A long weekend left me very tired

Gosh after all the hard work this past weekend butchering hogs. I had cut the hogs heads up to make souse and put them in a large container to soak in salt water overnight. I got up early cause I went to bed with the chickens last night and got the house cleaned up from the paddling in an out all weekend, laundry done and all. I headed to the summer kitchen to get the meat cooking to make the souse. I got the chunks of meat out of the salt water and washed it well and scrubbed it really good with a clean brush to get all the bone fragments off. Put all this in the pressure canner with about 4 quarts of water and set it to cook for about 3 hours. Got all the empty totes washed up and ready to store for winter. By then it was time to cook supper. After the fellers got home from work we ate supper and after I got all that mess cleaned up I went back outside to the summer kitchen and turned the pressure canner off so it could cool down over night. So tomorrow I get to stick my hands in the cooker and get out all the bones and chop all the meat up and finish the souse making. Souse is one of those  things you either love it or hate it. Well most of em here hate it, so guess what? More for me.  I do intend to make pickled pigs feet too as soon as I get done with the souse. And no one likes those either.
We are getting rain tonight and the temps are supposed to drop some and we are to get snow flurries tomorrow and later in the week. So I guess it is about time for me to hibernate. Or at least to take a break and try to get some rest. Yeah that sounds like a good plan. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

The last butchering is done

As I posted a few days ago this weekend was the end of the hogs. We got them both butchered on Saturday. The hams, shoulders, and middlings were all trimmed and had the cure on them before days end. We actually worked them up individually not killing them both and then doing all the trim work. So by dark-thirty we had the lard cut, tenderloin sliced, ribs cut, sausage meat ready to grind then loaded up an came back here to the summer kitchen. That is where we ground the sausage and got it packaged for the freezer. After we got all the stuff put in the freezer that needed to be except grinding the sausage we did get a lil break and had time to eat a sammich. It was not a long break and then we got after the sausage. Jason, Josh, Daniel and I finally got in the house for the night around midnight. That was a long day and we were worn out.
Just a few shots of the butchering process so look away if you have a weak stomach.

 

Saturday was a nice day to butcher, not hot but not freezing cold either. This is the first hog after we got him cleaned. They were a lot bigger than I thought they would be. The crane on the work truck was sure handy this weekend. 

 

I got the camera as the guys get started gutting the animal. But sometimes only one person can work at a time.

 

Of course when we were cutting the hogs head up to make souse meat the fellers thought it was a good time to play. Kinda gory looking at best. Actually Daniel took some photos to send to his young daughter Gracie that would have loved to have been here to do this stuff her self.

 

This looks like one of the characters from the movie Ice Age. Some parts of the hog head don't get put in the souse.

Ah ain't Jeremiah cute with his lil hog hair mustache?   I think we were all tired enough to be silly.

We made lard today. I had my jars ready and after straining out the cracklings I had Jason just ladle the hot lard into clean half gallon jars and we put the lids on em. As they cool they will seal and this keeps the lard fresh for much longer.
All this activity took place at Jason's house and I could not resist giving his dog Dehlia the pigs tail when we got it cut off. She was in her pen and after we gave her the pig tail she started whining. And when Jason went to check on her she had the tail in her mouth. He opened her pen and let her out and she made a beeline to the woods to bury the pigs tail. She didn't have a good place inside her pen to bury her goodies so she was begging to get out. She is a sweet girl.
As of now the meat is all taken care of except the souse making process. That might take place tomorrow if I can move once I get out of bed. All this hard work has been really hard on my body. Maybe a good nights rest will help some. Not much else happening around here right now, so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Not quite time for hibernation yet, not long tho

We are almost done with the fall butchering and chores here and not too long I can finally hibernate for winter. I guess thas the one reason I like winter time so much is that there is not a lot to things to be done out side and I can stay in and do things I really want to do. Not having to rush around doing the things that need to be done. But in the meantime, this weekend is hog butchering time for us. We have 2 to do this year. One for us and one for Josh and his family. We are trading one for half a beef that we just found out we cant get slaughtered till sometime in February. But thas OK, it will just give us time to use some of the other meat used out of the freezers. I spent most of today getting my tools in shape and ready for tomorrow. I got the knives sharpened, all my tubs and totes cleaned up and ready, the salt cure mix is mixed and ready. The jars are ready to put the lard in the following day. I got the wrapping paper, and zip top bags ready for the meat that will go in the freezers. Rodger got us a nice meat grinder so we don't have to use the hand crank one to do prolly 50 lb or more of sausage. All the herbs and seasoning is ready to season the sausage tomorrow. The batteries are charging for the reciprocating saw that we use to cut the hog up or at least cut thru the bones that need cut. It takes a good bit of time to work up the meat from a big hog. All the lean trimmings will get cut into sausage meat and then ground, the lard will need to be cut, pork chops, tenderloin all cut up, and ribs cut and packaged for the freezer. Then it will take most of Sunday to render the lard. Monday is the day I will take to make the souse meat or head cheese or scrapple, depending on where ya from. Love the stuff but I am the only one.
Well Mom was finally released from the hospital last night and she got to come back to the nursing home here in town. She is doing better but still quite sore. She was in pretty good spirits today when I went to see her tho, which was good for a change. She still has some congestion and pneumonia and still has to take antibiotics for several more days but that is improving as well. Thanks for all the concern and prayers.

I got the nicest surprise in the mail today.

This is a handy tote bag made from burlap and lined with cotton fabric. Hand made by a blogger friend in Georgia. Thanks so much G, I love it. It will hold all my odds and ends when I travel. And I will take it with me when I travel. lol Merry Christmas to you and your mom, thanks so much for the lovely bag and a big hug for ya both. God bless.

As I was outside the other day plundering around I noticed these strange looking things growing at the base of the bird feeder post. Yeah I know I will try to grow most anything but I DID NOT plant crabs in an attempt to grow crab meat. These things feel much like softened rubber and are hollow. Anybody know what they are?

Strange looking specimens to say the least and I have never seen anything like them. Gremlins, aliens maybe?  So far the frost has not killed em. Not many exciting things happening around here on the farm. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Too wet to plow and we cant dance

We have had rain today and its kinda cool out there. Sure does make the joints hurt a good bit. I think traveling in a vehicle makes me hurt more than standing or walking these days. Jason and I had to go to Lexington yesterday afternoon to check on mom. The nursing home here had failed to notify me that she had been sent out and admitted to the hospital with a gall bladder attack. Did I mention how pissed I am over that? They will hear from me in the morning and probably wont like it. Mom had surgery this morning and the doc said all went well with the surgery. I am sure it will be a rather long recovery for her with her being so uncooperative and all. Just pray she don't get pneumonia or other complications. I will be back down there tomorrow to check on her again.
As for things here on the farm. Rodger did get the rest of the corn picked yesterday while Jason and I were gone. We will have plenty of corn for cornmeal and what ever else we decide to do with it. We already have a good amount shelled for the chickens this winter so they will be happy when it gets cold. They eat more corn as the weather gets colder. The starch helps them produce body heat and they stay warmer and lay better too.
Yesterday while we were out of town and in the big city Jason bought me an enameled cast iron dutch oven that I had wanted for a long time. They are great for browning roasts and such and then can go straight to the oven with fear of unseasoned a regular cast iron dutch oven. I tried it out today and made a venison roast for a late lunch. It turned out great, moist, tender and tasty. I also made homemade rolls. Yeah I cheat and use the bread machine to knead the dough then I shape them and let them proof and bake. The 3 of us ate 18 large rolls.
Not much else happening here right now on the farm. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Home at last!

After 2 weeks of cooking at the hunting lodge for deer hunters I am back home to the organized chaos here at home. I did enjoy cooking for the guys and they seemed to enjoy the homemade meals as well. But we didn't have hunters scheduled for the last weekend of the hunting season so I decided to head on home. I left my aunts on Wednesday morning and intended to stop off and see my friend Rosie and her family. I called several times and didn't get an answer so I had to assume they maybe were away for the day. So I will go back sometime in December and visit with them for a day or so. I made it to my house about 5:30 last evening. I was worn out from driving 350 miles straight. Long trips are really hard on my body with all this arthritis. It is nice to be home. I vaguely remember laying down in bed last night till I was out like a light.
We had Thanksgiving dinner with Rodgers family today. I took homemade rolls to dinner. I talked to Rob yesterday and he and Amoy were cooking a turkey today too. This evening he said it was great, the first one they had cooked at their house on their own. Sure would have been nice to have them here with us for the holiday. Miss my kids a bunch.
When I got home Rodger and Jason had already processed the deer they had and all the meat was in the freezer. So I didn't have to do that when I got here. Next weekend we are killing hogs and some of that meat goes in the freezer. Then I think in mid December we get half a beef for the freezer. So we should be pretty well set for meat for the year. When I was at deer camp a fellow from North Carolina gave me a nice big deer. He just wanted the horns and not the meat and gave it to me. I am salt curing the hams or hind quarters off the deer. It should end up very much like country ham. I just mixed equal parts Kosher salt and brown sugar and lots of black pepper, cayenne pepper and rubbed it liberally into the deer meat while it still had some body heat left. It looks like it is curing well. So will let you know how it tastes. I sliced the back strap and froze that for steaks for us.
Rodger is hoping to get our corn picked this weekend. He was planning on doing that last weekend but we got tons of rain here. But it should be dry enough by Saturday to get it in. I am hoping. Then after the hog killing next weekend I can hibernate for the winter.
Not much else happening here, so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Up to date and now out of town

I think maybe over the weekend I finally got some things caught up on the homestead and ready for the winter. Well with exception of the things that have not been killed back by frost. In our area down on the river we have not had a good killing frost yet this fall. My strawberry plants are still green and making runners like crazy. Really don't want to put mulch on those till they get killed back or they will freeze out when it gets cold because they try to keep living under the mulch and don't go dormant. Same with the asparagus bed. I did get the herb bed dead-headed and all the junk raked off it last weekend. It does look better and not so much like a jungle in the yard. It will get a layer of mulch as soon as we get a good frost.
I had an eye doctor appointment this morning and then left town to come to west Ky to help Aunt Ann with her hunting lodge and cook for the deer hunters. I will likely be here till after Thanksgiving.. Most likely leave the Monday after Thanksgiving and head over to central Ky to visit my friend Rosie and spend the night then on home the next day. I will only get a couple days to rest up then we butcher hogs. Maybe I can take a long break after the second week of December. All that kinda depends on whether or not Rodger gets our corn picked this week. If it is dry enough he is going to get the corn in and if not that will get put off till later. Deer season for modern fire arms opens this coming weekend here in Ky and every male I know is heading out somewhere to hunt. Rodger will be hunting with Josh the first weekend of season and then Jason will hunt with Josh the second weekend. Hopefully they will get a few deer for meat for the freezer. It cost a small amount to travel to hunt but is cheap as compared to buying the same amount of meat from the grocery and much more healthy for you. If they get more than a couple I know I will have to can some of the meat as we wont have freezer space. It will be close with some hog meat that needs to be frozen and then a half a beef in early December. But we will be set for the year. With that in mind, I may not get to rest when I get back home from working out here. I may be busy as a cat covering it up canning venison. But that's a good thing.
Will up date as the week progresses here and try to keep you all abreast of what is happening on the homestead too.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead on the road.


Stella

Butchering, canning cushaw, prepping for winter

Our weather turned colder this weekend after a couple days of rain. The rain is always needed but I could live without the cold weather. After the sun came out yesterday it wasn't too bad. Rodger and I got out and got the 2 deer skinned out and the meat processed for the freezer. I takes a while to skin, de-bone and cut up the meat and grind the burger. So now we have a good bit of meat in the freezer. The deer had been hanging for about 2 weeks in the summer kitchen with the air conditioner running to keep it cool. That method seemed to work well. I had some other projects that needed to be done. One of which was butcher off the 3 excess roosters we had. So the plan was we butcher them today. Last evening 2 of the buff roosters didn't come back to roost. I guess they went across the road and it got dark and they couldn't find their way back up here. Needless to say something made a meal of one of them. But we still got the other 2 butchered and I made the stock and got that canned up this after noon and Rodger cleaned the building and put down fresh straw for the pullets. He moved the nest box in the building for them as well. They all will need it soon hopefully. One hen is already laying. While I waited on the stock to cook down I figured I may as well make use of the time I had out in the summer kitchen. I cut up and peeled 2 of the big cushaws and got those ready to can. So they were all cubed up, I washed them, packed them into quart jars, covered with water, put the lids on and pressure canned them for 40 minutes. By time the chicken stock was done the cushaw only liked a few minutes. I still had time to chop the green tomatoes that I had picked last evening before they got frosted on. I had 8 bags of those to freeze for fried green tomatoes later on. We also chopped a quart zip top bag of bell peppers to freeze. I am sure my joints will hate me tomorrow for using my hands all day. But for now I think the preserving is caught up. At least till the first weekend in December when we butcher hogs. That will be a killer big job. That will be a lot of meat to process. The hogs will both be killed the same day, then the lard rendered the second day. But if the fellers get more deer during modern gun season we will have those to process as well. Plus the half of beef we are getting too. I may can some of the deer meat for sure this year. With the beef I really don't think I will have any freezer space. But that is a good thing. We just know we will have a good supply of meat on hand to do us till next fall.
It has been a long day for sure. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella