Daily Farm Journal...Thursday

Our morning started about 6:00 a.m. and by 6:30 we were both in the garden. Not long after daylight we could hear the neighbors tractor coming up the lane and since there was no dew we knew they would start baling the hay.   We traded the tranquility of the early morning birds for the roar of the tractor engine and the smell of diesel fumes.

O Wise One went to start feeding and watering animals and by 9:00 I had quite the trail of dead and dying weeds behind me in the rows.  It seems this is an endless job in a garden this size. By the time one crop is weeded they have doubled their size in the next crop over. This is still a young garden and we know from experience that as the years progress the weeds do become less and less as long as you do not let them go to seed.

Not long after 9:00 the heat had already started to build and I was ready to pick my vegetables before it got too hot so the broccoli was first on the list. This is the hybrid Premium Crop.  The heat index for the last two days has been over 100 yet I continue to pick not only main heads but also side shoots from this hybrid.

Next on the list was another days picking of basil. The dehydrator has been full of basil daily. Once the picking from the day before is done then I load the dehydrator again.  

First picking of cucumbers was also ready. I almost let them get too big. During the process of picking the cucumbers I managed to get bee stung.

This is the heirloom variety Straight Eight. In another day or so I should really have a picking. Guess I had better get those pickle crocks out and wash them and get them ready. I also grabbed a lone bell pepper.

The dill heads were also ready to pick and I also cut some of the leaves. You'll see later I had a plan. Just in time for the ripe cucumbers too. I couldn't have planned it any better!  I see pickles in my future : )

 

The basil was washed and loaded into the dehydrator.

 

Next in order I browned a pound of venison burger and a pound of ground beef.  Then I threw some fresh chopped  sweet onions and that bell pepper that I picked this morning. Then some fresh garlic, some of that fresh basil, and some mushrooms. 

I added two quarts of my canned tomato sauce from last year and let it simmer on really low heat for awhile.

Next in a skillet I browned two links of our homemade venison/pork Italian sausage. Both the venison and pork off this farm. 

Then it was cut up into chunks.

And you guessed right it went in the pot too!

Some of those cucumbers were sliced and a half a medium sweet onion also.  

Remember that dill weed? Now it comes into play. 

 

 I add about 2/3 cup of sour cream to a measuring cup then I snip up my dill weed into it. Then I add buttermilk to make it a dressing consistency. 

To that I add some freshly ground black pepper, salt and about a teaspoon garlic powder.  Stir this well and add more buttermilk if it needs to be thinner.  

Now pour that over your cucumbers and onions and chill it for atleast several hours.

Now some hot spaghetti for that sauce, steamed fresh broccoli, sliced cucumbers and onions and some homemade garlic bread that I had in the freezer. We all feasted for lunch! 

Baby O has disappeared with her father. O Wise One Is making a parts run as it seems that I managed to break the lawn mower mowing and Baby O hitched a ride to the library. So I will be chopping and blanching Broccoli for the remainder of the afternoon. 

It's a relief to know that they haying is finished and that my goats have plenty hay to get them through the winter. Another job completed and another blessing to be thankful for! 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter