Summer Time is Camp Time!

 Because I am so far behind on blogging, I have an older post to share now, and then in a bit, I will move it back where it belongs, back in June.  June 8th to be exact.

As you may recall, Weldon had discovered how to get out here and caused all kinds of chaos in the barn.  Well, it didn't stop there. That afternoon, he got out, but Boy was able to get him back into the field.  Then that night, Danny Dog started barking his fool head off, in a way that was VERY insistent. Luckily I was still up "Pinteresting" and enjoying the cool night air coming through the window. (It was about midnight)  CRASH...what was that...was that the Gas grill?!? The next day we discovered that his "playthings" included a gas grill (that Thank God didn't have a gas tank on it) my mother's day wishing well (that is now in approximately 9 pieces), and the corner of the red VAN, Yes there are horn marks and dents on the one corner.  Glad it was the red van and not the delivery van that we are still paying for!  Or the little car, he could have likely pushed it across the yard!

I threw on shorts, my boots and a headlamp and ran downstairs and out towards the workshop...A very scary pair of red-reflecting eyes and horns greeted me.  He wasn't really mean, just playful.  And a playful bull (with horns) doesn't make the best playmate!  I turned and ran for the house, in the meantime, Man had gotten dressed and came out in time to see me run through the gate with Weldon on my heels.  I ran through the other gate and towards the barn.  Seriously, if you see me running, you should run too! Cause I only run when being chased!  But that night, at midnight, in the dark, I think I may have had fast time to the barn than most track runners.  Man cam up behind, we had discovered that Weldon doesn't like being sprayed with the hose, so he grabbed the hose and we managed to get him back into the pasture.  Now the little Houdini had somehow gotten out of the lock pasture 4 times at this point, and the barn, so I grabbed his pasture rope and we tied him to the post for the night.

I went in and emailed our friends that run beef cattle.  This is the same family that saved my behind when I walked Bess home.  I'm sure my 1 am email after being chased by my bull was a bit..um...interesting.I asked them to help me get Weldon to "Freezer Camp" early, if I could get him an spot. The next morning, I got an email back telling me to call...well, I felt kinda like an idiot for panicking.  I called the meat processor and they couldn't get him in until the end of the month appointment I had.  By this time we had gotten Weldon locked into the box stall, and I thought maybe we could keep him there for the month and then take him on on scheduled day.  But he was pacing and BELLOWING in a way he never had before.  You would think that Hershey had gone into heat or something, (She was definitely pregnant-like 7 months!)

Weldon sharing his last meal with a very brave chicken!

I called the processor, they couldn't get us in.  So I sent another email to our friends.  She said, You need to call D!

So finally I did call and explained that he was contained, agitated but contained.  D told me that he had called his friend, you know the owner of the meat processing place, and that we had an appointment for the following day (Sunday) to drop him off and then they would take care of business on Monday. He had told Hoffman (the processor) that this crazy bull was likely going to kill me)  D takes 30 ish steer/bull in per year to Hoffman's and I trust his opinion.  What?  Oh, I complain that we are out here and we don't have much community and are very isolated from friends to the pint that we feel very alone...this day proved that I do have "people"!!

The next day D came to load him up...

We used gates to make a chute to get him into the trailer, and D with his broom handle.

Heading down the road.

D "coaxing" him out of the trailer and onto the scale.

Our pretty boy weighted 689 pounds...not bad for a 14 month old that wasn't "finished out".

In his holding stall for the night...

And his new neighbor, and 1200 pound black Angus Bull that looked like he'd just as soon eat your face as look at you.

Weldon's response "Umm..moo?!?"

I only cried "a little bit".  

On a post on Facebook, I got a lot of "How can you eat something that you raised?"  

Well, honestly, it was hard to take him knowing that it was the end.  However, I know what his life was like.  He was loved and petted.  He was played with and had toys.  He ate well and had pastures to play in.  

He didn't live on a feedlot, grazing in a bunch of other cows poo.  He wasn't a "Number".

He was loved.  

And I don't take his "sacrifice" lightly.

But, ultimately, that's what being a farmer is all about.

And I'm only crying "a little bit" as I write this....

Hurricane Horns

So remember the post last week about how nice the barn looked in preparation for the field trips...

Yes, well, This morning I came into the barn to find Weldon...IN the barn.  All the gates were latched so we aren't exactly sure how he managed to get in...

However, it seems he spent the wee hours "redecorating" everything I had cleaned up...

Utility Room Before....

After a nice cold drink...

Corn anyone...

{{{SIGH}}}

Field Trips Day 1

Today was a great day!

It started out with heavy winds, rain, and a radar full of yellow and red storms.  Right as the first group was on the way.  I checked the forecast and it was supposed to be violently stormy all day...so after some quick calls to postpone to Friday....

The first two families were already on the way...I told them to come on ahead and we might have to make it an abbreviated trip and only in the barn.  Ended up that it turned out alright and wasn't too terribly stormy.

What wonderful families!  The kids were delighted with the bunnies (as we were delighted with the kids!)  They all sat so nicely loving on the bunnies.  And they sat for much, much longer than I thought they would.  There were great questions and the parents were able to have some conversation since the kiddos were occupied with the baby bunnies.  Here are some of the pictures that Man took of the trip.

Our hen that was "helping" with the Talk

As I get more pictures that the families took, I will upload those as well!

Towards the end of the trip, we had two more families drop in so our total for the day was 17 visitors.

Farm Spiffy-ing up for the Upcoming Field Trips

About a month ago, I was asked if a group could come out for a field trip to the farm. After some serious prayer, I said yes. I set the day for about 4 weeks away. It seemed like tons of time. Umm...right?!?

With all the rain, the barn was a big muddy mess and it needed to dry out. Little did we know it was going to rain for another two weeks. So in the meantime, between raindrops, we have been spiffying up the place. So much did get accomplished in the last three weeks. The falling down grain barn was semi cleaned out. The run through cleaned out. Under the lean to cleaned out. The scrap metal guy came and took a truckload of stuff to be recycled. Dad came out and installed a switch for my milking machine and a light in the cow stall. At the same time, Mom was busy straightening and organizing the utility room of the barn. I set up my "junk" garden. (The rusty pieces of the original well pump for the property that were likely hooked up to a windmill have been sitting in a heap--now artistically arranged in a little garden with mulch.)

View of the barns

The one wall that is completely painted

The almost empty falling down lean-to

Rabbit Run in Barn

Straightened Feed / Equipment Room

Cleaned Utility Room (Thanks Mom!)

Milking "Stall" with cabinet

My handy-dandy new plug and switch for my milker-Thanks Dad!!

Another good friend came over and volunteered her and her 6 kids' time to help out. So one wall of the chicken coop (and 1/2 of another) got painted before we ran out of paint. Plus the big boys dug and moved lots of heavy stuff!! 

Lots of stuff! I also "freecycled" a big rabbit hutch that hasn't been used in over a year and cleared up some space and blessed someone else. 

So tomorrow the trips will start, ready or not. There are still tons to do and I had hoped to come up with handouts to send home...but I'm out if time. We will have 3 groups a day for two days. Each time slot has about 10-15 people (both big and little). We're doing two different themes. Barnyards & Bunnies and Seeds to Harvest. The bunny trip will be nice to get the baby lops used to being handled. By the weekend they will get weaned and can start going to new loving homes. 

I'll let you know how it went later this week!!  Pray for us!

Dandelions....

To continue onward with the "City Mouse"'s Canning Adventure, we then made Dandelion Jelly.  Honestly I thought I would absolutely adore the violet jelly and wondered about the results of the dandelion...I LOVED THE DANDELION more than the Violet!!!

Dandelion Jelly

1 quart tightly packed ripe yellow Dandelion flowers

6 cups water

6 cups sugar

2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice (or the juice of one lemon)

1 package Pectin

First, make sure your flowers have not been sprayed, pick and wash. remove the ends, and as much green as possible.



Place petals, water and lemon juice large heavy bottom pot, bring to a boil, then transfer to a bowl. Place a piece of waxed paper over top and refrigerate until morning.

Strain through a sieve, discarding petals


Return to pot, and sugar and bring to a hard boil. Stirring occasionally. Boil for 10 minutes.

Add pectin to the liquid and return to a boil for 5-10 minutes, until it begins to set.

Pour into hot sterile jars, and process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.

It tastes a bit like honey

To keep the foam down, add 1/2 tablespoon of butter when you add pectin. It could take up to 2 weeks for jelly to set properly. If it doesn't set, makes a great syrup

Pictures courtesy of "City Mouse" (Except the picture OF City Mouse, and the very first flower picture, and petals)  To follow her adventures visit : www.thenikiverse.blogspot.com

Making Violet Jelly!

So my cousin/BFF, otherwise known as "City Mouse" came to visit earlier this week.  She has never canned before (and is all up for new experiences!)  I had already picked and made both violet and dandelion infusions as I've actually had these recipes waiting in the "drafts" of my blog for some time (Apparently, I wrote down the instructions for this one in 2010)  So without further delay.....

Recipe for Violet Jelly

 Yield: About 2 pints 

Once you've picked enough violet flowers, making this jelly could not be simpler. I got four 1/2 pint jars which I canned (plus a little extra that went straight into the refrigerator) out of this recipe.

Ingredients:

*2 cups fresh violet flower petals (no stems)- make sure you gather them from an area which has not been sprayed with chemicals (and where your dogs don't do their business)
*2 cups water
*1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
*one (1.75 oz) package pectin
*2 cups sugar

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain flower petals, and place in heat-proof glass bowl. Bring water to a boil and pour over petals. Cover and allow to steep overnight, or for up to 24 hours.
2. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve: use a wooden spoon to press all the liquid from the plant material (compost or discard the flowers when you're through).  If not using it right away, you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.  The "flower tea" is a gorgeous purple, but wait...

3. Combine strained liquid with lemon juice in the saucepan (notice how it turns pink!!)

 Then whisk in the pectin and the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, whisking to ensure the sugar and pectin dissolve thoroughly, then turn heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes (or until the jelly has reduced a bit and thickened).

4. Skim off any foam and then ladle into your clean, hot and sterile jars, leaving 1/8″ head space. Wipe lids and screw on the the rings, then process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes.
5. Remove jars and allow to cool for 24 hours on the counter.

And there in the back is another batch waiting to be done!

Tilling....

Busy, busy day today. We tilled up 3 new garden areas. This is a big thing since two of them have been covered with a stick burn pile taller than me since...well the whole time we've lived here and likely at least 5 years before that!

The gardens are expanded this year because we have our new CSA starting the first week of June. We had the main garden tilled for awhile with early season things, but this spring has been so wet that we couldn't get out into it. All the planting should be in before the forecasted rain on Tuesday, God willing. 

We also worked on fencing around the new gardens. We love our truly free ranging chickens except in the garden!! They love tomatoes almost as much as we do. There is still more fencing to do and then we can plant those gardens. No sense planting while the chickens can still come in and "unplant" everything.

I took a turn at tilling even though my big strong teenager is usually the one doing all the "muscley" things around here.

Is it really spring??!?

It has been a LONG winter, eh?

Could spring finally be here?  I sure do hope so.  I haven't been on more as I've been having a Trigeminal Neuralgia flare up that is kicking my behind.  I can't even find words to describe it.  So I've had many days of getting up, milking the cow, take a nap, milk the cow, eat dinner and go to bed.

But in the meantime, I've also bought baby chicks to keep me happy.  Everytime things are really bad, I head to the feed store and get a few more fluffies to cheer me up...so now the current count is

Trip #1
2 Buff Orpingtons, 4 Americaunas

#2
2 Silver Laced Wyandottes
2 Gold Laced Wyandottes
4 Cuckoo Marans
2 Buckeyes

#3
6 Guineas (3 have died)

#4
4 Turkeys (3 have died)
2 Welsummers
2 Easter Eggers

#5
10 Meat Birds (1 has died)

#6
2 Buckeyes

#7
2 Dixie Rainbows
2 Brahmas
2 Partridge Rocks

So.....I have 3 troughs of babies in my pump house, and the first 6 are now big enough to live in the small moveable coop in the barn.  And just today, I had a chick hatched out by a broodie mama.  Only one (so it's likely a rooster) and it looks like a Barred Rock.  And one of the duck mamas wen't broody yesterday, so we may have ducklings in 40 days.

April Fools Day

April Fools is not my favorite "holiday".  I don't really appreciate pranks and find that they don't build up relationships.  However, I don't mind a bit of harmless silliness once and awhile...so....my guys woke up to...

Then later for breakfast....

"OH, The Humanity!"