AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[Farmfresh]

I solve that problem by just doing 4 to 6 on a single day. This gives me more room to chill them as well.

SO 1 cook stove should be enough - they only need to soak about 1 minute at 160 degrees F

Gut - Nah - my finger works fine to remove lungs.

Chill - Sure you can go ahead and wrap for the freezer if you want to. Just give them a couple days of chill to go through rigor mortis before freezing them or they will get TOUGH. Giblets and soup bones like backs and necks can be frozen immediately.

 

[AL]

Ok... so only a few a day, got it! They ship next Wednesday, so I am feeling nervous (yes, I know it will be a few weeks before we actually process them, but remember I am OCD about planning). This weekend I will go over to my friends house and pull up a couple of threads here so we can make sure we have everything we'll need.


As far as everyday chores, they haven't been happening. My list is growing for this weekend.


Still to do this month:
- tarp the "walls" of the meatie shelter
- rig up hardware cloth cover for brooder
- pull dry peas and shell for next year
- oak leaves for the chicken house
- oak leaves (2 truckloads) for the compost pile / garden (this can wait - see if anything comes of the garden, then clean it and till it before "leafing" it)
- clear out extra stall for Buddy's hay
- contact trainer for estimates on Buddy

Saving $ for:
- house insurance - December
- extra deep freezer
- beef from Gizmo

 

[Farmfresh]

Keep saving for that deep freezer, but I will share how I finally got mine.

1. Home Depot had a sale on energy star deep freezers.
2. Delivery and removal of old appliance was only $1.00
3. They offered NO INTEREST for 12 months.

I made ABSOLUTELY sure I had it paid off well before the time period was up so I incurred no interest fees. What a deal! Then I waited and bought a second the same way ... and why stop there I bought a THIRD freezer for my D1 and her hubby for Christmas!

It was affordable by making those payments. I paid more when I could as well.

The freezer BEFORE my last ones... I purchased from a Rent a Center. NOT on a rental agreement. NO NO NO. I bought a rental return with cash money for a nice low price.

 

[AL]

LOL That's awesome

My parents had a huge deep freeze and a smaller one, plus refrigerators on the back porch and in the garage. Then the 2 deep freezers konked out pretty close one after the other. My dad has one fridge freezer full of ice packs and bottles / jugs of water (ice).
My freezer stays empty , but I'm working on that

 

[Farmfresh]

Stick around here very long and you will be canning more - to clean out the freezer - just so you can fill it up again!

 

[lorihadams]

I gotta clean out my second freezer for the deer meat and meat chickens.....You'll get there and then you will be scrambling for more room!!!

We get a lot of stuff from Home Depot or Lowes on the 12 months no interest stuff. We got our lawnmower that way.....got 7 more payments on that bad boy and it is all mine!

 

[AL]

In my mind I have filled several freezers! LOL - chicken, beef, veggies....
so far, I have an order in for meat chickens. I guess that is a good enough start until I actually get somewhere to put the other stuff!

So today has proven futile so far... eating lunch then I will try again.
Last night (this morning? 130am) when I fed the horses, my old mare Skye, kicked out a stall wall. Of course it was the wall between the stall and the hay storage, so I had to block them out of that stall as well as out of the back pasture.
Then this morning one of my friendliest hens - Clementine the Golden Comet- got over the fence and my parent's dog got her. I was eating my oatmeal when I heard the ruckus and as I ran down the porch steps screaming at Rags I set my bowl on the handrail. It took me a few minutes to find Clementine (in the garden hiding in the dried peas I haven't pulled yet), and when I got back there were chickens on the handrail eating my oatmeal! The poor hen is fine - bald butt though.

I had an appointment I was running late for since I had to hunt for the chicken, so first job after lunch is to clip wings again.

Set up for the fair is tomorrow, haven't heard from the guy doing my photo enlargements so I have to call him as well or I will not have anything for the exhibit.

Maybe I can get SOMETHING done before T12's baseball game this evening. *sigh*

 

[AL]

After lunch I clipped wings, spead some scratch, gathered eggs and fed the horses. Then I went to Petsmart, our new Tractor Supply (ooooh I like it!!!) and to pick up my Fair photos.
My dad helped me rebuild the stall wall, and I am going to just go buy a stock gate instead of rebuilding that section.

I found a few bales of musty hay :/ so I am going to have to drag that out so it doesn't get fed to the horses. Sure hope it is only those few, I sure can't afford to replace much. I don't think it is moldy, just musty / dusty, old (last year's hay).... can I spread it on the garden plot? Toss some out for the chickens?


I bought tarps for the meatie shelter, carried the kiddie pool up there and watered the oat grass.

I still have to:
- frame Fair photos
- clean chicken house
- pull peas / shell for next year
- set the hooks for the tarps on the meatie shelter
- rig up hardware cloth cover for brooder

Very soon I have to:
-- oak leaves for the chicken house
- oak leaves (2 truckloads) for the compost pile / garden (this can wait - see if anything comes of the garden, then clean it and till it before "leafing" it)
- clear out extra stall for Buddy's hay
- contact trainer for estimates on Buddy

Saving $ for:
- house insurance - December
- extra deep freezer
- beef from Gizmo

 

[AL]

I have been running all day and still haven't accomplished much. We did hang a gate on the barn wall to the hay room. One more board to nail across to finish up the repairs.
Friends helped me hang my photo display at the fairgrounds, then I went grocery shopping. I sure hate buying store milk *sigh*

I took Rio across the street to run in the field, then came home for a lunch of scuppernongs and water. Rather than getting motivated and heading back outside, I'll introduce my animals. We all live in NW Florida on 3.8 acres shared with my parents... technically 1 acre has been given to me but because of the horses we leave it all fenced together. I have a garden lot that is about 60' x 100', half planted with dried peas that I should be pulling, the other half with blackeye peas and squash (I cheer for them every night to grow quick and beat the cold).

Rio - my loyal friend and helper; 107lbs, 2 1/2 yrs old (top 2 photos are from today, and yep, it was hot enough for him to pant - think it was 90)

Buford - the sweetest dog EVER; 14yrs old

Rags - Bad dog! (the one who got my chicken) he's from the local pound, technically he is my dad's dog, but he comes to my house lots.

Leroy - supposed to have been my only cat... HA

Dot the cat and Ninja the Betta fish; Dot lives with my folks now

Boots - Dot's full sister

Diva - picked her up in the parking lot of work last year. Now, she allows us to live inside with her.

Chicken butts... is there anything cuter? lol

Crazy Agnes... doesn't have the good sense God gave the average houseplant, but she is awesome to look at

28yr old Skye; I've had her 22yrs. I was very lucky she is so sweet and even tempered - as a teen I would ride backwards in the saddle so I could talk to my friends - as we rode down the side of a major highway.

Almost 18mth old gelding Buddy - Foster horse; "I will not keep him I will not keep him"

He comes up the wheelchair ramp and sticks his head in my front door. I call him my 500lb dog

I have a couple of outside cats, can't usually find them to take photos. I also have one more inside cat that I see about once a week....another tuxedo girl named Lil. I have 16 chickens total - 15 hens and my EE Roo Big Poppy. On total impulse without any thought whatsoever, I have also ordered 25 cornishx that will ship on Wednesday. *gulp*

That's everybody... so I guess that means I need to go scoop poop and clean the chickenhouse.

 

[lorihadams]

LOVE the pics....what would our lives be like if we didn't have our animals???