Ice fishing and my favorite fish chowder recipe

 

Maine Man took the boys out ice fishing this week and captured some great pictures along the way.  They even caught some fish!

Jeb had no problems keeping up with the boys

 

They had lots of action

 

The boys did most of the work drilling the holes and tending their traps so MM had a lot of time to reflect upon how far they’ve come.  I think in many aspects he was very pleased.  However, he did mention it wouldn’t be long before he would no longer be needed.  Bittersweet for him I’d dare say.

With a few pounds of fish needing cooking I recalled my FAVORITE go-to chowder recipe from a post back in 2009.  I triple the batch every time I make it and usually use shrimp and scallops along with fish.  Here is the link directly to the fish chowder recipe.

The simplicity of the recipe is what I love the most.  A few staple ingredients and…. Viola!

I also love that it is a favorite with everyone in the family.

Happy Cooking!

 

 

 

Gone Fishing!

Nothing like seeing Dad with his girl.




We are fortunate enough to live across the street from the river. However to get there from here you must go down a REAL steep embankment and through a jungle of poison ivy. We cleared an area out across the street 2 years ago and ummmm... that was the year I said "I don't get poison ivy, never had it." Can you guess what happened from there? We've yet to return. With that in mind, we go down the road about 1/2 a mile to yet another steep area but to a trail that is free and clear of the itchy stuff.


Obviously unimpressed with the depth of the hook........"John". This year after some begging from the kids I purchased a license. I usually just play photographer and bring along a good read but now I've decided to play along as long as the fish are biting. This is was the first time out for me this season. The kids & John have been out well over a dozen times. Fishing is on the top of Luke's favorite list. He doesn't let a day or two go by before asking Dad when they can go out again.

She is always ready with a pose.

I think that one might weigh nearly as much as her.

She is better then Mom. I can bait my hooks with worms and crayfish but I admit I am a little spleeny when it comes to taking the fish off if they are the least bit in there.

Fishing is a great family activity that can be done with little to no costs. I'm glad we have MM to take us out! Luke traps crayfish from the ponds with bait traps and MM & the kids jack worms on rainy nights. John and I have to purchase licenses but the kids do not and will never have to as they both have lifetime fishing, hunting, and archery licenses....how lucky are they?

P.S. All the above fish were caught and released.

Here is a link for a yummy chowder I made last weekend with some perch we had stored in the freezer from this past winter's ice fishing season.

Sunday Stills-Self Portrait & Kid Interview

Cleaning the shed

I did not get very creative with this weeks photo challenge since I didn't start snapping any shots until yesterday. The theme of the weekend was working around the house so that was what I had to work with....barn attire. Don't let me fool you, I am by NO means one to dress up! I have one dress, it is black and I call it my funeral/wedding dress. I don't wear nylons or heels, I'm ALL ABOUT comfort.

Feeding the hogs.

Below is a kid interview that has been going around face book. I thought it would to be fun to post here with this weeks photo theme.

Luke & Leah were interviewed separately and the side notes are from yours truly.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

Leah: be careful (so true)

Luke: clean your room (they rarely do without bribery!)

2. What makes mom happy?

Leah: be good (true)

Luke: breakfast in bed (the kids did this for me on Valentine's day)

3. What makes mom sad?

Leah: when I'm being bad (true)

Luke: me growing up (I do whine about them growing up)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Leah: tickles me

Luke: when your tired and you say words wrong like when you kept saying hog house instead of log house when we were reading Little House in the Big Woods.
(we laughed until tears after Luke pointed out that I said it 2 times in a row. It was the night one of our hogs got loose)

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Leah: Long hair, blue eyes, good

Luke: You weren't really that cranky (? not sure where this came from but he's was a colicky baby and I sometimes tease him about it)

6. How old is your mom?

Leah & Luke 34 (right on!)

7. How tall is your mom?

Leah: 5-6 ft (5'4", your close girl)

Luke: 4 1/2 - 5 ft (a bit off)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Leah: clean the house (I promise you it is NOT my favorite)

Luke: get things done (he's right, I am goal oriented)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Leah: work around the house (true)

Luke: feed the animals (this happens regardless if they are home or not)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Leah: rock star (scary thought)

Luke: singing, if you take voice lessons (hee, hee, I was thinking he was crazy at first then he proceeded to answer and I was lol)

11. What is your mom really good at?

Leah: cleaning the house ( I would disagree here I just always seem to be cleaning like any parent or homeowner for that matter)

Luke: cleaning the house (too funny, I could think of better things that I'm good at)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Leah: singing (ha, I'm really getting bashed on my singing capabities. I never said I was good I just like singing in the car)

Luke: skinning a fish or a deer (don't want to be good at. If I play dumb I don't have to do it)

13. What does your mom do for a job?

Leah: work at the hospital

Luke: she's a nurse who works in x-ray

14.What is your mom's favorite food?

Leah: twix (not, but I do like them)

Luke: lobster (right on)

15.What makes you proud of your mom?

Leah: when I do a good job at something

Luke: me or Leah achieving something (both right)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Leah: Dafani from Scooby Doo

Luke: Ma, if Little House in the Big Woods was a cartoon

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Leah: read, she takes me bowling

Luke: talk, read Little House in the Big Woods
(Can you see Luke's fascination with this book series. I am starting to get a little obsessed too)

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Leah: blue eyes

Luke: we both have brown hair

19. How are you and your mom different?

Leah: you have long hair and your bigger and you have bigger toenails (?)

Luke: I'm a boy, your a girl

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Leah: cause you kiss me

Luke: you always say be careful and the reassuring hugs & kisses every night

AREN'T THEY SWEET! I AM TRYING TO SUCK UP EVERY BIT OF THESE YEARS . CAN'T THEY JUST STAY THESE AGES FOREVER? WAAA!!!!


Last day of the season for MM & the kids to go out ice fishing. Lots of meat for the freezer and a great time shared with friends.

Sunday Stills ~Architecture~

Another week of Sunday Stills Photo Challenge with Architecture as the theme. I thought about taking a cruise by an old church and some barns but that never happened. I always seem to be LAST minute preparing for my Sunday post so once again today was the day. We were on the lake ice fishing (John & the kids fishing, me just playing photographer) so the only architecture around were camps. When is the last time you come across a round camp? I was excited to find this unique structure.

An antique boat house. Maine law prevents people from building new boat houses.

Not quite a camp!
Red neck chalet
This was a cool little shack. Somehow I cut the skis out of this picture.
Hunting blind by fall and ice shack come winter.

Running for a flag.

FARM POSTS IN THE MAKING..... I PROMISE;) WE HAVE DUCKS ARRIVING AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND UPDATES TO COME.
LASTLY, I WANT TO THANK MY FELLOW BLOGGERS FOR 4 RECENT BLOG AWARDS I HAVE RECEIVED.....I HOPE TO GET CAUGHT UP ON THAT THIS WEEK.

Gone Smelting

Last night 8 of us piled into the suburban and headed south to go smelting. The neighbors & John had been in previous years but the kids and I had not.
For those of you have not been.... it's on the river, they have 2, 4 & 6 man shacks lined up. On each side of the shack there are holes (below) with multiple fishing lines hanging horizontally across a pole.

Yes the holes are big enough for a small child to fall into. Don't think Momma didn't warn the kids that they would be fish bait if they fell in.


We did not go out until 7pm because it goes according to high tide. John was functioning on 3 hours sleep, he had worked night shift Saturday. We had the shack until 1 am but we headed home around 10:30. Had the fish been biting we would have probably stayed later.

This is what you use for bait, blood worms. Nasty....and they bite. Initially I would not handle them until it was dissected . I know my cyber name is Country Girl but I admit I am spleeny about certain things .
Unfortunately the fish were not running. We only caught 6 fish. A couple smelts and a few cod (I think?). One man that came over to chat with us said he had caught 100 on Friday night.
Regardless, we still had a good time. The kids got all sugared up and went back and forth between our shack and our neighbors.
Then we ended our night with a brief photo shoot. Thanks for joining us neighbors, Maybe next time we'll have better luck!

Wordless Wednesday

You Guessed It!

I didn't have you on Rona's behind but I had a few of you on the MUD PUPPY .

Many of you were correct or REAL close. MM & the kids caught it when they went out ice fishing over the weekend. Luke also caught a pickerel but I have no pictures to share because it was SO darn cold and windy. We will be going up North to my dad's in a few weeks and this photo girl will be out braving the elements (in the shack cooking and drinking cocoa) so there will some good ice fishing photo's to follow like last years pictures.

There was a great reponse in comments. I enjoyed reading them all from near and far and a few new faces. I will be checking in on all your blogs within the next couple days.

I will end this brief post with a little something MM read to me tonight from a book he is reading called If you didn't bring jerky, what did I just eat?

Do you ever find yourself thinking about deer when your mind should be on other things? Have you drifted off in a meeting and suddenly realized that everyone is staring at you, waiting for you to answer a question from the boss that you didn't hear? And so you had to wing it, responding, "Um...Maybe we're rattling to often?" You may be suffering from chronic preoccupation with deer (CPD). This is a seasonal disorder affecting millions of men, often with devastating consequences for their relationships, jobs, and self-esteem. In addition to a weak stream of thought, typical symptoms include:

* Frequent urges to go deer hunting

* A desire to go even though you just went.

* Suddenly needing to stop the car to go.

* Waking one or more times a night to go.

If you have experienced even one of the above signs, you're at risk for CPD.............

If you are not a hunter or a hunter's widow come hunting season you may not find this funny but I was laughing my tail off because that is MM ALL the way. I finally have a diagnosis!

Rainy Day

This morning, in the pouring rain we went out to this event meeting Regina & family from Sea2Shore blog once again. Due to the weather we only stayed a couple hours. There were a few speakers I would have liked to stay and heard but we were literally soaked from head to toe despite our rain gear. However, we had the opportunity to listen to a couple who raised Alpine goats. I enjoyed their talk and learned some good stuff about goat rearing, shelter, feeding, and maintenance.
One interesting fact that I learned, goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world.
Did you know that? I went to the farmer's market last week in hopes to buy some but the goat lady did not have any left. I hear it tastes like deer and cow. John would like to raise Boer goats. I can eat my own turkeys, and chickens, and maybe if we get some meat bunnies but I'm not sure if I could eat my goats? I cannot even imagine munching Annabelle and Oreo. It is a fine line and you have to make that decision before you bring the animal onto your farm, pet or supper?

Cray fish the kids caught in their bait trap. They are going fishing in the morning and I'm sure they'll catch a big one using these!

Trying to stay dry! This storage bin is now our goaties outside shelter. I wanted to get the goats a large dog igloo to put in their pen but instead John flipped this bin over onto a piece of plywood, cut out a door, and there we have it. A free & recycled goat house...savings of $125!

Pretty flowers I cut off a tree out front. Of course I do not know what they are, imagine that! Thanks to all of your flower identification knowledge so far I know we have Magnolias, Quaker Ladies, and Columbines here on the farm. What might this be?

My boy picked me some wild Irises, how sweet!

I've yet to plant the sweet potatoes, maybe tomorrow. Anyone ever grow them before? I've read they grow as a vine.

We ended the night with an old movie, Richer or Poorer.