Week of 8/24/09

School started without a hitch, both kids are in ROTC and love it. Josh is on the Spirit Flag team this year and Char is going to try out for rifle team.
My classes started also, I am befuddled trying to get back into the routine and juggling multiple classes at once. I am sure it will come back to me!
All of us were tired this week: getting up extra early and getting back into the swing of the early alarm clock.
Dave got many of the fallen trees/limbs cut up and stacked to burn, and he fixed the barn roof between storms. We have had almost daily showers; some of them quite violent, though short lived. I would estimate our weekly rainfall at 2” or a little more. More than we had in June and July combined! The pastures are green again, such a relief. The cows have been shut out of the back pasture due to the airport working on the fence line. They sent word that they would be replacing it. Their work so far has been sporadic, along our common fence they have only cleared their side, no fence is down yet so we have started letting the cows back out. They made a beeline for it this morning, heads and muzzles dropped to the ground the minute they got out there.
The sheep are doing well; all the ewes look to be bred. They are due to lamb the first half of November. I am looking forward to the sight of springing lambs around the pasture!
I am ignoring the overgrown garden and putting off working on it until the temperature outside is decent. Late Sept and October I hope to be spending a lot of time in the garden. My favorite fall crop is carrots. I will also plant brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, broccoli and cauliflower.

My first attempt at vlogging (video blogging)!

(dedicated to Jessika and Tammy!)

Its a tradition!

The first day of school!

The "kids" are entering 10th (Josh) and 11th grade (Charlye) today!

Have a great first day my loves!

week of 8/17/09

Honey mead: 2, 3, 4 lbs of honey in each!

Vera 0809

Storm damage 0809

Storm damage 0809

The return flight home Monday night was long; and it was great to see the kids and animals! We spent an hour in the hot tub later that evening—joyous!
This is the last week before school starts. We have school supplies, school clothes, haircuts, backpacks, lunch supplies—all ready! The kids are ecstatic about seeing friends and being back on campus next week. They went with me to the college bookstore to get my books, what an embarrassment. I had forgotten my schedule so I wandered aimlessly trying to find the right books. Finally I looked up my schedule on the computer and found a very nice assistant who had me loaded up and check out in 10 minutes! I think the kids were in the student lounge acting like they did not know me.
We started the heat synchronization protocol (on Hattie) before we went to Iowa. The first step is a week long, so on Tuesday this week we continued and on Friday morning we AI’d her with Holstein semen. Here is a link to the bull’s data: http://www.accelgen.com/htm/sire_pages/014HO04191.html
We have our fingers and hooves crossed that it took! We should know in 22-40 days—she will come into heat or we will send off blood. Vera looks to be a month away from calving; she is in great condition and slowly building an udder.
A big storm blew through on Friday night, limbs and leaves are all over the yard and a few trees are down, there is also part of the roof missing off the back barn. We also had some hail, about dime size. Thankfully there is no garden to worry over right now. The rain amount was 1.75”—yippee!!
The A/C quit again, exactly one month since it was last repaired. We had to replace the fan motor, thankfully they were able to come out the same day (Saturday evening after 7pm!) and get the job done. The heat lately is absurd. The weather forecasts are a lie; they project a high of 98-99 and our thermometers say it is 102-107. We are longing for fall and cool weather!
I tried to make butter when the A/C was out; it was not very successful due to the room temperature. I have more cream to separate so will try again Sunday.

I had 1+ gallon of honey from last year that needed to clarify (heat to 120’F to take care of crystals), so I started it and then started reading up on how to make honey mead. I found a beginners 1 gallon recipe that looked doable (and we had all the supplies/ingredients). So, I made 3 gallons of mead! One has 2 pounds of honey, the next has 3 and the last has 4 pounds of honey (the last will be much sweeter so that one I put cinnamon sticks in).
It sits for a few weeks then gets racked (strained into another container) to ferment as long as we can leave it alone. I am excited to see how it turns out! For anyone else wanting to try this making mead, here is the link:
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/fast-cheap-mead-making.htm
I made yogurt and enchiladas today also. I love kitchen days!

Week of 8/09/09

I milked Hattie Sunday-Thursday this week. Thursday we left for Iowa.
The weather in Iowa seems to go hot when we arrive; the temperature was 91 when we touched down! It is great to see Dave’s parents and everything at the farm. Jim’s tomatoes and melons are producing heavily.
Friday we spent the day at the Iowa State Fair, what a blast! First thing in the morning was a stop by the dairy cattle show. The show was for Guernsey, Jersey and Brown Swiss, running concurrently. The show started with 3-6 month old heifers and progressed up to cows in milk. It was fun to watch! We met a couple in the stands from Springfield Iowa; they have 9 cows and start next week with their cheese making business.
Heather, James and Rylee joined us at the fair; a great time was had by all.
We took Rylee back to State Center with us to spend the night; she is such a cute little sprite! Four year olds have nearly unlimited energy!
Saturday we spent at the farm playing ping-pong, croquet, and playing imaginative games with Rylee, Dave and Rylee also drove the big John Deere. Saturday evening the well ran dry, probably because there were 15 of us. We did not go to church Sunday because we figured we would be the Pew-Ewww pew (at least 13 of us had not had showers). Instead we had a leisurely day at the farm. In the evening we went out for dinner at Hickory Park in Ames, all 17 of us! Dinner out with all the family is what Jim and Kathleen wanted for their 50th. All the kids got together and gave them a new lap top and air card. They are even on Facebook now! Sunday evening Uncle Ron and Aunt Jean came by in a 58 Ford; the same car that Ron drove Kathleen and Jim to their wedding in! It was a great surprise! What a beautiful car!
Kathleen took out her wedding album and showed all the pictures as well as her scrapbook with early photos, cards and mementos. We had a great visit.
Monday most of the family went to a local theme park and Dave and I flew home, uneventful except for going home via Colorado Springs to avoid a storm. It was good to get home, though we miss the family too! Our niece Lizzy was a joy to get to know, as well as spending time in imagination land with Rylee!

Rain came today!

We have been seriously rain deprived; today we got a reprieve! Yippee!!

I even took pics so you all will know just how geeky and drought-brained I am! :)

It was beautiful for all the senses!

Week of 8/02/09

This week went by extremely fast!
I milked several times, though not every day. Hattie needs to be dried off, after the calf leaves and she is rebred. Vera is looking exceptional, if a little on the pudgy side. I am still anticipating a late Sept to mid-Oct calf.
We have not had much rain this week, somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 drops. Those drops came after a beautiful double rainbow! I managed to get a pic of part of it on my way home from work, what a cheery sight it was.
We let the hens into their run to take down the weeds; they are working on the melons. They seem happy, as happy as hens can be anyway.
The homemade lasagna and the tomato bisques were both big hits, as well as the chili last night. I am planning a quiche and enchiladas in the near future. I made two more cheeses, one with jalapenos; yogurt is in the works and butter too.
The summer semester is over, thankfully and I have 10 days off before the fall semester starts. I had an advising session this week, disappointing because the person doing the advising was ill informed and condescending.
I may look into a different program/college due to his lack of knowledge and overall poor attitude.
Dave and I are looking forward to the Iowa trip next week. He has researched when the Jersey and Guernsey shows are at the State Fair so I can ogle beautiful cows. We also hope to see the sheep, pigs, 4-H exhibits, and the vegetable/food entries. There are also the traditions of seeing the butter cow; riding the sky-way and eating something off a stick!
I finished listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yesterday. What a delight it was! Now I am inclined to make a trip to the Channel Islands, specifically Guernsey and Alderney sometime in my life.
Oh goodness, it is clouding over, we may yet get rain! I am off to finish separating cream and get the yogurt incubating, have a great week all!

Week of 7/26/2009

Char and a friend at Smith SSEP.

I did not keep up with writing daily, so this week it is a compilation.
I milked 3 times this week, Hattie continues to give and give. I will be synchronizing her heat cycle soon, and attempting AI again. Vera is progressing nicely; I suspect she will calve in September. We plan to dry off Hattie in August after her foster calf goes back to the owner.

I did not harvest much from the garden this week until today (Saturday). The harvest was 4 giant watermelons, and 6-7 small ones we culled because they were pulling down the chicken netting. The cows enjoyed the culls. The only other thing harvested this week was a handful of cherry tomatoes and a cantaloupe (yummy). I am looking forward to fall and cleaning out all the beds. I don't have an improved plan for how to manage it all (next spring), but will work on that aspect between now and then. I plan to put in a small fall garden with lettuce, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and carrots; maybe all in one bed.

For the foodies out there we had several grilled and smoked meals with homegrown meats: ham, ribs, hamburger and pork chops. I made lentil soup one night which turned out great. I plan to make homemade lasagna one night next week as well as tomato bisque. I need to make pesto with the great bounty of basil in the garden. Bread baking will resume in the fall. I currently have a cheddar cheese in the press and 5 pounds of sliced tomatoes in the dehydrator.

On Friday we got 1.5 inches of rain; it was a beautiful, perfect rainy day, almost all day!

Charlye returned home from MA! I picked her up Tuesday night, she was a sight for sore eyes! She reports that the classes she took (Neurology and Genetics) at the Smith Science and Engineering Program (SSEP), were fantastic. Josh had several great workouts at MMA this week, and is really enjoying it, especially the kick boxing. Both of the kids are looking forward to school starting in 3 weeks. Their summer relaxation has become summer boredom and they are ready to go back. I guess we will battle the hordes buying school supplies and new clothes!

The spa we ordered several months ago arrived this week. I have to say a glass of wine and an hour of water massage on my back and neck make me very relaxed! It is the most rejuvenating therapy I have ever experienced.

I hope you all had a great week! As Garrison Keillor says "Be well, do good work and keep in touch!"

week of 7/20/09

Monday 07/20/09
Hattie gave 2.5 gallons.
The bees continue to clean up the extraction supplies. A couple hundred of them apparently ate themselves to death; they were dead in one of the tubs this morning. Sigh.
I had a dentist appt this morning and worked from home. It continues to be very hot and we are limping along with the bypass set-up.
No rain today, though we were tortured by seeing storms off to the North.

Tuesday 07/21/09
Happy Birthday Mom!
No milking today, I went in to the Houston office, quite early. It was a bittersweet day. Lots of great people were in today, but one of my favorite people is leaving the company and it was her last day.
No rain today. Dave picked a cup or so of cherry tomatoes, that and the basil are about all that is producing right now. I can’t post pics of the garden, it is embarrassing. The slip from the auction barn arrived today, Blackjack actually weighed 850 lbs!
We took Josh to Mixed Martial Arts tonight and had a dinner date out; seafood!
We watched The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) on PBS tonight. It is a powerful story about a family from Laos. http://www.pbs.org/pov/betrayal/

Wednesday 07/22/09
No milking today.
The A/C repair crew came out and fixed the problem. It is a temporary fix; they say we need a new furnace and A/C unit. We will have to budget that expense for the fall.
Josh is sore today in places he did not know could be sore, guess that means he had a good workout.
Dave watered and did farm projects today, including putting up a feeder for the sheep that they can’t stand in while they eat! I don't think I have to mention what sheep do all the time, and will do when they are eating, and will do when they are standing in their feedbunk! Ick!

Thursday 07/23/09
2.5 gallons from Hattie today.
It rained 5/8” this evening! I got home just after it finished, as the sun was setting and all the water droplets looked like diamonds on the fences, leaves and flowers. Beautiful!
Josh enjoyed MMA tonight. Char is preparing to come home on Tuesday; I don’t think she wants to leave MA!

Friday 07/24/09
It rained 1/10” this morning! It sounded, smelled and looked wonderful!
Yesterday I picked one eggplant, 3 small bell peppers and a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes. I also braved the melon patch with high boots on and a stick to beat down the weeds. I am sure I looked silly, but I did not find any snakes, so I guess it worked! I picked 4 watermelons, one was over ripe (cows loved it), Josh and I cut one and two more are in the barn fridge. Finally! Something to harvest!
Josh and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie this evening; it was good but a far cry from the book!

Saturday 07/25/09
I didn’t milk today; slept in instead.
Today was chore day for me: cleaning house and catching up on laundry.
I did some work in the kitchen too: made vanilla yogurt, cheddar cheese and dehydrated bell peppers and onions. The bell peppers are from our garden, the onions are from the local farm stand. I also picked up several pounds of gorgeous tomatoes to dehydrate or can, have not decided yet.
There was a hint of rain nearby this evening, none here so far.

Honey Extraction Day!

The frames we took out of the hives yesterday; we left them indoors overnight so the honey dehydrates, just a little. We took a total of 6 frames from each hive (2).

The first golden beauty!

Uncapping the wax with the heated uncapping knife.

Dave gives the first 3 frames a whirl!

The honey flows!

The final product! Nearly 6 gallons of honey and a half pund or so of wax to work with.

The clean up crew~the bees reclaim every bit of honey and wax we did not take.

Week of 7/13/2009

Monday 07/13/09
No milking this morning, we still have plenty.
Josh went to the MMA gym tonight, he enjoyed it immensely!
I spent the time at a local coffee shop studying.
No great farm news to report except that we have decided to sell the Angus steer; we simply have no freezer room for him. We’ll post him on Craig’s List; and plan to take him to the auction as a last resort.

Tuesday 07/14/09
No milking today; marathon of conference calls that started early. Princess probably loves me for not separating her from Hattie.
Lordy! The A/C quit working today. I didn’t dare open the windows until about 8 pm when the temp inside and outside equalized at 90 degrees in both places. The repairman is coming first thing tomorrow morning, thankfully.
Ice water and cold fruits/veggies for dinner, followed by another cold shower.

Wednesday 07/15/09
The A/C repairman came early; it will take a week to get the part shipped from the factory. The good news is that the problem is the fan blower on the furnace and not the actual A/C unit.
I filled the non-functional hot tub with cold water, a nice little spot to cool off!
I can appreciate the use of “sleeping porches” in the days before A/C; it is much cooler after dark on the porch than in the house!
Dreaming of living in Maine—now!

Thursday 07/16/09
No milking this morning, early dentist appt.
Dave rigged the fan blower to run on demand, so we have to manually go outside to turn it on or off. Managed to get the house down to 80, what a difference 20 degrees makes!
I talked to Charlye this evening, she is having great fun.

Friday 07/17/09
No milking this morning; I went to the Houston office early.
The office held the July B-day celebrations for Dr. P and I, it was great fun.
The traffic on the way home was a bear, so we ordered pizza for dinner instead of going out.
Dave took Blackjack to the Navasota auction for the sale tomorrow. He said their operation is smooth, professional and easy for the seller. They mail a check after the sale.
Dave and Josh mowed this afternoon; even as hot as it was.
We watched the movie The Curious Life of Benjamin Button this evening, I recommend it!

Saturday 07/18/09
It was a joy to milk this morning after so many days off; Hattie gave 2 gallons. Vera acquiesced and allowed herself to enjoy the brushing and petting. We pulled one of the melons out and cut it open—not ripe. The girls loved the juicy treat!
We harvested honey this morning, a total of 14 frames from two hives. The hive that was started this year we did not disturb. Dave got stung once. One of the hives (the original) was especially active, I was amazed and glad I did not get stung. We left Max in the yard with a nice big bone to keep him busy. He enjoys chasing bumble bees, so we did not think we needed his help agitating the bees. The frames are in a large tub, in the house where they will dehydrate for 24 hours or so before we extract the honey.

random pics from the last week

looking east from the back pond toward the barn and house

Sunset 070809

how the cows ate the melon


blue flowers at the pond's edge

blackie (crossbred ewe)

liz and max (looking at the sheep)

Week of 7/06/08

Monday 07/06/09
I milked two gallons from Hattie and then was off to the Houston office. I work with the best folks, love them!
Dave grilled rib eye steaks on the grill; they were so big the three of us could only eat 2 steaks. Delicious!
Dave worked on farm chores like fixing gates and watering. The drought continues.

Tuesday 07/07/09
It rained in the night! It was not a dream!! It rained a little more in the mid-morning, all in all 1.8 inches. A wonderful reprieve!
Hattie gave 2 gallons this morning. The hens are affected by the heat and are only laying 2-3 eggs a day. That is ok, I am not baking right now and we are not going through them very fast.
We had leftovers for dinner, not exciting for foodies but good stuff just the same.


Wednesday 07/08/09
No milking this morning, I had early conference calls and then a dentist appointment.
I awoke to the smell of coffee, fresh flowers in the kitchen, a cake on the counter and the Beatles singing “Today’s Your Birthday” (na na na na na)!
It is a tradition around here. J
Dave boiled 15 pounds of shrimp for dinner, a very special treat!

Thursday 07/09/09
No milking today.
Traveled to Beaumont, it was murderous to have to turn the car off knowing how hot it would be inside when I returned to it! The heat index was 109 today.
Dave made silage with the corn stalks today. This evening we made a bit more with a few more corn stalks and sunflower stems. The part that did not fit in the cooler (stand in for a silo) we fed to the girls, they loved it!
I thought I thawed hamburger this morning, not so. It was actually pork sausage so I made pork sausage helper for dinner. Need to put the glasses on and drink coffee before I take things out of the freezer!

Friday 07/10/09
Hattie gave 2.5 gallons this morning; thank you Hattie!
I over watered the garden today (i.e.: forgot the hose was on). I don’t think any of the plants will mind!
Today was the day to treat everything for worms (prophylaxis only); I chose cayenne pepper this time. Other weeks I rotate DE (diatomaceous earth), garlic, Basic H; and twice a year we use Cydectin. The cows got their cayenne powder sprinkled on cucumber and mixed with molasses, the sheep got it mixed in with their yeast and alfalfa pellets and the chickens got cayenne seeds on top of milk. They all gobbled it up.
Josh fixed queso dip for a snack today, he and I ended up having it for dinner.

Saturday 07/11/09
We skipped milking this morning.
Josh and I went to The Woodlands to look at a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Gym. I was pleasantly surprised with the gym and the professionalism of the coaches. He will start next week. On the way home we stopped by a local farm stand and picked up corn, beans, peas, plums and two of the biggest tomatoes I have ever seen. Somebody’s garden is doing well!
I made corn chowder for dinner with some of our fresh corn and some from the farm stand, delicious.
Later this evening I went for a 5 mile bike ride. Max inspired me with the report of his 35 mile bike trip to visit Joann, eat lunch and bike back home.
The ride was interrupted twice by packs of loose dogs, not strays, just dogs that live at two houses along the route that like to chase, and are not suitably fenced. After making it to the turnaround point I loaded my pockets with rocks for the trip home. I am a bad shot with rocks, but pretty good with a chunk of asphalt. I got bit on the foot by a heeler mix (he just got my shoe thank goodness). The rocks and asphalt chunks did help, but I think I will need to get some mace before I make another ride through the gauntlet. The idea of hurting someone’s dog is upsetting, but not near so upsetting as the idea of having to get rabies treatment or be seen in the ER for a dog bite. Their owners obviously do not care much for the dogs to allow them to run free. No telling if they have been vaccinated. Grrr!

Sunday 07/12/09
Hattie gave us 2.5 gallons this morning.
Later when all the cows were out back and I was in the garden, Vera spotted me throw one little cucumber over the fence and made a beeline for it. I could see Hattie in the back pond, laying down in it. I was not surprised that she did not get out of the cool bath to come for a few garden treats.
I watered and pulled weeds until I was a few minutes from heat exhaustion, and then worked on changing the milking inflations and cleaning up (in the shade).
I spent most of the rest of the day indoors making cookies for the boys and doing homework.

Jim & Kathleen's Surprise Party!

Jim & Kathleen were the recipients of a surprise (50th Anniversary) Party!

All the friends and family camping out showered them with gifts and cards!

Happy 50th Anniversary!!!

love you!

Melon Patch Gone Wild!

Melon patch gone wild!

mr. snake and a melon

mr. snake caught

mr. snake liberated for a moment

Week of 6/30/09

Monday 06/29/09
Hattie gave 2 gallons.
I traveled for meetings today, it was a busy day.
It rained tonight!!! It was dark when it finished so I have not checked the rain gauge yet. What a relief to get a nice long, heavy shower!! I stood out on the back porch taking pics and getting soaked; thoroughly enjoyable.
The figs are ripening!

Tuesday 6/30/09
Hattie gave two gallons of milk today.
The rain gauge measured ½ inch of rain last night!!
Yippee!!
The garden is petering out. The tomatoes and cucumbers have drastically slowed down despite the watering. Oh well, cows, kids, everyone was happy with it while it lasted!

Wednesday 7/01/09
No milking due to travel. Dave watered like crazy today and discovered several soccer ball sized watermelons growing in the melon patch!
Dave grilled sausage on the grill; no heating up the house is a good plan. It was 104 in the shade of the porch today. Dave and I went to look at hot tubs this afternoon; we put a down payment on one. I don’t think we will need to turn the heating unit on any time soon. I am looking so forward to cooling off in it! Sure beats running the garden hose over one’s head.

Thursday 7/02/09
Hattie gave 2 gallons this morning.
Charlye emailed that they dissected a sheep brain a few days ago and today they went to the Body World exhibit. She is having a great time!
We went to a send off party for our friend Janeen that is moving back to NY State in a few weeks; I am so happy for her! She has been accepted into the program she wanted and gets to be close to family.
My online college course is going well, almost finished the first one, the next one starts next week. I am getting back into the swing of it, finally!

Friday 7/03/09
2.5 gallons this morning! We picked up the beef from the butcher this morning. The processed weight was 735 pounds; thank goodness some friends split it with us! The freezers are adequately full!
We harvested 3 eggplants, 4 cucumbers, a handful of tomatoes and a handful of berries.

I went out this afternoon to take pics of the ever increasing melon vines, and growing fruit. All was well until I got to the large fruit outside the fence and noticed to my horror a snake just a few inches away from the melon! I gave Dave the frantic “come-hither-it-is-a-snake” sign (without screaming this time). He took a shot at it, one melon exploded and the snake stayed in the same weird position. Turns out he was caught in the fine poultry netting—woven in and out of it actually, and was unable to move. Dave cut him out, and beheaded him (my hero)! I won’t be going into the melon patch without boots on.
We had seafood gumbo and garden carrots on the side for dinner. I’ll thaw some new beef tomorrow.

Saturday 07/04/09
Happy July 4th!!
Hattie gave 2+ gallons this morning, the dogs and cats got an extra allotment (no complaints from them).
I spent the day doing laundry and cleaning house, this afternoon I power washed the back porch and repainted it. The heat is good for helping paint dry at least! It will likely need another coat tomorrow.
I am picking and eating half a dozen figs a day; the abundance will soon overwhelm me I’m sure.
Josh and I did not do much for the 4th, cleaned house, watched a movie and went out for ice cream for dessert. Charlye sent a video clip of the fireworks she watched—very cool!
Max went nuts when the neighbors shot off their fireworks. With the drought I was hoping they would resist the temptation this year, no such luck.
I grilled teriyaki beef on skewers for dinner (the new beef), it turned out great! I grilled corn and eggplant too, also delicious.

Sunday 07/05/09
I skipped milking today.
I watered the garden and put another coat of paint on the deck. By this evening it was dry and the deck is put back together.
I spent time indoors studying between excursions outside to do chores.
Max dug up a nasty bone he buried 2 days ago, ick!
Baked chicken for dinner.
Rested and relaxed, ready for the week ahead!