Olaf, The Father, American Eskimos

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We got Olaf from Spirit River Alberta in fall 2014. We picked him because of his calm and relaxed personality, though at so young it's really still hard to know but we did our best and he has been perfect since Elsie is a bit more dominant. Olaf is a bit timid but he comes around when he's introduced to knew things properly.

Olaf is a great garden companion and he sits there with me while I work, and enjoys a truck ride back to the yard.

Elsie the American Eskimo

This year, spring 2016. Elsie had 5 puppies, 2 females and 3 males. This is her second litter. We got Elsie early spring 2013. Elsie is a determined little Eskimo and can be dominant. She needs  consistent exersise and direction by the pack leaders to keep her balanced and happy. 

Golden Retreiver litter 2016, Clover and Russle's litter

Seed starting

I like to do my first wave of planting seeds in late February, lots of light and a warm area for germinating are the basic needs, along with some soil and something that serves as pots and a few seeds and your off to a good start.

  I use a good potting soil with vermacilite in it, or I add it, vermacilite is a little white particle that adds air to your soil, lightens it up so the soil dosent compact. I add about 2 cups for a 3 gal bucket of soil.

  For pots I use anything that works that the water can drain out the bottom. Used milk cartons with slits cut in the bottom work great. Recycling old pots. I save all those greenhouse plant pots. I stay away from anything rusty or that had chemicals .  Remember warmth is only needed when you germinate the seeds, misting the soil or lightly water till germination occurs. Then move to a window with lots of light, and preferably below room temperature. Turn plants regularly for straight growth. Put outside when weather  permits. Up here in the north I put plants out on the sunny south deck even in early March when the snow is still deep on the ground. Providing you have heat units and lots of sun this is possible. But you wouldn't want to forget them there.

Finished Diluted soap for shampoo

This is 1 pound of soap paste I just made dissolved in 2 pounds of water, it is gently heated till all paste is dissolved , it should sit to clear up a bit.in a week it will be ready to use for shampoo or just liquid hand washing soap. 

Finished soap paste

After the cooking time the soap mixture will go from a solid opaque color to a translucent color. During the process the soap will become less sticky and more clear till looking through a piece of paste will be a reminder of an agate type rock. The soap is no longer caustic and you can handle with your hands

The liquid soap process

I set up a double boiler with 2 pots in a ventilated area, my fats are in the pot heating up to 160 f. And the lye mixture needs to be at 140 f. Once this is achieved I pour the lye mixture in a slow steady stream into the fats. Then I use my old mixer and beat till it becomes like a saltwater taffy consistency, this can take anywhere from 20 min to an hour. Patience here is very important .when this step has been completed it must now boil gently for 3 hours stirring every 1/2 hour or so until a translucent color has been reached.