Thumbs up for sleeping in!

Maverick the barn cat

Blood tests for the goats

May gets her neck shaved so we can see her veins.

I think this is actually Hyacinth here. First you locate the voicebox (technical term!) in the middle of their throat then move to the side feeling for the ropey vein. Slide your thumb down the vein and apply pressure, making the vein bulge on top of your thumb. It's about the width of a pencil.

I used a 3/4 inch needle and very quickly, inserted it into the vein at a sharp angle. If you go in too straight, you can go right through the vein and out the other side. You will meet some resistance and it is hard if the goat moves. It is very helpful to have several sets of hands doing this.

I withdrew the blood as quick as I could. Once the goat moved and I got knocked out of the vein, the syringe would not move anymore. If that happened and I had not got enough blood, I would have to go get another syringe and stick them again because the blood would clot in the needle and/or syringe and it's no good for a second draw. You have to act quickly too because the goat loses patience in no time flat.

I labeled each of the vials and shipped them off to the Washington State University Diagnostic Lab for a pregnancy test. They are supposed to have them Monday morning, and I hope to hear back from them later in the week.

Rain again - Yeah!

So much rain last night. I am not complaining though, until our Christmas Eve downpour we had been very dry this fall. I had been watering my new berries once a week. Now we have standing water in the horse pasture. I think the rain collects there from the metal roof of our big barn. Collection tanks is on our short list of projects for 2011.

Nankeen cotton

Picked the last of my colored cotton today. A tiny packet of less than ten seeds made enough cotton to fill a large trifle dish and made a very pretty display. It was pretty too while it was growing. The plants made multiple blooms that were all different pale pastel colors. It would be a fun garden project with children because it grew easily and without any problems.

Spunky in the chute

Not a good pic, but it has a story. Spunky is in the sqeeze to have the cidr removed and get a shot prior to being AI-ed. The vet tech had the hydraulics turned up a little too hard and when he released it she fainted. It took a little effort to get her standing again poor thing. She was just fine, but she wasn't the brightest to start with and she needed all those brain cells :)

TGI....a latte!

Too dark to take pics of us loading cows to go to the vet this morn, so instead I took a pic of what made it worthwhile to get up before 6am on a frigid day. Thank you espresso maker, and thank you Paul!

Chilly hose!

This is what came out of the garden hose when I hooked it up to water my grapes this morning. Very pretty! It's just too much work to drain a 100ft hose sometimes.

Injured turkey died

Turkey hen was dead this morning. Definitely should have put her down sooner. I have seen a rooster, and a couple of guineas come back from viscious attacks, so I guess I was holding out hope for this bird.

First turkey egg

On a good note, our first turkey egg! On the flip side, I've determined that the turkey hen was damaged pretty severely. She has no eyes, and her head and neck are so scabbed up and stiff that I don't think she can move them at all. Animals can be unexplainably viscious.

Cooking the mammoth pumpkin

Finally cooking the 50lb pumpkin from October 2009. It took it over 12 months to ripen, and it smelled sweet when cut open.

Stray stock claimed

Yeah! Just got a call from the neighbor to the west who misplaced two horses and two sheep. I was about convinced that they were deliberatley released. The vet's office said it was becoming common. It was bad enough that they were at our place for two days, but it was quite difficult catching those silly sheep and getting them home.

Pardoned for Thanksgiving

Our Bourbon Red tom turkey. He was the biggest male and got to stay on the farm to sire the next generation.

Implanting the goats

Implanted six does to begin AI process. One cidr and one cc of systorelin. Will go to natural cycling next year, but since I am transporting does for a lesson in how to AU, this will help out. Hope it works!

Sushi roll for goats!

Set out one of the haygrazer round bales for the goats and fashioned a ring out of cattle panels.

Implanting the dairy goats

Implanted six does to begin AI process. One cidr and one cc of cystorelin. Will go to natural cycling next year, but since I am transporting does for a lesson on how to AI, this will help out. Hope it works!

Migration pitstop?

Drove by a field with 35 geese in it this foggy morning.

Winter hay

We picked up 18 rolls of haygrazer from down the road...one roll at a time.

Goat maintenance day

I trimmed everyones' hooves, wormed with Valbazen, Ivermectin and Monodection (babies didn't get this). I also gave 5cc each of CD/T to the five babies and three yearlings. The senior does won't get theirs until six weeks before kidding. The babies need a booster in six weeks. Now I am ready to start the AI schedule.

Staying Fit

Yeah Paul (far left)! Way to go VA High 5 Multisport team for taking on the Cooper Tri!

Cold morning for a swim!

Supporting husband at the Cooper Tri.....even if it meant I had to get up verrrry early.

Still Undefeated!!!!

Visiting the old alma mater with eldest daughter Beth at Pioneer Days.

Halloween fun

Youngest daughter Jessamyn all dressed up for Halloween trick or treating. She is twelve and this is probably one of the last years she will do this. I can't believe my kids are getting so old.

Cooked 1st turkey

Made the tiniest turkey last night to eat during the Ranger World Series game. It wasn't a great night for Cliff Lee, but the bird was very good. The only disconcerting thing about cooking it was when I removed the packet of giblets and neck from the cavity, and the neck had a lot of blue in the skin. It looked just like my turkeys, but nothing like what you buy in the store!

When my sister and I cut up some of the chickens we had processed, I decided to keep the necks, backs and wing tips for stock. So last night when we cooked the turkey, I thought we should not waste the bones from that bird either. It was already roasted from cooking it for our meal, so it wasn't that hard to make turkey stock. In fact, now I feel guilty from all those Thanksgivings when we carefully packaged up all the bits and bones and froze them until trash pick up. What a waste!

Instructions for Homegrown Turkey Stock.

Step 1: Order chicks in December for May delivery. Brood them, keep them from overheating and dying from not drinking water, from drowning in horse troughs, and as they get older, from the males killing each other in fights for at least 5 months. Longer is better for heritage birds. Lastly, either butcher them yourself, or find a local FDA approved processor. I can recommend one near Greenville, but it costs $10.50 per turkey.

Okay, once you get past step 1, the rest is EASY!

Take what is left after you carve the turkey, and put it to a large stockpot and cover with water.

Sautee a big onion, 8-12 garlic cloves, 3-4 big thick carrot chunks and a chopped bunch of celery all together until brown. Add to pot with turkey.

Also add bay leaves and any other seasonings you like such as dried sage, thyme, marjoram, etc. If using fresh herbs, you will not add them until the last 30-45 minutes of cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer everything for four to six hours.

Remove vegetables, puree and add back to pot.

Remove bay leaves and all turkey bones and solids.

Cool liquid to room temp before refrigerating overnight.

The next day skim off the fat and strain through cheesecloth before ladeling into freezer containers. Freeze until used.

What you are left with is a dark brown, aromatic liquid that smells like roast turkey that is SO much better than the chemically tasting stocks that you buy off the shelves. Now you are ready for soups, gravies and other recipes requiring stock.

Shall we try to make our own noodles for the soup?

Bon Appetit!

VA XC District Meet

You're never too old that your daddy can't help you tie your shoes! Watching VA XC run district in Celina. GO PANTHERS!!! Savannah was coming off the flu in this run, but still did great. We are very proud of her.

Beef order

I was very excited to get this order. I got a new 19.7 chest freezer with nifty dividers and baskets and I thought I could put the meat in it and have enough room to get a clear eye where everything was at, but no. I couldn't even fit everything in here, and so one type of cut ended up getting buried under another type of cut, and we had to add some to the smaller poultry freezer and even the stand up freezer to make it all fit.

What I noticed from my rush unpacking job was that things weren't double wrapped. Guess I neglected to request that, but it might be good thing. I can actually see what I am picking out for dinner the next day without unwrapping it. That's good because when you think you have a big piece of meat and it actually has a large bone in it, you end up shorted.

There weren't as many roasts, pikes peak, rump roast, etc. with the exception of lots of chuck roasts. I think this was because we asked for some of the roasts to be added to the hamburger patties which are great, and thicker at 3/4 of an inch a piece. There are also 210 lbs of them, which makes for 280 patties! There were also a lot of club steaks, or delmonico steaks which are supposedly good and I can't wait to try them. We also requested briskets, hangar steak, flank steak of pinwheels and skirt steak for fajitas. I've been putting together a binder of recipes I plan to test over the winter and I'm even thinking of writing a cookbook about it....what do you think of that?

To sum up the Dexter statistics: the short legged one was 780 lbs on the hoof and 495 lbs processed, that is 63.46% dress out. The long legged one was 820 lbs on the hoof and 500 lbs processed, which is 60.97% dress out. Both are VERY good, and my best to date. It looks like the short legged ones have a more efficient dress out rate, and that could be just the difference in leg bone.

The receipt break down is as follows:

Dexter 1 (short) 780 lbs live weight/495 lbs processed

Processing .55 per lb 272.25

Slaughter charge 40.00

Patties 90 lbs at .50 lb 45.00

Tenderizing cutlets 9.00

Boneless sirloin 4.00

Misc. disposal 5.00

Total 375.25

Dexter #2 (long) 820 lbs live weight.500 lbs processed

Processing .55 per lb 275.00

Slaughtering charge 40.00

Patties 130 lbs at .50 per lb 65.00

Tenderizing cutlets 9.00

Bonelss sirloin 4.00

Misc. disposal 5.00

Total 398.00

Hornworm Taco

Leetle rain

Best rain we have had in a while. Forecast is for a mild and dry winter. El Nina weather. Just enough to get the wheat and rye up though.

Sweet girls

Sugar and spice and everything nice. Cousins playing in the creek.

Mmmm good

Homemade chocolate chunk and the ranger game - a winning combo! Had to add a very dark chocolate chips over the kids objections, but YUM that's good! I always at least double the recipe and roll them up into a log for the freezer. For some reason, the cookies always come out better if the dough has been frozen.

Poultry processing day

All done. Turkeys looked beautiful. Chickens were huge this time. So far the biggest was 6.78 lb, that' s great when these birds average around 3 lbs. Mike said I must have sung them to sleep, but it was the feed I bought from his son.

Funny bumperstickers

Spotted in Commerce, TX. Sticker on opposite side said Save the Spotted Cow!

I liked them but when I told my kids about them, they didn't even crack a smile. Cow humor is always hilarious.

Fateful day

Off to Greenville to process 37 cornish cross and 12 turkeys. The used chicken crates I found off Craigs List worked beautifully and were a steal at $15 bucks each. Paul built each of the turkey crates because they had to be so much taller. The plans seemed easy upon reading, but ended up being a LOT of work for Paul. He did a nice job and I anticipate being able to reuse these. I do need to spray paint them before we use them next and that will prolong their life.

Fall at the Arboreteum

At the Dallas Arboreteum this morn with Jessie's science class

Fall fog

It's hoggy this morning, as savannah used to say

Dang weed

Anybody have a organic cure for bindweed???

Fall planting

Finished seeding rye today. Paul also planted two wheat patches for me with the drill. I hope to try hand threshing again and grinding it for homemade bread. It was quite a chore last time I attempted it, so maybe I'll invite a few interested folks.

Chicken heads

A friend told me a story last weekend that I just can't get out of my head.(Stop reading now if you are easily disgusted!) She said she was scarred by chicken killing day on her grandparents farm. Her grandma would raise several hundred birds to sell, and when it came time to slaughter them she would tie them up by their feet on the clothes line and cut off their heads one by one. If that wasn't bad enough, imagine the farm dog following along behind gobbling up their heads - YUCK!

Run the Farm.

Got up earrrrly to watch the VA cross country team compete in Mesquite at Samuell Farms. GO PANTHERS!!! Proud of ya Savannah :)

Planting grains

Overseeding rye grass into a bermuda pasture with a wheat drill. Couldn't find clover on hand anywhere.

Tractor IS fixed!

Such a small part to cause so much grief. Paul traced the blown fuse to the fuel shutoff solenoid and he got the tractor running again - yeah! I'll be planting wheat tomorrow.

Chicken crate score

Craigs list comes through again. Found these transport coops for less than $20 each on my goat trip south. They cost three or four times that new. Perfect for stacking up the broilers to be processed at the plant in Greenville. We will have to build something taller for the turkeys though.

Milk room find

Yeah! Found a great deal on a used restaurant sink and prep table for my milk room. Actually it's milk room phase I, which is where I convert my laundry room and pantry into a place where I can seperate the cream, bottle the milk and wash all my equipment without other people getting in my hair. We got the slate floor finished up in the area where we pulled up the existing cabinets. Now all we got to do is paint the room, install and paint beadboard and trim, and plumb the sink. Sounds like a lot of work.

Traveling goat

Paul, Snowflake and I stopped for lunch today at Village Burger by SMU. With the looks we got, you would think some people had never seen a goat before :) I was taking her to my friend Pat in Midlothian. I'm getting out of Saanens and will focus on Nubians. Snowflake had really great bloodlines but a bad habit of self milking which made me turn purple! Pat said that it wouldn't bother her and she'd like to have her, so we arranged a swap. I'm going to trailer all my does to Pat's house in November and she is going to teach me how to AI using some Nubian semen she has stored in her tank. I'm really excited about learning how to do this.

Automeris Moth

Io Moth...it stings!

A friend on Facebook sent a great link: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Caterpillars

You answer a few questions on this website and then it identifies your caterpillar and shows you a picture. It was right on the money. The tool worked much better than I ever expected it to.

Theiving turkey

Thought it was the dogs that were carrying off my gloves. I followed it around for quite a while trying to get a pic, and when it finally occurred to me to switch to camcorder for a hilarious video, the turkey drops the glove. Oh well.

Upon being a caretaker

This is the last day for these two Dexter steers. They got their last meal this morning and Paul and I will load them in the trailer tomorrow morning and drive them to Muenster. Today they are enjoying the warm sun. To some it may seem harsh to eat animals. I think they are here for that purpose, but that we have responsibility as caretakers to make sure that they are fed and well sheltered. I don't think they should be kept in crowded, unclean, or disease ridden conditions. I don't think they should be hit, zapped or harassed in a way they makes them feel fear or anxiety. I raise them to be processed in pairs because they are herd animals and don't like to be alone. If possible I would have them killed and processed on the farm as they do in some eastern states, so that they wouldn't have the anxiety of being loaded into a trailer and traveling to a new place. I take them at the last minute possible so they don't have to overnight at the abbatoir. I raise the best, healthiest animals for my family to eat and I take good care of them and don't abuse them. Know where your food comes from and how it is raised. That is each individual's responsibility and not the responsibility of the government, stores or farms.

Cross Country meet

Savannah did really great in Celina this morning and has been improving her time which was 15.58, and she placed 11th. Her coach complimented her form. I am really proud of her!

Country cleaning

You know how those designers in HGTV were always trying to bring the outdoors in? Well if you live in the country its hard keeping the outdoors OUT! Cleaning out the garage - blech. I started first by washing the mud off my truck from the bad turkeys. Then I had to wax and buff the scratches out. By that time all the mud and gravel on the driveway was distracting, but there was really no point sweeping and washing that off unless I did the same to the garage first. That is the only way to really get things done around here....you have to sneak up on it!

Sorting garlic

Now is the time to be planting this stuff. Its easy to grow, and so far I haven't seen it affected by insects or disease. You just have to remember to plant it in the fall. Last year I neatly planted in multiple rows all lined up with the varieties labeled with a survey flag. This year I simply planted whatever we hadn't eat up to this point, was big enough for me to fool with and then I scatter plotted - i.e. tossed them into the air over my prepared bed, thinned them out a bit and planted them were they lay.