, or you just turn it into a giant snowball behind you. Then you end up dropping it and driving around to grab it the right way. Who knew they rolled and unrolled a specific way . . . .needless to say, I didn't.

Can you tell if this is going to un-roll or do I need to grab it from the other side??

This is what I am looking for. . . .Did I mention you need to plow the snow out of your way so that it; WILL ROLL. .

Anyway, that was pretty much the end of morning chores, in the evening, the bulls need to be grained again and It takes considerably less time to do evening chores. Tomorrow morning, I need to all this again, plus, I have a couple of fences to fix. The cows have made their way into the stacking yard and so I need to close down their buffet.

Jed can hardly wait.

Shrinkage ?

2010-10-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

Many things shrink once they have been wet. Generally this is true with cotton, (the fibers are stretched and stressed in fabrication and want to return to their natural form once wet) It also occurs n wool (though there are many theories; one seems to be that the lanolin that is naturally present on a sheep is processed out, and this lanolin is believed to allow the water to shed of the sheep) It also may be true that this can happen to Kelpies???

Meet Jace. . . Jed's Smaller, and Not yet Sheep wise doppelganger. I am pretty sure that name isn't staying. For a long time I toyed with " Turd", but think I might have settled on "Roo" He is a 1 yr old and is just getting his first taste of sheep.

Time will tell.

The Post that should have been. . .

2010-10-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Make no mistake this is not a Disney story, not a story of good triumphing over evil, and not a story of a boy and his dog against the world (though we'll get to that). This past weekend the Field Finals for the ASDA were held just outside of Beiseker, or Irricana depending on your perspective. They were a lot of work to put on with the other souther members, however, they were also a ton of fun.

Day one of the trial started with the novice class, Jed I have intermittently run in this class predominantly because it is not available at every trial. Our run wasn't great it could have been better and I learned that the pen gate is not a delicate door to be subtly closed lest you upset the livestock. In fact when the judge called time as it was swinging to close costing me my ten points I learned you need to "dig in" , "sacrifice the body" and pen like you mean it. We came a close second to Anita and her dog. Then came the intermediate, this draw of sheep was a little heavier and were unable to finish our drive, thus losing all of our points finishing once again in second this time behind Doug and his dog Meg. No one finished their drives that, day in the Intermediate. The pro novice class proceeded as expected and the heavy sheep got the best of many a dog. I have run in the Pro-novice but was thankful that I hadn't.

Day Two was a pretty long affair, with Open, Pro-novice,and Nursery Running first. That meant lots of set out for Jed and I as well as other volunteers. When the time came for Jed and I to run in the Intermediate, I didn't have a good feeling. Jed had been a little grippy setting out and my temper was shorter then it needed to be for success. I made a few mistakes handling him during the run and the sheep were quite heavy, eventually frustration got the better of the both of us Jed thankfully gripped off and I was able to stop yelling at him like an idiot.

Now comes the Disney part, or lack there of. .. . I have stolen these photos from Wendy's Blog. . .

See this Kid . . .I love this Kid, Really I do. However, this kid Joey, (Wendy's Nephew) is at this point in the trial, standing between Jed and I, and my first ASDA buckle. I was way ahead of him after the first day but given how we had just run; I was not confident. The two us managed to make it around the course and Jed was able to overcome my many handling errors to squeak out a win. I mean it SQUEAK it out !! Oh Yeah !! he's 8.

Jed and I may have looked confident but after the show Joey had just put on at the pen thankfully he didn't get it, but he was really really close) I was doubly nervous and just triedto keep Jed on the course and not grip off. So, as much I hate to be the villain in this story of the defeat of the little boy and his dog I am quite happy that the trial ended up like this.

from left to right:

Jed and I Novice; Doug Finseth and Meg Intermediate; Pam Boring Pro-novice; Carol Nelson Nursery; Georger Stambulic Open

Congrats to all of us and Thanks to the sponsors and volunteers

Thanks Wendy for the photos !!

Annoying isn't it?

2010-10-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

See previous post. A "friend" of mine who reads my bog and who is also a "Facebookian" Constantly, and I do mean CONSTANTLY posts things like:
"OMG BEST NEWS EVER. . . . ."
or
"YOU 'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED !!!"
and of course my favorite that I have previously blogged about

"WORST DAY EVER"

frankly . . . . GO AWAY !! let us know what's happening or SHUT UP !!

I will return to our regularly scheduled blog later this evening. . . .it is not a Disney story.

thanks for visiting

2010-10-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Horror. . . .The Horror. . . .

2010-09-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

for those of you who have seen this movie you can understand the significance of that line. It has been pretty eventful around here and I have photo'd much of the action. So I will wade through the photos and post them as I get the time. Here is the first installment.

The other day as I was working on the Truck. . . .yep that will will be another post. Anyway, as I was working on the truck I noticed that Jed was not interacting with the other dogs. He was just sitting over by the picnic table minding his own business. This isn't really that unusual as he often needs his space from the tards. When I was finished working on the truck I called him in for dinner. At this point I noticed that he had encountered a Porcupine.

Jed is ridiculously strong and kind of hard to handle, also he is unbelievable tolerant and tough. I called Doug and Judy to come up and help me de-quill him and Billie's sister was also here so the resulting drama took about 2 hours. Here is just a sample. The following video is graphic and I have not stripped the sound. the voices you hear are Niki, Doug, Judy and Myself.Also note that we were not aware we were being recorded and thought only photos were being taken.

Video Removed Billie didn't like it

Yes, I will find the porcupine

Happy National Finals Day !!

2010-09-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me . . .know that Sunday is Meet the Press day . It's nerdy but I like it. However, Today was also National Sheepdog Finals Day. Today us little hats were able to watch the finals Via live Webcast. They were spectacular, with some amazing displays of dog and Stock-man alike. I had planned to have people over to enjoy the trial, eat semi-tasty food and generally enjoy the trial as a group. For a multitude of reasons this was not to be. I still Made Breakfast tho . . .and here it is.

Turns out !!! Not only do Real Men EAT QUICHE the also Make it !!

Pretty Straightforward Cheddar, Red Bell Pepper, Asparagus, Shrimp, and Smoked Salmon

I like to Blind Bake the Crust. . .Yep that's Tenderflake I Do make my own Crust but not for stuff like this.

Then spread the ingredients in the bottom and pour enough beaten egg with just a bit of cream over the works and enjoy. I think I baked for about 40 minutes. Sorry to those who made my Salmon dish and used my typically innacurate time instructions.

The stampede. . . . . no not that one

2010-09-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

This was going to be a video of Jace showing all, how fantastic he is. . . .Careful attention was taken to remove audio:

There Faye, and Chris, . . . .now get back to work ;)

Not your Usual Fare. . .

2010-09-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

So anyway, I am going to be at a wedding today so there will not be a Dinner recipe for Saturday, and likely not for Sunday either. So since I was late last week I decided to be proactive and prep a recipe in advance. So, without further preamble, here it is:

Spinach Chorizo Frittata:

Okay, so there are a few more ingredients, here we have some feta, an onion, mushrooms,spinach and of course, some chorizo. I like to start by parboiling the potatoes, this helps them cook a little faster and gives them a better crunch makes them crisp up a little nicer.

Did I mention this recipe is a little type "A" of me. Whilst the potatoes are being parboiled you can start chopping the rest of the ingredients up and getting them ready. I pretty much chop everything up to about a quarter inch dice, that's me and you certainly don't need to go that far.

the smaller you chop everything the nicer it will mix together for the filling but that is totally you choice. Once the potatoes have finished remove them to a cutting aboard and slice them about a 1/4 inch thick.

be careful, they should be a little mealy, and of course they will be a tad hot

I just like this picture it doesn't have anything to do with the recipe. Next you are going to place the pottoes in a single layer and line the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Now, you're going to be tempted to futz about with them, DON'T !! Leave them to form a crispy coating because when you flip them over that's the last time you are going to touch them.

These are sort of what you are looking for nice and crispy they will hold up nicely when you add the egg. Now about the egg, I like to use about 6 eggs for the filling and when I say you need to beat the hell out of them I really mean beat the hell out of them.

The more you beat them the more more light and fluffy your frittata will be. Also, some people add cream or milk to their eggs that is completely a choice at this point, I don't like to but I will add any sore of spices at this point that I feel like. I don't add salt but I will add pepper and the cheese to the egg mixture. Once you have the eggs ready we are ready to put it all together.

Here is the filling ready to be added spread this over the potatoes and then add the egg. Now put the whole shebang in the oven for 15 minutes at 375. AND . . . . . .

Voila !!

Slice and enjoy.

Here it is. . .

2010-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

One Fillet of SOCKEYE Salmon

Some Fresh Veggies

Combine the Veggies with some olive oil and some spices

Diced Tomato, also thrown in with the veggies

some fresh Basil mixed into some butter

Combine the Butter Basil mix with some Panko Bread Crumbs this is the topping for the Salmon.

Next start to sauté the veggies in a large enough pan to accommodate everything, oh yeah it needs to oven proof as well. While the veggies are getting there thing done coat the top of the salmon with the panko and basil butter mixture to make a crust. After 3-4 minutes you can carefully place the crusted Salmon on-top of the veggies and place in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Depending on how thick the Salmon is, it shouldn't take any longer than that. If, you like, you can also fire up the broiler for a minute or two just to really give the crust a crunch.

Serve with you Brown Rice and enjoy. You can add some cold butter to the juice in the veggies pan and make a bit of a sauce dress over the rice .

Yeah . . . .Yeah . . it's Saturday??

2010-09-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know there should be a recipe Saturday but it turns out I have company coming for dinner tomorrow night so what I was making myself for dinner tonight is going to made tomorrow for guests. So until tomorrow when I publish the whole recipe you'll just have to survive on this teaser. . ..

Happy Birthday !!

2010-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

For many of the stock dog folk that read this blog they will no doubt be shaking their heads for the remainder of this post. It is the "Do Do's " Birthday short for "Dumb and Dumber", "Retard" and " The Baby". Actually thats not true there birthday was on the second, but they're dogs and as yet show no signs of reading. We decided to celebrate it this morning - though I believe every day out here at the NCR is a celebration for them.

Ok. . . . . What are we doing???

Jed wasn't exactly sure what all the hullabalo was about but he was happy to sit with the boys because, something, smelt good, really good.

This is the Do Do's Birthday cake it comes from Bona-pet-Treat, Emily has fashioned more than one birthday cake for us and I think she does a really fantastic job.

For a cake made out of peanut butter, Bacon, and Cheese . . . . Yep it Stunk to high holy heaven.

Now. . .it's not Jed's birthday his is in November, and I would never think to denigrate him with singing and a cake; he's more of a steak kinda guy however I couldn't leave him out totally, so...

He was more than happy with this cookie and frankly he finished it slower than the other two took to finish half a cake each.

As a Side note there will be a recipe tonight for the blog as it is Saturday.

Once Upon a Time

2010-08-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a blogger who blogger who blogged frequently, however, sporadically. It seems lately this blogger has really, really dropped the ball. I have not blogged in a long, long time.

Frankly, there hasn't been anything to blog about. Actually, that's not entirely true, from the preparation of the handlers dinner to some additional dog food creation and dog trialling. Amongst all this activity, I have neglected to Blog. Something I do all the time and will give me some material for my Blog is a recipe. I am going to try and blog about something to eat every Saturday, it may not be the best recipe, it may not be the fanciest recipe, but I will try to get one up.

So without further ado here is the first entry. And brace yourself . . . .IT'S a SALAD !!!

I don't know what to call it I had some baby spinach and some left over cooked corn from the other night and some tomatoes from the handlers Dinner. And of course, I always have bacon (GOD I LOVE BACON )

So, here is is:

1 Cob of BBQ'd Corn Kernels Removed

1 English Cucumber

2 Tomatoes

1 Apple (slightly Tart)

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

4-5 Mushrooms

Baby Spinach

Cut or slice everything up, I am a little anal when it comes to this prep part, small pieces means even distribution !! Toss everything together and then let's not forget. . . .

Dice and brown some bacon and remove to a paper towel. Drain off all of the bacon grease reserving 3 tbs to make a dressing. IN the same pan you browned the bacon, add three tbs of some kind of Acid, I mean, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, whatever you have on hand. I had some Fig vinegar and it was delish- whisk the vinegar into the oil and add some Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Dress the Salad crumble the bacon on top and serve immediately.

As a side note some goat cheese would really have finished this nicely along with maybe some sliced strawberries.

Duck Season

2010-07-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love my dogs. . . . .I love my dogs. That is a refrain that Laurie and I had to repeat to ourselves over and over again. A couple of weeks ago I went up to Jill's an picked up some Ducks. As in I went up and slaughtered 40 of them. Sounds gruesome . . . .nope . . . PRAGMATIC !! Anyway, it was suggested by some that unused and unwanted Ducks should be used for dog food.

TERRIBLE TERRIBLE IDEA !!!!

For what you get out of a Duck, the ridiculous amount of effort to achieve that net goal is just not worth it. However, I had good company and I got to use my TBT. Not the first time I have used it but the first time I have photographic evidence.

This is the skinning portion of the day Laurie and I Skinned 33 ducks in about 5 1/2 hours not exactly record time.

And they thought they would never swim again.

When all was said and done I would guess that we have 60 pounds of duck meat and good memories of a day spent with friends and a lesson of what to do when someone offers ducks to me. 12 bucks for a completely cooked Peking Duck and you local Chinese Market seems like a fantastic, fantastic deal.

Step up and Bring Yo ' Damn Game !!

2010-07-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

So . . . .haven't actually answered the call. A couple of months ago I threw down the gauntlet, for the first annual Stock Dog Handler's Cook-off. Trouble is, I didn't actually make anything for the contest. I was prepared to declare a winner; however, there was a "flag on the field" over that idea. So in the interest of fairness and to not further denigrate my lack of action any further I have decided to extend the contest until August 6th. This will allow me time to prep an entry, additionally, it will afford other competitors an opportunity to prep an additional dish, if they wish.

Some of the competitors have complained that the rules were, perhaps, not clear. I have included a link to the official score sheet for this contest, the rules are pretty self explanatory. This is not a food photo contest -- however judging will be based on presentation and photos are part of the presentation. Originally, contestants could submit 2 recipes I haven't submitted anything and it is unlikely I will get two done in time. the entries so far are as follows:

Lisa click here

Kristi click here

These are both admirable entries and I will add my submission to these fine entries soon, as a plus it will also likely be the meal I will cook for the EID Stock dog handlers dinner.

Score sheet

The winner will receive a bottle of wine and the scores sheets emailed to me will be tallied and announced on the 8th with whatever Kudos the rest of the contestants think appropriate.

Score sheets to be emailed to jkurbatoff@gmail.com

You Just Can't Make This Sh#t UP !!

2010-07-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Things are pretty quite around the NCR, and as such adventures are few and far between. Billie and I in a rare, but heartwarming moment decided to work together and get some stuff done around the house. So, we decided to bring one of the flower gardens back from the dead. . . . .

This . . .not better homes and gardens worthy

We toiled away pulling grass and tilling the soil to plant the flowers so graciously donated to me by Jill Brodie (no I cannot remember what she gave me).

Billie hard at work. . . that is until I unearthed this. . .

What started out as a simple wooden box quickly became a source of concern for Billie. Clearly this a pet of some kind probably a dog and yes it was kinda sad to unearth it. I was made instantly weird when i cleaned the box up a bit.

Yep !! that is Billie, the beloved pet of some poor family. Billie (my Billie) was understandably creeped out but not deterred.

The "right" angle plus a little

2010-06-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Jenny Glen and Hemp
This weekend Jed and I lit out to a shedding clinic at Scott and Jenny Glens'. To say that Jed and I had the least experience there would be akin to saying that Jed didn't look like the other dogs there. Luckily for us there were no points for how your dog looked or how much experience we had. To be truthful I was seriously considering jamming out of the clinic. I thought to myself "Who wants to watch my dog and I waste Scott's time time and embarrass myself in the process? "

As a novice handler I really do take pains to get the hell out of everyone's way and let the "real" handlers do their thing. I could not have been more wrong. The clinic was awesome and among the best things I have ever done with my dog. Scott and Jenny could not have been more welcoming and Scott could not. . . .literally could not have tried to impart more shedding wisdom on me.
There is a lot to getting a shed completed, and to say even that is to diminish the process. Shedding sounds simple and when done correctly it looks simple. However, when you are out there on the field, in front of people or not, with 5, 10 or more sheep that have had enough of both you and you dog, all the planning you thought you had doesn't mean a thing. The shed, for me, was about keeping the sheep where you needed them, far enough away from where you didn't and hoping to ensure everything stayed that way as you shook things up with your dog.

With varying degrees of success It seemed to come together in the end.

To say that I learned a lot at this clinic is insufficient. I took away so many things that apply not only to shedding but handling my dog in general. Of course like all good clinics there are the phrases you take away that become the comical mantra our was "Get to your corner." To the uninitiated this applies you getting you own feet moving and crossing in front of the group of sheep you don't want and calling your dog through to cover the group you do want. Manny people had, expectedly, a better grasp of this concept. This fact merely added to the effect the clinic had. Watching people successfully complete a task you are just struggling to understand let alone complete enhances your own chances of success. I mentioned at the clinic that is made me bitter -- Envy -- I think it's a deadly sin. . . . It was nice to see everyone and their successes. Everyone progressed at their own pace and, as some people were starting at different places in terms of their shedding prowess the 3 day format suited most dogs and handlers really nicely.
For myself we started on just --what is it we are trying to accomplish and ended with realizing that Jed and I just needed to settle down a little. (sorry Jed . . .I am the only handler you have) On the final day as the light bulb went off for me the more experienced handlers tried their hands at the marked shed.

Marked sheds resulted in both frustrations and elated cheers upon success from the handlers watching in the shade.

The clinic wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be and couldn't be happier that I went. The handlers that intimidated and I though would embarrass were helpful and insightful and a pleasure to be around. I reaffirmed friendship and made new ones. The sheep - - -actually they were pretty much how I thought they would be. Most of all the hosts of the clinic did a fantastic job. Jenny did yeoman's work prepping all the meals in addition to the daily chores she already has. As someone who has done a little catering for others I know all too well how stressful that can be. "Did everyone get enough? Did everyone like the food? Will it be ready on time?" As for Scot ? If you don't know him . . . my condolences. He has a dearth of knowledge and stockmanship that is obvious in his own performance. What I loved about the clinic was his patience and ability to rapidly re-adjust to the different levels of dog/handler combinations he faced. If you haven't been to a clinic with Scot, then beat the door down to the next one; it was the "right" choice for me and I got more than a little out of it.

Nap

2010-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have been struck with the word nap. In fact I have a learned a great deal about the word nap. Of course we all know that the word nap refers to a short period of sleep. However, it also refers to fabric IE; brushing the nap in all one direction to create different effects. It also refers, interestingly enough to the Airport code for Naples-weird hey?

In the UK nap can refer to a tipsters' most confident tip of the day. It may also refer to a bet on a horse race. My favorite is probably the adjective nappy referring to an appearance usually disheveled. And while there are a ton of uses for the word nap and countless acronyms, my reference to word nap, is in fact a name.

Don't be mistaken I have not converted to the other side of darkness. I am still a Kelpie fan and will remain so. However, as I am hoping to acquire a Kelpie puppy in the next year. Obtaining this fella, who needed a home, seemed like a great way to use my first round of training mistakes up on him. As I am sure, certain inf act that I will make all kinds of mistakes and have much to learn --why not do it on a dog I am less concerned about..

OCD

2010-06-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

As a Kelpie Jed is moderately obsessively compulsive, If not frantically chasing a ball then he is obsessively watching the cat,sheep,cows or Aussies. He has have found a new obsession it seems. . . .

Or should I say a new friend, in fact hundreds of them. But there is a problem Jed's new friend doesn't always want to come out and play.

Maybe. . .He will just go to him. . . . .

Hard work and a teeny tiny hole, I am sure Jed was wondering how he could get in there to play. Alas, like all boys with new toys the inevitable occurs.

It gets broken. . . .

"I know maybe if I roll on him he'l come back to life !!"

Oh the Horror !! No such luck buddy keep working on that OCD.

We Don't like you Kind Around Here !!

2010-06-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Now I know, that people are not that keen about a blog about death,shooting,etc. However, there is another side to this blog which is to my utter amazement the destruction that can occur in less than 24 hours.

This was the first hole

And the second,

The third and while it doesn't exactly show up on the photo these holes are 4-6 feet deep. None of these holes were here yesterday. All of these holes in 1 night courtesy of our or not so friendly neighborhood badger. That is pretty incredible for an animal not much bigger than your average Jack Russel Terrier. Needless to say, that with dogs and cats in our house neither Billie, nor I are particularly eager to have them living in very close proximity to our house. They can, will, and DO kill, and injure dogs and cats. Not only that, they carry Bovine Tuberculosis, and a reduction in their numbers can result in a 37% reduction of it's spread. I am passionate about anything that will reduce TB in Cattle; as that is one of the reasons there are no chickens at the NCR. Anyway, in a bid to do my bit for king and country, I have been taking care of the badgers I see on walks etc. This morning however, was a different story. As I was laying in bed dreaming of rainbows and lollipops, Billie. who was getting up noticed deer in the yard, not particularly earth shattering news, then she notice a badger out our bedroom window. Keenly aware of the danger posed to the "most ungrateful cat in the world" she informed me that it had to go. All too happy to oblige I took care of him. I must agree, it was far too close for comfort. Frankly any predator you can shoot from you bedroom window is too close.

That's the view from outside. . . .like a hillbilly I shot right through the screen.

Look at the size of this Bugger !! Nice thing is, they dig their own graves.

This is the first entry in the Great Stockdog Handler Cook off

2010-05-29T23:43:00.000-07:00

NO Really . . . Pioneer woman maybe not so much. This entry is from Lisa and what it lacks in photographic detail it seems to have made up for in tastiness --

For those of you who didn't watch a lot of mr dreesup and who may lack a CSI level of re creationist imagination let me tell you about this recipe better yet, I will let Lisa tell us about it here is in part an email regarding this summery creation::

Lamb. I butterflied a leg, then marinated it in lemon, garlic, herbes de provence, olive oil, salt and pepper over night. It got tossed on the barbecue.

Potatoes. I fried the potatoes in duck fat, then right near the end threw in garlic, lemon juice and zest, oregano, salt and pepper and then right at the end fresh parsley.

Asparagus and zucchini. I picked asparagus out of the garden and used a zucchini to stretch things. It all got tossed in olive oil and salt and was thrown on the barbecue for a bit.

Pretty tasty if I do say so myself. :-)

lisa

I have to agree it sounds very tasty. Summery, fresh ingredients and in general YUM

I would have posted a recipe of my own however winter appears to not be quite done with me yet. Any i have been far to bereft with grief over the passing of both Dennis Hopper and Gary Coleman

Mine is coming soon. I will include more photos -- not just the aftermath.

BBQ Season

2010-05-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

It is indeed BBQ season, and while I was content to have a few people in for a BBQ I was upstaged by a much larger BBQ across the field.

This all started as a result of some harrowing gone wrong this is kinda the last action one would expect to case a fire. However, it is miraculous how something that shouldn't happen almost always .. . . . .does?

Bad Day to be a Farmer !

Good Day to be a lookie Loo

I would like to say the tractor is fine and all's well that ends well but -

Not to be

CLASSIFIED

2010-05-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Not Blogging much lately. It's not that I don't have anything going on, it more that my time is occupied with things I am simply not allowed to blog about, talk about etc. I feel like some kind of spy -- very busy just permitted to say why.

I promise I am going to blog the second i have an adventure i can speak about.I i were to blog about current adventutes they would be too redacted to make any sense out of.

What M E N eat !!

2010-04-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am aware and would be one of the first to admit that when men are left to their own devices that we, much like dogs, become somewhat feral. This can manifest it self in any number of ways. For Tiger Woods and Jesse James it meant chasing skirts. For some it means eating pizza drinking beer and generally "pigging out". Not so for me. I must confess, I love Pizza and I do have a particular weakness for this. However those are both boy foods and so I decided since there was no one around to tell me otherwise no

That I could eat whatever I wanted. (I usually do . . . but not quite like this) So I decided on M A N FOOD.

No that is not a photo trick !! this was my crowning achievement of manly manness and maneatery !! Two 12oz New York Strips, Mushrooms with Prawns, and Home Fried Potatoes. ( note the token green beans - - -Steamed Even !!) Oh yeah and some beer. Now I can already hear what your saying - - - Gluttonous Much !! EXACTLY that's the point. You see, what I realized as I devoured this delicious meal ( and it was delicious ) was that what it means to be a man is to think . . . " This is good -- more of it would be BETTER!!!"

Yeah. . . I had my doubts i would finish it too.

Okay - So that just happened. . .

2010-04-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting to make a smoked brisket for a while now, I had in my freezer a really nice 8lb brisket and I couldn't wait to smoke it for the ridiculously long 10-12 hours it was going to take.

mmmmmmmmmmmm Brisket

However, Smoking a brisket was not all I had to do that day, it is also, (and let this be a cautionary taled) something that should be left unattended.I was working around the back of the house and since I was SMOKING the brisket. . . . I paid little notice the the SMOKE. Unfortunately for me, the wind must have blown an ember out of the smoker and onto . . . .if you can believe it the BAG OF WOOD CHIPS. Anyway, Billie phoned and asked "how's the brisket coming?" Good thing because this is what I found. . . .

It was moments away from an unmitigated disaster. . .

there's something in a Name. . . .

2010-04-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

As I have recently mentioned to others there is a something in a name. . . The very name of this blog should insulate me from people complaining. In fact - Random means just that. . . I might in fact blog multiple times today, just BECAUSE it would be random. I feel free of the pressure to blog as I am quite certain that I am blathering on to no one.

Heaven

2010-03-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

So I dropped the gauntlet. I have suggested to a couple of dog trialling people I know are foodies, that we engage in a little friendly competition to see who has the best summer recipe. I am certain that it is not me, however, it seemed like a great way to get some new recipe ideas.

Guidelines, are as follow:

1) it must be YOUR RECIPE !!! i don't want to see your dish on the food network. If, Ina, Bobby, Alton, or someone on there makes "your dish" you LOSE.
2) You get to submit two recipes
3) The contest ends at the Calgary Stampede where a bottle of wine goes to the winner.
4) I get to put your recipe up here on my blog.

I suggest we make each others recipes, but that is going to be up to you ladies. Each of decides on the others dishes and then vote on the winning dish.

~~There now that crap is out of the way here is my first submission. It's a kinda healthy dish, which is unusual for me as anyone who knows me can attest. No one will ever accuse me of being~~ ~~orthorexic~~ ~~. (told you I would find a use for that in my blog) I do like good food, and just because it's good for you doesn't always mean it tastes like crap. (though that is usually the case)~~

On Second thought . . . .I need something better than this for the competition.

ahhhh, Houston? ------ We have a problem!

2010-03-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

In the continuing saga and chronicle of my active failures in farming; I need to relate a story that might pertain to anyone with a Coyote problem. . . .

Don't Wipe them Out !! You might need them.

Since moving out here to the NCR, I have made steady progress in "thinning" the population of Coyotes around our place. Great idea right !!??

Maybe not so much --

Yes, it's true Coyotes can be a problem, I know people who have had extensive problems as of late with their sheep and the local Coyotes. However, it is also true that Coyote's serve and important role in the ecosystem.That being said. I don't like 'em. Not a bit. At least that's what I thought!!

Last week I had a sheep that, gave up his reasons for living. With some assistance, I sent him to the rainbow bridge to wait for me.

I usually practice "natural re-distribution" of the carcases, unfortunately for me, there seems to be no takers. The neighborhood is devoid, if you will, of Coyote's. So now I have a rotting carcass with no one around interested in helping me get rid of it. Turns out, Coyote's are scared of the NCR.

Funny thing is -- I warned a friend of this exact scenario !!!

Brilliant, I know.

Two Down

2010-03-22T18:28:00.001-07:00

Well, this weekend was the "Clock Stock and Barrel. I would like so say we lit it up, put on a clinic, showed em how it's done, etc. Alas, we stunk it up pretty badly in there. "The Clock Stock and Barrel" in an indoor trial and on sheep. Unlike the bull sale, you are not allowed to grip (bite) the sheep. This proved an Achilles heel for Jed and I this weekend.

My first set on Saturday was unfortunately and really nice set of sheep they stayed together and moved nicely. Why unfortunately then? Because through a combination of an unresponsive dog and miss-handling, we gripped out and wasted them.

On Sunday it was a different story, abstinent sheep and a excited dog made for a very quick exit 'ala Calgary stampede '09.

I have to say I am not sure Jed and I are suited for the arena circuit. Jed unfortunately has time for sheep that aren't into doing as they are told. Problematic in arena trials, that combined with the speed leaves me wondering every time "wow, really, that quick."
Training on some different sheep will probably help and more time more patience yadda yadda yadda.

Winds-day. . .

2010-03-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

I realize that I too am getting old and yesterday I remembered from my childhood an episode from a Winnie the Pooh episode called A Blustery Day. In this episode, originally aired in 1968 (not that old). The gopher tells Pooh that if he were him, he would skedaddle out of here, a confused, Pooh ask's why and the Gopher responds's because it's Winds-Day. Yesterday happened to be Wednesday, I thought the whole thing fit especially when I saw some of the local residents battening down the hatches and waiting out the wind.

A closer view

The 6 'P' s

2010-03-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine and a person I consider a mentor and keystone to the person I am now once tried to instill in me an unbelievably important motto. And while I am the first to admit I appear to not always hold this motto in high regard. My inability to follow it does nothing to diminish it's importance. At the time I remember that it felt very much like a lecture as I was being instructed in the value of the 6 p's. My friend is a bush pilot and clearly his adherence and faith in the 6 p's has considerably more importance that I thought would ever apply to me. However, as I get older I am realizing the value of them as well.

The 6 P's as many of you may already know are as follows:

Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Now, I could cite all kinds of my failure to adhere to this edict and I will cite some. However, I will begin, with a success.

This is the new page wire I installed with my friend who was drafted into service to assist. I say drafted because it was certainly not volunteer labor. Conscripting my friend was only part of my Prior Planning. I drafted skilled labor, I arranged to have proper equipment brought in (also supplied by the friend) and I purchased the necessary tools to facilitate the installation of the fencing.

The result is a relatively straight, tight, fence. SUCCESS !!

My next example of Prior Planning is :

This is, as I like to call it, the "Ted Bundy Table". This is where Benjamin, in no uncertain terms be portioned, weighed, and in general, processed into a selection of delicious offerings. I have, grinder, stainless sink, and various hooks and knives. It is also far from Billie's watchful eye so as to maintain the illusion that Benjamin merely moved on to greener pastures.

I should confess that, while the TBT is an example of Prior Planning, it wouldn't be fair to leave it there, which leads me to Piss Poor Performance,

This, as you can plainly see, is a Freezer, not just any freezer, a freezer with the lid removed to facilitate defrosting. Not only that this freezer is on a flat deck trailer and was loaded with a skid steer into place because. . . .

It weighs nearly 900lbs and contains a solid - - - "MEATSICKLE" Yes, a shinning example of poor planning lead me to fill a FRIEND's FREEZER (did I mention that the freezer isn't mine, not my friends either). Yes, on a very cold night I butchered up a cow but had nowhere for it to go. . . .this was the result. Now, crowbars, hammer, and saws-all in tow, I am working away at this debacle. In hopes of preventing another one with you know who.

WANTED: ATTACK DOG WITH LITTLE REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE

2010-03-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that BOWNESS has once again followed me to the country!!! This morning as we went to the truck we noticed that it had been rummaged and that the usual things were missing: change from the ashtray, sunglasses etc. Unfortunately for us, the creatures we feed and call dogs were of absolutely no help whatsoever in alerting us to the presence of a "robber" I think maybe we should keep them in the truck and or garage from this point.

Alas, I sure would have like to introduce myself to the enterprising young individuals helping themselves to my possessions, needless to say I would have gotten creative with the discussion and my views on "reciprocity" and "forgiveness"

Recipes for Benjamin

2010-03-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

So, as I reflect on the future of Benjamin I began to think of all the tastiness that dwells within his cantankerous carcass. In an earlier post I may have intimated that I was not a fan of grass feeding him. This is of course not true. I was merely trying to continue the feeding routine that he had been used to. I believe that feeding grain is a great way to get them fat for market, however, as someone who has hunted deer that that have had free run over fields of grain were supposed to be fantastic, sadly here were not. The deer had an unbelievably gamey taste and were fatty and generally not worth the 4 am wakeup call to hunt.

That being said I think that Benjamin will break down as follows:

Crown Roast of Lamb
Roast Leg of Lab Stuffed with Feta, Spinach and Wild Mushrooms
BBQ Leg of Lamb With Apricot Glaze
Stuffed lamb Shoulder with Chestnuts Goat cheese, and Rosemary
Lamb Stew wine and Cream sauce
Lamb Kebabs, Ground lamb and some shepherds pie

I think the above list will make up nicely for the trouble I have had with this little bugger . . . .

Spring Thaw . . .

2010-03-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Well March IS in deed coming in like a lamb, which undoubtedly means that it will be leaving like a lion. I predict 10 feet of snow and 5 days of monsoon rain. However, this means right now that it is a great time to walk dogs, check out things around the NCR that may have been covered with snow and generally plan the spring and summer.

I noticed this pump durring the winter and though that it would look near my planned vegetable garden, this is until I tried it out.

Yep, It works so it will be staying put. Kinda a neat though. That means I have three wells within about 100 feet of each other. Weird hey?

Next I went over to see how the sheep were doing. . . .only to be reminded of the trouble maker in the bunch.

There he is Mocking me from the "safety" of the flock. You see, I need to sort the sheep out at the gate so I can have some to work Jed with. Alas this little bastard is always squirting out or blocking the gate. Either way he is a pain in the ass. I had originally been going to feed him grain and him alone. --- Man !! you would think someone with more that 10 brain cells would be able to figure out that "flock" is an important work to remeber when keeping sheep. Further you would think that same individual would be able to predict that a lone sheep (**note - not a flock) would not eat. In fact, he would not eat on his own (Keep your advice I Got IT) and so Benjamin - who was going to be finished on grain. Will instead be finished on grass/hay. Look, I know it's not ideal but New Zealand does it. Regardless, Next weekend, is BBQ weekend.

One Down

2010-03-04T06:47:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the first trial for me this season. I competed at the Calgary Bull Sale. I should mention that is was also my first time at a cattle trial competing or otherwise. I am afraid I have no photos, or video or anything of the like, however, I did make the finals with an 8th place finish after the first round. Can't say much about the finals, except to say that I wanted it to end pretty shortly after it had started. I didn't get particularly compliant cows and it just proved too much for but Jed and I.

Big congrats to the winners:

Denae Frew 1st place
Shauna Burton 2nd
and Chris Schmalz in 3rd

You people put on a clinic on calm and proficient stockmanship.

Happenings @ the No Chicken Ranch

2010-03-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

There have been some developments at our place that , while not earth shattering, deserve some notice. First:

I have finished the Kennel. I got this kennel for a a pretty good price and while I needed to spend some time to get it up and ready, I still need to install the mid-support uprights. Unfortunately for me the place I got the first batch of do dad's is out of the pieces I need. It is sufficiently secure to hold Jed, however, not the Aussies.

The Dog House . . .is pretty Gucci as Dog houses go. . .It is heated, has 2 inches of foam insulation and vinyl siding. I won this at the Red Deer CKC Dog show 2 years ago. I think that Jed will settle in here pretty nicely.

The second development is that we have a bit of a shot gun wedding taking place.

Meet Lassie. . .She is a 2 year old Black and Tan Kelpie owned George Walker. He left her here while he went to Australia in the hopes of breeding her to Jed. Thus far, there are no signs she is coming into heat, so this might just turn out to be a boarding situation.

She Doesn't seem to mind, however and is settling in nicely to life at the No Chicken Ranch. . . .

Great Expectations

2010-02-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

WOW . . . you were all in for a treat . . . this was going to be an amazing post. It was going to be a video of me working Jed. I was really looking forward to showing him off. Alas. . . .

I ended up making a fool of myself and unlike some- I will showcase the failure as well as my triumphs (I promise if I get one of those you'll be the first to see)

So here I am nearly breaking my leg in a badger hole and messing up my allotment of grain to hold them.

Enjoy :)

Failure video

Long time Coming . . .

2010-02-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't blogged for a bit - not so long as to be considered negligent - but long enough that I felt it was time. Frankly lately my time has been occupied by re-building a sheep shelter, (which they hate) and trying to feed a Benjamin grain whilst excluding the other ( EXTREME FAILURE ) It seems, that I, like other bloggers, might have to start another blog called "farming failure" I could use this to chronicle all of my shortcomings as an aspiring farmer; from picking up sheep in dog crates to fixing fences. Actually that might all be a bit too depressing.

Anyway the point of this blog was to share tonight's dinner.

Bacon, mmmmm, Parmesan Cheese,mmmmmm Onions mmmmm Wrap them all together pop in a 375 oven for an hour or so and this

Two Rib-eye Steaks some mushrooms and broccoli and you have Dinner. . .

Nice glass of red wine and you are off to the races. . . .

Now look . . . . I am sure some of you are thinking isn't this a bit - Glutenous, Hedonistic - if you like, and I can only say.

YEP !!

Frankly, I think we need more Dionysian Cooking . A return to giant hunks of meat cooked slowly and lovingly over an open fire and served with copious amounts of either Ale or Wine seems like a fantastic idea.

And really can you look at this an say . . . I wouldn't eat that? . . . . .

What a Difference a Few Miles Makes

2010-02-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

NO question about it now. I live in an oasis

That's my view today. I know Louanne's View because I can almost see where she lives I say almost . . . .

Because she is surrounded in FOG !!

Meet Benjamin

2010-02-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

This is Benjamin Brockle Face. He will be staying here for a bit as part of a 4 part series I will do called Pen to Plate. I hope you will enjoy it there will be lots of good recipes. I am not sure Benjamin is a fan of the idea. . . .Frankly I think Billie is on the fence as well.

Field Trip

2010-02-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, Finally the sun has come out and that means for us lucky enough to have friends with sheep, that is it Dog working Time. Sounds great right? It usually is, my friend Louanne has graciously lent me a few sheep to work with. Also Great right? Unfortunately, it would seem, I lack some necessary shepherding skills. I would more accurately state I lack fencing skills.

That of course means that the sheep that currently reside here the sheep that should be happy in the corral I have provided for them, who should be happy !!! are a little . . . . "wandery". Now I know that I was told that the barb wire in the coral would probably not hold them and that they would get out. I understand all that. However, I was not prepared for the determination that they would show for escaping. I am not running a concentration camp, they are not POW's. Nevertheless, escape they did. So ! decided some fence mending was in order, good fences, good neighbors and all. I tried, more barbwire, - FAIL I tried a piece of plywood - FAIL I tried to tighten the barbwire that was already there - FAIL. Like I said not so good with the fencing !!.

The Sheep seemed relentlessly unconcerned with my attempts to contain and constrain their activities Now I don't want to sound like a spurned parent, as indeed I am not. But I have provided for them pretty nicely and yet - Whoosh away they go. Back to the fencing, after numerous escapes, I decided that direct action was necessary, I monitored them for a while, covertly observing their bold machinations in the face of my attempt to imprison them. Sure enough given enough time the sauntered over to the recently repaired and re-enforced fence and simply slipped under the whole works. That's right all or my work had been for naught. Back to the drawing board I figured, so I strung the electro-net along the offending and inadequate fence line. To do so in frozen ground is neither easy not particularly enjoyable. Additionally I figured I would push the sheep out into one of the pasture fields so they wouldn't be in the way. Smart -Right? They will just settle and relax out there until I am finished - Right?
NOT EXACTLY. As I stated earlier they are a little "Wandery" ( I think I love this word) Once I had completed stringing the electro-net it was time to get the sheep, No problem, except they were not exactly where Jed and I had left them

That's right Jed that IS where they were. I imagine that at this point three things were going through his mind, 1.) His dad's a moron for leaving sheep here for two hours. 2.) Man am I going to be tired when we are done and 3) Maybe when i get out there I'll chew on them a bit. Unfortunately for me Jed was not immediately able to spot the sheep, frankly neither was I submit the following photo a a kind of post game review.

Now, I am not exactly sure how far it is to where the sheep did finally settle but it is easily a half mile. I realize there all sort of people right now thinking- you cant send you dog that far - I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. I am grossly overweight and I was NOT going to walk out there and get them. Send I did. and Aside from a few redirection commands to find the sheep he did pretty well - I say pretty well because keen observers of the above photo will notice "Problem Opening" - Jed was returning the sheep fine until the sheep got stuck along the fence line and unfortunately for me I had to walk some of the way out there to get him to flank to their right and find the opening.

Doesn't look like much but it was a source of frustration for he and I - unlike at a trial if you miss the gates you just lose points. here missing the gate means ----- your walking.

Alls well that ends well Jed was satisfied when they were returned to their newly secured enclosure.

However a trial will be held for the criminal known as: Woolly Wanda ring leader of the escapees and her conspirators will be brought to justice.

Sleep easy Wanda I am WATCHING YOU !!!!

Passwords for Crazy Folk

2010-02-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

This was going to be a post about getting some sheep from Louanne. This was going to be a post about the adventure of setting up the shelter, moving in the hay and getting ready for them. Instead it is a post about how I finally have access to my blogger account.

Lo these may weeks I have tried in vain to contact a human at Google to assist me in the recovery of my password so that I could return to blogging form. Alas, I couldn't for the live of me remeber it. You see, I got into the habit a long time ago when I worked in an IT environment of utilizing strong passwords and some would excessively strong. In fact one office I worked in gave us a little card that looked like calculator that was constantly changing the password, didn't know your password? look at the card,.it was always changing it never failed, and I miss it.

Thankfully I have my password back and I can once again blog.

Old password: "Columbus Sailed the oce@n Blue in 1492 with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Mari@"
New Password: "***************"

Ought to remeber the new one :)

Slips and Falls

2010-01-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

So friend of mine who raises beautiful cattle, happy cattle, cattle that live in the lap of luxury !!

Not at all like these Cattle. . .

Had a teeny tiny problem today that meant that although this cow had enjoyed the high life and had his entire life in front of him, learned that slips and a broken legs mean fate is a cruel mistress. Alas, this cow was to end his life ensuring others enjoy the high life namely these twits. . .

Yes, like any Johnny Canuck

I jumped into action with the heartfelt desire not to see this poor sod go to waste. I enlisted my accomplice who desperately wished she had somewhere else to be but like any faithful sidekick she was there.

Ad while she was quick to point out the absurdity of processing a cow in -27 weather at night she was willing to drive, hold the flashlight and generally be a good sport. We began the operation I dressed in my winter warmest and Billie snug and secure in the truck. I am sure Billie was expecting some kind of "B" movie type of horror show. That was not my plan of course, due to the cold and the light i decide to just gut the poor cow and leave it at that for now I am sure future blogs will detail the "breaking down" of the bovine. For now just the gutting

AS IF !! I WOULD SHOW THAT !!

No that is just me freezing my A@@@ off hooking the cow up for the procedure to follow. This took quite a bit longer than it should due to the light (lack of ) and cold but you know when it was all said and done I was REALLY REALLY hungry.

You know what I did . . .

that's right. . .

I went to . . .

to be continued . . .

Excitement at the No Chicken Corral

2010-01-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well next to it actually, Yesterday I was performing menial tasks, cleaning up crap left over from Christmas, etc. And, Lo !! Bowness had followed me here. Across the street there were police cars, and a fire truck but whet really got my attention was

Stars, to the neighbors and, while I am hopeful that nothing terrible has happened, it was, I am told Blog worthy.

Catching Up !!

2010-01-01T23:57:00.001-08:00

Well, sadly this is what I affectionately call a filler post . . . I have much to blog about from the GIANT turkey I cooked over the holidays, the never ending-thou always welcome guests both furry and otherwise, the fireworks display etc. Stay tuned many post coming soon.

Crazy Blogger. . . .

2009-12-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

So I took a wee break because, frankly, some friends were getting concerned that I was becomming some king of crazy person who would soon turn my blog into a forum for conspiracy theories.

Well, it MAY be that I was over-blogging, so I turned my efforts to mre worthwhile endevors,

A portion of My Hard Begotten Wood

This, adventure was also not without it's high points and low-points, I did manage to get my wood, (yeah!!) I did get to watch Cosmo, Ozzy, and Jed, feast on a Dead Elk !! (not so Yeah!!) In fact when I found where the Three Amigos had gotten to Jed was nearly entirely inside the elk with only his tail our wagging merrily. (I will save you the photos of that) This, thankfully led to very upset stomachs, lots of vomit, and a reluctance to do it again.

Additionally, I have been preventing the Three Amigos from killing my outside cat, whom I have adopted as a mouse killing machine.

Festive Baking

2009-12-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Some Doggie themed, Linzer Cookies

Lemon Glazed Lemon Cookies

And I haven't forgotten about Dinner

Women's Lib' Finally Peaked

2009-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Is this the Greatest movie ever??? "Bitch Slap" Is without question the peak of women's empowerment. With a cast of characters with names ranging from Boom Boom,Joyride,Camaro, and of course "Roxy" these talented ladies rampage across the desert "Thelma and Louise" Style (with considerably less clothing) delivering gems like "I have a photojournalistic memory."

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to have been much of a budget and most of special effects seem to have been blown on the "enhancements" the ladies possessed. Oh, Did i mention the water fight, how about deputy FUCHS pronounced fukes, and I can't leave out the Pole dancing shovel scene.

Don't worry i haven't spoiled anything. . .Find this movie and enjoy.

Guns Blazing, Popcorn flowing ---CLASSIC CINEMA

* SNAP *

2009-12-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Please remove your item from the bagging area, please return your item to the bagging area please wait for assistance, please place item in the bagging are, please remove the item from the bagging area please wait for assistance, please place the it--- PLEASE DIE !!!! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIIEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!

I am certain that most if not all of you have encountered the "Self Checkouts" at Walmart, Canadian Tire, Safeway. etc. First things first, these are not by ANY definition "self checkouts" seldom if ever do you actually get through these abominations without some kind of assistance from the half-wits at the "Command Post" aka the guard station, situated to ensure that you don't accidentally steal something . . .I say accidentally because the self checkout is entirely likely to not register the purchase you want to make. Secondly, if I had wanted to be a checkout guy/gal I would have performed a frontal lobotomy on myself years ago!!

Problems abound The above does not even cover the fact that if you are unlucky enough to stuck behind someone even less capable than I am at bagging, and or working the payment system, it entirely likely that the kindly old lady in the isle two rows over, complete with all of her coupons, discount cards, and archaic forms of payment will likely through the line, in her car and on her way home before you even finish looking up the code for crimini mushrooms.

I hate these things I hate those that use them and hate the stores that employ them. Alas, I was able to discern only one possible positive result of these infernal devices

Home Stretch

2009-12-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

I am finally closing in on the completion of the bathroom a little final sanding, some paint and caulking and it will be done. Mostly I was just excited that tonight . . . .Tonight I get to have a shower. No more baths (not that my tub isn't really comfy)

Becomes. . . .

Billie is also Happy about me showering :)

Bunt Cake Debacle

2009-12-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

I thought about titling this bunt cake bomb, but the alliteration just didn't work for me. It's the holiday season and as such generally it is the time of year we try to WOW people with baked goods. Well, WOW would be appropriate I got a new bunt Cake mold and I was pretty excited to make a cake in it. The was it would resemble something like the following. . . .

the New Mold

Alas, this was not to be, unfortunately for me I learned two VERY important lessons tonight.

1) You CANNOT !! always substitute frozen mixed berried for frozen blueberries (yes, there are blueberries in the mix, but the other berries add too much moisture)

2) WAIT UNTIL CAKE HAS COOLED NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT SMELLS

the result of the following lesson . . .

It actually tastes really really, good. Not for presentation **

Where the Deer and the antelope errrr Cows Roam

2009-12-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

This morning, it looked like there were spotlights shining on the mountains highlighting my view, I was admiring the view enjoying my coffee, until I noticed. . . .

Doesn't look like much but I have seen this bunch before, much closer mind you. In the time it took me to get my camera my helpful fur children decided they were too close to the house so a barking they went. Driving them far away and closer to the coolie, so you'll have to settle for this picture.

I call him Dinner. . .there will be much better photos of him soon when I slice him up for roasts and chops. Also Tasty

Tonight's Dinner

2009-12-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

I had promised a recipe tonight but I didn't make anything so this is tonight's dinner...

also tasty

Resurrection . . .

2009-12-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

So I am completely bored. . . not because I have nothing to do . . .but because like most unattended males the things I have to do are not things I want to do read VACCUMING. (when you live with 2 Aussies it seems like the dumbest task EVER !!!

Soooo- like the bionic man, I am going to rebuild him - we have the technology, he will be better, stronger, faster errrrr. . .ok , maybe just shinier.

Originally injured in a tragic snow clearing accident, the king of pop has not really been making many public appearances. Michael had his arm torn off and lost his base, his arms war repaired but clearly not adequately enough.

Unfortunately Michael didn't survive the move much better.

So once again, he will be rebuilt, and this year, he will be making the tour of as many Stockdog events I can make it to. It will begin soon. . . .

First to warm up by the fire. . . .

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

For the dogs at least, this weather is a godsend. The Aussies run around like Ton Ton's, I however, am not as big a fan of the Planet Hoth as they are. . . .

They seem genuinely curious why I don't want to play

Truth is, being not covered in fur is a disadvantage for me during their shenanigans. Most of the dogs can be left alone to play by themselves, Jed needs periodic monitoring to ensure that he is not bringing me some cattle. Cosmo on the other hand seems to pine for a different life. . .

And yet he seems quite content to lounge by the fire when there is real work to do.

As for Ozzy- well he just doesn't understand why we can't all roll around in the snow together. Given his druthers, I am sure we would all snuggle in a snow bank.

Coincidence . . . .I think not!!

2009-12-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

So as I have been publicly called out, I was going to leave my last post stand, however, I was commenting on a friend's blog and as many of you know you need to enter a string of random characters called a Captcha . These are supposed to be random, although, there have been reports that google uses it's captchas to identifie words for it's google books program. Anyway, in light of the public call out. I received this as a captcha . . . .again totally random . . . .

Random indeed

The Reno. . .

2009-12-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I have been doing some work on the new homestead. this work includes, new light fixtures, fixing light fixture that were broken, installing all new plumbing in the bathroom, tearing out all of the old bathroom, stripping the floor down to the sub floor, replacing some of the sub floor, painting every square inch of the house, installing new vanity, installing new toilet, tub/shower, tilling the floor and shower walls. This is not to mention that Billie's mom came and has cleaned every single inch of this place some it on her hands and knees.

To say this place needed some work is a bit of an understatement, I have completed most of these tasks however one job, almost a final job is remaining, tiling the shower walls not because I lack the capability but because there is a small problem I have and I am, frankly, not sure how it will turn out.

Correct alignment of wallboard to tub flange

Incorrect alignment of wallboard to tub flange

The problem is that the bathroom is no longer square (if indeed it ever was) this results in a 1/4 inch gap that I will need to build up with thin-set. I was going to do it today but life has gotten in the way, maybe tonight. I will post pictures of how it turns out or you can seek them out on failblog.

First of many Recipes

2009-12-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

We all know the bottom has fallen out of the pork market. So that has left us with a glut of cheap pork, I submit for you taste buds the following recipe:

1 Pork Tenderloin
1teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 Pinch Peppercorns
1 teaspoon brown Sugar

Toast the seeds and peppercorns in a dry skillet till they start to give off their aroma about 5 minutes on medium heat. Allow to cool and grind in either a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder (guess which I use)
Combine in a bowl with the brown sugar and salt. Rub this mixture into the tenderloin let sit (refrigerated for 2 hours)

1 White Onion
1/4 C Grand Marnier
1 Baby Zucchini (1/2 inch dice)
1 Tart Apple (peeled, cored, and diced)
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper
2 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

Sear off Tenderloin in a large skillet, remove once it has been seared to a baking dish bake at 400 for 20 min or until juices run clear ( I like slightly pink). after 20 minutes remove to a cutting board tent with foil and Wait 5 minutes before slicing.

While the Tenderloin is baking, caramelize the onions in the same pan, once caramelized de-glaze the pan with the Grand Marnier. Once the alcohol has cooked off add your Apples, Zucchini, and Bell Pepper. Stir on medium for about 5 minutes then add the stock continue to cook until the Zucchini is tender. (about 10 minutes)

Remove the skillet from the heat and Stir in your cold Butter careful not to let the butter get to hot and break out of the sauce.

Slice the tenderloin, arrange around some roasted potatoes, and ladle the contents of the skillet on top.

Don't worry . . . it's tasty

Do I look like I have Time for this ?

2009-12-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

We all have people like this in our lives, people for whom the word melodramatic hardly seems strong enough. People who's use of hyperbole and histrionics leaves us wanting them stranded on a desert island without any form of communication.

You can spot people like this easily now that Web 2.0 has evolved - they post messages on Facebook like " I can barely hang any longer." or twitter tweets such as "Worst day Ever!!" Really, has this really been the worst day ever - was you entire family just murdered in front of you while you were forced to watch or did some one not call you back in time, or were you late for a pedicure, or a big fight with you wife.

The problem with these type of over dramatic scenarios - the insidiousness of them is that you feel compelled to respond. Sure, you ignore it for a while but after the 20 or 25th post you probably should intervene. I mean truthfully if you really can't hang on any longer I should probably refer you for some kind of psychiatric evaluation. If it really has been the worst day ever, certainly, the news outlets would want to hear about this.

This type of dramatic behavior sucks you in. You become and unwilling participant, sucked into their vortex of self loathing and self pity occupying both time and energy often with no resolution. People like this enjoy and need drama it casts the stage lights firmly or them.

You see, undoubtedly I seem heartless and unfeeling at this point but really, who hasn't been near a 7 year old who drops his or her ice cream cone that thinks this is the worst day ever. Kindly, you replace the ice cream and make sure he/she is feeling better. . . .the kind thing, the responsible thing to do would be to smile take him or her by the hand, and simply say " No, not yet it isn't. " Thus preparing him or her for the onslaught of disappointment yet to come and saving the rest of us future time and energy.

Settling In. . . .

2009-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

Happily as the settling in process moves along and the reno drags on and on . . .there are some finding the adjustment easier than others -

Unfortunately for the dogs Winter is also settling in. This morning it was a balmy -32 at my house and it's not expected to get any better for some time yet. All of this leads to dogs with a severe case of Cabin Fever. However, the silver lining to the in-climate weather is that I am forced to put nose firmly to grindstone and get and make some progress on the inside renovation. I can't wait until spring and a new giant list is created for outside renovations and landscape reform. There will, however, be a vegetable garden.

As Promised . . . .The new Digs

2009-12-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

So yes, we (the family) are all moved out of Bowness aka. the HOOD where the sounds of the night were filled with the soothing sounds of "cracked out" individuals screaming at each other about whatever it is that "cracked out individuals argue about. Yes, sadly, I think i might miss my old stomping ground where nights were filled with the light of Christmas lights up and down the street . . . errr Cop cars and or Ambulances. Yep it was a great place to live . In retrospect it is great that neither Billie nor I were ever stabbed, assaulted, or involved in a sex offence ( kind of vague listing on the map).

Anyway were are settling into our new home and loving it.

Our new place on the Bar Pipe Ranch

know as the

Bull Farm

We are Just completing the move and as many of you know moving sucks, it reminds you that :

a.) You have too much stuff

b.) You didn't know you had a lot of the stuff you are now carting.

Never the less it does afford you the opportunity to pare down or edit some of your belongings needless to say that all of those decisions are undertaken by someone with more authority than I. It is relaxing out here lots of wide open space, where I can have some sheep, where the dogs can run around like idiots and a garage where I can play and or tinker. There are a couple of really great parts to living here and some not so great parts:

Not so Great . . . the bathroom needed to be gutted and redone completely (pictures of the finished project coming soon)

and Really Great

This is my view out of my kitchen, and my living room. I can get used to this :)

But for now I am spent

Blogger Squatters

2009-12-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

So here I sit mild mannered, yet somehow filled with passive aggressive rage with the individuals who have, for whatever reason, stopped blogging and are unfortunately for me close enough in line with my sense of humor to have taken names for blogs that I would have chosen.

My first choice would have been "nochickens" a reference to the fact that due to completely understandable and reasonable reasons I will not be permitted to have chickens at my new home. ( I am, I must confess, less reasonable and quite heartbroken) The Yahoo that owns that blog has not blogged in 2 years . . . . now I don't want to cast aspersions but - COME ON !! DELETE if you are not going to keep us updated on whatever lame ramblings pass for entertainment in your life at least delete the past so we (namely I can move on)

My next choice was for "this and that" this particular blogger is the WORST KIND. I mean really !!! "Just finding out how it works." Really, that's your contribution to the web-verse the great and kindly wisdom you have impart is . . . ."Just finding out how it works." If you have not done so in the 7 years since this was posted HANG YOU HEAD IN SHAME !! Call you parents and anyone who tried to help/guide you and apologize for wasting their time and let them down easy that you will forever be a disappointment!!

On to new of a more positive kind. . . .Billie, the dogs and I have new digs, That right homeless cracked out junkies . . . you're gonna have to break into someone else's vehicle and swipe their crap. Thanks to a coalition of friends, We now live on the Bar Pipe ranch and call the "bull farm" out new home. What a home it is my next post will up date the past two weeks of moving in and settling in both dogs and stuff .

For now I am Spent