We’re still snowed in.

Well, we were until a few hours ago when mon mari managed to get a good run at the hill and make it up. 

Our neighbor had done a bit of shoveling and another car had gone by with chains on…

After mon mari made it to the top of the hill, our neighbor tried…. And failed.

Mon mari figures driving in Minnesota winters for more years than he cares to remember gave him an edge.

Our neighbor had to put chains on. (I think he was out of wine.)

In other news…..

Guapa had her first big dog walk yesterday.  We went with my neighbor and her mature, well-behaved dog for a long walk in the snow.  We walked on the roads, of course, none of them being plowed.

Guapa was a good girl.

She chased the deer but came back when called (because the other dog did).

She didn’t chase the chickens (because I saw them first and put her leash on).

She stayed reasonably near to me (because I had a pocket full of treats).

All in all we were most pleased.  It gives me hope.

Of course, that doesn’t mitigate the fact that she and Bonnie realized they could jump the fence.  I rather believe that once that ability is discovered it won’t soon be forgotten.

It happened Monday morning. 

I normally let them out, into the fenced front area, before I get dressed.  It lets them work off a bit of energy before our walk. 

I went back upstairs, glanced out the window and saw them on the other side of the road chasing bunnies.

One does not put on 15 layers of clothes (it was -9C) quickly…. 

I got dressed, ran downstairs and outside.  Bonnie, of course was nowhere to be seen.  Guapa, sensing treats, came running after the third or fourth call. (It was also breakfast.)

I grabbed Guapa, and put her in the house.  When I went back out Bonnie was at the gate.

No big deal, no trauma, no chasing…. We went for our walk and all was fine.

But…..

Now they know they can jump the fence.

If I hadn’t seen them right away who knows where they might (or might not) have gone.

I have a plan for extending the fence upwards a bit…. Just temporarily, as we’re planning on replacing it next summer.

But….

It’s very, very cold.  The ground is frozen.  I can’t do anything at the moment.

Couldn’t they have waited another few weeks?  Until it was warm enough for me to fix it?

I used to put them outside to give myself a few minutes of calm….

Now I have to go with them to make sure they don’t jump.

Part of the problem, I think, is that in the snow the bunnies are much more visible.  The puppies sit at the fence and watch millions of bunnies hopping around with impunity mere feet from them.

A puppy can only take so much….

Can you take one more recipe with butternut squash?

This will be the last, I promise.

Last summer when I was running out of ideas for all my cherry tomatoes, I decided to just freeze them, figuring I could slip the peels of when they thawed and toss them into whatever.

I was planning on doing a more Asian flavored stir-fry with the turkey and squash, then I remember all the cherry tomatoes in the freezer.

Voila!

Turkey and Butternut Squash Skillet

10oz (300gr) turkey cutlets or tenderloin or chicken, cut into bite-size pieces 
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
4oz (125gr) mushrooms, sliced
8oz (250gr) cherry tomatoes, frozen, thawed and peeled or 2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) dry sherry
3oz (90gr) feta, cubed
1 tbs olive oil 

Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, mushrooms to skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add turkey and stir-fry until lightly browned.  Add squash, tomatoes, sherry, cover and cook over low heat until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. If it dries out add more sherry or water… The tomatoes added a lot of liquid.
Stir in feta and serve over rice.

Oh yes, mon mari is back at work…. Progress resumes!