Vardaman Sweet Potato Vines

Last November, I put in an order with my truck driving brother.

He had some good luck getting loads out of Mississippi bringing back  Sweet Potatoes to the Midwest for our holiday celebrations back in 2010.

I thought maybe he might be able to do the same again for the 2011 Season ...I was extremely pleased when I found out he would get that chance.
 The fare was very tasty!

We tried a recipe by Paula Deen called
"Sweet Potato Bake".

Our daughter, Tamara, was the Chef and she used her top of the line culinary hobby skills to  please all of our palates on Thanksgiving.

The day before Thanksgiving last year my kitchen was transformed into an assembly line. One dish after another found their ingredients mixed and ready to bake Thursday morning, or baked ready to enjoy after the main course.

I have to add another recipe that was was new to us, but definitely one that I made over and over for Hubby and myself...it happens to belong to a blogging friend of mine, out of Mississippi. I thought,"Well goodness! How blessed am I to get sweet potatoes out of Mississippi and then to get the recipe from a Southern Lady Deer Huntress out of Vicksburg, Mississippi?!?" Did you click the link?? Did you find out who I'm talking about??? Please click all three and you will see who shared their recipe with me!


  Southern Lady's Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

3 large sweet potatoes cooked, drained, and mashed up. Will make approximately 2-1/2 to 3 cups.
 Add the following ingredients to potatoes while they are still hot.

1 stick margarine or butter 
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk 3 eggs (beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Place in uncooked pie shells. Will make 3 thin pies or 2 large ones. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.

For a crisp pie shell, bake for the first 10 minutes at 425 degrees and then turn back to 350 degrees for remaining 40 minutes

The Start of Something Big

This year I am growing a few of my own Vardaman sweet potatoes  - vines started from the sprouts of one of the potatoes you see up at the top. Planting a couple of the potatoes to get shoots, eventually taking the shoots off,I placed them in water to root.  Choosing a couple of them, they were stuck in a BIG pot of soil-less mix.

The experiment now is to see how many pounds I might get 110 days from planting. 

                                                                           The only problem so far is an animal keeps digging the plants out looking for grubs and some little chewing insects riddling a few of the leaves. 

Since the weather has been extremely hot, I  have needed to check on keeping the mix hydrated.

I am pleased with vine development, but I always get impatient and find myself scratching at the ground line to see if anything is growing, other than foliage. 

Talking to myself ,I work at reminding me of the benefits of Patience!

Should my venture produce at least three large sweet potatoes, I will have the ingredients from Mississippi again for a delight from the south-enough to use the recipe of my blogging friend the Southern Lady Deer Huntress...

Decorah, IA Eaglet D12 Electrocuted

 Sad news, of the loss of Eaglet D12 from the Decorah, IA, Eaglecam hatched on March 27th, he was found dead on July 3rd, not far from the home nest. The evidence at the area indicates he was electrocuted by wires close to the nest. The power company is working to  modify pole tops to keep the other raptors safer.

Officials say that siblings D13 and D14 are showing signs of knowing their brother is no longer with them.

The Eaglecam was turned off for the summer on Saturday, June 30th, to give the project time to put up new equipment for 2013 and get it tested. More excitement to come when the parents return to start a new family.

Other cams are being monitored now. Why not give a vulture cam a try? The fledglings should be ready to take flight by August....

4th of July Tribute

I would like to extend a Happy 4th of July to my American readers. Let us remember the reason why we celebrate...

A Mystery to Solve...

As of late my homestead has been having another elusive visitor in the late night, and early morning hours.

I have associated some of the activities with a raccoon constantly rummaging through the yard, but things have become a little more destructive. My potted plants are getting tipped over,the soil-less mix has been  totally dug-out from around the roots of a large pot of  Elephant Ear bulbs, newly planted strawberry leaves chewed, freshly set flowers in the garden uprooted.

Mental Exasperation has begun!

My cat, Miss Kitty, has a snack shack on the deck, a recycled dog kennel, where she goes to eat her food to protect her from the elements. If I don't remove the food at night I can be assured to have a raccoon(s), possibly an opossum, and others come to feast. My thoughts run to Coyote...even Bobcat.

This past Monday in the wee hours of the morning, around 2:00, Sadie started barking at the front door. I got up to check to see what had gotten her attention. Looking out the window of the door, the deck was absent the snack shack, from the closed door I wasn't able to see where the kennel had gone.

I opened the door to get a better idea what was happening,Sadie didn't hesitate to dash out to check her territory. The snack shack had somehow made it's way to the bottom of the 4th step of the deck, turned askew on it's side. I can only assume whatever came to visit got stuck inside the kennel, because it would have taken force to move it across the deck, down the steps, and turned, from where it was originally sitting.

Following  a scent, Sadie started on the run in an attempt to locate the interloper. It wasn't more than 30 seconds when I heard a clang - the propane tank had become a momentary barrier to the escaping animal. I had a mental chuckle as my mind was imagining a dazed creature trying to make sense of the surroundings to find an escape route.

The animal that made the early morning wake up call remains a mystery, but I do know now for sure one mischievous creature that reincarnates it's behavior from one generation to another.

Thursday, another clue was provided on our temporary ramp to our new house construction.

Scat that could belong to either a raccoon, or groundhog, was left as evidence of an early morning visit. Both animals share common characteristics at this time of year here at the Timber since they both harvest the berries.

Working in the house on Friday morning before lunch, I passed the sliding glass door, and out of the corner of my eye I saw this creature standing on it's back legs not far from our Miss Kitty by the tree trunk.

I'm wondering if this groundhog  is related to the one that kept us entertained back in September of 2007 ?

When it became aware of my attention...it would drop to all four feet and jump sideways. Then it became inquisitive again, checking to see if by chance I had been scared away by the aggressive maneuvers ,standing up it kept repeating it's actions until I moved on.

Last night we heard some bumps and bangs going on just outside our front door. We, Hubby, Sadie and I, headed to see what the ruckus was all about. A  family of masked bandits stopped  to take advantage of Miss Kitty's snack shack .

These three babies got separated from the others and waited  until a little less attention was being showered on them before making the great escape.

Another sample of what keeps us smiling in our daily lives here at Timber Life....

Black Bear in Bremer County Iowa

Picture owned by Jade Bergmann

The Black Bear first sighted up by Ridgeway continues to make it's way around the Northeast part of Iowa.

June 11th, 2012, brought more citizen reports from the Bremer County town of Frederika, of a Black Bear wandering the area.

The latest photographer documenting the bear's location is Jade Bergmann.


 Below are maps roughly showing where the Black Bear has made itself known.

Ridgeway to Fredericksburg - May 15th - 21st

Fredericksburg to Frederika - May 21st - June 11th

It is speculation as to the next destination of the young bear, but officials feel it is moving in large circles heading east and will return to it's home range.

I have a feeling the Saga of the Black Bear will continue for a while this year...More updates likely later.