Storin' Up

The Simple Life

Who named it that?  Because quite frankly there is nothing simple about living off the land.

My kids have taken to calling me a squirrel lately.  And not because I am easily distracted these days, though that may be true.  But because they think it is funny that I am storing up for the winter.

Why?

Because I can.  And because it saves money.  And because I love fresh food in the winter. And because I am perfectly happy to stay inside all winter long, snuggling with my kiddos and reading a book.  And watching the snow fall.

Seriously!



And so I have dehydrated hash browns

and canned potatoes

Frozen squash

and pumpkin (at .50 per two-cup bag!)

 and apple pie filling and applesauce

and tomato sauce.

And help process 60 some chickens for the freezer.

The processing crew!

and a cow is on the calendar!

For the record, when the de-feathering machine stops working, I go on strike until someone fixes it.  I am not a hand plucking kind of gal!  Which is why it is always good to have an engineering student helping with the process who knows how to fix things!.

So while he did all of this...

The old(er) men mostly watched supervised! ;)

And in case you think the girls did not do much, proof- of a little work and a little fun too!

Next on the list of things to do- elderberry syrup!  We have used it in the past and swear by it for staying healthy!

Now, if I could just find a way to stock up on chocolate! ;)  Lots and lots of chocolate.  I think I am going to need it!

Blessings,

K is for Keeping the Farm

We are back for another week of Blogging Through the Alphabet with my friend, Marcy at Ben and Me!  If you have not popped over to check out the others who are on this journey with us, I would love to encourage you to do so.  There you will find word studies, favorite books, women of the Bible, animals and more.  Each week, I love reading what others have picked for their letter topic!

This week is K and was a no brainer for me!

Yep, we got to "keep" the farm for our friends while they went on a mini vacation.  You may have read about said friends in our butchering the cow post or the butchering chickens post.  Can you believe that in a few months we will even get to share with you about butchering a pig?  But even more than that- can you even believe that they trusted us enough to leave the farm in our care for a few days?

It was so fun.  It was actually the most relaxing thing I have done all summer.  Seriously.

Now, let it be said, I know it is not always fun for them.  Or any farmer.  When it is your land, your garden, and your animals, it can be a lot more stress and most certainly a lot more responsibility.

But when you are just keeping the farm, pretending it is yours for a few days, well, it is kind of like watching Little House on the Prairie.  You can hum the tune and pretend.  Not that I did that or anything ;)

First, the chickens.  A few in this batch are destined to become dinner for someone, but most are their layers.  Yep, fresh eggs.  How cool is that?  Of course, someone needs to tell those chickens it is time to get laying.  Just saying.

Because Farmer Dan built those spoiled chickens a really cool coop, there was not much for us to do.  They can go out and roam the farm all day and get safely shut inside at night due a motorized, automatic door, so they are not going to go hungry when the family  is away  We just made sure their water was full and clean and fed the smaller chicks that have not earned the privilege of being outside yet.  Don't know if you can really tell from the pictures (those things will not stand still and pose!) but the newest set of chicks are fancy dancy.  A few have cute tufts of hair on their heads and make me want to just name them all and snuggle with them.

Next the cows.  Have I mentioned before that these cows are not just your ordinary cows?  They look like big 'ole teddy bears.  I am pretty sure they would not want you to cuddle with them, but I sure would like to try!

 Again, they are in the pasture and do not need babysitting, but we needed to keep an eye on them anyway.  One, they have been know to let themselves out of their own field and wander.  Of course, not sure what I was going to do if that had happened on my watch!  While they may know Farmer Dan and follow him around, I am pretty sure they not only do not know me, but could care less about following me around.  My youngest, well, that may have been the ticket.  He fed them and they were his new best friends.  It was actually comical.  The second time we went, they about fell over each other to get back to the barn where he was.  His comment- "they like me best, Mom!"  Yes, yes, they do.

And the second reason for watching them-  three of the cows were pregnant and due to give birth at anytime.  We were assured that they would give birth at night without any need of us (good thing) but we should keep our eyes out  "just in case".  hmmmmmm, let's just say I may have prayed for NO "just in cases"  My only consolation prize  would be we could name a baby if it was born on our watch.  And guess what...those darn cows waited until the night our friends came home to give birth.  I kid you not.  They are not my favorites anymore.  The cows, not our friends!  For the record, the baby was born on the 4th so his name would have been Patriot, or Cuatro or Independence, or something really cool.  Now, he can be Dinner for all I care. ;)

See him? Not, even one day old!

And then there was the garden.  My dream garden.  I could just go stand right in the middle of it and sing a song.  Of course, I have not planted, weeded and watered it, nor sweated it out every time there was bad weather.

Again, the "keeping the farm" is a much easier job than owning the farm.  Instead, I got to harvest a few extras that would not make it long enough to keep them for their owners.

Like cabbage,

 And broccoli,

Some spinach,

and the most beautiful purple cauliflower I have ever seen.  Did you even know it came in that color?  For the record (so you will not be disappointed) it still tastes exactly the same.  Some nameless folks in my family were hoping the pretty purple had changed the original taste.  Nope!

Once cooked it turns deep purple!

Oh, and there is a pool to swim in, which we did not.  Either the wind was blowing hard enough to carry off little people or the temps were too cool, but I did learn how to test the PH and chlorine levels.  Let's just say I am not very good at it and it just may have made me reconsider the pool option at our next location.  If there was ever a pool option ;)

So pool, maybe not, but farm- YES, I still want one.  Even if I have to do more than babysit it!

Thank you to Farmer Dan and his beautiful family for entrusting us with your place and giving us the opportunity to live our dream for a few days.  It was a joy!

Blessings,

 

Also linking up with Jenna at Called Home!

First the cow, now the chicken...

Buds on the trees.  Flowers poking their shoots though the snow.  Green grass and birds.  All beautiful signs of spring.  Not that we've seen many of those here in South Dakota as of yet.

As a matter of fact, just this morning it snowed.  So, ummm, I KNOW spring is coming -sometime- but I'm just not seeing it so far.

Just one more reason to be fascinated with chicks.  Chicken chicks that is.

Soft and sweet and cuddly.

And dinner.

Sorry, but that is the reality of a farm.

Not to worry, our friends tell us the cute ones will stay cute and will be their laying hens.  Those we can fawn over.  The ones we are going to process (that's farm talk for kill) are supposed to get ugly so we will not feel bad.  I sure hope so, because the last time I saw them I just wanted to kiss them.  Pretty sure one of my sons did!

But in just a few shorts weeks, those chickens will be ugly (I am counting on that friends!) and ready to process.  And yes, we are going to be a part of that processing...process.

Remember - we have friends that actually KNOW something about farm life and have decided to let us be a part of their journey - like when we butchered the cow.  Quite frankly, they may either be crazy or just entertained by us city folks.  Either way, they are teaching us how to process chickens. And I cannot wait.  I think.

You see, in my head it is amazing.  You know, back to basics, fresh organic meat on the table for my family, no pesticides, I know where it came from, pipe in the Little House on the Prairie music, and on and on.

But of course, to get to that point is hard work.  Almost all of which we are not involved in because we do not live on a farm and so far our friends have not invited us to live with them.  They are not THAT crazy.

But for a few hours we will join them for the hard work.  And hopefully not make it harder.

Stay tuned!

Blessings,