Pigs!

 I don't remember if I mentioned this.....

but we were hoping to buy some "weaners"

(piglets who have been weaned...)

but they were sold out for this round.

So they put us on the wait list for the November batch.

And then they called Kyle and said somebody

backed out and they have five weaners who are

ready if we would like to have them.

Cue Kyle doing what he does best.....

Building a quick 12 x 12 barn that will include

a small feed room and an L shaped run-in for the

pigs to eat and shelter from the weather.

Also fencing. So they have four 1/4 acre pastures

to rotate through.

(We will move them regularly and follow them up with

the hen house so the chickens can clean up after them,

keeping the fly population down...)

Also a trench to run water and electricity to the barn.

Thank goodness for the excavator!

That's LONG trench - 4 feet deep to avoid the frost line.

He was putting up plywood on the walls when I left.

(But it was SUPER windy today, so hopefully it went well...)

Tomorrow morning we are running into Hays to check

out the farmers markets in town.

WaKeeney's market isn't doing great.

And Hill City has switched to their fall schedule of

Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30 (right after school since

the park they set up in is practically next door...)

Today Rod and I did butcher day Part 1.

(Which means set up...)

Got the restraining cone hooked up to the pole outside.

Got buckets set up.

Got cardboard on the floor under the table.

(But we might move the process outside, depends...)

It was nearly 100 outside today, so if I can butcher

inside that would be nice......

Anyhow.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to process 5 roosters.

More would be nice, but 5 is my goal. We have 11.

We'll see.

The guys are DEFINITELY ready.

The hens could go another week or so.

They are always a little smaller.

So.........

that's what this weekend is looking like!

Hope yours is fun.

(And as productive, but possibly less... icky.)

Still Harvesting

 Yesterday I went to the farm,

fully intending to tear out the tomatoes.

They are done.

But I forgot my clippers at the house.

So I just went down to check on everything.

I got FIVE good sized zucchini.

And a couple of nice yellow squash.

And an ENTIRE bucket of JUST sungold 

cherry tomatoes.

(And I didn't finish picking because my

bucket was full and I was hot... lol.)

And I didn't even touch the reds.

They are LOADED.

So I'll be heading out there in a bit.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

There are huge clusters of tomatoes everywhere.

And SWEET??? Oh my goodness!

We grew a variety of black cherry that we decided

we aren't going to grow again.

They are SLOW to ripen, and really watery and

just not really very good.

But they had some nice big ones, so I popped

one in my mouth.

Oh my goodness.

A whole different kind of sweet.

But totally yummy!

We may still not grow them again.

They take up a lot of space and are still really slow

to ripen, but I'll enjoy this harvest!

(I picked about a quarter bucket and there are

still more yet to ripen...)

Also got some nice lunchbox peppers and a 

couple nice big yellow bell peppers.

I'll add those to my frozen stash and get 

them in the freeze dryer when there are enough.

And the okra are STILL plugging away.

I got a full bucket of those as well.

I cut and dropped another bucket or two worth.

They were too big and woody.

It's been several busy days since we harvested last.

All in all, the garden is still doing well.

Gotta get out there earlier today than yesterday though.

It got HOT.

(And I have a presidency meeting at 1:30

at the President's house in North Hays...)

Enjoy your Thursday.

And maybe give a thought to the history of this day.

Where were you when the world stopped spinning?

Next Spring

 This garden season is starting to wind down.

And we are already thinking about NEXT spring!

Notice the hyacinths peeking out below.... that's what we bought.

Last week we bought some crocus bulbs!

I don't remember which ones I bought.

But I'm going to probably get more... lol.

We also bought some hyacinth bulbs.

But I forgot to take a picture.

Then this week at the market, Mary had a bunch

of daffodil bulbs she dug up in her yard.

She was selling them for $0.25 each.

So I bought 8.

We will plant them all in Kyle's raised beds this year.

And then NEXT next year when I have my own

flower beds at the new house,

we will put in a bunch of bulbs for beautiful

spring flowers.

It's SO gorgeous here in the spring!

This morning after a nice visit with Mom,

I brought in the onions, peppers and zucchini

from the freeze dryer.

The onions and peppers went into glass jars

to sit on my pantry shelf for using in

daily cooking. I got 1 full jar and one

half jar of each. I'll use the half

jars first. Probably should have put

them in pint jars, but this was what I

had in my hand at the moment.

I ran the zucchini through my food processor

and ground it up into powder and put that in

some mason jars as well.

I'll be adding good veggie nutrition to lots

of meals this winter!

I still have more zucchini in the freezer from last

year and some fresh sitting in my kitchen.

So I'll probably defrost the machine and then

run another batch. I have lots of grated already

put up from last year.

I didn't do as much baking with it as I thought I would.

Probably because it's "new" and not something

I think about doing on a regular basis.

But I'm going to try to make it a habit.

Those peppers and onions are from our gardens this year.

They look much more vibrant in real life.

I'm excited to use them!

Monday Musings

 We have enjoyed our "false fall" for 

the last few days.

And now summer is coming back.

But gently.... (so far)

It's supposed to be mid 80 today,

but right now it's overcast and looks

like it might want to rain.

We had some visitors to our flower patch.

I couldn't decide which picture I liked best.

So I added them all!

These guys are HUGE! Easily an inch long.

Kyle said he pet one while it was dozing.

The last time he pet a bee, it stung him.

He was just a little guy. (Kyle, not the bee... lol.)

It was on the floor in the garage in Palm Bay.

He did a better job this time, I guess...

The guys found a new money pit .... er .... hobby.

We discovered the WaKeeney Mini Speedway!

They race go-carts!

It looks REALLLLLLY FUN!

The classes were small, the biggest was the

Youth Predator (the name of the motor)

and it only had 8 kids.

It's relatively inexpensive to get started, and

the rules say you CAN NOT modify your motor...

so except for upkeep, it's not a constant

"let's add this [$$$] and add that [$$$]".

Plus we can put a track in our field and they

can "practice" whenever they want.

It really does look like fun!

(Plus it was all finished by about 9:00 instead

of 11:00 like the big speedway races...)

VERY family friendly, lots of kid classes.

The best one was the littles.

They totally just were out there, banging into

each other, putt putt-ing around, having a BLAST.

When there was a yellow caution flag, they just

kept going, the flag guy finally had to run into 

the middle of the track and stop them.

And then when the race was over.... they didn't care.

Just kept going!

We laughed and laughed!

Our electrician's father-in-law owns the track.

Our electrician (Jacob) is the President (and flag guy).

His wife is the score keeper.

He used to race all the time and said he has

"several" carts he would be happy to sell us

to get us started.

Anyhow.

We'll see.

We have a LOT on our plate right now.

But everybody needs a hobby.

All work and no play... blah blah blah.

It was a gorgeous evening.

Their concession stand was going to be closed,

so I made some pulled pork sandwiches for us

to eat in the stands.

We brought our comfy bleacher chairs

(and a blanket... it got BRISK when the sun went down...)

Then yesterday on the way home from church

we discovered the Kite .... event.

It had a name. I forgot what it was.

You could see them from the highway!

There were some really fun ones.

The boys loved Clifford the Big Red Dog when they were little!

There were also lots of families out flying ordinary kites.

If it hadn't been Sunday we would have gotten out of

the truck, wandered around, and probably purchased a kite.

As it was, we sat in the truck and enjoyed them for a bit.

And then headed home to change and then a run to the

farm to feed the chickens and let the dog out for a bit.

We took him for a mile walk down the road.

Kyle mowed a one mile path around the perimeter

of his section, but he needs to go over it again with the

finish mower, it's still a little tall for Bear's short little legs.

Then back to WaKeeney for some nachos.

It was a lovely weekend.

Rod got the wiring pretty well finished in the shed.

And today he is working on his truck again.

Gotta figure out what the problem is!

He hopes he has it narrowed down...

Fingers crossed!

I have the Elders (4) coming for dinner on Thursday.

Tomorrow we will do Hays Day.

And we have a HUGE order to place with

Menard's today or tomorrow.

Going to have it delivered...

it's time to GET STARTED on the house!

I'm excited!

We did some drawings yesterday to try to

nail down how we want the interior.

Added a couple of rooms.

(A half bath, a walk-in pantry/prep room,

and a large room for the 

washer/dryer/water heater/furnace...)

I was going to put the washer/dryer in the

walk-in closet in the master bedroom,

but decided it would be better to have it

closer to the mudroom for mud season.

Don't really want folks traipsing through the house.

Ok.

Better get this day started.

(well, I've already been outside and pruned the

tomatoes, pulled out the sunflowers,

and did some other garden tasks...)

But I have more to do.

Better get on it.

HAPPY MONDAY!

We Have WATER!!!!!

 Yesterday, Rod was heading out to the farm

to meet with the Engineer from the internet

company to figure out where we want our

internet and all the logistics of getting it there....

And while he was getting ready, he got a

phone call from the well drilling guy, Lance.

They decided to come drill our wells (2)

that morning!

When I got there, they were nearly finished

drilling our well.

It's going to be between the new shed and the house.

Close(ish) to the electricity.

And outside of the required distance from the septic.

Then they headed up to Kyle's.

Originally it was going to be about 200 yards away from the house.

But then they decided they could move it a bit closer 

(by about half...)

That will save us some $$$ in both electricity wiring

and also piping to the house.

There's a little ridge there (it needs to be higher than

the septic as well as at least 100 yards {feet?} away...)

Whatever.

They got it all drilled!

And then the guy told me they would come back,

probably at the end of next week to clean it out

and drop a submersible pump down and make sure

we have good water at both wells.

Then....

This morning they showed up to do the testing!

We have two, really good wells!

YEA!!!!!

Now all we need to do is order the pumps and

get them wired up and pumping water!

Kyle is VERY excited!

He will finally have internet AND water!

So civilized!

It was a VERY productive week.

Rod got the shed all wired for lights and outlets.

Kyle and I ran into Hays last night to get him

some allergy meds and a new ceiling fan for the shed.

We got WATER.

And I signed the contract today for the internet...

so hopefully in the near future we'll have service!

Oh, and we got our new freezers.

Whew!

What a week!

Tomorrow is Farmers Market and then in

the evening there is a go-cart race (last of the season)

we are going to go to.

The guys think buying go-carts to race sounds like

SO MUCH FUN.

(Our electrician is very involved over there...)

Anyhow.

Have a great weekend!

I'm going to BED.

Cherry Tomatoes FOREVER!

 We are still getting LOTS of cherry tomatoes.

This was the haul left over after farmers market.

We sold a bunch, and I freeze dried a bunch.

Kyle and I picked again Monday.

And Tuesday.

We got a LOT of rain last week, so there were lots

that weren't great.

Lots of them are split. 

We just drop them on the ground.

The yellow Sungolds are still producing heavily.

And they have blossoms and lots of green fruit

left on the plants.

But the reds, called Super Sweet 100's are done.

They were COVERED in fruit, but nearly all

of it is split. They are covered in flies.

And that row smells AWFUL.

All fermenting.

I think Kyle is going to rip them out today.

We might plant peas there just for fun.

They probably won't have time to do anything,

but they might..........

We have the seeds.

And we hate to just have it sit empty.

He pulled my super sweet 100 out of my

raised bed last week.

They just don't last as long.

But they were good while they lasted...

I have 5 trays of them in the freeze dryer now.

And a ton more I need to do something with.

I have a bowl full of ripe Amish Paste, I might

try cooking them down with the cherries.

And then run them through the food mill

and get the seeds and skins out.

And then either just freeze dry it and turn it

into powder, or maybe I'll try turning it into

a sauce and canning it.

We'll see how busy I am and how I feel about 

it all tomorrow.

Today I've been painting the white trim on the

outside of the house.

And doing paperwork for last week's classes.

And paying bills.

Etc etc etc....

Yesterday Kyle and I went into Hays.

(Big surprise... lol.)

Bomgaars for more chicken feed.

These monsters can EAT!!!

And then to WalMart for the groceries.

And then Home Depot to pick up the new

chest freezers we bought for when we 

process these chickens and then once

we get the pigs.

These things are MASSIVE!

Each one is 7 feet long.

So they will go all along the north wall.

With shelves above them.

Rod met with the electrician while we were gone

and now WE HAVE ELECTRICITY!!!!

So no more using the generator while they are

trying to build things out there!

All that rain brought out a gazillion okra flowers!

In a couple of days we will be drowning in okra again.

We already have a TON in the freezer, but we have

LOTS of freezer space now, so I'll keep picking and

cutting and freezing it.

You never know what next year's harvest will 

look like. And it's YUMMY.

(And now that I know how to bread it and fry it,

which is Rod's favorite way to eat it...

I'm going to need more than last year.)

This is why Kansas is the Sunflower State.

Those are all wild sunflowers.

Just hanging out in the pasture across the road.

That's not all of them...

They are SO PRETTY!

Happy Birthday to the BEST DAD!

 Today we get to celebrate the birth of our amazing Dad.

What can I say that conveys the depth of my love,

my honor,

my respect

for the man who has led and directed

our family for so many years.

We have looked to him for strength.

For guidance.

He has been our example of HOW to love.

How to honor and respect and adore your eternal companion.

Now, and always.

Together our parents have loved each of us.

Taught us the things we need to know to be successful.

I remember him teaching me to change a tire on

Old Sara the Chrysler.

How to whistle with your fingers or a blade of grass.

(I totally failed. I still can't whistle. Can I even

call myself a Stoddard?????)

He taught with hands on.

But also by example.

His quiet strength is felt by so many of the lives he has touched.

I remember him taking time from his job to go

to the Hinman's ranch and help out.

I don't know how long he was gone.

Long enough for him to grow facial hair.

Possibly the only time in his life he has done so!

His years as a calming force at his job.

His years serving as a Bishop and shepherding his ward family.

His years serving on High Councils and Stake Presidencies.

And the countless families he faithfully served as a

Home Teacher and Ministering Brother.

And he still made time to take our family on weekend

trips to Jumping Pound, Waterton, back east,

 and  the Toe of the Glacier

(no idea what it's really called, but we laughed for

hours about the toe kicking out a loose tooth of one of

us girls... not me!)

The pride in making it to the top of The Hump.

Teaching us about nature and the peace you can

find while quietly walking a trail.

Identifying plants that are good to eat.

And those to stay away from.

And the beauty in a simple rock.

Getting down on the floor in the front room and

letting us "ride" the horsie.

Building a tree house in the willow tree.

And the swingset that lasted throughout our childhoods.

The hard work and rewards of the family backyard garden.

We have been so blessed to call ourselves

Kent's girls. (And boy)

We love you Dad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!