Made in America Christmas


We did not set out to have a totally Made in America Christmas, so it's not surprising we did not achieve it 100%, but we did come pretty darn close.

A smattering of Made in USA gifts

The picture above is some of the gifts from under our tree, all Made in America. Some of the items we bought for each other but many were given to us by family and friends.  Some are homemade, some were found at a craft fair, and some were bought at major retailers. Some were chosen because they were locally made and some were bought without any thought given to where they came from. To be honest, I didn't know how much was actually Made in America until I had the idea for this blog post and we started checking. Once we were looking we were totally surprised by the variety of goods there were.  Gift cards to local restaurants and stores, books, CD's and magazines. Soap, hand lotion, nail polish, jewelry and wool socks. Even a Tee shirt and Zumba set all Made in America. That's not counting the way cool Montana Wild Designs sign our friends made for Whitney, and the homemade goodies my sister sent.  Oh, and the baby shoes? No, we're not expecting, Whitney just couldn't resist the handmade in Montana, Honey Bee baby booties when she saw them "for our someday kids".
The point is without trying very hard we had a near completely Made in America Christmas, and in the process proved to ourselves it can be done and it's easier than you'd think. Thanks very much to our friends and family who made or purchased Made in America gifts for us this year and thanks to you all out there if you did for your family. Maybe 100% next year?
KJ

All I Want For Christmas

I don’t like to talk about politics. So instead, I’ll just tell you what I want for Christmas.


All I want for Christmas is for people to get along and work together to make our nation and world a better place. I want to see a resolution to the current financial debate in which everybody takes part and pulls their weight. I want to see the American public wake up and stop buying Made in China (Taiwan, Pakistan…) because it’s cheaper. I want to see development of domestic goods so we have good Made in America options. I want to see our country produce what we consume so that we can stop fighting wars over foreign oil interests, and get out of debt to foreign countries. I want it to be easier and cheaper to buy produce from across town than across the globe.

I want an end to political bickering and to see our country’s leaders get along, like you would expect school kids to do. I want to know that despite our ideological or religious differences we can all work together for the common good. I want to see people take responsibility for their actions and quit blaming each other, or the government for their problems. I want to see people admit when they are wrong, and get recognized when they are right.

I want a country where I am free to own the guns of my choice without threat of persecution, but where people who have no business having weapons cannot get them. I want to see people get help when it’s needed so that no person feels forced to violence as a last resort. I want to stop hearing about shootings and stabbings every day. I want to see people set aside their pride and prejudices and recognize when they or a loved one really does need help. I want to see able bodied people working and contributing to society, and meaningful and effective help for the ones that need it.

I want to see honesty and truth prevail. I want to see justice and decency. I want an end to hypocrisy. I want to see cooperation among people, no matter their walk of life. I want people to see that we are in this together. I want us all to be the change we want to see.

Am I asking for too much? Maybe, but its Christmas after all and it never hurt to ask.
KJ





Winter in the Thompson River State Forest

  

Make mine a real tree

When it comes to Christmas trees, for me it's got to be the real thing. It may be because I was raised on a Christmas tree farm, in a family of tree farmers. It may be because I'm a Forester and have devoted my education and career to the growing, maintaining and harvesting of trees. Maybe it's because I've never had anything else. I'm not sure, but I do know that somehow it just wouldn't be right without a real tree in our house at Christmas time.


Searching for the right tree.

It all starts with my favorite part, Christmas tree hunting. For me this is a great day in the woods with Whitney and the dogs, and by now it's a family tradition. With hot cocoa in thermoses, we head out to one spot after another that we've thought would have good prospects, we spot trees, we shake snow from their branches, we compare their qualities and finally sooner or later the perfect tree jumps out at us. Or at least that's what is supposed to happen but like hunting most things, usually that's not exactly the way it goes.

In years past, we've chosen trees by headlights and flashlights because it got dark before we found the right tree. One time several years ago, we wound up having two trees because we picked one for Whit's house in Missoula and one for my place in Plains and then kept them both when we celebrated the holiday together. One year we helped Whitney's parents pick a tree that traveled clear back to Oregon with them. A couple times we've even gotten trees where it wasn't exactly legal (don't tell). And this year our tree was enjoyed by two different Christmas parties before coming home to our house. The point is choosing the right tree is often as much fun as having the tree in the first place, and no two years are exactly alike just as no two trees are exactly alike.

After the tree is chosen, it's time to cut and trim the tree, load and haul the tree and finally get it into the house and set up in the stand. All this even before it gets decorated! I guess from that perspective it's no wonder some people choose imitation trees. But if you're like me, and you're into the tradition of choosing a tree to bring into your home to be decorated and celebrated during the Christmas season, the time involved in the process is all part of the joy of the season. Yes, I really do turn on Christmas music and pour a glass of eggnog while decorating the tree (I'm that kind of dork)!

Our 2012 Christmas Tree

Yes, a tree must die in order to come into the house and become a Christmas tree. But in it's place there will grow a new tree because that is perphaps the tree's best and most important quality. They regenerate! Everyday, year in and year out trees are seeding, sprouting, and growing. That is one trick a fake tree will never be able to do.
So if your reading this and you have a fake tree in your home, then by all means enjoy it. But for the rest of you go out and get a real tree. Support tree farmers or your public lands by purchasing a permit to harvest a tree. And this year, while you're celebrating Christmas, celebrate also our greatest renewable national resource. Our trees.
KJ

Long winter nights

This time of year in NW Montana, the night lasts longer than the day. A depressing thought at first when you consider all that darkness: a lot of non Montanans ask me "What do you do in the winter"? I usually don't know how to answer that question because the amazing thing to me is how wonderful winter nights are. Don't get me wrong, the seemingly endless days of summer are absolutely wonderful, but there is something special about winter nights. After the hustle of spring, the break neck pace of summer, and the countless To Do's of fall, the down time of winter is a welcome respite. To me there are few things more comforting after a day out in the cold and weather, than coming home to a fire in the stove, enjoying a hot dinner and relaxing with a book or a movie under a blanket on the couch.
But there is something more to it than simply relaxing by the fire. There is a sense of rightness about hunkering down in the winter. Outside in the hills, the bears are hibernating in their dens, the rodents are snug with their food stores in their holes, and the birds have flown south seeking warmer weather. The mountains are very quiet and still this time of year, blanketed by a protective layer of snow. In the yard, the garden is long done (save for the carrots that continue to grow under a thick layer of mulch). The honey bees are snug in their clusters, eating honey and keeping the queen warm. The hens are roosted close on the perch, fluffing their down and tucking in their feet to keep warm. It seems only natural that as things slow down outside, we ought to slow down too.
Winter is a time to look back, take stock and plan for next year. A time to reflect on what went well and what could have gone better.  It's a time to enjoy the fruits of your labors, breaking out whatever jams and preserves you've put up in the summer and fall, and being thankful for the all the effort you put into cutting and splitting firewood. It's a time for reading and learning from others, sharing stories and catching up on little things put off when the days were too nice to be inside.
Maybe one of the best things about winter is planning all the things you'll do when it's nice out, but knowing you don't have to do any of them right now.
KJ

Keeping the Bees Warm and Dry

This fall I had been reading about Moisture Quilts on Honeybeesuite.com and liked the idea but wanted to make a few changes. The idea is to provide insulation and ventilation to the bees and also absorb the moisture that is produced by the bee cluster. I think one of my colonies died last year due to lack of ventilation, as the moisture condensed and dripped down on the cluster.  Also, in addition to providing ventilation, insulation and moisture control, I wanted to build in a space for feeding the bees, not included in the original moisture quilt. Usually the top covers of the hive fit down close to the top of the honeycomb frames, leaving only enough room for a bee to walk across the top of the frames. This is about 3/8 of an inch and is referred to as "bee space". In the summer, if there is anymore than bee space between anything in the hive, the bees fill it with comb. So as a result there is no room to feed unless you add an empty box for that purpose. Lastly, I wanted to use wire screen to hold the wood shavings insulation, rather than burlap like they used originally.
So, one day this fall I set out to build some boxes that would meet these needs, this is what I came up with.


Construction Phase 1

First off, I cut some pine 1x6's to length and drilled 3/4" holes in two sides for vents. Next I glued and nailed the boards together to make three boxes. Then I cut 1/4" wire screen to fit inside the boxes and stapled it in place. I positioned the screen in each box so that it was about three inches down from the top, and also made sure the folded edges of the screen covered the holes just to make sure no unwanted hive guests moved in. Finally I painted the boxes and left them to dry.

Construction Phase 2

The next day, I placed the boxes on the hives. Things were looking good. The portion of the box above the screen would hold pine shavings for insulation and moisture control, the portion below the screen would be for feeding, and the holes would provide the venting. I started to load up the first box with pine shavings, but soon saw that fine pieces of the shavings were going to filter down onto the bees. I guess 1/4" screen was a little too coarse. I didn't like that, so I cut a couple old T shirts in to sheets and placed the cotton sheets on top of the wire. This should allow the moisture to travel up to the top of the hive and condense and then drip down on to the shavings, and not the bees.



Modified Moisture Quilt in place.

Here is the modified moisture quilt in place. When I last checked the bees, all three colonies were looking good. They had plenty of honey to eat and were clustered nicely. As we head into December, I'll check them again and see if I need to feed to help them through the hard times. As spring approaches, I'll feed protein to help the colony get a jump on the brood rearing and building up the population for the bloom.   Speaking of honey, how is your honey store? We still have a few jars left of our Johnson's Garden Honey available. They make great gifts for anyone interested in local, homegrown goods and health foods. Shoot me a note at KyleJohnsonMontana@hotmail.com or comment on this post if your interested. Remember, honey is non-perishable and easily shipped!
That's all for now, thanks for reading.
KJ

Hunting Meat

Every now and again as a hunter you have to ask yourself: What am I really hunting for?
For me that question entered my mind one evening this week when a young, fork horned white-tailed buck stepped out in front of me and paused. I was sitting on a rise, watching a stand of dense brush and timber that bordered a grassy meadow. The meadow was crisscrossed with deer trails and the ground littered with deer droppings. I had already seen two does, and as the whitetail are coming into rut now, I knew chances were good there would be a buck in the neighborhood.
It was almost my last opportunity to hunt for the season and as I sat there wondering if I was going to fill my tag, my mind was replaying scenes from earlier in the hunting season: I kept seeing the bucks I'd let go.
There was the 4 point mule deer buck that I saw on the first morning of the season. "Beautiful buck" I had thought, "but too early to tag out now". Then there was the nice pair of white-tails we saw while retrieving Whitney's buck. I had stood there in the rain with my cross hairs on the larger of the pair. "No, one buck is enough to deal with today" I had thought to myself. Next there was another nice muley that I saw on a ridge after riding my mare seven miles behind a gate. The muley was a nice tall fork or maybe three point, but "not big enough for this far back" I had thought. And lastly there was  the big white-tail I had seen, the one that I really wanted. I had gotten up extra early that day and driven an hour and a half to get to the gate I wanted to hunt behind. I hiked for two hours to get to the spot I wanted to hunt even though it was 15 degrees when I left the truck. I spent all morning working slowly through the bowl with no luck, and finally stopped for lunch. It was still only about 20 degrees out with a stiff wind and it didn't take long for me to get cold sitting down. I decided to hike up the ridge to warm up and see if there was anything up there. I took about a dozen slow stiff steps and then looked up. The buck rose out of his bed like a bird flushing out of the grass. As he lept I had time to watch him turn broadside before landing and taking one more leap. That was all I saw, but it was enough. He had a wide, tall rack: a big 4 point at least maybe 5. A big body, mature white-tail buck, one that any hunter would be proud of. I had only seen him for about a half a second, but I spent the next two full days searching for him. At the end of that second day I had hiked over ten miles and still only had the one glimpse of the buck. I decided to try a new place, but that buck still haunted me.
So now here I was, on my last hunting day with evening drawing near watching the does graze. The question entered my mind: Are you hunting for meat or a nice rack? This time I was hunting meat. Having eaten nearly all the venison in our freezer it was time for me to fill my tag. And as I sat there looking back on another great hunting season, the young white-tail stepped out of the timber and paused. I raised my rifle, steadied the cross hairs behind the shoulder, exhaled and squeezed the trigger.
To my dismay, the buck did not lay down in his tracks as is always my goal. My shot must have gone wide because instead, this one spun and ran back into the brush. I stood there watching sadly while night came on dark and fast. After marking the last spot I saw him with my orange hat, I walked back to the truck to get another flashlight and call for back up. I felt terrible, I've never lost a wounded deer yet, and I sure didn't want to now. Whitney came out and we spent the next two hours of the pitch black night searching in the thick brush with flashlights and head lamps. We finally, and thankfully located the dead buck, but not without some real doubts. After I thanked the buck for his sacrifice, I dressed and cleaned him, and as I dragged him back to the truck I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I had filled my tag and we had recovered the buck and that's what really mattered. It didn't matter that this buck was only a fork, because after all you can't eat the antlers and I know the big bucks are still out there. Somewhere.

KJ  

Images of hunting season

One night last weekend I was driving home after an exhausting day hunting with no game to show for my efforts when a thought came to me. Isn't it strange that the only images of hunting that we share and celebrate are ones that show a happy hunter posing with a harvested animal? While this is of course a pinnacle moment, it tells nothing of the work and dedication it took to get to that point, or the work that remains to be done after the shot. This is only one moment in a wide range of images that actually make a hunting season, and could be part of why non-hunters don't understand why we hunters feel so strongly about hunting.
If you were to actually show images of my typical hunting season, there would be many many pictures with no game at all. Pictures of cold dark mornings, long silent walks, trees bending in whistling winds and red numb fingers. Photos showing entire days with no words spoken, where no animals are seen and long drives home with nothing to show for the effort.


Whitney preps garden produce and venison for hunting camp stew.

But there would be more than that. There would be pictures of friends around a campfire, corn bread from a dutch oven, and smoke curling from the chimney above a wall tent. There would be pictures of golden larch needles, white snow flakes, and red huckleberry leaves. There would be pictures of vistas and mountains, streams and rivers. Elk tracks in the snow, fresh droppings and a recent bedding spot. Wolf tracks the size of desert plates, and lion tracks on top of your own tracks made only hours before.
But there has to be more than pictures, you have to convey the sensations too. Not only of the frozen fingers and tired legs, but of the sudden spike in the heart rate when you catch a glimpse of something. The disappointment that comes after a long silent walk when out of nowhere a doe stands up and just like that, effectively warns the entire mountain side of your coming. Of your heart pounding in your ears when a buck spots you and gives you that one second stare before bounding away. The wet sheep smell of your wool pants after hiking all day. The sensation of being soaked in sweat from dragging an animal out even when it's so cold the water in your backpack has frozen. And of finally, finally having made it back to the truck well after dark with the narrow beam of your headlamp guiding the way after trying not to think about all the hungry carnivores that have been watching and smelling you go by.
I guess the thing is that there is way too much about a hunting season to try and share all of it, so we just boil down to the one moment of success. The one moment that proves it was all worthwhile. But success without effort is fleeting. For me the hunts that were the hardest are the stories best recalled, and somehow the meat tastes a little better when there is a good story to go with it.
So for any non-hunters that may be reading this, and especially ones that don't appreciate seeing pictures of dead animals and grinning hunters, just remember your only seeing part of the picture.


KJ