Sam's Elk Hunt Was A Success!

Last time I posted Sam and his brother were preparing to head out to Colorado for an elk hunt.  They left a week ago Tuesday (this is Wednesday as I write) and Sam arrived back home this morning at 2 am.  They drive out and most of the way they are on I-70 until they reach western Colorado where I believe they go north and eventually drive up onto "the mountain" to where they camp and hunt on public land.  They meet up with  some other guys from our area.  Both Sam and his brother were successful in shooting a cow elk on Saturday, opening day of season, and one of the other guys got a bull elk.  They all broke camp and headed off the mountain early Monday morning and they usually drive into Kansas and get a hotel room for a shower and good night's sleep before driving the rest of the way home.  Today they are cutting and wrapping 250 or more pounds of meat.  I am looking forward to having some elk roast and steak.

So I have been covering the office while Sam is away.  Normally, Sam is in the office 3 days a week and I am in 2 days and we do appointments on weekends.  Before the gas and oil boom in our area, our Real Estate business was very busy, but things have really changed since all that came along.  Also, at one time we had over 50 alpacas on our farm and now we have only 3.  So we used to share 2 full time jobs and now it is more like sharing one.   So having Sam away for a week is not nearly as exhausting to me as it used to be.  But I sure am glad he is home!

 Before Sam left, he set up the frame over the lettuce, arugula and kale I planted in September so that I could cover it in case of frost.  We did in fact have some light frost the last couple of mornings, so Sunday afternoon I pulled the plastic sheeting over the frame.  I have also gathered our squash and pumpkins together to let them harden and sweeten in the fall sun.  I made a couple of pumpkin rolls to send out west with the guys.  Well, okay, I sent one and a half.  I wasn't going to do all that work and not even get a piece!

I just realized I completely forgot to take any photos of our new hens.  I picked up 10 new hens a week ago Saturday.  One of the reasons I have no photos is because they basically hid in the chicken coop for the first week they were here.  On Monday I noticed when I opened the coop door into the chicken yard in the morning that most of the new chickens were finally coming outside.  I also noticed that at night some of them were roosting up off the floor like chickens are supposed to do.  Until then, they had all been sleeping in a pile in the corner.  And last night 6 of the 10 were up on the roosts.  So today will be the first day they are allowed access to the world beyond their little enclosure.  Sam will let them out around noon as usual and I will be home at dusk to see if they all make it back.  They may never even leave the yard.  I always expect to lose a chicken or 2 at first.  It is just the way it is.  I'll have photos next time.

 Mom came to spend the weekend with me while Sam was away.  We had fabulous weather on Saturday for an outing and we drove the scenic route to Marietta visiting 3 of 4 covered bridges that are along the way, one of which is still in use for vehicle traffic.  We spent some time in shops in Marietta, had lunch and then walked along the Ohio riverfront for a while.  It was really nice.  There are some lovely condos right on the river that must have spectacular views.

 
On Sunday rain was forecast, though it did not arrive until we were eating dinner that evening.  We had indoor activities planned, one of which was making butternut squash ravioli from scratch.  With brown butter sage sauce, which is amazing in case you have never tried it.  And we had salad with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and garlic (in the dressing) from the garden.  Of course the squash and sage came from the garden as well.

It was a really nice visit with Mom.

Grover and I are off to an agility trial in Zanesville this weekend.  It is a 3 day trial, starting bright and early Friday morning.  This will be our first full trial since mid-August and I am really looking forward to it.  After this one, we have another one in early November, then one on Thanksgiving weekend.  December entries are not confirmed yet.

I finished knitting a pair of socks last week that I started way back in December.  Sock knitting is not my favorite knitting, but socks make nice small travel projects.  It was just time to finish this pair because it is sock-wearing season again.  

I also wove a couple of alpaca rugs while I was spending extra time at the office, though I still need to finish the hems on them.  Here is a photo of some of my rugs  and a Christmas table runner and throw pillow on sale at the Monroe Arts Center

I have actually sold several rugs through the Arts Center over the last couple of years as well as some handwoven towels.  I just took a in couple of the throw pillows which were pictured in my last post.  These items are all offered for sale on consignment.


I think this week will probably be the end of the fall colors for us.  We had some strong winds a week or so ago which took a lot of the leaves off the trees already, but there is still some color out there.  We are supposed to have lovely weather again this weekend.  I hope Sam will get Rowdy outside and maybe up to the pond while the weather is nice since I will be away and unable to take him.

 
 I did take the dogs up last week and it was almost raining leaves on the the pond.  We just hung out and I knitted and the dogs did what dogs do for a couple of hours.  I think we all enjoyed it.