Salsify

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how I was really uninterested in gardening this year.  How the seed catalogs with their beautiful pictures have been calling my name, but I haven’t even looked through them yet.

That all changed today.  Glenn called this morning to say he’d be home this afternoon after over a month on the road, and how he’d really like a home cooked meal tonight.   I mean, really.   Like if I didn’t have something cooked up for him when he got home, he’d get back in his truck and go to Anne’s house.  Or Elizabeth’s.  Until he found someone willing to cook for him. 

How rude.   Doesn’t he know that after that snow we got last night and all the slipping and sliding (and falling) I did while feeding this morning, the absolute last thing in the world I wanted to do today was cook?

I dusted off the crock pot, grabbed a meat bird that we had raised here on the farm this past summer, some onions, potatoes, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and some onion soup mix, then got to chopping.   As I was peeling the onions I was wondering what else I could throw in the mix.   I had some canned carrots from the garden, but wanted to save those as side dishes for other meals.  Then it hit me.  I had grown Salsify for the first time ever this year and had completely forgotten that it was still out in the garden.

Oops.

It’s 35 degrees out there, but that didn’t stop me from grabbing my hand shovel and heading out to the garden in a t-shirt to dig up Salsify.  I left the dogs napping peacefully in the house, but Major Tom and the guineas provided plenty of moral support while I was digging.  More than enough.  If those guineas ever shut up, I’ll probably think they’re dead.

Salsify roots are not much to look at, even after they’re cleaned.  They are much like small white carrots and you need to peel them to get rid of all those hairy roots.  Once they are cut or peeled, they brown quickly, so I didn’t get any pictures of the peeled roots.  I cleaned, peeled, and sliced one root at a time, then threw it in the pot.

 

 

Dinner is done.

I have never eaten Salsify before today, but I saved a few of the roots to slice and fry in a little butter and garlic for my lunch.  It was DELISH!   And how cool is it that I was eating fresh veggies from my Garden on December 31st??  I am now exited about gardening again!

Now where did I put those seed catalogs??

Shane Goes Home

 

Gus wanted a nice big horse that was well-broke that he could ride down trails for years to come.   Shane wanted a barn with a stall full of food, all to himself. 

Merry belated Christmas to the both of you!

Horse Hodge Podge

I took 60 pictures of just about every critter on the farm during my lunch break yesterday and since I haven’t been blogging much lately, I figured I’d catch everyone up in one very long blog post.  Filled with many pictures.  Dial-up people, please forgive me.

This is Ranger, the Quarterhorse/Paso Fino pony that came from a friend of mine after she lost her husband and could no longer afford to feed her horses.  He’s a sweet little guy that loves affection and I would just love for Fatrick’s family to adopt Ranger as well.  That would be a perfect home for him!  He could use a trim when the farrier comes out this weekend, but otherwise he’s in great shape.

 

Trista (aka Tiny Tude, Little Shit) came back a few weeks ago.  She didn’t click with her new adopters, but they did manage to break her of a couple of bad habits while they had her.  I took this picture right after her nap in the sun and she’s not quite awake enough to pin her ears back at me just for existing.

 

Four hay rolls are in with the main herd, but for some reason they all insist on crowding around one roll at a time.  See that big fat Willow belly on the left?  I swear that mare swallowed a Goodyear blimp.  I moved Sadie back in with the main herd a couple of weeks ago and it took no time at all for her to join back up with the Junior & Semi gang.

 

Sadie is also best buddies with Jolie Rose.  Jolie is a registered TNW mare that’s here for boarding and riding just for the winter.  She’s Gentry’s sister and her owner couldn’t take care of her over the winter due to bad arthritis in her back.  Jolie is a sweet mare, but very jumpy and needs a lot of saddle time to gain confidence in herself and her rider.

 

Classy went home on Wednesday.  She was adopted by a couple up in Wheeling who fell in love with her when they first came out a couple of weeks ago.  She’s to be a husband horse, but not until they send her off to the trainer’s for a month for a lot of saddle time.  Yay for Classy!

 

I end with a picture of Stormy.  Just because. :)

 

Oh, and be sure to check out the Summer and Traveler updates over on Rescue Recoveries!

Xena

I was over at Elizabeth’s house for dinner the other night, and after we finished eating she asked if I’d like to run down the road with her to pick up her puppy. 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Because if there are other puppies available and they look at me with those big puppy dog eyes, I will end up bringing one home.  Ya’ll know this about me by now.  Apparently, Elizabeth knew this about me too.

It didn’t help that the dirty puppies had huge wormy bellies and were dragging their mother down so bad that she wasn’t much more than a bag of bones and fur.  The owners said they couldn’t afford to get them all vaccinated or wormed, but they already had an appointment to get mom spayed.  Better late than never, I guess.

Mom is an Australian Shepard /Collie mix and they think the dad is the Puggle down the road.  Ewwww.  A Pug / Beagle mix?  What the heck kind of good idea is that??

Luckily for two of the pups, they turned out a lot like mom.  Elizabeth took home Austin, the biggest male pup, and of course I ended up taking home his smaller sister.

Say hello to Xena.  I let Glenn name her so he wouldn’t kill me for bringing home a sixth dog.  Worked like a charm!

 

The pups were born October 20th, so Xena is younger than Gidget, but about twice the size.  This doesn’t stop the two of them from being constant companions and play buddies.

 

Xena’s previous owners had a lone rooster that babysat the pups while mom was out and about hunting.  So she leaves the chickens alone, but LOVES to chase and try and herd the guineas!  It’s adorable how she chases them around the yard, like she’s on a serious mission to get them someplace.   It doesn’t matter where they end up, just as long as she’s the one that puts them there. 

 

She is now my little shadow.  I have to watch every step I take and make sure she’s not underfoot.  When I’m washing dishes (yes, I actually wash dishes now and then) you can always find her sitting between my feet. 

 

 

The pups may spent the first two months of their lives living outside, but it only took her a few days to figure out that she needed to go outside to do her business.   (Are you reading this Gidget??  Get the hint, ok little one?)

I am now up to six dogs and six cats.  I know I’ve said this before, but this is it!  OK?

Calvin and Stuff

A friend of mine recently lost her husband and needed to find homes for a few of her animals that she could no longer afford to keep.   Of course I said yes.  How could I not?

So now I have Calvin.  He’s a very sweet boy who hasn’t left my bed since he got here Sunday.  He spends all night on Glenn’s pillow, next to my head.  Each time I open my eyes I find him staring at me.  It’s just a little creepy.

 

He’s really just a big wimp who loves attention, but is too afraid of the other cats to leave the bedroom.  He used to get beaten up by the cats at his old home and he hasn’t realized yet that mine won’t hurt him.

 

He’s used to dogs and doesn’t seem afraid of them -- especially Gidget, who really just wants to lick Calvin’s ears.

 

I also took in one of her horses, Ranger, who is an absolutely adorable pony!  I haven’t even had a chance to take a picture of him yet and he’s been here for almost two weeks.  Classy has been adopted, but isn’t leaving until next Sunday.  Shane has also been adopted and is leaving either this weekend or next.   That only leaves me with two trained horses to adopt:  Flo and Molly!  What I wouldn’t give for an indoor ring or lighted outdoor ring right now so I could get some of these other horses trained!

I’ve been so incredibly busy and worn out that I can’t even get excited about the seed catalogs that are starting to come in.  This is hard to believe, but I haven’t even looked through any of them!  They’ve been sitting on my kitchen table for weeks, calling my name, tempting me with pretty cover art… and I just can’t pick them up.  I have very little interest in gardening next year because I know how busy I’m going to be.  We’re having a big event in June (I’ll fill you in on details closer to the date) and just preparing for that is going to take every ounce of energy and every free minute I have.

Most of my blogging next spring will be over on Training the Unwanted, since I have to get a bunch of horses trained before the event in June (including Maverick!!).  So please accept my apologies now for the inevitable lack of garden porn next year. :)

Gidget

I’d like to introduce you to the new love in Glenn’s life.  She’s a little Yorkie puppy that has stolen everyone’s heart.

 

 

It took her a week or so, but she’s finally gotten used to farm life and loves to go outside on nice days and run around like crazy. 

 

 

She’s also Lucky’s new best buddy. 

 

They sleep together.

 

They play together.

 

Constantly.

 

At all hours of the night.

 

They keep each other (and me) warm.

 

It’s a shame we all can’t get along this well (and be this adorable doing it)!

Big Mistake

I’m afraid I made a terrible mistake in letting Elizabeth adopt Buddy and Donkey.  Glenn and I went over for Thanksgiving dinner and saw how terribly neglected and unhappy the two boys were.

 

There were scratches and rubs…

 

Cookies galore…

 

 

And way to much nuzzling and hugging.  Buddy hated every second of it, can’t you tell??

 

And just look at poor Donkey!  He’s wasting away to nothing!!

 

The farrier never did make it here to trim Donkey before he left with Elizabeth, but he was out to her place Saturday to trim both boys.  I had tried trimming Donkey when he was here, but even with 3ccs of ACE, he was still a little hellion and I never did get much done on him.  So I knew he’d be tough for the farrier today and Glenn and I headed over with more ACE and muscle to help out.  We tried backing him into a corner of the barn, but he just bullied all of us around and kicked the farrier a time or two.  It took four of us, 5ccs of ACE, and a blindfold to get him down on the ground and keep him down while Brannon (my new awesome farrier) trimmed off as much as he could.  I didn’t have my camera with me, but trust me, his poor toes look MUCH better!  It will probably take a year or more to get his feet back to normal, but Elizabeth is determined to make it happen. 

 

 

Those poor boys.  I just hope they survive.

Stormy Girl

Stormy is doing GREAT!  She’s become an incredible farm dog, as well as my constant companion.  Even when Thor and Heidi run off for their morning jaunt, Stormy stays behind with me and helps me with chores.

 

 

We can leave her loose in the yard when we leave home and she just follows us up to the end of the driveway and watches us go, then heads back down to the house on her own.  She’s always in the yard wagging her little stubby tail when we return.  Thor and Heidi need to be locked in the house when we leave because they chase us down the road.  Bad dogs!

 

 

Bad or not, Stormy still thinks Ho is the bestest buddy EVER.  She’s still not sure about Thor.  I think because he’s such a big clumsy oaf that he scares her just a bit when they play. 

 

 

No dog could ever replace Brie, but Stormy is doing a darned good job of mending the hurt that Brie’s passing left behind.

 

The Other White Meat

 

Marilyn and Bacon Butt have been here for a week now, and finally gained enough confidence in their surroundings to come out of the shelter and play today.

 

And beg for food.  Of course.

 

The little buggers are really friendly and even introduced themselves to the dogs today.

 

 

Thor would just like to know how much longer before they’re cooked.

 

Check out that cute little heart on Marilyn’s butt!

 

We’ll breed Marilyn to another hog next year when she’s ready and Bacon Butt will eventually become… well, bacon.  And ham.  And pork loin.  And sausage…  so don’t go getting attached, ok?  Someone please remind me of that when it comes time to haul him to the butcher.

Life is good

 

 

I now have a replacement cord for the camera, so check in this weekend for updates on everyone over on Rescue Recoveries.

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was wonderful and full of tryptophan!