Sunday, August 29, 2010

Catch Up!

I t has been a busy week so I have some catchin' up to do! The last several days I have been up to my elbows in pears! Pears are the hot climates apple! You can grow apples here but you won't get a bumper crop,pears on the other hand...well, one big tree will make more than you know what to do with! My pear tress are just tiny sticks but I am lucky enough to have a friend who gave me about 2 bushels!



Now, don't judge these pears by how they look! Like apples there are many different pears for different uses. These are caning pears and they are usually "ugly" and hard as brick bats! Perfect for caning! Let me tell you, peeling this many brick hard pears is hard on the hands but I persevered and got every single one put up! I have quarts of pear halves in syrup, bear butter,pear preserves and diced pears in syrup. Also, lots of happy critters because everyone from goaties to chickens loved the pear peelings!


On to farm happenings!  We said good by to Sir Loin ...this picture is at a bad angle, he was much plumper ....


and all this springs sheep babies...



and hello to my new freezer! With these and the chickens and rabbits I am looking at not buying meat for a year! Plus our animals were totally grass feed and chemical free and if you were to put a price on that meat...well, it would be a considerable amount more that the stuff in the grocery store! I am really excited by how much we will save by not buying meat for a whole year! Now if I can get a decent fall garden I am estimating saving around $ 400 a month in groceries! I will still have to buy stuff like flour and sugar and oatmeal but for the most part we will be eating our own farm raised goodness!
We replaced Sir Loin,meet the new Sir Loin and his momma Sadie! Yes, he is alive,he is just napping!






They are both Dexter cattle. This will give us 3 cows,now we just need a bull and our herd will be complete. Their calves will give us meat and and extra to sell every year to make hay money if we need to buy some hay.

I haven't shown you the goaties in a while and Isobelle was asking about them so I took some pictures this morning while I was visiting them. Butter Bean is always looking for treats!


Look at his tongue sticking out trying to get a hold of my skirt! Crazy goat!



Here is Mr.Tumnus looking suave and debonair..




Sweet Pea is napping in her and Nibbles' favorite spot, it is an old ash pile where we burned some wood. For some reason they love to lay in it. Doesn't she look sweet....she looks like she is praying an a little light from heaven is shining down on her.


Doodah is ..well, Doodah!


Lola, Doodahs daughter, is getting big! She is a wild goat but she will still come up for some scratchins' if the mood hits her! I think she has crazy eyes and she chews cud at warp drive! Maybe she has goatie ADHD!


Her brother Harley is sweet,calm and gentle.  He lives in the buck pen with his daddy and Butter Bean and him and Bean play all day long! I am hoping to sell him this fall when he is a little bigger. Someone will be lucky to get him as a herd sire because he has such a great disposition .We already sold his brother, Bo Diddly, and we didn't even advertise him for sale!


And I can never forget our Nibbles girl! She is by far our most beloved girl, just look at her sweet face! Her boys are long gone to a home together to be pets for 4 children.


Just for the heck of it I thought I  would throw in one of Clyde! He is such a funny looking fellow,little skinny legs with a barrel body and big ole long skinny head! He is sweet as the day is long! You can let him "donkey lip" all  over you and he will never bite.



Now you all have the whole week of the Laughing Duck farm catch up! Hope you enjoyed it!

16 comments:

Lin said...

Oh, everyone is so adorable and it makes me feel bad that some are in your freezer. I know, I know, it's farm life, but us city folks don't get that. :( I can't even think about frog legs.

Jim said...

Melodie, great to meet all your critters! Love the goats....such characters! Clyde looks like a sweetie! Thanks for tour.
Jim

Sharon said...

That's great! That's what farm life is all about. I love watching the calves with their Mommies! Harley has really grown into a very handsome buck! You sure have some nice looking pears canned up! You are sure one busy Gal! I know - life on the farm isn't easy, but fulfilling!

Leslie said...

What fun to "meet" all your animals! Congrats on all the meat AND the pear goodness looks fabulous!!!!! You have had a busy week. I hope you are enjoying a restful weekend.

Nekkid Chicken said...

Hey Woman, I see your toe nails. Sweet Pea probably appreciates what the ash does to help keep critters off her. Our hens also love to dust bath in a ash pile. Nice to see ya! I can't wait to be even more self sufficient. :O)

Mal

brokenteepee said...

Good for you. We are off to buy a new freezer this week 'cause I have two full.
Love the goat photos

Millie said...

All those animals look so sweet! I particularly like that Mr. Tumnus!

Tales from the Trails said...

Those pears look so good. Your farm is just priceless in so many ways. We feel blessed with our lil farm. But after seeing yours again now I want to buy more land to become more plentiful in our food production. Oh, if my Cowboy heard me say this our house would be on the market tomorrow : )

The Chicken Keepers said...

Thanks for the tour! Love looking at your beautiful pictures. Looks like you have been hard at work. I know we have been doing lots of canning, freezing, cleaning, etc. etc. Love your goaties they are so cute! Our freezer will soon be full of our homegrown chickens, too.

Blessings,
The Chicken Keepers
thechickenkeepers.blogspot.com

IsobelleGoLightly said...

My goodness! I'm going to have to add Mr. Tumnus to my list of Internet honeys! Woo woo! Butter Bean is also a favorite, of course! Thanks for the goatie photos!

Texan said...

wow on the pears!! What a nice gifty.. lots of work to put that many pears up but mmmmm those will all be good! and you are so right what a good way to put that pears are our apples here in texas.. the darn things thrive in our heat. and since i cant eat apples lol, and can pears its a dbl good deal.

if i could have more than buck, i would so come and buy your Harley i just love how he looks. thought that when he was born..

you must be thrilled with how much your cutting off your monthly food bill! i just love everytime i put a jar up. i think yeppers won't be buying that!

Kelly Cook said...

Thanks for introducing me to your critters-great photos! I love the name Sir Loin. I may have to borrow it! We may be buying a 500 pound steer to graze and fill our freezer, since our Jasper won't be ready for another 18 months. I can't wait til we are eating more of what we raise than what we buy at the store. We're getting a lot from the farmers market and we feel good about sharing our dollars with local farms!

sunset pines farm said...

so glad you gave us a tour!
We have those same pears!!! I am about to make some jam. The peeling and cutting is the hardest part, to me, but so worth it.

cottage garden farmer said...

So lovely to see all your animals, I often wish I had space here for some livestock, and thanks for the ideas for pears too, I have a Conference pear tree which usually bears well and since they don't keep very well, I like to have some ideas for using them. Thanks

John Going Gently said...

can you tell me step by step how you store your pears in jars?

Jennifer said...

Oh I love Cylde, he is so pretty! I have always wanted a donkey. All the animals look great. Great job on the pears! I bet that was a lot of work.