It's been a couple of weeks since we have posted anything about our house projects. Everything we have to work on at the moment is outside work and, well, it has just been too cold for me work outside. So, what have we been doing? Ice fishing of course!
I went out twice. Once with Ron, a friend from Custer and again with Barb. Both on the same lake which has some nice sunnies in it. Ron and I caught a few but did not slay them. Barb and I, on the other hand, did pretty good getting enough for a nice meal in a couple of hours.
We also had time to drive through Wind Cave NP and Custer SP enjoying the scenery and some of the wildlife. It is so nice driving through when the roads are not lined with tourists.
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| 6 more weeks of winter? This guy definitely saw his shadow! |
We ran into two Buffalo Jams. In the summer these would have held up traffic for hours as gawkers stop to take pictures and are too afraid to drive through. But if you go slowly and ease your way through, they move out of the way. Until you stop to say hi, then they start licking your car, or Jeep as it were. Nothing like a buffalo car wash in South Dakota!
On the home front, the girls are just hanging out. Dakota on her bed and Zoey anywhere she can find a little sunlight to keep her warm. Both seemed to have an oral fixation on this particular day.
Other ranch creatures have been making appearances as well. We don't see rabbits very often as they typically only come out at night but the other morning, I was able to catch this little guy just before the sun came up.
It was such a beautiful morning that I could not resist starting the day off with an early morning soak.
But the biggest surprise of the week was when Dino and Harry stopped by for a visit! Imagine our surprise when we woke up and saw these two turkey's strutting around the front of the porch. It was such a sight that I just had to take a video of it!
I did not get the names of the other turkeys along with these two but if I were to guess, I would say that at least one of them was named Steve and another was named Bob.
Finally, it warmed up enough for us to get outside and get some work done! We have 3 major projects left and we decided to take on one of them. The ceiling on the porch. Not horrible work, a little tedious at times while working around the lights. This steel was special order, and I cannot afford to make a mistake. I can do the prep work by myself. but when it comes to lifting the steel panel into place, I need Barb. So far, we have 55 feet done with 80 feet left to go. Once all the steel is up, we will be installing accent beams on each of the joint lines.
The warm weather only lasted a few days, so the rest will have to wait at least another, maybe two weeks before we can get back at it again!
South Dakota was full of surprises for us, including a buffalo spending part of his day in our campsite. I suspect your projects will keep you busy thru the summer
ReplyDeleteThose buffalo seem to go and do what they want. We had a similar experience up near Medora in a Teddy Roosevelt National Park campground.
DeleteA Buffalo washing the Jeep? That made me laugh out loud. A big hug and kiss to Zoe!
ReplyDeleteNot the best car wash we have had, but strangely not the worst!
DeleteThere went your "Wild Turkey" supply, and your Premium Beers! Nothing like a shot or three of Wild Turkey followed by a chug or two of Guinness Beer
ReplyDeleteOnly if I am not looking. I save my worst beer for them. You know the ones that have seen multiple trips to the cooler over the years then sit in the back of the fridge for just the right occasion?
DeleteJoe and I loved the Buffalo video…thank you for sharing! I love the turkeys too. Great job you two on the porch ceiling. Dakota and Zoey look quite comfy…our Dover is a lot like Zoey…always looking for the sunny spot! Beautiful sunrise!
ReplyDeleteThe buffalo are incredible animals. It's hard to imagine huge herds of them wandering across the country. Turkey numbers on the other hand are higher than they have ever been forever adapting and benefiting from conservation efforts across the country.
DeleteProbably think of vehicles as large salt blocks--lol! Cool videos!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is not uncommon to go for a hike only to return to your vehicle to find it surrounded by a herd of buffalo licking away!
DeleteWhat TURKEYS!!!!! Always love seeing the buffalo car washes. Better than a butt in the butt resulting in an insurance claim!
ReplyDeleteIt was good to get out before the tourists started infiltrating the area again. Once that happens what took us a couple of hours would have taken us all day!
DeleteThose "sunnies" are good eating little guys, we used to catch them in the Santa Fe river here in FL when we had our pickup camper. Good luck on the projects.
ReplyDeleteThat they are! We only kept enough for one meal and they were delicious!
DeleteSure miss ice fishing but not about to move to a colder climate. Bet there must have been a little bit of a pucker factor driving thru those Bison herds. I consider myself in good company flocking around with Dino, Harry, and Bob. 🤣 Cheers…Steve
ReplyDeleteBirds of a feather..... That herd was just cows and calves. Although they can still be unpredictable too, I would not have driven through a herd of bulls like that!
DeleteGlad to see you folks are keeping busy. Good pic of you working. Lol
ReplyDeleteDeb
That picture of me working is a rare one indeed!
DeleteWhat a beautiful drive you had! Love the buffalo video! That ceiling is going to be gorgeous! Great work you two :)
ReplyDeleteAll that is within minutes of our house, but we rarely get out and enjoy it. Maybe we will do it more when all the work is done!
DeleteWhat a great ride through the Buffalo. We drove through caribou in Newfoundland but they are tiny compared to Buffalo. The car wash was priceless! And those turkeys. You wouldn’t go hungry! Good luck with the project!
ReplyDeleteWe would love to see a herd of caribou. We did not see a single one on our adventure last summer.
DeleteI like looking at the antelope and wonder what kind of fun was had when you saw them. Those are some good looking turkeys. Except that Harry one. He's kind of a douche. Love the blog.
ReplyDeleteImagine as you will, it was exactly like that!
DeleteHey Dino / don’t we stick together when Jim goes on his Dino and Harry bashing. I guess the rules have changed.
DeleteJim promised me beer.
DeleteIt doesn't take much to turn Dino on his friends!
DeleteNice fishing. Looks like Barb was the good luck charm. Love the Buffalo drive and the turkey video!
ReplyDeleteOf course she's a good luck charm! We cannot wait for open water so we can get out on a boat.
DeleteLove all the wildlife photos!! Fresh fish dinner...yum!! Adorable photos of the girls:) Glad you got a couple warmer days to do a little outside work.
ReplyDeleteWarm days have been few and far between but the long range forecast shows some promise!
DeleteIt looks like a beautiful drive. Especially interesting was the drive through the buffalo and the car wash. What a great picture of the early morning light when you mentioned an early morning soak.
ReplyDeleteWe need to make a point of getting out to Wind Cave and Custer SP more often this year. Both are so beautiful!
DeleteWow look at those buffalo! I am wondering if there is a plural to buffalo? Buffaloes? Or is it just buffalo?
ReplyDeleteI think it is just buffalo regardless of the number, but according to the internet both are acceptable.
DeleteYour buffalo driving skills would do you well here in New Zealand - that is how we drive through a herd of cows! :)
ReplyDeleteI perfected those skill driving through cattle herds out there. For the most part the cattle and buffalo just move out of the way. Although it has never happened to us, once in a while you hear of one attacking a vehicle.
Deleteice fishing...too cold for me, i don't even like summer fishing, it's kind of boring!! that sure was a lot of buffalo, i would be too nervous to drive through them like that!! and the buffalo car wash, not my idea of a car wash at all. good thing it didn't wash the windshield!! it is supposed to be 63 degrees today, we are going out for a walk!!
ReplyDelete63? We are going to hit the upper 30's today with snow. Spring has to be around the corner soon, I cannot wait until we hit 60! Fishing can be boring if it is slow but you can just sit immersed in your thoughts, soaking in the sun and listen to the water lap the side of the boat.
Deletefishing...not my jam!!! 65 today, but it is raining!!
DeleteI missed so much the last few weeks! Glad the bore got a new home (can't imagine why Barb didn't want him in the living room) and your continuing projects all look amazing of course. Thanks for sharing both of your memory trips! I know those are posts you'll enjoy returning to in the future as well. We always have a laugh or two when we pull out the albums. That porch is beautiful, love the color. Can't imagine that cold steel is fun to work with though. Spring is just around the corner!!
ReplyDeleteWe are so ready for spring! It is teasing us but refuses to fully commit to make a full fledged appearance.
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