#4: Time of Trilium & Trout Lily

Day 15 arrived and ended with what felt like 2 lifetimes of feelings and 2 seconds of experiences. Yet our short time here has been no less than exciting. There are of course the daily normalities to keep us grounded and the summer to-do list to light a fire under our asses, but that master puppeteer called life has thrown us a “couple-two-tree” curveballs along the way.

Our dog Delilah, or Lilah, or Dings (short for Dingleberry), is a wild mutt mix of primarily Boxer and Beagle with some Shepherd, Chow Chow, and Cattle Dog thrown in somewhere. Lilah can seem akin to the saintly first child but also the devil incarnate according to local rodents. She unfortunately perfected her hunting expertise the last few years and 3 days ago proved that statement. Personally, I have never experienced the defensive insertion of porcupine quills but Delilah’s muzzle sure as hell did. Luckily, Gabe intervened with a few quick and nimble moves and caught Lilah before she went back for more. She ended up with only 3 quills, a relief, and Gabe removed them with little bloodshed. Cross your fingers for no infection! 

With Lilah on high mammal alert, Gabe and I have turned our sights on local bird and plant identification. The cabin’s screened-in porch is surrounded by feeders along the perimeter. The regular visitors include purple finches, gold finches, orioles, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, cowbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, nuthatches, swallows, and too-many-to-keep-track-of warblers. Occasionally, we’ll get a fluorescent, ruby-throated hummingbird gracing us with a deep winged buzz swooping in for dainty sips of sugar water. I never knew how much I missed the cackles, hums, singsongs, and trills of my hometown bird choir. The Spring flora of the woods sticks close to the forest floor and cautiously keeps in conversation with the skies above. Ivory white trilium, golden trout lilies, and small purple ground cover makes the ATV trails look like the path to the pearly gates. Who knows what the next few weeks will bring to our feeders and forests? 

Mid May, the bringer of ever-fluctuating weather, gives us glimpses of summer sun but never with any  consistency to claim the seasons have officially changed. Of course Gabe seems to hop on the water no matter the weather. His internal drive for fishing is something I admire and wish I could bottle for myself. Fortunately, Gabe always understands my lacking outsdoorsman knowledge and is a patient and willing teacher. I’ve tagged along on a couple river floats recently in order to gain back my sea legs while also relearning good paddling skills. For our first river trip and my first ever Wisconsin float, we drove a tad Southwest to drop in for a short spree down the Wolf River. Lilah’s porcupine incident began the expedition but since Gabe and I remained relatively unscathed, we pushed on. 

Wisconsin has a way of fooling those who think sunny days automatically mean warm days. A good, steady North wind gust on a bluebird afternoon will send anyone back home if ill-prepared. We layered up in thick flannel and wool Kromers. We packed hearty snacks, a camera, all things dog, and sailed off in search of fish. Deep red lily pads lined the riverbed sprouting just below the surface. Strands of green algae caught in clumps along the pad stems and waved lazily in the current. Small tails of black crappies hid within the thick muck while keeping an eye on the large boat above. The wind died down and the current slowed. Gabe caught a few bass, a small northern pike, and moved what seemed to be a 35+ inch northern right before takeout. If the whole trip was for anything, it was for that child-like glee. 

Besides fishing and touring around Forest and Oneida county, I’ve been busy cooking and baking up a storm. Below are the some of the bomb recipes y’all should give a taste.

FOOD

Rhubarb Honey Shrub: http://nwedible.com/rhubarb-honey-shrub/

Vegetable Soup with Harissa:https://www-wholenourishment-net.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.wholenourishment.net/blog/2015/9/chunky-vegetable-harissa-stew?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&format=amp&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=15893251384404&amp_ct=1589325165839&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wholenourishment.net%2Fblog%2F2015%2F9%2Fchunky-vegetable-harissa-stew

Homemade Biscuits: recipe found on back of Bob’s Mill all purpose flour

When the weather gets a little more consistent in temp, I’d like to make a new sourdough starter as a commemoration to the beauty I completely annihilated 5 years ago. Here’s the recipe I found that I’d like to take a stab at: https://anoregoncottage.com/grow-keep-use-sourdough-starter/

BOOKS: I’ve also finished listening to The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk. Since completing the book last week, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Words, characters, and plot events are constantly busting their way into my everyday thought. I really loved everything about this book. In fact, I would go as far as to say I’ve added it to my top 10. Thank you, Todd Bossman Simmons, for that great recommendation. Now I’m onto A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold recommended by Gabe and Little by Edward Carey recommended by Hibs. What are you reading?