Is it made from real wolves? Are girl scout cookies made from real girl scouts? You may have your answer.
I have never eaten wolf chili, but I’m sure that it’s good since our fellow blogger, Juliette, recommended it.
After having kicked some rocks, tossed the runes and flicked some beads on the abacus, I think that I have a better grip on Phase 2 development at the White Wolf Mine. It will include a barn, solar panels, a green house and a well/pump room, and it will be on the Southern Property rather than there with the hovel. Once complete, I’ll begin contemplating Phase 3.
No, excavation has not begun yet (wince), but you can see the stakes in the ground for the footings and for some digging that needs to take place (in the photos below).
Things have been going slower than anticipated because, as was pointed out to me, elk season is still underway. I saw two white tail deer on the property. A buck and a doe made an appearance. Arizona white tail deer are a subspecies, the Coues deer. I’ve seen mule deer up on the property, but the Coues deer are about half the size of a respectable mule deer. Larger than a German Shepherd, but not that much larger.
Elk season has driven some big horn sheep into the area. A neighbor complained that there were two dozen on his property last week. Big horn sheep are just one more wild species that is common to the Mogollon Rim area in the Arizona highlands.
The weather was spectacular with highs in the 70’s. The night was chilly, but not cold.

Looking east toward the far ridge line. Winter has come to the White Wolf Mine and the only thing that is green are the ponderosas, pinions and junipers. The leaves are off the oaks and the elk are scarfing up the acorns.

You will note that we have stakes in the ground to guide the excavation but also that it hasn’t begun yet. I really want to get that complete and have the foundation formed for concrete (which means electrical, water and plumbing lines in place) before the snow hits.

Patience is called for on my part, but not eternal patience. I’d like to move into the house in mid-2018 and time will tell (and the weather will tell) whether that’s going to happen.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Wolf isn't bad for canned chili but you'd be better served by making your own. The variety of meats and other ingredients is infinite.

  2. Elk season: every contractor within 100 miles of your construction site will be unavailable until further notice if they have an elk tag.

    That's the way things go. Then there's bow season, black powder season, etc. Mid 2018? Good luck with that, LL.

  4. *1 OAFS! I would think that time is short if you are going to beat the snow. Wouldn't it come sooner at your elevation?

  5. Wolf (brand) Chili: safe from lawsuit by five letters. I had to check, but the "Hormel Chili" can says just that; guess there's negligible chance of them being sued because a customer is unable to find any "hormel" in his Hormel chili.

    I once read about some company in the UK in hot water over "Hedgehog flavoured crisps" which were shockingly free of hedgehog — not even one single prickle. They'd meant "Hedgehog flavour" as that would have been fine — just a name, as opposed to implying having been flavored with actual hedgehog.

    Beautiful land. You done pretty good for a Mei-Guo hua chiao.

  6. I prefer my own. Less salt, and as you suggest, a better quality of meat.

    Having said that, chili is an art and I like several kinds: Tomatillo-based chili, Portuguese chili, basic cowboy chili, New Mexico Chili, etc.

  7. I'm ever the optimist. You forgot about duck season and goose season in the winter months. Then the opening of fishing season in the spring.

  8. It's also remote, OAFS. That's part of the equation. And none of the insane CA taxes where even the electric bill is an effort to squeeze you in an effort at income redistribution.

  9. Winters up there are traditionally mild. Last winter was a tough one and far more snow than usual. 65 miles north in Flagstaff they get quite a bit more snow than I do.

  10. Maybe it should be Wolf Flavored Chili? Wolves are nothing if not aromatic.

    I'm back in battery, working today. I'm going to lay a call down to members of the working group in about fifteen minutes. And let me say for the record, that I'd rather be up in the high country than in the flats in So Cal prepping for another trip to Mexico and Latin America.

  11. What about the rifle range? Preferably, you should be able to shoot off your deck downrange at least 100 yards.

  13. There are neighbors in the area. There are four permanent residents within a couple of miles. Being a good neighbor means that I'm not blazing away and disturbing them. And it cuts both ways.

    The rifle range is going to be on the 50 acre parcel about 5 miles distant. I haven't bought it (yet), but I can use it. And because it's not on USFS land, they can't say anything about a shooting bench and so forth being set up permanently.

  14. I re-titled another of my vehicles in AZ yesterday. As the California registration expires, I'm pushing them to AZ.

  16. Do the locals see you as some rich dude from Cali? You may need to kick some ass in a bar fight to get local cred.

  17. Wolf -Brand- Chili will pass in an emergency. There are a couple of cans in the pantry just in case. My preference is Texas style chili with a minimal list of ingredients with the corn masa flour being as important as the rest to the flavor profile.

    You need to publish your recipes for Tomatillo-based chili, Portuguese chili, basic cowboy chili, New Mexico Chili, etc. I suspect your cowboy chili is what I prepare.

  21. Devulge the RECIPE?

    Ok, the secret of the cowboy chili begins with chateaubriand (the best part of the filet strip) It's cooked like a rolled roast with garlic and herbs that permeate the meat. The roast/filet drippings go into the chili. The meat is cut up (rare) and it finishes cooking in the chili and essentially dissolves. I don't use masa to thicken it. The meat is the thickening agent. That's the secret of the Cowboy chili. The rest of the ingredients are there to pay homage to the strip of filet.

    I always serve chili with either a hot fry bread or a scone (unsweetened doughnut). Same with stew.

  22. If you look at that top photo, the deck/outdoor living area (main floor) comes about 4' short of the tops of those pines. The lower deck is at ground level.

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