Mt_Rider

MtRider

Victory, Jeepers. Ya done good with that boy! I have to say that DD2 loves Costco and has figured out the savings in bulk buying there. It's a start..... MtRider [...... CGA - ]

Well peppermint oil [the real stuff, not immitation] failed at my house. But perhaps fresh mint plants???? MtRider [....Hmmmm?....]

MidnightMom???? Um, if whoever is not using that cupboard space......CAN I HAVE IT? MtRider

I came rushing down the hall to the Sunporch. Thot I was late for a B-day party. I wasn't late.....Stephanie was. MtRider [....so we'd better have ANOTHER party today. ]

Darlene heard that from someone in her area too. Milk...it's got the nutrients if one has extra. MtRider

Is the sequel out yet, Martian????? Huh? Is it???? MtRider

Well in this piece of the planet....there are NO feral cats. At least not for long. However, the bears might like the smell of rotting fish. Bears are also the reason I've never considered doing bee hives. [Dratted Pooh! ] But....are there any parts of the fish that shouldn't go into the blender? MtRider [....might not be such a good idea for me... ]

Ack, AH! That's TERRIBLE! I am one who does not share well with other species. :frying pan: So y'all are still making me hungry! Our night tempuratures are still getting below freezing. Our last frost date is around (and I have seen it later) June 15. Our first frost date can be Aug 15 or earlier. So we really have to adapt and plant what is possible. I've had NO way to do the garden this year. Just not enough functional time so I thot we'd have next to nothing this year. But DH has been working like a crazy to get some things in. 'Course he's always better at initial planting than the maintenance and harvesting. That's OK...cuz he's getting some root crops in [carrots, beets, turnips, taters] and I think he has peas started. I started 4 zucchini plants INSIDE and two just popped outta the potting soil yesterday. We're going to try transplanting them in a couple weeks in a nice, warm, composting bale of straw/hay. I have parsely growing in a tube made from soda bottles..also inside. DH planted basil in another one...outside. We'll see how these new methods of trying to beat out the cold and dry of Colorado work. MtRider [...have more luck growing baby ducks for eggs... :darth duck: ]

DH has been going fishing a lot lately and since we like the boost that fish emulsion has for gardens..... So what's it take to DIY? A blender? MtRider [....gotta be informed on these type of fertilizers.. ]

Whoa......he heard you and ACTED ON HIS OWN BEHALF? Wow, I'm still waiting to hear those tender, poignant words: "Mom, you were right...." MtRider [ ...it would be NICE to hear them BEFORE ]

"Hulless grain seed" [oats in particular] has been on my B-List for years. It's coming up soon to be the priority...at least a couple lbs of seed stock. Even for up here at 9,000 feet, there are seed varieties in these sites that Darlene's posted. Some grown in Peru (our favorite purple potatoes), or Tibet (the barley) or other high altitude/low tempurature regions. In a perfect plan, I'd have already devoted money and TIME [a few seasons, at least!] to finding out which of these MIGHT have a chance on my real estate. Well, we have grown the purple taters for years. But I kept HOPING that I could move to a more agriculturally friendly zone. So here we go with one more thing that should have been ordered "YESTERDAY" cuz supplies are limited. "Limits" and "out-of-stock" is appearing on more and more things this year. Time to hit that B-List hard. MtRider [...mebbe oats, buckwheat, ...maybe barley.... It's a long shot without a greenhouse here ]

OH NO.....I have black lines on my finger nails. ....uh, never mind. Just got in from the garden. Seriously tho, some good clues to important info. MtRider

I just read two short, simple books by Susan Gregersen. The Long Ride Home and The Rally Point: Bugging Home. They cost $1 with Kindle and ....while I did like the stories, I'm glad they were only a dollar. The are FREE for Prime members tho. Just simple stories of a large family and how they had adventures and challenges while trying to reach the home ranch after an EMP. I think she's writing a third story. She has several other books [search her name on Amazon] and they are all Free to Prime and .99 to the rest of us. http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Ride-Home-ebook/dp/B007IKFPX2/ref=sr_1_sc_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338275577&sr=1-3-spell http://www.amazon.com/The-Rally-point-Bugging-ebook/dp/B007O27J4C/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338275577&sr=1-1-spell MtRider [....like reading more and more stories on Kindle ]

Not volunteering but..... I'll be in charge of the Housewarming Party! So glad you, your dh, and puppies are getting into a home!!! MtRider [ Hope to see you back on the Internet soooooo! ]

Hey...good to see you baaaaack!!!! MtRider

Yeah, Jori. Out here in high desert Colorado, no one knows I have massively curly hair. MtRider [..Shhhhhhh! ]

Just keep it from moisture. And ants. I buy bulk and transfer into my infamous Ocean Spray juice bottles [strong, clear, plastic]. Sugar slides right in using a funnel made from a 2 liter soda bottle. Make sure the bottle doesn't topple, while you're pouring when it's still empty....BTDT. I open the bag all the way and scoop a few cups at a time with a pancake pouring bowl. While emptying the paper bag, the last of the sugar is in all the crevices and kinds splatters all over, of course. Be aware of that. Dog licking floor is helpful. Be best to transfer on a day that isn't real humid, btw. MtRider [..trying to remember what 'humidity' feels like. Oh yeah...I don't like it! ]

Wow...tricky, that MSG labeling. Yes, I did check our bags for the recall. Or rather DH did when I alerted him to our thread here. [another score for MrsS and her massive data net! ] Too bad your...dog...is allergic to blueberries. They do have different flavors. Mebbe they don't all contain them. This brand is very expensive but with BigDog cutting back to HALF of what she used to want to eat, it's saving us money. Big surprise there! I'm wondering if we could even let her free feed now. She's the first one we found that would stuff her obese self. Before her, we always free-fed and never had fat dogs. She came at age 3 from the rescue and has had food issues. But if it meets her instinctive needs better.... ....so really, what can a dog safely eat raw? As in the trout? Bones? That dog 'ralphs' every time she 'self-serves' something out in the pasture. But LOVES nearly all veggies and strawberries. She gets all the sweet tater skins, broc stalks [and she runs around like she's got a fat stogie in her mouth! ], carrot peels...and carrots if she can beg them, beans, ...she'll do anything for pea pods, kholrabi,... I would not trust her to pick her own in the garden tho. She's very gentle taking the tiniest piece from my hand but I'd guess NOT if she was harvesting. MtRider [..off to take aforementioned dog to do chores with me. ]

Cooool list, Windmorn! Thanks! I scanned down them. Many are in public domain and will remain free. I have some of them already. But I'll be going down that list soon for any I don't already have. MtRider

Interesting topic and timely since DH and I are switching my 'getting older' dog and 12 yr old cat to different diet. [tired of cleaning up cat hairball barf] Haven't switched the cat yet but plan to try it. Mother, that 'craving' that you describe is exactly what I saw diminish when we switched BigDog to Taste of the Wild. I see that as a really good sign! Please note: I do NOT mean to put down the raw food diet you all are advocating....I'm taking notes. But sheeesh, I don't know how I'd be able to get raw food that I would have any confidence in. The fish guts and head when we go trout fishing? I do NOT trust the major meat packers of chicken. DH has too much data on THAT! So I'm just describing what we've found with this particular dog food. [no one I know gets royalties from it either ] Anyway, Gunplumber --- I'm glad you brought up the pink elephant. [image of a batty old lady eating her cat's food ] Since this switch of dog food, I too have really been considering that 'human consumption' question. Especially after pricing the freeze-dried meat prices for food storage. This dog food comes in very heavy plastic bags so it's totally sealed. It's expiration date is at least one year out. Ingredients list includes different types of meat and meat meal, egg, veggies like sweet taters, blueberries, tomatoes....fermentation products, vitamins, etc. I can decipher most of the 'code'. No grains in this brand, btw, (in case Mother needs a gluten-free dog food for ....er, her dog. ) Sooooo....be sure to let us know of your data, please. Here are some sites I've begun to look at: Taste of the Wild site list/explanation of ingredients: http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/ingredients/ Independent review of Taste of the Wild: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/taste-of-the-wild-dog-food-dry/ MtRider

We switched to Call of the Wild dog food. The [150 lb] dog was having such gas problem we almost gave up on it. She loved it but sometimes wasn't interested in eating it. Finally DH figured out she might be eating too much at once. We cut her 2 cups in morning and 2 cups in evening in half. That's right. 150 lb dog sustaining now on one cup morning and nite. Took care of the gas problem quickly enough. A month or so later, she is trimming down [should be closer to 140 or 135] but no longer seems 'hungry' all the time. She's content to eat without wolfing it. But...for whatever reason, she prefers this dog food with some water poured over it. So while this is a more expensive dog food, we're still making out ahead. Like concentrate. Less to store too. Question for feeding raw [chicken, etc]. So what if you have poultry on-the-hoof, so to speak. Will your dog learn to 'self-serve' his own dinner? That's one reason 'they' always said to cook eggs before feeding them to dogs - so they won't go into the hen house and help themselves. MtRider

Clever son... MtRider

Hi Gardengabber --Definitely store ice rather than just boxes to fill the dead space in any freezer. --*Caution* Definitely can help insulate a freezer with quilts, etc during power outages. We did that when we had to leave our home for a fire EVAC. HOWEVER -- NEVER COVER THE BACK WHERE THE MOTOR IS. In our case, the power was still on when we left the house. Or, the power could turn back on when you are not attending the freezer. Either unplug it or DON'T put anything that could tangle or overheat the motor. --Personally I HATE*HATE*HATE my freezer section of my fridge. A whole upright freezer might be a different story. But I can't keep anything from sliding out the door. I sometimes have to duct tape the door shut. I think the house is leaning towards the freezer door. Everything is packaged in slippery plastic bags now. It takes me forever to unload and try to load all that frosted, freeeezing cold stuff again and again until I acheive BALANCE. I think I'd love a bottom drawer freezer on a fridge. --I also have a small chest freezer. I use some wire baskets to help categorize in both freezers. I also use some plastic grocery bags to contain some meat broth, or other smaller items. Just don't use things that would stop the cold air flow for good freezing. I wouldn't use cardboard boxes. I'd use things with holes like the aforementioned milk crates. I love Mommato3's mom's idea of layering ice in crates and categorizethe next layer. --I really love my small chest freezer but yes, even though it's not very tall or big, I get some things lost in the depths occasionally. I've gotten on a small stool to reach the very bottom. I'm 5'2" also, Dogmom. With this small one, I don't quite have to do a headstand. If I have a sore back tho....that would be an owie! MtRider [...my two cents and a caution ] edited to make another attempt at English

Yeah, I can't even drink store milk after years with goat's milk. My little Nigies don't give a lot but I don't have a big family to provide for. Sometimes I wonder if the little rascals are actually easier to manage than the full size breeds. Mine are absolute hooligans some days. Take yesterday, for example. MtRider [..love my goats but some days..... ]