Guess I'll try again.

[hqueen13]

Hey!!!! So great to hear from you!! I'm glad you're around. The normal run of the mill stuff is what we all want to hear about, I think. At least I know I do.
Don't be a stranger!!
PS as much as I'm irritated with the weather here, I'm quite grateful I don't have your weather!

 

[Icu4dzs]

Greetings all,
It’s been a really long time. Things have changed but not all.
Good to know you are still going.
Cheers
Trim sends

 

[Icu4dzs]

Weather has been good again for a few days. Don't expect that to last, but it sure has been nice. 50's today.
Gladys is behaving again...finally! 1.51 gallons this AM. Have gone to a OAD schedule. I like that a LOT better. She may prefer it now but at first she wasn't very happy about that.
Garden is definitely done for this year...
Self-isolation here on the farm is par for the course. I'd hate to live in a city with all those whiners. Out here, there's no one for 1/2 mile in any direction. The only person who comes near us is the mailman and the UPS driver.
Hoping to see this entire thing eventually abate with no casualties on my farm.
Cases in nearby towns are soaring because of "Covid Fatigue". Everyone got tired of it. It wasn't fun or novel anymore...so they went back to "life as it had been" and the result has been a catastrophe.

Hope all here are smarter than that!
Cheers,
Trim sends

 

[Icu4dzs]

Not much to tell. Gladys still gives about 4+ quarts/day.
Garden is tilled and was ready to plant but the day after Easter, the temperature went from 60’s to 24°F and it snowed daily for 5 days. The snow usually melted by late afternoon but the temperature stayed cold at night.
Hopefully temperature will trend up and stay up. Plants started in east windows.
WW just came in from locking up the chicken coop for the night.
DD1 with us for 6 months.
Other challenges in life still ongoing in Virginia 😡
Not much is new when you stay away from everything and everyone while living on a farm and avoiding Covid.
Did spend one night in hospital because ticker started missing beats. Discovered it was caused by caffeine so I can’t drink coffee or eat chocolate anymore. I can live without coffee but I am really “Jones’ing” for some chocolate.
Ticker back to normal now after a weeks abstinence. 😞
Hope all are well. Hope spring comes back and STAYS!
Cheers
Trim sends

 

[baymule]

Good to hear from you. Don’t stay away so long!

 

[Icu4dzs]

Here is something I learned this week. It falls into the category of "O, yeah!"

A college student at the Griffith University in Australia was the winner of a contest which was to see who could write the best definition of a term, recently added to the lexicon. This year's term was "Political Correctness" The student who won wrote:

Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of sh*t by the clean end.'

Just thought it was accurate enough to share.
Things on the farm are (other than cold) going well. The JD 3520 with the front mounted snow blower is a gift from G*d. It works so much better than the other piece of equipment I had. I actually spend my time clearing snow rather than changing broken shear bolts. I don't have to drive backwards and it isn't very loud. Of course the drawback is that I am NOT in a cab but I prefer the open station for most jobs so the cab is fine for the "big JD".

The dog is still very rambunctious and probably will be for quite a while. I am told maybe up to and beyond 3 years...O my, will I survive that long?

The cows are well. No more issues so far this year despite the cold. I have them confined to a small field behind the main barn where they can get into the main barn and out of the wind. I feed them on the west side of the main barn and keep the east side clean...sort of.

The last remaining hen is still alive but I'm sure, quite lonely. She has the 12 x 12 coop all to herself. Poor thing...

The Llamas are still with Wilbur. He is "halter training" them before he brings them so I will be able to handle them. I am now thinking it might be good to wait till warmer weather but they are cold weather tolerant so I guess it doesn't matter.

Other than one day with +36*F, we have been averaging -10*F. It has stayed down as low as -17*F for many days and that does get old but then the snow stays light and fluffy and is easy to move with the blower.

I am working a tremendous amount this holiday season. I really will want to take some time off in January and just "veg out". I need it.

The canning shed is coming along. It is +6*F today outside but nearly +35*F inside. It will be warmer once the insulation is completed. The Kitchen Queen is doing its thing and will cook me out once the insulation is done. Hurray!!!

In all, things are going well. No major calamities so far...which always worries me as to "What will go wrong next?"

Warmest Christmas wishes to all. Keep your hearts and minds on HIM who makes this season so special to us. Give of your heart to those you love.
Be happy in your work and take time to tell others that you love them.
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Fratres Aeterni
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[Wannabefree]

Where are you?!?

 

[Wannabefree]

DOC!!!!!!!!!!! It's SO good to hear from you!!! I was just thinking about you the other day and wondering how you've been doing! It's GREAT to hear from you! I miss your posts my friend, and glad to see you're doing well still. Be strange, but do t be a stranger!

 

[Mini Horses]

Honestly, I don't want to clean a barn up after a cow!

Same here!! Want the cream & butter -- picking up a cream separator Sunday! Goat milk has cream, just homogenized

I enjoy reading what people are doing....nice to know you are not the ONLY ONE with issues. Plus, often we get good info, assists and always a sense of friends.

 

[Icu4dzs]

Just curious about how you prepare your squash for freeze drying? It actually looks like I will get enough squash this year to make that a possibility.

WW bakes it in the oven. Then scoops it out and puts it in the FD trays. No special treatment that I can tell you. Last batch took 46 hours to freeze dry.
Hope that helps.