Season 3, Episode #41~ Stuffed with Stuffin’ and a Goooooooaaaaaallll!

The holiday week began with cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning.  A bit of cooking too, but nothing crazy- was just Blind Hog, Acorn and Baby Badger.  Turkey was cooked a week before, and the few sides were easy peasy.

Usual chores continue.  Wire horse panels purchased and cut for the goose pens and barn door openings. Blind Hog has his woodpile about finished. Wolfpack for the win, and all the FIFA futbol has been entertaining, especially the commentators en Espanol!

Still no goat kids, Acorn needs to set her delivery equipment next to the back door. Squalls will soon be sounding on the baby monitor! That last piece of mincemeat pie did not last long!

Season 3, Episode #40~ Pre-Thanksgiving P(r)ep Talk

Prepping of many kinds at SteelMeadow Farm…  Cooking, baking, cleaning.  Getting all the little fiddly bits done.  Fruitcakes…  Cinnamon rolls… Turkey…

Blind Hog’s firewood is no longer growing oyster mushrooms, those logs went into the woodstove.  Those logs were also very light, weight-wise, for their size. Guess the fungi have been taking care of that.

Goats are happy enough, cows too.  If the cows were not getting enough to eat or drink they would holler and so far all is quiet in the east field.

A trace of snow at the farm- nothing like the lake effect snow that is supposed to hit New York tomorrow. Oy.  Been there, done that.

Be safe this holiday week!

Season 3, Episode #39~ Blind Hog has his Cake!

Busy enough week for Blind Hog and Acorn- cutting down dead trees for firewood, cleaning up the sewing room and culling through boxes and boxes of “stuffs…”  A carload of recycling and thrift store drop offs… And the wall of boxes and shelves is so neat and tidy…

Blind Hog had a great 81st birthday, even got some work in while the weather was in the upper 70’s.  Now, it barely got above freezing for the high.  PLUS SNOW FLURRIES!

Oyster mushrooms have begun to fruit on firewood cut from a dead oak- it did have mushrooms before, but the last “fruiting” was pretty poor, Acorn thought it was all over.  NOPE!  May have to cook up something just to show off the  delicious fungi!

Season 3, Episode #38~ Lull in Activities, Sorta…

Not a very exciting week…  Garden chores, woodpile chores… Blah blah blah…  Goats DID get vaccinated, with the help of the Badger. That was a might task that needed doing.  Tail hairs sent off on four doelings to get them registered as 50%’ers…

Acorn got all excited about a new coffee grinder but after recording the podcast it was found the new unit won’t even power on!  No!!!!!!!!!  Tried taking it apart, putting it back together. Nope nope nope…

Cell phone booster still working well.  Just amazing. 

Just so you know, the ladybug was on the outside of the betta jar… Pumpkin muffins are delicious!

Season 3, Episode #37~ Preparing for Winter

Apologies for any repeated material from week to week, but when everyday is the same, it is easy to get days mixed up!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been busy with farm chores, food preparation, canning, woodsplitting. Today’s pasture walk revealed the winter forecast via persimmon seeds (spoiler, it was a spoon = snow).

Sam’s paw is healed, no more protective boot. Yay!

Sunrises, honkers, paper wasps and a happy farmdog and calf.

Season 3, Episode #36~ Hurrah for Cell Phone Signal Improvements!

Has been a week of home electronic installation as Blind Hog and Acorn received and installed the new cell phone booster kit and yes, the big test of improved signal reception is apparent- the podcast episode loaded up before this first paragraph was completed!  BOOM!  Just like that!

Besides putting up a new 6′ mast for the omnidirectional antenna, mounted on the old Hughes Net dish frame, the farmers have been picking up walnuts and should be finished by today.  Hullers are payiing $20/100 lbs of “debrided walnuts” and many of the nuts being picked up have already lost the husks, so Blind Hog and Acorn are a little ahead of the game there.

Chainsaws have got new bars and chains, all good there. Ready to tackle more dead trees!  Woodstove also had a cracked pane that was replaced- all is good there.

Sam the Farm Dog was going after a skunk (yes, he was sprayed) and after his bath it was discovered he had sliced three toe pads- evidenced by bloody pawprint all over the wood floor.  NewSkin, neosporin, and a doggie boot have helped speed healing.  This morning the cuts are not gaping, red and weeping.  Sam walks a wee bit funny with the boot but has not tried to chew it off.

About time to get that last strip of yard picked clean of walnuts, then off to the huller.

Season 3, Episode #35~ Oh, Nuts!

Busy week on the farm- both goats barns cleaned out and dusted with lime and diatomaceous earth, dead trees cut and brought down from the upper 40 for firewood, walnuts a-plenty in the yard for picking up, goji berries in the dehydrator.  PHEW!

Blind Hog and Acorn will take Sunday afternoon off at least, football game at 3:30pm.  Good excuse to have a sit-down!

Everything else is going along well enough.  Tomatoes, okra and peppers all cooked and combined into pint jars.  Gumbo at the ready!  Just add chicken! At least the pie is ready…

Season 3, Episode #34~ Honey, I’m Hooooome!

Acorn left for a fun weekend trip to Houston, only to be diverted on her way home to Fort Myers. Talk about a mess down there!  Thankfully, the house in the Trust was pretty much unscathed and the closing of the sale, scheduled on the 29th, was NOT cancelled but only postponed a week.  Buyers so happy that they could not wait.

Blind Hog met Acorn at 10pm and back to the farm they skedaddled.  Routine chores seem like bliss after the drama, stress, and mayhem from Hurricane Ian.

FarmFest weekend in Springfield, the 3-day farm trade show with free admission! After 2.5 hrs enough was seen, back to the farm for a relaxing evening.

Barns getting cleaned, bee hives to be checked. Autumn in the Ozarks, which means a yard FULL of black walnuts.  Oy!  At least the county road is FINALLY getting the attention it deserves!

Season 3, Episode #33~ Road to Recovery and a Letter from Afar…

Blind Hog and Acorn are slogging along, one better than the other.  Farm chores wait for no one and things just chug chug chug.

Happily, there is light at the end of the Covid Tunnel and both have been taking walks again in the morning, not like they are totally laid out flat…

Canning up the last of the tomatoes and okra, green beans about done.  Weather remains dry, garden has about had it.

Before the farmers went on their trip, Acorn sent a letter to the UK to a certain naturalist she fancies.  Today a response was waiting in the mail!  Whooooooooo!  Needless to say, the letter will get framed. #sciencenerd

Season 3, Episode #32~ Went on Vacation and All I got was this Lousy ‘Rona…

No- seriously, the week in the Rockies was FABULOUS!  Blind Hog and Acorn both lost like 5-6 lbs, crazy good hiking days and wonderful lodgings.  Airports were “interesting” to say the least.  Missed one connecting flight by minutes, but truly that only set the holiday back by 4 hours- big whoop.  At least the luggage did not get lost~

Three nights on the Icefields Parkway, three nights at Glacier.  Packed it in and could easily have made it a week in each place.  Things to look forward to in the future- a return trip to the Icefields!

Blind Hog and Acorn tested for the ‘Rona the day before the trip and the morning after returning.  Negative and negative.  Wednesday night Blind Hog had a hard time sleeping and Thursday he was not feeling well, chalked it up to the A-Fib but when he complained of “being cold,” his temp read 99.1.  Another covid test popped positive before the solution crossed the control line!  Acorn tested positive 2 days later… We see this…  Least she does not have to wear an N-95 mask in the house all day!

So, imagine ragweedy allergy symptoms and that is how they feel.  Indeed, they truly went on holiday and brought home no souvenirs, except…  except...