Sacrificed a dozen eggs to the Tomato Gods. Yes, it's a gardeners secret weapon to making tomatoes get the best start possible. I always grind my saved dried egg shells and add them to the soil as powdery calcium supplement. Dig holes as deep as possible for tomatoes so you can bury a good amount of the stock. They grow more roots up the stem that way and fill out with more tomatoes in the long run. Crack an egg into each hole and fill in as much soil as you can. You only want to leave the top 3 or 4 leaves attached to the plant. They have plenty…

We had to make an early start to the day yesterday. I had mentioned to a friend on the Dean River Road about 70km away from us (not quite in Anahim Lake) that my tomatoes had not made it. She said she may be able to pick some up at a nursery when she was in town near Williams Lake (400kms away). Well to our surprise, it only took a couple days before mentioning it and her having the plants all they way back home. So the journey was on to bring these massive plants home. I fully expected her to purchase some tiny 6-8" tall plants at the most.…

I came across the term "Jack Pine Savage" when reading my "Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices", yesterday. Apparently it's an old term for the men who lived in the bush, and later changed to 'bushman'. A quick google search showed it's still used frequently South of the Canadian border. I love discovering new terms and snippets of information. It also had a great section on how to survive in the wilderness should a hydrogen or cobalt bomb attack hit major cities. It was written in 1960. Very interesting. Speaking of 'Bushman', mine took me on a hike to see the cut blocks around Eliguk Lake. We hiked…

It's back to 'Follow the Leader' all over the grounds, as I get my daily chores done. Sometimes it's difficult to walk because I step on them as they crowd around every step I take. But the second I stop and take my phone out for a photo, they stop and look around and act like they are busy doing something else. Yes, it's one of my only forms of entertainment. My persistent red hen will pull at my pant leg and peck at me when I stop as if I was a Piñata and by pecking hard enough, she may get something out of it. Were getting some rain…

There's nothing like taking a few forced days off to enjoy our own amenities. I still have to cook and clean etc...but it's so nice to be able to stop the daily outdoor work and watch my Mountain Man be a great host to our guests. He is getting into the swing of how everything works when we have visitors. What my needs are as well as the guests. Fishing boats are set up with necessary gear, life jackets, gassed up and ready to go. Propane tanks and water tanks are filled for lights at night and hot showers when needed. He even cleans fish, smokes it, packages it or…

Ahhh, the last day in May! Although the heat wave has been here since the last full moon - my weather app shows a cooling trend for next week and I'm all for it. Today our first guests of Summer tourists arrive. I have to get busy cooking and cleaning this morning. It's already been a long week but we've gotten so much done. Sometimes together you can get a hundred random jobs done in a day and have lots to discuss come 5pm when you finally sit down together. After all this work everyday how does one deal with the pain of arthritis? You call upon the 'Green Fairy'.…

Gearing up for our first guests of the non-Winter season this weekend. Funny that I consider us to have 2 seasons out here in the wilderness. Winter and Mosquito Season. All though I have seen Mosquito's in the Winter. Each year gets easier to cope with them as you just have to adjust your routine. We always try to warn guests about how to dress for this time of year. (Pretty much like a bee-keeper.) But when they show up fresh off the float plane in shorts, bare feet and flip-flops - you know they only have seconds before they realize what they have done! We thought it would be…

We all remember how muddy the trails were and how the Dean River Road was a thin bladder in spots at best. So how did Mountain Man fare coming home with a fully loaded truck and 28' trailer? It's not like I wasn't without concern, here's how my last conversation went with him the day before he was to travel the last leg home. WW: "It's been raining for the last few days and the lake has risen some. All the crossings will be much deeper than when you left."MM: "Well maybe it's best that I park the truck at the cousins ranch and just bring the Jeep in with…

Just didn't want to make you wait until tomorrow to find out! He's home safe and sound but I'll save the details for tomorrow. For today we will enjoy each others company and our wildlife setting as we ease into our Sunday together. I was busy with content the last few days. A couple new entries on the 'Off Grid Living' tab - Prepper, Boy Scout, Self-Sufficient, Conspiracy Theorist, Tactical Pro, Primitive Skill, Off Grid Homesteader, Doomsday Economists...how Prepared are you? As well as as some great tips and canning basics with the Canning 101 post. Since I had so many days to myself I also updated my entire recipe…

Insignificance. That's the feeling that most people have when they spend time alone in seclusion. Some handle it well, others tend to break down right away and can't even spend 24 hours with themselves. This is where the feeling of humble comes into play for me. When I walk to the end of the dock at night on my final check before bed, I sit and look up at the wide starry sky, so large, so vast, so ancient. We really are just a little speck of dust. It's something everyone needs to do. An opportunity for you all, to experience something so moving and so profound. These things are…