Meat

Just a simple post dedicated to the meat in my freezer.
Thank you deer and pig. You make my family satisfied and my freezer full.
You make me happy and well, you are yummy.

:-)

I realize that we are very lucky that we can harvest these animals the way that we do. We give to the hungry most of the meat, but these two we kept for our family. The hog meat we kept and gave most of it to my brother. He's on disability and this will help his dollar go a lot farther for the next few months. Don't get me wrong, we still have quite a few packages of sausage in our freezer as well. There is still more biscuits and gravy in my future yet!
We'll try to harvest another doe (hopefully a barren, older doe) out of the herd that needs to be taken and with any luck we'll be able to also take another boar as well. It's possible but not as likely as when it's warmer.

So - here's my post for thanking the harvest.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 12.19.11

With so much going on right now, it's hard to believe I haven't posted since last weeks harvest!
We've gone to parties, and thrown our own. We've baked cookies, and eaten quite a few as well. We've shopped and decorated, and gone for walks. We've watched it 'SNOW' in Florida, and we saw Christmas trees dance to music as well. This week has been active to say the least!

The harvest came, but the camera was shy. The nights were busy so the seat of our pants, we did fly -
(Ever get the feeling you've told the Christmas story one too many times?)

Anyway here are the few pictures I DID get of our harvests this week!

There were probably a half dozen tomatoes. but the counter isn't full. Oh no! We had lettuce and radishes and peas and a few green onions to make a nice complete salad for a change! This doesn't happen often here so we are taking full advantage while we still can!

On Sunday morning we decided to take some of the 55 pounds of meat we just put in the freezer and make one of my favorite treats! MMMMmmmmm...... Biscuits and sausage gravy, with 2 runny eggs right in the middle.

That's the kind of breakfast that means I WONT be fitting into my Holiday gown again any time soon! Guess I'll have to slow down on that.Teehee.

Well, Linking in with Daphne's Dandelions for our weekly Harvest Monday PARTY! This week addition is sure to be full of Christmas and other assorted Holiday Cheer!

I hope that you are staying warm and cozy with your loved ones. See you soon!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 12.12.11

Linking in once again to Daphne's place for Harvest Monday!

This Monday features our normal December fare of citrus! We got lots of citrus this week, and some tomatoes (red, orange and yellow, too!) Bell pepper, broccoli and hot peppers of course. Not pictured are the peas and radish and a salads worth of lettuce as well.

Also harvested was one sow. We split the meat with our parents so 55 pounds of pork to the freezer. Yippee! :-)

Sown this week: Oregon Snow peas, Kuroda carrots, Little Gem lettuce (thanks Daphne for the lettuce seeds!)

Till next time!

Barbie~

Such a Card

Sending best wishes to each and every person who stops by this time of year. Tonight begins the festive cooking with the late night/all night cookie fest! Bring it on!!!

Barbie~

Turtle Time!

It's time for a Creature Feature. This encounter happened at a friends house a few weeks ago directly before our first cold snap of the season. The poor critter was upside down and lifeless, left to die by some careless driver. He was cold and lonely and well... stuck between a road and a hard place.

I shouted for my friend to pull the car over, jumped out and ran to his rescue. Yes, I assure you it is a he. See those white spots on his plastern down where his Little back legs would stick out? That is where the shell has been rubbing on the ground when he walks. This tells me that the middle of his shell is sunken in. And, after all if you were a gal that wanted to lay eggs that would make things rather uncomfortable - wouldn't it?

Anyway, I flipped him over to see this cute little face stick out to say 'THANK YOU!'

He didn't even so much as hiss at me. Good thing, too. I had to put him on the floor board of the car and if he was both stinky and hissing at me she might not have agreed to such things. Pam drove us to the nearest (larger) pond where we patted him on the back and told him goodbye!

Hopefully he'll avoid the road from now on, because next time I've got a big old fish tank with his name on it just a waiting for him! ;-) Mud turtles - this is a Three Striped Mud Turtle by the way make excellent captive turtles due to their size and their relative easy keeping requirements. Once a week a little vitamin D (sunshine) a decent sized fish tank, a heater, some worms, crickets and fishes with an occasional piece of greenery and you've got a healthy pet.

Just thought I'd introduce you to a little more of my insanity. Hope you enjoyed meeting this little guy.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Bento Tuesday

It's the first Tuesday of December and once again I haven't been all that great at taking pictures of my bento boxes.

But, if I don't try to make the post I won't actually do it and so I am here to show you what I do have!

This month I got a brand new bento box, and got it home, washed it up, tested it out, and promptly - threw it away. It wouldn't stay shit and it didn't seal at all. The concept of it was fantastic. It had 3 divided areas on one side and a flap that divided the container in half so that when shut you could have one side open for either a sandwich or a meal (pasta, meat, etc)a clip was supposed to hold the entire thing shut. Not only did the clip not function to hold the container closed, but the divider didn't seal properly so it simply wasn't worth my time trying to find a way to keep it closed. It wasn't entirely a waste. I knew it was an off brand when I bought it. It was a charity sale. (School fund raiser) Brilliant concept - poor execution. Next time I'll take the $12 I spent on that container and double it so I can get one that will work correctly!

So without any more drama here are the lunches:

Breakfast for lunch one day                                                                      Corn nuggets, carrots, yogurt, and an apple

 

  Chicken strips cut up with cheese, apples, and carrots                                a goldfish sandwich (turkey and cream cheese)      and goldfish pretzel mix

 

This one was interesting linberger jam and turkey on rye with a fruit salad. Go figure!

Since I'm not great at pictures - this wraps up the bento Tuesday!

See you next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 12.05.11

December's first Harvest Monday report!

Linking into Daphne's for the party over there. Make sure you stop by to say hi and tell her thanks for hosting!

Well- after I said that I checked the link and she hasn't posted yet so if she doesn't post still pop on by and wish her well. She normally posts before the sun rises and keeps us gardeners straight!
This weeks harvests looked like this most nights:

I don't have a lot to share as the garden clean up from my week long hiatus hasn't even been completed yet. The peppers suffered from both my absence and a brief dip into the upper thirties. The marigolds that had spread 4' tall and 5' wide are both history. Wow what a sorry sight they are! The purple beans are nearly all gone. What is left is a tangled mess with a couple of live vines intertwined. It breaks my heart to rip them all out because there are a few left that are producing of course and this time of year there is no hope of starting any new plants and harvesting anything from them. The bush beans are nearly all done as well so a tiny handful this week is my pitiful bounty for green beans... but this is December - so I'm NOT complaining!

The cucumber vines also all shriveled up from the cold, and the tomatillos as well... I have one that is still alive but with only one alive it is doubtful that it could set fruit again this year so I will see tonight what is left to mature and bring in anything promising to finish the harvest for the tomatillos for the year. Time to start next years plants indoors! :-D They don't get nearly as tall as tomatoes so I'm seriously thinking about doing this. Besides the purple ones are kinda pretty.

The 'english' peas are doing well and Richard and I enjoy eating them as a snack fresh without cooking them. We eat them rather the way most people eat popcorn- in front of the TV. :-D

Some more Daikons and greens came in - and the first of the lettuce provided a nice salad this week, but silly me got to eatin' before taking a picture.

The Holiday season has officially set in full force as the sitter is officially on the schedule for the remainder of the month and every single week is jam packed with activities and I am scrambling to figure out when to do my baking already! I suppose this is a good thing, but the tree is only up and somehow we need to find time to string lights, and garland and ornaments, and decorate outside and sheesh! I'm tired just THINKING about all that. *teehee* When, exactly did I get O~L~D?

'Till next time!
Barbie~