South Dakota Vacation Ideas

Camping and Sight Seeing

We have been to the Black Hills twice and Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons once.

This summer trip was originally planned as a tent camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, but because our son needed to take a summer course for college, our trip was revised to only go as far as the Black Hills.

Both previous trips west, we rented cabins or stayed in a hotel or lodge. This trip we wanted to tent camp to experience all the beautiful wilderness South Dakota has to offer.

Italian Dinner Party

My son and his girlfriend Jennica

Italian (Birthday) Dinner Party In Our Barn
My son’s girlfriend Jennica’s birthday was coming up in June, so she asked me if we could have a party in our barn. We hashed over a few ideas, and came up with an Italian Dinner Party theme.

We searched the web for ideas, decorations and food because although I have had people over for dinner, and hosted larger Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners, I have not had a semi-formal dinner party in a barn!
Jennica and I decided to keep it simple: Appetizers, wine, salad, garlic bread, the main dish and desserts.

Please keep in mind this party can also be in your backyard under a shade tree, on the patio or even indoors!
Jennica started out with an invitation list of 16, enlarged it to 20 and ended up with 18 guests for dinner.

Marietta, Ohio Scenic Drive

Marietta, Ohio:  Scenic Drive Road Trip
(Great for Sports Cars or Motorcycles)

I had a few people keep telling me to write about my husband Bill and I's little road trips we take, so here goes.

We have a beautiful little 1990 Mazda Miata that I purchased from a friend of ours.  “Golf Club” Bill passed away from cancer a few years back, and his wife Becky sold me the car.

We usually drive about 1000 to 1500 miles a year on one to two day road trips around Ohio and surrounding states.

Building a Chicken Coop

Shed turned into coop & scratch yard built (near my garden)

We decided when we purchased our small farm last August that we were going to raise chickens and have our own fresh eggs. We purchased 2 day old baby chicks in February from a local Amish farmer.

I had planned to use an old shed we call the “mail pouch” barn for the chicken coop, but after further inspection I realized it just needed too much work to keep the hens safe from predators.

Restoring this barn will have to wait.  Maybe I'll turn it into a camping cabin, smoke house or use it as a sugaring shack for making maple syrup.
Instead, I decided to divide my gardening shed in half by building an interior wall. One side would be for my gardening supplies, and the other a chicken coop.
We had electric installed (thanks to my nephew Sammie) then started construction.

Tent Camping List

Making Preparations For Tent Camping

My husband Bill and I are in the middle of digging out all our camping gear and sorting through it.  We are trying to decide what we actually need and trying to downsize.
Both of us have been camping as adults for well over, I hate to even say how long,  yea, over 30 years! 

A few years back, we decided to purchase a small cabin in the woods and have been spending wonderful peaceful weekends there...... sleeping on an actual bed.

We still tent camped with our son, who was in the Boy Scouts. But Daniel has been out of Boy Scouts for about two years now, since turning 18.

Salvaging Barn Wood

Our Mud Room Is Born:
We sold our subdivision home in the city in June 2011 and purchased our small farm in August, 2011.
But even before we closed the deal, my husband Bill was on the look out,  collecting things for our little farm.

One day, while driving by our not-yet-house just to look at it again, (we did that often) Bill happened upon a yard sale. 
What's really strange about that is, he usually doesn't stop at yard sales.  Me?  I will wear the brakes out, screeching to a halt for a yard sale!
That day he found and purchased a load of old barn wood.  Enough to fill the bed of our pickup truck.
We didn't know what we would use it for at the new house, but he said he just could not pass up all that weathered wood for only $25.00 .
After purchasing our little farm, Bill decided to use the barn wood on one wall in our lower level family room (The Man Cave).

Our Ex-Army Ranger Neighbor

Thomas "Thunder" Thornton


Our cabin, Summer 2002

Following the rules of a saying, The 5 Pees, while making maple syrup, got me thinking about that saying and the old Military guy who taught it to us. 

My husband and I have a little cabin in the woods in the Hocking Hills area, outside of Logan, Ohio.
A small primitive cabin when we purchased it, we have since added a well and shower.

Bill and I, (and me way before I even met Bill), have always loved the outdoors, hiking, camping, campfires. You get the idea.

Saturday Waffle Breakfast

Easy Waffle Recipe with Homemade Maple Syrup 


My homemade syrup
from the maple trees in the back ground

Making all that homemade syrup got me thinking about recipes using fresh maple syrup! Waffles and pancakes are always a hit at our house, but I have never been a big fan of waffles.

And listen, I am guilty. Until recently, if you searched my pantry, you would find a box of Hungry Jack Instant Pancake and Waffle mix. That may be the cause of my attitude towards pancakes and waffles, the coming from a box taste.

I admit, I've never really read the ingredients on instant pancake and waffle mixes except the directions.
I had no idea what the ingredients even were!
We have been trying to eat healthier in the last few years and reading more and more labels of the food we buy. The fewer the ingredients (and ingredients I can actually pronounce) is at the top of the list for me.

Turning Maple Tree Sap Into Syrup

Making Maple Syrup
I have read that many people and cultures believe that drinking maple sap is a way to energize the body after a long winter. I decided to have a little glass to start the morning off. 

Maple sap is regarded as a medicine, a Spring tonic, by most American Indian nations where maple sap is gathered.  In South Korea, the drinking of sap is linked to a wide range of health benefits.

After collecting enough sap from our maple trees I started early this morning getting everything ready for the boiling process.

Sugaring or Tapping Maple Trees

Making Syrup From Maple Trees
I am so excited about having the baby chicks, that the other morning I decided to walk across the street and tell our neighbors. Rachel and Tad have 5 beautiful children they are home schooling, so I thought seeing and holding the chicks would be fun and educational for them.

After inviting Rachel and the kids over to see the chicks and then staying to talk for a few minutes, Rachel said” oh, I have something for you, homemade maple syrup.”
Rachel handed me a pint of golden brown syrup and she and the kids took me outside to see the maple tree taps and to watch the sap dripping into buckets.
I got really excited because I realized we have many maple trees in our own yard!



I hurried home and after scouting out which trees I was sure were maple trees, I started doing an internet search.
I goggled how to tap the trees, where to purchase the spiles (tree taps) and the whole process of making maple syrup.  I learned that Ohio is ranked in the top 5 states in maple syrup production.

Starting a Chicken Flock

Saturday February 18, 2012

Chickens!

The Day I Finally Got Chickens

The big day had arrived. Today was the day to go to a farm in Johnstown, Ohio to pick out chicks to start our flock!

I was up by 6am, but I had barely slept the night before. I woke up thinking I should use the old sink base cabinet left over from our bath remodel to keep the new baby chicks in, instead of the small cage my husband Bill and I worked on all evening, converting it into a brooder.
Brooders are used to confine chicks with their feed and water and keep them warm, until they are 6 - 8 weeks old and ready to go outside

I decided I would use the cabinet because it is larger, and I could use old storm windows to cover the top. The old storm windows would not only help keep heat in and keep the cat out, but would also allow me to have a clear view of my chicks.
Bill helped carry the cabinet into the mudroom where I planned to keep the chicks, then we set the storm windows in place and hung the heat lamp.

Valentine's Day Craft Blocks

Easy Valentine Blocks

While looking around Pinterest (I love that site) I came across this idea for Valentine's Day Blocks.  The one pictured seem to be made from blocks cut from 4 x 4's.  I decided to try to make them myself, but I used scrap pieces of 2 x 4's. Click for more Valentine's Day Ideas

Here are the directions for making Valentine's Day blocks:

Needed Supplies: 
1 piece of  2 x 4 wood, (12 to 14 inches long should do it)
saw
sander
straight edge
measuring tape
pencil
Paint colors of pink, red, white, grey  and black

Growing Green Onions In Winter

Green Onions 

One of the things I miss most about my summer garden is picking fresh off the vine tomatoes and pulling a few leaves of lettuce to make a fresh salad for lunch or dinner.

Having a little mini garden in the winter appeals to me.

I read somewhere that if I planted the white bulb end part of a green onion (after chopping and adding the green part to whatever it is I'm cooking, of course) it would grow!

Flaky Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits

My biscuits, fresh out of the oven

I found this recipe in a Fine Cooking magazine in 2007.

These are one of the best biscuits I have tasted and are easy to make. 
I love that the butter doesn't need to be chopped on crumbled into the flour. This is so much easier and creates a stronger butter flavored biscuit!

Tips and Suggestions:
I use a Buttermilk Powder from SACO and follow the directions on the container to make the buttermilk.   SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend can be used in nearly any recipe that calls for liquid buttermilk or soured milk. 

I also use a smaller, round baking dish instead of a sheet, and have the sides of my biscuits touching. 

Cooking the biscuits in a dish lined with parchment paper just makes for a much easier clean-up.

I also use King Arthur Flour and Land of Lakes Butter.  The better the quality of ingredients the better the end product.

Fall Barn Party

Ideas for a Fall Party
Although we have been spending 12 hour days working on our new little farm, we decided to go ahead with our annual fall party.

We had very limited time to prepare and it would be a rush job, but we decided to have the party outdoors and in our barn.
Top of my list for a fun party?  Encourage everyone, including adults to come in costume.




We sometimes have a best costume contest with first place prizes for adults, teenagers and small children Everyone votes, then places their votes in a jar.  The votes are then tallied and special prizes handed out.