Camping at Nutimik Lake

Our campsite

A yurt at the campground

Boat dock on Nutimik Lake

Nutimik Lake

A rock jut onto the lake

This one’s for Naomi :)

Dinner pouch over campfire

Individual dinner pouch

Nectarine with yogurt

Sweet potatoes with butter and dill

We went camping at Nutimik Lake in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Nutimik is the Cree word for “up the river”. Here’s some pictures of our campsite and of the area.  It rained the first 2 days so we spent a lot of time inside the camper, but that was okay, it was very relaxing.  We got some sunshine too.  We took those walks I talked about. 

I saw a wide range of wildlife: a deer, a rabbit, chipmunks, crows, a crane, a flock of black birds, a bald eagle, chickadees, and some other songbirds I don’t know (lol). I was hoping to see a black bear (from afar) but didn’t.

Cooking over an open fire was a lot of fun!  I tried individual dinner pouches.  I greased tinfoil with coconut oil and placed on them: cubed potatoes, green beans (from the garden), chopped onion, green pepper, carrots, sausage, salt and pepper.  I folded the tinfoil over and sealed it, then cooked it for about 30 minutes on the campfire, turning 2 or 3 times.  They turned out very good!  I cooked a similar dinner the next night too.

For breakfast we had nectarines and plums with yogurt.

Another favorite is baked sweet potatoes. I wrapped them with foil and baked over hot coals for about 20 minutes then served them with melted butter and dill.  So good!

It was a very relaxing few days away.  But I’m glad to be home even though it will take a few days to get caught up.  The animals are doing well.  I can see I have a ton of green beans to pick and at least one cabbage is ready.

This post is part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS

Getting away

We’re loading up the minivan, hitching up the camper and going on vacation!!  The animals will be taken care of by our 2 oldest boys, so no worries.  We’ve been so busy around the farm this summer that I’m SO looking forward to getting away and just putting my feet up.  Just picture me in my lawn chair sitting by a campfire, cold drink in the cup holder, spitz in hand and nothing but the sound of the woods, and the smell of smoke.  We’ll take quiet walks, do some reading, maybe do a little fishing.  Just relax!

What’s your favorite way to get away?

Countdown to holidays

Hubby starts 2 weeks of holidays this weekend!  I wrote the top part of the note on the chalkboard and hubby wrote the bottom.  I change the number each morning for him.  We are planning to leave to go camping around the middle of next week.  Not sure how long we’re going for but not more than a week.  I’m excited and have waited a long time! There is so much I need to do to get ready!  The biggest job, that I’ve been concentrating on for the past week is processing my chickens.  Besides the fact that they are big enough, I want to free up the chicken coop to put the turkeys in there.  I prefer to have them safe and sound while we are away!  No worrying about coyote visits.  It’s hard to go on vacation when you have animals.  There was a lot of years, when the kids were small that we didn’t go anywhere.  Now we can go because the two older boys are working and are home to take care of the animals for me.  That is until they are all grown and gone.

The garden should be okay for a week.  I’ll have to pick beans before we leave but nothing else is ready yet.

I have to plan a menu and make a grocery list.  Choosing healthy foods that travel well and are easy to prepare is really hard to do!  I’d love your suggestions.  The camper has a fridge but space is very limited.

The camper itself needs to be cleaned up and packed.  Though it is already outfitted pretty well, I need to make sure we’ve got everything.  Can’t forget the bug spray.  The mosquitoes in Manitoba could carry a small child away and make camping utterly miserable.

Hubby has been working on the barn, making improvements (more on that later). I know he’d like to get to a certain point in that project before we leave.  Going on vacation with projects finished will make for a much more relaxing trip.

Winter is back.

Remember how we were trenching last weekend? By Tuesday the snow was more than half gone and it really felt like spring. On Wednesday winter returned. We had 2 days of blizzard!  We are completely white again and it’s a cool -8C today.  But as you can tell, the sun is bright. The snow is melting on the roofs and dripping off.  Oh, how I long for the warm summer days of camping!  My favorite, cherished little camper sits and waits.  I see it every morning when I lift the window blind in the bedroom.  Soon, dear camper, soon!