Sunday, November 24, 2013

back from an absurdly long hiatus

Well, shit.

I have no good excuse for being incomunicado other than things certainly picked up speed here when the warm weather hit, I found myself working a full-time job and I just couldn't find a good rhythm for posting regularly. So I'm going to try once a week instead of every day, or every few days... or every six months, ayeesh.

My big camera has been mostly sitting on the shelf gathering dust, so most of these pictures are from my little G9 or my smart phone. Apologies.

Pictures explain better than words, but a few notable things:

- All our chickens are still alive, despite the fact that they rejected their luxurious and secure corn crib coop and opt instead to roost in the rafters of the barn, totally exposed to nightly predators.
- The pigs are fat fat fat, and Grumpig will be slaughtered next Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- We added an adorable kitten named Stinky Chester Rotten to our brood. He lives up to his name with excruciatingly gross farts. Nekkie has been training him well in vermin patrol. Chester is bestest friends with Tally.
- We swapped a motorcycle for a farm truck.
- Our hot pepper crop was, by far, our best garden investment this summer.
- Baby animals were born on our farm.
- Jay got his first deer of the season on opening rifle day last night.
- We got a chest freezer.
- It's full of meat thanks to a neighbor's cow breaking its leg.
- Jay has become the official baker in the family. His pizza is OUT OF THIS WORLD. We've also  stopped buying sandwich bread because of his mad skillz. His ciabatta bread is OFF THE HOOK GOOD.
- Our pastures are almost fully renovated thanks to the cows and some bush hogging. Our neighbor is coming back in the next couple weeks to bush hog one more time, and then we'll be done for the season.
- We had lots of visitors, including my Mom and Aunt and Jay's cousin and his wife. Now my other bro-in-law, his wife and my new nephew are likely moving from SoCal to Kingsport or thereabouts after the first of the year, woop woop.

Snap snap.

Bird scoping.

Happy farter.

The lineup (Nekkie is around somewhere).

Scary spider eating my fu dog.

Nekkie doing his Bastet impression.

I tried my hand at canning cucumbers.

We grew Tennessee Red Valencia peanuts. They are divine.

New farm ride.

The edamame was delicious (I haven't tried the sweet potatoes since curing and storing them under the house).

Racing at The Taz.

Organized chest freezer.

THIS CAT.

Tennessee sunset (I get treated to the most amazing sunrises and sunsets on my way to work).

Chicken and sausage gumbo. I didn't like it, but Jay did.

Someone needs to buy this piece of land I scoped out. Seriously.

Jay disassembled and cleaned a rifle his grandfather brought back from Japan
and asked me to document the engravings on it. 

Norman is Blackie's bull baby.

Munch.

Sorry, graphic.

And Norma is Big Red's heifer baby.

Aw.

Mutts waiting to see Jay's deer haul.

Good deal! Mmm, jerky and tenderloin.

Clearly a buck.

Sorry for the bloody mouth. It's what happens.

I told you, best buds.