Herford Cattle After A Long Winter

4/19/2013

You can tell the grass is greening up and the cattle held their weight and thrived through the winter.  Our fall calves developed and will be weaned the First of May. Our weather is damp and chilly but I am sure summer will arrive eventually.

I am not too concerned about getting our garden planted, the ground is wet and cold and more rain is in this weeks forecast.   The river bottoms have flooded, receded, and flooded more so all we can do is wait it out.  Farmers have been working fields, but nothing is planted.

At least we are not buried under snow like the northern states.  Winter 2012-2013  has been extremely interesting.

Did Your Dog Get Skunked? Use Hydorgen Peroxide!!!

Plain old hydrogen peroxide really does work to rid your dog of that nasty skunk smell.  Unfortunately I found out yesterday this does work.  Our spoiled rotten Irish Setter was skunked again, for the third time in her life.

It seems she is either territorial or just fascinated with skunks.  When she went to the farm to help feed the cattle yesterday morning, she returned in less than stellar condition.  She reeked. 

Well I have previously used the tomato juice bath, the white vinegar bath, and have not been pleased with the results.

I did have on hand 4 large bottles of peroxide, so we tried that. We poured all four on her and soaked her collar thoroughly.  Of course she had to stay outside for an hour and a half then she received a through warm bath with mild dish soap.  The peroxide neutralizes the effects of the skunk and even when I rinsed her down to apply shampoo the odor did not return.  After a through bath she smelled fresh as a daisy.

I do hope she has finally learned the difference between a skunk and a cat(she is buddies with our cats).

Spring is Finally Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been so nice out the last few days, I have been out and enjoying it.  April has been busy so far, Easter and 2 birthdays.  We have two more this month and then none till June. 

So far this month I have cleaned my kitchen, trimmed my Roses and Russian Sage, repaired my bird feeding station a raccoon decided to vandalize, and cleaned one of the buildings.  It is a 30 x 60 pole barn that we use year round.  It is heated (our outside wood burning stove) and air conditioned.  It is mainly used by my husband but I have a small area that I use.  My work shop was cleaned and reorganized in March so I feel like I am ready for gardening season.  There is still more housecleaning to do but I will keep going and get every thing done.

We have one cow to calve this spring then the rest will be born in the fall.  We still have to have the vet in.  Yes they get check ups also, banding and shots. 

My garden has been ripped and plowed so we are getting closer to my time of the year.  I haven't drug out my flip flops yet but that is not to far off. 

When the sun is shinning and it is warm, it is so much easier to get tons of chores done.  Hopefully we will have a good garden year.  

Is it Spring or Winter?

What a start to spring!!!  Saturday was a warm spring day, yesterday was gray and rainy until 4PM then the temperature starting dropping and snow started.  We did not yet that much maybe 2 inches. 

Today is cold and gray.  This weekend is supposed to be in the fifties so that will really feel good.  This year is just going to be one of those years spring will be here when Mother Nature thinks it is appropriate.

I just got a call from our heating and air repair company wanting to come tomorrow to check out our air conditioner.  I asked them to call back when it is warmer here.  I don't think it is that important yet.  I rally don't want to drag our garden hoses out for them to wash the air conditioners down.

At least this weather gives everyone something to talk about.  We have been very fortunate not to have had any severe rain storms or heavy snows week after week. In short we are just counting our blessings.

Spring Thaw on the Way

Our little household is so excited with the weather forecast this coming weekend 60 degrees is predicted.  Our winter has been harsh compared to the last few winters.  Long, cold, and snowy.  Granted we have not had the harsh winters of our northern neighbors, but it has been nasty here.  We did need to rotate into a normal winter, but I am glad the end is in sight.

Pastures will be greening up, gardening is that much closers, and we won't have to layer up just to function outdoors. All the baby animals will also start showing up for visits and baby anythings are cute. I am anxious to get windows open and get fresh air into the houses and start cleaning and organizing, buildings, the house, and cleaning out vehicles. 

Our grandchildren are really anxious for spring to get here, they will be out this weekend trudging through mud and keeping their Mom's busy with laundry at the end of the day. 

How to Make (Shagbark) Hickory Nut Syrup

Use Shagbark Hickory nuts(the whole nut shell and all),  they are larger than your regular Hickory Nut, hard to crack, but worth the effort.   

Wash the nuts: just soak for 30 minutes in water and drain, and rinse again.  You do not have to let them dry. Crush enough nuts to fill your dutch oven about 3/4 full, leave room for water.

Crush the nuts one at a time in a vise. You are going to use the whole nut to make Hickory Nut Milk.

Make Hickory Nut Milk: (Use an old heavy dutch oven the nuts will discolor it). Cover crushed nuts with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Strain the nuts using a fine strainer.  Reserve the liquid (now Hickory Nut Milk) for your syrup. Discard the nuts and shells or freeze for use in your smoker.

Mix Hickory Nut Milk with white granulated sugar or dark brown sugar.  Use 1 cup sugar to 2 cups of Hickory Nut Milk. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat, reduce heat to Medium and continue to cook uncovered for 45 to 50 Minutes.  Remove from heat and put into sterilized canning jar. 

I used 8 cups of Hickory Nut Milk and 4 cups of white granulated sugar.  I ended up with 2 pints of syrup and an additional 12 ounce container. (total yield--44 ounces)

The finished product is dark and flavorful.  This is not hard to do just time consuming. 

Making A Rich Broth

Making a rich broth is easy.  It will work with Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, or even fish.  If you prefer you can just use vegetables and make vegetable broth.

Cook your meat and save the bones.  Freeze them for later and make a large amount of broth or make it right away.  The bones you save are the ones that are left from carving(from cooked or uncooked meat), not the ones someone has nibbled on. 

The best way I have found to make broth, is to bake it overnight in a slow 200 degree oven (at least 12 hours) and the end result is a really rich broth.  Add water, bones, celery, onion, garlic, and carrots or whatever kind of vegetable you prefer, season with salt or not.  Then cool the broth and strain it.  Next refrigerate it, when it is cooled and it will be congealed you will see a layer of fat the has accumulated at the top.  I remove that(just carefully spoon it off) and discard it.  Now you can use the broth immediately or break it down into smaller amounts and freeze.  Use freezer containers, or zip lock freezer bags.  Broth can also be canned.  I keep large quantities of broth in the freezer to use to can meat.  I recently started canning meat, to have on hand in case of power outages.  I did intend to have this done before winter, so far we have not lost power this winter, we have been very fortunate.

Use for soups, stews, pasta, gravies, there are several uses for this.  It is handy and flavorful.

Spring is Closer Than We Think

Get your seed orders ready now if they aren't done already.  Make a list or diagram of how you intend to lay out your garden.  Remember to rotate all your vegetables, not the same thing planted in the same spot.  It may work for farmers that no till corn year after year (with a huge expense) but it does not work for the home gardener.  Planting the same thing in the same spot year after year just breeds problems.

If you have seed left over and you are unsure it is still good, do a small test on it. Use wet paper towels, and place seed between layers to see if it will germinate.  Count the seeds that do germinate (after time needed for each seed), if you end up with 90 Per Cent germinated,  it should be OK to plant it under normal growing conditions. 

Start watching for all the items you may still need to plant and tend your garden to go on sale if you have not already done so.

In our area now is the time to start Plants for spring transplant.  I still need to get this done.  This year I will only be starting Tomato and Pepper Plants.  Then when time to harden off I will have to fight with raccoons.  They can be a pest but they are so cute. 

We do have an Ice Storm coming in Thursday night,  cross your fingers this will be the last one.

Surviving on a Budget

Living on a budget, fixed income, or just trying to save money, there are still ways to do this.  With gas prices all over the board right now and there seems to be no end in sight it will affect everyones bottom line.  You just have to be diligent on how you spend money.  No matter how you try to budget weekly or monthly there is something always coming up. 

We have a garden, and I do can and freeze everything possible from it.  If this is not an option, there are still ways to build a stock pile of food with out breaking your budget.

Don't shop stock up.   Always comb through all the sale fliers and available coupons.   Make detailed lists, know a stores coupon policies and price matching.

Coupon deals in our area are hard to utilize and not what you see on TV big coupon saving shows.  Buy several of the items at a time of things that are on special.  Use coupons where you can.  Price match at stores that allow it and in a few months you will have a nice stock pile.  A nice storage area is not necessary.  Utilize every bit of spare room you have.  Keep it organized and rotate items by expiration dates.  Only buy what you know you will eat or utilize.

In the fall around Thanksgiving and Christmas stores have good deals on canned food, also baking needs. Start paying attention to sale trends each and every month in your area and you soon have an understanding of the best deals.  Bulk buy as much as you can, in the long run it does pay off.  In short know your needs, buy and stock up as cheaply as possible.  Avoid paying full retail price for everything  possible.  After a few months you will have what I refer to as a cushion and if you can't get to a store or need to cut back on your spending you will have our own area to shop in that has already been paid for.

Stick to your shopping plan, have a detailed list, avoid impulse buying, and do not grocery ship when you are tired or hungry. 

How I Cook Beef Tongue

This is probably not the way a chef would cook beef tongue, but this is how I cooked it.
 
1. Soak tongue in water for and hour, drain off water and rinse well, drain off water again.

2. Get out the crock pot, add the tongue, celery, onion, carrots, salt, and water to cover tongue.

3. Set temperature on low and cook all night.

fully cooked



outer membrane removed from tongue



4. Remove the outer membrane and discard it, shred the meat and made barbecue, .  It tastes like a beef roast,  it just has a different texture. 

Canning Pork Tenderloin

I have wanted to can meat for some time.  I had just purchased 2 on sale and we had a large supply of tenderized sliced tenderloin in the freezer plus 2 whole ones frozen to make Canadian Bacon, out of.   I did can it two different ways and took the fat and rendered it into lard. 

The first way I canned it was what my canning book called hot pack.  After cutting it in cubes about 2 to 3 inches square, I heated it in a broth that I had frozen from a pork roast.  I did not cook it completely.  I had preheated the broth to a boil and added the meat.  I just stirred it for about 10 to 15 minutes then spooned it and the broth into hot sterilized pint jars (leave 1 inch head space) add 1/4 tsp of caning salt (to each pint jar) sealed it and processed it in my pressure canner for 75 minutes.

The second way I canned it was the cold process method.  Fill sterilized jars with raw cubed tenderloin (leave 1 inch of head space) add 1/2 tsp canning salt to each pint jar (Do Not Add Water To  Jars), seal and processed 75 minutes in my pressure canner. 




Hot Pack Method Finished Product

Cold Pack Method Finished Product

We have tried the tenderloin from each method and they are both good.  I am going to try canning beef next.  It is nice to have the meat ready for quick meals especially in the summer when it is hot and everyone is so busy.  Even in the cold winter months when you forget to thaw something or plan a meal it is already cooked. I always have frozen entrees in the freezer now I can go to the canning shelf also.


The 2 tenderloin I purchased were boneless and weighed approximately 9 to 10 pounds each.  I ended up with 20 pints of canned meat and approximately 22 ounces of rendered lard. 

February is great time for Butchering Hogs

We have been busy here, baby sitting, trying to recover from reactions to the flu shot.  No more for us.  I would rather have the flu.  We are functioning do something constructive one day and exhausted the next. 

We did spend the weekend at a friends butchering 2 hogs.  He has all the toys to do it.  A walk in cooler, saws, grinder, tenderizer, all the wrapping items.  They had been hung to cool for two days so Saturday we cut and wrapped and Sunday we made sausage.  Doing this is not hard physical labor, and the end product is worth it. 

He had just processed 4 hogs the weekend before, so he has been super busy.  We are just grateful we have a friend like him.  This time I came out of the endeavor without any knife cuts. 

I have been busy all month cooking and freezing meals ahead.  Our family has been hit hard by the illnesses this year and pre-made meals were getting low in the freezer.  We have had everything from scarlet fever, flu, and one broken arm.  So it is time to restock. 

I am trying to reorganize here and get ready for gardening season.  There are days I think spring is too far away and then we will get a warm beautiful day.  At least we are closer to spring now than we were in November. 

How to Render Lard in a Crock Pot

I bought 2 pork loins this past week on sale of course.  Well I did not need them for the freezer so I canned them.  I will give details on the canning in my next post.

After trimming fat from both of the loins as close as possible, being careful to leave the meat on the roast,  I ended up with a large amount of fat to dispose of.  I always wanted to try and render lard from the fat.

 I put all of it in my crock pot(do not add water) and cooked it over night on low (8 hours).  The next day I cooked it on high for 6 hours.  Strained it and cooled it until I could pour it in a freezer container.  I ended up with about 22 ounces of rendered white lard. 

You will be able to tell (from the pictures) there was some meat scraps attached to the fat and it was just fine.  My memories from the butchering we did on the farm there were meat scraps in the fat before rendering.  The fat was always rendered on an open fire in a black kettle. 

For the small amount I made the crock pot works just fine.

Low Tech Geo Thermal Heating and Cooling for Above Ground Cattle Water Tank

Sounds like a very technical and complicated process.  It is not.  It is a very simple process after you understand how to do it.  When my husband first brought it up, I was very skeptical and thought here we go again.  He doesn't question my hair brained ideas and projects so I support his unconditionally. When he had every thing set up I put on my work boots and grabbed by work gloves. Of course it helps if the neighbor has a back hoe and is as curious as I was to see what he had planned.  This project was done October 27, 2012, not in February.

He had organized all his supplies, 2--7 foot long  x 18 inch diameter plastic heavy duty drain tiles,  2 wooden frames to hold the tiles in place (in the hole while back filling), a piece of 2 inch rigid foam insulation that he cut a little larger than the bottom of the tank, shovels, rakes, the neighbor with his back hoe.  And of course me, my camera, and our dog.

The stock tank had already been emptied and cleaned, and he had portable gates to set up to keep the cows, calves, and bull out of the way.  They are nosey, and want to be right in the middle of everything.  Wild they are not.

After digging a a hole 7 foot deep and wide enough for both the tiles and frame we were ready.  The tiles with the frame at the top and bottom already attached (the frames were built for a tight fit) were lifted by the bucket on the back hoe with a chain of course and lowered into the hole.   After making sure everything was level and centered back filling was done.  Next the 2 inch foam insulation.   He cut holes in the insulation so the it fitted around the tiles .  It was explained to me that the natural heat from the ground would keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  The tank was replaced and filled with water. 

We have had a lot of extreme weather here so far and it does work until we hit about 20 degrees.  It is an improvement for him in the winter considering we do not have stock tank heaters (no electricity at the farm).  My husband said he is still breaking ice but it is not as thick as before.  I am hoping it will keep the water cool in the summer, I know I don't like to drink plain hot water. 

As you can see from the pictures our calves liked the freshly dug dirt.  Play time.

New Hereford Bull Calf born, Our Hereford Bull, and Januray 2012 flood water!!!

Last Saturday January 12, 2012 we added to the herd again.  The calf we were waiting on, Mama did breed on the clean up cycle by the bull.  She is an older cow and is the Boss of the herd.  My husband swears she waits until he has given up and when she sees him coming into feed she just drops a calf on her own terms.  He intended to check her again for signs of a possible birth and was maybe going to put her in the barn.

Needless to say he saw the calf and started moving equipment to get her and baby up.  I had just left to go to our daughters for a visit.  So I was not helping this time.  After hours of working and having it all strawed down he ended up carrying the calf to the barn and Mama followed.  He told me that he thought it was going to be a lighter weight calf until he picked it up.  They had to go into the barn because our temperature that day hit close to 60 degrees, rain and dropping temps were predicted for the night.  The calf could have frozen to the ground during the night.  We did get 3 1/2 inches of rain that night and washed into the barn so  the next day he added more straw and everyone is warm and cozy now.  He is moving them out of the barn probably Sunday or Monday of this week.  The little fellow is already jumping around and running in the pen, so he is a healthy little fellow Mama maybe getting older but she is a really good mother.

We did have some flooding , river bottom flooding(back water).   Eventually it did cover the road and at times we can get flooded in for up to 14 days or more. We live on a curve and it floods us in both ways.  We get out by 4-wheeler to a vehicle we move out (to the neighbors) prior to flooding. We have lived here so long we are educated on river bottom flooding.

Mama, baby, and flood waters are OK now.

I have posted baby pictures Jarhead born January 12, 2012, a picture of our Bull Harry born May 11, 2009, and flood pictures(before water got over road ).  Also a picture of what I call our swamp.

Taxes, Snow, Birds and January Thaw

Well it has been a productive few days here at our house.  Almost have my taxes done and ready to take to the accountant.  Our daughter always tries to beat me each year on getting done first.  She did beat me last year, maybe I can reclaim the title this year.  She is like me get it done and over with.

Our snow cover is still hanging on here.  Some has been melting during the day and refreezing at night.  The temperature is up to 44 degrees right now. January Thaw has arrived early.  Five minutes ago I heard a big crashing sound, then realized it was the remainder of the sheets of snow melting off the north side of the house.  My car is almost melted off  so I can go to Walmart now if I want too.  We have not moved the car since Christmas Day (it is front wheel drive and not much help in this mess).  I have ventured to town twice since then in the Jeep.  I usually avoid all stores after Christmas if I can.  I stock up form April till Christmas, order as much off the Internet as I can and avoid all stores.  I just do not enjoy shopping that much.  I do try to take a detailed list with me and never walk in with out it.  I will rush trough and forget half of what I need with out a list.

I have been watching my little friends at the bird feeders since Christmas Day feeding at our bird feeders, I love to watch them. We have Woodpeckers, Blue jays,  Cardinals, and Doves,  plus some I have no idea what they are.  I buy 40 pound bags of wild bird seed at the farm store and mix in an additional 10 to 15 pounds of black oil sunflower seed with it.  The birds rally like it at least I have not received any complaints from them yet.  With the snow cover they have been feeding heavy.  If we have a bad weather forecast  you can tell it is going to hit, the little feathered fellows feed heavier before it hits. 

Later this week we have rain in the forecast.  Hope we don't see any storms.  Winter is not over, it is just a little break and it will hit again.  We have had some heavy ice and snow storms as late as March.

The bright sunshine, warmer temperatures make me want to houseclean.  I need to hurry up and finish taxes today so I can start cleaning before the mood leaves.

2012 An Interesting Year

Well a new year has appeared again.  Of course I was not ready as usual.  Our kids are grown and gone, I have more time now than I did when they were little.  I got more done then than now.  I think my cousin was right when she stated we are not getting older just slower.

Lets see I started 2012 with all kinds of goals and very few were not kept as usual.  I did get my spring cleaning done, fall cleaning half done, bookkeeping half is done, canning no we had a drought, I could keep going but it would appear I am making excuses. 

I will just look on the positive side, we had a drought and we weathered it.  Was my garden a success?  No, but we did have tomatoes to eat, all we wanted, 4 quarts of juice were canned and 2 batches of chili for the freezer,  22 quarts of green beans were canned, cucumbers for the grand kids were picked, and 70 lbs of potatoes were dug.  My canning jars were not all filled, but we had more than most people.   At least my garden wasn't flooded out.  It could have been worse. 

If I had achieved everything I wanted to do I would not have anything left to do in 2013.  Life throws curve balls and  you either catch them or you fumble them, it is up to you.  At least our family  weathered the record breaking heat and our animals all survived. 

Every year our oldest granddaughter always asks what kind of winter I think we will have.  I always tell her we will know come spring what winter brought.  This year I will tell here now we are more than likely have met our projected snow fall of 20 inches.  We have already had at least a total of 18 inches and still have 2 more months of winter to go.  All the snow we get has been desperately needed and we are welcoming it.

We do have a warm up coming this next week,  it will probably melt our snow off and get muddy.  Rain is in the forecast.  With that forecast coming I will not have any more excuses, I will have to put blinders on and get something accomplished.

My resolutions for 2013 are not to make any resolutions.  Just take one day at a time, and not to worry about what does not get done, just be content with what I do.