super-bill-bean-tomato

Becky B. sent us this photo of her Bill Bean tomato she raised last year from our seeds. Isn’t it pretty? And BIG too! — Good job, Becky!

I baked up half a ham and got 16 jars full of ham dices and pieces. Today I’m boiling the bone and will be canning up pints of bean and ham soup. As spring is coming, I need to empty our freezer, which we can’t keep running during the summer. That means eating/canning everything that is in it. I’ve made a good start on it and next will be mixing up some Italian sausage from our ground pork to can as crumbles. I use this on pizzas and in spaghetti sauce, among other things.

Nice-ham_0061

I had to laugh at Hondo last night. I had been looking at several seed catalogs and he fell asleep upside down on the couch, right by the Fedco catalog. I think he was reading it then drifted off!

Hondo-Fedco_0064

We’ve got four more inches of new snow today so Will and Hondo are out plowing the driveway. We’ve got a butcher steer scheduled to butcher tomorrow so we’ll need to get him loaded this afternoon. We helped a neighbor yesterday do that same thing. But all did not go well. The animal jumped out over the fence, knocking my friend Jeri down. Luckily she wasn’t hurt bad but we ended up taking four hours to get the bugger in the trailer! Will was about pooped out, trying to head the cow off on foot through deep snow in the pasture. Our friend Sam was trying to help, too and we were worried about him because he has already had a couple of heart attacks, a knee replacement, and another bad knee to boot. We were sure glad when we were done and the cow was in the trailer … and no one was hurt. — Jackie

10 COMMENTS

  2. Rick,

    Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I was afraid Will was going to have a heart attack. (He said later he was puffing so hard he couldn’t even think of a cuss word.)

    We had a much easier time today although our critter didn’t really want to go in the chute. But finally it went in and we got it in the trailer. Whew. Both Will and I are sore from helping the neighbors and our critter is now hanging sides of beef.

    Yum, fresh tomatoes! What was I thinking when I posted Becky’s picture. Now I have lots of folks drooling…..

  3. Zerilda,

    I’m happy you had some big Bill Bean tomatoes too. We REALLY love that one as well as a few others in our garden. I’m getting so pumped for spring! Can’t wait.

  4. Bobbie,

    Whoa!!! The steer we took to butcher today was for other people. We sell beef by the quarter and half, which helps pay our own feed costs. I didn’t even hunt this fall because we sure didn’t need more meat!!! (I”m not that crazy….or greedy. LOL)

  5. mike,

    Our small battery bank consists of only six, 6 volt batteries and they are charged by our small solar array and small wind charger as well as a bit of use from our generator. The freezer sucks power like mad so the batteries go dead real fast. Until we can upgrade to more storage and more solar panels, the freezer is only “seasonal”.

  7. Miss Jackie, I suspect Mr Will is more patient than I, but I believe I would have given strong consideration to a rifle slug behind the beef critters ear, a quick slash of his throat with a sharp knife, and drag him to the barn to hang for an onsite processing. Hope your own beef is easily handled.

    Y,All I can vouch for the huge size and flavor of the Bill Bean tomato. I had many in the 1 1/2 to 2 lb. range and several around 3 lbs. this past summer It doesn’t take many to fill a 5 gallon bucket, and we love them canned. BUT my favorite for eating fresh and for flavor of canned product is the Cherokee Purple tomato!!! Yum! C’mon spring…

    How niclely a slice of that browned ham would go on the dinner plate with a baked sweet potato and a bit of fresh horseradish sauce and a side of cole slaw. Rick

  8. We love the Bill Bean tomato….we had some huge ones last year also. They are tasty and great for canning.
    Thanks for being so prompt with my seed order…can’t wait to get started in the greenhouse.

  9. Becky’s Bill Bean tomato is gorgeous! I’m craving tomatoes right about now.

    Hondo is adorable. I think you should send this to Revival so they can put him in their catalog — or better yet, send a picture to Fedco. What a great picture!

    Okay, you say your cooking & canning everything in your freezer because you can’t use your freezer during the summer months (I understand why this is), BUT…taking a butcher steer to butcher tomorrow? How do you plan to cook or can all the steer meat in addition to what you have in the freezer?
    Doesn’t sound like you’ll be getting much sleep.

    Thanks for the GREAT pictures and sharing with us — as always, I thoroughly enjoy your posts.
    Happy Day To You & Will
    Bobbie

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