Solo Hike

Did a quiet solo hike today at Menomin Park.  Only saw one person out there on the trails.  Quiet was good..... 

Meatless Friday

Quinoa Kale Burgers

Bike man and I are trying to cut our animal meat consumption for health and other reasons.  So, I've been on the lookout for vegetarian recipes that will provide us with antioxidants and lots of vegetable/grain protein.  I just happen to find this quinoa kale burger recipe on a Facebook page, so I gave it a try tonight.  Wow, very tasty my friends.  Please allow yourself a couple hours of prep time and actual cooking time, but it's really worth the extra work involved.

The burgers freeze well too.  Want the recipe?  Take a look in my Turtle Recipes in the top menu.  Enjoy.

I Will Truly Miss Its Presents

I can't believe I was in the right place at the right time yesterday.  After being gone most of the day, we arrived home and I decided to go look at the lake ice around the back of our house.  Ironically, I just stood there for like 30 seconds gazing out over the lake when I heard a weird noise down by the lake bank.  I thought it was a big bird in the tree.  And then I heard a big CRACK!  The next thing I know, the big old, dead pine tree decides to fall down to the lake ice.....with a big bang.  I stood there with my mouth open.  OMG, this tree just dropped in front of me.  Now we're talking about a ton of weight that falls on the lake ice.  I watched the tree fall, but it never made a dent in the ice.  Wow!

This was a picture of the lake ice yesterday, but today with our gusty winds, the lake ice is completely gone.  And the tree?  It sank to the lake bottom.  We received over two inches of rain yesterday, so our lake bank was saturated and I'm positive that's why the dead pine tree finally fell.  It's not often you witness a tree fall right in front of you, but I had a special attraction to that tree.  I can't explain it.  All I know is that I've been watching that tree for almost three years now and I knew it's time was limited.

It was a good tree my friends.  It was a friendly tree to many king fishers and woodpeckers.  I think I was meant to see it go down.....it served a good life!

Observations

No rain today, even though it was forecasted to rain.  Took my hike through the woods in afternoon.....55 degrees, wow!  Look at this perfectly round bird hole.

There is always something new to look for in the woods.  The lichens I found today were brown, but mostly I see are white lichens. 

Every couple days I find something new in the woods.  It just proves to me that wildlife is alive and well.  Visitors are coming and going....some survive and some don't.  Found some turkey feathers down by the water.  Of course I had to take them home for my big cat Aiden.  Aiden loves big bird feathers, in fact, he even knows the word "feather."!!!  I guess I have to admit my cats get REAL cat toys!

Spent some time this afternoon picking up trash along our road.  There is lots of trash!  Two other neighbor couples picked up trash as well, so we have a nice collaborative thing going on here.

Ironically, I found someone's social security card and their medical insurance card along the roadside....weird!

Discovering What Nature Gives Us

Last year I took a class concerning herbs and making teas and that's when I learned about Chaga.  Chaga is a mushroom that grows exclusively on birch trees.  While hiking today in the woods, I took a picture of a Chaga mushroom.  Despite the weird look, Chaga is rich in antioxidants and nutritional benefits.  Supposedly, Chaga has medicinal qualities to fight cancer and cancerous tumors!   

In this photo, you can see the Chaga's are growing up the entire birch tree.  From what I learned, you can finely grind the mushroom and make a medicinal tea.  Will I try making this tea?  Yes, I'm considering doing this.  The Chaga's are plentiful in the woods I hike, so why not try this natural tea.  I will get back to you about my experiment!

I found another deer carcass in the woods today.  I suspect this deer was taken by a coyote during the fall or winter months.  Kind of weird though that I did not find any other deer body parts or the head!  The other carcass I found in January did contain the head and rack (antlers).  Just an interesting observation today. 

It stayed cool and cloudy today, but my woodland hike was much appreciated.    Thanks for checking in with me today. 

Calling of the Woods

I can't help but feel blessed everyday when I can get out in the woods to snowshoe or hike.  I just can't even find the right words to express my joy for taking in the beauty of being outdoors.  You see, the last fifteen years I was confined to a 100-year old stone building that didn't breath and left me feeling so unhealthy, so tired and so unhappy.  Everyday I thought about the lousy air quality in my workplace and I always suffered with chronic sinus problems.   And then there were the incidents with being exposed to asbestos.....all kept hush hush of course and administration never wanted to address the issue.  That's when I said enough is enough, and I will never look back. 

2016 is my rebirth to a new healthy lifestyle.  In a sense, I am taking control of my overall health and happiness.  

So you see, if you hear about this crazy little woman from Tainter Lake that spends all her time outdoors, now you know why....I am finally free. 

Lastly, I have to give a shoutout to my friend Caryn, who lets me hike her woods as often as I wish.  Caryn is also coming with me on the hikes and it's so fun to have a buddy that enjoys the birds, plants and animals like I do.    

Overripe Bananas?

So, I've had these overripe bananas sitting in a bowl for five days now and they were pretty much on their last day of survival!  I told myself I had three options:  unpeel them and place in a ziplock bag and freeze, throw in the compost pile (the deer and rabbits would be happy) or find a recipe to use the ripe bananas.  As you can see in my photo, I chose to use the bananas in a new recipe.  You will find my recipe in my Turtle Recipes in the top menu.   

I looked through lots of recipes online this morning and I finally settled on banana bars with a light coating of brown butter frosting with toasted pecans...the pecans were my idea!  I really don't like frosting anymore since going off sugar for more than a year, so I adapted the recipe and only made half the frosting it called for.

The recipe I used and adapted, is from Chef in Training.  Instead of using all white flour for the recipe, I used one cup whole pastry flour and one cup all-purpose.  I also decided to use granulated white sugar and some granulated coconut sugar, which I purchased from my local food co-op.  The original recipe also called for sour cream, but I used our homemade yogurt.  The banana bars turned out wonderfully moist and flavorful. 

I cheated today and ate a piece of the banana bar.  I do that every once in a while, but I'm still trying to avoid all refine sugar.....just a personal choice I decided to make in my life. 

So what will I do with the banana bars?  Freeze them of course.  I love sharing my baked goods with friends and family, but it's also nice to pull something quick out of the freezer if we have surprise quests!