Saturday, October 29, 2011

It's Harvest on The Big Farm

Melon Harvester: Does Squash and Cucumbers, Too
Harvest is in full swing.  We have a crew in the sunflowers, the almond orchards, squash, watermelon,
walnuts and rice (the pecans come later)...each group is racing the weather...and we have way too many crops still needing to be harvested. It's a love/hate relationship: I love the Fall and cooler weather.  I watch the skies and I listen to weather reports and report back to the husband and my boys.  The men are in the field for seventeen to twenty hours...yep you read that right...only small cat naps till the crops are in or the rain starts...which ever happens first.  I finish cooking at the school around 1:00 p.m. and head home to start a BIG hearty dinner.  The men come in between 5 and 6 and sit down for dinner. When they leave each takes a small ice chest with sandwiches, fruit, cheese, cookies, a jug of water, iced tea and a thermos of coffee....I'll go out to the fields around eleven and replenish everything...then head home to bed and start the whole process again tomorrow.   I used to cook the crew a big breakfast of ham, sausage, eggs and pancakes; but now I must be at the school by 6 a.m. and I have to do my regular farm chores between 4:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m.  The men do come in for coffee and either muffins, coffee cake and or beignets...I just don't have time for the sit-down country breakfast and we all miss it. They are on their own for lunch too. I have meatloaf, tuna or egg salad sandwiches on homemade bread waiting for them in the refrigerator at home.  I always have fruit, macaroni or potato salad, cheeses, cake, pie, or cobbler and plenty of iced tea and lemonade. I'm tired and they're tired but thanks to careful planning we are very well fed.
Butternut Squash
English Walnut Ready To Knock
Windrowed and Waiting on The Harvester

Rice....And My Shadow!
Three in One Crop Fields:
Far North West: Watermelon
South West: Tomatoes
East: Rice...lots of Rice

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Rotel and Two Sauces...I'm Done Stick A Fork In Me!

Round Five Of Tomato Canning
More Yummy Rotel and Nice Thick Sauce
Last Round Of Asian Pear Sauce

Food Forager...I Am What I Am



I'm one of the best food foragers I know...in fact, I'm the ONLY food forager I know...take that back...I know a fellow that hunts mushrooms along the river.

Last year I had plenty of time to gather/glean field leftovers, but this year I've had to condense my gathering into my weekends.  So, Saturday I headed out to the fields and grabbed a bucket of Heinz canning tomatoes.  I thought that would save me the time of picking them...well the field is muddy and they look like crap: so I had to go back out and hand pick a bucket that looked more acceptable.


Next to the tomato field is a watermelon field.  I grabbed three of each variety, they will be dehydrated.  Monday I'll grab a few more for juice and make a few jars of watermelon syrup.  I hopped in the little truck and went about an eighth of mile to my son's green bean fields.  I picked a bushel of Blue Lakes, Haricots and some yellow beans.  The beans didn't germinate very well so the plants are poorly spaced for commercial production (these are grown for seed) and because they are organic...bugs and some kind of mosaic.  I then headed to my son's home to see if he had any pears on his trees: only six.  I did see the pomegranates were ready and I'll be back to pick some next weekend.  He had a handful of figs and a couple green apples left so I picked those.  I took the *long* way home: five miles and picked wild rose hips for jelly and elderberries for syrup.  I should have picked up some black walnuts and some pecans...but that will have to wait until the middle of the week.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Not My Kind of Spur


I've always liked the sound of a spur on a hardwood floor...not my floor...but a barroom floor. And yes we have that here in my neck of Northern Calif...cowboys with spurs...real cowboys.  And I have found out I have my own spur: a HORRIBLE, PAINFUL, BONE SPUR on the bottom heel of my left foot. YIKES!! I swear I have never been in so much pain...and I've had five kids and one was over 12 pounds!! Wholly Molly, talk about pain! I can barely hobble around in the morning, but after about fifteen minutes, although still tender I'm able to get around without hanging onto furniture, counter tops and broom handles and after about half an hour hardly any pain at all...but if I sit for a bit and then get up the pain starts all over again...if I stay on my feet, it's not bad. I Googled my symptoms and came up with the bone spur. My husband agreed...he had them in his youth. In most cases foot exercises, weight loss, and heel splint pads usually help. Very seldom is surgery required. I started the foot exercises a couple days ago and just ordered some super duper heel pads and some great shoes...now the weight loss thing...d_mn...hate that part. Truth is, this thing is so painful, I'm willing to try and lose a few pounds to make the pain go away.


Monday, October 3, 2011

Am I A Prepper?


Saturday I made the trip to the Big Town to the East of me...a 45 minute drive...and did a bit of shopping.  I don't normally shop.  I accompany my husband when we stock up...usually every four to five months.  Today I went alone...scary!  I have wanted to head to WinCo by myself for several months.  Last time Bill and I were there I noticed they had really "ramped-up" their bulk storage aisles (my favorite place).  I wanted Gamma lids...Bill thinks they are a waste of money.  I don't.  Bill thinks I'm a bit nutty with my food storage.  He appreciates my bargain shopping, the gardening, canning, baking, etc. but I think he's a bit uncomfortable with the 200 pounds of flour, 100 pounds of sugar, boxes of salt, yeast, baking powder, jars and jars of home canned fruits and veggies, etc.  He tolerates the 200 pounds of rice, wheat berries, beans, corn, almonds and walnuts because we grow them and I tell him I NEED that much for the year...the stuff I have to buy makes him nervous.  I'm not Mormon, so I couldn't use that as an excuse. I was raised in a predominately Mennonite community so I've tried that one on him...I don't think he buys that either. You see, I have turned a extra bedroom into a food storage room...he's been in there twice: he said it scared him.  I showed it off to a dear friend and she thought it was a bit much, too.  I really do hate to shop and love having everything I need just steps from the kitchen.  I really do love to can and I really do feel good about the food storage. AND WE USE IT! I'm not an Extreme Couponer...my food storage is almost 100% from scratch stuff...no Del Monte, Dole or Chef Boyardee or Dinty Moore.  After reading a few prepper blogs, prepper web-sites and reading a few economic collapse books I think I'm a low-end prepper...if there is such a thing. I don't spend much time worrying about a Zombie Apocalypse or an incurable Virus that only my family and I are immune too...I worry about our struggling economy and the devaluation of the dollar.  I worry about Peak Oil and Outrageous changes in our Weather.  I'm not into or excited about guns, martial arts, camouflage or isolation.  I don't hate nor am I frightened by the Government, other countries,  Democrats, Republicans, Whites, Blacks, Christians, Muslims or Jews.  I don't care if you are Gay, Straight, Blue or Green, blind, in or out of a wheelchair.  I care if you are happy, well-fed, well-read, fair, even handed, open-minded and curious...but I don't hate you if you aren't and I don't blame anyone/race/party/country for the economic mess the world is in: it is the nature of all things...every living thing reaches it's carrying capacity and then collapses upon itself....I just plan on being well fed and home when it happens! 

Oh Dear!  I went on a rant when all I wanted to say was I bought 6 Gamma Lids and a new pair of Dansko shoes for work (I'm full time now and not a sub)!!

(So do you think I'm a middle-aged hippy or a prepper?)