FarmerDenise's journal - full on harvest time = busy, busy, busy

[Farmfresh]

Well Denise, I just wish you weren't so dog gone lazy!

What are you going to do with the grapes? They can possibly get frozen for a while if necessary.

Keep us posted on the hide. I found out that my D1 has an almost empty freezer right now! I am going to solve HER problem in short order ... I am going to ask for the hide from the beef I am having butchered!! I will stick it in her freezer until I decide whether I want to tan it hair on or hair off. I have never done such a large hide before ... sheep are my biggest, but I think it would be uber cool to make a hair on hide rug for my daughter.

 

[lorihadams]

My mom has one of those Jack Lalane juicers that she uses for her grapes and cherries and blackberries. She makes wine out of hers but it works really well. I think they are having a deal now that you buy one and they throw in another one free....if you are able to get that then you could probably keep one and sell the other on CL or something. It really does a good job.

I can't believe all you have going on.....bottle baby kittens....I can't imagine.

 

[TanksHill]

Wow, what a busy girl. Sounds like your enjoying every minute of it. Have you taken any pics of your projects lately???

It's so darn hot here today. Hotter than yesterday. I closed every window and curtain in the house. I need to go spray down the chicken and turkey runs. The temp on the front porch, which is in the shade reads 100 right now. I am sure by noon it will be higher.

Stay cool.

gina

 

[FarmerDenise]

It definitely got hotter today than yesterday.

I loved sleeping outside in the tent again. I put more air in the airmattress and that really helped. SO joined me this time. And the dog of course. She thinks it is te coolest when we join her in the tent of course we usually keep the tent closed, so neither she nor any other critter can get in there.. and that includes mosquitos.

We generally don't have many mosquitoes around here. Too dry.

I had just come into the house for my morning coffe, when SO came running in: Blossom got her foot stuck on the top of their pen!!!! She is ok for now!!! I go running our and she is limping. I put a bandage on her leg and give her some anti inflamatory (ibuprophen)
The neighbors where out there too, and helped. SO fixed the roof, so it couldn't happen again.

And that is how my day started.

DSS's GF and I picked beans. SO and I went grocery shopping. We have a chicken in the bathroom that may either have suffered heat stroke or have marek's, but I think I will have to kill, I mean cull her tomorrow.
Another pullet, one of my wellsummers, wasn't looking right. So I picked her up and checked her out. Decided to bring her in for the night. Told SO, I think I'll be sleeping inside tonight to take care of all these critters. Before you knew it, the wellsummer died on us. We saw her going down, gave her electrolites, rescue remedy and SQ fluids and even tried mouth to mouth. She died.
We gave her a decent burial in a white platic bag and the grey garbage can.

I added wine yeast to my white table grape must. It is bubbling again and smelling right.

I also got some cheap wine at the store and am on my second or so glass and feeling good.

I am looking for ideas on how to cook up one of our roos in the crock pot, because we do not want to heat up the house. And I don't want to use tomato sauce. I am thinking browning the chicken, and some shallots and adding worcestershire sauce and just letting it simmer overnight.

I also need to address the hide..

FF you are sooo funny
But I will let you know about the hide. I really want to make some moccasins for myself. So I want a soft hide with no fur. and maybe I'll make some for my grandchild too. Someone made moccassins for my DD when she was a babe and she grew up in them. Next best thing to bare feet.

 

[Blackbird]

But I will let you know about the hide. I really want to make some moccasins for myself. So I want a soft hide with no fur. and maybe I'll make some for my grandchild too. Someone made moccassins for my DD when she was a babe and she grew up in them. Next best thing to bare feet.

I couldn't agree more! Unfortunately more of the store-bought moccasins today have the layer of foam crud on the sole added inside. I hate that.

Good luck on your tanning endeavors Denise! I'm awfully envious!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Bb, that is exactly why I want to make my own moccasins. They are really easy to make as long as you have the skin to do it. I will be making them from memory. but I had a book as a kid that had instructions and I made some for my doll the first time. Then I made some for myself. The thing about good leather moccasins is that they grow with the foot. That is one of the reasons they are so good for a babies first shoe.

 

[Blackbird]

I think of all the deer I've helped skin, the elk we used to raise, etc. and through all my begging not once could I get a hide to tan. Hmmph. When that old Micket dies his hide is MINE!

 

[FarmerDenise]

You know, SO didn't think too much of me wanting that hide, until he saw one in a catalog.... heheheh and it cost a bundle....

So now he approves.

I still have my craving for something rich and sweet, so I made a desert for us tonight.
I had frozen some of that chocolate whipped cream last night in little mounds. I thawed out some blackberries, added a little sugar, toasted some almonds. I put some of those sugared blackberries in a bowl, put a mound of that frozen chocolate whipped cream on it, some toasted almonds and chocolate sprinkles and called it desert. Yum

 

[Dace]

Hey FD....I don't know how you do it all girl! I et tired just reading your journal

It was wicked hot down here yesterday too. Hot hot hot. Sleeping outside sounds like a lovely idea!

 

[FarmerDenise]

I loved sleeping outside, but what with the kittens and a unwell pullet in the house, it was time to go back to sleeping in the house.

I just came in from checking on the critters. The temp in the henhouse is 110 degrees!!!! I turned on the mister for the chickens and the sprinkler for the goats. The goats have a nice cool and shady spot in their little "pasture". A spot the never gets any sunshine, it's a corner made up of the neighbors garage and a tall redwood fence and another neighbors very large and tall pine tree.
Everyone got electrolites in their water again today. I checked the rabbit and he seemed ok. Even though the temp in his pen read 103. He has a nice shady spot on the concrete pad that stayed quite cool. I also have ice for him and watered down the concrete pad a bit. It would be easy enough to bring him into the house, if we needed to.
In about an hour or so, I will probably go and bathe the chickens. I just dunk their feet in a tub of cool water until they stop breathing through their beaks. It seems to make a big difference to them.

I picked up the sticks in the goat pasture this morning until I couldn't stand the heat anymore. Some went into the yard waste bin, some I broke up for kindling and some were too big for me to deal with right now. I put them in a pile to made into firewood on a cooler day.

One of the neighbors came by yesterday with a big box of outer leaves from iceberg lettuce for the chickens. I gave him a nice flat of our vegetable in exchange. The look on his face was the best payment ever. His whole face lit up into a big smile. We think it was probably the nicest thing that happened to him in a while. He said he would enjoy his evening, sitting in front of the tv, munching on the vegies. I gave him: green beans, cucumbers, summer squash and tomatoes. I wanted to give him corn too. But I already had the box full and decided that would be enough.

I hope to get my "wine" racked today. I have to go get my large jugs out and wait for SO to be done in the kitchen. He is just keeping busy inside, since it is so hot outside. But he is in a bad mood, so I am staying out of his way.