Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

frustratedearthmother

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No ants in the kitchen this morning...maybe they were hiding from the flood. Not really a flood for people, but if you're a tiny fraction of an inch tall then the 3 inches of rain we had must seem like a massive flood.

From around 4ish to about 6am this morning we had lots of thunder/lightening and rain. Great sleeping weather except for when it wasn't, lol. I was worried about the piglets. Right now they are in the back yard area where the raised beds are. No barn there! I moved an igloo type doghouse in there for them and have never seen them use it. However, pigs are smart! This morning they came pouring out of that doghouse, stretching and blinking like...breakfast? Is it time for breakfast? I need to bed the house with some hay. Right now there's an old rug in there. Pigs are clean so no worries about them soiling their home.

They've almost totally cleaned out one of the raised beds. It's got me thinking about planting something in there and closing the gates so pigs can't eat whatever I plant, lol. I looked for some started broccoli and cabbage plants while in town the other day and found zero available. One more place I need to look - but I guess I need to go ahead and start some seeds. Our growing season allows me to plant just about any time. Gotta get to it!

Okra and eggplant are still active and producing well. Eggplant possibly on the menu tonight.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Woo Hoo! Bubba done caught himself a snack, lol. A snake snack!

If you look closely, you can see one of the hens trying to snatch it away from him. She was NOT successful.

1758903868182.jpeg
 

frustratedearthmother

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WooHoo - my Texans finally won a game today!

Had to relocate my pond turtle, Tilly, today. I left a fishing line in the pond yesterday and at some point during the night it was successful in catching a catfish. When I checked it this morning there was nothing left of the catfish except its head and Tilly the turtle was all wrapped up in the line. Guilty!! I had to haul her in to get her untangled so I took the opportunity to take her to a bigger pond a couple miles away. Poor gal, she had a smallish hole in the top of her shell. Looks like somebody, somewhere, wasn't into relocating turtles and had tried to end her permanently. I wish her well!

Pigsters are settling in and have made the transition to their new feed. They're eating like...well.. pigs, lol.

Weather has been more tolerable lately - thank goodness.

Have some quail chicks hatching now. Grandson is coming in a couple of weeks and bringing his girlfriend. He asked if we'd have anything hatching while she's here. More quail eggs will be going in the incubator in the morning so girlfriend can witness the hatch. Grandson is a very sweet boyfriend! So grown up now...
 

frustratedearthmother

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At least Tilly had a great send off meal! I suspect a few other fishes had a snack, too. 😊
I don't doubt that at all!

You gonna take the piggy plunge - or holding out? I hope that one of these little guys is big enough to harvest in spring - maybe April or early May before it gets really hot. Nothing better than pig raised the way Mother Nature intended (or at least as close as possible)!

Caught another decent catfish last night and it was alive and well....no turtle snack, lol. Good sized one too. I'm going to try holding it in a water trough for a couple of days and see if it gets the mud taste out. I've never tasted a "mud cat" but I've been told they can taste - well - muddy. Remedy is supposed to be to hold it in clean water for a couple days. Hope that's true. I have a couple in the freezer that I didn't hold before cleaning so I'll be able to do a taste comparison. I have a trot line somewhere that I'm contemplating stringing across the pond to see what happens. Maybe a fish fry in the future!
 

frustratedearthmother

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really nice Boer doeling, who has become annoying is racking up freezer fill points
I keep saying that I'm going to earmark one of mine for the freezer. Then, wouldn't you know it, somebody comes along and offers me cash for 'em. I'm weak, lol. But, the plan is to save a couple back for the freezer this season. I need to get busy eating out of the freezer too! Need to make room for a piggy in the spring and a goat and another piggy in the fall. Yikes!
 

frustratedearthmother

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The full freezers are a blessing, I'm thankful. So many people are not in that position lately.
True. I casually inspect other folks baskets when grocery shopping. Too many times the young family and the some of the oldsters have very little in their baskets. Cheap white bread, the awful pkgs of .99cent hot dogs, lots of rice and beans. Yes, there are ways to eat for less money, but I feel bad for them. Had a man approach me in the store a couple months ago and wanted to know if I had any extra cash. No, sorry, but I don't carry cash. Asked if I could pick some things up for him and just add them to my order. He was very humble and thankful - only asked for peanut butter and a loaf of bread. I look for him every time I go shopping now. I'd like to do more.
 
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