Smokehouse

Long time no post. Oh well, here's a little something I've really been looking forward to. A few weeks ago we undertook a nifty little project. Some friends came up for a visit and we took full advantage of the extra help and built a smokehouse. It really wasn't as taxing a project as it might have been because when we purchased a walk-in cooler last year to age our beef, we were blessed by the gift of an extra 5'x6' cooler box (sans the compressor). As we were disassembling the unit, I was wondering what we would do with it. The idea of using it for a smokehouse occurred to me and the group of friends helping us disassemble and remove it were in general enthusastic agreement that that was a pretty dandy idea. These modular units can easily be assembled in less than an hour. A twist-lock mechanism connects the four corners and four sides as well as the top.

I followed the general design guidelines in this book. Kyle and I finished putting some screening on the smoke vent that now fills the opening originally occupied by the freezer compressor and we built a little test fire to check the smoke flow. I am pleased to report that it appears to work really well.

I find it a bit interesting that Kyle's porcine pals were observing our activities from a mere 15 feet away.Ribs, bacon, country ham. Anybody else getting hungry?

Keith

Manly Men, Trusting Wife

Y'all have probably seen this. We first found it on Buried Treasure. Wonderful story with lots of lessons, as commenters on Carmon's blog pointed out:

• Manly men--YEEEEAAAAAA!
• Wife's complete trust in her husband--YEEEEAAAAAA!
• The younger (Ours and our children's) generations' lack of the above mentioned qualities--BOOOOOOOOOO!
• God is in control--YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I pray that we would do as well in a tough situation as the two older men and the wife in the story, and that we will and are training our children to do so, also.

In conclusion, I know it seems minor, but I love that the wife was reading, and continued doing so, explaining that, "I knew how that situation would end. I didn't know how the book would end."

Mary Susan

Fuzzy Labels

I've often thought that today's "conservative" was yesteryear's "liberal." I found this quote interesting:

“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” ~ Ronald Reagan

Dixie Chicks (sort of), Thistle and Shamrock (sort of)

I picked up 50 more chicks yesterday at the local post office. The lady there is getting to know me, I think. She's very friendly, and if possible, checks on the birds to see if they are looking well. This shipment was strapped closed, so all she could tell me was that they sounded good.

Surprisingly, we had all the stuff we needed for the chicks on hand. The other two batches I've picked up in recent weeks required a trip "on the way" to the post office to one or two stores for supplies. Okay, not really on the way; the Post office is seven or eight miles away, I'd say, and the farm supply stores are 10 or 12 miles away in totally different directions than the Post Office. But that's okay, except that it makes the chicks wait longer. The postal clerk doesn't seem to mind the chirping, but she does cover the box to tone it down a bit.

These chicks are Freedom Rangers. We've not had these before, and are looking forward to giving them a try. They all arrived healthy, and seem to be doing well. This makes around 80 broilers for now (The first 30 or so are Cornish Cross, arrived about three weeks ago, and are out on pasture now.) I'm hoping this many will keep us supplies for awhile.

My father and mother are on "thistle brigade" again. They are furiously cutting and bagging blossoms, then cutting down the plants, many of which are taller than my mother, now. They are working in an area we have not previously addressed, and so have a big job ahead of them. The kids and I had hoped to get out today and help, but allergies had all of us out of commission for that job, except 4yo son, who hung with them all morning.

The kids and I are keeping our eyes peeled for red clover blossoms. We don't have much of that growing wild on our property, so when we find any, we pick it and bring it in to dry. This is great for teas during cold season, as explained by TNFarmgirl. After reading her post about it last year, I collected what I could find, dried it, and used it through the fall and early part of winter (until I ran out) whenever I felt a cold might be coming on. I usually have very obvious warning signs before a cold hits, so I would start drinking red clover tea when I noticed some of these signs. I'm convinced I chased off a few colds before they actually hit. If you are interested, you might check out TNFarmgirl's other posts on herbs. She has a couple more on red clover.

Have a blessed weekend!

Mary Susan