SSDreamin Blessings and curses

[Quail_Antwerp]

I don't want to talk about hay

hay prices around here are skyrocketing! it's not even funny!

 

[SSDreamin]

We are VERY fortunate with our hay guy. He is a retired guy, who does the haying to keep himself busy. He has one big customer, a lady with horses, who buys most of what he has. Our advantage is that our cows only use a small amount (110 bales for the whole YEAR for 2 of them - we hay occasionally in summer to let the pasture recover), so we are able to take what's 'left over' from her order. He also has kept the price consistent, which is really fantastic! Truth is, up around here, (people) have been trying to buy up everything they can get their hands on, at the average of $4/ square bale, hauling it south (I heard they're taking it to Ohio) and selling it for $8 to $12 a bale! I do understand trying to make money, but man, it just seems so wrong to me!

 

[Denim Deb]

That looks like some nice hay. I'm waiting to hear that our hay guy has done his next cutting so I can start to get it put up for winter.

 

[Wannabefree]

Crap maybe I need to get in the hay business and truck some to Ohio SHEESH! I can get it here $3 a square bale right now.

 

[SSDreamin]

I've been a little preoccupied this past week and haven't posted. My MIL wound up in ICU last Sunday. She has refused to take all her vitamins and minerals since her weight loss surgery, and ended up in the hospital, requiring 4 blood transfusions. When she arrived at the ER, her hemoglobin was 3.7! The lab people were amazed that she was walking and talking, and not in a coma! Apparently, taking your vitamins and minerals are VERY important!

I did a little canning over the week:

11 pints of green and wax beans


6 1/2 quarts of bacon


And, as promised, a picture of the new, tiny, greenhouse
Can you see a bit of the orchard in the top right corner of this picture? (Guess you have to click on the picture to make it bigger :/ )

Forgot to say please excuse all the weeds over-running my gardens. So embarrassing

I also did some cleaning, and did a bit of setting up to can up a bunch of butter I had in the freezer. Had to stop because I hurt myself quite badly (so much for not being stupid!!) We need the space, because we have half a pig coming in a couple weeks! The inlaws had agreed to buy the half, had approached us about buying a quarter to help them and, after the hospital deal, asked us to take it over completely. This is the first time we've ever done this, so it's a learning experience. The processor called, and asked me how I wanted it done - thankfully, I had done a little research and knew what to ask for. The processor lady was very surprised that I asked for the leaf lard It won't be as good a deal as if we'd raised it ourselves (it was a back up for a fair pig for another family member), but I am very excited about it!

I had planned to post pictures of my canning pantry, so everybody could see what a slob/disorganized person I really am, but there were piles of 'stuff' in front of it, and I just can't be messing with moving it all out of the way right now. Maybe next month

My brother called today. His garden went crazy, and he offered me all the beans and corn my 1 ton truck can carry! Some of the corn didn't fully develop, but he thought I may want that for the cows. I know they LOVE corn husks, but I need to make sure they can have corn on the cob (there are several things regular sized cows CAN have, that they can't).

We are having issues with the cows now that we have the 'new' hay. They REFUSE to graze in the pasture! They just hang out around the barn, bellowing for hay :/

 

[Wannabefree]

Wow, sounds like a full day hun! Congrats on the beans and corn, that's GREAT! Wish my brother would garden and give me his excess Those cows sound silly

 

[Denim Deb]

I've had horses do the same. I refuse to give in to them though. At least they don't get vocal about it though!

 

[pinkfox]

i LOVE your little greenhouse

 

[SSDreamin]

i LOVE your little greenhouse

Thanks Pink I think it will be a good starter house for me to learn with.

Denim Deb I've had horses do the same. I refuse to give in to them though. At least they don't get vocal about it though! lol

Little Man isn't so bad, his bellow sounds like a sick baby goat right now Ice Cream, on the other hand, is very loud and VERY demanding! DH says we should let them have hay twice a day, and just skip their treat, since they could care less about it right now. We are having all kinds of issues with this guys hay/straw - they eat all the straw we put down for bedding We told the hay guy that, and he warned us that they will be crazy for this new hay. Man, he wasn't kidding!

Wannabefree
08/18/2012 8:19 pm

Wow, sounds like a full day hun! Congrats on the beans and corn, that's GREAT! Wish my brother would garden and give me his excess lol Those cows sound silly tongue

My brother is pretty good to me Still can't find a straight answer on if they can eat the corn, cob and all. Hope I don't have to sit out there breaking it all up into bite sized pieces!

 

[SSDreamin]

Did 7 pints of sweet cukes over the weekend, AND figured out what my bread problem was! I ran out of vital wheat gluten, and was using some dough enhancer I had on hand, which was probably past it's prime. Changed back to VWG, and both loaves turned out great! That has to be it, since that's the only thing I changed

We've had several nights in the low 40's so my gardens have slowed to a crawl. This is a VERY weird growing year. July was our hottest since the 30's or something, and August is shaping up to be the coolest on record! Makes me feel like I'm behind in my fall chores

Whatever the bugs are that killed my pumpkins, have now moved on to the watermelons and pickles. The pickles only produced TWO pickles, had about 4 little bitty ones on the vine, then these bugs ate them! So, no sugar pumpkins to try the pumpkin roll I was drooling over in Deb's journal, and only sweet cukes to eat :/ Cukes make for somewhat mushy 'pickles'. Bummer.

DH spent his weekend rebuilding my pantry shelves, as some were starting to sag. He installed angle iron front and back along each shelf, so there shouldn't be ANY more sagging Now I need to put everything back up on the shelves. I'm not sure why he wants me to do that, since he will come home, decide 'my way' doesn't make sense to his logical brain, and rearrange the whole thing!

Supposedly, DH and the DS scoured the garage and couldn't find the baby pterodactyl (AKA LARGE BAT) that keeps dive bombing me when I go out to the freezers :/ I need to get the butter out, so I can jar it up, but I am NOT pleased about fighting off a prehistoric animal to do it!! I have 53 half-pints to do, but I don't wanna Doesn't help that DH commented that a bat that big MUST have fangs! What a smart aleck butt!!! He knows bats freak me out!