The skunk??? No, just Bear in the tall grass…a bit ironic that his tail looks very skunk-like.
But we stayed clear of Skunk-ville today: work, a run to Whitefish, more work and a beautiful couple of hours outside this evening.
Bear had a much better day today and recovered his smile and his usual sang froid!
It was a glorious first day of Summer in Northwest Montana! Hope it was wherever you are – Happy Solstice (yesterday evening) and may your Summer be beautiful.
Yep…Bear got skunked!
This story starts on Monday morning. I was awake early and Bear and I took a mini-loop walk about 6:00 a.m. …much earlier than usual but with sunrise 5:30 ish it was full light.
Walking along the driveway of the adjacent property, a skunk appeared out of the tall grass, looked at me, turned and walked north on the driveway…tail in the air. Bear was to my south, nose to the ground and did not notice.
I hastened toward Bear and grabbed him by the collar before he noticed the skunk. But he did see it and wanted to go after it and we had an uncomfortable walk/drag by the collar home. I told Bear that he would be very unhappy to get sprayed but mostly Bear was annoyed with me for collaring him.
So Tuesday walks were uneventful and I made sure that we did not go where we’d seen the skunk until 8:30-9:00 a.m. ish. This worked Tuesday.
This morning, Wednesday, Bear and I had a quick outing down the driveway (mine) and back about 7:00 a.m. Then at 9:45 we headed out for a loop walk. The sun had been up for hours.
Nearly completing the loop and 20 yards from our own property line…skunk! I was another 20 yards behind Bear. I didn’t see the skunk until the last moment. Bear took a hit of spray and immediately turned 180 pawing at his face. He ran to me and I could see the yellow of the spray on his head, jaw and chest. I told him ‘Home’! and he turned for home. As we went he tried to use the tall grass to get rid of the spray.
Once home, I retrieved the SkunkOff I keep and went to work. Skunk spray is a kind of petroleum compound. You cannot wash it off. The best you can do is chemically neutralize it and the SkunkOff product does that. Spritzing the product on the sprayed areas, rubbing it in and then letting it dry – it does fairly well for all but up close and personal. Time takes care of that.
Bear was so patient and stood quietly while I worked on him. He wanted inside but I opened the Jeep to him and that was 2nd best. He jumped right in. After he was situated in the Jeep, I moved it into the yard, right outside my window. With the Jeep windows and back open, he could see and hear me while I worked and vice versa. He settled down for the morning.
Meanwhile…Purnell, the plumber arrived to work on the water heater. Good news is that my water heater is back in normal business – yea! (heater drained and cleaned, bottom element and thermostat replaced)
After Purnell left, I went out with Bear and we took a short walk in our own woods. Bear badly wanted inside. He seemed upset. He’d taken some of the spray in one eye and the hit on his jaw…he probably got some in his mouth. He’d been drooling. I fixed the bed with some extra sheets, fed him some yogurt and a charcoal biscuit and let him in. He went straight to bed.
He ate a second helping of yogurt and his kibble and went back to bed but has also barked at deer – mostly normal behavior…but kind of a tough day for the Bear boy!
…this week’s wine abstaining plan has been abandoned. We’ll try that again next week.
***about Skunks: they are typically out at dawn and dusk but the females, if they have kits, will go out daytime to get them food and/or train them. There is a kind of “old wives tale” that a skunk out in daylight is rabid, but that is not true. I’m guessing this is a female…with kits…they have their babies in May. Skunks eat a LOT of things that are bad for us…bugs, some of the poisonous spiders…like bats, they are one of nature’s natural pest “repellents”. They are not aggressive with their spray and typically warn with a whole stomping routine before spraying, but a barking, charging dog…well. Bottom line, I am happy to co-exist. I think Bear may give another skunk a wide berth – I hope so. Karl was sprayed once a year for 3 years running and then he remembered :)!
The last two weeks, it has been one thing after another…on the fritz!
Yesterday, Monday, started with no hot water. I checked the breakers and the water heater’s breaker was broke…there had been thunderstorms…I reset the breaker, heard the water heater fire up – yea!
But, then…the water, it was scalding hot. It hadn’t been scalding hot prior…blech. A call to the plumber, a discussion…he will be here tomorrow…
Meantime, I usually have VERY hot, as in TOO HOT!, water. Occasionally I have to reset the water heater’s reset but the breaker is holding.
The good – well, kind of good – news is that as I pulled things out of the closet where the water heater lives, in preparation for the visitation from the plumber…I discovered that water was rising from the crawl space …just a wee bit of water, but enough to necessitate a massive closet cleanup.
…that explains all the mice in the house of late…kind of good news #2 = the explanation being the “good” news.
Work went on the fritz as well. I spent most of the day with the rest of the team chasing an elusive bug. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. we had a conversation along the line of “what we should have done at the beginning was…” – yep, it was that kind of day.
Despite an inclination to abstain from wine this work week…I didn’t.
I poured.
I sat.
I looked on the scene.
So…some things fritzed. But…my dog is happy, the grass is green, the air is crisp and clear. Not everything is on the fritz.
The bounty from Swallow Crest Farm is not the only thing that is green around here. We’ve had plenty of rain this Spring and all that should be green is VERY green. The green is so intense that it glows.
This weekend is the first in several that had mostly sunshine. We have been enjoying it. Today was the warmest day at 70F – perfect!
Sunshine, fresh green grass – what more could a guy like Bob ask for?
It was a day for Bob’s favorite grassy-sunny spot on the edge of the woods, just north of the front porch.
He’s there…just to the right…a small yellow-orange bit – that’s Bob.
And the grass, the trees, the sky – beautiful.
The woods grasses are in tip-top shape as well. With the exception of the “thorn-in-my-side” thistle patch, I’ve been able to keep up with the few other weeds that populate the woods: hand pulling. Good exercise and with the abundant moisture, the few weeds I find let go of the ground easily.
Bear was out also…WITH Bob! They studiously ignore one another – both watching me. I sing and talk to them both. I am very pleased that Bear does not feel the need to do something about Bob and is content in his own space. Bob goes about his own business like he is the only creature in existence… true Bob!
A noise, a smell, a sound…and the beardog is on alert: stationed at Beardog Point looking out for trouble.
Our lives, our Sunday afternoon: enjoyed all together on the green, green grass of home.
As told by my mother, ever since I posted the photo of my first pretzel, Bill has been saying that I have to make pretzels when I visit next. Bill typically does not say a thing just once :) !
Bill, I will happily make pretzels when I visit!! But here are a few more…in the name of perfecting the recipe and technique…
I was a grown up, middle aged adult when Bill became part of the family but he’s there with help and ideas when I need them, he was a professional photographer for a time and supports my photography plus gave me some beautiful books by Ansel Adams that I have learned from. He and my mother were foodies before that term was coined – and now we all enjoy sharing things we’ve learned, new things we try and cooking together when we can.
And he loves my Mama. So, pretzels for you, Bill, and Happy Father’s Day!
Love,
Liz, your wacky Montana step-daughter (that’s wacky, NOT wicked :)! )
Week 5…I cannot believe it has been 5 weeks since I started getting fresh garden goodness from Swallow Crest Farm.
I cannot believe it is the middle of June!!!
But, life is good…life is beyond good, here in Northwest Montana…at least by my standards. The weather is perfect, the food is wonderful, Bob, Bear and I are healthy and happy.
So…week 5: red leaf lettuce, spring greens, spinach, green onions, bok choy and radishes
Featuring spinach…a calzone with spinach, pepperoni (uncured, no nitrates from Applegate Farm), goat cheese, monterey jack and a bit of my roasted vegetable marinara.
Spurred on by my neighbor’s chef salad mention…a salad of fresh greens, pepperoni and kalamata olives dressed with my pesto-ranch-green goddess dressing. A bit of parmesan and on the side: pickled cucumber, onion, radish, bok choy slaw.
The fresh spinach – it has been my favorite of the green abundance. I’ve used it like lettuce on sandwiches, blitzed it into pesto, processed it with a bit of olive oil and frozen it…AND added it to a breakfast scramble.
Yep!! This scramble: eggs, spinach and mushrooms scrambled on low in a mix of butter and olive oil…then topped with salsa from the garden (cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeno, cumin, lime juice, salt & pepper) and goat cheese.
AND…a bagel – HOMEMADE!!! – with a schmeer of goat cheese. YessirreeeBob – THAT is a good breakfast!
Have I mentioned that I’ve been making bagels???
After the pretzel roll/pretzel adventure of two weeks ago…I’ve been making bagels. And reading about making bagels. Experimenting. And making bagels.
I have made the following bagels:
sesame
poppy seed
everything (kind of…using a unique mix of seeds form King Arthur)
cinnamon raisin
cranberry
plain
I have not thrown out a single bagel.
I have learned some things and there is more I’d like to learn. But at the moment, I am NOT unhappy with my bagels.
I am using a high moisture, long rise, no knead dough with a mix derived and adapted from multiple sources and my own experimentation:
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Bread flour (I believe KA bread flour has the highest protein content of any flour available in the U.S.)
1/2 cup King Authur white whole wheat flour
3/4 T instant yeast
3/4 T sea salt
3/4 T sugar
1/2 T non diastatic malt powder (source is King Arthur….this is a barley derivative to assist in rising and texture)
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups of warm water
Stir all above to mix and cover with wrap. Put in warm spot to rise for 2-12 hours. Yes, you read correctly. If I make this on a warm day, I let it rise for several hours and then refrigerate. If I mix it in the evening, I leave it out overnight. My house is cool at typically 62-64F.
This is what it looks like after a bit. When it looks like this, I stir it, transfer it to a ceramic crock and put it in the refrigerator…dough for the week’s (or 2 weeks) bagel needs :) !
On baking day, for each bagel, grab a hardball (baseball) size piece of dough. Flour it a bit to make it easy to handle. Shape it into a circle maybe 3 inches in diameter. Punch a hole in the middle and stretch the ring to 5 or 6 inches in diameter = raw bagel. Let the bagel circle sit while you get water boiling and your oven to 450-470. For me…460-470 works best.
For the boiling water, you want a pan large enough to hold almost 2 inches of water and wide enough to allow all of your bagel rings to swim without touching. I use a large dutch oven if I’m making 3 bagels, but typically, I’m making 1 bagel and I use a medium saucepan.
When the water is boiling vigourously, I add a mix of the malt powder, baking soda a sugar to the water. For 1 bagel, I use 1/2 tsp malt, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp sugar.
Gently slide the bagel ring(s) into the water. Turn over at 2 minutes.
Another 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
Brush with an egg wash (slightly beaten egg and a bit of water), top with seeds if desired and put those things into the oven!
I’ve baked them direct on a pizza stone, on parchment on the stone, on parchment on cookie sheet…I can’t tell the difference and since I have a small upper oven that heats very quickly, I’ve mostly been baking on parchment on a cookie sheet in that top oven.
BAGELS!!…homemade bagels. They are a good thing.