Kitchen Table, and this was AFTER we cleaned it off so the kids could eat (then we messed it up again).

My desk in the Living Area, somewhat a bit more organized then it was

The worse mess of all! This is my office desk, currently being used as a catch-all as I organize for donation, yard sale or giving to the kids.

What I do know, is we are moving the garden this year. Which is why I need to plan a new garden. Our layout from last year will no longer work. We have been taking the manure from the stalls to fill in the old garden. Our new garden will be closer to the front of the property, with better drainage (we hope), less chance of wash outs, no chance of “waste” washing down from the pastures (a GAP requirement) and I’m hoping to get a small shed put up for a road side stand!

First, we need to move the round pen and fence off half the field. We will keep it small again this year. Just your basic veggies will be grown. I do have some seeds that I saved from some pumpkins and cushaws that we bought last year, and will try planting those.

Since I am no longer working out at John Deere (disappointing as it is), I’ve been doing some yard saling to raise funds for the garden. But first, I have to pay to for my Dr’s visit. ($140 per visit). And with no insurance, that gets hard to pay. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to raise the funds for this next visit. So, hoping I will be set for at least a couple of months before I have to go back again.

I have a site over on Yardsalr.com where I have a few items listed. I did find a local group where I have been doing most of my selling. This is the money I will use to fund our garden. This has been a good way for me to clean out my old junk, and raise some money. I haven’t even hit the barn yet. I still have things that are in the house that I am listing.

*update on Dr’s appointment. All tests came back with good numbers, except my cholesterol, not high enough for meds, but getting close. So, now it is time to get that under control before I do needs meds.

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We made a quick trip to Mom’s just after Christmas, and returned on Dec 30. We picked up a few things that she wanted to get rid of. Like a small chest freezer that now sits on my front porch so I don’t have to go all the way to the barn every night. We also got a wood chipper that will come in handy when we go to clean up our woods out back, allowing us to make our own mulch for the garden. And a few more pieces of family history, that I am really looking forward to digging into.

We took Boo Boo with us, because we thought she would get along great with Mom’s dog, Winston, and that Winston would like the company. That didn’t work out like planned. While we were able to have both dogs in the house at the same time, we couldn’t really trust them. They are both dominate dogs, and both wanted to own the place. Boo Boo was protective of me and Nathan and didn’t like Winston around us. So, they never really got to run around together and play. We just didn’t want to take any chances. Luckily, Mom has her whole 5 acres fenced in with the back yard to the house also enclosed with fencing. So, any outdoors time was spent in separate areas.

Boo Boo And Winston

Even though it was the end of December when we were there, Mom has some wonderful flowers blooming. So, grabbing my camera, I shot these, just because I want learn what my new camera can do.

On the way home, we found a nice store that had an area to walk your pets. Boo Boo went totally crazy when she saw the dog statues by the entrance arch, but quickly checked them out and then went about her business. There were picnic tables for us to enjoy our lunch, a chain to tie her to, and even a dog house she could go in. I wasn’t really too keen on the dog house, since it looked like it had not been cleaned in a while, and you never know if the animals before you had any diseases such as Parvo or anything else.  But, it was a good place to rest, let Boo Boo strectch her legs, and us too!

It was an uneventful trip home, and I, for one, was glad to get back home and start the new year.

Story Continues in next post.

He’s a beauty too!

Easily a 20 pound bird! Nathan was off work last week, and spent three of the coldest mornings out in the field. The first day, the birds came in behind him, and he didn’t see them. The second day, he didn’t see them at all. So, he decided he was going to set up a separate blind, and see what that would bring. As you can see, it brought him his prize! Now, Nathan is NOT one to send any text messages on his phone, but he was so excited he just had to text me at work! He wants to take the tail, wings and beard and get them mounted. Which is fine with me, but I have no idea where he will put them once they are mounted. I’m sure he will figure something out though.

We also got 4 more hens over the week he was home. But I didn’t get my coop extended yet. So, it is a little tricky introducing the two flocks. I have had the new chickens inside a large dog crate for the past couple of days, so the two flocks could get introduced. Today, I let my original flock out of the coop, and opened the crate up so the ones in there could get some roaming time. The trick will come tonight when it is time to put the originals up for the night. I’m debating about leaving them out for the night. But then I have to worry about them finding another laying spot. And I just got them trained to go back into the coop during the day and using the nesting boxes inside the house. So, we will see how things go tonight.

The days have been gorgeous around here, and the nights are cold. We have had a couple of nights down in the 20′s this past week. The horses have their full winter coats in and are looking good as we head into winter.  The dogs are back in the house at night. Grayson’s hip is giving some trouble this season. I only hope it does not get any worse then what I have seen so far. He’s getting ibuprofen at night to help relieve the pain.

One cart load of Black Walnuts before being hulled

We then picked up the hulled shells from the drive, and put them in old milk crates and laundry bags to let the shells dry.  We now have three laundry bags (about 1/3 full each) and 8 milk crates of nuts dried and ready to finish the process. Nathan has rigged me a turn barrel to help clean the shells off before cracking and bringing into the house to get the meat of the nuts.

Adding the finishing touches to the drum

Once the shells are dried and spun in the barrel, I then crack them with a vice, and leave any shell parts up at the barn in our bucket. While the shells with the meats, or the meat alone (if I’m lucky enough to have them crack so graciously), go into a can to be brought down to the house. Where I sit and shell them at night while watching TV.

The way I have it figured, I can do about 8 ozs of nuts in a couple of hours (more if I can get Nathan to help). I have way more then I will ever use, and will be offering them for sale.

Now, I need to make some labels. For the time being, the nuts are in my canning jars that I have available.  Visit our Gift Shop to order yours today.

I started back to John Deere last week, full time, for the season. The first thing I plan on getting is a new camera, since I miss mine so bad, and am already getting tired of using my phone camera. While the phone camera is good for on the go, it’s not so good for photos around here. Then an LED TV, probably a 42″ screen, since my eyes are getting bad, and I can’t even read a football score on our 32″ screens anymore. It’s sad getting older!

In the past week, we have celebrated both mine and my sons birthdays,  and I finally got Nathan to make that lasagna he has been bragging about for almost 6 years! I have to admit, it was really good (sorry, I was too hungry to think about pictures). I have taken the left overs and put them in small containers to take to work with me. I also have all kinds of ham left from Thanksgiving that will make some excellent sandwiches for work.

Zac had his first Thanksgiving dinner here at the house yesterday. He is just starting to crawl, he should be going strong by next weekend, and I hope to get some video of him then to share with you all! He’s such a good little guy, his mom is pretty lucky.

For his first Thanksgiving Dinner, Zac enjoyed Brown Sugar Ham, Pumpkin Bread, Green Beans, Whipped Potatoes (home made), cranberry sauce, mac and cheese and for desert, he tried some Cushaw Pie.

What is Cushaw? You might be asking yourself. That is okay, I thought the same thing when I heard it. Cushaw is a type of squash, very similiar in shape to the Yellow Squash, with a two tone green striped skin that is thin. The meat of the vegetable is a yellowish orange, and it is sweeter then pumpkin.

Nathan brought these home from one of the women he works with at the hospital. I’m saving the seeds this time, instead of roasting them like I did the store bought pumpkin, to use for planting next season. I’m pretty excited to be starting my own seed collection!

Cushaw Pie:

 From Cooks.com Website

Cushaw Pie

I’ve had others tell me that this is better then pumpkin pie, but I have to admit, I like my pumpkin pie better. While it was a sweeter pie then pumpkin, it was not the same. It did have a nuttier taste then pumpkin which does set it apart. I honestly think it will make a better bread, which will be my next recipe with the Cushaw!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving Desert?

My wife and I are both really crafty. We’re always doing projects around the house and that’s probably the thing that we would both prefer to do if we had free time on our hands. I think that our kids are growing up to love the same type of thing too. So we like to include them on the projects like that too.

I knew that we needed to make our dog a little dog bed, so I thought that we would make one as a weekend project. I used our Clear wireless internet 4G to look up some directions on how to make one and found some that were exactly what I had in mind.

We found some great instructions for the DIY dog bed and the kids loved painting the wooden part of the platform neon green. It was their choice to do that and we just let them go with it. Besides, our house if full of color anyway, so itÕs not like a little neon green is going to stick out like a sore thumb in our home. We embrace color!

My first attempt to cook for us was suppose to be a nice surprise. Oh, it was a surprise alright! A surprise to me. My husband (now an ex), still laughs about it. I was going to surprise him with a nice, home made fried chicken dinner. All I had for cookware at the time was Cast Iron. I knew nothing about cooking, let alone cast iron. While my outside was a gorgeous golden brown, the inside was totally raw!! I was devastated. I decided at that point, I would NEVER touch another cast iron piece!

Since then, I have cooked with non-stick cookware. Which is fine, but I always end up with warped pans that are full of scratches, even when I use just plastic or wooden utensils in them! When Nathan and I moved onto our little farm 5 years ago (as of Nov 17th), we went yardsaling and found a full set of non-stick cookware, all brand new and still in the box, for $50. And it was one of the more expensive sets, that will run over $100 in the stores. We snatched it up, and I have been using it ever since!

He also had one lone cast iron skillet, a nice big 10″ pan. It has gone camping with us, and has since moved into our kitchen. It sat on top of my stove for a couple of years, just for looks, I never did touch it! If it got used at all, it was by Nathan. Until a couple of months ago.

For whatever reason, I decided to give cast iron another try. I actually tried my fried chicken recipe again. “I can do this”, I thought to myself, “I’m older and wiser, and I have learned a few things since the last time (it has been over 30 years)”. I am happy to report, that this time, it actually went well. Not only was the outside a perfect golden brown, but the inside was nice and juicy, and cooked all the way through! I had accomplished it!

Since then, I have been cooking more and more with the skillet. We even went to the flea market and found a smaller cast iron skillet that now sits on the stove top along with the bigger one! And we are on the hunt for more!

In my search for cast iron skillets, I have been noticing the prices of them are not as bad as I remember them to be. So, once I get my camera replaced, that is the next thing on my list.

Care for Cast Iron Cookware

Cast Iron cookware can last for generations with proper care, making it the most affordable cookware on the market. It can also be considered the “original” non-stick cookware, when properly seasoned and cared for.

Cleaning Your Cast Iron

1. Wash your cast iron in hot water immediately after use. Nathan tells me you should not use soap when you wash the pans, as it deteriorate the coating that has built up on the pan. I’ve found this to be true with the research I have done online.

2. Dry your pan completely after washing, and store in the oven or on top of the stove, without the lid. If you live where there is high humidity, or high moisture in your air, it is recommended to place a paper towel in the bottom of the pan to absorb any moisture. We always apply a light coat of lard to the pan after each use as well.

Maintaining Cast Iron Cookware

• Cook over low heat to avoid damage to the pan
• Remove acidic food from pan immediately after cooking to avoid damaging the seasoning
• Do not store food in the cast iron pan
• Never put cold water in a hot pan, this can cause the pan to crack or warp
• Do not put cast iron in the dishwasher

* This post contains links to products or companies that I am affiliated with. When you click through on one of these links, and make a purchase, I make a commission. For more information, read our full disclosure (find the link in the bottom footer).

Over the course of the past couple of years, our adventure on the ranch has become more of a learning curve, as we work to make our little piece of heaven self-sufficient, and learning some of the older ways of life. When people depended mostly on their land for their survival. To make the best of what God has given them to nurture and cultivate. We have come a long way in the past few years, but still have a long way to go, and I really hope you will stick around for the journey.

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that you enjoy our life stories, recipes and even my (sometimes unsuccessful) attempts to help educate the general public. I may not be the most faithful in posting on the blog, but sometimes, life really does get in the way. Our seasons flow, schedules change, and sometimes I just don’t feel like I have anything to contibute to the main goal of this blog.

I truly appreciate those that have stuck with me since the very beginning, and I appreciate those who have joined on a regular basis. If it were not for you, my readers, I really don’t know if I would have the heart to continue writing.

Over the course of the past year, I have strayed from that a bit. I have offered give-a–ways, which I will continue to do periodicly. I may even try to start a blog hop one day, but I highly doubt it. Since closing the doors on Diamond M  Sales, a gift shop that I ran online, I never intended to really try to sell anything on the site after that.

I have lapsed, I thought I would post some items I would try to sell on here. MISTAKE!! I knew as I hit the publish button, that it was not what you wanted to see on here. I knew it wasn’t why you stopped by to see what was happening. I feel so cheap for doing this to you, you will never know. Sometimes life makes you take desperate steps that you later regret.

So, while you will continue to see affiliate links, and reviews of products that we actually use around the ranch, in our home and in our everyday lives, I will no longer be adding items for sale on this site. I will however, put a link to my Yardsellr.com site on the side bar. I mean, I have to make a living somehow, right?

With all that said, I hope you will forgive me for straying from our true goal. And I hope you will continue to hang around as I continue on my journey to make this ranch a self-sufficient establishment, and enjoy our ventures with all our family, critters, and our garden.

I wasn’t feeling that well, so I stayed on the ground and worked her in the round pen. She is doing good with her voice commands, and listens well. Although she is a bit “lazy” and doesn’t really want to pick up her gait. Nathan got on her, and she never even flinched. Other then the curb chain being out of place (which we took off for the session), she did great once she got her balance with the extra weight.

We are hoping to have a few more nice days before it turns cold to work with her. We really want to take her out on the trails next year. Nathan had to laugh since she is so much shorter then Cisco, and he had no problem getting up. She looked really good under saddle. She just needs a little confidence building before we take her out. Which shouldn’t be a problem what so ever.

Nathan and Thunder