Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

     When it comes to the life of Riley in the animal kingdom, few pets can rival our dachshund, Rigby. Dachshund, in German literally means badger dog. They were bred to go into holes after badgers and other burrowing animals. I believe that badgers can be ferocious, but these dogs were up to the task. They're ears are purposely long to keep out the dirt, leaves and grass that would enter otherwise and they have large paws for digging. The long snout helps to sniff out prey and they're large chest gives them a capacity to keep at the task at hand without getting winded.I read that the tail was bred to be curved so that they could be pulled out by it in case they got stuck in a hole. Apparently they're known for being stubborn, a fact that I can attest to.  Author E.B. White who owned a dachshund wrote, " whenever I address Fred I never have to raise my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I instruct him in something he wants to do." He...

      It used to be when someone mentioned Spam, they were talking about the meat in the blue and yellow can put out by the Hormel Corporation. Back in the 1930's the good folks at Hormel were left with a dilemma- what to do with all the pork shoulders? I don't know all the particulars, I'm not a butcher nor do I understand the in's and outs of commercial meat processing. When I'm fortunate enough to bag a deer out hunting I cut it up myself, and we don't let the shoulder go to waste. If nothing else it goes into ground meat for hamburgers. On pigs though, I don't know why the shoulders wouldn't have a market, but apparently they didn't, so someone came up with the idea of grinding them up, adding salt, water, and whatever else they put in there-I'm not sure I want to know, and sticking it in a can. Down through the years Spam has been an affordable meal in many a home. I never ate it growing up, but when I bought the Bonnie J and experience...

   From time to time I get a little bit of guff, usually from family members, who feel like I don't post here often enough. The fact that I actually have to do something that will bring in a little moola doesn't seem to appease them any; apparently they feel like my primary job is to entertain them. Now, in all fairness, I have to admit, I didn't receive an e-mail or phone call reprimanding me, but had I gone another day or so without posting, I no doubt would have gotten some form of complaint, so, being the saint that I am, I'm going to sacrifice some of MY time to put out this post. Hopefully they'll feel entertained.    As you can plainly see, I've posted  a couple of pictures of this year's garden. I would dearly love to take full credit for it's beauty, but I have to admit, outside of pulling a few dandelions and picking up some rocks which were tossed, willy nilly into the yard, I haven't done too much gardening. Largel...