Sunday, September 15, 2013

Tough trip through Paridice

Tough trip to my Paradise
  I would like to take you with me on a trip I took in 1979 to a special place. The trip started with the sun rising out of the darkness lighting up the peaks above us, but the darkness below was slow to relent its hold on the night. We were at the entrance to Sun Valley, Idaho on our way to the Sawtooth Mountain range. Our group consisted of my brother, my friend, three horses, and me.
  We had the supplies for an extended stay at nine thousand feet and the desire to obtain an Elk. When the truck stopped at a parking lot with peaks on all sides, my brother asked, “Where are we going?” Looking around then upward, I squinted my eyes a little bit then replied, “About noon we should be right about there,” then pointed to what appeared to be straight up at a peak above us. We unloaded the truck and saddled the horses. Each packed with a survival kit and a portion of the supplies. Cricket, a flighty appaloosa, was only carrying a pack since she had decided to get hurt earlier.
I put my brother on Sissy, a horse who had a rock steady personality, and I think was actually older than he was. Since he was a welder by trade and not a known horseman this suited him. I saddled my girlfriend’s horse Sunny, 16 hand Palomino Mustang; she was strong willed because she had been wild for the first five years of her life and a man hater. A man hater except for me; I buffaloed her into accepting me on a trial bases. Bob, a friend of mine, put all his gear on the horses but walked since he was horseless.
 I put my brother in front and watched his direction.  I led Cricket; I’m convinced that she was playing a game to see how much trouble she could get into. We climbed and climbed until about noon, I told everyone to look down and about 1500 feet below was the truck and trailer sitting all alone in a small parking lot with no buildings, electricity, or anything. We continued to a lake aptly named Sawtooth Lake which sat an eight thousand feet. The only thing between us and our campsite was a ninety-five hundred foot pass that consisted of a narrow switchback of shale.  It was dangerous and slippery; the perfect place for a horse named cricket to play.
We made it to the camp with no difficulty, which worried me. We made camp, picketed the horses, and started to hunt. I say hunt because that’s all we did.  We didn't see anything worth shooting.
We sat on the third day with no phone, radio or any other communication; what we did have was the sky and we watched the sky turn ugly and then really ugly. I had more experience and explained that the shale pass we crossed would turn into a death trap if it was covered with snow. If that happened, the10-mile trip would become a 30-mile trip north to Stanley, Idaho. If the system came from the north it would mean traveling to Featherville 70 miles away.
 It took three hours to catch the horses and break camp. By then there was three inches of snow, and the pass was in a cloud and totally covered in snow.
In the time it took to make our way to the trail, five inches of snow had fallen. Only a faint line showed the way down the mountain.
I sat on Sunny looking down the mountain for as long as I could until I finally turned around to the others and made the decision.  I told them to move the camp gear to Cricket, move the guns and such to Sissy, and get off. I had my brother walk down holding onto Sunny’s tail and leading Sissy.  I had Bob  hold on to Sissy’s tail and lead Cricket.  I explained to Bob that if Cricket acted up to let go. I knew that if she took one step off the path, she wouldn't stop until she hit the lake 1500 feet below.
My brother looked up at me and asked, “Aren't you going to walk?”  I looked at my brother and my friend, and then I looked at Sunny.  I told them, “She is the only one here that really knows what she is doing.  I’m going to ride.”  I kicked my feet out of the stirrups, wrapped the reins around the saddle horn, and told her, “Get us down girl.”
 Sunny took well over two hours placing each hoof down testing the ice and then taking another step. We finally got off the shale into a tight pine grove to rest. I got off Sunny where she shook and from nervousness her entire body broke out in to lathered sweat. We took the saddle off her and rubbed her down with appreciation of a horse that kept us safe.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Please grandchildren THINK before you rant

When you are having growing pains and are mad at the world do not go on Facebook and rant. If you do your aunt who is a school teacher may just correct it

I AM TIRED OF FAMILY AND PEOPLE TELLING ME WHAT I CAN OR CAN NOT DO IF I WANT TO GO SOME WERE I AM GOING TO GO THERE IF I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL IN A DIFFERENT F&*%ING COUNTRY I WILL THE NEXT PERSON TO PUT ME DOWN AND TALK DOWN TO ME SO HELP ME GOD I WILL GO OFF THE NEXT PERSON THAT DOES THIS TO ME I WILL END ALL CONTACT WITH EVERY FAMILY MEMBER I HAVE AND KNOW ONE WILL EVER SEE ANY GRAND CHILDREN OR GREAT GRAND CHILDREN THE NEXT TIME I PROMISE YOU THE MESSAGE I SEND OR WRIGHT WILL THE BE THE END OF ALL CONTACT WITH ANY FAMILY SO IN OTHERWERS DO NOT F@#$ WITH ME EVER AGINE I WILL DO WHAT I WANT TO DO I AM AN ADULT AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT THAN GET THE HELL OVER IT THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT DAY

I AM TIRED OF FAMILY AND PEOPLE TELLING ME WHAT I CAN OR (1)CAN NOT DO (2)IF I WANT TO GO (3)SOME WERE (4) I AM GOING TO GO THERE (5) IF I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL IN A DIFFERENT F&*%ING COUNTRY(6) I WILL (7) THE NEXT PERSON TO PUT ME DOWN AND TALK DOWN TO ME (8) (9) SO HELP ME GOD (10) I WILL GO OFF THE NEXT PERSON THAT DOES THIS TO ME (11) I WILL END ALL CONTACT WITH EVERY FAMILY MEMBER I HAVE (12) AND (13)KNOW ONE WILL EVER SEE ANY GRAND CHILDREN OR GREAT GRAND CHILDREN (14) (15) THE NEXT TIME (16) I PROMISE YOU THE MESSAGE I SEND OR (17)WRIGHT WILL THE BE THE END OF ALL CONTACT WITH ANY FAMILY (18) SO IN (19) OTHERWERS (20) DO NOT F@#$ WITH ME EVER (21)AGINE (22) I WILL DO WHAT I WANT TO DO (23) I AM AN ADULT (24) AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT (25) THAN GET THE HELL OVER IT (26) THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT DAY (27)
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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Sad Day with a Dear friend Mandy the best coon hound ever

I received a letter in the mail today from an old friend, Snake Williams.

Yes, there are some that still write and are not hooked up to the world electronically. Snake - whose real name is Handford, but who would ever go through life as Hamy when the name Snake was available - was one of those true heroes when I was young and probably was the driving force that got me to stay rooted in the country. He is known for the best Coon Hounds anywhere, and Mandy was known as the best of the best.

 Here is the interesting part… like a lot of people, Mandy did not have the pedigree to be a champion Coon Hound, you see, she wasn't a red bone, or a blue tick, or any type of true hound. She was a Feist, and though they make wonderful squirrel dogs.  A Fiest is a breed that would be laughed at as a coon hound, or would be at least until Mandy came around.

Mandy weighed in at a whopping 30 pounds, a definitely a light weight, but she could out hunt any two other champion dogs set against her. Snake was even offered $5000.00 for her just to keep her from embarrassing the other dogs, but Snake and she made a team that was a sight to see.

Snake wrote to me to tell me that last Wednesday, Mandy and he went over to the Young homestead about noon time just to let Mandy stretch her legs. You see, coons are hunted at night because they sleep during the day, so going at noon is just to enjoy the country and get exercise. Mandy was used to this routine and took off at a run straight down the holler as Snake stayed to the ridge line just to watch her run. 
That was when the trouble started. Mandy yipped. With Mandy Snake knew that a yip was the sign for a fresh coon trail. There shouldn't be a fresh trail at noon time something was wrong. About that time, Mandy yipped twice and that meant she was now in sight of a coon. This is double wrong because dogs hunt coons in packs because if a dog goes against a coon by itself, the coon can win pretty easy.  You have to understand that many a wayward dog has been lured into a stream and had the coon sit on its head until Glory Land came. This was bad. 

Snake ran across to the edge of the ridge only to see his worst nightmare. Mandy had sighted a coon, and it was a huge boar coon - bigger than Mandy by a lot. This coon wasn't even trying to run; he just turned around to Mandy with a log to his back and waited for dinner. 

This was the first mistake for Mister Coon. He may have weighed 45 pounds or so; he was bigger Mandy. But Mandy hit him so hard that he went over the log and decided he wasn't that hungry for a little dog after all. He started to run, and Snake knew that now that Mandy had tasted blood there would be no stopping her. That coon ran but what worried Snake was it was running like it had a purpose. It did. It ran up to and old beech tree that had roots jutting out like walls and just turned around for this little dog he had worked up an appetite.
This was the second mistake for Mister Coon. Mandy didn't hesitate; she just went after that coon like a buzz saw. Mister Coon decided that the best place for him was up the tree, and no little dog was going to stop him. He started up and Mandy grabbed on to his hind leg to stop this monster of a coon. All was going okay for Mandy until she realized that she was off the ground going up the tree attached to the coon’s rear leg. Now the famous yip of Mandy was a whimper that broke Snake’s heart, this had never happened before. About that time Mister Coon got to a limb and, glory be, there was a hole. Without hesitation he went in, problem was when he went in the 30 pound mass on his leg plopped in on top of him. All hell broke loose as Snake ran up to the tree with World War III and IV going on inside.

Snake listened as it got quiet inside the tree until nothing could be heard. Snake ran back to the old home place and grabbed a little Mini Mac 12 chain saw and went back to the tree.  He began using that old saw more as a plow than a saw and sawed that tree down. He got it down and split opened, and all he found was a little blood and a little fur.


That coon and that dog had gotten so mad…they ate each other up.
 I know that I am supposed to be telling and showing you different homesteading ideas, but one of the most important things to remember is to laugh a little also.

Snake Williams was a real man who had a rough life but also had a young boy who listened to ever story he told. He never to my knowledge had a dog named Mandy but could hunt, fish and trap with the best of them. He showed me how to love and respect the land..







Monday, September 2, 2013

Gates and what you don't want to do.

It amazes me as I work with people on Homesteads on how they miss a simple point. You use a gate 1000 time more that you use a fence but more work goes in the fence than the gate. The bad thing...for 30 years, I had been in the same boat.

What I have found is that it would be better to spend a weekend on just the post that are going to support the gate. This is better because as you spend this time, you are making a rock solid foundation for the gate.   This is the first thing for the gate and the second misstep is not to have gate foundation solid.

If you think a 4x4 is a good size for the gate use a 6x6. If you have a hole dug for the post 18 inches deep get a glass of ice tea cool down and then dig it deeper.  A post hole for a gate is different from the other post because it is more to hold something up than out.

Now for some basics:
Your hole for the king post for the gate should be of a slot than a hole. This will allow you to place something solid on the bottom fence side of the hole and something solid on the top side of the gate side.

Here is a sketch that might help.
If you do something like this it should last. Then it will be on to other endeavors like pestering the grand-kids 

For those who are feeling down on Labor Day because you are unemployed or underemployed

I am blessed to live where I want and even better with whom I want. This simply makes me wealthy.

The problem is this does not put gas in the truck or pay the bills; employment does. That may mean a job at McDOs or a factory, but that is not the issue.  What is the issue, is not whether you are making money but if are you learning and having a mind set that will increase you income.

What is the correct mind set? The correct Mind set is if I sat you down on the of the road with what you have in your pocket could you buy a cup of coffee when all the money was removed from those pockets. Most would (I am not saying I wouldn't have a little pity party also) panic but if there was a empty coke can give me a few minutes and I will have a functioning camp alcohol stove that is worth $5. If there is a tree, I will give you a pair of pliers out of a limb for another $5. I also guarantee that I would walk in each business willing to clean toilets for some extra cash and do the best Job that can be done.

It isn't where you are but where you are headed. If you can't say that you have learned something new in the last week, it is a wasted week. Your knowledge is a tool, but some tools are not very useful so put the best tools in the pouch.

For those who choose to follow me, I will be demonstrating things that could help you on your homestead like how to load a log on a trailer with out equipment and building stuff. If you are stuck let me know and maybe I will do a how-to.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Hunting Season is around the corner and it is time to inventory the Freezer

Labor Day is tomorrow,  and that means it is time to look at the freezer for each of my family. There are three separate households who each like different things. This year it's going to be mainly venison. I have been remodeling a 1920s home and did not top out a beef. Our deer herd is close to being out of control, so my goal is to harvest 10 for the freezers.

I have given a pass to Tri-Pod. He is a three legged deer that grazes in my back yard. He had a rough time, so he has 60 Acres to live his life out in peace. Besides, the grand babies like to watch him in the creek.

Speaking of Venison one of the main things for edible meat is how you prepare it. Make sure that you follow these simple tips and even the most picky eaters will be glad to share your catch.

1 -  If you can't make a clean shot leave it alone.  It might be "just a deer", but it is as much of this world as me... and I am blessed for it to furnish my grand kids nourishment.
2 -  Field dress the deer quickly. This also means rinsing the carcass.
3  - Cool it or process it. We live in Middle TN and some times the temp is warm. If you don't have a place to hang the meat in a cool place, go ahead and process the meat.  Once you have it processed either refrigerate or freeze it. Putting a rack under the meat gives a place for the meat to drain, and the hounds love it.
We basically grind all but the best cuts (tenderloin), but the trick is to trim all the silver flesh and fat from the meat.  We put our meat up with no fat in it which in a homestead situation is safer. The fat spoils first, so removing it makes the meat less likely to "go bad".  Also, ground meat jerky is our favorite.


Mama's Venison Burgers
We bet you can't eat just one...
2 lbs Ground extra lean Venison
1 stick butter
1 Tbs all purpose flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix together and let rest. The flour will make glutton strains which will hold the burger together.

Cook on the grill or in a grill pan until meat is no longer pink in the center.