Dutch Oven Cook-off

On Saturday, July 17, Travelers' Rest State Park hosted what we hope will become an annual "Dutch Oven Cook-off". Several teams set up their "kitchens" and got to work preparing a three course meal (main course, side dish and dessert). It was interesting to see how each kitchen prepared their meals just a little bit differently than the others, while one team went all out and even dressed accordingly.

Once all of the prep work was done, it was simply a matter of waiting for the food to cook and the judging to inform us of the outcome (I volunteered to be a judge but alas, you have to have several years of Dutch oven cooking experience and be certified by their national organization - and no, they did not take on apprentices...)

While everyone waited for the food to cook, there was a very basic class on Dutch oven cooking, along with samples of what they were making for the class. Bob Dowdy and his wife, from Great Falls, cooked up a big batch of jambalaya and ooooh, was it delicious! The lady teaching the class made a breakfast by lining the Dutch oven with biscuits from a can, then topping it with scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns - never got a taste of it but it sure smelled good!

Throughout the day there were other demonstrations and activities, and there was a really good , steady turnout of visitors. And the nice thing was that every kitchen had copies of their recipes set out for the taking.

Finally the food was ready and the judging began. The judges had to taste everything and score each dish according to taste, originality and presentation. It would have been tough! But the best part was, after the judging was completed and awards given out, everyone - including visitors and park staff - got to eat all of this delicious food! There was cranberry pork roast, carrot cake, garlic sweet potatoes, stuffed pork chops, "Best Ever" corn bread (and it truly was), sourdough cheese bread, a four layer lemon torte, soups, stews... the list goes on and on. And it was all DELICIOUS!

The folks who competed and judged said they had a great time and talked about coming back again next year - and doing this as a fund raiser! One of them told me that at the Sacajawea Center they charge $5.00 for six tickets, and you use one ticket to "buy" a taste of food. And you can buy more tickets when you run out. Last year they made over $600 for the Sacajawea Center! If TR was to advertise it right, we could make well over that amount, and they're looking for another fund raiser besides the auction - so this could be just what they're looking for - food always brings people out.

Stock Dogs

Three day stock dog trial this weekend, and I was invited to be the official photographer! I love watching a good working dog, no matter what they're doing. And while a good, steady, methodical dog gets the job done well, as a photographer what I love best are the action shots!

Some of the cows can be quite cantankerous and will challenge some of the dogs, and the dogs are allowed to nip at the cattle to get them moving, but are not allowed to bite them anywhere but on the feet or legs. They are also never allowed to bite the sheep or ducks and will be dismissed from the arena if they do so - the safety of the stock is most important.

The weather was HOT on Saturday, getting up to 90 degrees plus. Thankfully there were two stock tanks full of cool water for the dogs to drink or soak in after leaving the arena, and many climbed right in and laid down up to their necks - it had to feel really good (I seriously thought of joing them). Sunday had more cloud cover and was a bit cooler, only in the mid 80's, but still got a little bit unbearable for a while. I skipped out before the last run and came home to my nice, cool, air-conditioned house where it was a balmy 74 degrees!

This evening is very cloudy with a thunderstorm in the forecast.

Independence Day!

Nice Fourth of July weekend. After working at Travelers' Rest State Park on Saturday morning, I spent the rest of the weekend at home relaxing, and comforting one of my dogs, who all of a sudden has decided she is afraid of firecrackers... Personally, I think it was nothing more than a means of getting the attention she craves so much. But she was happy that I was home and shadowed me all weekend, except for the times she had to run outside to bark at something...

Stayed up until almost midnight watching the fireworks around the neighborhood, and got some pretty decent photos of them. I was also very thankful that, for the most part, my neighbors were courteous enough to stop shortly thereafter so the rest of us could get some sleep.

Yesterday the weather was somewhat cool, gray and dreary with some rain and a few shots of thunder. Spent most of the day crashed on the couch watching a "Law & Order" marathon. In the afternoon I baked some oatmeal-cranberry-walnut cookies. I almost like them better than chocolate chip - it would be a tough choice.

Forecast last night was for 40 degrees! As a precaution, and since my furnace has been turned completely off since Memorial Day, I plugged the electric blanket back in. Fortunately I did not have to use it and I doubt it really got that cold at all.

Today is sunny with a few stormy looking clouds early in the afternoon, but nothing serious. It does look like a storm is brewing to the south however.

Watering the lawn for the very first time this summer, and the birds are really enjoying the water. The Starlings are... well... frolicking is the only word that comes to mind. They're fluttering their wings and bouncing up and down as the water passes over them. One is actually chasing the water across the lawn - I've never seen anything like it before. Too much of a shadow to get a good photo or video of it however.

The house finches are teaching their "kids" where the bird feeders are. It's so funny watching them follow mom & dad around and still beg for food. They aren't quite coordinated enough to balance on the rim of the feeders and will perch on top of the hooks, flapping their wings and chirping for food. And they are still being fed. This morning I watched one adult land on the edge of the bird bath, followed one by one by each of its chicks. One adult and four little ones. But even after mom stepped into the water to bathe, they did NOT follow her - apparently that was just one step too many.

The Goldfinches are already losing their beautiful bright yellow feathers and are molting to their winter drab green. The days are getting shorter, although you really can't see it visually yet. I am NOT looking forward to fall already, we're just (finally), getting summer!

Talk to the Animals

I never thought of cattle as therapy animals, but today I learned otherwise. With nothing to do this morning, and feeling a bit down, I wandered over to the pasture containing the longhorn cattle.

There are three calves ranging in age from three to five months, and all as cute as the dickins. Several yearling heifers and bulls also reside there, along with two or three mature bulls, a few steers and several cows.

One big steer in particular, who the Holts named "Friendly Freddy", but we call "Bubba", always hurries right over to the fence to see me. Francis used to bring him apples and carrots, and I think he still hopes someone will have a special treat for him. He stands with his face up close to the barbed wire, then twists his head until the impressive spread of horns is hooked beneath the wire. He then takes a step or two closer until his face is almost touching the fence. What he wants is to have his forehead scratched. It's rather comical to see such a massive animal - that could essentially kill you if it really wanted to - acting more like the family pooch. But that's Bubba, just a lover not a fighter. As gentle as he is however, you still need to pay attention to those horns, because as you scratch, he sways his head back and forth and one whack from those things would quite possibly make you see stars. And those critters know exactly where their horns are - if fact, you can often see them using the tips of their horns as back scratchers!

There is a new bull in the pasture as well, and one of the two year old youngsters was testing his mettle against the more mature male. Even though the older bull was bigger and more muscled, the youngster did not back down right away, but held his own. It was obviously not an official challenge, for if it was the older bull would most likely have made short work of his rival.

The big storm the other day blew down a lot of trees in the Bitterroot Valley - some old Ponderosa pines as thick as two feet in diameter went down! It also took down a couple of old cottonwoods along the creek, and dropped one of them across the trail. Someone took a chain saw to it to clear the trail and I counted the rings today - 59 of them. The other cottonwood is at the edge of the meadow and will be allowed to decompose on it's own.

While taking some photos of the wild roses along the creek, I noticed a very tiny inchworm on one of the flowers, and took several photos of it. I didn't even know we had those here.

Partly cloudy and breezy this afternoon, and not too terribly warm, but comfortable enough. The sun is poking through the clouds here and there and there are a few storm clouds moving up from the Bitterroot. The days are getting shorter - the sun rose one minute later than it did yesterday...

My lawn really needs to be mowed but I just don't feel like it. The longer it is, the more moisture it holds and the less likely to cause any burning from the fireworks (best excuse I could think of not to mow...) I really hope it rains this evening - and tomorrow evening, and the next, and the next. I don't mind the fireworks that are "showers" and the ones that go up in the air and explode in an array of color, but I HATE the firecrackers! I wish it were were illegal to even sell them.