Neighborhood Bully

     Well, the neighborhood bully paid a visit to our little place in the woods last night. The bird feeder is in a shambles and the fence around the chickens looks a little worse for wear. Bears do whatever they want, whenever they want.

   WWBD. Yes that's the main question. What would a bear do. If you were a bear strolling through the woods and you smelled a big juicy cheeseburger, you'd do whatever you could to get it. That's the way bears are about bird feeders. There are no limits on them.
   After having this one uprooted so many times, I just gave up. I put a big ball of concrete on the bottom so that when they tip it over, I can just go outside and stand it up again. The important part is to wait until the bear leaves.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently.    
   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

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Wild Rice

   As you paddle down the Big White Oak today, you see that the wild rice is starting to lift its head. For the first part of summer, it lies on top of the water. But as it starts to make seed, it lifts up from the water and stands three to four feet high.

   Then as the rice heads develop, the heavy kernels turn a beautiful tan color. This is what the local ricers call "Milk Stage". If you take a head of rice and squeeze it, you'll see that what comes out looks like milk.

   Then as the rice starts to dry, it's ready for harvest. The time for harvest isn't very long.

   The local Anishinaabe families harvested many pounds of rice to use for the winter food supply. What they had left over, they sold to Rice Buyers. The extra money helped too with school supplies for the kids and maybe a new pair of jeans.

   In the 1960's the white man figured out by accident how to plant and harvest wild rice and the price of hand picked rice tumbled. The Anishinaabe felt that the white man had won again.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently.    
   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

Cover Design and formatting by Covers Are Us

Storms of Summer

  The storms of summer are here. All over Northern Minnesota, you can hear the grumbling of thunder in the distance. Usually you have no trouble reading a book at noon. But today it's so dark, you'd need an oil lamp to see.
   The humidity is nearly 80% and as soon as the rain starts, the humidity will drop significantly. I had considered jumping in the river for a while, but it wouldn't get me any wetter.
   Sometimes we get hail storms that take our gardens and pound them into the ground. All those lovely tomatoes are quickly turned into tomato sauce. So sad.
   But take heart fellow gardeners, soon it will be winter.
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently.    
   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

Cover Design and formatting by Covers Are Us

Betas

  
   Betas or Siamese fighting fish have to be one of the most interesting things in Southeast Asia. They are pugnacious and beautiful at the same time. Owners of these beauties are known to put mirrors next to the aquarium just to see them puff and posture.
   But the true beauty of the Siamese fighting fish is their mating.
   As the smaller and dull colored female becomes ready for mating, the male approaches and rubs his body on hers. Then if he isn't chased off, he wraps his body around hers and squeezes the eggs out of her and fertilizes them. Then as the fertilized eggs fall to the bottom, he picks them up in his mouth one at a time. He takes each egg to the surface and blows a bubble around it. The resulting floating nest is cared for by the male until they hatch in a few days.
   If you want a lesson in the beauty of nature, buy a pair of Betas.

 You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently. 

   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

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Colorado

   In "Brothers by Fire" we have a chapter on elk hunting in Colorado. If you've never given it a try, that's a good way to get rid of all your extra money. It's become a sport that's only for the rich. It's nothing to spend $5,000 on a three day hunt and that's just for the guide. By the time you're back home with your feet near the fire, you will have spent almost $10,000 and might not have even heard an elk.

   In the book, Gray Wolf takes a trip high in the mountains and has a hunt that changes his life. In reality, any elk trip will change your life. They have a successful hunt and get caught in a Colorado blizzard.

   It's a great story you will enjoy from cover to cover.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently. 

   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ro
n

South Dakota Ranches

   In the book "Brothers by Fire" we speak about the ranches in South Dakota and of their massive size. We think of the huge acreage on these ranches and the large herds of cattle.

   Being a rancher is a lot like being a professional gambler. Every time they get a little too much rain they lose many thousands of dollars. When it snows way too much as it usually does, they lose thousands.

   When the price of beef on some foreign market goes down, the South Dakota rancher loses thousands.

   As you can see they walk a fine line between making a profit and losing the ranch. 

   One day I was talking to a rancher who had over two thousand head of Herefords. At first glance you saw a confident man willing to gamble. 

   I asked him what he'd do if he won the big lottery.

   "Oh, I'd probably keep farming until it's gone." he said.

   I guess that tells the whole story.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently. 

   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

MASH units

   In my book "Brothers by Fire" I mention the MASH units from Vietnam. With all the injuries seen in that war, many were treated in MASH units. The dedication of all the doctors, nurses and corpsmen brought many home who would not have made it otherwise.

   The corpsmen were affectionately called "Doc". As the injured started to heal, they took note of how much these corpsmen did for them. One such corpsmen told a whole ward of injured that they could go back to the world if their temps were down to normal. One held the thermometer up to a match as a joke. His temp was up to the maximum on the scale. He looked at the thermometer and told the patient he'd have to wait for a different flight.

   "It's just a joke Doc. I held it up to a match."

    He just smiled and said "Maybe next week?

    He was allowed to get on the plane, but there was a while when he figured he'd never see home again.

  You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book, "Brothers by Fire" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated frequently. 

   Stop in once in a while. I'll try to write something new and informative about "Brothers by Fire".   

Good Reading,
Ron

Cover Design and formatting by Covers Are U
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