Collected this egg while tending to the chickens today, an egg that has cracked from being frozen. We may not get as cold as other places in the world, but last night was the coldest night in our area this season. 3F degrees, with a windchill making it feel like -15, this was not a night you'd want to spend outside.
At a warm 15F degrees currently, let's see what happens when we crack open this egg:
Even though it is still cold outside and everything is frozen, that shouldn't stop anyone from getting an early start to the gardening season. By this I mean sprouting seeds and growing seedlings indoors until the outside weather is warm enough for the plants to survive in.
Today's seeds are: American Flag Leeks, Green Globe Artichoke, Walla
Walla Onions, and Mary Washington Asparagus. I have begun the germination process by placing the seeds between moistened paper towel and leaving in a ziplock bag in the sun. In 2-3 days we should see
some growth and the sprouts can be moved into soil. In about 2 weeks, I can start sprouting the rest of the plants that can be started indoors.
Other plants that I plan to grow this year are carrots, cauliflower, chard, corn, delicata squash, ground cherry, peas, pumpkin, spinach,tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini. Hoping for a very bountiful year and plenty of food to practice various preserving methods with, most specifically dehydrating and canning.
Been some time since an update, so here is what has happened so far in a nut shell, with lots of pics and video.
So far this year, Titan has run a total of about 31 miles this season. Right now the ground is covered in ice and snow, things that don't go well with a bike. So since I don't have anything useable for the snow, running Titan is on hold until the snow melts away. At the very least he gets to enjoy hiking the woods and playing with the other dogs.
Have also introduced Titan to Weight Pull, took him to a seminar where he got to experience pulling the cart, and later he (and Tetsu) attended a Weight Pull Fun Match. At the Fun Match, Titan won first place in his class pulling a total of 663lbs. I plan to sign him up for some classes and enter Titan in some trials. In this video, Titan crosses the finish line at the Weight Pull Fun Match.
For the most part, we did lots and lots of hiking. Didn't see as many deer this winter as last, but did get a few close calls with some turkeys and watched a few hawks. Quite a few mishaps with off leash dogs and irresponsible owners, can't wait to move an area where we aren't bumping into these (or any) kind of people as much. Regardless, it's nice to be out in the woods, it's a great place to meditate about life and the world.
On the homestead front, the chickens haven't stopped laying eggs causing us to consistently have at least 3 dozen eggs in the fridge. It's nice to have eggs for breakfast, but even daily consumption doesn't make much of a dent. I have begun to breed the rabbits again, with winter almost over it is time to start getting some more meat in the freezer. Practiced egg tanning the pelts from previous litters, so far they have come out great and I plan to post a short tutorial once I have the perfected the process. With these pelts, I hope to make a trapper's hat and a belt pouch out of them.
I have started up crafting and art again, I almost forgot how much I enjoy making things. In the greater scheme of things, I would like to build up an inventory of items I or other local artisans have made and sell them both online and at events. I have been working on a website and facebook page, and will reveal them as soon as I have finished. For now, here is a happy little snowman in a bottle that I made, wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
That is all that I can think of for now in regards to what has been done this winter. Plenty of future plans to think about and lots more to do.
Since last year, I have started giving myself goals to work on for the year. Some goals were easy while others were a little harder to achieve, but I still managed to compete them in some way. So let's start off with a recap of last year's goals and how I fulfilled them, and then we'll move on to goals for 2015. Trying to think positively here as the year has been a very mixed one.
Get outside and exercise more...I'd have to say that we did fairly
well with this goal as we did spend a lot of time hiking, BBQing, and
just being outside.
Work on means
of making money from home...Haven't really gotten very far with this
one, at the very least I have an idea of what I want to do, I just need
to implement it.
Barn Hunt Tetsu...Have gone to 2 Barn Hunt trials this year, not as many as I would have liked but still better than none.
Dryland races and meeting mushers...I did go to the sled dog trade
fair with Titan to which we did learn a lot, hang out with some mushers,
and even did a race. Had a lot of fun with that one and hope to go
back next year.
WPD Tikaani and Titan...Didn't really focus much
on this, but our hikes have gotten longer so all of the dogs are
getting better endurance.
Special activity with Miyu...Haven't
implemented it yet as we did just literally think of this a few days
ago, but we would like to go canoeing down Carman's River and take Miyu
along with us. It was basically between her and Tikaani (Tetsu hates
water while Titan is too hyper), being that she is the smaller of the
two she wins out. This would have to wait until the weather warms up
next year, but at the very least we can get her a life-vest and work on
desensitizing her to being in a boat.
Do more art...I have done significantly more than in previous years, not as much as I would like but it's a start.
Art corner in reptile room...Still trying to figure this one out, at least we have the closet organized to fit everything.
Finally, hang out and meet up with friends...Yep to this one. Met up
with several friends at various dog events, rekindled an old friendship,
and met some great people on the way.
And now here are my goals for 2015!
Finish the kitchen, it is now basically a room with some tables and a hot plate. Time to turn it into a real kitchen.
Canoe or kayak at least once with the hubby and one of the pups (either Miyu or Tikaani)
Work on Tikaani and Titan's WPD title, I say this every year since
getting Tikaani but it's looking like this year we may have an
opportunity to get some legs on it.
More Barn Hunt with Tetsu, and try Tikaani out with it as well.
Have an idea for a home based business, so need to implement it. Get
the paperwork sorted out, build up an inventory, and vend at at least 2
fairs this year.
Work on the yard, organize and clean it up.
This includes, but not limited to: finish up vegetable area, getting rid
of the rest of the junk left over by the previous home owners, finish
expanding dog run, better fencing to divide front and back yard, finish
chicken run, build new chicken coop, and possibly a goat house that can
be converted to a shed if we choose to not add goats this year.
More hiking and more exercise, try to increase our average distance and explore new locations.
Race Titan next winter, we're both getting better in the woods might as well get him to some events.
Cook more and eat healthier. I love to cook, I really need to get in the kitchen more and stop being lazy.
LoL, a bit of a long list but the more that's on there the more likely
we'll have something done by the end of the year. 2014 ended spending
time with some great friends and family, now it's time to look to the
future and plan for a better tomorrow. Farewell to 2014, Hello 2015!!
So during the last run I took a pretty big spill which ended with Titan dragging the bike down a ravine. Titan and I were fine but the bike wasn't, the brakes were completely busted and some of the other components got a little mangled. We weren't able to do much running until I can procure a new bike, we would have to settle for long hikes instead (which are fun in a different way). So for the past month and a half I would scour Craiglists in hopes of finding a good bike within my meager price range, while jealously following the mushing adventures others were having with their pups. Finally I found it, a used 2003 Gary Fisher Tassajara in excellent condition and at a fraction of it's original price.
Picture taken after the walk
Took the bike for it's maiden bikejor run today, decided to go on a short, familiar loop since it has also been some time since Titan ran. The bike was incredible, though I do want to change the (original) seat out for something more comfortable. Titan was a little distracted, but he'll start getting into the swing of things once we get a routine going.
After the run, and switching Titan to hsi hiking harness, the hubby and I took all of the pups for a short walk. It has been some time since they've been to this park so they all really enjoyed exploring the plethora of smells left under the leaves. Even though it was chilly, we still had a fun time.
Below is the video from the run, I felt the song is quite fitting for this occasion.
This past weekend, I took the trip up to New Hampshire with my buddy Paul to the Northern New England Sled Dog Trade Fair held at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds. This is a big event that helps kick start the mushing season with some educational seminars, a dryland race, shopping, and crazy mushers (new and experienced) getting together to share experiences and support each other. It was loads of fun and definitely an event I would want to go to again.
It was a weekend long event, so we drove up on Friday, camped out Friday and Saturday night, and drove back Sunday. It was somewhat rainy all day Saturday but luckily the seminars and vendor area were inside decent sized buildings so there were places to keep dry while shopping and learning. Did a lot of my shopping that day, picked up some new harnesses for Titan and one for Tikaani, as well as random other things I liked. Later on, there was a raffle with loads of goodies, of which I won a lovely hand knitted wool sweater. During the evening potluck meal, which had an absolutely lovely selection of yummy foods, I had a blast chatting it up with other crazy mushers.
Titan did fairly well, he didn't really care for intact males (shame on me for not having him interact with intact males as a pup, most of the dogs I know are neutered/spayed) but overall he seemed to have handled everything well. He loved getting attention from all of the people and watched quietly as teams of dogs were bikejoring and pulling rigs past our campsite. At times, more so towards the end, he did get overwhelmed and grouchy so I opted to give him a break by crating him inside the tent. He would protest crating at first, not wanting to go in and howling once locked up, but he settled quickly and just zonked out. This was also his first time camping, I was glad that it didn't take him long to respect the tent walls.
I have to say, the sound of the rain tapping the tent and the numerous dogs howling was quite relaxing. Call me crazy, but it made it easier for me to fall asleep. Woke up early Sunday morning o a gorgeous sunrise and fairly clear skies.
Sunday was bustling with the excitement of everyone preparing for the race. The race course itself was very short at 0.8 miles, which made it a great opportunity for a first time race. Initially planned to only sign up for Canicross since I had busted my bike up about a week ago, but Paul was kind enough to lend me his bike so I can participate in the 1 dog bike run. This was the first race for both myself and Titan, and also his first time really running the area. (I tried him with a scooter the day before, but between my lack of scooter experience and his extreme desire to get at something under one of the buildings, we didn't really get to do much.) I was nervous and excited, a million possibilities running through my head while we waited our turn.
Even though the run wasn't perfect, I was still very proud of Titan for making it to the finish line and meeting my goal of not getting in last place. Our time was 2 minutes and 58 seconds, which landed us in 26th place (out of 28, 1st place time being 1 minute and 27 seconds). We probably would have done better had he not gotten the line between his legs, will have to work his ability to correct that, but regardless I think he did pretty well.
We did ok in Canicross, made me realize that I'm not very fit and should jog more often. Titan wasn't too happy with being crowded at a mass start, but once we got going he was more focused on running than the other dogs. He did get a little grumbly at a dog or two, but he ignored them when asked and didn't go beyond that. Didn't really get a time on this run due to the mass amount of people crossing the finish line at the same time, causing the judges to scribble names down as fast as possible, but I think there were a few people who came in behind me so yay to not being last.
After the race, there were a few more seminars followed by clean up and giving a fond farewell to new friends made. Below are pictures mostly from Sunday, didn't really take many on Saturday due to rain and poor lighting.
Now that autumn is here and the temperatures are starting to cool down, it is time to start running Titan again. This year, my goal with Titan is to get him able to run 5 miles by the end of the season, with minimal incidents. This will be hard since the trails I'll be using this year are the same ones we hiked him in last year, so will have to help him fight the urge to mark every tree he passes.
I have also been saving up to attend the Northern New England Sled Dog Trade Fair and Seminars, which will be a great learning experience and a means of getting new gear without having to pay for shipping. I'm also hoping to attend, and possibly run, one of the many dryland races in the neighboring states. Will have to see if I feel confident enough in myself and Titan to run in a new area around dogs and people he doesn't really know.
Anyways, so far we have run 3 times this season, the first 2 a short 1 mile loop while the 3rd was almost 2.5 miles. Below are the videos from the first two runs:
Now for the 3rd run, that was quite an adventure, I'll have to remember not to run Titan by a ravine that travels by swampy areas where the local fauna tend to hang out at. The run started out fairly good, he was screaming to go and took off like a bullet. He listened fairly well and every time I stopped him to do something unrelated, I could practically feel the frustration in him as he wanted to keep going.
The plan was to ride up to the dam and let him have some fun in the water, but Titan had other plans. He was running along nicely until some major movement caught his attention, it could have been some birds or a deer or even just the sun shining off of the water, I didn't see it so I'm not sure but whatever it was it had really gotten his attention. He took a sharp turn down the ravine, I didn't react quick enough, the bike skidded, and down I went.
Titan wasn't really able to drag me more than a foot or 2, but with the way I was laying and the steep angle of the ground I wasn't able to reposition myself to get him and the bike back on the trail. Seeing that Titan's focus was on something in the swampy water a few feet ahead of him, I made the decision to let go of him and the bike, knowing that he wasn't planning on going far. He dragged the bike right into the mud, luckily knocking the camera off before everything else went in with him.
As I sat up, brushing the dirt off of myself and making sure I was in one piece, Titan was having fun splashing in the muddy water and seemingly trying to catch something (a fish maybe). I grabbed his harness, unlatched him from the bike and brought him back up the ravine. Thankfully I brought an extra leash so I could secure him to a trees while I went back down to retrieve the bike.
Titan is wondering when he can start running again
Boy did he scream his head off when he saw me come back into view with that bike, and he screamed some more as he waited for me to sort out the bike. Somehow Titan managed to push the front tire under the frame, causing the brake lines to twist around the handle bars, and bending some of the metal components to the point where they were useless. I managed to get the wheel back into position and the bike in mostly working order. Though the front brakes are useless now it's a good thing this bike has back brakes.
I hooked Titan back up to the bike and ran him back to the car, we still had about a half mile to go so I kept him at a slower pace (utilizing the back brakes) just in case something else caught his eye. The rest of the run he was a bit distracted but listened well enough. He surprised me, and made me proud, when we passed a person walking their dog down an adjacent trail. This Shepherd-type dog grumbled when he saw us through the trees, which did get Titan's attention for a split second. But he went right back to focusing on running the trail ahead of him and ignored the dog behind him. Lots of praises for that.
Below is the video chronicling most of the run, including Titan's dive into the ravine and him ignoring the dog (who is off camera):
After we reached the car, I tossed the bike in and walked Titan to the river. I figure that even though he took me down a ravine, I might as well reward him for ignoring the grumbly dog and maintaining focus most of the run. Shouldn't forget the positives and try to laugh at the negatives. He had fun splashing in the water and trying to catch the ducks we so rudely disturbed.
.jpg)
