Happy Monday, all! So wonderful to read your posts, and see all the gorgeous pics of food and flowers!!! Such a blessing, you all are! Seems like its been forever. So much has happened-- some good, some not.
The weather here has been gorgeous- mid 70’s (f) Sunny, blue skies. The mosquitos are dreadful though. Lived here over 20 years and never seen them so bad this early in the season. The whole upper peninsula is notorious for its mosquito population. Years ago, 2 inmates escaped the max-security prison a couple hours from here… the mosquitos were so bad, they begged to come back to prison! LOL!
Despite the bugs, hubby tilled the garden a few weeks ago, and put the fencing back up. We had some very high winds soon after that, and it blew the fence apart. We lost power, the roof blew off the sauna down at the farm and many trees fell or broke. After repairs, I’ve gone out and roto-tilled the garden multiple times. Only way to keep the weeds at bay without chemicals. In between work and visiting my MIL in the care home, managed to make rows, and plant a few things. The butternut squash, pie pumpkins and green beans are up about an inch. Got a long ways to go, though, before I’'m done planting. This is early for planting here, but I’m going for it!
Some of the turkey eggs hatched, and we have a new crew of 7 baby turkeys. The 20 chickens are about a month away from egg laying. So, we are feasting on the rest of the turkey eggs now. Not as thick/rubbery as duck eggs, but huge and delicious. This is also a different breed of turkeys than what we’ve had before. The true bronze turkeys laid eggs that were bigger, but the yolks were much thicker than these. I’d have preferred the true bronze, but they didn’t have any. I was kinda hopting that our domestic turkeys would mate with the wild ones- cause those guys are BRONZE and beautiful! We had a whole flock in our yard for a week or two. Our two Toms are getting quite nasty now, so, turkey meat is going to be back on the menu in a couple weeks!
So far, no calves from the herd. But, we still have a couple younger ones - so, might get some beef in the freezer too. Ended up with 4 roosters from the straight run, so, There will be three of those boys getting cooked up as well. Only need one rooster.
My boss sold us some 20 foot chain-link panels, gates and footings that she has no need for anymore. (This is the same boss that lost her husband last year.) She said if we dig them out and haul them out - all ours for $100. There’s like 20 panels! We’ve got 3-4 more to move but wow. What a gracious and wonderful lady, she is! So far, we’ve constructed a chicken pen, and dog run. Next, the cattle are going to get a new outfit down at the farm. =)
Speaking of my wonderful boss…she gave me a whole month off work. So before my MIL had the stroke, we’d been planning to take our youngest kid out west for a vacation - to Yosemite, Tetons, etc… That was the plan. MIL has been moved to a care center, but, has had some ups and downs. Mainly due to a couple infections. SOMEONE decided she needed an anti-depres. which has pretty much just knocked her out and she sleeps all the time. We are trying to get that corrected, as she really didn’t need it. She can talk, and her swallowing is improving. Walking is improving, but, when they knock her out with meds, she has no energy to walk - so the muscle memory is suffering. Conference this week with the home to change things up.
The time off work begins in a few days, and boy am I glad! Somewhere amidst all the activities, and walking on concrete floors at work, I developed a case of extensor tendinitis. So, there is a lump on the extensor tendon - it just blew up about the size of a chicken oyster. (trying to use carnivore teminology here…) Can’t walk properly anymore as the foot/ankle/leg won’t flex as it should. After a day at work, I come home and take off my shoes and socks, and the whole foot is reddish-purple. The tummy is torn up inside from Ibuprofen and aspirin. Because of all the altered kind of walking I do now, the calf muscle feels like its going to snap. So, having some time off will help - as long as I can just rest it.
Other stuff - grandchild #6 should arrive 1st week of July…very exciting. Son #3 and his GF moved, and are doing fantastic. His boss gave him a raise after 1 month. That child LOVES working outdoors, and he is just loving life! I miss him, but, he calls and texts way more than he ever did before, so this is really nice.
Eats…the primary reason for being here … are improving. A lot. Done a couple 24 hour and 36 hour fasts. The pounds are slowly peeling off. Need to do more. Been making rump roasts, chuck roasts and burgers. Turkey eggs and bacon, laying off the cheese for the most part. Although - I"ve recently taken up making cheese as a hobby, so, I do eat some. Back to drinking the coffee black most of the time. If I feel like I need a dessert-y type thing, I mix in cream, MCT oil and a little liquid stevia.
Going to hobble around and hang another load of laundry outside, and maybe play in the garden a bit. My family enjoys a good bit of veg, and I usually give some away too. Maybe, if there is an overabundance, we can set up a roadside stand. =)
That’s about it for now. have a good one.