Animals, Around the Homestead

Hanging with our cats…

Gretchen

Eleven cats is a lot, yes, but when you have a farm there is plenty of room for everyone.

Except this little guy who is always in our Kool-Aid.

I know what you’re thinking…eh gross…don’t worry…I said it for you at the time.

Our million dollar kitties.  Cooter (left) has been in multiple “fights,” and I use the term “fights” very loosely because I’m not sure if one opponent just lays there and takes it if it is still considered a fight.  He has been stitched up, bandaged up, and hauled to the vet numerous times.  One time we think an owl or hawk actually got ahold of him and tore his back open.  Murphy (right) had something bite his foot (possibly a bull snake or snapping turtle we’ve found around the farm) or something fell on it we’re not sure.  He’s been to the vet, had it drained, and stitched up only to have it not heal.  A few weeks later he was back to the vet to have it ex-rayed and opended up to find a piece of bone had broken off inside his foot and was keeping it from healing.  He was stitched up and sent home for recovery.  You can see his left foot is stitched up.  Poor little guy, but he’s doing really well now.

Murphy and Cooter were hurt at the same time and in recovery in a dog kennel in the house.  Now Murphy is certain they are BFFs for life….Cooter still needs some convincing.   

Steady Bandit.

Yum.  There is always good eating on the grill.

Chance

Roxie

Bo

Cooter

And a couple jealous dogs on the inside looking out and wondering why those stupid cats are getting all the attention…their words, not mine.

Animals, Around the Homestead

Romanov Rams…

Gretchen

We bought two Romanov rams from Dad.  One will be used for breeding to our Dorper and Romanov ewes, and one will be used as a teaser ram.  We are hoping the teaser ram will do a couple of things for us:  increase prolifacy, compact our breeding season, and make it possible to lamb a little earlier in the spring (and still maintain a high number of lambs).

The Romanov for breeding is an exciting and daunting mission.  Romanovs are known for their large “litters” of lambs, so we are in hopes he will increase our numbers but within reason.  He is a quadruplet himself which is not a rare occurence for Romanovs.  Do I see bottle lambs in our future?

Meet the boys:

They didn’t have as far to travel as the Texel boys did…5 minutes not 5 hours.

Introductions were made.

And lunch was served.

When they finally got the courage to go out to pasture they headed straight for the Texels who had already bonded.

Look….sheep like us.

Eh wait…maybe they aren’t like us.

They still keep their distance from the Texels or the Texels from them, but hopefully they will all hit it off soon.  At least they aren’t fighting.

Then to add to the chaos we weaned four of our Texel ram lambs and threw them into the mix.

This is what I came home to.  

They have pretty much been keeping to themselves also.  But have finally stopped crying for their mamas.

Animals, Around the Homestead

New Texel Rams…

Gretchen

We have upped our ram count from two to six in the last couple of weeks.  We loaded up mom and dad’s pickup with a stock rack and headed to Sedalia, Missouri for the Midwest Stud Ram Sale.  We also hauled two puppies to the sale so they wouldn’t have to stay the duration of the sale (6 days) with their owner before being sold to individuals attending the sale.

And the shy one….aren’t they cute!

Once the puppies were dropped off with their owner it wast time to get serious.  We headed to the Sheep Pavilion where the Texels were to start looking at rams and deciding who we were going to bid on.  It was so hot and humid while we waited for the sale to start.  I thought I was going to die.  I’m not really great in the heat and that’s putting it nicely…I’m a sweater.

We ended up with the two exact rams we were hoping for.  A Texel Yearling from Fisher Texels and a ram lamb from Erdman Texels.  Randy went to get the pickup moved closer so we could load up our boys and get headed back home.  We had a 5+ hour drive ahead of us and wanted to get them moving so they could keep cool.

Once we got them home they were quarantined from the other sheep to make sure they were healthy and happy before shocking them with our two rams.  One of which is kind of a pain.

We were happy with how the sale turned out.  It is always a little stressful.  Between the drive, bidding on them, and hauling them home…it takes it out of us.

Animals

Sheep Shearing…

Gretchen

We spent Monday, Memorial Day, our Anniversary, day “off,” shearing sheep at our house and Mom & Dad’s.  We had more than last year, but fortunately Dad had a lot less.  Mom and Dad help with our’s and we help with their’s.  Fair’s fair!

It’s a dirty job!  It’s hot!  And it’s really tiring!

But in the end we got it all done.

Randy and I were in bed by 6:30 that evening.  We were exhausted!

Green Living, Self-Sufficiency

Solar Oven Cooking…

Gretchen

It has warmed up outside and since we haven’t turned on the a/c yet it’s really important for me to choose my cooking styles wisely.  We have a propane stove so have the cooktop can put out a lot of heat and turn a cool home into a uncomfortably warm home in just a few minutes. 

I did a little experimenting over the weekend cooking with my solar oven.  I love the thing!  I did have to buy the refector separately.  If I had it to do all over again I would probably buy something more heavy duty, now that I know I will use it regularly. 

I baked a banana bread.

It turned out fabulous.

I also tried cooking up my rice for tacos in the solar oven.  The book had two different instructions for cooking rice, but since I soak my rice before cooking I winged it and made up my own instructions.

 

Here is my brown rice in one of the black pans that came with my solar oven.

Next I added homemade kefir and a small amount of water and allowed it to soak about 6 hours.

After the rice soaked I added tomato juice for the remaining water needed.  The label says “sauce,” but it really is homegrown, home-canned tomato juice.  Trust me!

I stuck it in the oven for 3-4 hours and it turned out great.  So great I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so you will just have to take my word for it.  We ate the rice along with our tacos made from local beef.  It was delish!!

I have yet to cook meat in it, but feel fairly confident now to give it a try.  I would like to try a roast or a whole chicken at some point before summer’s end.

Enjoy the heat!

Animals

Kitties enjoying the warmer weather…

Gretchen

Things are finally starting to warm up outside.  The cats spend the majority of their time lounging, but we have seem many a mice meet there maker as a result of these little bundles of fluff.

Our Buddha kitty, Bo.

Is he not the cutest thing ever!

Something got ahold of Cooter awhile back.

But he is now free of drain tubes, and his hair is starting to grow back.

Sleeping on the cool concrete on the front porch.

Stewart and Bandit.

Stewart, orange kitty on the left) actually caught a nearly full grown rabbit over the weekend.  It was awful.  I tried to chase him down to get him to drop it, but he’s a quick little dude.  Needless to say he bolted under the pool deck, and I covered my ears and ran into the house so I didn’t have to hear it screaming.  It was so sad.

And last but not least is Roxie, our chubby little girl whom we honestly believe has never caught a mouse and probably never will.  She much prefers a non-moving food dish and some cool concrete in the shade.

Not the most productive group of  cats, but they do mouse.  We’ve seen them with tons of mice, a mole, and a rabbit so we know it’s possible for “most” of them.

Uncategorized

Ruth’s Spinach Salad

Gretchen

Salad:

2 lbs fresh spinach

1/4 lb bacon, fried, crumbled

sliced fresh mushrooms

chopped hard cooked egg

Dressing:

1 egg

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c vinegar

1 t sea salt

1 small onion, chopped

1 t dry mustard

1/3 t worcestershire sauce (this is not something I keep on hand, so I don’t use it)

Crack egg into a medium sauce pan and beat lightly.  Add sugar, vinegar, and salt.  Mix well.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often until mixture reaches boiling point and is slightly thickened.  Add onion, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.  Cool slightly, then refrigerate until chilled.

Around the Homestead

A Week “Off”

Gretchen

Randy’s Dad and Stepmom came for a visit this past week.  When they come we take a week off of work and use the week and their help to get our little farm ready for summer.  We worked in the garden, planted flowers, planted grass, weeding, and had a sewing lesson.  The guys were mechanics for the better part of the week woking on our pickup, Honda Express, and servicing both the cars. 

They were great help as always and got us off to a great start for summer.  It was such a fun week and went by way to fast.  Now it’s back to work.  Randy and I were really dreading today.  At least we have a long weekend to look forward to. 

We went out to do chores last night to find a ewe with bottle jaw which is a sign of worms.  It was nearly 90 degrees with a 30-35 mph wind and really humid.  I was hot and tired and in hopes of an easy evening of chores, a cool shower, and a early night to bed.  Instead we were wresting and doctoring sheep and looking them all over really well to make sure they were all okay.

All eleven of our cats have upper respiratory infections so I doctored them Saturday evening and will do the same tonight.  The one who got sick first and spread it to everyone else I cannot catch.  I’m going to get serious about it tonight and use a blanket to try to catch her.  I don’t know why she is so wild.  We have 2 out of the 10 who are really wild for some reason.  They were great as kittens, but little by little have just turned into little wild messes.

Randy and I are in hopes of starting and sticking to a nice little exercise routine now that summer is upon us.  I have been walking on my breaks and lunches, but have a feeling that will come to screeching hault once it gets hot out. 

I’m trying to get a game plan together for the kitchen.  I baked a loaf of bread Sunday, and we (the dogs included) nearly had a heat stroke the house was so hot.  We will be eating “cool” foods this summer for sure.  Egg sandwiches are a staple at our house and utilizing the grill and the 1/2 a beef we just got will be at the top of our menu list.

I am watching the clock until it’s time to head home and curl up in bed early.  Hope everyone is having a great Monday.

Around the Homestead

Local Beef, Whole Wheat Bread, Farmer’s Market, and Walking…

Gretchen

We filled our freezers to the brim with half a beef this past weekend.  We now have 340 lbs of beef to dine on.  We know where the steer was born, how and where it was raised, and know the butcher personally.  Even though we didn’t raise the meat ourselves and had to pay for it…it is still more satisfying and rewarding knowing what we are eating and knowing it is good for us.

I’m also changing up my Whole Wheat Bread back to my original recipe.  I had changed recipes so I wouldn’t have to use whole wheat bread flour.  It was just one less thing to buy and one less thing to store.  I already bought the whole wheat bread flour for this go around, but I may try it with all whole wheat flour and see how it turns out. 

Our farmer’s market opens this Saturday.  Woo hoo!!  It’s right across the street from where I work and open on Wednesdays.  New potatoes and a gallon of local/raw honey are at the top of my list!

I have also started walking on my breaks and lunches.  Last week I walked 7 miles, but this week I have only walked 1 mile so far.  I have had errands to run on my breaks and have been working through lunches to make up time for a doctor’s appointment.  It has been really stormy here, so I probably couldn’t have done a lot of walking this week anyway.  Hopefully I can get back on track soon.

The rain is nice so I haven’t had to water or run our soaker hoses.  We are just praying it doesn’t do anything severe.  Those storms in Oklahoma were so bad and it is so sad there for those people.  We lay awake at night during storms worrying about hail and Dad’s sheep without a building now.  Hopefully this storm season passes without any more losses.

Also by request, I plan to try out this recipe for Pumpernickel Bread in the next few days.  Will let you know how it turns out.

Hope everyone has a good day!

Uncategorized

Black Bean Chicken Chili

Gretchen

I got this recipe from The Family Homestead.

Black Bean Chicken Chili

3 cups dry black beans
12 cups water
1 T salt
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs boneless chicken (can be thighs or breast), cut into bite size pieces
1 T minced garlic
Olive oil
1 cup frozen corn
1 can Rotel type tomatoes (spicy tomatoes)
2 T chili powder
1 T hot sauce, opt

Put beans, water and salt into a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until beans are tender and cooked. After beans have cooked, drain off about 2 or 3 cups of the liquid and reserve for later.

In a large frying pan cook onion, chicken and garlic in olive oil until the chicken is completely cooked and the onion is soft. Add this to the beans.

Add frozen corn, tomatoes, chili powder and hot sauce (if using) to the bean/chicken mixture. Add some of the reserved bean juice if needed to reach your desired consistency.

Serve this meal with tortillas, salsa and big green salad.

NOTE: this meal would also make a great crockpot meal.. just make ahead and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours