***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[faerielady]

Quote:
Basically anything sustainable, I'm having to weasel into getting or fight tooth and nail for. James doesn't seem to understand why I want to do these things, and no amount of explaining is good enough for him. So, I just stopped explaining. I told him that if he wants to continue eating, then he needs to just "suck it up, buttercup" or go buy dinner from the fast food place.

Tonight, I made an awesome shepherd's pie. My daughter loved it. I loved it. I took him some to work (he's on mids), and he decided to chip in with the guys and order pizzas. I told him that was fine, but 1. don't expect me to go out of my way to deliver his dinner anymore and 2. bring home the dinner because it's now slated for leftover night. I really dislike having to hold my ground on this stuff, but I will.

Mainly because, well... saving money means more money to devote towards my likes, such as my chickens and the paint project, hopefully the dun laced wyandotte project, and others. I'm considering raising up some quick cornish X for meat if I can hide them in my backyard (say... Feb/March timeframe).

 

[Kassaundra]

I made spaghetti for supper. My ground meat was actually eggs, I've been trying to perfect a passible "ground meat" from eggs for a while. Today when I asked Gary how the eggs were this time as the meat, he said he didn't realize it wasn't meat. I make a very chunky sauce w/ veggies (squash, shrooms, onions, peppers) and my "noodles" were zuchini cut in julienne strips. Not a gluten in sight, mostly from my garden, healthy, low carb, and delish.

Growing the garden isn't as time consuming as putting the produce up! Freezing, canning, dehydrating etc....

The water does get pricey, but I think it's worth it. There is rain collecting, creative placement, and planting things that do well in our area/climate w/o so much babying. I am switching to soaker hoses for nearly the entire garden next year, and for most plants mulch is your friend.

 

[geckomama]

Morning Okies! Brrrrr.........it is cold out this morning! Windy, brrr kinda morning's remind me of why, at least for right now, it is sometimes a good thing to be stuck in a rental in a neighborhood. No critters to tend to..........only my kids to get to school.

Hope everyone had a good night, I can't sleep and have been up since about 3, so I plan on a laid back slow movin' type of day. Gonna make some soup and spend the day figuring out my next "home". Only have this lease through May and then have to go somewhere

 

[artsyrobin]

morning guys!! hey tara and cowboy! good to see you online!

lost my little house cochin, the failure to grow one- i knew she was on her way out, but sure gets me when they go

i am with you wayne, all the persimon seeds i've seen are spoons- so looks like a snowy winter, and need to make sure i double up on feed just in case

off to get more coffee...

 

[lynn1961]

Brr, a nice cool 37 degrees here in our area, just about 15 miles from Oklahoma/Texas border, looking like a cold, nasty winter on the way. Hope everone has a great day. Gotta get my tail in gear and go to work ! glad it is my friday though.

 

[jcatblum]

Fairelady - I have basically given up on sending DH lunch. He either let's it rot in his fridge or forgets to take it. Tuesday I even handed it to him & he still managed to set it back on the counter before he walked out the door. He does well with keeping some basics on hand & eating from his desk or fridge.

Kass drip irrigation worked well for me but soaker hoses were a waste. I put soaker hoses in the herb garden & they provided plenty of water but always dry rotted each yr. bought hoses 3 yrs in a row, each time different brands, stores, etc. they always broke in some way & never got more than 1 season of use. I have a bunch of drip irrigation from town thrown in a tangled mess in the barn, guess I should start straightening it out & see how much of it am I really going to use!!!

Thought I would go to the Newcastle auction this weekend, DH doesn't think I need too--- I know there is still alot of stuff to do before it gets way cold. Think I am going to search online & order the kids some sleds today. Each yr I keep telling grandma it is what they want for Christmas, since they are not something they stock often in Oklahoma. Last yr they kept talking about how awesome it would be to be able to sled out here, so I need to be prepared.

 

[mjgigax]

Quote:
I know it won't be free, but it'd be better for me, in season, and I'm spending that $75 in fruits/veggies in a month anyway. It's just a matter of control more than a matter of free, now that I'm really having to word it how I should have worded it in the first place.

I have a set monthly grocery budget, dh has an allotment set up so I goes straight into my grocery account each month. I buy all my garden & canning supplies from my grocery budget. He has never known about the cost of seeds & such. But when the water bill came I would sure hear all about it!!! He would always threaten to make me stop watering. For the most part a few 55 gal barrels caught water from the gutters & would keep my garden watered nice on the average yr. I also had the ac drip line going into my rain barrel. I would water by hand so it would take me about an hour each night -- I enjoyed watering by hand so I could check the plants regularly.

I like to hand water too but this Summer it was just too hot.

 

[mjgigax]

Quote:
So sorry you lost Little Red.

 

[faerielady]

37 degrees. Need more coffee.

 

[NanaKat]

Robyn..so sorry you lost your house cochin.

Jcatblum I've used soaker hoses for 15 years in the garden here at the farm...those black recycled rubber drippers. I set them in place and then trench the ground under them so they are covered by about two inches of soil. So not to spear them or cut them with the fork or shovel, I mark where they are with sticks. Some have lasted 4 - 5 years, others have just been replaced. Each year when I turn the beds, I take out the hose, give it a pressure check and use a small screw type metal hose band on any little jets. and then set it back in the bed where it was. I think what has helped them last is covering them and simple maintenance. The hose bands are about 37 cents...less expensive than replacing a whole hose for one or two leaks.

Wayne If you raise cattle for your own enjoyment, any you pick would do well on good pasture in Oklahoma. We have some Red that have a dark nose and feet so we know they have a black skin. I like the white faced ones we have in the pasture. We also had some pure bred Brahama to cross with Limosine several years ago. The F1 cross makes a great mother. We bred them to a Limosin or Angus bull and got great beef calves.

Cold enough this morning I was wearing gloves to do the chores. Moved a few pallets to strategic locations around the pens for wind breaks.
Gracie goes to the vet to get her stitches out and it's soap making day today. Then tomorrow we are bringing the herd home from the lease in Paden.