Maggie Rides Again

Here's my niece Maggie riding her pony. Ain't she about the cutest thing you ever seen? Giddy Up. 

Minnesota Vikings squeek by the Lions

Yesterday's Vikings game ended up to be a close one. Oh it started out with a bang. Koren Robinson (#18) took the first pass from Brad Johnson and ran it 80 yards down the field for the first touchdown. But things weren't to be that easy the rest of the game. The score ended up Vikes 21, Lions 16. The Lions just had to run the ball into the end zone....but we intercepted it on the one yard line in the last minute of the game. Brad Johnson is 5 and 0 since taking Daunte's place. Hummm...... The next three out of four games will be at home. Just maybe we'll see ourselves in a playoff spot yet. But lets not forget about Chicago. They're on fire with a 9 - 3 record this season. They've won their last 8 games. Their three losses come two away and one at home. Their last four games are three away and one at home. Their last game is our last game, January 1st in Minnesota.

Tonight the NFC West leader, The Seattle Seahawks, face off with the Eagles on Monday Night Football. The Eagles are having a down year with a record of 6-5 but they're coming off a win last week and they'll be playing on their home field. But Seattle, with an amazing record of 9-2, (both loses away) get my bet for another win tonight. 

Global Warming....

As I sit here at my computer this cold Sunday afternoon I wonder about global warming. It is currently 1:00pm and only 8 degrees outside. And the winds are coming out of the Northwest at 12 miles per hour making it feel like 7 below. Now scientists say that the earths surface has warmed an entire degree in the past century. I guess I'm not sure how that's bad. All I can say is I don't think I'm going to be around to see the next 1 degree increase. Darn. Oh well I'd better just bundle up 

Oops....

Well we had our first snowfall this past Monday. Folks around here have to learn to drive all over again. My friend Ellie found this out on Tuesday morning when a lady (hey that ain't no lady) from St Cloud came across two lanes (head on towards Ellie), jumped the median and crossed another lane and smashed in to El's Honda. Now I don't know about you but I think this looks like a can opener attacked her. Thankfully Ellie wasn't hurt. But the Honda will be in the shop for two to three weeks. Ellie is now a Jeep driver.....good luck El. 

Brother Bob's Elk hunt

Here's a photo of my brother Bob on his hunt in Montana this fall. This picture shows him hauling out his elk. Last year he packed his elk up and down mountains. It took him, with the help of others, over 8 hours to get it out. This year he brought his horse to help.

This is Bob's elk from last year. It's pictured here over his stairway in his home.

Ellie's First Stain Glass Project

My friend Ellie just finished her first stained glass project (front row with the loon picture). She's been going to classes once a week for a few weeks now. She's bought the equipment she needed, the pattern and glass for her loon and headed off to learn all about it. What you can't see are all the bandaids on her hands (just kidding). Good job El. 

Vikings win 20 - 17 against the Packers

I can't go without mentioning Monday night's win for the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers suck soooo bad that they let the Vikes beat them twice this year. Cheers to Brad Johnson. "Pack" it up Farve. 

Todays history leason....

The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.

So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers for 7 years.

On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."

The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.

The long trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the "Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."

Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not prove to be a threat.

The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter.
On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).

His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English.

Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn.

The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.

The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.
The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.

The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food.

The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes topped with creamy toasted marshmallows.
Original recipe yield: 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:5 sweet potatoes, sliced
1/4 cup reduced fat margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and mash. Place mashed sweet potatoes in large bowl, and use an electric mixer to blend with the margarine, brown sugar, orange juice, and cinnamon. Spread evenly into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with miniature marshmallows.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until heated through, and marshmallows are puffed and golden brown. 

Turkey Time

Well here it is, turkey time, once again! The feast is planned and in the works. I've been working on stretching my stomach out so I can pack it full of stuffing and turkey.

Here's your recipe for the day:

Green Bean Casserole

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 5 Minutes
Yields: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained
3/4 cup milk
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (2.8 ounce) can French fried onions
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium casserole dish mix together green beans, milk, cream of mushroom soup, and 1/2 of the can of onions.
3. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Sprinkle remaining onions over the top, and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lorrie goes to Moab

Now let me start by telling you....I don't know a cotton pick'n thing about Moab. But my sister Lorrie does. Here are some pictures of her recent trip to Moab Utah. It was a combo biking/hiking trip. There was much more biking than hiking though. The first day they biked 30 miles and 20 the second day. Lorrie said they had a blast. (Lorrie is to the far left in the red shirt).

Moab

 

The final days of deer hunting

Well deer hunting is now just a memory for 2005. I didn't end up getting anything. I had a blast though. On Wednesday Dan got this nice buck. On Thursday my son in law, Josh, went in my stand and shot my little fawn. On Friday Gary was making a push to me across the big swamp and I saw a deer running but instead of turning and running to me it turned and ran the opposite direction. It was a beautiful day. A record setting 66 degrees in fact. Then saturday we sat til noon and called it a year. It was super. 

Distant Fires by Scott Anderson

I just finished reading a book my friend Ellie borrowed me called Distant Fires. It was written by Scott Anderson and illustrated by Les C. Kouba. I enjoyed it because it took me back into the woods.

Distant Fires is the classic canoe-trip story...with a twist of wry. Scott Anderson chronicles a canoe adventure that began on a mother's front porch in Duluth, Minnesota, and ended three months and 1,700 miles later at historic York Factory on the shores of Hudson Bay. It is a story of toil and triumph, of paddling and portaging, of youthful dreams dreamt and fulfilled. You're invited to turn the pages and ride along from your seat, breathing in the fresh northwoods air with the wonderful knowledge that if the mosquitoes get too bad, the pack gets too heavy, or the waves get too big, all you have to do is turn another page. Since the summer adventure described in Distant Fires, author Scott Anderson graduated from Stanford University, coached football in Austria, helped design a nuclear waste vitrification plant, built a two-person submarine, wrote two other books, Unknown Rider and The Mosquito Book, and worked as a test pilot.

Scott died testing the Cirrus SR20, an airplane that represented new concepts in personal aircraft safety, design and production. His leadership, commitment and creative abilities were instrumental in the successful certification of the airplane and its revolutionary safety systems. His life epitomized the pursuit of goals that had great value to his community and country.
Scott was a gifted and talented young man who had accomplished more at age 33 than most do in an entire lifetime. He was an F-16 fighter pilot in the Air National Guard as well as a test pilot for Cirrus Design Corporation. He was an acclaimed canoe adventurer (Duluth to Hudson Bay), an award winning author of three books, and a musician. Scott's inventive ability and people skills surfaced wherever he was. As an undergraduate engineering student intern, Scott's persistence and determination as a member of Minnesota Power's Research and Development team earned him recognition as co-inventor on a U.S. patent. While a student at Stanford University, he led an undergraduate team that built a two-person submarine. He was a graduate of Duluth East High School and Stanford University, where he studied engineering and history.

Quote from last chapter of Scott's book, Distant Fires, about the canoe trip to Hudson Bay:
Life is the Pursuit, Not the Capture

Deer Hunting Day Four

Well deer hunting season continues. Sunday we didn't get any deer. I didn't see a one. Monday Gary got this nice buck pictured here. That will be his second buck this season. Then today Jerry got a nice doe. You can see it in the picture as the guys are dragging it out. We were actually out on a push and Jerry was posted the furthest out. He started out by dropping me off by "the big oak" and then off he went to go to the Indian stand. After about 10 minutes here comes Jerry again. He had gotten lost and had come back out to me to try to find the trail again. Well he found it and within another 10 minutes he shot his doe. Gary and Danny ended up dragging Jerry's deer most of the way out, while Jerry went to get the four wheeler. When Jerry took off to get the wheeler he left those two struggling in the swamp and Gary's boot got sucked off his foot and he ended up taking two steps in water up to his knees before he could get his boot back on. So you can see by the bottom picture Gary had to wring his socks out. So the count is four deer in four days.

First Day of Deer Hunting

Pictured here is Gary Palm and his son Jerry Palm with their day's harvest. You can see the little guy gets the littler deer and the big guy gets the bigger deer.

Today was day one of the Minnesota deer hunting season. I saw six deer but didn't shoot my rifle even once. First thing this morning I had decided that all I wanted to get today was a buck. My license allows me to take either. So when the first doe and fawn ran towards me I held out for the buck that may be following them. There wasn't one. Then later in the day a nice doe and a small fawn ran by me quite fast but not half as fast as the big buck that was chasing them. He was on a dead run. One second he was there and the next he was gone. So after that I decided I would shoot either a doe or a buck.....whatever came by next. Well a fawn came by next and I shot him, with my camera (see below). You can see he isn't scared of me at all. He walked right to me and stuck around for about 20 minutes.

Bend Oregon

Well here I am in Bend Oregon. I got here last night. It is, in their words, "high desert". And yes indeed it is. If you've ever been to Casper Wyoming you've been here. Some mountain ranges around it. More scrub brush than trees. Desert.

To get to Bend Oregon from Brainerd Minnesota involves three planes, four airports and a 15 minute drive. I left Brainerd at 7:45am and arrived in Redmond at 1:45 (3:45 central). There was a lot of hussling from one flight to another. The flight into Redmond was very bumpy on the small twin prop plane. But at least my luggage was here when I arrived.

Last night I found a nice Italian restaurant that had just opened the day before. It was called Johnny Carino's. It's a chain with restaurants in 29 states (not Minnesota). I had a twelve dollar glass of wine that would have cost $7.99 A BOTTLE at home. But the meal was awesome. They serve you bread with dipping oil right off the bat (must be one of the reasons I love Italian). Then I had a house salad with Sun Dried Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (nummy) and then their Angel Hair with Artichokes (Artichokes, fresh roma tomatoes, garlic, capers, basil, black olives and parmesan cheese tossed with angel hair). I tell you it was incredible. If you ever run across a Johnny Carino's I highly recommend it.

Well there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow night into Friday morning. Hopefully I can still get out of here to get home for deer hunting Saturday am.

Trick or Treat

Kyle was the best dressed Trick or Treater I had last night. Look at that outfit. What a kid.
Sadie was the wierdest Trick or Treater I had last night. She came all decked out in her biker chic outfit.

Goodbye October

Here's my Cousin Janae showing off her son Braden in his Seattle Seahawk jersey. He's a cutie and may be a future football player himself. Did I mention Braden lives in New York....a long way from Seattle. But his mother is from there, his Uncle Jared currently lives there and I know his Nana and Poppa are huge Seahawk fans. This week the Seahawks had a bye. But they're on fire this year.

Today was another great day at the track for Jeff Gordon. He finished in second place at Atlanta. I think that's pretty darn good. I'll take it.

The Vikings suck so bad I can't even bring myself to talk about them. The only good thing that happened to them today, in my opinion, was that Daunte hurt himself and Brad Johnson finally got to come in and play.

And now it's time to say goodbye to October. Tomorrow is Holloween and all the ghosts and goblins will be out and about.

Jeff Gordon Wins Today!

Jeff Gordon wins at Martinsville today. He had a strong car, got out in front and kept the lead to win today. It's been a long dry spell so the victory is sweet.

The Vikings had a very exciting day today in the Metrodome against the Green Bay Packers. In the final seconds of the game the Vikes kicked 56 yard field goal to win. Maybe things will get better for the Vikings now??

Ebay

Here's a picture I took in San Jose at the Ebay buildings. It is absolutely huge! Very impressive. They even had a mobile trailer that employees could go out to, in the parking lot, and get their hair cut/styled.

Well anyway, I just listed my very first item to sell on ebay. I've bought a bunch of things over the years off ebay but I've never sold anything. I'm trying to sell the Play-Mor camper so I don't have to deal with it this winter. Not to mention it would be nice to recover some of the money I put into Jayger. It's quite an interesting process. Lets hope it sells. You can check it out on ebay buy searching "travel trailer" or item #4583929193.

Just about ready for winter....

Well things are just about ready for winter. Here's Anthony. He's all set. He was winterized last week and got shrinkwrapped this week. Since there is no garage space for him he has to sit outside all winter, thus the nice wrapping.

Jayger is about done too. I just have to pull his battery and put the tarp over him.

The Lund is done and put to bed in my garage.

The Play-Mor camper isn't done...still hoping to sell him.

The canoes were easy....just put them up on brackets in the garage.

So all in all this means one thing...no more playing this year. But winter will fly by I hope and soon I'll be dragging all of this stuff out again.

I receive my year end trophy

Yesterday I received my year end trophy from the Brainerd Lakes Bassmaster president Dan Doughty. I placed second in the non-boater catagory.












Pictured here is (back row, left to right) Reid Seevers, tied for third non-boater. Dan Doughty third place boater. Keith Tuma first place boater. Craig Paulson big bass. Chad Invalson tied for third place non boater. Second row: Jim Eide second place boater. Troy Bruns first place non boater. Myself second place non boater.

All in the name of education....

Friday night I went to Central Lakes College to "help" the Law Enforcement Students learn to recognize and test drivers that have been drinking. There were 10 of us (drunks). They gave us a breathalyzer before we started to make sure we weren't already plowed (it was 4:30 in the afternoon after all). Then after we told them our weight they told us how many drinks we could have in the next two hours. They said I could have 5 and a half. So we all drank for two hours. One guy could have 10 shots...And he did. I was on my sixth beer when they ripped it out of my hand and this is where the fun began. They gave us another breathalyzer and sent in the students. We did all the stupid human tricks. Walk, turn, count, don't fall down and most important was the eye test. They take their finger or a pen and have you follow it with your eyes. I guess that was my dead give away. Evidently when you look way out to the right, left or even way up and hold it there, you're eyes will start twitching when you're drunk. You can't control that. All thirty students would have arrested me. Ends up I was a .10. But then they gave us another breathalyzer before we left at around 9:30 and I was already down to a .06. Could have drove home legally....But they didn't let me. It was interesting to participate. I think my son, Mike, one of the students, may have been embarrassed of me. But hey, it was all in the name of education.

Indian summer???

Here it is the 14th of October and the temp never dipped below 50 last night. And it's predicted to soar up to around 65 degrees today. To top it, it's going to stay that way for another week or so. I'm loving that. I can put my long johns back in the drawer for a few more days. But here this, once they're out, they're on for eight months.

Tonight I'm going to participate in a "class project" for the Central Lakes College Law Enforcement Skills Course. It's their DUI training. Long story short....They (the cops) are going to get me drunk over the course of three hours and then they're going to send in the students and let them test us in the name of training. Don't worry mom, they're going to drive us home afterwards.

Fall is here...

Well fall is upon us. The days are getting much shorter and the nights much cooler. It's been dipping down into the 30's most evenings now. The leaves are falling fast and fearious now. It seems like you can't get them cleaned up fast enough.

And it's time to winterize all the summer toys. The campers, boats and the of course the house. Soon we'll be shoveling instead of raking. I'll need to make sure the snow blower is all tuned up and ready to go.

Then there's deer hunting. Time to get all my orange clothes out and ready. I look forward to going outside and sitting in my stand. It's a peaceful time. And if I'm lucky (and they're not) a deer will meander by.

Minnesota Wild

Hockey season is here! After a much awaited drop of the puck, we can finally see the boys skate. Minnesota kicked off thier season this past Wednesday Oct 5th against Calgary by a big win of 6 to 3. The next game is tomorrow, Saturday the 8th, at Phoenix playing against the infamous coach, Wayne Gretzky and his Coyotes.

Although I love to watch the Wild and cheer loud and hard for them, my heart still belongs to the Colorado Avalanche. They lost their first regular season game against Edmonton and will play again this Saturday in Dallas against the Stars (yes...formally known as our own Minnesota North Stars).

So here's to skating hard and swift and to bleeding red! Cheers.

Another Bday gone by....

Thanks to everyone that showed up at my birthday gathering. A real special thanks to Bill and Shirley Bruers that drove all the way down from Bemidji in their 1940 Ford. They made it a real fun party. They even stayed the night in Jayger....his first overnight guests.