Fall Works = You Can Find Me in the Kitchen Again

 It's weaning season around here:

That means - yep, you guessed it - I'm in the kitchen again, but before the crew trailered the calves over from the north side of the ranch last week, Skeet and I walked out into the pens after breakfast and added Corid to the water troughs:

Hubby and I had put out 12 big bales of hay in the pens the previous evening:

Steer calves in one pen and heifer calves in the other - 176 steer calves and 114 heifer calves this year -a huge decrease since selling 70% of the cows earlier this year

They are a little disgruntled at being stripped from their Mamas, but after a day or two, they quit their bawling:

Monday I'm at the Sale Barn and I grabbed groceries after work. Tuesday I helped DH get get things ready and cooked a few things for the next day.

I cooked Wednesday - Thursday - Friday last week.

And Wednesday - Thursday - Friday this week. 

I haven't tried any new recipes so nothing to share - just tried and true favorites, but I've linked to posts of previously posted recipes. 

Breakfasts are always hard for me. I struggle with variety for the crew. I make Scrambled eggs - Sausage - Biscuits - Gravy - and fruit one day. I have a good Breakfast Pizza dish - bacon - biscuits - fruit another day. Breakfast Burritos - Fruit and Cinnamon Rolls or Donuts the last day. Scrambled eggs - pancakes / waffles - syrup -bacon - fruit another day. Scrambled eggs / Migas - sausage - breakfast potatoes / hashbrowns - biscuits - fruit the next day. Repeat. Sometimes I throw in a Honey Bun Cake or Pecan Pie Muffins or Blueberry Muffins into the mix.

I'm just making a list here for future reference:

1. Salisbury Steak - Pico - Scalloped Potatoes - green beans - One Hour Soft & Fluffy Rolls 

 2. Barbecue Sandwiches - Roasted Seasoned Potato Wedges - Pimento Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos - Corn on the Cob

3. Cornpone Pie - Taquitos - Homemade Salsa - Salad 

4. Brisket -  Baked Potatoes - Cole Slaw - Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins - Jalapeno Poppers

5. Steak Tapequena - Mashed Potatoes - Corn - State Fair Yeast Biscuits

6. Fajitas - Refried Beans - Salsa - Chips

Desserts:

Sopapilla Cheesecake - Spiced Apple Twists w/ Ice Cream - Strawberry Cheesecake - Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert - Caramel Fudge Brownies w/ Ice Cream - Buttermilk Pie

Plus DH got an Apple Pie in between that he didn't have to share. 😉

 The weather has been amazing. About 32° in the morning and 70° in the afternoon. Today they needed dinner at 10:30. It was so nice out that I had a hard time going back into the kitchen after grilling the Flank Steak for fajitas

and although I do love cooking for these boys, the thing I am most looking forward to now that we are done is leftovers...and a nap! Kitchen is closed. 😉

Americana Quilt

 I wanted to make a quilt for my folks' neighbors although they're much more than neighbors. Daddy called them 'the kids' because they were about 10 years younger and after 24 years they truly have become family. Through the years they have stayed with us and we always love having them

They're such good sports

One year they joined us for Thanksgiving. They are die-hard Longhorn fans and DH and I both graduated from Texas A&M. Anyone that knows anything about college football, knows that the Longhorn/Aggie rivalry is legendary. Well, just as everyone settled in and watched the game, our electricity went out...and stayed out. They jokingly accused us of deliberately turning it off and they were pretty desperate and my mom got pretty upset and kept telling us to 'fix it NOW'. Alas, it really was out of our hands so they figured they could at least listen to it on the radio in their truck, but they had to drive around a bit to get a signal because we lived in the mountains of far West Texas on a 7.5 mile rocky road. Every once in a while someone would take them a beer and snacks and peace reigned once again. 😂

One year I made them Longhorn Potholders and as I was buying the fabric, I lamented the fact that A&M may cancel my diploma and I told them it was proof of my love for them. I searched for a photo, but was unsuccessful so there's no proof after all...whew. 😉

They truly are a special couple.

Bob is a retired Air Force Officer so I knew a quilt in patriotic colors would fit the bill and I settled on one with an Americana vibe. I pulled lots of fun fabrics from my stash

settled on a simple hourglass block:

and pulled a blue Grunge from my stash for the binding and backed it with a tan Minky that shows Jackie's fabulous quilting

I am so pleased with the way it turned out

Classic and timeless

At 78" x 88" it's a good snuggle size and I hope it will be loved and used. Looks like it's off to a good start and that makes my heart happy!

Time Behind the Shovel

 We've got a lot of storage troughs on this place. We've never counted them up, but I think the number hovers around 60. And they get dirty...filled with silt and muck and moss and every so often they need cleaning out. 

Alas, we're still on this place without help and even when folks HAVE been at North Camp, it's been many a year since any of them cleaned out a storage trough. So, DH has been doing a lot of that lately and I've been helping when and where I can:

That means time behind the shovel:

We cleaned three out last Tuesday morning:

It's not a fun job

 but I will make it fun when we are working together:

Our trusty supervisor keeps a watchful eye on the operation:

                                           

Well good morning to you too Mr. Leopard Frog

All the amazing rain we've had this year has been such a blessing - pastures full of tall grass and weeds are always a good thing, until you go hunting for the valve box to turn off the water:

Treasure unearthed:

We've put 2 tiny goldfish in some of the tanks in the past and some of those fish have been busy:

As the water drained, I collected a lot of them and Skeet and I relocated them into a nearby dirt tank -

 Muck boots are definitely a plus on days like this:

Skeet is on the job and lets me know when I've missed one

Here, let me help:

Another clean tank and productive morning

                                          

I don't know how much help I am. I'd probably be more help if I shoveled more and clicked less - rest assured, I shoveled between shots - but I want to document these seemingly ordinary days because I think most of our days are filled with the every-day tasks that we just "get through" in order to get to the next thing and I choose to stop and soak in those moments and view them through a different lens. 

Each ordinary task or moment is a building block of blessings, a step in making a life and I want to look back and know I haven't taken any of it for granted. Even the days behind the shovel are worth treasuring. Just ask Skeet

Lots of Time Behind the Wheel

 Seems as if life has been awfully busy lately. On Thursday, Sept 30, we drove to Lubbock - 3 hours one way - for a couple of appts. Seems we have reached the age of becoming acquainted with doctors that end in -ist. Dermatologist and Audiologist during this visit. We try to bundle appts since it's such a drive. We popped into the new HEB grocery store before heading home. I do not enjoy grocery shopping, but if I were near an HEB, that may change - so many things peeked our interest

And we treated ourselves to a stop at Braums:

The next day my SIL drove through and stopped in for a visit. Her husband is a cow buyer and she mentioned a bull sale so at 8 p.m. we decided to attend a bull sale in San Angelo the next day - a 5 hr drive one way. That meant leaving the house at 2 a.m.

They had just gotten 2.5" of rain overnight and the pens were a mess. DH pulled on his irrigation boots and walked the catwalk and the pens, looking at the bulls before the sale

We're trying out a new breed of bulls to add a little ear and hybrid vigor to the herd

DH visited with the breeder and other area ranchers before settling up and driving back home - another 5 hours - 10 hours behind the wheel and a bull sale makes for a long day

We had them delivered a few days later and ran them through the chute

Where DH branded them before turning them out

Welcome to the Land of Enchantment

These are ISA Beefmaster Bulls from the Lasater line:

Thus far, they are very docile

We bought 6 hd

Sure am glad we've been blessed with rain this year 

and that they will have good grass this winter:

Welcome home: