Target Practice and The Garden Salvage Operation.

And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. Zechariah 9:8

Sorry, no witty lead-ins this time. I really just have some wonderful pictures of family target practice. Our Papa Hamilton, our family patriarch and a gifted minister of God, came over for family fellowship and a meal of buffalo hash (the recipe's at the end of the post.) Afterwards we just thought it was a good time for some family fun.

Our junior spotters:

I'm not sure, but I think if you look closely you can actually see the bullet:

David spotting:

Rachael takes a turn with the SKS:

Then tries her hand at spotting:

A rare picture of me. I really am more comfortable than I look:

Papa and David discuss an ammo feed problem:

David takes a turn with my new .45:

And Lianna joins in with her BB gun. She hit 3 out of 4 at 20 yards.

The same morning we got the garden ready for the salvage crew. We used electric fence to divide the garden into 2 sections and to protect my still viable peppers.

This is our herd sire Max, 1/2 Boer and 1/2 dairy:

Here's the buffalo hash recipe. I rarely use a recipe, so it's sometimes hard for me to put things in a true recipe format. Bear with me:

Take a nice chunk of buffalo (or beef or venison or pork or whatever). Cut it into cubes 1/2" or less in size. Brown the cubes well in a hot cast iron pan. Remove the meat and throw in a finely chopped onion, a little salt, and brown well. Deglaze the pan with a couple of cups of water (pour the water in the pan and scrape up all the nice brown stuff on the bottom.) Return the meat to the pan, add a couple of tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce or tomato paste or even some powdered dried tomatoes, cover and simmer till tender, adding more water as needed. Meanwhile, melt about 1/4 cup butter and add 1/4 cup of flour to make a roux. Be careful not to let the flour burn. When the meat is tender, pour the broth into the hot roux and whisk to make the gravy. Return the gravy to the pot with the meat and add enough finely cubed (1/4") potatoes to make however much you need. I prefer canned new potatoes for their waxy texture and I use about twice the quantity of potatoes as meat. Simmer until the potatoes are done (or hot in the case of canned potatoes remembering to boil home-canned potatoes at least 10 minutes somewhere in the process.) Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

We make this simple and mild, but it can be jazzed up with garlic, cayenne pepper or chili powder, green sauce, or any number of vegetable additions depending on what's in your pantry and what you like.

A tidbit for today: Here's an inspirational and true post from Homesteader Life,

and an article by Howard King. (My disclaimer: I post this to edify those who agree, to teach those who might, and to incite no argument with those who don't.) God is perfectly capable of leading us where He will have us go.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy