Addendum to Antler Hunting 101

Remember our other post on how to antler hunt? I shared in that post that I found one five point elk antler but was unable to find the match. Well, we went back to the same area this week and I found the match!!!!

There was only a small chance of rain today so we decided to head back to the same area we antler hunted last weekend to further explore the area. We set out hiking up the south facing mountain slope. I headed towards the area above where I found the two antlers last weekend just in case I might find a match. 

My eyes were scouring the area around me and I was about to turn and head up the steep mountainside when our two dogs ran past me and started sniffing around about 15 feet ahead of me. They stopped and when I looked at them, the sunlight caught the two sun bleached bottom tines of the match to my 5 point elk antler I found last week!

Needless to say I was ecstatic. The spot I found the match today was about 30-40 yards from where I found the other elk antler last weekend even though last week I had looked around for the mate but was unsuccessful. What a joy to go back this weekend and find it, I feel so honored!

This antler also has a lot more squirrel damage and sun bleaching from lying on the south facing slope, but flip it over and you can see the original dark coloring of the antler and it shows little squirrel damage.

After hiking up the mountainside and around the bench at the top that was covered in a lot of deer and elk sign, we started heading out a ridge line to the west of where we were. I spotted a downed pine tree so went over for a closer inspection of the area.

About three feet from the downed tree, I found this little buck antler! 

It looked about the same length as the other small buck antler I found last week but felt a lot narrower so I was skeptical it was a match.

Once we got home we compared the two small buck antlers and decided they in fact were NOT a match, as you can see there is too much variation in the antler circumference. 

I can't wait until we go antler hunting again, likely in a different area next time and who knows what we will find next! 

Even with some squirrel damage, these antlers are making some wonderful "yard art" on our deck right outside the window where my serger sewing machine is so I can see them as I work on my creations!

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Foodie Friday: Black Bean & Yam Burritos

Black Bean and Yam Burritos are super tasty, healthy, low cost, quick and easy to prepare and make great leftovers!

Do you have a favorite meal you like to cook and find yourself making it at least once a month? That is what this recipe is in our family. This recipe has been a favorite of mine for a number of years. The original recipe was found in a cookbook about seven years ago and over the years as I have cooked it, it has morphed into a tasty meal that has only a hint of the original recipe.

Antler Hunting 101

Antler hunting is one of our favorite adventures every spring in Montana. We love scouring the forests in search of antlers dropped by deer and elk to add to our collection. This year was especially fun since it was our little nugget's first antler hunting adventure!

 As I scanned the forest around us, the aromatic scent of sagebrush filled the air. We had just come from exploring another area a few miles away and had found no antlers although I had been successful in that area in the past. We chose a new spot to explore a little more off the beaten path and were hopeful we might have a little more luck. 

Foodie Friday: Soy-Lime Marinated Salmon (plus an added bonus book review!)

This soy-lime marinated salmon recipe is our new favorite way to eat salmon! It is easy to make, healthy and so yummy!

Living in land-locked Montana, we don’t have easy access to fresh seafood so are very particular about the fish we consume. We either eat fish we catch (after checking the State fish consumption guidelines chart) or only fish caught in open waters in the US sold at the store, which these days is hard to find. Basically that means that every time I go to the Missoula Co-op, I buy a piece of salmon. 

I was getting tired of the same old salmon recipe and was searching for a new, tasty way to serve up salmon to my family. Around the same time, I bought the new La Leche League book Feed Yourself, Feed Your Family . I had high hopes for the book because I assumed it was a cookbook full of recipes to help expand the meals I cook for our family. 

Feelin’ Scrappy: How to turn fabric scraps into cloth napkins*

These easy, DIY scrap fabric cloth napkins are a great way to reduce the amount of paper your family uses and help you live a little more frugally!

Since I began sewing things to sell two months ago, I have been quickly accumulating a pile of fabric scraps. I have been pondering ways I could use them; the challenge has been that many of the pieces are too small to use for cloth baby wipes but they are too big to just throw away. I knew I needed to come up with an idea sooner rather than later because I was outgrowing my storage box and space is a premium in our little old house these days. This morning I finally had my “Ah ha!” moment. I could use them for cloth napkins!

Natural, Organic Eating on a Budget

I think we all can agree that eating organic foods can be more expensive than buying “regular” groceries. When I quit my good paying job two months ago to be primarily a Work At Home Mom, I knew that I would have to budget even more than I used to since I was hoping our family would be able to continue eating primarily wholesome, organic foods.

I am very conscious of the fact that the income I get now from selling things I make on Etsy is what feeds our family, whereas before I always had enough in my paycheck to easily pay for our groceries, take-out meals and my occasional impulse buys at the bakery down the street from where I worked (I have a serious sweet tooth!) 

Over the last few years I have figured out some ways to make eating natural, organic foods more affordable for our family. I wanted to share a few basic tips to help others be able to make eating organic more affordable and accessible.

Two Giveaways for Earth Week!

MontanaSolarCreations is hosting two giveaways this week for Earth Week! One giveaway is for an upcycled tshirt diaper and a giveaway for a reusable grocery tote. Check out our Facebook page for instructions on how to enter https://www.facebook.com/MontanaSolarCreations  The winners will be selected on Earth Day 4/22, good luck! 

 River scene market tote

 Upcycled Save the Rainforests tshirt diaper

Foodie Friday: Maple Glazed Parsnips

I will be honest and confess that until two days ago when we made Maple Glazed Parsnips I had never eaten a parsnip. Never.  We never ate parsnips growing up. I never heard of anyone eating parsnips as a kid. No one I knew growing up grew parsnips in their garden and even now I don’t know anyone who grows parsnips.  I don’t even think there were parsnips in the local grocery store where I grew up. 

The last few months every time I visited the Missoula Co-op, I looked curiously at the parsnips in their bin in the produce section but never bought them. I did not know what to do with them; they were so foreign to me. Then I decided that I would push myself to start cooking foods that were new to our family to broaden our palette. So last week when we were at the co-op, I bought a small bunch of parsnips.

Biking With Baby: Tips on selecting a bike trailer and helmet for your baby

Figuring out what type of bike trailer and bike helmet to buy for your baby is such an overwhelming experience as a new parent! Since we did a lot of research about the options, we're sharing some tips with you on how to select a bike trailer and helmet to help make your experience a little easier than it was for us!

Three days ago was the first time I rode my bike in a year and a half. It was exhilarating! Feeling the wind in my face, the burn in my legs as I pumped my pedals, my hands gripping tightly to my handlebar grips; I felt at one with my bike again and felt the natural high I get when riding my bike. 

Why had it been so long since I rode? Pregnancy and cold Montana weather! Last year by the time it warmed up enough to get my bike out, my baby bump had grown so large I wasn’t able to hoist my pregnant self onto my bike. If I could have, I don’t think I would’ve had the energy or stamina to go more than a block or two anyway! Because I love riding bike, I knew I needed to figure out how to incorporate our little nugget. The two pieces of gear needed: a bike trailer and baby bike helmet . Sounds simple right? Wrong! 

Metamorphosis

When our 5lb 9oz baby, our “little nugget”, was a mere six days old we took her into the woods for her first forest adventure. At the time the mountain behind our house was engulfed in a raging forest fire so we were cooped up in the house in the hot August heat going stir crazy. 

My husband and I were shell shocked, our little nugget having arrived three weeks early in a dramatically different way than the peaceful homebirth we had planned. I was traumatized and trying to recover physically and emotionally from a less than “routine” c-section, but we’ll save that story for another day and time! Our souls needed to connect with nature so we packed up our little nugget and the dogs and headed for the hills. 

Foodie Friday: The Co-op Special

Yesterday the little nugget and I ventured into our local co-op grocery, the Missoula Community Food Co-op. It was our first adventure with the little nugget sitting up in the front baby seat of the grocery cart and by the time we left she was starting to get a little antsy from being strapped in!

We came home, unloaded our goodies and an idea came to me for a yummy sandwich I could make for lunch. By that time it was early afternoon, I was starving and the little nugget was getting cranky so I quickly created what I like to call “The Co-op Special” since all five foods needed to make it were purchased from the local co-op.

Here is the ingredient list:

1. One Ciabatta roll from the local Le Petit Outre bakery (bread, other types of rolls or even a wrap could be used also)

2. A handful of organic baby spinach greens

3. Two slices of Applegate Naturals smoked turkey breast

4. A hunk of le delice-lincet cheese (or other soft spreadable cheese)

5. A handful of organic Que Pasa blue corn chips (a staple in our household!)

The how to: Slice the roll horizontally, spread one side with the soft le delice-lincet cheese, place a handful of baby spinach greens on top of the cheese, two slices of turkey breast on top and then top with the other half of your roll. I personally like to cut my sandwich in half which makes it easier and less messy for me to eat with one hand while I run around taking care of the little nugget. Add a side of the blue corn chips and your meal is complete. As I was making this sandwich I thought it would also be tasty to toast it, but at the time I skipped this step due to my need to eat before I started to have a meltdown like the little nugget was! 

This sandwich literally took me less than five minutes to make and cost wise less than a few dollars total for the portion of the ingredients that I used. Of course the most important part is it was quite tasty and healthy to boot!



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What's this blog about?

The intention of this blog is to share about our humble attempt at living a healthy, sustainable, naturalist lifestyle. I say humble attempt because we are far from perfect and our current attempts are much more basic than my standard for sustainable living when I was an ambitious college student ten years ago!

Our lives dramatically changed when we became first time parents in August 2011 so we know what it is like to try to manage life with a new baby- there are days where if we get a shower or a decent meal we feel like we’ve accomplished something! I plan to share tips of easy ways we have continued to incorporate sustainable living in our hectic new-parent lives so others can see it can be done one small step at a time!