We Have Secured the Package!

 It has been 10+ days since our last post, thinking back I cannot remember what exactly we spent doing each day. That is why I try to take pictures; to remind me what we did. 

First, let me start out by saying, thank you to all of you who showed genuine concern for my near-death experience, it warms my heart knowing you care. Then there are those like my "good" friend Dino, my daughter in law (below) and even my own son who sent me memes of people choking over the last 10 days. 

It continues to be hot, most of the days were in the 90's (a couple over 100) which makes it difficult, or at least undesirable to work outside. We have been working outside from 8-10 in the morning and then finding things to do inside. Outside we have been mainly working on cutting and splitting firewood. I go out and cut/collect the firewood and stack it in the bucket of the tractor, I then deliver it to Barb and dump it at her feet where she begins to split it. As she splits it, she stacks in the bed of the Ranger. Once that is full it goes over to the woodshed where we stack it. 

And I am happy to report that the woodshed is full! Plus, we have a split wagon full on top of that! The woodshed is 12' x 10' and 6-8' tall depending on if you are in the front of the back. This means there is roughly 20 face cord or 6-7 or so full cord. As some of you know, a "cord" is how wood is measured. A face cord it 4' high, 8' long and 16-18" deep. A full cord is 4' high, 4' deep and 8' long. A rough guess is that one large diameter 50' tree split and stacked is about a face cord. The value of a cord depends on where you are and what kind of wood it is. We only have pine and around here the average value of a face cord is about $100/face cord. This should last us two years. 

We still have about 6 trees that need to be cut up from the windstorm we had a couple of months ago, but those are leaners and not laying on the ground which means they should not rot and I can take care of them next year.  

Good to have that crossed off the list!

During the heat of the day we have been tackling less strenuous projects. I have been on an oil change kick, changing the oil in the truck, jeep, boat, tractor, log splitter, air compressor and all three generators this week. 

Barb worked out in her workshop making a stand for our water tank. Each time we have to remove the water tank from the trailer it is a pain in the butt. That thing is so big and cumbersome. With this stand, which is the same height as the trailer, we can just slide in off and on!

I have also been busy printing "stuff" off the 3D printer. I printed a bunch of windows and trim for DeAnne's model barn up at the farm. 

I have also printed off some euro mounts for some of our deer skulls as well as a few things for Neighbor Jim. For those of you wonder, the skulls in the garage.

Barb got the pool out for the girls to wade in while they were outside. 

The trail cameras continue to entertain us with rabbits, deer and some birds. Here, the deer and the bunny are having a little chat.....

I even caught the rancher checking on his cattle!

For fun, we had a bourbon tasting which included the Stagg Tom got me......

......got together with Dan and Bonnie one night......

 .....and went on a "date night" another night to Skogen Kitchen in Custer. Skogen's is known as the fancy place to eat with the average meal for two being between $200-$300. Thankfully, our son had given us a gift certificate for Christmas that covered most of it!

We started out with roasted bone marrow and beef tartar with truffle gouda, brioche and pickled red onions.  A first for both of us. 

For our main course, Barb had the Iberico Pork while I had the filet. I could have upgraded to the Wagyu Filet for $120, but I passed and went with the standard filet. Both meals were delicious, but Barb's pork was over the top amazing!

For dessert it was the Campfire Panna Cotta, a dark chocolate Panna Cotta topped with bruleed marshmallow on a bed of graham cracker crush on a bed of chocolate pearls revealed in in a cloud of mesquite smoke. What a great night!

We continued to receive pictures from Foster Lake of our little Maisie and her litter mates. 

All this while waiting for "The Day". The day Barb would get up at 2am where I would drive her 1.5 hours to the Rapid City Airport and get on a plane. The day where she would then get on said plane, fly to Denver, wait 3 1/2 hours and get on another plane for a 3ish hour flight to Portland Oregon.

The Day where she would then meet Eric and Amy from Foster Lake Frenchie's who would drive 3 hours to Portland and drop off Maisie at the hotel Barb is staying at and Barb would "secure the package".  The Day where Barb would again get up at 2am for a 5am flight back to Denver where she has another layover before she would finally fly back to Rapid City where I would be waiting.  The Day where she would do all of that in a little over 24 hours. 

I am happy to report that that day has come and gone and Barb did indeed secure the package. The precious cargo known as Maisie Rose. The first pictures I received were from the hotel room....

Maisie was a trooper traveling very well in her little travel bag tucked under the seat in the main cabin of the plane.

Then came the pictures from the layovers in the airport. 

Both momma and baby were exhausted and slept most of the way home. 

Zoey was super curious when Barb walked through the door. Dakota was mildly curious, but mostly indifferent. 

Then the chaos began. Dakota still trying to ignore Maisie. It is amazing how even puppies know when to leave other dogs alone. All it takes is this little move by Dakota and Maisie moves on. 

Zoey on the other hand has been spending her time protecting all her toys and trying to steal Maisie's. They have not played yet, much to Maisie's dismay, she is trying. Zoey is just trying to get between her and Barb and protect her toys. It has been less than two days, so I am sure that that will change. 

The first night Barb put Maisie in her crate right next to the bed. She whined for a couple of minutes but then settled down for 3 hours when Barb got up and took her out. Then she slept for another 3 hours, then another hour before she was up for the day.

Do now it begins, the arduous task of trying to potty train a 9-week-old puppy. Trying to keep an eye on her while also living our daily lives. Some successes, some failures. It's going to be some long days and short nights while we get into a routine, but it just takes time and patience. 

Stay tuned for many, many more videos and pictures in the coming weeks! In the meantime, I think I will be continuously having 3-4 bottles of bourbon within arm's reach so I can taste test to my heart's content!