Our neighbor, Jerry Yourceck, called Will two days ago and asked if he’d go with him to the livestock sale barn to help haul cattle. (Jerry is in his eighties and I think he likes Will to go along in case they have a flat tire…which they did!) They loaded some cattle and took off for the 150-mile trip. One flat tire later, they arrived kind of late at the sale barn. While Jerry checked the cattle he’d hauled in, Will went in, got a bidding number, and sat down at the ring. We had wanted to buy another bottle calf or two, but the dairy we usually had bought calves from didn’t have any bull calves this summer — only heifers. I thought maybe he’d come home with a calf. He called an hour later; he’d bought five. FIVE! Holy smoke. Where would we put them? I scrambled around while they drove home and moved our older calves and a few goats. Yep, I guess we could fit them in.
I like the calves in smaller bunches or in single pens so I can keep track of their poop. Scours is the number one killer of baby calves — especially calves from the sale barn.
Will had gotten great deals on those calves. Too good to pass up, I’ll admit. So now we’re bottle-feeding five babies. I do love those calves! One is a real small little Holstein and is too cute. I’m feeding him real cow milk from Lace, so he’ll catch up with his sort-of siblings. Those guys have to have powdered milk replacer because I want some milk too!
I just made a soft white cheese and used it to replace the cream cheese in Will’s cheesecake. (Jackie Clay’s Pantry Cookbook, page 182) It turned out perfect. No more paying $1.49 (on sale!) for cream cheese. One more step toward self-reliance! I’m making butter today. Mmm.
Oh, by the way, the garden’s doing excellent! I’ll never be without a hoop house for peppers (and melons next year!). I’ve never even seen such big peppers! NEVER. And they’re grown right here, not in Mexico. I’m talking about huge peppers and lots of them. Wow! The corn’s making nice ears, the cabbage is setting big heads, and I’ll be canning the second batch of green beans this afternoon. The potatoes were in a little late and are just thinking about blooming. But that’s fine, as we should have another 6 weeks or more of growing season. The carrots and onions suffered from the weeds, so we’ll see how they do. We’ll have enough, but not a huge crop, this year. But that’s the way things go.
Will’s been working steadily on the new barn, flat-siding the floor joists for the hayloft and peeling each one. As they were winter-cut, the bark is tough to peel, but he’s getting it done. The barn won’t be done by winter, but it’s going to be well started. (Due to vehicle breakdowns, which were expensive, we don’t have the cash for the dimension lumber for the trusses and rafters yet.) But we know it’ll get done and it’ll be a great addition to the homestead. We’re in no hurry and want to do it right. — Jackie
Mary Jane,
Peppers like warm days and warm nights. Here in Minnesota, we have night temperatures a lot of the summer from 50-60 degrees. Peppers just seem to sit there. Then, just before freezing hits in September, they begin to set peppers. So sad! With the hoop house, the daytime temps are a little warmer (both ends are open now), but the nights remain warm inside. So we are getting tons of happy peppers. Next year, we’re doing the same thing for our melons, as they, too like warmer nights. The rest of the crops do well without warmer nights and make a good crop for us.
Jackie
Jackie, our climates are so different, (I live in hot, hot Texas…today made 50 days of 100 degrees or more, and our nightime low was 86) and I’m having trouble understanding the need for the hoop house. Why is it necessary for the peppers and not other things? The peppers are gorgeous, by the way. Ours did poorly, due to drought and heat.
Your calves are so cute! You can’t go wrong buying calves at a good price. It’s food for your table, and possibly someone else’s. Best wishes for a great crop!
Congratulations on the new additions. They are beautiful.
Your pepper is gorgeous, and so big! You ought to weigh the biggest one, just for chuckles. It would be a fun contest for yourself on an annual basis! The Hoop thingy is awesome. I want to build one for next year.
Love watching all the things you do…..can’t wait for my first magazine to arrive!!! In the meantime, I am doing LOTS of reading here!
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