Bear Release

These black bears were trapped as cubs last summer and fall after getting into trouble. They had been abandoned by their mothers and ended up in dumpsters, camp trailers, neighborhoods, etc. I actually caught one of them that had climbed a telephone pole south of Vernal last October.

These cubs would not have survived the winter on their own, so they were sent to a rehabilitation center in Boise, Idaho where they spent the winter. We picked them up yesterday, and I released them in the Book Cliffs today. I was able to get permission to take my whole family with me, so the wife and kids could watch the bear release. It was a lot of fun, and a neat experience for the kids to see bears so close up.

The bears were stiff and disoriented from being in a cage for over 24 hours. They didn't seem to want to leave the barrel, so I had to help them out. They looked like they had had a little too much to drink, but after a few stumbles, they loosened up and took off.

Just Getting Started

The deer are just getting started growing their antlers, and some, like this buck, have a better start than others. Fluctuations in hormone levels trigger the annual growth and eventual shedding of antlers. The amount of calcium and phosphorous that deer and elk have to consume, absorb, and deposit to grow a complete set of antlers in a relatively short period of time each year is amazing to me. I hope to find this guy again this fall to see what the finished product looks like.

Blonde with Blue Streaks

We trapped this 1.5 year old black bear that had been raiding dumpsters and garbage cans and didn't show any fear of humans. We caught him, painted him blue, hauled him to a new spot really far from any people, and let him go. We marked him with a temporary paint so could recognize him if he returns to civilization and starts causing problems again. It is too bad when young bears learn bad habits. I hope we don't ever see him again, but it was fun to get a peak up close. He is a real neat looking bear with pretty, almost blonde fur.

Tracks

I was working in neat and really remote place called Rathole Ridge the other day and found these tracks. The first two sets of pictures are of a black bear track, then a coyote track.

This one is way too big to be a coyote, at 4.5"-5" this is probably a wolf. I found these tracks a couple of winters ago in Northern Utah.

Food Glorious Food

My passion for the outdoors has few rivals, one of them being good food. I thought I would show some of the food that I have prepared, and some of the food that I love most. I hope you aren't on a diet.

This recent original creation was jokingly dubbed "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under ", but I might have to change the name because it makes Tristie think of a black Australian male stripper.


















I love pumpkin pie cake. You gotta try this, but keep your Tums handy.




















The Double Hunger Buster from a restaurant in St. Maries Idaho, contains four, 1/3 pound patties with cheese, bacon, and ham. What an awesome burger! I put it the whole thing down without hesitation.



You just can't beat fresh made European bread and queso manchego semi-curado. These are my favorite foods from Spain.
























Baked ziti made with generous amounts of fresh mozzarella, ricotta cheese, homemade Italian sausage meatballs, fresh basil, dash of red pepper flake, plenty of garlic, and lots of love. Inspired by Livia Soprano.























Western classic, dutch oven potatoes with bacon and extra cheese. The smaller foil-lined oven in the background is full of chocolate cherry cola cobbler.


















Good old Sunday dinner, roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, and rolls. Tristie is responsible for the vegetable looking stuff.


















Homemade venison tamales, these babies steamed up nicely.























Stuffed mushrooms with Italian sausage, cream cheese, onion, and garlic. Notice the copious amount of real melted butter in the bottom of the cast iron skillet.


















Grandma Nola taught me how to make her homemade rolls. Perfect with Thanksgiving dinner.


















My own Alfredo sauce variant that uses fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and pancheta. The next photo shows one of the many applications for this sauce.


















Another original recipe, chicken breast stuffed with Italian sausage, fresh spinach, and Romano cheese, rolled in seasoned flour, pan seared, then baked. Served with my sun-dried tomato, pancheta Alfredo sauce.



















I hope I made you all hungry. I take requests, so come out to Roosevelt to visit!

Two Pair, Jokers over Jakes

I had a wild week that involved seeing my Brother and Sis-in-Law Graduate, attending my cousin's baby blessing, visiting both my grandmothers in nursing homes, mowing both of my grandma M's lawns (one in Bountiful and one in Santa Clara), shooting chislers, scouting for and hunting turkeys, and a 6 hour drive home in a convertible. It was awesome! My Dad and I both got our birds within 5 minutes of each other in some really neat country right as it started to rain. What a wild week, I had a great time, and am glad to be home with my family again.

Redemption

So last week I found a really dinky set of elk sheds. Let's just say that I had a much better day this week. I found more elk sheds than I could carry. A heavy pack never felt so good. This shed was a pretty neat little 7 point.