Walnut Grove, Minnesota

Many of you may remember the TV series "Little House On The Prairie" starring Michael Landon. Two weeks ago we went camping along Plum Creek South of Walnut Grove, the area where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived as a young girl.

Years after living near Walnut Grove, Laura wrote a book about her life near Walnut Grove, referencing Plum Creek.


Before Pa Ingalls built their humble cabin, the family lived in a ten by ten foot sod hut built into the hillside on Plum Creek.

The family lived near walnut Grove for about two years before grasshoppers ruined their crops and forced them to leave the area.
The Ingalls family made a number of moves to different parts of the Midwest...doing everything from farming to managing hotels.


If you are ever in Southwest Minnesota, it would be well worth your time to visit the area. Each July they hold the Wilder Pageant that draws upwards of 10,000 people.
Great Link To Historical Info

Raccoon Invasion

Every day that passes, we get closer to re-naming Coyote Ridge to Raccoon Ridge.
Every night we hear coyotes serenading us, but they remain rather illusive when it comes to getting caught on the trail camera.
Every night we get about a dozen pictures of coons milling about. The camera did catch one of the masked bandits foraging about during daylight hours.
As always, feel free to click on the picture for a larger image.

I am beginning to wonder where all the deer are. last year we had deer wander into the camera zone most every night. Maybe the cougar has been working overtime thinning the herd?
Stay tuned!

Bag Toss for the Red Cross

Last Saturday was a great day for the South Central MN Chapter of the American Red Cross.
We held our 2nd annual event had had 55 teams registered.
Winners, and those who won door prizes, walked away with $2,000.00 in parting gifts.
As promised earlier, I have a few pictures for you.








This fundraising event was possible because of our great volunteers, corporate sponsors and the players!

I Hope You See The Humor-Gotta Love The South

Tennessee


The owner of a golf course was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help. He called her into his office and said, 'You graduated from the University of Tennessee, and I need some help. If I were to give you $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?'
The secretary thought a moment, and then replied, 'Everything but my earrings.'

Alabama



A group of Alabama friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. 'Where's Henry?' the others asked.
'Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail,' the successful hunter replied.
'You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?' they inquired.
'A tough call,' nodded the hunter. 'But I figured no one is going to steal Henry!'

Texas

The Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, 'Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head'. 'Yep', he replied. 'That's why I dumpin it here, cause it says 'Fine For Dumping Garbage'.

Louisiana

A senior at LSU was overheard saying... 'When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Louisiana.' When asked why, he replied he'd rather be in Louisiana because everything happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the civilized world.

Mississippi

The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, 'Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup
truck from the parking lot!'
Bubba replied, 'Did you see who it was?'
The young man answered, 'I couldn't tell, but I got his license number.'

Georgia

A Georgia State trooper pulled over a pickup on I- 75. The trooper asked, 'Got any I.D.?'
The driver replied, 'Bout whut?'

North Carolina

A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it.
Then he got back in the car to wait. A passerby studied the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was....
The man replied, 'I have a flat tire.'
The passerby asked, 'But what's with the flowers?'
The man responded, 'When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. Hey, it don't make no sense to me neither.'

Success!

We had a tremendously successful Bag Toss for the Red Cross this past Saturday. We had 55 teams participating for $2,000.00 worth of prizes. From the comments at the event, everyone had a great time with wonderful food, weather, music, prizes and competition.
Hopefully I will get some of the pictures edited and posted.
The trail camera here at coyote Ridge has been busy snapping lots of pictures every night. You guessed it, more raccoons!


We must be patient.....sooner or later a dog (coyote) or a cat (cougar) will pass through.

Busy and more Busy

Last weekend we hooked up the camper and traveled to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. You may recognize that name from the TV show, Little House On The Prairie. Soon I will have some pictures.
I have spent the majority of this week getting ready for the Second Annual Bag Toss for the Red Cross event scheduled for this Saturday.
We should have 64 teams competing for more than $2,000.00 in prizes.
The weather is looking good so everyone should enjoy great music, food and games.....all for the support of our local American Red Cross.

A Few Pictures From The Trail Camera

I have been hoping for some pictures of a cougar or at least some coyotes on the trail camera here at Coyote Ridge.
I think we may have to rename it "Coon Ridge" because of all the raccoons showing up on the camera.
Every night the masked bandits have been running wild.


Not to be outdone, a pesky squirrel raced in front of the camera.

I must be patient, I know the critters are out there just waiting for their fifteen minutes of fame.

Important Information...Very Important!

I published this last year, but I think it is worth reviewing because of it's extreme importance.

BBQ RULES
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh
your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging
beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone
where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can
take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great.
He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND
HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils,
napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

Cougar Ridge Instead Of Coyote Ridge?

Some weird stuff here at Coyote Ridge of late.
Here is the story....The other night we were letting the dogs out one last time for the night. As usual, we shined the big spotlight around the property to check for monsters.
All of a sudden we spotted these bright gold eyes looking back at us. The animal then looked like it jumped and we lost sight of it.
The next morning Sue looked out the kitchen window and spotted a full size cougar standing in the back yard near the tree line. By the time she grabbed the camera it was gone.
I called the DNR and they said at this point they could not do anything about the cougar.
I just received our trail camera back from the repair facility Friday and had not set it back out yet. If I had had the camera in it's normal hiding place, we would have caught the big cat on "digital film".
The camera is now in it's place and working fine as you can see in this picture of me caught in the headlights.

Not that I am paranoid, but you can see my trusty 9mm holstered on my hip....just in case the 150 pound cat decides to attack!

Please do stay tuned because I think some really cool pictures are about to be created here at Coyote Ridge.