Yes, Elk Have a Sense of Humor

Oh the beautiful creatures. . .

Oh the delicious scandalous creatures!

Here they are leisurely parading along the hill

right across from our house.

They look at me and say,

"See this rump roast you don't get to eat?"

"How about all the steaks I might make?"

Oh they are warped creatures indeed.

How cruel they are to taunt me such.

During hunting season, they were singing a different song.

It was more along the lines of the Gingerbread Man.

All joking aside,

I am truly blessed to live in such a place

and am extremely grateful.

Elkless!

Elk season is now over, and

I am elkless:(

I had a prime opportunity opening day and blew it.

I couldn't get it in my scope in the couple of seconds I had

in which to act.

Instead, I got to hike, climb, and crawl many many miles.

But instead of whining like I would prefer,

I will show you some of the country we covered.

Opening day it was so windy, we had to brace ourselves

against the wind.

In my infinite wisdom, I told Hubby, "This is why you see

those witches stuck to telephone poles.  See we're in the mts.

so it's hunter stuck to tree."

Okay, so I'm warped. 

Above and below ~ opening day.

Then. . .

yep that's the snow-line. Yesterday, covered all this in a blanket of white.
We did see about 75 head in this draw, but all cows and branch bulls 
- no spikes.

An idea of how steep it can be.

It was exhausting, and I am still without elk in the freezer.
I'm a poor hunter.  It's not something I really enjoy.
I only do it for the opportunity of delicious free range meat.
I don't like waking up in the middle of the night to hike in the dark
to where we are going to watch the sun rise while freezing to death and
remaining 'out' until dark, then come home to cook dinner,
shower, and crash.
It's beautiful, but I'm a fair weather hiker.  

Well, as promised, I will soon be posting some fun ideas
centered around the holidays.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches.

~Elk Season~

I might not get to post much this week.

It's elk season, and I'm the only one on the mountain who drew a tag.

I joked that I would rent it out a day at a time:)

(back of my coat)

At least it's about 30 degrees warmer than it was last year at this time.

Wish me luck.

Note~ I have some great activities and holiday gift ideas I am working on

for upcoming post so am hoping to get my elk opening day so

I will have more time to post those.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Harvest Blessings

There has been a lot going on around here
as there has been for many folks.
I'm not entirely sure just where to begin today.
My last post included a partial to-do list
some of which has occurred.
Today I found my kitchen floor.
You know, I think it was under there all along
and was just playing hide & seek.
At least we can walk across it without
it pulling our socks off now:)
The forests are open so we have brought in,
split, and stacked a couple trailers of wood.
We probably need one more good load or a couple small ones.
That's quite the workout, but is so rewarding.

A few days ago as I was picking 'more' plums, and
this nearly hit me in the head before I noticed it.
This whole limb will be pruned off 
so I am going to rescue it and bring it inside for the mantle.

The river is low but still sounds beautiful as
my head hits the pillow at night.

Tomatoes! Wow!
They leave me speechless.
There were a bunch that came up volunteer (in the potato patch.)
They are a little later than the ones we planted intentionally.  But look what they are doing.  The vast majority of these little ones go on the dehydrator to become 'sun-dried' tomatoes.  The ones in the upper right bowl are all from volunteer plants.
This year in addition to 'real' tomatoes,
we had little purple tomatoes and big orange ones - both good.

If you have never canned pears,

first let me warn you.

And second, 

you don't know what you're missing.

I have canned as much as we will eat,
gave away six big grocery bags full to some friends,
and they are still falling.
My neighbor was over today and asked if I wanted any pears.
I just laughed.
A good year for pears evidently.
Some folks don't realize that they fall from the tree green
then ripen over the course of about a week.

This was fantastic thought on God's part since they
are too tender, would bruise, and directly turn to mush
if they fell when ripe.

They are easy to can (one of the first things I learned to can.)
Just peel, core, slice, and top off with syrup.
Hot water bath for 8-10 minutes and presto.
I prefer a light syrup so use 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water.
Bring it to a simmer so the sugar dissolves before
pouring over the fruit.

And last but not least...
evening before last we fiiiiiinally had a little shower
move through, and as we looked out our back door,
this is what we saw over the mountain.

I hope each of you is finding your own form of blessings
and enjoying the tail end of the harvest season.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

For Rent

You can get it for a song!

Cozy living quarters
In mountainous tree
Surrounded by pine cones and ivy
Adorned with a variety of mosses

Prime second story elevation for privacy.
Near two land caretakers 
who occasionally fill a feeder
and share bread.

A busy weekend of being rained on

and traveling so now back to the stitching board.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Gifts

Just a quick post to let you know what is new.  I was fortunate enough to happen by a sale that was at the home of an artist.  I found typing paper, water-color paper, a bunch of cookie cutters, and several odds. 

The gold medals have already been removed from the board and cleaned and might become the 'pulls' for some creative bell-pulls.  I have a bit of a collection of tea cups & tea pots.  My dishes are all white (one of the smartest moves I've made) so this little sweetie just fits right in.  There were several fabrics - old small prints :)  and an antique compass that still works! 

I am still stitching on the same projects so won't bother with those, but will share with you a wonderful gift from God.  As I was looking out my front window to see how the sprinkler was doing, I spied this view.

That's mama eating my plum tree.

*One of the fawns*  I took these photos through my front window - I didn't want to scare them by opening the door.  The fun thing is - this doe and her twins have made their home in our yards.  Our neighbors (within a couple miles) and ourselves - have all been watching out for them since they were born.  They have enjoyed spending time in the middle of the road.  Either the pavement was warm for the babies or they are just suicidal.  We have 'shooed' them off the road more than once.  I hadn't seen them for a few weeks so was glad to see that all three are still kicken'.  We don't even mind them being in the yard - until they start destroying things.  It's all part of living in this beautiful place.  If I wanted a town yard, I would live in town.  We also saw a bear cub yesterday - think we spooked him.  He raced right up a tree and held on tight!  I didn't have my camera out and ready so no picture - sorry.  Just in case you are wondering, you don't try to get too close to cubs or spend much time trying to get their pictures.  Where there is a cub, there is a mama who doesn't want you bothering her cub.  It's best to leave them alone. 

Off to work on my challenge quilt - hoping to finish it up this week - will share after the show.  Until then, happy stitches and nimble fingers.