From Jim and Kay Voss

Hello to all--

We finally got on the road towards Minnesota this morning!  Sure glad I started packing a few weeks ago...it is always a big job as most of you know.  Jim already remembered that he left a pair of shoes, but if that is all it is ok.  We come up on an accident about 10 minutes from the Park--- traffic was a near standstill.  FYI the corn is about ready to tassel and we are now 100 miles north of the park and we have wheat fields that look ripe!  Temps were 80 when we were leaving, yesterday was 107 according to the TV.  Time to go to Mn and get cooled off!  Kay and Jim

From Barb: Getting cooled off will not be much of a problem. High will be 44 tomorrow and that is in the southern state of Iowa!

Gordon's in Nevada

We went to Austin's game tonight.  Another game tomorrow night and will be colder:-(

T-Shirt yarn

Ok,  for you people that have wondered what on earth I will do with all those ropa t-shirts.....here is one of my projects!  I used 2 deep purple and 2 white t-shirts to make these stool covers.  Cheap and different!  I cut the yarn into 3 inch strips and sewed them to an old bath  towel in narrow strips.  The materials have been washed many times, so there should be no problems washing them.   Kay

From Carrolle Shymanski-Thanks Carrolle!!

HI  Barbara...Regarding Canadians out of the country..They have been scanning 

our passport as always and if u stay out of the country more then 6 months they will cut u off from  our Canadian Medical, which  the government provides for us...

 It has been like that for years...Then  longer stay could result in paying taxes to 

U.S.A  Hope this helps..Have a great summer, we are in Louisianna.

Carolle

New to us!

We did not know that squirrels ate grapefruit!!!   This fella ate peel and all.  This picture was taken thru our front window.   BTW, we had some rain during the evening and it is nice and warm today.   (no snow here!)  Kay

South Texas Farming

Kay Voss sent me these pictures before we left the valley but I was knee deep in getting ready to leave so didn't do anything with them. But I do know there are many farmers among you and farmers are always interested in farming practices in other parts of the country so I saved the pictures to share with you all.
                                    
                                1. tractor ready to till around onions to help them dry

2.onions after

                                  3.corn  (or milo?) with last season's cabbage coming up

                                4. old fashioned burlap sacks holding onions to dry for a few days

                              5-8 harvesting the onions:  4 men required....semi, tractor, and 1 to
pick up sacks, 1 to empty sacks

                                6.

                                 7.

                                8.

                                9-16  harvesting kale.  All hand work.  They were very fast!  Rip off leaves, roll and wrap with tape, cut off ends and toss in a pile on
ground.

                                16.

                                17-18  onions in boxes to be loaded on semi

Vera is home and online

Arrived home on mar.26th. to beautiful weather.great flights so all was well.on april 6th i drove to medicine Hat Alberta to help my sister celebrate her 85th bthday,surprised her.visited other family.great weather and roads but im ready to stay put,came home to about 4ins. snow.For those of you who havent heard from me i just got on line today.wasnt staying home long enough for them to catch me ha.have a great summer everyone.bless you all. 
Vera Salmon

REALLY, REALLY GOOD SALSA

We who are venturing north will have to wait for the fresh produce to come on but I am really liking the looks of this salsa recipe. No cooking! Makes it an added winner in my book!

REALLY, REALLY GOOD SALSA And easy! NO COOKING!

(Once you taste this recipe, you'll never buy salsa again)!

SHARE to your wall now for easy reference later. You'll be SO glad you did!

3 cups chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

4 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (including seeds)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir all ingredients together. Refrigerate. Best to let marinate overnight. But several hours will suffice, if you can't wait to dig in! Serve chilled.

Pork processing!

Dave helped us cut up the pork yesterday

I canned 10 pints this AM.  We have lots of breakfast sausage and the usual ribs and chops.  Bob is smoking hams for us.  We have sampled some chops and they were delicious!

From the Gehman's

Just a note to let everyone know we arrived home April 3rd & did not appreciate the amount of snow piled around but it is disappearing quickly with the mild temperatures which we appreciate.  Know we are much more fortunate than some others weather wise.  A first for us, we met an Amish horse & buggy on the HiWay at Eddie's Corner in MT.  We had seen the highway signs before but now know it is true.  Have a great summer everyone.

Cheers! May & Al

Jim shot his pig!!

Jim and I went pig hunting last night!  What an interesting evening....we followed the landowner on a rough trail and thru 3 locked gates to get there.  (7 PM) We sat in a burlap blind until dark.  The landowner put out corn to tempt the pigs and turned on a green light.  We waited and waited, while listening to noisy bullfrogs in the creek behind us.  All of a sudden several hogs popped out of the brush in front of us.  1 well placed shot and the pig dropped where he stood!  It was a nice young hog, so we expect good eating......I called the landowner and he came back and he and Jim skinned and cut up the pig--we were on our way home by 1030 PM.   We had gone to this place on Thursday night and stayed until 11 PM....we saw hogs but did not shoot.  It was really interesting out there---lots of weird noises.  Bullfrogs are very vocal---various animals drinking in the creek behind us.  I was glad that I was not alone out there!  Kay

Field fresh carrots!

After getting permission, we were able to pick up these wonderful carrots right behind the harvesting machine!  Mary and Dave, Chet and Irma, Jim and I picked our pails to overflowing and enjoyed the fresh carrot smell all the way home last night.  I plan to freeze the juice of some of these and take the rest home to Mn. to share with family.  Kay

New York Style Hot Dogs

I haven't heard from Peggy yet as to the authenticity of this recipe.

New York Style Hot Dogs

To win the wiener derby you begin with top quality hot dogs and buns and end with a sensational sauce like this one. It’s easily made in camp or you might make it at home, keep it cold and re-heat it at the cookout.

2-3 large sweet onions (about 2 pounds)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup cold water

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon each balsamic vinegar, dark molasses and prepared mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Salt, pepper to taste

Peel and trim onions and cut them in crescents. Sizzle onions in hot oil, gradually stirring in garlic. When onions soften, cover and cook over low heat. Onions should be very tender but not browned.

In a bowl whisk water, cornstarch, ketchup, vinegar, molasses, mustard and cloves. Stir into onions over low/medium heat until sauce thickens. Adjust seasonings. Spoon sauce over hot dogs. Makes enough for 6 to 8 hot dogs.

From a RV Newsletter

Canadian snowbirds beware: Effective June 30, new laws require your passports be scanned both on leaving and re-entering Canada. This means no more "fudging" on how long you're out of the country. Overdo your time out, your health insurance and tax status could be adversely affected.

Barb says: Many of us do not understand how this works for our Canadian friends. Anyone care to add a comment?

Jim & Deon Spangler are home

We got home Tuesday and almost all of the snow was gone. It was in the 40s Wednesday and Thursday and then this morning this is what it looked like when we got up.

Susan Says

From Susan V H.

We are bundled up and listening to the wind howl!!!!!!

My thoughts for all of you in SUNNY Texas say there!!!!

We got home yesterday and beat all the storms and are thankful for that.

With A Smile, Susan

Decorahs Eagle Nest

It is expected to hatch today so check in on the Decorah eaglet and see if today is a birthday!!
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Spring

 A picture is worth a thousand words.

Rio Valley Estates Recipes

Friend Donna from Rio Valley Estates posted these recipes on her blog.

  Onion Casserole

Try this Onion Casserole. It's so easy to make using our sweet 1015 onions

I used 5 to 6 large onions, and cooked them until soft in a skillet using a stick of butter, poured them into a 13x9 pan, sprinkled on a crushed 7oz. bag of Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, then one can of Cream of Mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 can water and a tablespoon of beef bouillion, then about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, baked for 25 to 30 min.


Peach Cobbler

Dianna Bruce brought this to a fish fry we attended:

Spread 2 lbs. thawed frozen peaches in a Pam sprayed 13 x 9 pan,

Sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon (to your liking)

Spread 1 box of yellow cake mix on top,

then pour a can of diet 7-up over all, bake covered at 350 for 20 minutes and then uncover and bake 40 minutes more.