Saturday, November 10, 2012

Saturday

What have we been up to lately?  With the garden now nothing more than a few dead plants and the weeds now, we are trying to get it ready to put to bed for the winter.  Of course that sounds easy enough doesn't it?  Uhmmm.....  We've been working on the beds a little at a time trying to knock back the Johnson grass as best we can while we are at it.  The irrigation lines still need to be rolled back up for the winter.  The beds all still need to be dressed with the compost and the mature manure from the neighbors horses.  Then we should be good to go for the spring.  I noticed while searching in the dirt for the bottom of the dang root systems of this stupid Johnson grass that the soil is so much better than it was last year.  We'll get a soil sample done before spring too.  I'd be curious as to what is going on out there! 

In other news on the home front,  we (read Mars here) did our first butchering out here.  The two big ol roosters I had to separate from the others (and each other) were the first to go.  Mars built himself a butchering station out under a big old tree and proceeded to off Stewie and Randy Roo.  Everything went according to plan.  Stewie made a wonderful meal of chicken and dumplings and Randy is now waiting in the freezer for warmer days! LOL   I'll have to pressure cook him cause they are pretty tough old birds.  We still have 3 roosters to go.  These were the ones from the chickens born in the spring.  I don't know why we waited so long.... all I can say is... Stuff happens!

We've also been taking advantage of these nice days.  I've been saying all summer that once it cools off we can tackle the mess out there in the barn.  All our "stuff" is stored out there on pallets and was pretty much just a big ol' tumbling mess.  Not anymore!!  Everything has been reorganized and I can actually find something when I need to.  We even made walkways between the pallets so it would be easier to access things.

Mars is working on getting the wood stove hooked up out in the barn.  Gotta have heat in the "man cave" ya know!  He doesn't like to be indoors if he can help it but I'm betting he'll be spending some time out there this winter.  This RV can give you claustrophobia when cooped up in it for to long!  Trust me on this one.

15 comments:

  1. ...wood burner in the barn...ahhhh, dreams o'mine...lol

    ...i'm relegated to cautiously firing up the bullet heater when/if needed...($$$ or the chills??? decisions, decisions)

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    1. One day I'm hoping to have some other place to put the stove but until then ... yep...wood burner in the barn!

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  2. We had chickens once. I loved the eggs nd so did the chicken snakes!!

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    1. LOL Dizzy! We haven't had a snake problem yet (knock on wood) but it may be because of MissKity. She's one heck of a hunter and much as I hate it.... she will bring me her trophy's just to watch me do an ACKKKK Dance!

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  3. A few chickens would come in so handy, price of eggs is so high. Lots of coyotes and fox so it would be a constant battle. I applaud all that the two of you and others are doing to become independent. We are making tiny steps but then again, that is about all we do any more. Tiny steps. lol....

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    1. JMD it's nice to have the eggs for sure. As to the cost of them, I'll have to admit it would probably be cheaper at this point to just buy the eggs. Layer feed here is right at $15 a 50 lb bag. Now that winter is here that's going to hurt the pocket a bit but come spring things will change a bit.
      You just keep making those tiny steps. I know from personal experience that tiny steps are still steps in the right direction.

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  4. I see your preparing for winter, were doing the same.
    You had your first kill, exciting to be able to raise your own chicks and slaughter your meat to fill the freezer. We still don't have chickens or rabbits. Eventually, it will happen (tiny steps as JMD states above). Hubby was suppose to go hunting this Wednesday but work has him flying all over the place. So much for our deer.
    Maybe next time :-(
    Give Mars a hug, you two have great weekend!

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    1. Sandy, you'll get where you want to be. Those tiny steps will turn into miles down the road.
      I hate to hear that BullDog Man missed his hunting trip. Maybe he'll get another chance before the seasons over. Gun season starts the 17th.
      Hugs to you and yours!

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  5. We have some roosters due to be butchered too. I will can them right off and then have that delicious meat for winter soups and stews.

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    1. I haven't tried my hand at canning chicken yet. Shameful I know...lol. We only have three more to do so I'll just end up putting them in the freezer this time. I do love me some home-canned chicken though!!

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  6. Haha. We are living in our RV until the house is ready.
    But I know what you mean. Very blessed to have it!

    Johnson grass has been our bane here, too, but we mostly have it under control. Hard to believe some people plant it purposely and harvest/sell it for hay.
    If they only knew...

    Glad to hear things are going well for you all. Have a blessed Sunday!

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    1. Can I get an AMEN on the Johnson grass! I am counting the days that I can get it out of the dang garden. From the looks of it... this might take awhile. LOL
      Thanks for stopping by

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  7. Sounds like you guys are putting down some real roots at your place. I hope you're keeping a scrapbook to look back on in years to come!

    Grasshoppers and stinkbugs were my bane in the garden this year. Now there is some kind of white scale looking stuff on my peppers. Oy!!! But the Swiss chard is going strong, and the green beans and broccoli are coming along. I pick what's ready about twice a week, blanch it and put it in the freezer until I have enough to cook or can. I may never have enough of the chard to can ...we keep eating it!

    Have a great day.

    ~HB

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    1. HB, I'm SO happy to hear from you! I hope you and YOF are well. We didn't have too many problems with the grasshoppers this year but the dang squash bugs just about did me in. Don't you just love Swiss chard? The plant that keeps on giving....and giving .... and giving.... LOL! Our broccoli didn't really do very well this year but as always I'm hoping that next year will be better!

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  8. I'll shoot you and email, but the short version is ...we're fine!

    : )

    ~HB

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