Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

I picked up my student/helper this morning at 9:30 and we worked on fence until 3:30, along with my neighbor. It was humid and even a little drizzly at times - but we got a section finished. It was good to get that done.

My stupid little mini horses have lost their stupid little minds. I had to bring them into a smaller pen while we were fence building - and they have simply lost their minds. They run around like crazy critters if I so much as look at them. I guess thats what I get for ignoring them for so long. We had a little session this afternoon, and they had to figure out that if they wanted to eat - they have to be close to me. Simple, but effective.

Need to go work on the lard that is rendering... I'm getting kinda tired of these pigs....

 

[Wannabefree]

Those pigs are tiring!!! I didn't think I'd ever get done with all mine, and I just had a half a hog in the end. The neighbors got the other half.

 

[Denim Deb]

My neighbor's are talking about getting a pig and raising it. I honestly don't think they know what they're getting into.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

The 'raising' part is easy! The processing part is a lot of hard work. It would have been so much easier to just haul them to the processor, but I just couldn't make myself do it. It would have been almost $400 dollars to have them processed at a facility. I could have done that - but I refused! The feeling of accomplishment by doing it ourselves is pricless. Having that knowledge is something that no one can ever take away from me. Hopefully, I will eventually get the chance to pass that skill on to someone else.

We woke up to wind this morning.... lots and lots of wind. We're having gusts that are almost 40mph. It's a good day to work inside, but we've got a broken water line to repair this morning. I dug it up yesterday so hopefully it won't be a big ol' hairy deal to replace the broken fitting this morning.

We'll be down to the mid 30's tonight....geeze. I absolutely HAVE to get my tomato plants set out or I'm gonna have to re-pot about 60 plants into larger living quarters, lol. I'll wait until tomorrow, but after that I can't put it off any more. I'm gonna hedge my bets and put a few of 'em in pots that I can bring in if need be. The others I'll just have to cover if the temps drop again.

I need one more cup of coffee, and then I gotta get busy.

 

[Wannabefree]

yep, the processing is difficult. I had a lot of help with mine. I took him to my Amish buddies and had them teach me how it's done. I think if I can get a proper hoisting system set up, it's very likely I will be able to do it all by myself next time aside from the initial killing part(would NEVER do that part alone!).

 

[SSDreamin]

I hope I can convince DH to do the next one ourselves, although it is the most foolish choice we could make - the next one would be Blue pig girl, if I can't get her bred right quick

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I finished rendering the pig fat today and, grrrrrrrrrrrr, found a bag of fat that I missed in the outside fridge. That bag is now in the freezer. I'm done... not gonna do any more pig.... finished... over...

But, we had venison stew tonight and I made biscuits with some of the lard.... omg... how many times can you say 'delicous' in one meal?

Can't believe the weekend is over already and I'm still tired.....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I got up and went to work this morning with all good intentions. After a couple hours I started feeling a little puny and because I have over 300 hours of sick time built up - I came home.

It's a miracle, I started feeling better almost immediately! Soooo, I went out and put 16 of my almost 60 tomato plants into the new raised beds. After watching the weather report this evening, I went out and covered my brand newly planted babies. Compared to a lot of the country it's not that bad here - but a low of 33 might be too much for my 'mater babies.

I've got a gal coming in friday to look at a couple bucks that she's interested in. Many years ago, we used to show together. She still shows and I don't... Anyway, she'll be spending the night Thursday night. Soooo, I called some other folks in the goat show world and invited them for dinner Thursday night too. Par-taaaaaaaaaaay! We're all off on Friday so we can have a nice little dinner party.

I'm thinking panko and parmesan crusted chicken breasts with a tomato basil sauce, roasted root vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a nice salad, and some garlic bread. And, sugar-free cheesecake for dessert. It's been a long time since I've had a dinner party.
Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[BarredBuff]

That menu sounds divine....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Gettin' ready for tomorrow nights dinner guests. I made a salad tonight that's even better the second day.

DH and I had a serious discussion tonight. Subject was some information that he found out about his dad. The incident in question was over50 years ago, but discovering skeletons in the closet doesn't really honor a time line..... DH is very sad about some things he found out about past family history. I tried to encourage him to let go of the past, but he needs to process the events first. The time will come eventually.

I've lost TWO of the seven goslings that were hatched. Of course, the two that disappeared were females...GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I'm looking forward to discovering which of the several pygmy bucks that my guest will be interested in. She might not want any of them, lol. But, she's coming a very long way to go home empty handed. She and another couple are trying to get me interested in showing pygmies again. I just can't do it. I've lost the fire for winning rosettes. My new goal is to use goats to produce food for me, not to produce ribbons!

I've got a lot to do tomorrow before she gets here, so I feel bedtime looming. Hope everone had a great day today.