Your pictures are wanted!

[Muskrat Portage]

Les:
You've let the "cat out of the bag", now everyone will know who Red Green and The Possum Lodge are!

For those out of the loop, Red Green is sort of Canada's answer to Monty Python. It can be painful to watch but you end up laughing at him and yourself as it really does touch a nerve of "Canadianisms".

Years ago he and his wife had a comedy show called "Smith and Smith" but this latest incarnation of his is a microcosm of our unique take on creativity. You really do have to laugh.

Musky

[Muskrat Portage]

This is a picture looking out our kitchen window at our garden with one of our predatory animals helping himself to leftovers.

This was the same weekend a day later. Luckily the snow only hung around for a week.

Musky

[Ganga]

Musky, I think you're going to need a bigger moose trap.

[Muskrat Portage]

Ganga:
If I could just lure one into the garage ...


Musky

[Mr Fjeld]

Great pictures Peter! Is it white all over by now?

Went for a short walk today.

[Swedish Chef]

Lovley pic's dramtastic and Mr.F!

Thought I'd bore you with some more food pic's.

Antipasto Caprese...


served as a starter before the chicken satimbocca filled with chantarelles mozzarella buffala and basil, pommes duchesse and a chantarell sauce:


Beetroot and grilled goat's cheese on toast:

Ganga:
If I could just lure one into the garage ...


Musky

Then you could have had Deer roast in a mushroom and junper marinade with pommes chateu with rosemary and a red wine souce:

[Ganga]

It's just past lunch time and now you're making me hungry again. Lovely looking dishes.

Peter, plant your garden in the garage.

[Mr Fjeld]

Swedish Chef - you certainly live up to your name! 10 out of 10 for presentation!!!

[dramtastic]

Your welcome Downunder any time SC. You cook, I'll supply the whisky.

[Swedish Chef]

Thank you for the kind words gentlemen.
If I ever make it to Australia I'll be more than happy to do the cooking, dramtastic.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Stocked up for the winter ....

With my rick of turf (Load of Peat to the rest of ye )

The load left for me to sort



Stacked in the shed.

[Mr Fjeld]

That's fantastic Adrian - or at least I think so - but burning peat is perhaps the usual way of heating your houses in the winter months?

........................what you didn't take a picture of is your illicit still

[irishwhiskeychaser]

That's fantastic Adrian - or at least I think so - but burning peat is perhaps the usual way of heating your houses in the winter months?

........................what you didn't take a picture of is your illicit still

Yes Christian ... peat has been a traditional fuel used by the Irish for over a hundred years. Mainly families living on small farms in the peat bog areas. It was a cheap source o fuel. They would spend the early part of the summer cutting and stacking the peat and leave it to dry over the summer months. It was then collected when bone dry and is an excellent fire fuel. It is considered very much an eco friendly fuel as it is nearly smokeless in comparison to wood or coal.

However eventhough the burning of this fuel is considered more eco friendly than other solid fuels, studies peat bogs have shown that removal of large tracts of peat is actually bad for the environment.

Bogs retain carbon but it has been found that overly cutting back bogs actually release stored carbon back into the athmosphere. The EU have now brought in guide lines in regard to cutting peat on an industrial scale.

I presume that it is also used domestically in scotland but strangely I've actually never seen it over there.

I love it as you get a slight but lovely peat aroma from the fire and there is nothing like an open fire

[Muskrat Portage]

IWC:
It would be a treat to sit by an open peat fire with a wee dram of Laggy inhand. Noted that you have wood piled beside the peat in your outbuilding as well. It looks like a fairly straight grained pine. Would I be correct in my assumation?

Musky

[irishwhiskeychaser]

You obviously know your wood musky ... spot on

And yes I've had a Laga by the fire

[Muskrat Portage]

IWC:
Dad was a forester - a" logs and bogs" type not a fraternal type. I must have picked up something from him over the years.

The Laggy must have been just that much more enjoyable I would imagine.

Musky

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Burning Peat in the open heart is a great pleasure. Even though the majority of the smell goes up the chimney it is actually great just to get a touch of aroma in the room so it is not over powering but present.

Strangely the Laga may be too close to the smell so the athmosphere is slightly lost but I seem to enjoy Laph even more as the heavy peat smoke seems to sit well with earthy peat & iodine of Laph.

All I need now is to get the wife to let me pull the armchair right up beside the fire and I could die happy

[Muskrat Portage]

Galway is rapidly becoming one of my "go to" destinations when I get the itch to travel across the large salty pond again!

I'll have to get some decent shots of Lake of the Woods and upload them to tempt you this way.

Musky

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I'll have to get some decent shots of Lake of the Woods and upload them to tempt you this way.

Musky

No need to make me jealous Musky but a few panoramic shots never go astray ... the Canadian great out doors has always been on the to do list ... just a matter of time and money and family always getting in the way. Not into trains but I always wanted to do one of those mamoth train journeys across the whole of Canada. Don't even know if you can do it but love the idea.

[Muskrat Portage]

I know that I've been referring to renovations to The Lair, well it's time to show how far along it is...

The Lair in transition

Just so you know, the ceiling is just over 6'3" and I have to go barefoot as if I wear shoes, my head scrapes the joists overhead. And yeah, I bash my head against the heat duct from time to time when I neglect spatial relationships.

Here's a shot of the packed storage unit which I hope to replace shortly with some shelving along the one wall.

A crammed storage shelf

This weekend I'll be taping and mudding the seams but for now, I'm taking a break from constructing, to work on Christmas preparations.

Musky

[Muskrat Portage]

Here it is January 19, and I've just put the finishing touches to the Lair prior to our Robbie Burns Night celebrations on Friday. It's been a long time coming but here's how it turned out:

Looking North in the Lair

Looking south

A few of the boys are coming over for a wee dram first, and there's plenty of choice for them.

I'm pleased that I've done all the work myself, starting with insulating and vapour barrier on the walls, followed by drywall and sanding.

After building the floating shelving units they were trimmed with red oak. The G1S fir plywood was stained with a close matching Red Oak stain, after sanding the boards with 6 different sandpaper grits:250 to 1500 grit (the last to smooth the varathane before the second coat). Each of the 5 units was individually built and mounted to the wall as it was completed. This resulted in over 19 feet of storage shelves x3 = 57 linnear feet of whisky storage.

Labour intensive but well worth the effort. I'm now enjoying the fruits of my labour, a Nadurra courtesy of Matt.

Musky

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Wow I'm impressed.

Love those shelves ... they look expansive*



Will take me a while to search through them though but I like.

Just one criticism though ... tidy up that TV power cord it looks un-sightly hanging down like that

Seriously that would make any man Jealous and any wif3 in fear of losing her hubby to the den for ever ... it looks like you could live there

Weldone Musky


*note (expansive, having a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive: and not expensive but they look that too)

[Muskrat Portage]

IWC:
I noticed the power cord after I downloaded the photo, also that I should have had a WM publication sitting on the side table rather than the railway one that is there.

I'm pleased that you like my humble efforts at trying to organise my hobby. I'll be tightening up the display once the boys have been over, so that the top shelf is empty except for a few knick knacks. I prefer the cleaner look but for now I'm enjoying seeing most of the collection out in the open once more.

Thanks very much for your kind comments. Drop by sometime.

Musky

[Mr Fjeld]

You lair looks very very nice Musky!

[Muskrat Portage]

Thank you Mr Fjeld. It was a labour of love, as you are well aware.

Musky

[Swedish Chef]

That looks realy cosy Musky. Really make me want to do something similar in our basement. Probaply not going to happen 'till fall after the land lord drains and water proof the basement. As I write there's a bid bulldozer pushing up snow on the vacant lot to the east of our house, it's about two meters (7') high right now. Who knows come spring we might have an indoor swimming pool.

[Mr Fjeld]

Apparently, the moon is some 50 000 km closer to the earth tonight. May not sound like very much but when going out to have a look I could clearly see the texture of the moon and the moonshine - no, not the stuff you're thinking of - was incredible! My lens cannot really do justice to the wonderful view but it's still my best moon picture so far.

[Muskrat Portage]

I just finished putting most of the collection in the "My Whisky" Beta database. Man, does it take a long time!

I also figured out how to do a panorama shot in the HP program so stitched one together of the new shelving.

Enjoy! I'm logging off to do the same, with a real rather than a virtual whisky in hand. Hey Vic! You still around?

Musky

[Mr Fjeld]

I just finished putting most of the collection in the "My Whisky" Beta database. Man, does it take a long time!

I also figured out how to do a panorama shot in the HP program so stitched one together of the new shelving.

Panorama whisky lair.jpg

Enjoy! I'm logging off to do the same, with a real rather than a virtual whisky in hand. Hey Vic! You still around?

Musky

WOW - Peter, have you ever thought about starting a business!!! It looks awesome. You have enough on the shelves to start a very respected and dedicated whisky shop

[Muskrat Portage]

Mr Fjeld:
I'd need more than one of each to really do operating a business viable. Also they'd also need to be untapped, something that can't be said for many of them.

Musky

[v1p]

This is my ultimate tribute to my favourite scotch whiskies and jazz musicians as well as the magic interaction between them. It includes Lagavulin 16, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. I hope you like it!

[Mr Fjeld]

Now that's a nice collage v1p

[les taylor]

[Eat P]

Another nice view on Scotland and Islay. Enjoy.
poser2

seaview2.jpg

...now that took some time if you painted it or someone has been messing around with photoshop

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Hi Christian ... that is an excellent photo of the moon as I know how hard it is to take those. Did you use remote or timer on a tripod as there is little to no blur. I'd be interested to know what sort of shutter speed you used or was it an auto night selection or some think. Any way not matter how you did it is looks good.

Les you are such a joker that is an excellent photo I just laughed when I saw it. Surely that is a stitch up ... come on spill the beans