Making Dog Food

This isn't something I ever expected to do, but I've read about it a couple of places, and thought I'd try it...someday.  Well, I was cleaning out my freezer (the one in the fridge) and wedged in the back behind bags of flour and cornmeal was a package of 2 pork loins that were TWO YEARS OLD.  I thought they would be okay for us to eat, they weren't freezer burned at all, but PH suggested I give it to the dogs.  After reading online about making dog food, I used what I had on hand.  I boiled the pork loins on low for a couple of hours, then added 1 lb of white rice, and a half bag of carrots that were starting to go soft.  Cooked it on low for another couple of hours, turned off the heat, and let it cool.  I then put it all in the food processor, took two batches to get it done.  I was then able to put it in canning jars.  It made 1 quart and 4 pints.  I used the jars I had washed today, so I didn't have to make too much noise in the pantry (it was already after 10 p.m. here). When we butcher the Freedom Ranger chicks in a couple of weeks, I plan to keep all the organs and make more dog food, and will pressure can it in pint jars for storage, so when I am out of store bought food, I'll have something on hand.  Here is the final product:

Homemade dog food

It looks and smells like tuna fish to me.  The reason I was prompted to do this, is that we were out of dog food.  Pet food is one area I don't stock up on.  I have limited funds and my family is more important to me than my pets.  Currently, we have five dogs (A Rott, Pyr, cow dog, rat terrier and a chihuahua).  They all serve a function.  The Rottweiler is a trained security dog and professional chicken killer (the last not something we advocate).  The Pyr, our livestock guardian dog, the cow dog, herds the goats where we want them to go, and sometimes where we don't.  The terrier is good at killing gophers and rats, and the chihuahua is our security alarm.  Yaps at anything, makes you get up and look to see what is going on.

We also have four cats (down 2 this week, the coyotoes are relentless).  With the exception of Lily, our house Diva, they hunt primarily for themselves, keeping the barn and area free of rodents.  I do give them a little cat food, but....if TMHTF I'd stop feeding them in a heart beat.  The hold outs would be the dogs.  Realistically, I could probably feed two dogs on scraps, the others would have to go.  I'm not the type to let one starve, so in an emergency situation, we would have to put them down, which is sad, but those are the hard choices I'd have to make in a rough world.

The livestock pretty much fends for themselves.  We do supplement with hay in the winter (we get this free), if the grass has stopped growing.  So far, we have been blessed with rain this winter, then warm days so there is grazing for everyone.  We do put out a flake of hay for each horse and the calf in the evening.  The goats don't care for the hay often.  The pigs graze, and get all of our vegetable scraps, and the chickens free range for what they can find.  They are pretty fat and sassy, so I think they are getting enough.  The chickens did get a special treat tonight.  PH was leveling the "cabin" (AKA shipping container) and found these HUGE grub worms eating away at the large wooden beams he had used previously to level the place.  The chickens were beside themselves fighting over them. It was pretty gross!  Oh, we do also gather wild melons that grow along the road sides here.  The past few years, I've gotten a couple of rubber maid totes for the goats, but this year we took the small tractor and wagon and filled it up, and stored them in the barn.  Each night we cut open several and toss into the pigs.  They really LOVE them, and it's free food.

Grub worms and PH finger

 I made bread for last night's spaghetti meal, it was supposed to be a normal french bread round, but I left it a little too long in the heat of the wood stove, and it blew up HUGE, filling the entire pan.  We only ate 1/4 of it last night.  

Huge French Bread Loaf

We had SEVERE storms last night.  A small tornado was reported to have touched down in the small town 5 miles north of us, and ripped off several roofs and destroyed carports.  Also, the closest major city of San Antonio had a tornado touch down on the West Side and caused damage.  I am thankful the Lord spared us, we had started praying when the storm hit for the Lord to put a hedge of protection around our homestead, and He did!  We received a hair under 3 inches of rain (according to the rain gauge), and while I worry about the house construction, I am thankful the pond was filled.  The dry creek bed on our property funnels the rain that drains from the rest of the property into the pond.  I had noticed yesterday, it was quite low, and the horses had been walking into the pond to eat the cat tails.  Now, it's up quite a bit, though not overflowing.

It was overcast and chilly this afternoon when PH arrived home from work.  PS#2 feels it is his duty to help daddy out every day, even if daddy doesn't need help.  They were out for quite a bit when PH opened the door and placed PS#2 in the door.  He was really cold looking.  In no time I had him stripped and in nice warm fleece pajama bottoms, wrapped in a small afghan watching Scooby Doo.  I had water already on the wood stove hot, so he had hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies.  He was very happy to be warm ;-)

PS#2 and his dirty little face enjoying cookies and cocoa by the fire

Preparing for Butchering

We have 5 weeks left until our Freedom Rangers are at the age to butcher.  I am praying they put on more weight in that time.  They sure do eat a lot, and drink LOTS of water.

We are starting to assess what we need to accomplish the butchering of these chickens.  We have never butchered chickens before, so I am relying on advice from those who have.  I plan to set up the outdoor kitchen/butchering area behind the cabin.  I have:

a table
the grill to heat water
picnic table
sink to connect to hose
killing cone (PH made one from plans I sent to him.  I was so excited!  He said it was my Valentine's Day present ;-)
 butchering knives (I cut myself today cleaning the butchering knives and case - glad I have that liquid skin)
2 stock pots for heating water
2 gallon size Ziploc bags to place butchered birds in


I need:

large wash tub
tarp to catch feathers when we pluck
buckets for catching blood

I need to look back over my list to make sure I have everything gathered.  I don't want to wait until the last minute.   http://foodwaterandfire.ludlowsurvivors.com/chickenkill.html

The weather has turned chilly again.  I woke to rain this morning, so coupled with the cold it has been a frosty day, and required the fire in the stove to be burning all day.  I am thankful we have such a large supply of firewood.  I am also thankful that the barn is finished and that the horses and goats now have shelter out of the rain, wind and most of the cold.  I have worried about them for 3 years, though they appear to have done alright.

We are learning about the French and Indian War in our history study, plus we watched a documentary on Israel this morning.  It was very enlightening to me, and I learned a lot.  We also watched an older Disney movie called "The Light in the Forest" with Fess Parker.  It takes place around the time of the French/Indian War, though surprisingly PD#1 said the documentary we watched last week "The War That Made America" was much better ;-) I agree.  We will be receiving Part 2 later this week.  We were recently gifted with two boxes of VHS tapes, mostly educational/documentaries covering foreign countries, world religions, composers, artists, history with a few older Disney movies thrown in.  The school where one of my sisters teaches was getting rid of all their old VHS tapes and she brought me what she could.  We watch a lot of documentaries, and I spent three hours the other evening putting documentaries in chronological order in my Netflix account.

I've been baking a lot lately, and greatly need to replenish some of my food stores (like chocolate chips, baking soda, brown sugar and VANILLA).  Bread is on the agenda for tomorrow.  I fear the cold won't let it rise, so it may end up sitting next to the wood stove tomorrow.

Well, off to bed..

What have you done this week to prepare?

Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I wanted to take this time to thank the Lord for His wonderful gift of family, His generous provision and granting me the motivation to learn new skills and to truly listen to His promptings.  Whenever I get discouraged I read Proverbs 31, and it reminds me that while others may think we are crazy for the way we live our life, there is a reason.  Whether it be economic collapse, social unrest, or the rise of the NWO prior to Christ's return, I am confident He is leading me towards a closer walk with Him, and preparing our family for safety and security in a troubled world.

PH and I have been busy (PKs too).  We built a pen to house our beloved Rottie.  She is such a good dog, but has unfortunately been led down than a less than righteous path  by one of our "pups".  Sassy was born to a stray that adopted us named Sophie.  Sassy is just like her name.  Full of sass, very lovable, BUT an instigator when it comes to the killing of chickens, kittens, chasing horses and attacking goats.  She gets Baeta (Rott) so worked up that Baeta, acting outside her character for the past six years, has changed from a trustworthy dog to a livestock killer.  We just cannot have her kill our food sources, so she has been relegated to a kennel, and Sassy has found a new home.   During the day while the livestock (horses, goats, chickens, pigs, calf) are roaming the pastures she is contained.  At night, when the livestock is penned up to keep them safe from coyotoes (and Baeta) we let her out to roam our homestead (along with our Pyr).  She is very much a guard dog, having been trained in security and we love Rottweilers.  The best dog breed we have ever owned.  We are hoping through patience and rehab (and Sassy's absence) that Baeta will once again return to her former trustworthy self.  If not, she'll spend her days in a kennel instead of roaming free to protect the homestead.

Today was a very relaxing day.  PH attached the brackets for the rafters on the upper roof today.  He is preparing to pick up a load of lumber tomorrow, in order to complete the rafters.  PD#2 was invited to a friend's for the Thanksgiving meal.  My meal was relatively simple to prepare, and I felt no rush or anxiety.  I am thankful for my new herbal medications and teas that are allowing me to get plenty of rest, and helps with my stress levels.  Last night I washed and set up the roaster, cleaned the kitchen and made a batch of cornbread to use in the cornbread dressing/stuffing.  (I grew up saying stuffing, PH's family says dressing).  So fancy like ;-)

I went shopping yesterday at Whole Foods to get ingredients for my pie (chocolate cream pie).  My mom always made this using Jello pudding and Cool Whip.  Because of my healthier eating practices I don't eat Jello but made chocolate pudding, and found an Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten Free (for PD#1) Cool Whip substitute called "Tru Whip".  I was skeptical about the taste, but no one could tell a difference!  I was very happy.  I had the rest of the ingredients for my meal as I had purchased a turkey after last Christmas and it was in the freezer.  I put it in the roaster, stuffed the cavity with onions and applies, basted the skin with olive oil and rubbed sage into it.  I cooked it on low for 4 hours and it was THE best turkey I've had in awhile.  Came out PERFECTO!  I also made mashed potatoes with gravy (for me), corn, rolls, sweet/dill pickles, olives, carrots and dressing.  Everything either organic or I canned it myself.  Even the stock I used in the dressing!  I was so proud of myself.  I have been preserving more and more food this year, and it has really helped.  Our food bill has been cut to pay for lumber, and recently our food animals.  It is a sacrifice, and has been very difficult to come up with delicious meals from my food storage.  I am really tired of wild meat and goat.  I'd love a good steak (sigh).  I opted for buying a calf and raising it myself instead of purchasing a small share of beef for the same amount.  So, unless PH approves more funds for a side of beef after Christmas, we will be beef-less until the calf is butchered.

My turkey stock is bubbling away.  I plan to let it simmer all night, and then will can it tomorrow, as well as, get laundry done.

PH and I are considering purchasing turkey poults after Christmas (in March) to raise to sell and to have for our freezer. 

PH is off until Monday, so once he is finished with the rafters, I am hoping we can secure the garden once again, because those darn goats have eaten it ALL.  I was able to glean 2 little radishes tonight.  PS#2 was tickled pink, as they came out of  "his" garden area.  I did notice that my leaf lettuce is struggling to come back, along with the pumpkins.  Barring a freeze, they should make it IF we get the goats under control.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Psalm 95:1-6
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." (KJV)

Chickens, Pigs and Cows - Oh My!

We had three of our chicks killed by our dog.  I was so sad!  They made it to 2 months old without casualty, but I let them out to free range in front of the barn a little, and they went into the dog kennel - dumb birds!

We lost 2 Americaunas, and 1 Buff Orpington.  We are now down to 19 birds ( 8 Americaunas, 9 Buffs, and the 2 chicks we hatched from the incubator, and they are 10 weeks old and MEAN!  They are part Buff and part Banty, and did I mention MEAN!  They will rush the fence and try to fight and peck.  They must be roosters!

I'll be working on cleaning out the coop this weekend, and hopefully getting the wire fencing up for the new chicken yard.  Once that is done, the "plan" is to order 25 Freedom Ranger (meat birds).  These will be in a brooder for a couple of weeks, and out in the tractor during the nice part of the day.  I'd love a chick room, like a friend of mine has...basically a permanent chicken nursery.  Some day (sigh).

We pick up our calf next Saturday.  He will be 6 weeks old by then.  I believe we will still have to bottle feed him.  I am not looking forward to that task.

We will also be getting our piglet soon.  I must work on the pen for it.  Not sure if it is a boy or girl yet.
This week has been busy.  We have been in a flurry of activity from schoolwork to errands to stacking wood.  We had really cold temperatures this week from 35-41.  We used the wood stove each evening so far, and had to use the kerosene heater last night as it dipped into the 30's.   Wow! It's only early November.  This does not bode well for the Winter.

I managed to can my chicken stock this week.  I will have more to do because my anniversary gift (beautiful Americauna rooster) went to chicken hell this week, and his carcass is in the freezer.  He attacked my 2 year old one too many times and PH had to blast him one.  PS#2 was very shaken, and is still wary of walking in the yard.  He hightails it for the nearest person when he sees the hens.  I've given him the job of tossing feed to the hens, so maybe he'll get over the trauma.

House progress is still ongoing, and I am getting very excited.  I can hardly stand myself!

Drought, A Little Rain, and more House Building

It's pretty dismal news.  According to climatologists, TEXAS will remain in drought conditions for 5-15 years!  I am so devastated, and have been praying for rain, and really speaking to God about his plans and intentions for us. 

We did receive 2 inches last week, but we need at least 15 to get out of drought status.  After checking my farm journal, I noticed that the past 3 years we received substantial rainfall, between 7 and 9.5 inches each September.  We didn't even receive 4 inches this year.  Our well has dropped over 40 feet, the grass is dead, and our garden didn't do very well at all. 

This week we've been busy preparing the cabin, barn and land for cooler temperatures.  We don't normally get too harsh a Winter, but my farm journal shows extremely cold temps around November, instead of just in February like the past 20 years.  We took the week from lessons for the girls to go through their clothing, clean their loft room, make their beds up, clean the woodstove, declutter, bring in wood, and get the place cleaned for a prolonged time inside.  It will start to get darker sooner, so that will force us inside, as living in the country means it's PITCH BLACK without lights. 

PH has been diligently working on the house, though I believe sometimes the stress is getting to him, and I know he is overwhelmed building it basically by himself.  PDs and I give him what help we can, but it's basically all on him. 

Here are a few pictures:

Went to the LDS Cannery again.  I am not an LDS member, but I appreciate their allowing me access to their Home Storage Center.  I am able to get #10 cans of a variety of foodstuffs for CHEAP.  I have been paying three times as much ordering through Shelf Reliance,  though I really like Shelf Reliance also.  But money is money, and food is food. 

I ordered sugar, oats and hot cocoa mix from them.  Came home and promptly made cocoa.  PS#2, an avid Starbucks fan at 2 1/2, loves their Hot Chocolate.  He was STOKED to find out I had a big can of it.  He drank two sippy cups FULL of HOT cocoa.  He LOVES HOT tea and cocoa.  The heat has never really bothered him, which I find odd.  A few members of my congregation also ordered through me, I packed and picked up their items, and will distribute on Sunday.

My baby chicks are growing so fast, and are doing great in the chicken tractor PH made for them.  As soon as, they are big enough to go in the big coop, I'll order my meat chickens to raise for butchering.  A friend also told me tonight about a baby piglet for sale for $20.  We plan to get it, and raise it to butcher.  PH wasn't too excited about a pet pig, until I told him I didn't want a pet pig, I wanted it for FOOD.  He okayed it then, so I contacted my friend right away.  I ams so excited!

All the canning I did early in the summer, has unfortunately not been enough.  I have been needing to eat out of my food stores, and it isn't lasting as long as I wanted.  Darn...I'll need to plant more next year, since my Fall garden isn't panning out.  The stupid goats won't stay out of the garden.  NONE of my pumpkins made it.  I was looking forward to canning the pumpkin.  Nuts!

Time to watch Jericho (again).

Water, water everywhere

We have water!  I am so excited!  PH opted to not repair the wiring on the previous pump.  Our old pump was a 7.5 hp irrigation pump that was here when we purchased the property (almost 4 years ago).   I've been wanting a way to get the water out of the well if our grid electricity went out.  We have a generator, but the old pump needed way too much electricity (amps) and our generator couldn't provide it.  So, PH (relunctantly) replaced the old pump with a 1.5 hp deep well pump that we can operate off the generator, if needed.

We will work on the non-electric aspect of getting water out of the pump, hopefully soon.  So, PH spent this evening flushing the tank, because the initial batch of water that was pumped into the tank smelled really bad.  Smells like sulphur, and when we would drink it, it tastes like when you touch a metal fork to a filling.  Pretty gross.  The water in the tank was emptied into the pond tonight, and filled with fresh water.  Tomorrow PH will replace the water filter here in the house, and we hope this takes care of the issue.  I am moving up the Berkey filter purchase closer to the top of the list.

I've been able to wash lots of clothes today, and hung most on the clothesline.  But due to rain in the forecast tonight, put the last load in the dryer (PH work uniforms). 

PDs and I also went through a ton of clothing today, and have a huge stack of clothes to get rid of, and one to put into a tub for winter clothing.  Washed sheets for the beds, and the girls cleaned out their loft.  I was able to wash dishes, mop the floors, and clean the bathroom as well.

On the list for tomorrow is cleaning out the fridge, finishing the kitchen, making Wild Mustang Grape Jelly, organizing the outdoor kitchen, cleaning the living area and decluttering lots of stuff, plus continuing with the laundry.  The PDs will be picking up trash around the land, and cleaning up the playground. 

Our chicks are scheduled to hatch tomorrow (13th of August), and tonight PD#1 heard a little peep, at first I thought it was the tea kettle, but when I opened the incubator, sure enough one egg has a cracked little hole!  I picked it up and heard a peep!  We are so excited.  We have a dozen eggs in the incubator and it'd be great if they all hatched, or at least most of them.  I wasn't sure our little banty rooster was doing his job.  My girls (hens) are bigger than he is, one is a Rhode Island Red and the other three are Buff Orpingtons.

I checked on purchasing additional hens and a rooster yesterday.  They were beautiful, but the gentleman was asking $25 a bird.  That is way too rich for my blood.  On the positive side, these people are fully aware of the potential problems looming ahead.  My first group of people in "main stream" society who have it going on.  They have two RVs, where family members have moved in with them.  They are raising chickens to sell for income, and have a huge yard (1 acre) to be able to grow a garden, and could even have a couple of goats.  I mentioned that to them, and the lady said it was in their plans.  I was very pleased to see "someone" waking up to what is going in the world around us.