It seems like days are running together and those same days go from freezing cold in the morning to down right hot in the mid day. My second round of taters have failed miserably. The tubers rotted in the soil. I'm thinking it has something to do with the weird weather and the soil being too warm in the day, cold overnight. In the spring, the soil stays cooler as the tubers sprout up and grow. It makes sense to me but I have no real proof of it. Just what my mind has created to rationalize my crop failure.
Well, there he is, the leather bag filled with bones I've been tending to. The daily feeding of the correct amount has improved him greatly and put him on schedule for butchering in a timely manner. It has also helped for moving him to another pen so I could get calves separated this past weekend. Worked out pretty good right up until i whacked the feller who bought the calves in the head with a gate. Purely an accident but I still felt badly for it. Calves in the shoot backed up on me, had me caught in the gate I was holding to keep them in there, the feller came back to us, poked the calves, they ran forward relieved the pressure and as the gate came off my leg, he got whacked. How he managed to have his head down low enough for the gate to whack him, I'm not sure. It just happened too fast. I still feel badly tho.
My son is on my naughty list. he has been cheating his way thru morning chores on me and not feeding the ducks and chickens properly. I keep trying to explain to him that I don't grow all that corn, spend all that time picking and shucking it then grinding it for him to not feed the ducks and chickens! As a result of his poor chore work, I went 3 days this week without eggs for my breakfast. The chickens are now back to laying but have not gotten back to full production. I am not pleased with that boy right now. he's plenty old enough to know better, right foot left butt cheek........
I have finalized the milk cow deal and paid the man a down payment of the $200 I had put aside for the cow fund. I still owe him quite a bit but he is just fine with milking her until I get her paid off. I hope to have her home before the end of November and get some cheese made. There's going to be some headed out in the mail and you all know who you are on the receiving end... I'm really looking forward to it and to sharing the joy with others. Plus, one more thing that I can provide for myself and not have to buy! One more small step along the self sustained journey.
I just finished reading 2 books, Lucifers Hammer and the Last Centurion. I found both to be pretty interesting. Each time I come across something that is written down that reflects my opinions on the state of the world, I feel pretty good about it. It's nice to know others are out there that feel as I do. sometimes I feel like the lone ranger in a desperate fight of futility against an invisible monster. Silly, I know, but I do feel like that sometimes.
I still have not touched the garden spot or the back corn patch. it has been too windy to till for the wheat. There isn't any real rain forcast for our area and to till it and plant it is a waste of time with 30mph winds every day and no rain. Wheat will not germinate in popcorn fart dry dirt. Hmmm, I wonder if I will get it planted at all. I am not hurting for wheat and will not run out before next seasons crop but it will deplete my pile from normal use. hmmm
Woohoo! There it is, the very first wheel of cheese from the jersey cow! it's the half batch of cheddar I made the other day. The cheese has a richer, almost buttery taste to it and I suspect it is due to the high butterfat content of the milk. I tried to make some Gouda last night, it did not turn out so spectacular. I did not expect perfection for the first time making Gouda and I did learn a couple things as i went thru the process so I hope the next round will be better.
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