The Amazing Baker

Addie is an amazing cook.  Not only are the things she bakes delicious, her presentation is always spectacular. 

She was going to make another cookbook, but decided, instead, to create a blog site.

Done in just the same manner you would expect from her delightful baked offerings, she has created a blog site - so no more searching for shelved cook books!  A simple jump to her site and you are off to bake something amazing.

These recipes are tried and true.  I know.  I am one of the three guinea pigs who are testing the recipes before they get published!  Cool, right??  The other two guinea pigs are Butch and Shawn from the office.  Mike (Bressler,  not Trumbower) dropped out.  He was feeling fat and cannot resist her treats.  He gobbles them down in minutes.  He has no will power.

So.  Check it out.  This is her site.  Addie Cakes   Get to cooking, my friends!  You will not be disappointed. 

(If I had to pick my favorite, thus far, it would be the chocolate chip cookies!!)

The Hunt, II

We hunted Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday night.  Saddle up, brush down. Eat, nap.  Our mules/horses and us were on the same schedule.  Friday night a long ride and a long walk.  Surrounded at times by bugling and whistles of elk.  What a lovely song they sing.  Saturday morning, I had a bull elk - the only sex my tag can hunt right now - in the scope.  His butt.  When I saw he was a bull, he ran directly away.  Showing me only.....his butt. 

(Saturday morning hunt)

That evening, we saddled up again.  This time, Mike rode his horse Earl.  Less than 1.5 miles out, Earl stopped on the trail - ears perked and attention forward.  We saw nothing.  One more step forward and then Mike saw the bull feeding ahead.  I jumped off, grabbed my rifle and shooting sticks.  My guide whispered (in a shout - is this possible?) to move less than 10 feet from him on his mounted, fully alert horse and shoot.  Yikes.  This could be a rodeo, I thought to myself.  But I really didn't have time to think.  I set my sticks, looked up.  The bull raised his head.  I found his shoulder in my scope and shot so quickly, the scope came back and nailed me in the forehead!!  Rookie mistake to get "scoped".  Our rides hardly even flinched - no rodeo this time!  My guide reported, "I saw him fall in the trees over there.  Walk up and make sure he is dead!"  It was an order.  I snuck up, not sure where to look.  Which trees?  Right trees, left trees?  Where was he??  Finally, I spotted the elk.  Watched.  No lung movement.  It's the hunter's worse nightmare.  Walking up to your elk and having him stand up and run away.

There would be no running this time.  My shot was a killing shot, for which I am extremely grateful.

My guide carries an axe. 

After removing the enormous pile of guts (I am always astonished at how much of an elk are guts!), he whacks down the sternum, opens the pelvis and finished with whacking the top of the spinal cord so the body will lay open, cooling in the Wyoming night.  We cut limbs from a nearby pine and "brush up" the carcass so the birds won't get the meat.  We hope the bears are eating somewhere else and return home to comb down and feed our trusty steeds.  And ourselves.

This is what the carcass looks like prior to getting brushed up.

 

 

When we return Sunday morning, a cow elk slips across the trail in front of us in the early morning light.  There are bulls bugling and cows squawking.  Mike holds a tag for a bull and a special tag for this area for a cow.  He goes off a-hunting and I am left with Gus, my ride, and two pack mules.  We wait.  Surrounded by the sounds of elk.  I am enthralled and ever so thankful to have these moments in the Wyoming mountains.

 

We return to the cooled carcass.  No bears.  This time, we pack a Sawzall - it's not wilderness here.  A clean cut is finished down the backbone.  One carcass is made into four pieces, hefted into bags and atop mules, tied down, and we return home.  Sounds so easy.  Trust me.  It was not.

 

Comb and brush, feed, and nap.  It was a very good hunt indeed.   Thank you Mr. Elk.  Thank you for giving your life so we may have a full freezer of lean, organic meat.  And for the memories of one of my favorite hunting adventures.  Life is so grand.

 

 

 



Breaking News!!

(For those of you who do not like pictures of dead animals, my apologies)

For the Love of Coffee

There is no sound better than the sound of a coffee maker brewing.

Gurgle, steam hiss, gurgle.  Drip, drip, drip.

We kept running out of coffee in the mornings.  Our old 12 cup machine was just not enough.

Time to go shopping.

After reading reviews, considering the must-have features – machine must be programmable, must be more than 12 cups, must have a “bold” feature – a new Cuisinart coffee maker was ordered. 

In a way, this is a review of that machine!  Now used for over a week, I give it five stars!  The coffee maker came with a gold filter.  We got over using the paper filters years ago!  So, I didn’t have to go out and buy a cone filter. 

The warming base has three settings to dial-up or dial-down your coffee temperature.  We are set on high and each cup is steamy hot!

It is easy to fill with water, has a nice water-level indicator on the side, and the carafe pours without dripping. 

The anticipation of the first cup of steamy hot bold coffee is enough to inspire one to want to get out of bed!

That is, unless I can talk Mike into bringing me a cup to enjoy in bed!!  Check it out on Amazon at Great Coffee Maker

Worth every penny! 

Out The Back Door

Thanks to a 14 hour day of work on Wednesday, I allowed myself some time off yesterday for a walk out the back door.  Behind our house is a vast land of national forest - uphill, all the way.

Panting up the steep slope - slung rifle, shooting sticks and back pack filled with license, knives, flashlights, water and sweater - my mind relaxes as the worries or work and the world are lost on the trail behind.  A blustery wind whips the naked aspen branches, most of the leaves have fallen to the ground now.  On the trail below my feet are tracks from a horse who has been over this trail since last week's rain.  The toe prints of a deer can been seen every now and then.  I see no sign of elk until I have walked - climbed - for over an hour. Their tracks are few and not very fresh.

Sneaking into a grove of heavy bushes and aspen, that feeling of being the prey prompts me to look around.  I feel like something is watching me.  Look up for a mountain lion.  Look around for a wolf.  Look behind for a coyote.  I get this feeling during most hunts.  That feeling of prey vs. predator.

Overhead, a bald eagle leaves its high perch and soars out against the wind.  Envious, I wonder if he sees an elk.  He banks at the mountain's shoulder and returns with the wind behind.

The climb continues.  I am sweaty enough to dig in the pack for a sweater.  A bush offers cover and I sit to watch dusk arrive.  Nothing moves.  I have, thus far, seen chickadees, giving me away with their chick-a-dee-dee-dee calls and a mouse jump across the trail.  That is all I will see this evening as I creep down the steep trail home, thinking of my Grandfather and his bad knees!  The sky darkens, the wind blows around my head, and I am happy.

 

Glow Stick Trial Run

You know, the kind of things kids buy.  You bend them and something inside makes a crackling noise.  Suddenly, the little six inch yellow stick starts lighting up.  I stuck it under the leather ties holding Mike's cantel bag as we headed up the very dark Little Granite Trail yesterday morning.

A no-moon morning.  In the open, the star-light gave one a glimpse of the surroundings.  In the forest, it was pitch-black dark.  The little tube of magic light glowed ahead, bobbing like a buoy on the ocean.  This little glow light ahead was too bright in the pitch black forest.  I worried it was bothering my mule's vision. The thing must have been like the sun to him with his excellent night vision skills.  Gus, my mule, didn't trip or complain, but this experiment worked only to prove a glow stick is not the best solution for a "tail/trail light".

A roll of glow-in-the-dark tape has been ordered.  Perhaps a bit more subtle in the black cloak of the forest.

Our trip around the mountain, a true looped trip, proved very quiet.  Nary a squirrel was heard giving us away in the trees.  Silence.  Never a good sign.  We saw three buck deer, frozen wolf tracks on the trail, and some elk tracks.  Tracks don't put meat in the freezer.

The sun rose over the mountain bringing brilliance to the amazing scenery.  Void of the wildlife this place used to hold, it is still an amazing place to watch light up in the morning celebration. 

We tie up our trusty steeds on a grass-thick forest knob.  This place burned 10 maybe 15 years ago; we try to recall.  Sitting on the moist ground, leaning against a downed and burned tree, we ponder what lies over the next draw.  It's the places you can't see that drive you nuts when hunting.  Surely, if we go just one more ridge over, we'll find some elk!  But no.  This country is too quiet today. 

Pulling sandwiches out, we are graced with one of those experiences that is so easy to take for granted.  Lunch on a hill in the wilderness.  Cool, but not cold.  Not even the slightest of breeze.  The sun warms our left shoulders as we contemplate the disappearance of game in the country.  Together in this place.  We are so lucky this very fine morning - even without a kill.

Mike makes a couple of cow calls.  A bird sounds out a song that at first fools us into believing a bull elk is around.  The bird calls again.  We are no longer fooled. 

Hunting gives us a reason to go to the effort of getting up early, saddling up a couple of mules, riding into the dark, watching the wilderness light up, and celebrating all the things we get to enjoy as we make our armed trail ride loop around the Granite Loop.

 

Nice Story of the Day

There are so many good things that happen every day.  I have decided to start sharing these great stories so you, like me, can smile, regain hope with humanity, and find nice ways to be human - be like Gary!

Read BE LIKE GARY

This is Jackson Hole??

Harumph.  What is becoming of our town?

Winter Arrives

Melting now, but quite a snow storm to start the day!  Roads closed, traffic messes, powerlines sagging, and tree branches down all over the place!  I love winter!!

Garden fence graced in snow. 

Crabapple drooping under snow's weight. 

Flowers crowned in white!

The Season Comes to a Close

The last warm days of fall.  Next week predicts the end of the greenhouse growth, the slowing down of the kale (it can grow through really cold temps), and a chance to get the grass cut one last time.  Fall colors are brilliant out the window.  The day has been warm with rain showers.  It has been a quiet, relaxing day.

Blooming bok choy in the garden.  Slugs love their leaves.

I spent $25 on this flowering pot full of flowers!  Very nice!

 

Okay.  Next year, I am going to sucker my tomato plants.  I am quite happy with this year's robust growth!  Finally got the soil mix right.

 

Below, fall color spills down Munger Mountain. 

 

 This would make an awesome puzzle!

 

The Walton Ranch

This is where Michael works.  I took this picture to determine if my Nikon camera body is functioning properly.  It suffered a nasty fall, completely severing the very nice zoom lens off the body.  I am guardedly optimistic the camera is working just fine.

And, I have this picture to show for its operational status.

Update:  The Walton Ranch recently sold to the man who owns Urban Outfitters .  He also has a specialty cheese farm in Pennsylvania; I found this article about that farm PA Cheese .  Priority for the new owner is the design and build of a for-certain trophy home on the ranch.  It is exciting to see the ranch have a new "vision" with direction and some money to start making things better.

What a beautiful ranch, indeed!  I would say my husband is pretty darn lucky to work on a ranch this beautiful and now owned by a man with a vision.

Opening Day, Hunt 1, Sighting

Cut to the chase.

We were not alone!  We saw a bull but he saw us all!

We marveled at the amazing fall colors, enjoyed an afternoon lunch on a warm fall blue sky day.

We worked the stock hard, up steep hills.

No pictures, but this, an essay on The Darkness. 

Darkness

The alarm clock begins its annoying reveille at 3:30am.  We groan in unison, having been wakened at 2:44 am by a misguided Dispatcher thinking I was still on duty.   We give Tme five more minutes, warm and snug in our bed, separated by a line of sleeping dogs; one stretched out longways, her nose at our armpits, the other, an anchor at the end of the bed. 

Mike gets up.  I follow and we get dressed for the hunt.  The thermometer reads a balmy 35 degrees.  

Each of us has our things to do.  Breakfast burritos warmed, lunches packed, gloves, binoculars, sunglasses, water – the items set out and readied the night before.  Mike dons a headlamp and walks down to the corral to catch and saddle mules.  The generator starts, lights illuminate the tack shed. 

We reach the trailhead, a sixteen mile drive, and find we are not alone, this opening day of elk season.  There are four parked horse trailers and three horsemen leaving as we tighten cinches, load guns, wriggle on bridles, and get ready for the ride up the canyon.

This canyon runs east/west.  The moon is a sliver in the sky.  Headlamps are turned off and even in the open parking lot, our eyes adjust to the pitch black darkness.  I determine to find some sort of glow in the dark ornament for the next morning ride.  In the open, I can barely make out the spotted ass of the Mike’s mule ahead.  It is so dark.  I close my eyes to find equal darkness.  My mule makes his way through the rocky trail, picking where to put his feet.  He does not stumble. 

This experience is terrifying.  I work hard to relax and follow the movement of my mule; suddenly going uphill, around a tree, and then downhill.  Sparks jolt the darkness in front of me as metal shoes click off rocks.  My foot hits a boulder next to the trail I cannot see.  The creek roars next to us, sounding much bigger than it actually is. 

Silver moonlight hits the opposite side of the canyon.  We ride out of the dark timber and into this lovely light.  Morning light comes turning the silver light into a brightening blue.  I relax now, actually seeing the trail in front of us. 

Soon, darkness disappears and we watch morning unveil our surroundings.  The ride to the Secret Trail is 1 hour 45 minutes. 

And at that trail, there is a camp, four horses tied to a picket line, an empty tent, and horse tracks fresh in the trail in front of us. So much for the secret!

In the morning’s first light, we are certainly not alone, this opening day of elk season.

Scouting on a Fall Afternoon

There is a secret trail.  Monday is the first day of elk season. 

I cannot divulge to you its location.

We heard bugling!!

Yesterday we rode - in the light of the afternoon - to find the secret trail.  This way, Monday morning - in the darkness of the morning - we will now be able to find it!

It was a really nice afternoon with fall colors, an occasional light drizzle, and only three places on the trail where you'd be in big trouble if your ride stepped the wrong way.  I hope my mule has good night vision!

Fast Weekend!

Some weekends are just too fast.

Saturday, we said goodbye to a great fisherman Bob Schupman at a wonderful celebration of life ceremony in a room filled with family, friends, and fishing buddies.  Bob died way too soon and will be missed.

Dinner with friends that night - a menu that would make any local restaurant envious.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the meal.  Crabapple salad dressing - a recipe I invented - was really delicious.  Topped off the dinner with Janet's rhubarb raspberry crisp. Good friends, good food, good wine.

Sunday found us atop our trusty mules moving cattle from the north pasture (11 wolves were seen early morning eating off a cow they killed from the herd earlier that week) to the ranch.  It's a plus-ten mile ride down the road complete with all kinds of new things for the mule you might be riding.  Parked cars,  Beer cans on the edge of the road.  Flapping flags.  A whole bunch of new horses around and cars behind.  Dogs zipping here and there, keeping the cows moving.  I was holding on to the reigns too tightly to get a picture!! Ruby and Smoke did great biting cows.  Ruby suffered a minor whacking above her eye.  The whole gang had lunch and visited, telling tall stories afterward.

Fall weather and rain brighten this year's fall colors.  The week ahead looks somewhat sane, but it is a 911 world; could change any moment.

Ruling Out, Park City, Fall

So, to be sure, and to rule out the lunch spot where the 3 month old $500 dollar eye glasses may have been dropped, Mike and I took a great day ride up the South Fork of the Buffalo River last Saturday.  The lunch spot, finally found, was a bit further than either of us remembered.  We had a nice lunch break, but did not find the glasses.  Here are some pictures from that very nice day.

Today, I returned from doing code work for the 2018 codes!  Meeting was held in Park City, Utah, a town very much like Jackson.  High end, mountain setting, lots of great eating places.  Great working group.  We got much accomplished and I learned a ton.  Well worth the effort.  Catch up time tomorrow and Friday.  So, these are not my best photographic compositions - taken simply to celebrate the beauty of fall.  Soft, overcast light made the glistening fall colors a visual feast on the journey home.  Mary and Terry - I wish you were here right now!  You could get some great pictures!!

nice powerlines!!

Slim Pendergraft

The peak is named after the man - Slim Pendergraft.  Mountain Man, Game Protector and Gentleman.

We camped in the lovely mountain meadow below the peak for three days on our packtrip.  The rock where the plaque is located sits in a random place; you have to really know where it is to find it.  Upon our visit, we noticed the bronze plaque was not secure.  By any means.  It seemed to all, that should it be left in this unsecured manner, it would be just a matter of time before it got taken. This is a picture taken prior to
securing.

It was decided a return trip would be made to secure the plaque.  Tom and Ken and Mike put the plan into action.  These three men - mountain men, game protectors and gentlemen, all three - returned to the plaque over Labor Day weekend with a plan.

The horse back ride into the area is about 18 miles.  Sitting below and pointing to the peak named after Slim Pendagraft, the history of how the plaque got on the rock originally is under current investigation.  Ken said he performed the operation in his mind every night since we visited the plaqued rock on our summer trip.  Tom and Ken worked on various methods using various products.  Mike assisted.  Friend Coralia got a much-deserved break back to an area she knows very well.

Secured for many more years, the task was a success!  We all rode out on Sunday knowing the plaque would stay secured to the rock, pointing to the mountain, honoring a man I hope to learn much more about as I work toward an article for publication about Slim Pendergraft.  Mountain Man, Game Protector and Gentlemen.

Some more images from the weekend backcountry trip.  

Lunch Break

This may be my favorite picture of the year!  Lunch on the way into Gilroy's Camp.

 

Tom, left; Michael, center; Ken, right. 

 

Back From the Mountains - And BUSY!

Back on Sunday.  Busy Monday.  Look for a story and photos to come from our back country trip.  We had a great time!

Mike's Radio Interview

Mike enjoyed a quiet birthday, working, spraying weeds, and enjoying a birthday dinner over wine.  This week, he was interviewed by our local radio station KOHL.  Listen to how GREAT he sounds - the guy has a radio voice!!  Captain Trumbower Radio Interview

Still very dry here.  We are going to the mountains for a quick end of the season pack trip.  Two missions: to reattach the brass plaque to the granite rock in Pentagraph Meadows and to search for the lost-on-the-last-packtrip, 3 month old, $500 glasses.

Enjoy the long weekend.  It is a much-needed break, indeed!!

A Career High!!

Today I found out I will be a speaker at next year's FDIC!!  Check it out here FDIC .  Wow!  What an honor.  And to boot, the very man who is the cornerstone of FDIC, Chief Bobby Halton, walked into the JHFire/EMS training room door this morning (UL is having a Firefighter Safety Institute Meeting here in Jackson), reached out his hand, and gave me the news - personally!  If you are in the fire service, you know, this is an amazing honor.  I am humbled and honored and overwhelmed with joy!!  It's in Indiana.......next spring......!! 

Meanwhile, there is a new fire on our forest......we need rain.  Or snow.