The Cabin Countess

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Spring and Summer Will Come Eventually

We know Spring will come eventually and stay, but right now it seems we are taking one step forward and two steps back. Today is no exception. It is cold and rainy. I guess we should feel fortunate it is raining and not snowing as it is in the northern part of Wisconsin. Some years it is this cold in May so I shouldn't complain, but I still want it somewhat warmer. I would be happy with sunny days and temperatures in the 60's. I don't think that is too much to ask.

We have a lot of work to do outside. We need to clean out all the flower beds, pick up sticks and rake hundreds of pine cones. With the strong winds we have had, there are even more sticks and pine cones to deal with. Even the birds are patiently waiting to nest. The male bluebirds arrived several weeks ago, but now the female is also here. She is just sitting around and waiting.

I don't know where this pair spends the day, but every morning and evening they hang out near the birdhouses. Once in a while another bird tries to check out the property, but the bluebirds quickly chase them away.

Our pond is fully flooded so the number of ducks we have seen is less than usual. I think there is so much water in the area for them to swim and feed, they are spread out this year.

Maybe when the weather improves we will have more wildlife visitors, but for now we are only seeing the more common ducks, birds and animals.

The blue winged teal.

We have a lot of geese.

Wood ducks are looking for nesting spots. This is a female wood duck.

The yuckiness continued this past weekend. A couple years ago we purchased an older model RV. We had planned on taking my dad with us on adventures and thought it would be easier for him than staying in motel rooms. He was excited to try camping.

We tried to rig up a comfortable sleeping space for him, but it never happened. Now that he is gone, we thought we either need to sell the camper or use it. We decided to give it a try. If we don't like it, we will sell it and move on to other things. Last weekend we decided to open up the camper and get it ready. It will be warm sooner or later.

Oh lordy. We opened it up after winter storage and at first we were pleased to see no sign of mice. We had heard horror stories of mice taking over campers during the winter. My elation came to a halt when I saw the area over the cab was leaking. Water was running down the window and soaking into the mattress of the over the cab sleeping area. Now we have to figure out where the leak is coming from. We got some help from friends. It seems the leak is from some aging caulking on the roof. The first step is to fix the damage. The mattress got thrown away and the insulation and plywood removed. They will have to be replaced later.

Right now we are running fans and making sure the area is perfectly dry. My husband put some temporary caulk in place until the weather warms and a more permanent solution can be accomplished.

Notice he is caulking with his winter coat and hat on. BRRRR!

So here we are. Old people taking on a new venture. We know nothing about camping, but we are willing to learn. It may be comical at times. At least I won't be sleeping on the ground or walking a mile to the toilet. Stay tuned for further adventures, if they aren't too embarrassing.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Our Aerocart Purchase Worked Out

Every now and then for the past two years, I would see my husband watching a certain infomercial. I didn't say much about it. He likes to watch infomercials and QVC. He especially likes "In The Kitchen with David", for some reason. I guess he likes kitchen gadgets. I usually suggest we keep checking the thrift stores for some of the interesting items. If there are a lot of them at a thrift store, it probably means it doesn't work as advertised. Sometimes we find great things at a fraction of the original cost. The particular item he was watching last week was an Aerocart. It claims this cart is so much better than a regular wheelbarrow. You can maneuver it with barely any effort, and it doesn't tip over or so they say.

I decided it was time to investigate this item. I researched it and found some positive comments. I found a business that sold them for $35 less than the infomercial, and it also had free shipping. I researched the company slightly but couldn't find many reviews, but the few I found were positive. After a lot of debating, we pulled the trigger and ordered the cart on March 26, 2016. I was a little nervous because I had never heard of the company. I used paypal because that is the only payment this company took. To me it was another red flag, but I also knew paypal insures purchases. Just for the heck of it, I decided to look to see where the item would be shipped from. The hair on my arm raised when I read about the company. This is what it said.

Camape Store online shopping website is a small business running as individual and home-based, we buying and selling most things that could help you to get interesting goods list with best ever price, plus free shipping. We always working to looking for cheapest goods resource and selling to you, help most people get things with maximum of discount.
From time we launched our online store, we have received many question such as how safe to shopping with Camape Store ? And now we want to let's you know that we only received payment by Paypal, which give you 100% of protect and for sure, you totally get full refund of money when you don't get your order delivered.

Oh boy, what did we do? The broken English in this statement was another red flag and the paypal payment was being sent to someone with a name I couldn't pronounce. I decided I was going to believe it would be fine and this small business was just trying to make a living. I would wait and see. If the item didn't arrive in a few weeks then I would go through the Paypal protection process. I had no idea where this item was being shipped from.

Well lo and behold, two days after I placed the order, I received an email that the item was shipped. I still didn't know if it was on a slow boat from far away, but it was encouraging. Looking at the invoice more carefully, I discovered it was shipped from South Carolina. I breathed a little easier. Then on April 1st a big box containing the Aerocart appeared on my porch. April Fools to me. The item arrived in six days.

The box looks a little tattered, but the item inside was in perfect condition. We still don't know where or how this company gets its products, but it worked out this time. Hopefully this cart will do everything the infomercial says it will with little or no effort. I can't imagine moving a refrigerator with it, but stranger things have happened.

It will replace this old relic we have had for a long long time.

Maybe the new Aerocart won't replace the old, heavy, tried and true wheelbarrow. We have had it for a long time, and it has done a lot of hard work. It is still covered with concrete and scratches from carrying heavy loads. I should say the Aerocart will be a nice lightweight addition to the old one.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Ewan's 6th Birthday

Last night we got to celebrate our youngest grandson's 6th birthday. He is so much fun and even if he is my grandson, he says the funniest things. I hope his mom is writing all of his cute comments down. Almost everyday they have conversations about subjects he is interested in. Recently his family went to the Milwaukee Museum. Learning all about Wisconsin history and walking the streets of Old Milwaukee, Ewan decided he wanted to be a Native American when he grew up. Whatever he does, he is interested in it. He went through the fireman stage, the cowboy stage, and the knight in shining armor stage. Once in a while he revisits these characters, but right now he is all about being a spy. He also likes being a scientist and loves the American Science and Surplus store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

We had never been to this place, so last week we took a drive to check it out. Oh my gosh, what a fun place. http://www.sciplus.com/ It has so many hard to find items that are scientific from beakers and bottles to educational items like mini motors and circuits. We will be returning. While there we found real cloth lab coats. They even had children's sizes. Perfect for our little scientist. Knowing his other grandma was getting him spy gear which they also had at this store, we decided to buy the lab coat for Ewan. We also found a EMS bag which we filled with medical equipment. He can play doctor with it or a mad scientist. With his great imagination I'm sure he will get a lot of use out of it.

Doctor Ewan at your service.

He got several other things. He got his own shovel and bucket to dig worms. Although with all the rain we have had recently, the worms are crawling across the sidewalks and driveways. The robins and other birds are taking advantage of that situation.

Ewan with his own shovel and bucket.


He got a scooter.

Gifts galore for this special little guy.

We had a cake, but it isn't over yet. He still has his sushi dinner to look forward to with his family. Nana and Papa will bow out of this one. As I have mentioned a few times, sushi is not on my list of edible foods. Then he will be having a friends party this weekend.

Happy Birthday Ewan. Always stay as sweet as you are.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Toast Hawaii

It's the day after Easter 2016. We had a lovely family brunch at our daughter's house. It was fun but as usual we had leftover food. One food we had extra was ham. Just as Thanksgiving day is usually about turkey, on Easter we usually have ham. Bringing home some ham slices reminded me of our vacation to Florida. One day, while touring the Sarasota and Siesta Key area, we started looking for a place to eat lunch. We came across a place called The Taste of Germany. It was actually a bakery that also served breakfast and lunch. The bakery specialized in Germany baked goods. http://www.atasteofgermanysiesta.com/

Although it was afternoon and the bakery was mostly sold out, we were able to have lunch. My husband and brother-in-law took advantage of the German sausage and sauerkraut meals. My sister and I decided on a item called Toast Hawaii with a side of purple cabbage. It was delicious and seemed simple enough to make at home.

When we returned home, I tried to make the Toast Hawaii. I just toasted and buttered a piece of bread and put it on an oven safe dish. Then I covered the toast with a piece of thickly sliced ham, put a pineapple slice on the ham and put a piece of Swiss cheese on top of the pineapple. Provolone or any cheese would work well. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melted on top.

It made a wonderful lunch. I think I will make it again today with some leftover ham. I wasn't sure if this is a German delicacy or if it's Hawaiian, but it's really good and easy to make. I did look it up and this is what I found. Toast Hawaii is to Germans as Grilled Cheese is to Americans. This fact is probably well known to others, but it was news to me.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Spring Snowstorm of March 23, 2016

We survived the dreaded Spring snowstorm of 3-23-16. Spring in Wisconsin is interesting to say the least. One day it can be 70 degrees and sunny and then the next day it can be 20 degrees with snow and blizzard conditions. I think we get some of those nice days thrown in to give us hope of things to come. It makes us appreciate the nice days. It's kind of like life. We are given challenges so we can appreciate the good times. Yesterday morning we started the day with light snow. The temperature was close to freezing (32 degrees F.) The snow didn't accumulate for much of the day except on the branches and grassy areas. The snow continued into the night followed by sleet.

The wind was very strong and if it had been colder, the snow would have drifted a lot more. Instead the snow turned to sleet and put a crust on top of the snow that came down earlier. We look forward to the snows in December and love having a white Christmas. The March snows are equally pretty but aren't appreciated as much.

The original prediction was for at least 10 inches of snow, but we only received 3 or 4 inches because of the rain/sleet mixture. Hopefully it will all be melted by next week. I did see some fun wildlife though. Early in the day I saw some big white birds fly over. At first I was hoping they were whooping cranes. I had read earlier they were on their way north. The White River Marsh near our home is the summer home to some of the cranes. Thinking about it, I was pretty sure that wasn't the case. When they landed on the pond, it was a pair of swans.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small brown animal running across the snow near the water's edge. I grabbed the camera and this is what I saw.

We have seen otters and beaver, but this was different. I think it was a mink. It ran across the snow and climbed to the top of a tree. Then he climbed down and ran somewhere out of sight. He returned several times during the day.


This is the beaver we saw last week. See his flat tail.

This is a river otter. He has a smoother tail and different coloring with a plumper shaped body.

Then last but not least, we saw some male bluebirds looking for something to eat. I ran outside to give them some mealworms to eat. I'm not sure if they got any. The bluejays were all over the worms and can be aggressive at times. Hopefully the bluebirds got a few.

Overall it was a good day. We were able to stay home and wait for the roads to be cleared. I hope those who had to get out stayed safe. The good thing about spring snowstorms is that the snow doesn't stay around very long. By this time next week, it will probably be completely gone. In fact, by the end of today, the sun came out. Mother Nature keeps us on our toes.

This is 7:00pm on March 24, 2016. The sky has cleared making it possible to see the full moon.

The full moon near the end of March is called the Worm Moon. This is the time of year when the ground begins to soften and the earthworms appear, inviting the return of robins. It can also be known as the Sap Moon, because it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins. We have seen many trees have been tapped in our area. The robins returned a bit early this year so hopefully when the snow melts they will be ready for some fresh earthworms.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Making A Corn Feeder

Recently we were gone from home on vacation. We were gone for three weeks, and we were concerned our birds and wild animals would miss us. They depend on us to have the birdfeeders full and to have corn available for the squirrels and deer. I wrote about feeding the deer in a previous blog. Apparently corn is not good for deer. I sure didn't know that. http://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/02/feeding-deer-properly-or-not-at-all.html

I was really worried about feeding the deer corn that would kill them, so I went out to find something better. I bought horse feed. What a joke. The deer wouldn't have much to do with it. They would nose it and walk away. The horse feed was kind of sticky and would clump. We decided to create a special food delivery system. We thought if the food was despensed a little at a time, it would be easier to eat. My husband created a feeder from an empty drywall compound bucket, a funnel and some hardware.

He cut some holes near the bottom of the bucket and assembled the funnel inside with a long threaded rod, washers and secured it with a nut. He attached the bucket to the table using washers and screws.

Then we put some horse feed into the bucket and put the lid on. The feed spilled out the holes, and we thought this system was going to work beautifully.

Before we went any further, we set it out for the deer. First of all, they were scared of the bucket. For a very long time, the deer would stand back and try to figure out where all the easy access corn went.

Several days later the horse feed was still in the bucket. Neither the deer nor the squirrels were eating it. It clogged the holes in the feeder and created a mess.

It was almost time to leave on vacation. We had our daughter and grandson come over to fill the birdfeeders, but didn't know what to do about the deer feeder. I got some advice from others and came to the conclusion that a little bit of corn wasn't going to be enough to kill the deer. My brother in law mentioned that harvested cornfields are often full of deer grazing away. Others suggested that people who bait deer put huge piles of corn out to lure the deer to their property. We figured a couple cups of corn was going to be fine. The new fangled feeder would only dispense a small amount at a time. We set out the bucket with corn in it. The deer were still a little leery of the bucket but came close enough to discover the corn was back. Even the squirrels were happier having corn to eat.

At this point we have a feeder that will hold a large amount of feed. We painted it with plastic camouflage paint so the deer wouldn't be so afraid. We cut off the bucket handle so they wouldn't cut their tongues, and it would be safe. We were able to leave for a period of time and didn't have to worry about getting food out everyday. As far as feeding corn, we have done it for fourteen years without noticing any dead deer. I think it will be alright. At least, I hope so.

He kind of likes it, but still isn't quite sure.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

St. Patrick's Day Celebration 2016

I have been writing about our St. Patrick Day celebrations every year since starting this blog. With our Irish name, it is one of the holidays we celebrate with a special family meal. This year was no exception. Although part of our family was not able to come, our favorite Leprechaun hunter came. He was in costume no less. This year he was bound and determined to catch that elusive Leprechaun.

Ewan (an appropriate name for a Leprechaun hunter) has been preparing all year. He had his dad make a special outfit out of an old pair of drapes. It is green and blends with the colors in the woods. He thought if he looked like a Leprechaun, then his odds improved to see one. Last summer he even had papa dig holes to trap one. Even before eating our dinner, we had to check the holes and search the house the Leprechaun used last year.

As he approached the first hole, he disappointedly saw nothing. Then up ahead, he saw some green coins. He ran to the next hole and there were the coins, but the smart little Leprechaun had built a ladder out of sticks to escape.

It's hard to out smart a Leprechaun. Ewan's dog Piper took off so we thought he had the scent. As we followed the dog, more and more coins and shiny objects were dropped in the woods. The Leprechaun must had been in a big hurry and had dropped half of his treasure running away.

The trail of coins and dropped treasures led back to the house Ewan discovered last St. Patrick's Day. As he ran for the house he found more signs of the occupant. There was some lawn furniture with a hat hanging from a little walking stick. It was sitting right outside the door.

Carefully Ewan opened the door. He discovered a little bed and baskets of treasures. There were some openings at the back of the house to allow for a quick escape, if necessary. Today, he definitely needed an escape plan.

A messy unmade bed is proof positive.

At this point, Ewan decided to take the bed and baskets of treasures. His mom asked if he wanted to leave some stuff for the Leprechaun. He said "Leprechauns steal from people, and I want him to know what it feels like". Mr. Leprechaun (we don't know his name) will be sad, but I imagine he will rebuild. He has a pretty good gig in our woods and lives most of the year without interference.

Now it was time to eat. We had the usual feast with corned beef, ribs, red potatoes, carrots, cabbage, green jello and deserts thanks to our guests. It was another memorable day. I don't know how many more years we will be doing the Leprechaun hunt, but we will enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Other St. Patrick's Day blogs:
http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/03/st-patricks-day-tradition.html
http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html
http://www.thecabincountess.com/2015/03/st-pattys-day-celebration-catching.html