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maryjane
7072 Posts
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 Posted - Sep 03 2018 : 09:08:06 AM
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Good morning. Is everyone laboring today for Labor Day? Let me guess.
We're enjoying the fruits of our labor.
And these little gems that I have to wait a while longer for ...
In the meantime, I picked up a bulk bags of hazelnuts on sale in the bulk section of our grocery store. I eat a lot of dried figs, but they had some fresh ones so my daily little treat looks something like this.
It all starts with a trip to the garden or greenhouse from my top floor perch to my garden.
I think I log thousands of stair climbs/day--you can see my little "garden" deck in this photo.
Complete with an 8-foot 'mater plant!
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Still waiting on these lovelies.
A good dozen or so BIG melons this year.
Onions drying but we left a few for grabbing in the garden.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying my flowers.
Labor Day??? Of course. All of us here on HJO celebrate labor every day! And eat it, too, or drink it.
And the girls love our remains (they act like they're eating sugar cane when they eat corn stalks).
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 03 2018 : 4:02:09 PM
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Look who's helping her dad do our mowing?
None too soon, really. Aside from the folks in our shipping/packaging facility, and Connie and Julie who help with cows, we've been without outside help this summer, other than Brian Westgate who no longer wants to do odd farm jobs and has been semi-retired for the past year, working only three days/week. Actually, he's been in upstate New York the last three weeks. He only does major carpentry projects now, like building a deck or laying flooring--nice, straight forward, non-frustrating projects. He's been here something like 16 years, so he deserves plenty of say in what he does and doesn't do. Everywhere one looks around here, you can see his efforts. That leaves me and Nick to do the gardens and orchard and the this and thats that happen daily, things like hay, straw, watering, shop work, repairs, plumbing, harvesting, etc. Right now, Nick is on the tractor pulling out a dead pie cherry tree. Lucas helps with watering, does plenty of pruning, and all the mowing (and some of the weed eating) and recently he learned how to plumb by hooking up two new bathtubs for the girls. It used to take a village here, now it's just us, one big happy, dang-if-we-aren't-tired-at-night family. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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Boots&Flipflops
499 Posts
Darla
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Posted - Sep 03 2018 : 4:11:31 PM
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Good Labor of Love, MaryJane....
What a bunch of fantastic pictures of your garden bounty. If I wasn't still full from this gigantic brunch we had this morning, I would be drooling. I am any way. All of it looks so wonderful, but figs are a favorite. My mom has a giant Black Mission fig tree on her property. When dad was still with us he called us "Fig Pigs." Can't start one for the life of me, but the birds have started a bunch all over the place, so mom told me to come dig them up and plant them over here. Going to take her up on it.
Yes, yesterday Austin did turn 18, but no, this is not his last year at home. I have all my kids at home as of now. 18, 19 and 25. I love it!!!
Today is Tom's birthday and Rachelle's was Aug. 25th. So in a weeks time we have three BD's at our house.
Yes, the days of Bleacher Butt....I have had a many of those. Rachelle did track and cheer in high school. Becky was in concert band playing Sax from 5th grade until her senior year. Youth Orchestra with her violin for a couple of years. So yes, a nice soft seat with a back was a treat!!!
Prayers for Cindy and Family for A Terrific Tuesday
Blessings to All |
To Succeed In This Life You Need Three Things: A Backbone, A Wish Bone and a Funny Bone. As quoted by Reba McEntire |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 03 2018 : 6:18:41 PM
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Thanks for jogging my memory, Darla. I forgot that your oldest moved back home, and Becky, of course. I think I might be better at remembering the who and where-for of cows than kids.
Fig pig, love it! That's my husband. Wouldn't it be nice to have a fig tree out your door. My husband likes the blonde figs (Calimyrna); I like Mission--one dried Black Mission fig with exactly two hazelnuts. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 04 2018 : 12:22:51 PM
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| Thinking about Cindy and family today. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Sep 04 2018 : 7:13:24 PM
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introducing the Thompson family!
it has been an amazing and exhausting day. girls are in bed, lover boy and i are enjoying some private time for a change. my parents and lover boy's were in attendance, it was so wonderful.
we stayed at a wonderful hotel with my parents, the houstonian, and they upgraded us to an amazing suite for $20 more per night when they heard about the adoption (its a $500 per night room). the girls have been in total luxury, and they are so cute about it all. just so sweet. lover boys sister, brother in law and their son came over tonight to swim and have dinner. the girls love having a boy cousin, they just adore him.
have a nice evening ladies. life is good! |
_(199x300)_(66x100).jpg?v 93697001) Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Sep 04 2018 : 7:15:10 PM
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and here are some of the gorgeous photos we took last winter of the girls...
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 04 2018 : 8:44:42 PM
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Indeed, life is good. I've been checking on and off all day and saw this post while riding in Nick's truck on our way to town (can't post from my iPhone). I cried and tried to show him the pics as he drove. Just so very happy for you. And relieved. Thanks for letting us know, Cindy.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Sep 05 2018 : 03:33:15 AM
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| Enjoyed all the lovely Labor Day photos MaryJane. Seems like Labor Day never ends. Busy here as always and could stand a break. So happy for you Cindy and your family. Now, with all the formalities and legalities over with, you can settle in and just be a family. It had to be trying and exhausting waiting for this to become a reality but oh so worth it. Congratulations to you all! Beautiful photos of the girls and entire family. Rain, rain and more rain for us. Unbelievable. Darla came in this past week and she has been AI'd so all the gals have been AI'd and waiting to see who took. So far Millie has shown no signs of heat since her AI. Have a pleasant day everyone! |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Sep 06 2018 : 05:26:18 AM
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good morning ladies! thanks for all the well wishes. got back home last night, and the girls are off to school on the bus just now. i have one of those days where you have a million little errands and chores, and i think i just want to sit and do nothing but read all day ;> but home life and work life beckons.
we leave for ireland a week from monday, so need to start getting focused on that.
i love the labor day spread maryjane. isnt it amazing how productive farm life is? it just amazes me how much a family can accomplish. at least we still have running water, and hot at that, to run into the bath at the end of the day!
enjoy your day everyone. perhaps janet will send us some of her rain, we need it in east texas. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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farmlife
1413 Posts
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Posted - Sep 06 2018 : 9:15:04 PM
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Oh Cindy, I am so happy for you! It worked out just right.
Things here have been a little crazy, but good. Late spring we got some chicks from the hatchery and just got them integrated with our existing flock instead of in their own coop. Between Saturday and Tuesday we managed to bale 40 tons of hay from one of our pastures. Tomorrow we will deliver the bulk of what is left to our customers and we can cross that off the list. It is so nice to have extra hay! I really like doing small square bales, but when the kids are gone I don't know if we will have the manpower. My daughter (11) drives the truck and trailer through the field, the boys (13 & 15) pick the bales out of the rows and throw them onto the trailer, I stack, and my husband usually bales. We might have to keep spectating at some events to hire some kids that want to work. :) Tomorrow while the kids are at school it will be Jeremy and I and a friend of ours so we will be good and tired by the end of the day. |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Sep 07 2018 : 06:07:49 AM
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good morning ladies. it is friday and i am beat. i knew i would be tired after the adoption trip in houston, but even i underestimated it. luckily, the original adoption date was today so i had cleared my work calendar for yesterday/today... and when the trip changed to tuesday/wednesday i cleared those work days but did NOT book back up for yesterday/today. so although i have way too much work, and am way too far behind, i don't have calls/appts for work and am just taking it easy and limiting my work to clearing emails and handling a few 911 issues via email.
this morning i skipped milking; i have been meaning to write a post on this as with the calf 6 months old we only milk about 3-4 days a week right now. we are doing something akin to "OAD milking, every few days"! we separate the calf and momma at night, and then if we milk we usually send momma out with the cows and hold back calf for another 4 hours before cutting her loose (she has a small pasture with her corral so she is getting water/hay/grass during the time alone).
this calf is soo gentle with her teeth, we have NO bites/bruises/anything with her... even at 6 months. and momma still loves to nurse so this is working for both of us. we just keep the timing consistent, so if we dont milk the calf goes on her at that exact time ... so supply and demand keep the same.
but we dont know how this will work with us in ireland. i am not sure if momma will want to nurse 24/7, as they will be kept together the entire time we are gone, so she may decide to wean on her own during our absence. i hope not as that means our milk supply will be gone for a few months, but we knew it from the start of the trip planning so we'll just see how it works out. its one thing to have calf on you 5-6 hours per day and to nurse, another to have it 24/7 and never get a break from a demanding 6 month heifer.
today is grandparents day at school for the youngest two. my mom and dad are coming over and i'll be taking them to have lunch with the two girls - the lunch periods are back to back. they also have a book fair today, which is total insanity during grandparents day, so i told the girls we would pick out books from the book fair newsletter to order instead. my mom with her heatstrokes the past two years just cant hang out in crowded areas as they get too warm.
need to hop in the shower now. take care ladies, and have a GREAT weekend! |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 07 2018 : 08:13:50 AM
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Good morning Cindy. I can only imagine your exhaustion, but look at what you just accomplished!!!!
I was telling someone recently that whatever works for nursing, milking, etc.has to be a function of every unique situation. In many ways, each and every one of us is on our own. All we can do is throw out a wide net and look at what others do while experimenting on our own with what does and doesn't work. In your situation, I don't think calf will nurse non-stop as long as she can get some of her own hay. If they're on pasture the entire time you're gone, that's ideal.
I'm so excited for your trip. I know how much Stella and Mia love to travel and experience new sights. Traveling is so educational. I still can't believe the adoption is behind you, one year in the making. Congrats! Congrats!! Congrats!!!
Good idea on the book fair. Total madness, but wonderful at the same time--teaching kids to love/cherish/buy/read books. How revolutionary is that these days? Our Mia has her nose in a book every chance she gets. I bought her a lightweight not-really-bean-bag-chair that she can easily move to wherever she wants to curl up to read.
Keeley, your haying endeavors are amazing. Just think of the life lessons your kiddos are learning. Verlyn Klinkenborg wrote a book about "haying" that impacted me many years ago. It wasn't a how-to but a why. I followed him when he was a columnist for the NYTimes for many years. Love his style of writing. He has written several books on rural America.
https://smile.amazon.com/Making-Hay-Verlyn-Klinkenborg/dp/0941130185/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1536333298&sr=8-5&keywords=verlyn+klinkenborg+books
"Describes farmers in Minnesota, Iowa, and Montana as they cut and bale hay for their cattle ranches."
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 07 2018 : 08:26:57 AM
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| Janet, I'm excited to watch your video suggestion this weekend when I'll have an extra hour and some time to dig deeper. I skimmed it quickly. The milk fever and ketosis discussions specific to Jerseys are from Jersey owners so I hope I'm going to learn a lot. As always, thank your for your sleuthing. We need to know more about milk fever now that several of us experienced that this year. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Sep 07 2018 : 11:27:47 AM
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| The video was okay but I found it too generalized. I was hoping for more specifics. I will see what part 2 has to offer. Afternoon is here already. Morning was spent making mozzarella and doing up the dishes. Asiago and bread were yesterday and this afternoon is more misting and rain. Haymaking is work. Every aspect of it. I hope you are able to get some help Keeley. With just Joe and I, it's a workout. Lifting bales onto a wagon or truck is getting harder all the time. We don't bother to throw it up in the loft anymore. Just make room for it on the main floor now. Cindy, hoping your momma and calf do okay while you're on your trip. I'm sure all will work out. Nice to be able to get away and enjoy new experience. Educational for all. Have a pleasant day everyone! |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 08 2018 : 07:45:29 AM
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Good morning Janet. Asiago and mozzarella sound good. It's been a while since we've made those. I came across what I would describe as a dried/aged mozzarella cheese called Scamorza, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scamorza
I liked it, especially the texture. Ashley and I discussed how we might make some here.
This coming week we're going to make a couple wheels of Parmesan.
What kind of bread did you make?
As we eat our corn, I feed the stalks to the cows. They're crazy in love with our nightly routine.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Sep 08 2018 : 08:26:57 AM
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| Good morning MaryJane and all! I would be interested in the process of making the Scamorza if Ashley and you come up with one. I made Wild Bara Brith as that is what Joe and I eat for breakfast each morning, so I bake two-four loaves a week. Put it in the freezer so we always have on hand and give loaves away. I gave our sweet corn stalks to the gals too. They eat it as if it were candy. But I don't have any more so it was a treat for them. I'm out of cheese except mozzarella, so lots of cheesemaking to be done. Seems like that's all I get done, making cheese and bread, chores and milk, and the day is over and start again. :) |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 08 2018 : 7:38:00 PM
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Wonderful Scamorza video, Janet. Seems pretty straight forward. The trick will be figuring out where to hang it so it doesn't mold. I wonder how long it takes to harden? My mouth is already watering for more. I really like the texture.
Sounds like plenty done in a day to me! And all of it the essence of importance.
The Raes are one floor down playing a lively game of charades. Maybe I'll join them.
About a month or so ago, I moved one of my hibiscus plants to my deck. Even though I covered it with cheesecloth while it transitioned to direct sunlight, it looked pretty rough for a while, but it rallied and I've been getting plenty of gorgeous blooms in the last two weeks. Tonight there are 4 of them. Plus the plant has trailed all over my deck. Gorgeous.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Sep 09 2018 : 02:50:12 AM
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My yellow hibiscus is blooming with several buds and blooms, and doing fine but my pink hibiscus lost many leaves (yellowing and dropping off), which can be caused by several different things, so I tried some different things and it's doing better but doesn't have as many buds or blooms as the yellow one. I'm going to have to move them to the greenhouse soon as the nights are getting too chilly.  . They seem a bit touchy when moves and have to be careful with too much or too little water or light, and mine are heavy and difficult to move around even with the plant dollies. But pretty when blooming. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 09 2018 : 3:30:07 PM
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The pink hibiscus are definitely fickle (I have two different colors and one isn't as fickle as the other). One has its own grow light as of last week. It wanted to turn yellow when I watered it and yellow when I didn't water it, so I thought I'd try something different with lighting. Any other suggestions?
But my yellow one seems never to care. In fact, today I got my first double bloom--not just one, but two of them on the same day.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - Sep 09 2018 : 7:20:02 PM
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That's what I have found with my pink hibiscus, much more touchy.  The leaves turned yellow, cupped and fell off. I looked for pests but didn't find any, tried watering less, that didn't change anything, then watering more, didn't change anything, finally I tried a new fertilizer and just let nature take it's course, and it grew new leaves and looks wonderful. So there is quite a learning curve with the tropical hibiscus. I purchased some perennial hibiscus that come back year after year with beautiful Burgundy flowers. They are still in the pots, and I didn't get them planted today as Joe and I cut down two large trees and spent much of the day cleaning up all the branches and moving the logs and branches into a pile, to be stacked later. It's been a day. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 10 2018 : 07:07:39 AM
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I definitely need my pink hibiscus to bloom again. Yours is beautiful. I wrongly assumed I should treat my new pink ones the way I'd treated my yellow one. After doing some reading, I've ordered some fertilizer high in potassium.
Not just one, but two large trees. What a day. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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Week of September 3, 2018
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