Lifewater Ranch

Blooming Daffodils by the pool after an unexpected hail storm.

Idaho weather can be quite unpredictable, especially in the springtime.

This morning at 9AM it was sleeting with big fat snowflakes interspersed with rain.  By 2PM it was beautiful sunshine and by 3PM we had a short hail storm.

April can have the most beautiful flowers blooming and the fresh green grass coming back to life after a long winter’s sleep.

The great thing is… the hot tub is great in ANY weather!

Took these shots today on the way home from Kooskia.  Early spring is when the water flows… everywhere!  Babies are frequently seen as well.

I have started building a carport for the guest parking area at Lifewater Ranch.  We harvested and milled the wood on property and now it’s dry enough to use.  This is the first of several buildings I intend to create for the ranch.  A carport seemed a nice simple project to learn on.

Watcher keeps me company as I use the dried wood we harvested and milled from our own property.

Watcher, my renter’s dog, is keeping me company as I work.

Cutting and sanding supports that will be painted blue and used to hold the beams together.

Coating the beams with linseed oil so the beautiful cedar wood shows off nicely.

Posts placed, oiled and bases painted.

Put up top beams and end caps for cross members.

Added some of the supports for the cross members.

Supports ensure this “aint gonna fall”.

Added the rest of the inner supports and put up central section cross beams.

Added corners of extensions.

Put up the outer supports. Added guides for cross member supports and side beams.

Added supports for central section and removed guides.

All supports are done!

I will update this post as progress continues.

Eggs fresh cooked in coconut oil along with perfect french-fries

A few months ago a friend of mind suggested that I try deep-fried sweet potatoes.  He said they were good for you.  Well, I tried making both deep-fried yams and sweet potatoes – what a messy experiment!  They tasted good but were very soft.  The texture was not pleasing to me.  So I began to experiment with making true french-fries.  I love hash-browns in the morning and I have plenty of coconut oil so for the past month I have been experimenting with this and finally, after several messes, have gotten to the point where I can make french fries perfect with no mess – YAY!

So today I was making a nice batch of french-fries for breakfast and afterwards wondered how eggs would cook in oil instead of in water.

Well, I am here to report that they cook up quite well deep-fried in coconut oil!   The eggs hold together well and the yokes don’t easily harden.  The eggs also don’t stick to the pan.  They taste a little french-friesy but that makes sense cuz I just made french-fries with that same oil.

Probably not the best thing for you, but I thought coconut oil would be relatively good for me.  I now keep the oil in the fridge and have reused it several times, greatly reducing the cost of making such a lovely dish.

If you should decide to rent Lifewater Ranch in BnB style, I’d be glad to make some for you for breakfast.

Every spring we get in a few Canadian geese that love our pond in front of the house.  Each year we see one or more new families born and raised right in font of us.  Each year there are more than the previous year.  We have a record number of them this year.  Come visit in the April-May time-frame to see the babies born.  The families generally stay till August sometime.

A good friend gave me a huge Aloe Vera plant so I could take the sap out and use it for my health.  I decided to video how I did this and here it is for the world.  Not a big deal, simple to do, but just one more thing to benefit our guests and friends at Life Water Ranch!