Cow Camp

This week the guys have been attending

Cow Camp

at Deseret Ranch

They were a little surprised to learn its

a reproductive heavy curriculum.

They were hoping more for the

beef / meat end of the business.

But I guess there's not a lot of

"hands on" 

with that topic.

So they have spent some time

each day out in the barns.

The ranch covers 295,000 acres.

(That's 450 square miles!)

They run 47,000 head of cattle.

A breed they have carefully perfected

to be successful in Florida's unique conditions.

This is the time of year when they

are checking for "open" heifers.

And that's the focus of the mornings.

Kyle is SUPER excited about it.

LOL

Then they come in for lunch.

(Yesterday was pork chops)

And then classroom time.

It's really interesting and informative.

But the room is HOT.

People are having a hard time staying awake.

They have more preg testing today.

And then tomorrow they will learn how to

"A I" the "open" cows.

The fun just never ends!

(This is what happens when you take a job as

a farm manager for a woman who has been

bitten by the cow bug...)

(Kyle is taking this class all expenses paid and

is on the clock.  Rod received it as an early

Christmas present.)

Kyle promised to get a couple of pictures

of Rod the cowboy today.

He forgot yesterday until it was too late

and both his hands / gloves were...

icky.

He also got a hair cut last night.

Said it's annoying to have your hair get in

your eyes and realize your hands / gloves are

icky.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Muscadine / Mosquitoes

Last night Kyle and I went out to

harvest some of the muscadine grapes

that are finally ripe.

We got FIVE POUNDS!!!!

(That includes seeds, etc...)

Tonight we are going to try

our hands at making

muscadine jelly.

The bucket weighs .75 on its own & our
scale isn't super accurate... lol

(he is using sugar, I am 

using xylitol - a sugar alchohol

that measures 1 : 1 to sugar

but is SUPER poison for dogs

so I don't use it in my daily cooking)

Aren't they beautiful?

Each basket is just about 2.5 pounds.

We are excited to give it a try!

Meanwhile, I put a couple of our own

beef short ribs in the pressure cooker

for dinner.

Sauted them up in some bacon fat

(rendered from the bacon I baked on Saturday...)

They were delicious!

I figured the guys would be hungry after a day

outside at cow camp.

More about camp later in the week...

but day 1 went well.

Anyhow.

While we were harvesting grapes,

the mosquitoes were harvesting ME!

I got eaten alive!!!!

Bountiful Balm to the rescue!

This was in the pack of yumminess

Rozann and Nancy sent me for my 

birthday last year.

I haven't used it much, since (knock wood)

I haven't had many boo boos this year.

I keep it in the bathroom for when I feel

a cold sore coming on.

It seems to significantly shorten the time

and it never gets to the big puffy, scabby,

seriously ugly stage.

But last night I liberally applied it to all

the millions of big, puffy, angry, red, ITCHY

mosquito bites all over my calves.

They immediately stopped itching.

And then I forgot about them.

This morning there aren't even any dots

on my legs where I got bitten!

This is my new favorite stuff!!!!!!!

(It has plaintain and St Johns Wort among

other awesome stuff in it...)

From the website...

Ingredients:

Infused Olive Oil, Beeswax, Calendula, Plantain, Goldenseal, St. John’s Wort, Myrrh Gum, Tea Tree Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Safflower Seed Oil, Vitamin E Oil

Suggested uses:

– Insect Bites

– Bee Stings

– Cuts

– Sores

– Burns

– Eczema

– Dry Skin

– Rough Heels

– Cracked Hands

Benefits:

– All-Natural

– Antibacterial

– Cloth Diaper Safe

– Non-Staining

– Non-comedogenic

I wish I'd brought it with me though.

I discovered a bite on my neck

that is now driving me CRAZY!

LOL

(I'm pretty sure there's a mosquito in my car...)

(aaaaaaah, summer.)

Weekend Off

I enjoy teaching.

I really do.

But I also enjoy having the weekend off!

This weekend was one of those.

I did a little grocery shopping.

And I did a little cooking.

I made some "on plan" waffles

to eat for breakfast this week.

They are yummy and a little sweet

and go really well with a fresh

Georgia peach and some

fat free cottage cheese.

YUM!

I also made some bacon.

I prefer to bake it.

It goes on a cooling rack on top

of a cookie sheet.

Into a cold oven set at 400.

Let it bake for 20+ minutes.

Rod likes it quite crisp, so the

tray at the back is for him.

And the tray at the front is for me.

(Kyle doesn't often eat breakfast...)

Rod cleaned and then the guys 

delivered our old fridge to the home

of our Bishop.

They have a bunch of kids and

go through a lot of cold drinks.

They were happy for an extra fridge

to keep in the garage.

I also did up a dozen eggs in the

pressure cooker.

Then made them into egg salad for lunch.

And 3 giant sweet potatoes

in the pressure cooker.

We shared one for dinner and the

others are for lunches this week.

(I don't have to make lunches for 

Rod or Kyle this week - they are

out at the church ranch attending

COW CAMP)

Hopefully Rod will take some pictures.

Sighting

We used to spend a LOT of time at Sea World.

We had annual passes for YEARS!

One of the things we loved there,

were the dolphins.

We learned that the dolphins

will do a jump up above the water,

then deep dive,

and then jump for whatever the trainer

is holding up for them.

They called that original jump

a sighting jump.

I have noticed that my little dog,

Roxie, hops like a rabbit.

She is FAST, but she does a lot of hopping.

I thought it was because our grass was 

desperately in need of cutting.

Last night I was walking back to the

back gate to deliver the week's eggs.

Rox was in the back of the property

and when I called her she started 

running up to meet me.

She came around the corner,

did a giant leap up into the air,

and then headed in at a dead run.

I realized she's so short, she has to do

a sighting jump to see what she is

running towards!

So maybe she's not a rabbit.

Maybe she's a dolphin????

New Toys

Ahem, excuse me.

NOT new TOYS.

New TOOLS.

Whew.

Last week we met Kyle's new tractor.

So.....

while I was out of town teaching this weekend,

Rod added to our stable of new implements.

Meet the new MOWER!

Ain't she a beaut??????

Now, don't get me wrong.

I've been BEGGING Rod to buy a new mower

for... oh... 2 or 2 and a half YEARS.

So I'm THRILLED he finally did.

But I guess they were all jealous

because of my new fridge and dishwasher.

Now that we all have new tools / implements / toys...

Can We Stop The Spending?????

LOL

(Actually, the answer is no... I'm ordering a new

automatic gate opener this week... Hahahahahaha)

All Quiet On the Eastern Front

I've been quiet lately.

Because it's been quiet lately.

It's summer.

We have been spending LOTS of time

just relaxing, sitting in the shade of the barn

enjoying the beautiful evenings.

On Monday, Kyle's rear brake caliper

locked up on his truck.

(It happens every year or so...)

I was already taking Tuesday off.

(Taught over the weekend and then

taught a review class late Monday night...

Knew I was going to need a break!)

Rod decided to take Tuesday off as well

to help Kyle fix his truck.

And since Scott lives with us, he was there too.

They bought the nifty white 

"tractor barn" Tuesday morning,

but set it up over the truck on the patio first

so they could work on the truck in the shade.

The three of them got the truck back

in ship shape,

meanwhile I pulled a couple of awesome

steaks out of the freezer and grilled 

them up.

(on the air fryer...)

Made a big batch of cold pasta salad

to go with it and we had a good ol' fashioned

"farm lunch" just before Scott had to leave for work.

(He works the 4-midnight shift at the airport.)

(He goes on shift just as Rod goes off... so they get to

visit for a few minutes during shift change each day.)

And of course there is ALWAYS some dirt

being moved somewhere on the property...

But mostly, I'm feeding the animals, collecting 

my few measly eggs (counting the days til the new

girls start laying... these girls are SLOW starters!)

and enjoying watching the dogs play

from my comfy chair.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.

THIS is the life!

Kyle News

Today is an exciting day for Kyle!

Saturday was his last day at

the Volkswagen dealership.

He has taken a job as 

Farm Manager

with his old employer.

When her husband passed away,

she didn't know how she was going

to keep everything up and running.

Then one day her daughter said,

"Why don't you hire Kyle full time

to take care of everything except the house?"

DUH!

She made him a ridiculously generous offer.

And he gladly accepted.

He will be working there 40 hours a week,

any hours / days he wants,

except he needs to be there Saturday.

Doug and Linda have hired the local ward

kids to mow their lawns, do work around

the farm, etc... for years and years and years.

The kids use the money to go on missions,

go to college, or like several of the kids,

move on to full time jobs with some of Doug's

business associates.

(Folks were always calling him to see if

he knew of any more of those great

Mormon kids who work so hard!)

(Kyle has turned down SEVERAL of those jobs...)

Linda wants to keep that tradition going.

But she is NOT interested in supervising a 

bunch of pre-teens and making sure they

are actually doing what she hired them to do

and not just making giant tree swings

to play in.

(ahem, Kyle & Marcus????)

(OK, Doug was heavily involved in that one...)

Today is his first day over there.

He is excited!

They are meeting at the property this morning

at 8:00 to go over the things she would like

to have done right away,

and the list of things he has always wanted

to be given free rein to do

and go from there.

***********************************

Meanwhile, just before Linda's offer,

Kyle made a HUGE decision.

Introducing:

Legal Zoom did his LLC paperwork and sent him this awesome book

(Terrible picture...)

KYLE purchased a tractor!

He has always been a talented earth mover.

He got a deal on this tractor

that he just couldn't pass up.

It has a fully enclosed, air conditioned cab.

A back-up camera.

This giant bucket.

Yesterday the Cat dealer sold him a set

of $850 (used) forks for $500!!!!!

He has been busy learning how to drive 

it and getting really good.

So far, he has cleared the back section of our

property in preparation for moving

the chickens to the back.

Took out a huge clump of 

invasive pepper trees and vines 

(and grapes)

and other junk (including lots of snakes,

frogs, and various other critters).

Cleaned up the pet cemetery,

took down several palmetto palms

that were growing in / through the fences...

It looks GREAT back there!

(I thought I had a picture... guess not...)

Last night he and Rod took down

Buddy's stall in the barn and brought

in some dirt (from all the work out back)

and rebuilt it where it has slowly eroded 

from the rain over the years.

The white thing is his new "tractor barn"

So between the farm management

and hopefully a growing land clearing business,

he's going to be one BUSY man!

But he's happy, and doing what he has

ALWAYS wanted to do with his life.

WAY TO GO KYLE!

We are PROUD of you!!!!!