I think we are officially empty nesters!

I guess that fact just occurred to me today after I had dropped Rob and Amoy off at Matt's house for their continued trip on to the airport. Both our kids are officially gone from home now. And they have been for a while. Dang I am getting slow in my old days. Technically we have been empty nesters for about 6 years. That was when Rob went off to college. Gosh how life changes as you get older. It is wonderful having lil people in the house and watching em grow up, then the first day of school, then off to college or away to a life of their own. I have to brag some here. I do have to say I have 2 wonderful sons, not the typical boys that worry their parents with all the things boys can get into, just 2 fine young men. Kinda makes you a lil proud and sad at the same time to know ya babies are all grown up. Sigh........its been great.
Any way, after I dropped off Rob and Amoy I had to make a stop at the big grocery store. And trust me I knew damn well better than to get anything that needed to be stored in the freezer. All 3 freezers are full to the gills. But bein a dumb ass I am, Kroger had Italian loaf bread on sale, the 10 for $10 deal, ya know I had to get some, but only 5. We really don't use that much bread. It was a challenge just getting that amount in the freezer. But my point is, every time I go to the store I get sticker shock. As you prolly already know we only grocery shop for things we need to stock up on about every 3 months or so. I found the price of sugar is way up, butter is out of sight, coffee is ridiculous, salt is about the same, and Pepsi products are too pricey. But if ya have an addiction ya in real trouble. I was by myself and had time to just plunder the isles of the store a bit and look at "things". Ya know, I didn't see many things that I need or want that I cant make myself. I did look at canned veggies and fruit. How the hell do people live that don't raise this stuff? Not to mention the low quality of store bought canned stuff as compared to home canned. It scares me to think how the other half lives.
I do have to tell ya, Rob and Amoy will be moving into a house this coming week and they are all excited about planting a lil garden stuff in the back yard where the property owner was starting a garden. What ever they raise will be a big savings on the grocery bill. They are talking about getting a small freezer too, which will help a lot. I am glad some of his raising has sank in.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Thanksgiving is done for this year

We had our family Thanksgiving today as we usually do. And as always I fix too much food so we have leftovers for a few days. I don't mind really as it keeps me from having to cook for a couple days. I roasted a 20 lb turkey and most of that was eaten. Then had prolly 10 lb ham, well the butt off a country ham cooked in pineapple, coke and brown sugar. I will be eating ham sandwiches for several days and still freeze a lot. All the kids were here which is what its all about. We have to get up early tomorrow so I can take Rob and Amoy to catch their flight to Nevada. Then it will be time for me to hibernate for a couple weeks. Then the guys have black powder deer hunting and around Christmas we will butcher the hog. After that I am done for the year. No one will see me till spring. I really wont have any reason to go anywhere. I hope.
The weather has been pretty nice here this week, all be it cool. We are supposed to have rain starting on Tuesday this week. I don't like cold and rain combined. Sure makes the body hurt a lot. As if being on my feet cooking for deer hunters, standing butchering chickens and then doing Thanksgiving dinner didn't help. I think I need a message or a hot tub.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Finally done with chickens

On Friday we finally got finished butchering chickens for the year. We got 30 Cornish cross done and in the freezer. All but 10 of them were left whole so we can cook those on the rotisserie. The 10 are cut for frying. The bony pieces were cooked down for stock and that along with the thighs were canned. We got those done about 10 pm last night. I am really glad to have my mother in law come help and the kids helped as well. It was freezing cold out making it hard on my sore stiff joints. That made for a really long day. I did manage to get a tutorial video done for my friend Deb so she can have some chickens whole for roasting when she butchers some of hers later. Hope this lil video helps someone a lil bit.

Now the freezers are full and the pantry stocked, I think we are set for winter. Tomorrow we are doing our family Thanksgiving dinner. The kids are here and Jason's buddy Josh is coming down to eat with us as well. I should be able to get some rest next week if all goes well with all the butchering and dinners behind me. I still have some hobbies I want to learn and work on this winter. But its time for bed now. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a short post to wish one and all a very Happy Thanksgiving. Even with the state of affairs in our country we still have a lot to be thankful for. I feel so blessed to be able to have an abundantly stocked pantry with all the gifts God has given me. And for my family and to have all my kids here for this holiday. Such a blessing to have family and friends, good food and make fond memories. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.


Stella

Gosh its been a while

It has been 4 days since I last posted on my blog. And that is not like me at all. No I didn't skip the country or run away from home. As a matter of fact I finally got back to my house on Monday evening around 9 pm. I left my aunts house in western Kentucky and stopped of in Lexington to pick up Rob and Amoy to bring them here for the Thanksgiving holiday. When we got home Rodger and Jason had gotten all the deer skinned out and ready to be trimmed up and put in the freezer. So I came home to find 6 huge pans full of deer meat in the summer kitchen. And dang that was a lot of deer meat to work up. I am guessing around 350 lb or more after it was all trimmed and packaged. So I got started on that Tuesday morning. Rob and Amoy had to go to Richmond to take care of some unfinished business from their old place. I trimmed deer meat. I really didn't know I had that much stuff in my freezers. While I was in western Kentucky the local Kroger store had turkeys on sale for 37cents per lb and I got 2 big ones. I intend to smoke the legs off them later and save the breast to roast. But I had forgotten that Rodger and Jason both got a turkey and a ham each from their company. So I now have 4 turkeys and 2 large country hams in the freezers plus 2 turkey breast that I had gotten on sale earlier. Well this is all good except for one thing. I didn't have room for the deer meat. Not to mention I still have 30 more chickens to butcher this weekend. So Rodger and Jason had to make a quick run late this evening to Richmond to buy another freezer. I sure had not planned on that. And we still have Petunia to butcher in late December. But this is a good thing, at least we have meat in the freezer that will last us a year or more. Tomorrow we will finish grinding the deer burger and get it frozen. Then I need to cook something to take to the family Thanksgiving dinner at Rodger's sisters house. Again I think I need to clone me to get all this done. As of right now we will be butchering chickens on Friday. They are huge now and will make great birds to do in the rotisserie. I just hope the weather is nice and not cold like they are predicting it to be. Nothing like trying to cut up chicken with frozen hands.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Life away from the homestead

Sometimes you have to be away from your own homestead to get a clear picture of how good you really have it. As I have posted before I have been across the state visiting and helping my aunt this past week. It has really been a lot of hard work cooking for a large group of hungry hunters. But it is also very satisfying to see them leave with a good hot meal and having had a good time hunting and visiting. I have had a chance to learn to prepare larger dishes than what even I normally do. My aunt and uncle, Ann and Lewis Drake have several businesses that they operate here in the area and online. The major business is their gun business which deals in antique and collectible fire arms. They also have some really nice hand made furniture that they sell on their website as well. You can see all that here at www.drake.net . Then Uncle Lewis' daughter who maintains the website also has her own jewelry business. Lissa makes beautiful custom silver jewelry. Her jewelry can be seen here on her website at www.HappyGoLickyJewelry.com . She has some really pretty jewelry that is reasonably priced just in time for the holidays. So if you have a hunting enthusiast or jewelry lover on your list, have a look at all the cool things both sites offer.
My aunt also runs a hunting lodge and does the cooking for the hunters during the deer hunting seasons here. A local guide service houses hunters in her lodge but if you are hunting in the area you can contact her directly and reserve a room here. I do know the food is great, not just because I helped this year but she is also a great cook and believes in making sure you leave with a full belly. You can email her at the www.drake.net and make your request known.
As for me, this chick will be heading off on Monday to my homestead and on the way picking up my youngest son Rob and his gal Amoy to have them home with us for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am really looking forward to seeing them for a while as they are still living in Nevada. I talked to Rodger yesterday and he said my Cornish cross were not ready to butcher yet so he was going hunting in Scott county with Josh this weekend and Jason was hunting on the farm. So I will be butchering chickens the weekend after Thanksgiving. And we will have our Thanksgiving dinner that weekend as well. So I still have lots to do when I go home before I can hibernate for the winter. Later in December we will be butchering Petunia. After that hopefully I can hole up at home and not have to go anywhere else. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead on the road.

Stella

Staying busy

Well I have survived almost a week of what seems like non stop cooking. My aunt and I are cooking for all the deer hunters from one of the local guide services here in the area. This area of western Kentucky is well known for its trophy bucks. Being near the Land Between the Lakes region and bordering on Kentucky Lake makes for some great hunting. The guides are taking the hunters in areas where there are a lot of bucks that will score 180 plus on the B and C scale. Several have been taken this week. We are feeding between 20 and 40 men per day here at the lodge. And gosh do they ever like to eat. I am kinda glad it is only one meal per day. I am not sure I could do 3 per day. But they all leave with full bellies and a lil bag of cookies to take to the stands the next morning which makes em really happy.  But I will be heading home in a day or so. Not sure if I am leaving here on Friday or Saturday. Most likely Saturday morning so I can get home and get some rest before I start the chicken butchering process on Sunday. And life goes on. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Road trip to work

Yeah I know, I said I was staying home the rest of the year. But here I am all the way across the state again. My aunt Ann has a hunting lodge where a local guide service houses some of its deer hunters for modern gun season. She provides the housing and feeds the hunters the evening meal. She didn't have help cooking for all these guys so she had called and ask me to please come help for 2 weeks. Well I cant do 2 weeks but am here to help this week and I have to go home on Friday. I still have chickens at home to butcher and Rob and Amoy will be coming home on Saturday for a week. But anyway I left my house this morning around 9 am and got here around 3 this afternoon. It is a good 5 hour drive. We had 31 hungry hunters for dinner tonight and they cleaned out the food. We made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, buttered rolls, blackberry cobbler and chocolate cake. The guys had nice time visiting and left with full bellies. So all is well.
I hate jumping time zones, my body don't adjust well at all. I am in the central time zone and my body lives in the eastern time zone. So I never know when to go to bed or get up. But I am still so sore and hurty from all the things I had done before I left the house so I think I will sleep rather well no matter what.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

We are getting rain, deer season

We are finally getting a little rain now. Gosh it has been a really dry fall. But it did rain some last night and has been drizzly all day. At least it did settle the dust.
Yesterday was opening day of deer season here. Jason did get out to hunt but didn't get anything. Rodger went this morning in the rain and got a spike buck. They will hunt in the evenings this week while I am gone. I am going to western Kentucky to visit my aunt and help her at her lodge. She has a lodge that houses deer hunters from a guide service out there. She doesn't have any help and she prepares the evening meal for the hunters that are staying at her place. So I am leaving in the morning to go help her all week. I must be back at my house on Friday because the guys here will be hunting and I have to feed the critters. Jason said Petunia the hog is eating good and has gained some weight which is good. Not long till she will be in the smoke house too.
I was out today in the summer kitchen cleaning up from all the chicken mess from last week. I finally got my tobacco worm beans shelled out for seed. There are not a lot of em but I will have enough to plant. I do need to move my canned chicken out of the kitchen to the cellar before I leave tomorrow so it don't freeze if we get freezing temps while I am gone. And the counters need to be cleared so Rodger can process his deer for the freezer while I am gone. Not much else happening here on the homestead so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Done picking corn, out to dinner

We finally got all the corn picked today and in the wagon. Well actually we filled the wagon the rest of the way up.
We still use the old type corn pickers and wagons then put the corn in a crib instead of combining it and storing shelled corn.

This is also corn for our corn meal and hominy. Probably a good 50 bushel or more on the wagon now. The guys had brought the wagon out to unload what they picked on Thursday evening and the grain conveyor would not work. It has some bearings that need replaced and will take a few days to get those ordered. So we decided to just load the wagon to the top and tarp it to keep the corn dry and let it set. I went to help Rodger hook the wagon and pick the corn. The way the picker loads it most of the corn ends up in the front of the wagon. If you dont stop and level it down the corn will roll off the front end. So I sat on top of the corn to keep it shoved to the back corners. I had made the mistake of going to the corn field in a tee shirt. In the process of moving corn while the picker dropped it in the wagon I got the shredded up corn husk all over me. And if you have ever had to pick corn by hand or be on the wagon while all that corn stuff blows around, then ya know what I am doing now. If the itching would stop I could assess the damage. I'm pretty sure by morning I will look like I have a bad case of mange. None the less the job got done, itches and all, and we got a heavy tarp over the load to keep it dry and the critters out. We can get it unloaded and in the crib as soon as we get the conveyor fixed and running.
After we got done with stuff here on the farm Rodger had planned on taking me to dinner at Red Lobster for our anniversary. After a shower we headed out to go eat. We had a nice dinner and my in-laws came to eat with us as the 16th is their anniversary. Back home with a full belly and I think I could sleep for a week. My body is sore from being beat around on the corn wagon today and I am sure that is gonna make for a long night plus itching. Then tomorrow is another day. I think I might sleep in if I dont itch to death while Rodger and Jason go deer hunting in the morning. We shall see. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Will I ever get done?

I wish I had an answer to that question. I am usually done with all the butchering and set for the winter by this time. We did butcher 18 of the biggest cornish cross chickens today and we got stock made and some of the chicken canned. My mother in law is spending the week with us. She and I spent lots of time together when I was first married and then I guess life got in the way. We have had a really nice week and have talked constantly trying to catch up for 20 years. She and Rodger plucked while I cut up the birds and then she helped me get the stock made, chicken in the freezer and some of it canned. Rodger and Jason spent the later part of the evening trying to get the grain conveyor to run and get a wagon load of corn un- loaded. Now we think we will have to buy a new motor. Now it is a race to get this done before it rains later this weekend. Today was a perfect day to work out. Cool, but not cold, sunny. I really wish the whole winter was like this. Not likely it will be tho. Such is life. Rodger is going to get a motor in the morning and I think Jason will be the one deer hunting. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow. I do still need to get my bean seed picked and brought in to shell after they get really dry. I will also need to bag up the corn we are going to shell for cornmeal and hominy. The chores never end on the farm. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

The daily life

Daily life can get hectic at times on the farm. Especially when things get put off and then you end up trying to beat the winter that is fast approaching. The guys worked all day and when they got home they got started picking corn. I had suggested earlier in the week that it really needed to be done before the rainy season sets in. So in the evenings they would go out to get all the equipment ready and in place. Finally the corn picking started this evening. Rodger got one wagon loaded and will be taking the other wagon to the field to pick the rest or he will need to unload the wagon and just re-use the same one. But the job is getting done. Rodger has taken a day off work to help butcher the chickens tomorrow and that will start in the morning. I still wont be butchering all of them as they still are not as big as they need to be. I will not be ordering chickens ever again to raise this late in the year. The cool weather really slows them down. I think I will be at least getting 20 or so of them taken care of. Then make stock and can it up. Rodger will help with this project and after we get this done he and Jason can finish getting the corn in. This corn is also used for our cornmeal so I will pick out the ears that are to be shelled for that and bag it up. I intend to shell enough to make hominy as well.  Our corn crib is not squirrel proof so if I don't get our eatin corn out soon the critters will have my share and then some. We have the crib lined with wire but it has some places where they have gotten the wire loose and can invade. And what squirrels don't eat they pee on and makes it useless to me as corn meal or stock feed. But that is life on the farm. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Im finally motivated

I think I have finally gotten motivated to get some things done that are on my to-do list. Earlier this fall we harvested our cushaws and stored them in the cellar. A few days ago I went out to get something from the cellar for dinner and noticed my they were not keeping well. I had already lost several of my butternut squash to rot. I decided to just can them instead of letting them rot. Several weeks ago I had invited Rodgers mom to come up and spend some time with us. She called on Monday and ask when I would like her to come and I told her anytime she wanted. She got here Monday evening and is going to stay to help butcher chickens this weekend. She and I used to spend lots of time together and were really close till they moved to Florida and then back to Kentucky in another town. Then life got in the way, we both worked and never got a chance to get together. Now she is retired, finally, and I can be home all the time so this has been good. I do hope that I can be as good a mother-in-law as I have been blessed with. But before momma got here I had made my to-do list that I had been talking about. Dang it is getting longer as I go. So today Barbara and I got out and canned the cushaw so it don't waste. We ended the day with 14 quarts of canned cushaw cubes. Now all I need is a good recipe for pumpkin soup. The two can be used interchangeably. Maybe tomorrow we can make some pumpkin butter and get that canned as well. This will have to happen after I get back from town. I have to take my truck to the garage to get some work on it tomorrow. The weather was nice to be out today with lots of sunshine and warm temps. Although it is supposed to get colder this weekend in time for opening day of modern gun season for deer. Next week I will be going to western Kentucky to help my aunt cook for the hunting lodge that she is operating out there. She is real short on help and I do need and would like to visit with her a bit before bad weather and the holidays. All of a sudden my schedule got filled till early December. I have to wonder what will keep me busy the rest of the winter. Maybe some of those things that I have wanted to learn.We will see.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Getting ready...........

Not a lot gets done when ya cant get motivated around here. But at least I did get out today and get a few more of the outside things done that needs to be done while the weather is nicer. It was cold today but not bad. Good sweatshirt weather although I did have on sandals. But thas just me having a hard time wearing shoes. Rodger and Jason did get the cover on the water pump house today so it don't get rained in. While they did that I got the corn crib cleaned out and ready for the corn. It needs to be picked like now. While I was out I got the heirloom sweet corn that I had saved for seed shelled off the put away for gardening time. The earlier part of the day was spent trying to get hunting rifles sighted in and ready for deer hunting. Opening day is next Saturday here and they will be hunting the farm opening weekend. Sure will be nice to have a good stock of meat in the freezer. Venison is as good as beef as far as we are concerned. And with the price of beef going out of sight I think there will be more deer hunters in the woods this year. I get sticker shock every time I go into a grocery store these days. With all the news online and on TV all saying the same thing I sure hope people have taken this as a warning and have a well stocked pantry. With grain crop harvest low this year and demand higher it makes the growers have to pay more for the feed to feed to animals that we eat which in turn drives the prices way up. I do wish I could get some people here to understand the need to be able to provide all our own meats and veggies. I know my dads family survived on this farm during the depression years and I feel we could do the same if we make every effort to be more self sufficient. With winter coming on heating bills will take a bug chunk of the budget and leave less money for food in lots of households. We do pay like everyone else to heat but then again we dont have to have a big grocery budget. For this I am thankful. But things happen from time to time that need to be paid for such as my truck needing some minor repairs that I have had to put off. Seems like when it rains it pours. OK off my rant now.
I think I had posted earlier this year about taking our dog to the vet because she was limping in her front leg. He tole us it was because the Great Pyrenees grow so fast that it makes the cartilage weak in their joints. From time to time she will do something to make it flare up again. That's what she did last week. When she was at the vet he just gave her pain meds and mineral supplements to take. So I had Rodger pick up a bottle of children's liquid ibuprofen for her. I have been giving her that for a couple days now and she does seem to be less sore. I am sure it also helped that she is not sleeping out on the ground now. She has a spot on a rug on the front porch to sleep. Last year I had bought her an igloo style dog house and she will not go in there for love nor money. So I have a new dog house, un-used sitting under the front porch that I should get rid of. Would be nice if I could find someone who would be willing to build me a real doghouse out of plywood in trade for this one. Probably wont find any takers on that tho.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Things I want to do

I have decided to make a list at some point of things I want to learn to do or thing I want to do better. A lady that writes one of the blogs I follow has challenged her readers to do a "want to learn list". I can name a few right now. The one thing I want to learn is to knit. When I was a teen an older lady at our church taught me the basic stitches and since then I have forgotten even those. I also want to learn how to crochet using patterns. As of right now I can look at a crochet pattern and it may as well be written in Greek. Maybe somebody has written a book "crochet pattern reading for idiots". I also this winter would like to finish my family cook book. I had started it on my computer last winter just putting in recipes for dishes that we make a lot and how-tos pertaining to doing things in the kitchen. I'm not doing this cook book for sale, mainly just for the benefit of the kids and family. As I was adding some of the recipes I was suddenly aware that my cooking style is very Appalachian with a southern twist. A lot of what we eat is prepared the same way my grandmother would have made it. And if any one has read the book "Nourishing Traditions" it explains a lot of why certain things are prepared a certain way. Around here when we fix pinto beans they are cooked with a piece of salt pork or ham in them. I always thought that's just the way po folks cooked. But really to unlock all the enzymes and nutrients in the pintos they must be cooked with added animal fat. The book sure explained a lot of things that were a mystery up to that point. Add reading the book again to my want to do list.
We did get out this afternoon and clean out the chicken house and got new dry bedding put in for the chickens. The cornish cross are eatin, drinkin, poopin machines. To get them to grow well and be strong they need food around the clock. And with a constant supply of food and water it is near impossible to keep their bedding dry. I had been adding more dry straw to the building every day to keep them happy and today I tole Rodger we need to just take out all the wet straw and start with a fresh layer of good dry bedding and that should hold them till next weekend when I will definitely be butchering them off. They just were not big enough to suit me today to butcher. In cooler weather they grow slower because they use a lot of their food to maintain body heat and not so much putting on meat. It was cold out today. Even working cleaning the building I had to keep my sweatshirt on and I was still chilly. Did I mention I don't like cold weather. I don't think we will see much of a warm up till next spring. I am just looking forward to getting all the outdoor things finished up so I can stay in a start on this want to learn list. I do know for sure I have some sewing projects that need to be done. Summer past when we went to the 127 yard sale we picked up some California king size comforters for about $5 each and I want to use those to make new covers for the cushions in the patio chairs. Lots to do, now how to motivate me.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Just doin what I do best

And that amounts to nothing. I got up earlier than normal this morning and got out in hopes of getting some things done outside. But dang a gal has to have her coffee before all this happens. So I had my cup o coffee, I am down to 1 now, not sure why. Then went out to feed the chickens and give them water. Gosh they do drink a lot. And when they drink a lot they also poop a lot. All this keeps their bedding wet if I don't put fresh hay in there every day. By time I get them all butchered off the bedding will be a good foot or more thick. I guess that will all get put on the garden spot so it can break down over winter. But that is gonna be a week or so. I had intended to butcher this weekend but dang it the chickens are not as big as I want them. So I am gonna wait another week and let em grow some more. With the weather being cooler they use a lot of their food to produce body heat to stay warm and don't make meat as quickly. But thas OK, next weekend is good too. Although we did get out scalding kettle set and filled with water this evening, I will just cover it and it will be ready to go next week.
Rodger stopped and got a small electric heater to put out in the summer kitchen to keep it toasty when I do have to get out there and work. Early next week I am going to make my annual supply of hominy and get it canned up. It is rather easy to do just takes a lil time is all. But it sure turns out tasty. While I was out I got the coolers all cleaned up and ready to use or store. It was really too dang cold to be messing in cold water outside but I thought it should be done today. I think I should have picked a warmer day. All the patio chairs are cleaned and stacked to be covered for winter. Once the chairs were out of the way I took down the gates from the front porch and let Luna come on the porch so she isn't sleeping on the cold wet ground. She has one of those really nice igloo style dog houses and will not, no way, no how go in there. Talk about a waste of money. In summer we don't let her on the porch because we do sit out there some and after I took the gates down she didn't want to come on the porch. I had to do a lot of begging to get her to come up and lay on the rug I put there for her. I think I need to hit a yard sale and find a few old quilts to put out for her this winter so she can have a nice warm bed. Last year she had a shoulder injury and the vet said it was a tear in the cartilage and from time to time she limps really bad. Maybe sleeping off the ground will help that a lil bit too. I feel so bad for her when she limps around, ya would think she was old. But I can sure relate to sore achy joints. Last time I was at the doc they changed my arthritis medicine and the med seemed to work well it just made me sick. So that one is a no go. I am pretty sure that is why I was sick for so long with nausea. The only other alternative is to not do any thing physical. And I really don't see me doing that. So I guess I will just have to pay the price in pain and soreness everyday.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Uhoh!! I lost a day

Dang some how I lost a day this week. Not even sure how that happened. I just looked at the date on my computer and it is Thursday already. So I reckon I didn't post yesterday. O well!
Any way, as for today not much really happening in my world. Well except that I was really happy with the election results on a national level. I am so doing a happy dance that Nancy Pelosi lost her position. I am sure the country will be much better off without her liberal agenda. And I sure hope to hell someone teaches her how to apply lipstick so its not smeared all over the lower half of her face. Just further proof that you can not make a silk purse out of a pigs ear.
Speaking of pigs, ms Petunia doesn't like pig pellets. She much prefers scraps and corn to the good for her stuff that we wanted to feed her. But so far she is doing really well adjusting to her life of not having other critters eating her feed. Although I am sure she misses her cow and sheep friends.
I think I will only be butchering about 10 or 15 of the chickens this weekend as they are not quite big enough to suit me. They don't grow as fast in cooler weather due to the fact that they burn more energy trying to stay warm and less of the feed energy goes to making "chicken". So we will do the remainder next weekend hopefully. It is really hard to keep the building clean and dry with that many birds wanting to stay near the heat light and feed and water containers. I added more hay in there this evening to try to combat the moisture and hope they will have less manure on then when we do butcher. Yeah I know its a nasty job but gosh someone has to do it. Here it is November already and we still have lots of outside things to do. And the weather man is saying we might get a few snow flurries this weekend as well. It is supposed to get much colder too. Kinda makes me want to stay in the house and build a fire in the fireplace and drink hot chocolate. Or at least something that will make me think I'm warm.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Election day,our corn is ready

It has been election day here and yep I did get out and vote. So I guess that gives me the right to complain about our elected officials. Some of the offices in our county were unopposed and some I just as soon have voted "none of the above". I am not sure that any candidate that I have heard about has told the truth about anything. Seems all they try to do is belittle their opponent just to try and make themselves look better. I sure would not make a good politician. I really don't think many changes will take place in our local offices but not sure about state wide. Many we just need to vote in a new crook to see if they can do better.
The weather was nice today when I was out but they are giving colder temps and maybe some rain later this week. The cold I can live without. When I went out to vote and pulled into the parking spot at the polls my truck was acting odd as far as brakes. Then I heard a hissing noise when I got out and thought 'oh great, a nail in a tire'. But when I came out it had stopped so that kinda clued me in that it was not a tire but instead my brake system. I took it to have it checked out and was tole that it may possibly be a wheel bearing. And that really didn't sound cheap. So I go back later this week to get that fixed. Dang it is alas something. Not that I drive that much but I do like the fact that I have a vehicle IF I decide to go somewhere.
I limped the truck back home and went into the field to pick some corn to take to Petunia. Our corn is ready to pick. Nice and dry, shells easy and I gave the hog some and she liked it. Most of em will eat new corn better than anything else. So later this week I might go back and pick some more and shell it for her. The guys really need to get the corn picker ready and get the corn in before the fall rainy season starts. This same corn will be our corn for cornmeal too. And heaven knows we use a good deal of that.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

A stay at home day

I had a chance to stay at home today and chill out for a bit. Seems like I cant get enough sleep for some reason. I feel tired all the time. But I got out this morning and fed the chickens and seeing as how they were hungry and not to disturb them I waited till this evening to put fresh bedding in their building. It was needing it really bad. With 50 chicks doin their business in there all day the bedding can get kinda wet and never drys this time of year. This only happens if the chicks have feed and water and eat 24 hours a day. I figured I would have some cold chicks last night when the power went off. But the power company got it going again by midnight and the heat light came back on for the chicks.
Jason said Petunia is liking her new digs and all the things we are giving her to eat. We don't have a lot of leftovers from meals but even a lil bit will make a pig happy. He did get a bag of feed for her today as well. He has to feed really early in the mornings before work and he said Petunia was buried under her pile of hay this morning when she shined a flashlight on her. At that point she was awake and ready to eat. Not much else happening on the homestead today. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella