The Fruit of our Labor!

The Fruits we do not eat,  we drink!
They are fermented into Wine.

Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. We had loads of berries this year.
I harvest, clean and bag them to freeze until able to ferment into wine.


Pouring the blueberry,
blackberry on left
strawberry on right

These Wines are not the sickeningly sweet wines of the 70's, ie., Boone's Farm, they are surprisingly dry with subtle fruit flavor.  Instead of watching the fruit rot on the bush, preserve it--ferment it--add value to it--
Drink up and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Blessing and prosperity will be yours.....Psalm 128:2

Our Whitetails 2013

View our 2013 Whitetail Bucks.
We've purposely selected for a typical antler, as found in the wild.

Their antlers have been growing since March. The antlers grow for about 5 months
ending in August when the growing slows and the velvet covering is shed in September.

The photos were taken in August just before their growth stopped.

The above photos are the 10 point bucks we've bred.

                                          The monster look from most breeders of whitetails.

What look do you like?

The Bounty

This year I kept a list of what and how much came out of the garden.
Then I went to the local grocery store and got their prices. (conventional price, not organic)
Then I multiplied their price by my bounty.

The bottom line to purchase is: $ 1285.00        
                     
This is what I would of paid to buy the bounty.
My bounty is organic, not from California or Mexico, not weeks old, and not covered in chemicals.
The organic purchase price is quite a bit more. Since I figured the conventional price, the difference between organic and conventional would more than cover the cost of potting soil, seeds, canning and electric.

All food from the gardens was included, from the Spring greens and scallions and garlic to the late season corn, tomatoes and beets.
Also included were the value added canning. Turning the fresh tomatoes into salsa and spaghetti sauce, raspberries into jam and cucumbers into pickles.
Food was also frozen, ie., cabbage into cabbage rolls, chopped onions and peppers, and frozen broccoli.
Not included was all the fruit (blackberries, blueberries and strawberries) made into wine and the fresh cut flowers for the house.

The important message here, is not the cost or the savings but the veggies, brought to the table, every day, fresh from the garden.  Here is to your Health  !!!  &  vegetable gardens !!!

         "To dig & delve in nice clean dirt can do a mortal little hurt and save a ton of cash"
                
Almost forgot those potatoes, irish & sweet, hiding in the dirt, so I'll add a few more dollars to the
bottom line.

What is the Dumbest Farm Animal?

We all know it is not the dog or the pig.

It could be the cow, duck, chicken, sheep, goat, turkey, guinea or horse.
At one time or another I've cared for many types of animals from injured wild bunnies and guinea pigs,
when I was young, to whitetail bucks now.
Many people think cows are the dumbest, cause they kinda look that way and move slow.
I've seen calves get over a 8 foot fence to escape a wild bear. Not dumb.
Ducks and guinea hens can care for themselves, with no feed or watering needed, and they fly to escape danger. Chickens are much the same way, except maybe a little slower, excitable and flightier.
Sheep are one livestock, I don't have much experience with. Now, I do remember having a black ram that became delicious grilled lamb chops. The more I think of him, this ram, with his curled horns,
went after the bucks with their pointed antlers. The Bible says: "helpless like a sheep and lost sheep", but the black ram stood his ground in the deer pens and survived until he was large enough to haul away to the butcher.
Goats always get their horns stuck in the wire fence-time after time. Donald got the little Billy out of the fence wire 8 x in one day. You'd think that after 1 or 2 times they'd figure it out..........
Lately I have been moving my nanny goats from their main pen to the front pasture for fresh grass.
I go to the gate with a bucket of corn cobs and expect to see them waiting for me. They are around the corner and can not seem to figure out how to get to the gate. Now, they have been to the gate
hundreds of times. I have to walk into the pen and literally lead them, by their collar, out to the gate!
Every morning!
So, GOATS, are the dumbest.
Maybe because they ram each other on their heads. 
Maybe I am the dumbest, cause I have to go get their heads unstuck and lead them, time after time.
Maybe they like the attention and got me trained.
The dumbest farm animal isn't a cow, a goat or a chicken. As it turns out, the dumbest on the farm
is probably me.

Farmers need to pay attention to what their animals are telling them,
And to be a great farmer, we must try listen to the animals. :)

Nubian goats with their floppy ears.