Life on a Farm = Craziness!

 

     Hello dear friends, life here has been pretty crazy so I thought I'd give ya'll a run down on what's been happening! 

     Well first off, we're letting our two "new" dogs, Nellie and Charlie, loose in the yard as guard dogs. We got them a year and a half ago and were attempting to train them as livestock guardian dogs for the goats and chickens, but it just didn't fit. It's working out quite well, although 3 or 4 time's a day we have to yell at them for chasing the cat or running off or chewing the kids toys, but they are so lovey it's worth it. They follow us everywhere and the nephews love them and they love the nephews!

     Last week we got our annual batch of meat bird chicks, so we have 95 balls of fluff out in our brooder. We raise them free range organically 8 weeks, then process them with our friends who also raise their own. Now I was raised with chicken butchering as a normal annual activity, so I'm not one to talk, but Butchering Day is a lot of fun! Three or four families all getting together to fellowship, butcher chickens and eat really good food?? What could be better??!!! Ya'll want to come???

     Oh and we've had five calves born too. Ever since we got our cows, about 5 years ago, our animal drama has been up, with fence breaks, calves, and the neighbors bull hopping the fence and fighting with our bull! Don't get me started on #36! I find it funny that most of these incidents happen when we are just sitting down for our traditional 3 o'clock coffee break. Usually us three girls (Mamma, Katherine and I) are either just sitting down for a break, deeply engrossed in Studio C or America's Got Talent videos, when Pappa will burst (and I mean burst!) through the door and yell "we got a cow out!!!!" or "I need you guys!!" and away we go. 
     One such incident happened a few days ago. Katherine and I were watching an episode of Leverage, while we ate our dinner when Mamma calls that a cow is yelling and we think it's Rosie who was pregnant and possibly calving. We go racing out there, Mamma and Papa in the Kawasaki mule, Katherine and I on the four wheeler. We get up onto the hill where she is and there is a healthy bull calf so cute and soft. Yay!!..... But.... Rosie doesn't seem to have any milk. So we call all our cow-owning friends and after giving the calf a bottle (which he glugged), decide to move Rosie and the calf (who has been dubbed Rodger de Coverly) down to our corral pen. To do this Katherine distracts the mother with a bucket of grain while Dad picks up the calf and climbs into the back of the Mule and I'm the getaway driver! Rosie and the rest of the cows head after Katherine and I start to drive.... but it won't move.... then it dies, out of gas. Apparently the gas gage is broken and now Rosie has realized her calf is not with her and she is coming back toward us to find him. Being a first time mother and all she could get dangerous when she finds out we've taken her calf, so guess who has to run back to the house and get the farm truck? Yup me! I don't do very much running and man, was that a long way to go and a hot night to do it. All the while I'm kinda panicking cause Mom and Dad are in the buggy, semi unprotected if the cows do anything. Eventually I get back to the barn, totally out of breath, and drive rather recklessly back up to Mom and Dad, they hop in the back holding the calf and Katherine walks behind with the grain to entice the mother. In the end we got both mamma and calf into the corral and her milk came in just fine a few days later. Dad and I went back up to put gas in the Kawasaki and the Adventure ended with me driving the truck in the dark back home listening to "How to save a Life" by The Fray on the radio in peaceful solitude!

We have been inundated with tomatoes and cucumbers as of late from our garden, which we expected having planted 162 tomato plants in the green house alone! Mamma, Katherine and I have been out there every other day picking flats and flats of tomatoes, then racking our brains on how to use them! So far we have been making fresh salsa (that is to die for!) canning zucchini salsa for winter, mass producing tomato gallettes for people we know, and Mom wants to make a tomato jam she had at a friends house! Oh and you've got to try slicing tomatoes and sprinkling them with Basil, onion and garlic powder and Mozzarella cheese, then melting the cheese in the oven! IT'S DIVINE!!!

     It seems like I have spent most of my days cutting up tomatoes! We did discover how to make sun dried tomatoes in our oven and they are SOOOOO good you could eat a whole pan in one sitting. As for the cucumbers it is cucumbers for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert! Cucumber salad, and fresh cucumber spears galore!

 I had my first solo canning experience this month with Dill Pickles! It was fun and I rather enjoyed it and I think I've done about 12 quarts so far! Mamma canned 12 qts. of beef broth with meat on Monday and I had to reorganize our store room to fit everything! We cleaned out our huge chest freezer yesterday and started cooking down vegetables for broth last night while we went to assist a friend and her cow with our stock trailer! They think a snapping turtle bit off part of it's tail, and the poor thing is pregnant and due any day. Mamma just came in with a heaping flat of basil and parsley, so no doubt we will be dehydrating those herbs today as well as finishing our Shabbat cooking, while Katherine is making a cake for our nephews 2nd birthday tomorrow! Busy, busy, busy!!!! Scratch that! We are making pesto, tomato jam and Chicken Fingers for dinner!

What have you all been up to? Do any of you have gardens or animals? Have you any stories to share?? Talk to me people!!!!!

Heading to do another stack of dishes,

Grace