are over.
On Thurs. morning Cortney and I had been invited to a Tea party with some
friends. We arrived early, the girls all played games and told of their
Christmas's. We, Mom's enjoyed good conversation on a variety of topics,
many of which leaned toward Spring and gardening.
We had a quite New Years eve and day. On New Years eve, it was just Mike
and I, because Cortney was babysitting for friends. I went to the video rental
store and picked what looked to be good movies*sigh* the western I'd picked,
well, we stopped watching after about 5 minutes, it was a B rated movie to say
the very least! The script was entirely predictable and thus in the 5 minutes we
viewed it, it was already BORING! The other two were better but still
disappointing. This is why I'm NOT a TV or movie buff, especially when it's
slow and boring, I always find myself getting up and doing other things, then
feeling like what a waste of $$.
We had company this weekend, Mike's Mom stopped in for a quick visit.Here, she's on the phone with Jon, catching up on what he's been doing.
Anyone care to guess how many 5 gallon buckets of water this represents? Yes,
much of this ice was carried by hand in 5 gallon buckets by either, Mike, myself or
Cortney, only to then be broken and removed*sigh* This is one of our projects
for this year. Getting the well up and running, with frost free hydrants installed and
power installed at each tanks location, so we can run heaters to keep the tanks
thawed.
Click on the photo, you'll see just how thick some of the ice was on the
tanks. In fact there were a few mornings I simply couldn't get it to break,
because it was so thick( from sub zero wind chills all night) that we
ended up filling the extra rubber tubs for the cows to drink from during
the day. Mike has plans to get the tractor with the bucket fired up
tomorrow on his day off and move these piles of ice out into the
pastures, at least they'll melt and be good for early grass growth. If left
where they are currently it makes nothing but a muddy, mucky mess!
A quick snapshot of Addy( 7yrs old) and Button( 1 yr 9 months old). Addy
is due to freshen the end of April, beginning of May, YEAH! It's been......
1yr.and 3months with no fresh milk*sigh*, now that's a L...O...N..G... dry
spell! *wink*
Another project this year is to buy a young Dexter bull, so we can have
a closed herd. We'll need to build a small barn( three sided) and a corral
first, but it's such a risk taking your cows elsewhere to be bred, it's
expensive and actually it's a pain too and with a bull we'll also be more
sufficient.
I'm hoping it will warm up enough to be able to dig some of our parsnips.
They'll keep in the frig for several weeks and I want to get as many as
possible dug from the half row, before our next cold front moves in on Wens.
We have a full row 25ft long and then a half row of parsnips overwintering.
They are so good, simply steamed and served with a dotting of butter and a
dash of cinnamon or nutmeg, Ummmm. Ummmm. 
Ruby, coming to see what we've got for her. Rudy's butt, LOL! I can't believe
how big they've gotten. Plan is to butcher them either mid January, or
beginning of February, depending on the temps at either time. Year before
last Mike and my Dad butchered the pigs and of course the weekend
they'd planned to do it on, it was -25 to -30F with wind chills. They decided
to proceed, not knowing what the weather would be two weekends from
then( Mike only gets every other weekend off) My job was to keep very
warm water( for washing their hands and knives) and HOT coffee coming!
Needless to say the pigs cooled very quickly. The following weekend,
when we again froze our hands, handling all the icy cold meat. If you've
ever had homegrown pork, you'll agree it's well worth the frozen hands and
fingers!
Hey! Where's the grub!
Today has been a laid back day, it's nice to have those once in a while.
It is laundryday and I'm washing bedding and hanging on the line
outside, before the next storm front moves in.
I'm also working on sorting through old bills and paperwork to see what
is worth keeping and what needs to go to the burn barrel. This is all part
our Spring cleaning and prep in getting Jon's old room converted to our
new craft. sewing and spare room.
Well..... there is a load of bedding waiting to be wrung out and hung out
so... I'd better get a move on it!
Blessings for your week. :o)
16 comments:
I am glad to have come across your blog today. I find it all so interesting as some of it we have done before, and some not such as cows. I do look forward to coming back and visiting (that is if I can ever spell correctly as this keyboard is giving me fits!).
Ulrike
Great post! We used to raise pigs to butcher. Messy business - I would NOT want to be doing it in this weather! wow.
We've been doing the same thing with our water troughs, ice chores twice daily. No break in this weather for quite a while, either.
Ho, boy! Would I LOVE to have a Dexter! I hope you get a bull. Have you ever had the vet AI them? We did that most of the time to get our cows freshened. Of course when the neighbors had bulls, it was rarely necessary. We just had to do occasional fence repairs. LOL
You are a dear friend who I admire very much. Your family is lucky to have you! May the Lord bless you and yours as you battle the icy weather this week!
~Faith
Ulrike,
Hello and thanks for stopping in to comment! I took a look at your blog, it seems you have skills I know little about, beekeeping, but desire to try my hand at*wink* I may bee, picking your brain, LOL!
Faith,
We tried to have Addy AI'ed twice, but she'd always been bred naturally, and wouldn't take. I think it best to let it happen naturally anyway.
Thank you for your friendship and your willingness to share ideas. Right back at you with your family being blessed to have you as a Mom.
It's supposed to snow tomorrow and then get cold again for a few days, in the single digits, with windchill most likely sub zero.
I was talking to a friend and said we spend lots of energy chopping water, she said" how do you chop water, don't you mean wood?" I laughed and said in winter we chop water, in the Spring, Summer and early Fall we chop wood, she then laughed too!!!!
Good Grief, I don't know how you managed to get that ice chipped out of the tub! Can't you buy tubs that have electric heaters in the bottom? I had them for my horses - only they were stall buckets, but worth every penny in the winter. Your Piggies are pretty cute! Never saw red and black ones before. Where do you butcher your pigs? Do you have a special room or spot outside. I don't know anything about butchering pigs. But I love pork!! Hope your weather gives you a little break!...debbie
Happy New Year to you Kelle. I love coming and reading about your farm.
Kelle, I agree with you about it being easier to get a bull. I couldn't imagine taking all
of our girls on "dates". Way too much work.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some warmer weather. lol
Try to stay warm,
your friend,
sfg
Oh, the absolute JOY of having a de-icer in my water trough!!! There's also a small, blue, plastic electric water bucket right next to the trough so the sheep have warm water as well. It helps all of us...I don't have to work so hard and so often to break ice and the animals drink more water in the winter, helping prevent colic.
Oh, JOY!
Debbie,
Here in MT we chop wood and water, LOL! Most of the time a sharp shovel works, but have had to resort to a splitting maul a few times, Whew!
I agree about the tank heaters being worth every penny, that is why our #1 project is to get the pump and electric installed on the well we had drilled this past summer. The 6" submersible pump costs more than having the well drilled and then add in the cost of running the electric out to the well and adding the frost free hydrants, etc.... see why we had to wait and save $$$ to get it all finished this Summer? We will put electric hookup out by each trough, as well as a frost free hydrants, so next winter no more hauling water by hand from the house or breaking ice, YEAH!!!!! When the temps are warm enough we do use a hose and the faucet on my parents house, but once it's cold the faucets won't work, so then we haul by hand.
We have a metal A frame out by our grainery that we hang the pigs for skinning and gutting,once cut in half we then we hang them for a week to age in the garage. This is where Mike cuts them up and I wash, wrap and grind for sausage in the kitchen. It's a chore but ever so worth it, especially when you simply walk out to the freezer and have your choice of chops( so tender you can literally cut with a fork), roast, steaks,ribs,ham, bacon and three styles of homemade sausage( loose, for patties, casseroles, soups, etc....) Lets not forget the the rendered lard and doggie bones!
Judy,
Thank you and we're glad you enjoy reading about our little farm. We enjoy yours and wish you were closer for lessons in knitting, quilting etc.... *wink*
SFG,
Even with only two( one cow and one heifer) it's a pain so... a bull makes more sense. The Dexter bulls are very docile,but yes we'll always respect that they are a bull. I think we'll look for one about 6-8 months old,this way we'll have time to get him used to us and we to him, before he gets so BIG!
The ole wood cookstove is keeping us nice and toasty. I keep reminding myself that there are only a few weeks more of this miserable cold, once Feb, hits we begin our slow warm up for Spring. This is why we start our seedlings the end of February, because by then I'm mad with spring fever and have to dig in the dirt and see something green*wink*, LOL! I told you it's an adiction!
TCF,
Yes, the animals do drink more water in winter, that is why it's so disheartening to see all that water, in a frozen state, sitting there beside the troughs. By next winter we'll be sitting on easy street, with frost free hydrants and electric tank heaters, YEAH!
Thanks for all of your comments, keep'em coming. We love to check to see what everyone has to say as well as enjoying our free time to enjoy everyone elses blogs, well... in between regular chores and Spring Cleaning!*wink*
Enjoyed your post about the farm. Don't your clothes freeze on the line, or are you hanging them in the basement, like my mom used to do.
That pork will be great. B. is always dreaming about raising hogs and when he retires that will happen. He used to raise them for 4H when he was a kid.
Thanks, by the way, for sharing how you enjoy your parsnips. I actually just bought some from the store the other day for the very first time. I had no idea what they were, but needed them for a new recipe I'm trying! I'll have to try your way too :)
Oh dear, I can't believe all the ice you have! Luckily up here it's not freezing, but dumping snow. We've been getting stuck in our driveway every day, even shoveled! I hope your plans for thawing out your tanks work out nicely. Chopping ice is NOT fun.
You can really taste the difference between pork for the store and homegrown pork. It's definitely worth the cold fingers!
I was a little late getting back to blogland myself this year... I really needed a couple days to get the house in order again and relax after Christmas. My house needs a spring cleaning, so I'm planning that out as well as my garden. It's nice to get back into the swing of things. Have a lovely day!
The Girl in the Pink Dress
loved catching up on all your news now that the Gang is gone and we're getting caught up here. Walt goes back to work on Sunday. The day Jenny was in Blgs (last Sunday) we had lunch with Rachel and Lonnye. So great to have them in town. We'll have to get together for lunch sometime. Hoping you will get Jon's room done in time to enjoy the space before you have to start on Spring!
Kat,
They do freeze but eventually dry and if it's to cold I have wooden drying racks I set up in the kitchen by the wood stove. Heavy items, such as jeans and sweatshirts take 24+ hours to completely dry and lighter clothes dry within 4-5 hours. It does make the kitchen alittle crowded but it works, it's free and we get humidity added to our air, so no static electricity!*wink*
Kendra,
I love parsnips and carrots together, I do have a glazed recipe for carrots that I use when adding in parsnips.
They are good mashed and made into pattycakes( fried in butter), then served with a drizzle of real maple syrup, Mmmmm, Mmmm!
Girl in Pink,
Glad I'm not the only late blogger. I too was resting and regathering myself.
I'd rather clean toliets than chop ice! Now you have to know that I rather clean toliets than dust too*wink*
Good luck with your gardening plans and Spring cleaning.
Linda,
We haven't heard from them, but Rachel said the girls are looking forward to a visit.
I'm working on getting closets,cabinets and shelves organized and cleaned out. Then onto washing walls, baseboards and floors. Then touch up painting in a few spots, then onto Jon's old room!
It would be fun to get together with you and meet up with Rachel and the girls.
Good luck getting back into your groove, I took off a few days and just relaxed and took it as easy I we can here on the farm.
Blessings,
Kelle
Hi Kelle, we don't have water down at the barns, either. So, the guys have to use our outdoor faucet on the house (special one that doesn't freeze) to fill buckets and then carry them down the hill to the barns. A hydrant would be so wonderful for us, too. They do have a tub with a heater in it for the barnyard, but the bucket brigade has to keep it filled. I should talk to the guys about letting our pigs hang for a bit before cutting them up; we usually do the whole process in one day.
Now that I finished my big project of getting homeschool assoc. convention booklets out I can try to catch up on blog reading!
I can't begin to tell you how much I admire your energy and focus. If I had such, I would probably be astonished at what I could accomplish. I think about you often as I sit on the hearth, warming my backside, soaking up the view out the windows!!! And I'm embarrassed and convicted! You and Jenny are my inspiration to get motivated and moving. Bless you in all your endeavors.
Linda,
We think of you and Walt often too! Your time is better spent creating those beautiful quilts. I'm planning on making more time to begin my quilting journey, it just may not happen until next winter*wink*
When you're going to be visiting your Mom, give us a jingle a bit ahead of time and we'll make try to plans to meet up with Rachel for lunch. How does Bruno's sound?
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