Smudge

   Kids being the fun filled critters that they are, love to play outside in the evenings. But in the summer, the skeeters lay in wait for any blood filled animals that venture outside in the evenings.

   I remember a long time ago, we didn't have stuff like repellants. We used small smudge fires that smoked the area, chasing the mosquitoes away. Sure, we got a few bites, but all in all, we won the battle and played our hearts out.

   We'd build a small fire out of dry wood and then go and gather a large bunch of green grass. Then we'd cover the fire with grass and the clouds of smoke would cover the area. Then as the smoke faded, we'd play our hearts out. Being a kid was pretty nice sometimes.

   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

 You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.   

   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.
Good Reading,
Ron

Hmmmmmmm

   Here in Northern Minnesota, we have an abundance of hummingbirds. The other day I watched as five of them were sitting on a rope, looking like clothespins. It's unusual to see them getting along as they chase each other all day. Then last evening I was watching my feeder as four hummers were using the feeder. There were only four spots so as one finished dinner, he'd rotate to the left and then all would move in unison, getting a fresh "flower". Most interesting.        

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.   

   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.
Good Reading,
Ron

Black Bears

  Another of the dangers faced by early settlers to Minnesota's great Bigfork River Valley were the numerous black bears that roam the country. They are truly omnivores that will eat anything they can get near their mouth.
  I watched one last night as he tried to figure out how to make a meal out of my 18 pullets. The problem was that the chickens didn't recognize the huge bear as being a threat. In their mind, anything that comes near them is there to either give them food or water.
   By the time that I started yelling at him, he'd already opened a small container of barbecue dipping sauce and didn't really want to leave.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.
Good Reading,
Ron

Winter Fishing

   In the book "The River Calls" winter fishing was a regular part of life on the river.
There wasn't any of the modern tools, but still, they brought home the fish. A hole was chopped through the ice and the line was dropped through the hole.

   All that was required was the ability to keep from freezing to death. With temps of nearly -40, good mittens were a necessity. Sometimes they would build a nice fire on the ice, making it a lot more fun.

   In the middle of a Minnesota winter, the sun comes up at about eight in the morning and sets at about 4:30. That makes for some long nights. Families were always looking for fun things to do and fishing was at the top of the list.   

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.
Good Reading,
Ron

Northern Minnesota's Highways

   

Here in the north part of Minnesota, we put great value on our rivers. But when the first white men came to this area, the rivers were used as super highways. Any settlements were built on the banks of our rivers. Even the farmers, cleared land near the rivers.

   Rivers were a main artery that ran through this country. Trade goods were hauled up and down the rivers and passenger boats brought travelers here.

   Commerce was dependent upon the river system to bring goods to the far north. We had many steamboats coming and going on the rivers. 

   So when you read "The River Calls", pay attention to how important these rivers were.  

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Spring Thaw

   All winter, the lumberjacks cut and stacked the trees on nearby lakes. The problem was that there was nowhere to go with them.
   Then in the springtime, the lakes finally opened up and the logs floated free. The great rafts of logs made their way downstream to the big sawmills. Sometimes they would get hung up in the narrow gorges and then the dynamite crew would go into action.
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.
   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Pemmican

  

   With Minnesota winters being so hard to survive, native american tribes once made an "energy bar" of their own. They beat out all the other companies by several centuries.
   It consisted of animal fat, dried berries, grains and dried meats of many varieties. Now doesn't that sound appealing!
   But when you stop to think of all the things dieticians say we need for our daily healthy eating, there it is in one spot. All of the ingredients were mixed thoroughly and then put in deer hide sacks that held about two pounds.
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.
   Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron