Thursday, May 28, 2009

to beet or not to beet

that was the question. after a bit of deliberation we decided to pluck a few of the crowded beets that had younger fellows waiting to fill their void. kassi played the courier and presenter.

the beets were fabulous. tabitha steamed the tops and bottoms and served them separately. they were like sweet butter. i love beets and my affair with them was bolstered by these glorious examples. to that end we have decided to plant another double row of them. that will make three. luckily tabitha loves beets also.

another culinary development happened today. we got our half beef back from the slaughter house. he was grass-fed with the exception of some bribery grain to keep him friendly. we had burgers, the kids favorite. extra sharp cheddar and garden fresh arugula were only real condiments necessary. within the next few days we'll tear into the steaks. i look forward to that.

we mowed and mulched more on the tomato plants today. they seem very happy. the stupid wheat straw that i bought for that original purpose had so much seed left in it that i could have spread it on our pasture to re-seed it. or, i could have harvested all the new wheat grass and had a few mornings of wheat grass juice.

i also made the pulley operated ramp/door retraction mechanism for the chicken coop. it took a little adjusting to get it to operate smoothly. it makes it easier for the person putting up the chickens to close their door and lock it from outside their pen. no more tracking through the chicken manure each night.

i tried it tonight in the near dark and it worked wonderfully. the girls must have liked it also since they laid eighteen eggs today. i can't remember the last time that we got eighteen eggs.

kassi has taken to the computer so much so that she is standing over my shoulder waiting for me pass the baton.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your blog, via feed, for a long time now. Ive always dreamed of homesteading - so I enjoy living vicariously through your entries.

Im an artist, and I've been collecting photos for a future series I want to do on children in summer. I'm completely captivated by the image of your daughter in the garden, and I would love permission to use it as a reference pic for a painting.

You can see some of my work at my occasionally updated blog studiotau.livejournal.com or my neglected website studiotau.com.

I hope you say yes! (fingers crossed) If so, a larger file size would be enormously helpful - but I can work with what you have posted here. When I do complete the painting, I'll send you a print!

Omelay said...

it would be fine for you to use the image of kassiopeia and her precious beets.

just e-mail me and i'll reply with the larger photo of my daughter.

we would enjoy a print of her when you are finished. btw, my wife really enjoyed your broody hen painting.

i tried using you contact form without success.

k-)

Rixa said...

Mmm, I love beets. We have small 4x4 square foot gardens so I can only plant so many (some silly former homeowner spread gravel all over the nice sunny part of our yard, so we have to build raised beds if we want gardens since it can't be tilled).

kentuckyagrarianwannabe said...

Karl, I really don't care much for beets anymore, but when I was about 3 years old my mom had to hide them from me I ate so many. When I would go to the bathroom I would pee red.

Ron said...

That's a great picture! Eventually you really will talk me into trying those things. :)

I've fantasized about rigging up a door for the coop on a timer here... then decided I would just never ever leave the homestead ever again. hehe

We fight for computer time here too... I'd send over a dress-up games link but we'd never hear from you again...

Ron

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