As both David and his family and Bill and his family had obligations for Thanksgiving, we managed to get together Saturday for our own Thanksgiving dinner. And we truly have plenty to be thankful for! We have our health, no major life disruptions, we’ve had a spectacular harvest season, despite the terrible drought and heat wave that tried to overcome our crops and we have each other. What else did we need, anyway? I fixed a nice turkey dinner, garlic mashed potatoes, and the fixings. As we always love lots of potatoes, I peeled and cut up some of those huge Dakota Pearls we dug up this fall. I totally expected them to have hollow heart, especially with the very little watering they received in the Wolf garden. And boy, was I surprised! Not a one showed any sign of hollow heart at all!

We were all happy to gather together and give thanks.

Granddaughter, Delilah, is getting so big and is able to crawl like mad. She even pulls herself up into a standing position. So, of course, Grandpa Will had to hold her hands and dance with her. She loves to bounce up and down so that was funny as heck. She and granddaughter, Ava, really loved our rescue kitten, Buffy. And unlike stand-off Mittens, Buffy let them pet and cuddle her. Of course, Ava got to go down and feed treats she’d bought to her pony, Whinny. And, seeing her come, Whinny nickered all the way until Ava reached the gate.

Will and Delilah dancing.
Ava and Delilah visit with Buffy

David brought a deer home and it’s frozen stiff on the front porch. So today I’m taking the reciprocal saw out and cutting it into quarters so I can bring one at a time into the house to cut up and can. I’m the designated “family store” so there’ll be a lot more canned ground meat and stewing meat on the shelves real soon. Such a good feeling to know that no matter what comes, we’ll all have plenty to eat. Yep, we have truly been blessed and are very thankful. — Jackie

29 COMMENTS

  1. Happy Thanksgiving! Never too late to be thankful!! Love the family gathering. Delilah dancing with Grandpa is precious. Buffy growing huge and healthy! Whinny nickering at Ava coming, so sweet. Thank you for sharing your awesome abundant life with us!
    You mentioned having your potatoes. Was the turkey one of yours, or one of the wild ones that hang out at your place, as well? I would love to hear a list of what all at your Thanksgiving meal was from your homestead. I believe that is one of the MOST satisfying things about putting all the time and effort into gardening…sitting down to a home cooked meal and seeing how many dishes came from ourselves and not the store. :)
    No frozen meat hanging on the porch in SW Montana. High 60s for days. Good grief, so strange.

    • No, the turkey, this year, was a store-bought, on sale bird; we don’t hunt our wild ones as the population is very small yet and our tame ones didn’t lay and hatch eggs this year for some unknown reason. Let’s see; we had our own potatoes, green beans, sweet corn, homemade rolls, two Hopi Pale Grey squash “pumpkin” pies, an apple pie from our canned apples and turkey dressing from homemade bread, homegrown onions and sage. It’s fun to sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner and eat produce from our homestead and pantry!!
      Wow! And we thought our 40 degree day was weird in early December!

    • Oops! I forgot grandson, Mason’s favorite; deviled eggs from the last of our hen’s fall eggs, home canned Cowboy Candy and Vaquero relish and pickles, of course.

    • Yes, Dakota Pearl potatoes would certainly grow well in your Maryland raised bed. Just be sure to water extra as the sides of raised beds help roots dry out faster than those in the ground.

  7. I also had trouble getting everyone on Thanksgiving Day. Years ago, I decided to always do my Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. It works great and I have found that the first turkey eaten always seems to be the best, ha, ha. Or so my kids say! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

  8. Where do you get those Dakota Pearl potatoes? Will you be selling them or can you suggest somewhere to go?

    I am new to popcorn corn. Do you harvest the glass gem and pop corn with it? Sorry to be so ignorant.

    Love seeing part of your family!!

    • We buy our Dakota Pearls from Homestead Mills in Cook, Mn. No, we can’t sell live plants (which the Department of Ag classifies potatoes as) due to all the expensive hoops.
      Homestead grown popcorn is SO good! You just shell the dry kernels off the cob and pop it like you do storebought popcorn, a little bit of oil in a pot and a single layer of popcorn on the bottom, heated on high, covered to keep in the steam, which pops it. Colored popcorn, like Glass Gem and Dakota Black is white like other popcorn, but has a tiny bit of colored husk on the bottom of the popped kernels.
      You aren’t ignorant! Just inexperienced. Big difference.

  9. Great pictures of a perfect Thanksgiving dinner! And I see snow on the ground through your window! Happy holidays!

  11. Good times.
    I also canned a bunch of venison last week. We’re grinding the rest today with some pork for burger.
    We were fortunate that our group got 2 so everyone went home with some.
    Of course we had to eat the heart and tenderloin, that never lasts long around here.
    I’m looking through the seed catalog and getting ready to place my order.
    Blessings to you and your family.

  13. Nothing better than a simple, yet good meal and time with family. I’m not sure whose gotten bigger since her last picture – Delilah or Buffy! I’d love to see the look on Delilah’s face – look on Buffy’s face is interesting.
    Yep, tis the time of year those of us in the northern part of the country make use of nature’s refrigerator/freezer.
    So nice to see NO cell phones at the table.

    • I agree Selena. Cell phones at the table???? Eeek! Not happening here! Buffy was thinking, WHO are these little people???
      Uh Huh. Right now, half of David’s deer is still on the front porch, frozen solid, until we go out and cut another piece to thaw and can up.

  14. Hi Jackie, such a happy gathering of family to be thankful for. Thanks for sharing your family with us. Love the grandkids.

    • We always have such fun when we get together. We got to hear Mason’s concert. He plays trumpet very well. And, as always, we had a ball playing with Delilah and watching Ava feed special treats to Whinny, her pony.

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