Shame On Me

I am a procrastinator. I always have been and it's certainly a thorn in my side. The longer I put something off the harder it is to do; hence, it being 3 months since I made a blog entry. Forgive me, dear readers. There's certainly not been a shortage around here of things to write about. I'm not even sure where to start and how to organize it, so I guess I'll just approach this post as a ramble.

My sudden disappearance from the online community started with some mid-life issues, the worst of which was a sudden inability to sleep. Without going into the details I'll simply say that I'm sleeping again and have immersed myself in the very best medicine, life on the homestead. I had begun to feel lost and disconnected and am happy to report that by prioritizing my duties to family and home I am once again centered.

Last month we enjoyed a precious visit with the Michael Bunker family and their Christian agrarian community in Santa Anna, Tx. God in His sovereignty and providence knew exactly what He was doing in the timing of this visit. I'm anxious to visit again and fellowship with the great folks of this group.

We've been way behind on our butchering, and I was thankful when my daughter and son-in-law took it upon themselves to butcher two hogs. Our hogs are a pot-belly/standard cross that max out at usually around 120 pounds. It makes for easily butchering one in a day, along with the advantage that the entire carcass will fit into a chest freezer pending cutting up and processing.

We bone everything out and I crack and use the bones for stock making. We canned the hams, shoulders and loins in quarts for what my daughter calls "Instant Pot Roast." She opens a jar and adds potatoes and carrots for a quick meal that doesn't taste quick. I used the neck meat ground with the heart, liver and onions to make "Dirty Rice Mix" (my son-in-law is from south Texas/Louisiana stock and appreciates Cajun food) which I canned in pints. David used some this morning in some rice along with a can of pinto beans and it was yummy. We freeze the ribs for barbeque with the side meat on for a meatier cut. The belly meat and shanks I'm curing in brine for use as bacon and in beans. One skill I want to master is curing meat for keeping without refrigeration, and I decided the shanks would be a perfect practice cut. My granddaughter Lianna has been heping me cut meat for several years now and has recently graduated to a real knife. Grandson Oran has just earned his "butter knife."

Yesterday we butchered 6 rabbits and I spent today putting those up. Here's Lianna with the pans of legs and loins ready to be roasted lightly prior to packing in jars and canning.

Our total yield was:

• 6 quarts of hind legs and loins canned with broth made from the backs
• A generous appetizer quantity of livers, delicious fried lightly in butter
• A meal of "Buffalo Wings" made from the front legs.
  
• Enough leftover meat bits and stock for a big batch of rabbit and dumplings
  
• A nice plate of belly meat for the cats.
• About 1/2 pint of rendered rabbit fat, a delicacy.

I considered our potato harvest this year to be the Great Potato Famine of South Central Oklahoma. It was a fairly dismal yield for 65 feet of row. However, God used it to teach and humble me when what to my (self-assumed) practiced eye looked to be 7 quarts turned out to be 14 quarts. Now I'll think of it as The Year of Loaves and Fishes.








I've identified a new medicinal plant, White Milkwort (Polygala alba). It's reported to be useful in increasing the milk supply in lactating women.
















With this year's crazy, wet weather the garden has been a bit off-schedule. I managed to get green beans, dry beans, corn and cowpeas in during a break in the rain along with tomatoes and peppers, but have been quite late with the rest of the warm season crops - squash, melons, cotton, okra. These I finally got planted just in the last week or so.
We're beginning to pick green beans and am finding that I'm well pleased with the bush variety "Strike." Another variety that I'll definately plant again is the pole variety "Grandma Nellie's Mushroom Bean." My standby pole varieties are Kentucky Wonder and Rattlesnake, which is quite tolerant of the heat. The garlic I planted last fall is almost ready to harvest.










The squash and melons have germinated quickly in the warmth and abundant moisture;











The experimental plot of hulless oats are turning. . .









And the corn will be ready soon.











We've been thankful for the abundant rain, as we know well that in a matter of a week or two the southern plains can turn quite desert-like. Looks like more rain's on the way.

Till next time (hopefully not so long a time), blessings.

Judy