(Yes I save the 'going-to-the-trash' signs from work for a variety of 'farm' uses. Sometimes they get confiscated for target practice.....this sign is over a year and a half old, working as a "rain/wind deflector" until it's re-purposed to elsewhere for a similar job.)
Having 4 days off in a row (without requesting it!) a few weeks back was awesome! I got salsa canned and a load of applesauce made. A few I made into 'spiced applesauce' by using the Apple Butter recipe (of course without so much sugar)! I see there is more apples in the neighbors' trees.....I managed to can another batch of applesauce and a few apple butters. I have plenty of Apple pie filling from the last couple of years; hence why I made the applesauce this go-round.
I noticed my 'good knee' was acting up near the end of my work shift a couple of weeks ago. The next day it was swollen and painful. Not sure what caused it, but if my 'bad knee' goes out, then I'll be in a wheelchair because I wouldn't be able to walk. (They give out, making my walking progress very slow and deliberate). So I cleaned in the kitchen and took it easy. (I did find my kitchen table!) ;)
The next day, I puttered in the garden and brought in what ripe tomatoes and peppers I had and made salsa. I'd had a (surprise) load of hay delivered Wednesday night, and now I had a dilemma on my hands. How to unload it with my knee being a pain, and I hate to ask Pat to help because of his bad shoulder.
I waited until Friday to have Pat pull it around to the shed area, blocked the cows out and gathered up my hay hooks. I wrapped my knee and set to work. What should of been an easy hour job, turned into three hours and I still wasn't done!
As I unloaded them, the bales into three stacks: good, so-so and bad. I slowly drug the good ones as I found them into the shed and stacked them--my hay hooks let me move them and drag them easily. Once those were in, the so-so ones went in, and then I had to stop. I was just too short and didn't dare climb on other bales to put them where they needed to go. I came into the house for a break, and to (humbly) ask Pat to help with the last 6 bales that needed to go in the shed.
He made it look easy, his tall-ness and strength made for a 5-minute job. That's when Fillet decided to check out the empty trailer and climb halfway in. It was a good laugh after all the hard work!
Nessa's calf is moving around more (I can see and feel it) and she isn't a happy camper about it for some odd reason. I guess she hates being pregnant is all I can figure. I imagine labor pains will turn her into a crazy cow, time will tell. A crazy cow is dangerous and means freezer cow here. I know dare not risk another knee or shoulder injury either. Mentally I'm up for a challenge, but my body is getting worn out and says NO.
By nature I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist who knows animals can have off days just like me and can cut them some slack. I expect good behavior, and it's really not too much to ask for a couple of hours a day at the max for a milk cow. I guess if given enough 'rope' she'll either hang herself or not. Time will tell how things go: good, bad or ugly (crazy!).
Daisy is my Ms. Reliable and can always be counted on. She's such a sweetie, and she does like watermelon rind treats and apples. Fillet even ate some apples, Nessa turned her nose up at them. Maybe I should call her Ms. Persnickety pants....... :)
**Now an update to this post. We haven't had a hard freeze, but it's coming tonight. I've dug the 'taters, and got what I could from the garden. I dehydrated the tomatoes since there wasn't many, and am trying my hand at dehydrating beef broth. It tastes good, but I'm sure it'll take a couple of days before its done. (I found the recipe on KFC).
I also took slips from three of the best tomato plants to try my hand and keeping some going over the winter. I also took some cuttings off the peach tree with broken branches and spliced them onto the peach tree in the garden. My first attempt at grafting, so we'll see next spring if it worked.
I received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday...a brand-new revised edition of KFC, signed by Joann. What a sweetheart--she'll always have a special place in my heart, and is an on-going inspiration to keep at it, no matter the weather or whatever else is on our plates/in the works. Take things a day at a time.....
There was also a very nice article in the October issue of the Down East Magazine about her, find it here: http://www.downeast.com/magazine/2013/october/cowgirl
**Now an update to this post. We haven't had a hard freeze, but it's coming tonight. I've dug the 'taters, and got what I could from the garden. I dehydrated the tomatoes since there wasn't many, and am trying my hand at dehydrating beef broth. It tastes good, but I'm sure it'll take a couple of days before its done. (I found the recipe on KFC).
I also took slips from three of the best tomato plants to try my hand and keeping some going over the winter. I also took some cuttings off the peach tree with broken branches and spliced them onto the peach tree in the garden. My first attempt at grafting, so we'll see next spring if it worked.
I received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday...a brand-new revised edition of KFC, signed by Joann. What a sweetheart--she'll always have a special place in my heart, and is an on-going inspiration to keep at it, no matter the weather or whatever else is on our plates/in the works. Take things a day at a time.....
There was also a very nice article in the October issue of the Down East Magazine about her, find it here: http://www.downeast.com/magazine/2013/october/cowgirl
