MORE Pickles!

 So I opened a jar of pickled okra yesterday.

And then I pulled all the okra out of the fridge,

sliced it and put it in the freezer to

freeze dry.

Ugh.

I wasn't a huge fan. 

It wasn't terrible, but not as good as I hoped.

However, we had a busy day yesterday.

(Surprise, surprise...)

We spent the morning doing chores around

the house, like getting the stuff out of

the freeze dryer and processing it

(I got 26 bags of everything bagel zucchini bites)

and then defrosting the machine and

getting the next batch in.

(ice cream and bananas)

Then about 1:00 Kyle came home from

the farm and we headed to our local

sale barn for a cattle auction!

It's a small facility.

But looks like all the other sale barns I've been to.

There were a couple of buyers.

One man was buying for a few ranchers

and spent about $89k on just one group!

Kyle was kind of keeping track and he thinks

he spent close to $300,000 on cattle!!!

So.

We decided to try to go direct - we have a few

friends here now who raise beef cattle.

We are looking for 3 or 4 heifers (young girls)

and 2 steers and MAYBE a milk cow if we

can find / afford one. But should probably wait

until next year on that...

Anyhow. 

It was fun, but intimidating.

And cows are STILL really really really expensive.

So get ready for rising beef prices...

I'm used to paying about $650 for a calf.

They went for $1600-$1900 yesterday.

WHAT?

***Also, stock up on your holiday pecans,

the pecan crop got wiped in Helene....

I ordered a bag on my Sam's delivery this week.

I don't use a ton, but I am out.

Then it was back home to have some lunch

and clean the house.

And then we headed out to the farm.

Kyle has been installing the siding on the exterior

and boy it looks GREAT!!!!

Changed it from a "hunting cabin / shanty / what is this?"

to a house!

It looks so good!

He will have to rent a telehandler to do the 2nd floor,

but he needs one to shingle the roof anyway.

So he'll get the bottom floor all finished and then we will

look into renting the equipment.

(The shingles are on a pallet under the house

awaiting installation...)

Meanwhile, Rod went to the well to swap out

the float valve that turns the pump on and off.

Ours is stuck open (which is better than closed, I guess,

but the pump runs continuously and we don't want to

burn it out...)

But when he got it all installed, they put the wrong

valve in the box. Its upside down.

When the float sinks down (like we are out of water)

the pump turns OFF. And then it is high it turns ON.

NOPE.

So he had to package it all back up and call the guy

who was very apologetic. He's sending a return

label and a new (tested) valve.

While he was doing that, I hit the garden.

Kyle has been busy and hasn't picked lately.

I guess I"m doing another batch of pickles this morning.

Hahahahaha.

Also I got 5 or 6 really nice looking zucchini.

I'll make them into more chips.

They are yummy and if they don't sell,

we can always enjoy them ourselves.

There are also about 10 nice lemon cucumbers,

but I left them on the plants to pick on Friday

before we go to market on Saturday.

Better get to it.

I've decided it's time to stop freeze drying 

doodads for the market now and get back

to processing "food". I'm going to head over

to the local butcher and get some ground beef

(I just CAN'T eat WalMart hamburger... its just

doesn't taste right...) and get that cooked up

and then into the freeze dryer (once the other

loads ahead of it get done...)

But that's for another day.

Right now, its pickles and then get ready

to teach this evening.