August 18, 2011

Why Did I Put The Canning Supplies Away?


What would we do without photos?  That’s how the barn looked in 2010.

 



This is what it looked like after the first day of tearing down this year - in April.

 



This is what it looks like at this moment.

Our last round of days off were pretty-well absorbed by working around home.

We’ve decided to tweak our plans a bit.


The Drought in the south-central portion of the country has slammed the ranching industry quite a bit.  Many ranchers are even taking their breeding stock to the auction houses.

IF - ( and that’s a huge “ if “ ) - the rain comes quite a bit before next year - many of the ranchers will need to invest in new breeding stock.  In other words - they won’t see any feeder calves to raise for selling to the meat-packing warehouses and grocery stores.

We’re not willing to pay triple prices for hamburger.

Since Dwayne can’t seem to find any help - and the economic scene is going south like a landslide…

Plans have been revamped to include a temporary set-up for a couple of cows.  We’re hoping to find a heifer and a steer - one for breeding - one for the freezer.

 



We’ll be keeping this side of the barn to get us through this coming winter.  It will serve well for keeping extra hay - once Dwayne finishes constructing walls on the inside core of the barn.

And as well - the Tractor and Tractor-Mower can be parked there for protection.

After that - construction of a fully-covered shelter with a loft for storing a few bales of hay.  That outbuilding will be set up in the pasture where we’ll be keeping the cows.

In the meantime - I’m on the hunt for rabbit cages.

 



While Dwayne worked on the barn - I worked on the area around our driveway and stairs to the front porch of the house.  Running inside to grab my camera for any “ before “ photos never even crossed my mind.

I was already three-quarters into the mess before I thought about that.

But the remains of the scraggly-looking Tomatillo bush and the two Ground Cherry bushes that sat in containers on the Driveway were taken to the “ Hole “ on the other side of the barn.

 





There was quite a bit of weeding to be done - again - compliments of these Orange Cosmos that are so willing to re-seed.


Here shortly - a solid bed of Pansies will be planted under the Cosmos for carrying us through next spring season.

I’m curious to see what shows up around the trees in the gully next spring.  I’ve been throwing seeds down there.  LOL

 




The decision to buy only 1 Strawberry plant was a good one - as I had suspected from the get-go.  The runners have gone wild - the old wheel barrow is becoming full!  We now have reason for constructing a raised bed for strawberries next year.

 



I almost had to put a leash on myself - to keep me from picking these gems too early.  They stayed big and green for what seemed to be forever.  And then - almost overnight - Bam!  We had red and yellow Bellpeppers!

I ended up with one last pail of Tomatillos - enough for another batch of green Tomatillo Sauce.

The pups had to be taken to Maryville on Tuesday.  Zucker had his annuals dealt with.  Carlie was given her dose of Bordetella.  Both pups had their anal glands expressed - ( Thank God! ) - and came back into the exam room smelling like baby powder - totally “ Foo-Foo’ed “ and fancy!

As usual - the rule is - we never leave Maryville without stopping by Horn of Plenty - as long as they’re open for business!

I picked up 5 lbs. of  " Roma " Tomatoes.  They’re being incorporated with 2 cases of my canned Tomatoes for making Sauce.  I’m down to my last half-pint.

I was so exhausted by the time I finished last year’s batch of Tomato Sauce.  There was juice left over.  But I just could not go the distance any longer.  Luckily - I was smart enough to go ahead and can it.

Three quarts of juice sat and separated - which made it so easy for me!  I poured out the clear liquid.  I ran the remaining red constitution through a sieve to separate the seeds - right into the pot that I’m using for making the sauce.

So - I’m into making the Tomato Sauce.  I now have one last batch of Tomatillos for canning Tomatillo Sauce.

And still - the Ground Cherries wait in the fridge for being turned into jam.

At the rate things are going - all the Ground Cherries may end up being eaten before they make it to the pot!   

1 comment:

Deb said...

Oh how cool! So glad you are planning on getting your cows soon! You going for milk or beef cows? I've forgotten what you have mentioned before. LOL

I'm not sure if we are going to butcher our steer this fall or not, he is only a year old and I think DH wants to get to where we don't have to do them till they are bigger...so we get more meat out of them, but I hate to go back to buying beef for another year. Will see what happens later in the year, not like he can butcher him now anyway, with his back the way it is. Next year is looking good all around...except for having to buy beef again once we run out of the one we butchered last year. The one we butchered last year was only a little over a year old, and we are still eating on him...so it's not like we probably NEED them to be bigger, although a little bigger would be nice, so it for sure lasts a year. :)

Anyway, glad you are getting a lot done, and getting closer to having your cows like I know you've wanted. :)