More Farm Pictures

Clarabelle. This picture is a really good angle for her; it doesn't show how barrel-like she's getting!

Teddy, with all his pride and none of his tail.

Pretty or pesky.

Our first giant sunflower.

Scruggs is livin' the life.

We canned 19 quarts of green beans this morning.

Kind of pretty, I thought.

We didn't get even enough corn to eat this year! The coons (or whatever it is) have eaten very well though!

Now tell me, how can little tomatoes and mid-sized tomatoes grow on the same vine? Really, there are golf ball-sized tomatoes and normal-sized tomatoes growing on this vine!

Here's a volunteer weed, only... I think it's called ground cherry. I've read that they'll take over, and that they're related to tomatoes. I've even read that they're edible, although I don't know how.

Pig Pics

Well, that's a sort of good picture to show their ever-increasing size.

You know, it's terribly hard to keep these piggies still in order to get a good picture of them!

I just liked this picture.

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Guess what?!! You never will so I tell you! I took these on my own! I still hate the camera though; almost none of my pictures came out clearly!!!

A New "Toy"

Daddy got an Olympus digital voice recorder to be used for our music lessons. Since the Pickin' Parlor closed Mr. Brantley has not been able to record our lessons, making it extremely difficult to learn hard songs. This week he recorded "Rawhide" for me, and it is making it much easier!!! The midi on that page sounds a little like the one he's teaching us.

Well, not much has been going on around here lately. Not too many predator problems. Not much rain (although we have gotten some amazingly). No processings. No calves. Nothin'. We're just going on with laundry and our ordinary, boring life. I suppose boring isn't bad, just kind of dull. It's much better than lively if the liveliness comes from predators though!

Things

I don't know what to title this post. It's not going to be about anything in particular, so much as things that have been happening lately.

Saturday, we went to our cousins' birthday party. Kyle amused us all by picking out the tune to Psalm 25A on some mounted PVC pipes that you play with the sole of a flip-flop. It was hilarious!

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Dug some of our potatoes the other evening. Well, I didn't, but the others did.

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Sometime last week poor Teddy lost all his "only beauty", but, with that, none of his pride! He looks so funny strutting around with no tail! We, unfortunately, have no idea how this calamity happened, but right now it is the least of our worries!


The dark, wild-turkey-looking turkeys will probably have to be kil... umm, I mean processed soon. We'll probably put them in the freezer until this Thanksgiving.






I wish I had some pictures of the pigs to put up. They are getting huge!!! I don't know why, but just lately they seemed to have gotten much bigger. Perhaps I haven't been out to see them as much.

I was given dinner duties recently. I've been at it for almost a week now, and I am trying to adjust my thinking. I have to get meat out of the freezer in the morning, do any prep work that can be done beforehand, and get started so that dinner will be ready by 5:30 pm. So far I have not done too well. No burned dinners yet; no undercooked meat yet, but my timing isn't great. Still, I think I've had it ready by 6:00 or 6:30 pm; I did a bit better this evening. I have learned a bit already though. I've done fruit and veggie trays or arranged salads with almost every dinner, and they've gone over quite well I believe. It adds a nice touch to simple meals without too much hassle!

I'm being told to "hit the publish button". Better stop now.

Predator Problems

In the past couple of weeks the corn in our big garden has been almost ready to pick. Of course, the raccoons or something began to find it around that time. However, we had corn on the cob for lunch and dinner today!!! I am convinced there is no better vegetable!

Something has been getting into the layers the past week or so. It's coming into the chicken house and killing the birds. We still have a few layers left, and we're hoping to build a hoop tractor with built-in nest boxes soon. Kyle set up the live trap in the hopes of luring our current predator with tuna (really, I don't think anything could be lured in with that!). He caught the cat.

Last night was the second night in a row that something has managed to get into our broiler hoop tractor. This predator gets in there, kills one bird by pulling the head off. It must be some sort of game for it because the head is on one side of the tractor and the body is on the other (from what I've heard). So far nothing has gotten into our turkey tractor. It's close to the house though. I think, if I had my way, we should have all poultry in tractors rotating through the yard.

Maybe we should just stick to larger animals. All cattle, pigs, dogs, and cat are still alive and well (although the cat may be a little traumatized).

Fourth of July

Sometimes I wonder what it is really that we are celebrating on the fourth day in July. In the Revolutionary War we were fighting for representation more than anything at first. Nowadays, the taxes still go up, and we have representation. I can't help but wonder if we have the representation we need. The media has us in its grip. It can control nearly a whole nation just by a thing one person decides to "report"; it is able to sway the thoughts of millions by the way they bias their report! We are not against government, but, man, it sure would be nice to have wholesale reform!!! I'm going to get myself in trouble; I'll move on to yesterday's pictures and light commentary. There won't be too many, don't worry.

Daddy smoked our ribs in the smoke house. He decided that we needed fire bricks and/or another layer of bricks in the firebox.

Kyle getting some green wood for better smoking.

Waiting for lunch/dinner (the ribs took longer than expected).

Bottle rockets. They turned grown men into boys once more.

After lunch (and a little time to allow for digestion) Daddy, Uncle Craig, Kyle, and I played "Pitchin' Warshers". Daddy and I won.

Around 8:30p.m. we shot off a few fireworks. All in all, it was a very pleasant day.

Another Good Quote

From Luke. Hey, some of the best things come from him (even though he doesn't mean to)!

"Do you know what insightful is?" Daddy asking Luke.

"What I say." Luke answering.

We had a good laugh over that.

Saturday

The Stouffer's came to our place Friday, and, on Saturday, we got a great deal of work done!!!

First thing Saturday morning we processed thirty, very small Cornish Cross birds.

I got the scalding job again. It was quite a hot job in the near-ninety degree weather.

See, I told you they were small! I don't think this was the smallest one either!

Gizzards and feet! We were requested to keep the gizzards out. We were not very sure how to clean all the grass and stuff out, so we left that up to the recipient!

Kyle and Daniel moved the younger chicks into the newly-emptied, larger chicken tractor. Still, I think we will have to make another one for when they get larger.

While they were putting the chicks in the chicken tractor, Daddy, Mr. Stouffer, and Chris started stringing the extension for the pig fence. We got it finished before dinner, but the pigs didn't go past the old fence line until well into the evening or the next day! We can't thank the Stouffer's enough for all the work they helped us with! They did so much yard work too! We can't wait for them to come back (we've got plenty more work to do to keep many people very busy!)!

Anticipation

We are in a state of anticipation here at Allelon Farm. We are eagerly looking forward to our first bit of fresh, home-grown corn, the first mess of green beans, and the first ripe tomato. We are keeping a close eye on all our cows. By our none-to-detailed calendar they could have calved two months ago, or it might still be two months away. They are looking so huge though; I expect the calves any day now. My brother is looking forward to lunch. Claire is anticipating the day when her current sewing project will be done. I think she hopes to have it done by the Lord's Day; she is making a short cape, anticipating the air-conditioning that will be "chasing away the humidity". I am looking forward to the time when I will be able to play a song in B flat well. All winter we have been like a spring that has been slowly pulled tighter and tighter. We are ready to let go and get started until this winter when the gearing up will begin anew. Perhaps, once we get going, we will be overwhelmed, but we won't know until everything starts.

A New Version

As Kyle was fixing lunch and Claire, Luke, and I were cleaning blackberries, Kyle was trying to get Luke to sing with him. Kyle would sing a line or two and try to get Luke to finish it. This is kind of how it went:

"Some glad morning when this life if o'er I'll..."

"...Die?"

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Nettled

We've got these here... in great abundance. They are quite a grievance around the garden; the almost-invisible thorns tend to find their way into our flesh. It is tremendously hard to get the thorns out once they're in, and they are incredibly painful. I don't know that I want to get close enough to it to harvest any part of the plant, no matter what the uses are.

The Last Night

The Pick'n Parlor is closing. We're all sad about it, but we are determined to be there, for the last time, tonight. We're going to miss having that place to pick, but something else will probably come up. I've read lots of books where the main characters talk about the different "chapters" in their life. I thought when we stopped working at the Pick'n Parlor that that was the end of the "Pick'n Parlor chapter", but I suppose this really ends it. The Stacy's sold it, and I don't know what the new owners are intending to do with it. Maybe it will still be sort of the same, but I don't think it can ever be the way it was. I am glad I had a chance to work there. In doing so, we became a closer part of the people there. We probably would have never made it into the group like we sort of are now if we had not been forced to go every week for a while. It was great fun, and I'm going to miss everyone.

Quote of the Day

"I'm gonna play the downright bass!"

That was said by Luke on our way home yesterday. We think he was thinking of the tuba... maybe, but we straightened him out. Only, he doesn't want to play the upright bass either; he said the banjo. I have nothing against the banjo, but we could really use a good bass player here at home.

First Failure

Actually, that's really pretty good considering what normally happens when we try something new. This being our third kraut-making year, it is really good. When we kids and Mama got back home from our few days with my aunt, Mama checked on the kraut. It was bad. We can't really figure out what went wrong except that it may not have had enough liquid. Anyway, the cabbage was black, so the pigs got it. This is the recipe we've used every time though. It probably would have worked this time too; we just weren't home to check on it. We will most likely make another batch with farmers' market cabbage.

On to more interesting stuff..... ummm...... I got some new boots............ *think, think, think* uh, apparently Dickson has a nice Goodwill 'cause Mama and Claire spent a long time there yesterday........ umm....... Claire and I are learning a tune by Bill Monroe called " The Longbow". It's a fiddle tune, not a hunting song. Okay. I guess I don't really have anything interesting to post. We're back to our dull, boring life. The pace will soon be picking up as the garden is nearly ready to harvest. Oh, we watched "Anne of Green Gables" at Aunt Carol's last night. I am the only girl I know of who can honestly say that I don't like it!!! That may be putting it a bit strongly, but I don't really enjoy it.

I Have Been Remiss

I should have blogged about this earlier, but I didn't remember. I wasn't actually involved in it, but Kyle trapped a skunk the other night near the chicken house. Daddy killed it with the shotgun. Fortunately, it doesn't smell too bad, and the dogs haven't found it yet.

Daddy was at things early this morning. He was gone to Crossville before most of us were up! Anyway, he came back with the truck loaded with four barrels of feed! Almost as soon as he was home, he went off to get some more hay from a man down the road. Thankfully the man really is just down the road. The hay isn't exactly top-quality, horse-people hay, but it's good enough.

We are trying out a fly rub solution thing on Clarabelle. The flies have been getting around her feet and driving her crazy! We are trying one ounce of citronella in a gallon of apple cider vinegar. I think it may be helping some, but nothing will eliminate the problem altogether.

After lunch Daddy and Kyle moved the Freedom Ranger chicks outside into the newly-repaired, Salatin-style chicken tractor. The chicks seemed to be kind of amazed and unsure of what to do next.

We canned twelve pints of sliced peaches the other day. Aunt Carol brought them back for us. They were delicious peaches! Then Mama requested this pie done with peaches for her birthday "cake", and that was delicious. It's too bad we cannot find good peaches around here very often.

This morning Mama and Grammy (maybe others too; I wasn't there) started some sauerkraut. We only have one quart and three pints left from last year! I never really liked kraut until we made it; now I can't eat the store-bought stuff at all!

We'll have some squash soon from our lower garden. It seems a bit late, but we'll still probably have more than we can handle. The asparagus has been allowed to go to seed for the past week or two. We are have a bit of a better time with our corn than we did last year. We're suspecting any number of animals as being out corn thief; I just hope it goes to somebody else's corn patch this year. We had to use most of last years crop as cream corn to freeze it for the winter. We got to have corn on the cob last night!!! Sure it gets in the retainer, but at least I can eat it now! I went two years without being able to eat it on the cob, and I've always preferred it that way. I can't wait until our corn comes in!!!

I found one and five-eighths yards of denim fabric for $1.50 a yard at the Tullahoma Wal-mart! They're getting rid of the sewing section! They've already replaced the bulk of it with toys. I hope our Wal-mart doesn't do that! Where will we get fabric? Oh, what am I saying? I've got too much fabric to deal with now!

Claire and I are trying to learn "Black Mountain Rag", but it is incredibly difficult. Mr. Brantley said that fiddlers who usually play this carry another fiddle tuned to open A! He's teaching us a way so we don't have to re-tune, but that makes it harder.

I didn't really mean to make this into such a long post, but I just kept thinking about things I've been meaning to blog about.

I actually remembered...

... after a while at least. Here's a picture of Claire in her fairly new Regency gown and chemisette, made the Simplicity pattern designed by Sense and Sensibility. Sorry 'bout the red eye.

Ladies time

Nothin' much has been goin' on 'round here on the farm. Mama, Claire, and I spent a wonderful weekend away from the farm, the chores, and the noise. Still, it was very nice to get back to the men. While we were away Friday, we watched the BBC mini-series "North and South" and "Wives and Daughters", went to Joann's, stepped into a bookstore, and perused a Marty and Liz shoe store (they didn't have any boots for ladies unfortunately). We then splurged on lunch at Macaroni Grill; the mushroom ravioli was delicious! I don't recommend the veal though. "North and South" was really good, and it just keeps getting better! "Wives and Daughters" was good up until the very last scene, so I'm going to ignore that and just make up my own. :) Joann's was just a business stop. I needed a zipper, and we all wanted to look at the denim (ridiculously priced unfortunately). Marty and Liz didn't have anything desirable, and we didn't see any boot outlet. Mama got a few books at the book store, and she got me a set of really nice classics to go in my hope chest! Saturday we slept in. We needed to do a little grocery shopping, so we went out for lunch. There was a man selling bar-b-cued ribs, and they were delicious! Then we went into a jewelry shop! I've been wanting a ring since my sixteenth birthday, and we haven't been able to find anything suitable. We finally found something!!! It has to be resized, but I should have it by the end of the week! Then we went back to Aunt Carol's house, and prepped for the Lord's Day (made the brownie mixes, and laid out our clothes). Then we watched the mini-series we hadn't watched the night before. We turned in rather early considering the last time we did this, around 11:30 pm. The next morning we had a nice reunion with our men, and a lovely day with our church family and friends.

I have also decided that perhaps I ought to use this here "Labels for this post" thing. I don't know if I'll go back and label all my past post, but I think I'll try to remember to do all my future posts. I think I'll have a lot of posts labeled "stuff"; creative, huh!

Honorificabilitudinitatibus

... meaning. How do you pronounce it, I wonder? I rather pity the man who had to play Costard.

Disaster Strikes Again

I really wonder how people "back in the day" kept their chickens, geese, turkeys, etc. alive! Didn't they just let them roam free?! We lost all three of our geese while we were away this weekend. Considering our past reputation however, that's not too bad, being the first of our casualties. We most likely won't be staying over night anywhere as long as we have poultry, at least, not all of us anyway.

Grammy and Granddaddy are hot on the thistles again this year. Kyle, Luke and I have been out heading and cutting them down this morning, but I can't help but feel that it is a loosing battle. It takes forever; it's hot, and they're going to come back no matter what!!! Still, we're trying.

Water, or the lack thereof

At dinner this evening Daddy said that he had talked to one of the guys at our local co-op. This man said that we are in (or in for) one of the worst droughts ever (for around here). Daddy mentioned a seven year drought period. I think back to the year we built our house; it was unusual to have a day without rain! Last year was a dry year, but we're drier earlier this year. I've also been thinking back to the years we spent in a little, dead-end road subdivision. Things have changed so much since then! We were pretty city-fied compared to where we are now, although we did have 6 or so acres. We didn't really know what to do with it! In the last two or three years there we did have a few laying hens, three dogs, and a large garden spot. We had a big, fenced-in, back yard and a wonderful playground. I remember us talking about the weather only occasionally. It didn't really affect us! We actually enjoyed long dry spells! That meant less mowing and more outside play to us. Things have changed! We certainly don't take the weather for granted as often anymore, and the weather is not just a boring, safe subject to resort to when there is nothing else to talk about. It is a constant reminder of how God has control over all things, and we really can't do anything.