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

[FarmerDenise]

Made those apple muffins the other night. They were good, but took me about 3 hours to make with interuptions. I don't think I'll be making them again soon.

My wine has a film on the top. I don't know if it is a good thing or bad. It smells ok.

I made 3 jars of Senfgurken yesterday, they are in the outside fridge. We have to wait 6 weeks for them to cure.

Yesterday we cleaned out a spot in the kitchen for our new freezer. FIL finally got us something we want and need. Last time he asked us for a grocery list, I didn't have anything on there that would need to be frozen, like meat. When he asked why, I told him the (refridgerator) freezers were full. I guess he got the message

I had to move my canning stuff into the living room

I also went to the Goodwill outlet this week. I got some gret stuff for only $6, including jars and a foodmill. I posted about it on the "what did you save" thread.

Today I hope to can some sweet corn and make refried black beans.
I soaked the beans for 2 days (because I didn't get the chance to cook them after soaking them overnight) I cooked them up a couple of days ago.

Our corn needs to be picked. I think it will be the main part of dinner tonight also.

I keep trying to cook up some venison, but SO keeps objecting. For some reason he does not want venison for dinner, even as infrequently as once a week :/ He actually went out and bought chicken, ground beef and hot dogs the other day

I am getting tense about my trip. I have sooo much to do before hand. I am also worried about the goats. We do not have a good rain shelter for them. Right now they have a small box they can both fit into to sleep. They prefer to sleep on top of it though.

I am also looking forward to seeing my family and being in the country.

Then the tomatoes are finally getting ripe now. We have several boxes sitting in the porch. I can only manage to can stuff every other day or so. Only 2 burners work on the stove, so it gets a little complicated. The kitchen is also tiny and it is a walk through to the rest of the house so you are constantly bumping into someone.

But it is a nice fall day today! And I am ready to go out there and get going on my chores. I think I'll start with getting my goats smooches

Oh they love it when I can, they get all the "refuse". Although they do have to share with the rabbit and the chickens.

 

[FarmerDenise]

SO helped me pick, chuck and cut the corn from the cob. Then I canned it. 55 min of watching that pressure canner
I figured I would make refried beans with the beans I had soaked and cooked over the last week.

We are having fresh corn for dinner, refried black beans, rice, salsa and cheese. And lots of everything. I also still have salad left over from yesterday, so we get to have that too.

While I was in the middle of watching the pressure canner and frying my beans, a neighbor stopped by. He had 2 boxes of canning jars for me. He said it would cost me though. He wants 1 jar of real pickles with garlic and hot pepper in it. No problem. I got a few of those sitting around. He loves the fact that we make stuff from scratch like soups and stews and that I can and dehydrate stuff.

I am soo tired right now and my back hurts. I managed to play with Flower and Blossom a bit at dusk. They loved all the corn husks that they got. I saved some back for tomorrow. The chickens got all the corn cobs. The rabbit got some corn husks too. He loves the hairy stuff.

Now I am off to make the salsa for dinner and put the rice on. Not neccessarily in that order.

 

[freemotion]

Whew, lots of work! Great deal on the canning jars!!

I wonder if the film on your wine might be a raft of tiny bubbles? I get a white ring in my carboys on the top of the wine and a close (CLOSE!) look reveals that it is itty-bitty bubbles.

 

[FarmerDenise]

It doesn't seem to be bubbles, I almost wonder if it is yeast or mold! But it doesn't smell moldy.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Dss's girlfriend brought home chinese yesterday. So we had that for dinner.
We'll have the dinner I planned last night tonight. It was nice not to have to worry about it.

I decided not to can the refried beans I made. There isn't enough to make it worthwhile to watch the pressure canner for the required amount of time.

I spent a good part of the day outside instead, weeding and feeding the critters.
We have been feeding our puny underdeveloped melons to the goats. They LOVE them. As I was holding 1/2 half of one in each hand, one of the girls managed to scrape my thumb with her teeth and drew blood. Ouch! She was just so eager for that melon

I also cut the first pumkin today. Most of it went to the chickens, but I sliced some of it up nice and small for the goats and of course the rabbit got a little piece too.

Our dog is not doing well. Her skin is still really irritated. She has been on antibiotics for 2 weeks now. We have changed her food to Taste of the wild and everyone is very careful not to give her any grains. She has been getting a lot of raw deer meat, kefir, homemade broth and left overs that I make sure are ok for her.
She has lost a lot of weight. But at least she is eating again. I picked up some brewers yeast today and also added some olive oil to her food. We have been soaking her kibble with water or broth to soften it and make it easier to digest.
Yesterday she stopped eating again, so I gave her turkey broth and kefir at different times of the day.
The boys told me that she threw up this morning and that it contained a lot of hair. That doesn't surprise me, but makes me think she might have a blockage. So I added the olive oil to her food. She did eat this evening.

We have pretty much gotten rid of the fleas. There is still the occasional one, but for the most part everyone is clean of flea-dirt .
We still have biting flies and we bring the dog in the house in the daytime. We bathe her using a super gentle dog shampoo and baking soda rinse. I put fresh aloe vera on her about once a week.

I am just trying to get to the bottom of the cause of this. One of my books suggested that it could be caused by emotional stress of some type. I suppose she might be upset that she has to be an outside dog in the summer

Soon she'll be able to be an inside dog again We'll see if that clears up her "condition"

 

[AL]

Is it effecting her ears? My Lab gets yeast infections throughout his skin, and makes his ears foul.

 

[FarmerDenise]

AL, no, her ears are ok, just the same redness as elsewhere, but no inner ear infection.


So DSS's girlfriend bought some Whipping Cream today. Everyone apparently loves my chocolate whipped cream

I pour it into the bowl and it comes out like milk, not thick and gloppy, like I am used to. I look at the carton. It is Sunnside Farms brand. It is "Ultra-Pasteurized, Quality Chekd (their spelling, not mine), Real, and From Cows NOT Treated with rBST"

So I go looking for the fine print. Ingredients: here I am expecting CREAM... hah, This is what they have listed: "Cream, carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides and Polysorbate 80. Contains: Milk. " I'm like WTF!!! How canthey possibly mess up cream. The stuff wouldn't even hold it's peaks.

It also does say that is has the Sunnyside Farms Guarantee. "If not 100% satisfied please return the unused portion to your store for a prompt and cheerful refund." Guess what I will be doing tomorrow. Think I should ask them to pay for the cocoa, sugar and vanilla I wasted on this crap?

Other than that, I have just been trying to get stuff done before my trip. The most important was to visit with DD. We had a lovely afternoon yesterday. She was feeling fairly well and talked a lot. We went from one subject to another. The hours just flew by. Did I mention that they found out that it is a boy? And more important, that everything is normal with him. She showed me how they plan to decorate the room, african animals theme. I happened to already have picked up a few things and they were the right color and had tigers and giraffes and such on it. I guess we are on the same wave length.

I got all 8 goat hooves trimmed. Flowers rear hooves realy needed it. She got cuddly the other day and just layed down next to me and let me do all her feet.

I shelled a huge bowl of fresh cranberry beans this afternoon and hope to get them canned tomorrow. I had forgotten about them and noticed them this afternoon. I was feeling a little run down and didn't want to do any hard work. When I saw them I knew I could sit and watch tv and shell them out. I am drying the shells to feed to the goats another time.

Our neighbor (who is 80 or so) with whom we trade vegies for stuff from his second hand business is being harrassed by the county. He has asked me to type up some letters for him. I don't know why he doesn't have his daughter do it, but whatever his reason, I told him I would do it. He is definitely a character!

Ok, I loaded up on ice cream and fake whipped cream. I got chemical overload and am going to spend some quality time in front of the tv.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I keep thinking, I am forgetting something or worrying about something I know I won't get done before I leave tomorrow.

I got the suitcase packed. My meds are in my pocket with my wallet, travel itinerary, healthy snacks (nuts and dried fruit), unhealthy snacks (m&m peanuts), a book and money for the bus.

Wrote out instructions on the care and feeding of the animals for SO and DSS.

Made chocolate whipped cream for DD and brought it to her (she has those pregnancy cravings... )

Prepared medication for the cat, who had blood in his urine yesterday morning.

Instructed SO on caring for the chicken that decided to stay in the hen house all of a sudden and not eating :/

Harvested crops, that I am sure won't last a week.

Froze tomatoes

Cleaned dehydrated mediteranean herbs to take back to mom.

Hugged the goats

Smooched on the goats

Walked the goats

Took 100 pictures of the goats to take with me.

I think I will miss the goats

Now to take a bath, eat dinner and try to get some sleep and think about what I forgot....

 

[freemotion]

Sounds like me, preparing for a trip! I end up packing at midnight because I spent so much time smooching all the critters!

 

[TanksHill]

We will miss you!! Have fun and be safe.

g