Home day

Today we got to stay home. It’s been a while since this has happened. Maybe it hasn’t been that long, but it sure feels like it.

The school year is winding down. Short One is doing her achievement testing this week. I test yearly. I want to know where we’ve fallen short or over-achieved! It’s a wonderful tool to tweak curriculum the next year. Short One really enjoyed her curriculum this year, but I see so many holes in it. It was video lecture with textbooks. She learned lots, but she didn’t get to read enough.

Tall One is finishing up Biology. She is not crazy about Science. I loved Science. Oh well.

I cleaned out the chicken coop today. The poop filled the wheelbarrow. I rolled it right in and shoveled it around the plants that looked like they needed some nitrogen. I filled the wheelbarrow up again, but this time with cow manure hay. I put it around some plants that needed a grass barrier. Hopefully that will work. Then, I turned on the sprinklers for an hour and a half. I haven’t watered but 3 times, I think. The plants were looking droopy today. Tomorrow, I’ll go pull weeds from the softened dirt. That will make it a little easier. Sometimes the weeds are overwhelming.

The two chicks that usually stay inside, George the Buffalo, and Wagner, got to spend the warm part of the day in the yard inside a dog kennel. This was their first time to go outside. They loved it. This is a good way to get them used to what goes on out there, but not be in any danger for a while. They are getting close to having all their feathers. When the lows aren’t so low in the evenings, we’ll put them out full-time.

I made a parmesan cheese today. I’m not sure how good it will be, but it won’t be ready for a long time. I won’t even remember how I made it by then. HA HA! I had to get my cheese press down from the top shelf. It is so rednecky. DH took my weights I placed on there to press, so I resorted to using #10 cans of corn. Yes, I bought corn. I stink at growing corn. I am trying again this year.

Short One and I went across the street and watered the big boys. I took them a couple scoops of food too. Tidbit is so big! I bet he is approaching 800 pounds. Little Red is so cute. He still has one hoof that looks way too long. I hope it will break off soon. That probably sounds bad, but to pay a vet to trim it would be lots of money, plus we’d have to somehow restrain this little cow that I’ve never even touched. I’m hoping it breaks off. Yep. Tidbit has a manly cow bellow, while Little Red has a girly petite bellow. I would just say girly bellow, but Buttercup has a bellow that is more like a roar. Little Red IS just 3 feet tall.

Tomorrow we get to stay home again! Yippie!

FYI: Getting bitten by a chicken hurts

We have 3 kinds of chickens around here. First kind- Black Austalorps that don’t mind being held, but aren’t the best layers either. Unfortunately, these are the ones I had planned on eating. I’ve now had second thoughts on that. 2nd kind we have are the “mutt” chickens, Dominiques, and Emily, the fluffy feather-footed beast. These chickens don’t want to be held, but if you catch them, they will be very nice and let you pet them. The third kind- Red Sex-Link chickens. As a general rule, they are not friendly. I will say that a few are very friendly, but only a few. I’ve come up with my own way of checking to see if the red chicken I’m about to pick up and move is going to be hostile or friendly. Just for the record, I’m usually moving them to get the eggs underneath them in the nest. Some hens like to lounge about on the nest all day eating. They probably have secret chicken bonbons they eat.

Here’s how I do it. I approach the hen. The meanest ones will let out a warning screech. No lie. If I absolutely have to liberate the eggs underneath the screechy hen, I’ll use an egg basket to push her head back so she can’t eat my flesh. I’m not exaggerating. If the chicken doesn’t screech at me, I quickly and lightly touch its back. If she doesn’t try to eat my flesh, I pet her one more time to make sure sure sure that she won’t try to eat me. If she is OK, then I get the eggs from underneath her. If she does peck at me, I use the basket trick again. I’m sad to say my methods failed me.

This seems beyond reasonable, but we have a nest box on the front porch. We have a gazillion free-range chickens. If you don’t give them a box in the vicinity where they want to lay, you’ll get eggs under the porch and in the yard. It was a cool breezy day, so the windows were open. I just happened to be looking out the window when I saw the lady (that’s what I call the hens) lay an egg. They sit for the longest time, then stand/squat to get the egg out. HA HA! I can’t make this stuff up! Oh, one more freebie. Did you know that chickens don’t urinate? Nope. It all goes in the poopie bundle. That was totally free. HA! I didn’t realize that until we got chickens.

I’m off subject again. OK. I’m looking out the window and I see the squatting lady drop her egg into the nest box. Some hens are lazy or something, and they like to lounge on the nest for a while after laying. I thought this lady needed to get going. I thought I’d go out and gather the eggs from the front nest and side nest. (They lay in 10 locations; it’s ridiculous!) I step out on the front porch, and do my test. I touched her lightly/quickly. She didn’t act crazy. I went on to test #2. I petted her more vigorously. She acted like she was going to get off the nest, so I picked her up. I was going to set her down sweetly on the porch. As soon as I stood up all the way, I realized there was a great shooting pain coming from my left thumb. I looked down and she had the whole end of my thumb firmly in her beak. She was biting as hard as possible. SO DANG MEAN! I jerked my thumb out of her mouth/beak and rammed my elbow firmly into the brick chimney. I chunked the chicken down. She continued to fuss at me. I went to water the plants on the porch and she was still taunting me. I HAD to hose her down. My elbow was bloody and bruised; my thumb was throbbing. I would never have imagined that one 7 pound hen could do so much damage.

Later the same day I went out to feed the little beasts, and one pecked me on the leg! It wasn’t a nice peck either. She felt I was getting into the shed and feeding too slowly. Sheesh. The rest of that day I was chicken shy. It’s similar to camera shy, but with the possibility of bleeding or being pooped on.

From now on, I’m going to shoo them out of the nests instead of picking them up. Lesson learned.

Spring 2012

I’m going to hit the high spots of this spring. I’ll save my fun stories for different posts. We’ve been really really busy since Christmas. Who hasn’t been busy? HA!

We started out in February getting ready for Turandot. The kids were measured for costumes, but then they were not placed on the stage at all. It was a huge disappointment. They stood backstage and sang from there. I would not have signed them up if the opera had told us they would not be onstage. That’s a lot of driving and rehearsing to never be seen. They sounded great! Short One and Tall One got to sing in Turandot. It was a good learning experience. Tall One bought her own score. You can learn a lot by watching the score!

Next up was Carmina Burana. The symphony did this just last weekend. The college choir, opera chorus, and our LMNOP choir were involved. The symphony director came to rehearse with the kids during their Monday rehearsal before the big weekend. This is fine unless you are the accompanist and don’t own a score. I sightread the reduced orchestral score the week before he came, but didn’t get a copy of my own. I played the reasonable parts fine, but the part that needs 4 hands didn’t turn out so well. I got the hairy eyeball from him at least twice. I’m thinking, DUDE, you play it! Ah, life goes on. The kids sounded great! The university choir and opera chorus were terrific too!

Short One and Tall One had district piano auditions the Saturday of Carmina. They both got outstanding (highest rating) on their theory and pieces. Yay! The theory consists of scales, arpeggios, cadences, chords, and intervals. Tall One will now advance to state competition where she will get to compete with her solos and in concerto.

Tall One competed in her first voice competition a few weeks ago. It was a regional NATS competition. She was well prepared, and sang beautifully. She competed against kids from 4 or 5 states. Kids in this category have to be female, high school age, and have studied voice for 1 or 2 years. Elizabeth made it to the finals concert. She sang her Italian piece, and won 3rd place. She was very pleased! The two girls that won first and second place attend a fine arts high school. They get 3 hours of music/voice instruction each day. Lucky girls! They were also 16, and Tall One is only 14. Very good!

We’ve been chugging along doing school 4 days a week. Short One will be done with school the end of April. Yippie! She’ll be testing the last week of April. I love testing. I’m sick, I know.

Buttercup is doing well. She looks pretty good. She’s being a pretty good gal. We are still milking her twice a day. She is giving about 5 1/2 gallons a day. It will be a long time before we can go to once a day milking.

We got our pork back. It took them a month. That seems ridiculous. I will not be using a processor again- Not if I can help it! We got about 300 pounds back from the 2 pigs.

The garden has been planted for a while. The tomatoes are beautiful! I have tiny tomatoes already. I’m excited about them! I need to plant my remaining plants. The squash, cucumber, and eggplant are so so beautiful! The peas are OK. They didn’t come up as thickly as I had hoped. We planted early, so we’ll replant after this bunch comes in, so I’ll plant more thickly next time.

The chickens are in high gear. We get about 50 eggs a day. Right now, there are 6 hens setting on eggs. One lady hatched out 6 chicks last week. They are all so round and fat!

I’ve been making lots of mozzarella to use up the extra milk. I’m filling the freezer!

Boo is the half Angus/half Jersey that Buttercup had on December 9th. He is 4 months old, and he is huge! I’m so pleased with his growth on mama’s milk, hay, grass, and a scoop of sweet feed twice a day. I see why ranchers like the Angus so much.

Tidbit, our big steer, is a really big boy now. He will be butchered in December or January. We can’t butcher until it is cold. It will take all day, so it has to be really cold outside. I guess 40 degrees would have to be the high temp. That will be a whole new experience! I’ll have to get pigs started earlier so DH can butcher while it’s cold.

It’s been a really busy spring, but the crazy schedule will be coming to a close in the next 3-4 weeks.

Wasteful

Before we started raising and growing our food, I had a total disconnect from it. I would buy salads and before we could eat them, the salad had gone bad. It would go in the trash can. I would buy 5 pounds of ground beef. I would cook the whole package and put the leftovers in the fridge. Most would get eaten, but usually some went into the trash can.

This evening while I was getting dinner ready, I felt an overwhelming conviction of my wastefulness. I am not as wasteful as most, but I realized what and how I was wasting. From now on, I intend to be very mindful about using everything that God has given me.

For dinner I made a giant chicken pot pie. I had picked up two rotissere chickens while I was in town on Monday. We ate one on Monday. Usually, I would cut off the breast, and pick the biggest parts of lean meat off the rest of the chicken. Then, I’d throw the rest of the carcass away. I would be willing to bet that most people do that. Why haven’t I taken 5 more minutes to pick every little piece off the bone?! Tonight, I did. I took all the skin, the gristle, and any meat that had fat on it, and fed it to the dogs for dinner. All that was left of the chicken was bone. I only threw away bone. Just because I didn’t raise it, butcher it, and cook it, doesn’t mean I should waste it.

I canned the 2 quarts of mixed veggies I used. I made the whole wheat crust. I made the sour cream. I wouldn’t waste those.

This morning we loaded up the pigs and took them to the processor. They came up into the trailer on their own to eat their breakfast plus the three loaves of white bread and leftover pancakes. DH got the top secured down. Off DH and I went.

We got to the processor, and I really just wanted to go in to fill out my cut sheet. It tells them what you want, and how you want it. DH said I should come around back to drop off the pigs just in case. Ok. The pigs wouldn’t get out of the trailer. The guy had to tie a rope around each pig’s leg and basically drag them out. He did it as nicely as he could. They all went in the same pen together. They gave them a big container of water.

I got in the truck and cried. I cried not because the pigs were going to die, but because they looked terrified. We raised them for meat, so that was not the problem. I decided then that I would rather do it all here at home. They could be eating their favorite meal, and never know what hit them. This would be harder for my husband, but he is willing to do it. He kills deer and cleans them. Livestock is just a little more personal. He told me he would do it.

For me, part of raising animals for food was to ensure that they were treated well and raised humanely. All creatures here on our homestead are well-fed and cared for. I like to love them while they’re here. Not cuddle with them, but scratch the itchy spots, and give a good pat or two (or more) every day. That’s how I can raise animals for food.

I know lots of people that like to pen their steers up in a small stall and feed them out. That is fine for those people, but not for me. I have to feel like I gave it the best life while it was with me! Personally, that’s not for me.

I wanted those pigs to be able to dig in the ground and wallow in the mud until their time was up. I’m still sad because I wish I had come to this conclusion before the pigs got taken anywhere. Next year, it will be much better.

This got me to thinking about how much meat we would be getting back. The butcher didn’t seem to think it would be that much. Crap. Disappointment. Next year, we’ll castrate so we don’t have to be in such a big hurry to avoid taint, or better yet, get females. We are running low on beef from last August’s steer butchering. I was hoping to have lots of pork to cook with instead.

This made me think about how careful I am now to only open one pack of meat at a meal. That’s about a pound. I only cook what we can eat in that meal and DH can take for lunch. I feel good about eating what we’ve grown and raised. I’m going to do my best to be mindful about not wasting anything.

Buttercup is giving 5 1/2 gallons a day. Eggs- about 45

DH and the water tank

Since we got Little Red, we’ve been having to make sure the water tank across the street stayed pretty full. If it wasn’t pretty full, Little Red couldn’t drink because he’s so short.

Independent Tractor Woman said my DH should dig a hole to set the water tank in so Little Red could drink easily and further down. Great idea! She had this idea a long time ago.

Today, DH went over to dig the hole for the tank. I knew part of the problem would be keeping Tidbit off of DH. He’s over 800 pounds now, and friendly. Bad combo.

I went over there with a scrub brush soon after Short One and DH went over. Tidbit was standing very close and supervising the digging of this hole. For now, he was behaving. (Tidbit, not DH) DH was behaving also.

DH dumped the water out of the tank into to the hole he dug. Sheesh. I don’t think he dumped it intentionally in there. I think he dumped it to the side and it rushed into the hole. Sheesh. Now this 4 foot long / 18 inches deep hole is filled with water. OK. For fun, DH puts the tank in this small pond and steps inside. He floats and slops water out of the “pond”. It, of course, runs right back in. He can’t scrub out the tank without Tidbit trying to get in his face, so he throws the tank over the fence. Short One cleaned it there, and DH chunked it back over into the “pond.”

The tank got filled, and it sank from the weight, displacing all the water underneath. It started raining, and DH had to shovel the dirt around. I suggested that he line underneath the tank with hay because we have to empty it and clean it sometimes. He didn’t listen to me. The tank will probably be glued in next time. Oh boy.

Well, at least Little Red won’t go thirsty.

sloth blogger

I’ve turned into a sloth blogger. I’d rather pop a quick sentence on facebook, rather than writing the whole story. Shameful. tisk tisk

I’m so happy that I’ve not had anything major to blog about lately. That is good news really! Here are a few things that have been going on in my life.

Buttercup decided to bust through the two strands of barbed wire on Sunday while we were at church. Apparently, the grass is greener on the other side. I’m guessing she worked her head between the two strands, pushed some, stepped over the bottom wire, and oh no. She ripped her left front teat pretty good. There was a scab on it when we got home. She also drug her entire udder over the wire, cutting it 6-8 inches. The blood had stopped dripping, but a clear liquid, serum, leaked out for 24 hours.

This may or may not have anything to do with her edema issue. I’ve done everything I know to do about her edema since she calved in December. She continued to have spots in her udder that just wouldn’t soften all the way. Well, after she cut her udder, and the fluid drained, she has emptied really well. Her udder is soft all the way around. I still wonder if that’s what did it.

I’m still putting Corona ointment on the teat with scabs. The scabs don’t move. I have no problem drinking the milk. Nope. The first couple of days, the pigs got it all.

The pigs are getting big. It’s time for them to go to freezer camp. I’m going to call tomorrow and schedule a day for DH to take them in. We’ve decided to trailer them the night before- just in case. I’ve heard pigs can be buggers to trailer, but I hope they will go in for food. I’m not sure how much they weigh. They are at least 150 each. They might be closer to 200. I have no idea. We’ll find out when we get all the meat!

The chickens have kicked it into high gear a few times. I believe the new record was 54 eggs in one day. I’m feeding 3 dozen boiled eggs a day to the pigs. The weather has been rainy and warmer, and the chickens are hiding eggs I think. Boo.

Boo is getting really big and quickly! I don’t think Tidbit grew this quickly. Tidbit is half Beefmaster, and Boo is half Black Angus. I see why people like the Angus so much. They really do grow quickly. He’s an easy going feller too. Next week, Tidbit will be a year old. I’m holding out as long as possible to send him to freezer camp. Boo won’t be ready for another 6 months after Tidbit goes probably. He might even take longer.

I’ve decided not to feed bull/steer boys once they move across the street to the pasture. They have hay in the winter, but they look good. I’ll come out money ahead by not feeding grain all the time. I do bring them a goody once a week or so. Little Red hollers like a girl when I don’t bring him anything. HA HA

I’ve been making mozzarella mostly. I’ve tried to always have sour cream and cream cheese in there too. I’ve made lots of ghee. The pigs have eaten every scrap we’ve had. The chickens will love it when the pigs leave. The chickens will get all that goody again.

Buttercup is giving about 5 1/2 gallons a day.

Update 2/18

It’s been forever since I’ve written. Both of my readers will be glad I’m writing.

We’ve been plugging along in our happy routine for a while now. Music day, school, rehearsals, milking, feeding, shoveling, and egg collecting.

I’ve been making somewhere between 6-8 pounds of mozzarella a week. We eat 2 or 3 pounds of it, and the rest gets shredded and put in quart bags in the freezer for future use.
I’ve been making ghee weekly also. This week I put up 5 pints. That was over a gallon of butter to start with. It goes a long way.

Buttercup has dropped her production a little. She’s pretty consistent at 3 gallons in the morning and 2 1/2 in the evening. This is fine as long as she doesn’t drop much farther. The pigs are getting about 3 gallons of whey, buttermilk (left over from butter making) or skimmed milk a day. Boo is sucking down 2 gallons a day. I try to plan out the cheese making so the pigs always have some milk product each meal. They appreciate that.

The pigs are getting bigger! I was feeding them 3 times a day. They cut back on their eating because they weren’t ever hungry. I fixed that. We went back to twice a day feeding and they are scarfing down everything again. I’ve boiled eggs every day. I try to give the pigs at least 18 eggs a day. Today, they got more.

DH found 2 secret nests. He moved the lawnmower up a few feet. There were about 50 eggs. I boiled them, and will be giving them to the pigs. That’s pretty bad when you don’t know you’re missing 50 eggs. Maybe I have too many hens. HA HA HA! We’re getting about 44 eggs a day.

I need to start my tomato plants soon- like, last week. I’m getting excited about the garden this summer. I’ll say that my garden area has been well fertilized and turned about. The pig poo is everywhere. It rains, and pig poo soaks in. I should have the most beautiful garden this year. I hope hope hope!!!!! I have cow manure hay to spread after the plants go in the ground. I’ll need to lime this year, but that’s about it. I probably should send a soil sample off to the lab.

I’m planning on:
4 rows of tomatoes
1 row with zucchini, squash, and cucumber
1 row of eggplant (LOVE LOVE LOVE)
1 row of okra
1 row of green beans- maybe 2
however many rows I have left for peas- probably 6-8
I may have left something out…. I’ll think of it later.

I really want corn, but I’ve failed miserably in the past. I’m torn. I may try a small block.

To corn, or not to corn. That is the question.