Duke is taking a break after running up and down the hills and valleys while we just merely hike along. He probably covers 10 miles for our every mile. Boy, is he a fine looking dog!

Every now and then, one of the chickens lays a really big egg. It is usually a double yolk. This one was so big, I thought it might be a triple.

Here it is compared to a normal large egg. Chickens will lay double yolks more often when they first start laying eggs.  Their reproductive system is still trying to figure things out. Sometimes genetics play a role and a chicken will lay double yolks on a regular basis. Now that our chickens have been laying eggs for awhile, it is rare for them to lay a double yolk.

Aaron turned one and we had a small family gathering. Here he is letting Aunt Nancy how much he likes his new ball.

Happy Birthday to you!

Could anything be better?

It was all worth it.

Some random photos of the day.

Time to say good-bye. Good-bye great grandma.

Well, I realize I left the last post just hanging. I wish I could tell you we took photos of a mountain lion in the trees or giant tracks along the river, but we did not see any signs of the big cat. Below are some tracks we did see.

Here are a couple of feet. We’re guessing beaver, since we found web prints as well as the front print that looks similar to a raccoon. But we are not sure. There were a lot of prints in this area that could be either raccoon or beaver.

Here’s some more possible evidence of a beaver, however this was the only tree branch like this.

These prints appear to have a tail drag. Any guesses?

Here is the under snow trail of a vole. Duke loves to follow these trails and try to uncover the little critters. He digs his nose deep into the snow and lately has only come up with a scraped nose.

Here is one we know well, the wild turkey. Many times we come across large flocks of these big birds. One day while Chuck and Duke were out hunting mushrooms, they crept upon a large flock. Once the birds realized they were there, they took flight. Duke ran off after them, convinced he could catch one before it left ground. Not long after, Duke went missing along with the birds. Chuck was worried that a turkey hunter shot Duke. But Duke was back home eating his fresh kill. Chuck can tell the story much better, but he searched for an hour, doing a zig zag pattern, looking for an injured dog. It took awhile before Duke realized Chuck was missing. Duke came back to find him and explain that he had caught one of those dang birds and was having a feast at home.

These are really cute little tracks. I am not sure what they are. The feet consistently land side by side. It appears to be hopping. Any guesses?

Here is a super highway for what appears to be raccoons.

Nearby is a popular watering hole and possible outdoor cafe.

We headed up into the hills, knowing the moutain lion would hang out in the trees on the ridge rather than in the wide open. Here we found tracks of the mountain lion’s diet—white tale deer.

Here is a view as we climb up the ridge. You would think this would be the perfect view for a cougar. We did not find any lounging in the trees.

Here we are looking down from the ridge. Again, no big cats.

On our trek home, we found a cool treasure, a shelf mushroom growing inside a broken tree trunk. It looks like the entrance to another world.

Here is a closer look of the mushroom. Well, we didn’t have any luck on our quest, but we did have a beautiful walk and really, that is all we were after. Enjoy the weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a walk with Sebastian and Aaron along the stream. While wandering, we noticed some pretty big prints.

I did not have a ruler, so I used my hand to give a size comparison.

Duke, our 90 lb dog, was with us and his prints seemed small in comparison. (We also found some scat of a carnivore.)

I don’t know if this scat is related to the print or not. There were other samples that I wish I would have taken photos of — larger and fuzzy.

So what could it be? A coyote is too small….a wolf?…a mountain lion (Puma concolor schorgeri, also known as cougar)?

It was cold and the three of us didn’t need to find a mountain lion today.

Several weeks later, Chuck and I went on a print-tracking adventure — in search of the big cat.

According to a 2003 study done by UW-Steven’s Point’s Department of Natural Resources, “Despite the lack of direct evidence of cougar presence in Wisconsin, it is likely that they will soon appear in the state, and may already occur here.”

UWSP put together a study on cougar sightings between 1994 and 2003.

The red square around that green dot is where we live.

Notice the green square of probable sightings—our backyard. Now this is getting more exciting.

Chuck and I walked in the same area of the first track sighting. The weather has since rained, snow melted, wet snow frozen and more new snow. It has been several days since any fresh snow, so we knew the tracks wouldn’t be the best. But, we brought along our trusty guide, “Scat and Tracks of the Great Lakes,” and our protector, Duke. Also known as the dog who runs through all tracks so it is hard to identify them.

Stay tuned and I’ll show you what we saw.

These photos were taken over a week ago, but they still need to be enjoyed by all.

One of the most spectacular winter sites is Ice Fog. The consists of water droplets that have frozen into extremely tiny ice crystals. According to Wikipedia it requires temperatures at or below −35 °C (−30 °F), making it common only in and near the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Or in our case, Wisconsin.

Although I’ve seen it three times this winter, it rarely happens in our part of the country. But when it does, it is amazing.

I took this photo during the last ice fog, but I wanted you to see the crystals up close.

I leave for work when it is still dark out, but I knew when I walked outside to do chores that something special was in the air. I tired to get a few photos, but my camera is not that good at photos in the dark.

When Chuck woke up, he was greeted by this beautiful landscape.

When the neighbor’s offered Chuck their older hens for slaughter, he didn’t hesitate. The big question was: what do you do with old chickens? His plan—sausage.

Michael Ruhlman, the author of “RATIO, the simple codes behind the craft of everyday cooking” says this in his chapter on sausage:

“The Noble Sausage

Sausage is one of the culinary glories when it’s made and cooked right—a package of inexpensive trim, some fat, some seasoning that can be unparalleled in its deliciousness, in its ability to satisfy. A technique born of economy that results in the sublime. Truly, my respect for sausage knows no bounds.”

Who would have thought?

We are rediscovering many techniques born out of today’s economy. Our great grandparents would smile as we yearn for their knowledge. We buy local. We pickle, can and freeze.

As I flip through the seed catalog to plan my garden, Chuck heads up the hill to gather more of the neighbor’s chickens. This time—chicken soup. After listening to Lynne Rossetto Kasper on Splendid Table talk about mature chickens, she said, “You have got the chicken that will make a soup, the likes of which, you will be on your knees weeping with joy.” Sounds like it will be good for our souls.

We still learn something new everyday. One thing we learned this weekend is a chicken’s need for a dust bath.

As we were cleaning the coop, we left the door open to the upper coop. The upper coop is divided into two parts, one where the chickens live and another area that is loose dirt and rock.

For the chickens, it was cause for celebration. They all joined together in a dirt bath.

According to some sources on the Web, chickens use dirt baths to prevent lice and mites.

They sure seem to enjoy this. From now on, a dust bath will be part of their regular routine.

We use the Deep Litter Method for cleaning our coop. The idea is to keep adding bedding and just stirring it up weekly to keep the coop clean. There really is very little smell and the birds seem just fine. Normally you would keep the bedding in the coop until spring, but our ducks have made a water mess of the place and when the temperature goes below freezing, the bedding becomes ice. We took advantage of the nice weather and decided to clean out the wet bedding and start new. Chuck set up the waterer so dumping water onto the bedding would not be as easy. I will post a photo of this soon.

The objective is to get it from the coop to the garden.

We transport with a sled, which makes it pretty easy.

The combination of bedding, chicken and duck poop should make some nice compost for this spring’s garden.

The horses keep watching me walk back and forth from the coop to the garden. After reading more about putting this in the garden as compost, I realize I may have to compost it further. Some of the bedding was ready for the garden, but the top layers need a little help. I think I will set up a compost area by the garden and add other materials to help break it down.

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I knew it was a day for me and my camera. Every tree, bush and plant had crystals all over it.

I know it really isn’t possible to show you what this looks like, but I will try.

The crystals  almost look like pine needles.

I have never seen crystals as long as these on plants before.

I wished they could stick around for awhile, but I knew as soon as the day warmed up, they would be history.