Backwoods With Joe

First harvest from our garden this year!

We’ve had a struggle so far this season with many plants not taking properly. It’s been a discouraging experience so far but we are keeping our hopes of a successful season! Planting the peas right after last frost has been a success though the yield is low it’s setting us up for the opportunity to have three seed to harvest events for the peas! Our beans so far are left with one plant as they didn’t take the heat wave to well but I now have 4 containers so start again for a fall harvest! It’s been a bumpy road to say the least but there’s still time to stock the freezer with fresh vegetables for winter! I’ll update you all soon on this progress and more!

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

This past weekend myself and an amazing group of guys spent some time fishing the Bois Brule River in Douglas County, Wisconsin! For three days we were surrounded by beautiful landscape, towering pines, and the ever changing movement each bend of the Brule had to offer! It was an absolutely amazing experience and I’ll definitely be back to fish the Brule again! I’ve learned so much this past weekend and am excited to see where the next adventure takes me!

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

What’s up everybody!!! Huge photo dump of all the shenanigans I’ve been up to since March! I’m sorry it’s been so long but I had to take some time off from facebook just to relax, reset, and enjoy life a bit!! The photos are in no particular order but the fun definitely was!

Most recently and most importantly, we welcomed our second son to the world! Beyond that I’ve been catching Muskies while fishing for walleye, adding camp stoves to my collection, rebuilding lanterns, painting lures, and preparing for the upcoming fishing season! I even got to fish the steelhead run and learn to tie egg patters!

Overall it’s been a fun and eventful few months and I am very excited for my upcoming adventures! Thank you all for being patient while I’ve been away I’ll be sure to update you all with my latest adventures!

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

Today started off with a buddy and I chasing claims of steelhead moving in the Sheboygan River. Although we can back empty handed it was still a fun time and definitely a learning experience.

Once home I got to work breaking down and processing two turkeys I had thawing over the last few days. I cut up one turkey for grinding, saving the wings for soup, and the other was broken down and repackaged minus one breast that was added to the crockpot for dinner. The carcasses were bagged and set aside to make turkey stock and soup later on. For lunch I fried up a few venison tenderloins steaks and made some rice to go with it.

Once the turkey was set and lunch was eaten, I began cutting up a few roasts and some venison I had been saving and ran them through the grinder as well to make a very flavorful ground beef and venison mix. In the end I was left with 5lbs of ground turkey and 10lb of ground beef along with two turkey thighs, one breast, and two wings all going in the freezer for later use! Overall it was a very successful day! Now I’m just wait for dinner to be done so I can enjoy my work!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

Not the greatest bandage job but it will do! The image below is the after math of an unusual yet avoidable incident followed by the excursion of knowledge an preparedness.

Here’s the story.
After cleaning up my baking and spices cupboard I went to put a few empty boxes in the recycling bin. Unknown to me is an open diced tomato can with the lid still attached. the knuckle of my left index finder made contact and sliced it open. After really what happened and a few choice words my wife ran to the bathroom to grab out home medical kit. Using my knowledge of first aid I was able to talks my wife through assisting me in cleaning and bandaging my finger and controlling the bleeding.

As I already stated this incident showed how being prepared can really change the outcome of a problematic situation. in this instance I had a fully stocked medical kit in my home and my wife knew exactly where to find it. I also have a wide range of knowledge in first aid that really helped in taking care of bandaging up my finger.

If you learn anything from this post make it this! First, prepare yourself for what could happen and have the necessary knowledge and equipment to overcome it. Second, cut your can lids off your cans and dispose of them safely!

I’ll make a post of my home medical kit as well as the basics on how to build one yourself as soon I get it restocked I noticed a few expired items I need to deal with.

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

Spent the last few days prepping, grinding and stuffing a fresh batch of polish sausage and it turned out amazing! Tonight we had it with a jar of homemade sauerkraut and homemade mashed potatoes!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and an even greater start to 2023! It’s been crazy busy for us lately! From putting hours in at work to hosting Christmas we’ve been pretty much constantly on the go!

Now that things are starting to slow down a bit and we are setting into the new year it’s time to get back to the grindstone and continue to make our lives a little simpler. Tonight was one of those nights where an idea from a while back came full circle!

With our busy schedules we’ve been starting to eat a lot more frozen waffles and pancakes for breakfast. The last few weeks worth has all been store bought but the bigger picture was to cut saving by making our own and freezing them. Today we finally accomplished that goal! With the purchase of a new electric griddle and several boxes of pancake mix! All in we spent about $30 which may seem like a lot up front but will pay for itself in about 8 weeks!

Next up is to start researching and trying recipes for homemade pancake mix! Further more cutting the cost of our grab and go breakfasts and top it all off we are dehydrating fruits and berries to add to the pancake mix making our early mornings just a little bit more special!

We have big plans for this year and I have several trips is the making so stay tuned for updates on those in the near future!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

What do you do when you are given two whole smoked hams? You brake out the butcher block and vacuum sealer! A whole ham is a lot for two people to go through at once let alone two whole hams! Now that they are repacked we have the ability to pull more manageable portions from the freezer for whatever our needs may be!

When I repackage any meat I will pack them according to there use like I did with these hams. Here I have slices for sandwiches larger pieces for soups or breakfasts, and of course the ham bones!

It’s been a busy few weeks working and getting ready for the ice fishing season but I have a few this coming up soon to share with all of you!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

15 days ago I started my journey into make my first batch of sauerkraut on my own! Today I not only pulled the kraut from the crock but set out to can it too! What I was left with is 24 jars of delicious homemade sauerkraut!

Of course several of these jars will be given to friends and family but between what’s left of this batch plus the frozen batch I helped my grandparents make there is enough to last us until next year!

This has been an amazing experience and quite the journey and I am truly grateful to be able to share this adventure with all of you! This is definitely a huge step towards my self reliance goals and a great accomplishment all around!

What’s next on my agenda is yet to be determined but I’ll be sure to share it all with you!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

Today was a very productive day spent in the house!

First up was making sauerkraut! Using my grandparents recipe I dove straight into chopping, shredding, and packing the cabbage that in several weeks will be canned and enjoyed for several months to come!

Following that I moved some of our frozen good downstairs into our new chest freezer making room upstairs for leftovers and easy access meats!

Lastly I strained, cooked, and thickened some chicken broth I had chilling in the fridge from our chicken dinner the other day. This produced 6 jars of delicious gravy that was then moved to the freezer as well to enjoy at a later date!

As winter is quickly moving in on us my focus has moved toward keeping us warm and well fed! I have several more food related tasks in the near future that I’ll be sure to share!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

It might look like a mess right now but soon the garage will be clean enough for us to park the car in it this winter!

This is one of many projects on my list and probably the biggest one! After this it’ll be taking down the garden and wrapping windows! Friday I’ll be heading to the cabin to finish getting ready for the hunting season and prepping the cabin for winter!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

Ok so as I’m working on the full edit from the GoPro footage on the Kickapoo River I figured I’d go ahead post the GoPro highlights video from the trip! I hope you all enjoy!

Planning has already started for our spring opener trip! Stay tuned for details!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

Kickapoo River, Viroqua, WI: October 7-9, 2022 GoPro reel of my trip to the Kickapoo River. October 2022

The last time I made chicken noodle soup I made some coworkers jealous! Let’s see if I can do it again! My wife has been feeling under the weather the last few days so I surprised her with some soup!

I’ve been fighting with my computer over the last to days and I feel it safe to say I cannot edit together my GoPro footage from this las weekend on the Kickapoo River. THat being said it may take a little bit longer than expected to get the video together but I will do everything I can to get it up as soon as possible! Now it’s time to plan for the next trip!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

Spent an amazing weekend with a great group of guys fly fishing on the Kickapoo River in Viroqua, WI! It was definitely an amazing way to finish off the trout season and I’m looking forward to the next trip!

I have roughly three hours worth of footage from my GoPro I’ll be working on editing and uploading this week! I can’t make any promises on an official release date yet as it seams my computer struggles with uploading the files but I’ll be putting as much effort into it as I possibly can!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

As the weather starts to get colder it’s nice be cooking in the kitchen again! Last night was chicken noodle soup and it was absolutely delicious!!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

I figured it’s time to update everyone on my trip to Craig lake.

We arrived at camp at around noon on Thursday and began to set up. At around 3:00pm we received a weather alert for the area that showed a chain on storm to hit starting Friday afternoon and going through Monday. After seeing this we discussed the possibilities of being able to get ourselves and gear out safely during the storms and realized that paddling out was the only way. With that realization we chose to cut our losses and packed out early.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with leaving early but I also knew that it was our safest bet. I still enjoyed the time spent out on the water and the adventure of preparing for this trip! There will always be more opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy everything it has to offer and will take this trip as a learning lesson for the future.

I still go to test put a lot of skills I hadn’t been able to use in a long time and for me that’s a success! Even pulling a hook out of my arm is a learning lesson! But don’t worry that won’t stop me from doing this again in the future!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

The car is all loaded up and we are just about ready to go! This may be the last post for the next six days but I’ll be sure to share my experiences when I return home! Thank you to everyone that has made this trip possible!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

Packing for a trip can be a tedious process. That’s why I pack in four phases. Doing this has saved me a lot of headaches and ensures that I don’t forget anything!

Phase one starts during the research phase of my trip planning. During this time I will take several days to sort out my trip plan as well as preparing my gear list. I’ll utilize my past experiences as well as any other gear recommendations for the area. Once I have a well rounded list I will then proceed to the second phase of packing.

Phase two is where I’ll begin gathering the gear I already own and start sorting it out. I’ll normally use a large area to start. This time I used my living room floor. This will allow me to sort everything out by categories and be able to lay out every item unpacked. While doing all this I will print a first copy of my gear list and start checking item off as well as making notes on items that need replacement. Also during this time I will also start creating a list of items I do not have that I will have to pick up later.

During third phase of packing I’ll start packing down groups of items into organization sacks, e.g. cook set, camp stove, and fuel in a sack together and the fire building kit in it’s own organization sack.
Food and larger items that are grouped together will be either added straight to my main pack or in the case of a canoe trip, putting them into a water tight bucket with a screw on list. While doing this I’ll continue to mark off items on my gear list while making notes telling myself how items are paired and what organization unit they are in.

The final in fourth phase is where everything finally comes together. This is the phase that my wife enjoys that’s because that large pile of gear that took up most of the living room floor is packed down even further into the main packs and buckets and takes up even less room. At this point I should have everything obtained off of my “needed gear list” and everything is now neatly packed with the items I may need at any time easily accessible.

From this point there may be a handful of times I may have to unpack something in order to add something I didn’t think of before or maybe swap something out with something better but everything at this point is packed and ready to go! I should also be left with am gear list fully checked off and have the peace of mind that I know where everything is within my packed bags.

I’m getting really excited for this trip and am even more excited to share it all with you! I just finished up prepping the canoe for this trip and am slowly counting down the days! To me Thursday can’t some quick enough!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

This last week has been full off packing and repacking! Starting with all the gear for my trip laid out on the living room floor down to the final prep work and vacuum sealing the last of the food for the trip! I even managed to find fully cooked smoked bacon that doesn’t need refrigeration and added an 2lb salmon fillet for the first night at camp!

Currently the salmon is in the freezer and my living room is still a mess but this is just getting me even more excited for this trip! Just 5 days left and I’ll paddling once again!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

It’s been a long and fun weekend spent in Illinois! We got to spend some time with family and even went to the fair before we came home last night! Overall it was a great time! Oh and we even made a stop at the Gurnee Mills Bass Pro and believe it or not I actually left without spending money!

Just 11 more days will I set out on my trip and I couldn’t be more excited! The trip plan is all worked out and my living room is now full of camping and paddling gear! Everything is coming together nicely! I have a few more items to pick up and then I should pretty much be set until it’s time to pack! Stay tuned for more updates as I get closer to the start of the trip!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!!

Almost 10 years ago I took scout trip to Craig Lake in Upper Michigan where we spent a week paddling, fishing, and all around having fun! This was the first time I had ever been in a canoe and was a huge step into my adventures with the scouts and the spark that lit the fire for my love of the outdoors! For years I had longed to go back and paddle the same waters I had all those years ago and now in just a few short weeks I will be accomplishing that goal!

On September 8th I along with a buddy will be taking a 6 day trip to Craig Lake State Park to paddle and camp on the same lake I had when I was younger! I am beyond excited for this trip and will for sure be documenting this adventure! I am so thankful to have this opportunity and and happy I get to share it with all of you! There’s still a few thing I have to get together and a lot of packing to do so I’ll be sharing more information throughout the next few weeks until this trip!

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!

It was a busy fun filled weekend spent with the family spent up north at my Aunt and Uncles! To finish it all off we stopped by the cabin to pick up my canoe so I can start prepping it for my trip! First thing was to get the new track installed so I can mount my gps making it easier to navigate while paddling!

I am really excited for this trip and just as excited to share the details! Just have a few more things to plan out and I’ll be all set to fill you all in! I have a month before the trip and I feel that it’s safe to say that I am 80% prepared for it! I have a few more items to pick up and few details to smooth out an I’ll be all set! Hopefully this week I’ll be ready to share it all with you!

Until then stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

Another great night out on Winnebago! Although I only landed one walleye it was still a fun night and I got to add a few fillets to the freezer!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

Fun night tonight out fishing on Lake Winnebago! One small walleye and a smallmouth bass! Still a lot of fun though an ill definitely be returning!

I’ll have some more information coming soon about my trip as I am currently getting thing together for it!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!

8 lunches and 8 sides! This can only mean one thing! Joe is taking a trip!! More details to come!

Stay safe everyone and I’ll see you all soon!!