Mustard Mayo Sauce

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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Mustard, be it bright yellow and smooth an creamy, be it course with dark brown or even black mustard seeds, or a blend of the above, be it a tiny bit of keens mixed in there for some extra heat..  its used in many ways but often overlooked as a very good and cost effective in making a stir fry sauce.

Because there are so many different kinds of mustard, certainly you can grow your own seed, (the most frugal way for sure) and there is all kinds of price points on different types.. however I made the point of going to the store and making sure that they still sell the big bottle of just no name type mustard at a really great price (so far)

Mayo is the second part of this sauce and I will admit that its a bit hard to find a good price on these or them on sale but if you watch carefully you might find it, again you can go no name, you do not need to go spendy on your favorite mayo to get a good result.. I make homemade most of the time but I have a favorite store kind as well.. (don’t we all!) 

Make your stir fry, pick you veggies, your meats, it can be used over rice, with pasta and even on potatos in a pinch, or just as its own meal..  I am assuming here that you can make a stir fry, I am just on the sauce on this post.. 

a super easy simple frugal sauce..  (our local small single use jars of stir fry sauce which not that long ago was 99 cents a jar went up to 1.99 a few years ago is current sitting at 2.99 to 3.49 depending on the store) That’s a crazy amount to add to a stir fry given the price of veggies.. thankfully stir fries really do stretch the meat portions as well..

At the most frugal its a simple 2 to 1

2 parts mayo to 1 part prepared mustard sauce, a good pinch of salt and at least 1/2tsp of fresh cracked black pepper.. , put them both in a bowl and blend it together and then drop it over the hot cooked stirfry, stir it though to coat everything, turn off the heat, just let it warm though and serve..  

The price point on this is outstanding and you can funk it up..

  • try adding a bit of steak seasoning to the blend, it can be steak or chicken.. both work really well start with 1 tsp and blend it in before adding
  • chicken cajun spice, you would not think it would work but it so does, gives you a spicier dice, add a bit of fresh hotter peppers in the dish and excellent.. 
  • one tsp of worchestire sauce, taste and see if its enough for you if you like that undertone flavour go a full TBSP
  • 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of lemon pepper.. this will pop that citrus undertone and keep that pepper hit as well.. 
  • Add 2 tbsp of maple syrup.. with sea salt and cracked black pepper with 1/2tsp of hot pepper flakes.

Now lets play with the mustard itself.. 

Grainy mustard, totally different texture and look to the dish

Honey Mustard- its classic and just yummy

Horseradish Mustard- one of my favorites, If I am adding lots of  darker fuller flavoured greens to the dish, this is my go to.. 

the only one that hubby and I have ever tried that be both went.. nope.. was Dijon.. if you love it, try it, maybe it will work for you but not for us.. 

Do you make a Mustard Mayo sauce? if so.. do you have a new spice blend for me to try? What is your favorite way to spice it up? Is the price of Mustard in your neck of the woods still reasonable?

 

 

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Just Another Day on the Farm Blog Happy 11th Birthday!

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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WHAT!!!.. 11 years! WOW!

Wow! 11 YEARS AGO, I wrote my first post..  

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Creamy Rice Salad

1 cup of uncooked Red Rice (which if you have never had is as close as I have found to wild rice in taste without the very heavy cost to go with, its a good chewy and nutty Rice) Cooked per instructions. Then put in the fridge to get cold
1/4 green pepper diced
10 mushrooms diced
1/8 Large Purple Onion Diced
1 Stock Celery Diced
1 Large Leaf of Purple Cabbage Diced
1 clove of Garlic-Diced

The veggies were fried up till just starting to soften, then spread out and cooled in the fridge till cold.

Dressing
2 Heaping TBS of my homemade mayo
1 Heaping TBS of my homemade Greek Style Yogurt
1 TBS White Wine Vinergar
1 Tsp Raw Honey
1 Tsp of my Dried Basil (the spice one)
1/2 tsp of Dried Ginger, Black Pepper, Salt

Mix together the Rice, Veggies and Dressing, Add 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds and 8 half whole raw walnuts chopped.

I took a pie pumpkin, Cut it so that the bottom will be 3/4, with top 1/3, cleaned out the insides (don’t forget to keep the pumpkin seeds for later use) and wrapped it up in foil and baked it till just done.

Split apart, drain any extra water inside it and allow to become cold.. Take Salad and fill the inside bowl, then top to be able to serve, just lift the lid and vola..

This salad can be eaten as side for sure but as it was to be a starter, I brought a fresh baked loaf of my sweet, soft and tangy buttermilk bread that I made yesterday. So I will cut up the fresh bread to be served with the topping of the Salad..

There it is and in many ways it perfect.. it is my own photo, I still try and take almost all the photos used on my blog, (its now common for most blogs to use “stock” photos as its so much less work and they are all sized up and ready to go) I was finding my way on how I would write out my recipes and I still do the same to date..  I had already started using farmgal and home made bases, I would later get to the point that I would also put up two recipes, the farmgal farm one and one based more on things gotten from the store.

I still write in personal way, I have always been part journal, part homestead, part garden part photography.. I like to intermix the posts.. I can not see that changing in the future.. 

Thank you to all my readers over the years, the ones that have come and stayed, the ones that have come an gone, the single one time viewer.. Every single one of you helped make this blog!

To my regulars.. you are wonderful! 

Onward we go

 

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Hello November..

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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What a fall, we got our first killing frost Oct 25th, that is the longest garden fall without the killing frost I have ever had in 17 years on the farm..  Did your killing frosts come early,  on time or late? There is lots in the gardens that is still doing well and can be harvested but overall the main push is done.

October unproccessed went well, to the best of my knowledge the only thing that would not meet the rules was the color dye in the cherries that went on my outstanding yummy ham with pineapple birthday supper.. it was worth it..

I am still amazed that its November, where did the time go? I am getting notices about black friday sales, whoa.. slow down folks.. I am not ready for that yet..  not that I ever do Black Friday sales in person (its not as big of thing in canada, but its getting bigger, but it tends to be “big toys”).. but I have used online Black Friday Sales to get really good sales on things I have watched and waited for sales thought out the year.. but I do not expect that it will be so this year..

November is normally that month I do my garden reviews, finish out my butcher plans, finish out my carry over breeding flocks and herds, check my seeds and figure out what order or at least start working on the list..

Can’t say I am there yet.. so SO! not there yet.. I think in large part because there is so much “other” stuff on my plate at this time.. I just want to enjoy the now, finish things up and move into the Christmas season.

Hubby’s work is already asking for timing on taking time off.. its very strange to be figuring that out when you are already working from home full time. So I recommended that he just be “that” person that works christmas eve and the days between and then we take a four days off after new years and get double weekends and 10 days off for the cost of 4..  looks like that is a go and all the folks that want the days off with little ones at home are happy as well.. win-win

In the month of Nov, we have ferrier, vet, dental (human) and eye doctor..  its the big fancy eye doctor for hubbies follow ups.. which is good because at the moment here in the province we are having a big old fight over money..  how much our province should pay per visit for eye care..

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-eye-doctors-parents-1.6214818

“As of Sept. 1, 98 per cent of optometrists have been withholding their services from the 2.9 million patients covered for eye care under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), including kids under 19, people 65 and older and those with certain eye conditions.

Initially, Bishop assumed she could pay for Jack’s eye exam with private insurance, but provincial legislation doesn’t allow that.

At the centre of the dispute is how much optometrists should be reimbursed by the province for OHIP patient care. Right now, the province pays on average $44.65 per exam, which optometrists say has increased by only $5 over the last 30 years and covers about half the actual cost. 

It’s the lowest rate in Canada, says the Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO). Alberta pays $56.32 for a children’s eye exam and $80.70 for seniors, according to a 2017 Alberta Health Care Insurance”

The last time I called in to book, it was a 9 month wait time to get a spot and then it was bumped and bumped again for covid, the back up lists were long.. now this started Sept 1st and its Nov 3rd..  so that is at a min, a two month backlog and growing. I get why they want the raise and they really did go to the table to try and sort it.. none the less..  I am glad that while our regular eye doctor and clinic (and they are awesome) are on strike that my hubbies Diabetic Eye doctor is not as they are under a different plan with the province..

Wish I could just pay out of pocket and so be it but that is not legal and so it can not be offered in province.. I am starting the process of figuring out how to book far enough in advance to get my eye exam and check up in 2022..  I remember when you could call and get in within 4 to 6 weeks.. boy those days are long gone..  I expect that in the pay for the service province that you have must shorter wait times but I could be wrong? When you called for a eye exam, how long did you need to wait to get a appointment?

Mutter, Mutter, Putter, Putter..  last year today was our first snow fall.. this year green and wet, so wet, lots of rain.. at least the ponds and the well is going into winter full and I will admit that I have been successful in my worst pasture that I put on some push grazing/some mowing, and some gardening spots let it fallow this year.. and it really showed great improvement..  it also showed me by the plants that grew what and were we need improvement, were we are good and where we are gold..   Somethings are.. that needs to be dug out, and then fire wand treated over and over.. that area is ready for some re-seeding and its good.. that area really need a willow tree..  a big old wheeping willow I think..  they grow straight up for about 10 feet then start tipping over and down.. grows 4 to 6 feet a year on average and needs only a pen around it for the first while, then the sheep can graze under it and keep it trimmed..  but it will help dry that area of the pasture as well as provide shade and be a “grandfather tree” size wise in the area..  I could regrade that area to try and help push the water down and fit with it.. or I can just plant a willow tree and work with nature..  I am going to plant the tree 🙂

Point in fact I will be planting lots of trees over the next years.  There is a joy to plantings trees, something to whole to it.. I am planting a lot of native trees but I am also going to plant carefully picked trees from other counties as well..  some from Russia, some from China and Some from other northern climates.. I am not a purest as many are these days..

I grasp and understand the value of native, I do.. but I also know that our country while we do have some work done by ottawa and now our U of Sask is our golden child when it comes to breeding and putting out trees, bushes and so on for our climate.. we need to respect the work done by other counties..  The simple truth is they put more money into it..  (not saying I agree with choices made by the goverments please do not get me wrong) but they put a lot of money, time and space to some amazing projects on creating food producing trees, bushes, canes and plants and I for one will give them that due..

I have my fingers crossed that many of the things I am planting and will be planting will live on well after I am gone.. I truly hope so..

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Check your boots..

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

This is something that I have to admit that maybe? other peaple do but I expect that many peaple are like us.. we had a shoe size that we grew up and got.. in our case for years hubby has said Men’s 10 standard size and I used to have a ladies 12 or men’s 10w..

In the past couple years, I really found some 12’s work great but many times I need a ladies 13 and I was like ok.. so my feet grew a size.. and I adjusted, after all I can always tell if the shoes or boots do not fit..

What I did not realize and I think its fair to say that Dear Hubby didn’t grasp was the effect on his feet, its become clear that he had issues with his blood sugars well before it was found and should have started treatment and meds at least a few years before we found out..

Now Dear Hubby has always had “cold feet” since I meet him in mid 20’s, I run hot, he runs cold.. I am in a sheet, feet out, he is in sleep pants and warm socks with two blankets.. we honestly gave up on making up the king size bed the same years ago, we have a king bottom sheet and two sets of twin on top with our own blankets and so on.. its the just the way it needs to be

Now I had gotten him new shoes and boots, I mean high quality with fancy insoles that adjust to your feet and so on.. and I asked about fit and got its good..

Then came the first foot issue, no details but it included ER visit, treatment and care and so on.. which lead us to his first full check up and testing with his diabetic foot nurse.. and again, not going into to details..

Here is the important take away.. trace your feet on a piece of paper (good thicker paper is better then really thin paper) and then cut it out, one for left and right foot, get out your measurement tape and do the measurements and write them down.. then put them in your slippers, shoes, runners, boots and muck boots..

If you get lines, wrinkles in the paper after you do a reasonable amount of adjustments getting it into the shoe or boot, it does not fit your feet.. want to take a guess how many of hubbies foot wear point in fact fit him..

ONE.. his good leather slippers which I had gotten on sale because they are 10.5.. they fit him.. all his older footwear and all the new high end costly footwear I had gotten him.. NOPE>. NONE>> NADDA!

then I took the measurements and had a good hard look at a good amount of shoes, he does not need more width, he needs a 10.5 in most cases and depending on the maker a 11.. how many years has he been wearing the wrong size?

Back in the day and maybe in some higher end shops they still do it, I remember them as a child putting my foot in the sizer but I have not even seen one in years? I certainly have not seen it in any of the stores I normally buy our boots at.. do you have a old fashion shoe store that still checks your foot size? when was the last time you measured your feet? Did you find you needed a w as you aged, have you gone up a whole size in your 40s or 50s?

For now, the house wear is the leather slipper with good rubber soles, and a cheaper but carefully selected pair of light weight hikers will hold us till the first of dec which was the first we could get in to see a Podiatrist and get a full check up and just for him footwear made.

Bottom line.. just like we get used to saying Size X for our jackets, or our pants or dress size.. we can get a little to set in our ways in regards to saying a auto reply and look for our shoe size.. its a small thing to check that can have a massive impact on our overall bodies health..

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Happy Halloween 2021

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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Happy Halloween!!

This weekend on the farm is wet, soppy drippy, still raining (cold rain) high of 6 and all my wonderful plans have needed to be cancelled..  I will fully admit that I am sad about it.. I wanted to see friends and outfits and take photos and share candy/goodies and hear laughing.. 

 

Instead we are slogging in boot sucking mud, the house is doing a battle between smelling like gingerbread and wet dog, my floors are covered yet again in small, med and large foot prints that need another cleaning..

 

Still Sir Bells went to the vets on friday  (who confirmed I was right that Bells is a Sir and a baby boy) and he is almost 3 pounds now, got a perfect bill of health and his first vaccines.  He is very full of himself and then some..   

I wish you all a All souls night or Happy Halloween and so on.. See you all in Nov.. 

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Birthday Weekend Away

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Just some of the fun on the birthday weekend away at a dear friends place..  its been just wonderful..

My main birthday presents was two new backdrops and two new light boxes for taking indoor photos and I have been having a great deal of fun with it..

Lots of time on the Quad and bush time..  pretty view indeed, all taken out by Bon Echo Area

Can you spot the beaver.. its very tricky but I swear to you there is one in there LOL

Ps, it was raining at the time so the rain is what is making the water dance..

Amazing sunrises and sunsets..

Love my birthday flowers.. so pretty..

Hope you had a good weekend as well..

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Homegrown Peanuts -Zone 5

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Late last winter or very early spring depending on how you look at it, Dear Hubby said I would like to grow peanuts again this year..  we have grown them before with moderate success.. its very tricky to give them enough heat and long enough days to full finish the peanut..

So I ordered the seed peanuts from OSC (Ontario Seed Company) these peanuts have been bred for canada, well at least the southern zones..  they need 120 days min and more is better.. and they are space hogs.. they really are, with each peanut plant needing 36 inches each, fat and full and because of how they grow you need to stay on top of weeds and keep a bare soil under the plants themselves, you can mulch on the sides but not under the plants themselves.

Now if you have grown peanuts this is old hat to you but if you have not, its a funky plant.. it grows bushy with leaves that will remind you a bit of clover or at least it does to me and its flowers are lovely yellow, its a pretty plant in the garden, you could get away in the right places using it as a “edge” plant and no one would be any the wiser that you are growing peanuts.. they would just see a three footish high green row with pretty yellow flowers..

Once the flowers bloom, the stamen which is dark purplish color will head out and down.. down, down.. into the ground.. that’s right.. the peanuts are not going to grow on the roots of the plant but are in fact growing to grown on ends of what was once the above grown flower.. how freakin cool is that!.. now the first big push on the early flowers and the best producers are going to the flowers that went in clusters at the base of the plant,

I find these the most productive and the ones most likely to finish.. the secondary blooming which is lovely to look at,  will produce more single peanuts if they reach full size on the lines outward..  the more mature peanuts will have lines on them when they come out of the ground..

Ideally leave them till frost nips them.. we did not do that this year because I needed to make the choice between pulling the plants still green with hints of yellow coming at the end of a extra warm spell just before extreme rain coming and risking rot..  Given the amount of rain we have had, I will take the loss we might have gotten if I had been able to wait for frost, (which is to be coming today)

Once they are pulled out, they must be hung to start curing..  they filled the whole of my living room on laundry cloths dryers.. with a fan on 24 hours and a small heater for just a bit of warmth without to much..  Once they are dry enough, shake off the extra dirt and keep letting them dry down..  on average it takes about 2 weeks but weather does play a factor..

Then take them off and decide your choice, wash, salt boil and then roast them, or dry them, brush the dirt off, then dry oven roast them..  I brushed them, did a slow low dry for 24 at herb setting on the dryer, pulled any thing that did not pass the test after that finally drying out.. which was about 5%, and then into the oven for 45 min they went.. I started take one out and cracking it and testing it for being ready at 40 min and this batch was perfect at 50 min..

I love that we have one more choice to grow “fat” on the farm but in the garden.. Its one of the few perks of the changing weather patterns here on the farm, more heat units, longer falls.. I have to admit that I have given though to growing peanuts and sweet potato’s as the main summer crops in the geodome, the extra days, the extra heat and the warmer soil will just make those crops thrive..

After all I can grow greens, salad fixes and more in the main and food forest gardens very well all spring, summer and fall..

Do you grow peanuts? If so do you grow just a few as a treat feed or do you grow a couple big good rows for your own peanut butter? Do you like salt boiled peanuts? Dry Roast? I love the skins on the fresh peanuts, fresh peanuts are just more.. yum.. double yum!

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Gas Price and Rising Costs

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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The little Swift gets amazing gas mileage for which I am grateful but even so the costs to fill it are rising up and its fall which means that its time do a full rotation on the winter storage gas in case of power loss due to winter storms, high winds and ice storms..   The longest we have been without power is 5 days but the farm was without power for 3 weeks during the ice storm.  we are on a very small grid, less then 300 on our loop.. and while I will give credit that most of the time they get the power back within 48 hours.. anytime there is something that hits bigger/wider.. our little grid is most certainly not considered among the “lets get that one done now list”

A “facebook” friendish in a local group was taking about price of gas as the group was talking about that it could reach 2 dollars a liter or for my USA Friends that would be 4.5 liters per gallon so that would be 9 dollars a gallon.. currently locally I am paying 1.50 a liter or 6.50 a gallon.   What is gas prices at your local area currently?

Gas mileage certainly was a factor when we were looking for our coming vehicle and we had indepth talks about eletric vs hybrid vs gas..  its far more tricky then you would think.. Maybe you live in a place that has good power rates but we do not..  given the massive lack of charging stations, the only thing we could consider is hybrid.. and we did look at it but then we also looked at our planned trips, places we were hoping to go (all in canada) its a massive country and so much we have yet to see but its not developed yet for hybrid or battery.. its fine for the small city driving, its fine for the main highway if you are careful and plan well..  but once you get off the main highway.  No, Nope..

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Now trust me, while we are dreaming of packing up, loading the dogs and with planning for the farm and gardens/harvests and more, we are also aware that the world is in flux and that it might or might not come to pass..

Gas prices have a massive influence on many things, far more then meets the eye.. it effects layer after layer after layer.. and each layer adds just a bit more pressure and a bit more cost to goods. Goods that are already costing more for a number of reasons..   and will continue to rise at least for the next while..

I am watching as peaple that have for the past 19 months said again and again.. just a bit more and we will be back to normal.. o peaple.. back to normal.. i guess that for some its possable. However for most.. that before is gone..

Rising interest rates, Inflation, recession (lets hope) Depression, the unevenness of the global view means that we are in for a lot of coming hurt..  Even for those of us that have “step out sideways” on the system, who have made the choice to live on a different beat.. we have been harshly reminded that we still use the system..  Reminded by needing health care, reminded that we still use “go to the store and get X or Y”

I was a 80’s child in alberta and let me tell you with a pipelining father, it was a very rough time.. to say that we were poor at times is a soft way to say it.. and I will leave that there.. but even as young as I was I remember a number of stark things that happened..  I remember sitting and listening to the adults talk and I can honestly say that listening to peaple talk on the groups of current issues, I am seeing history repeat itself.. the same questions, the same worries, the same fears..

It was a long slow 10 year crawl up into the 90’s and for some they never recovered, for others they hit the sweet spots and thrived.. I expect that will be the case again..  I am honestly not going to worry about the 10 year plan, its there.. I think like so many, I will just in the here and now.. with a side eye on the winter and 2022..

I think a few of my closest friend are going to be giving me a rant or two over a coffee while they snarl at me.. you see we all had sit downs and real hard talks 10 weeks or so before the lock down, I took the time to book/drive/lay out what I felt was coming and how could we help each other, how can we prepare etc..  and I made it clear at that time that I felt that 2022 was going to be “Big BAD B$&#h” year that we need to get ready for..  I really had hoped I was going to be wrong.. I wanted to be wrong.. I wanted them to come back to me and say.. ha.. WRONG..

Sadly I do not think that they are going to get to tell me I was wrong.. I think point in fact that we will be sighing deeply and having heart to heart talks on the hardships, on the pressure being felt, on the modifications being made..

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We will also see hope,  We will listen to music,  we will make music, we will sing, we will dance, we will dig fingers into wool, into soil, we will gather, we will see the things that went and are going right, we will see the light in peaple we care about, we will smile and laugh at the children enjoying simple pleasures, we will snuggle our cats, our dogs..  we will make and eat good food, we will hold some things in higher regards,   We will share what we have and help each other in so many different ways..

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In short despite it all there will be flowers in 2022.. do you know how I know this.. because we will plant them, tend them and stop and enjoy them..  There will be time made to stop and smell the roses..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 9 Comments

Fall and Garden Burn out..

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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It happens to all of us.. at some point there is a garden burnout..  Where you look at the last of the things coming in and sigh, groan and go NO MORE!   Of course there is more.. so much more.. there are things drying down and curing across your whole living room hanging on the dryer racks (peanuts) you have not seen your dining room table since spring, first it was place to start seeds, then it was seedlings and then it was harvests.. so many harvests and cooling jars and more..  honestly I have not used my dining room table for anything not garden/food related for over 6 months now..

And what a garden year! I mean its a three crop year.. and it flowed.. so much food!.. food that has been eaten, food that has been processed, food that was gifted to the community.. The bounty of the plants this year, or perhaps that was the bounty that my wonderful bees and food forest gifted.. wow!

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On a normal (haha what’s normal) year we would have had our first hard frost by now and I would be yes..  we are still picking ripe tomato’s from the garden.. FROM the GARDEN..  it was 29c yesterday and it is normally 12c..  Today 22c for the love of.. I turned on the AC for a couple hours to cool the bedroom because the bedroom was to hot for me to sleep and the outside air temps were not dropping fast enough and I am at that starting the pre-hot flash age..  

Every dresser in the bedrooms is covered in sqaushs and we still have so many things in the gardens, that last batch of tomato’s peppers to pick, for the love of hubby brought in baby summer squash, but there are beets, turnips, cabbage, celery and so on out there yet.. 

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At this point the urge to start turning more into fodder becomes huge.. I mean it not wasted its cuts the feeding costs on the livestock and that is a very good thing with the cost of feed right now.. 

I need to turn my eyes towards fall butchering, the duck flock is the big one that needs to be butchered out and into the freezer and jars it goes.. plus dog food and blood meal for the compost and gardens.. 

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The colors are telling me, good job.. and time to slow down.. sometimes we need to take those moments and really enjoy them.. like bush time..  (yes the boys are wearing hunters orange for safety, so were we) what a mushroom picking season its been, between the rains and these warm temps the local woods, fields and so on are putting on multiple flushes of fruiting bodies.

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But I know that there is still a long road ahead before true winter arrives and there is work to be done! Tell me I am not the only one LOL.. What do you have left in your gardens? Are you done garden canning this year? Are you looking at the changing leaves and getting out the hunter orange? Got Tags? 

 

Posted in Food in jars, Food Storage, Forage, Garden harvest, photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Maverick Truck

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

maverick

We have been Vehicle Shopping.. and its been utterly brutal..  I mean I know that there are peaple that like to car shop.. we are not those peaple..  Vehicles are for us are workhorses that get the job done.. we are not need a new one every four years.. In the 23 years we have been together, we have never made a vehicle payment.. we have always bought outright and we do regular care etc but we drive our vehicles till they are done!

So when a couple years ago, we started really giving the “saving funds some extra bumps”  and we started reading/research and really having long talks about what we wanted in our 50’s vehicle..  we built and rebuilt our list and saved..

Our awesome 1999 car is on its last tire, no point in fact its the transmission that is going and there has been a few whoa’s on getting stuck in different gears and our 2007 little cherry swift is awesome, and still going strong moterwise (other then it sounds like a teens race car) but its body is truly and fully rusting out..  lets put it this way.. its legal but if it got taken off the road and had to pass a test to be on the road.. haha.. rolls eyes..  still as my guy says, moter sound, breaks sound, drive it till it drops..

Due to health reasons over the past couple years for both of us, we have been reminded that while we LOVE our farm, we miss our very adventure filled 20/30’s.. we have sunk roots down and deep into the land we live on.. but we both really miss spreading our wings and hitting the road..

Road Trips feature in a BIG way in our 50’s plan (we both turn 50 in 2022) and we would like the next 10 years to be filled with amazing places and memories made..  so this has a huge effect on the vehicle shopping..

So after research, I had a list I wanted to test drive, hubby had a list for us to test drive and we booked times and went though all the fuss and we figured out very quickly, we were hooped..

a) I am heavy, big and it turns out that at least 1/3rd of the ones on our list had really snug fitted bucket seats..  well.. let me tell you, that rise, its my nerves just right to have my back where I damaged it 3 years ago and I was in gasping/tears within 5 to 10 min and crippled up for a couple days after.. wow!

b) then comes my bad knee, now its my driving knee and I have a way that I tip it to the right to take pressure off it, there are few ways I move it around in Cherry (and remember part of the reason we got Cherry was because CD car didn’t work for my injuries) and so I can do longer trips in her..   I have no idea why but 70 plus percent of the new SUV’s all have these MASSIVE huge solid high consoles between drivers and shotgun rider..  its insane.. it takes up all that extra sideways leg room on both seats..

I would find one that fits me but no knee room, no leg room.. CRAZY.. WHY>> BAD CAR COMPANIES! and so of course they would say, we can go up in size to the full size truck.. and of course its a smooth ride, its massive, its also a tank.. and a gas hog.. I mean if you need one, great..  but we do not need one.. and its about 40 grand higher then our top end budget..

I kept finding different company.. and we would test drive, and test drive.. and finally we had it narrowed down to the dodge van.. nothing wrong with a dodge caravan.. its ok.. it really is.. and I have no issue with looking like a soccer mom etc..  but I did honestly want more clearance, and it meant that we still needed to look for a older farm truck for hauling and so. Ideally we like to be a one vehicle family.. it is so cost saving to only run one and with hubby working from home..

Full credit, it was hubby that months ago said.. there is something coming on the market that might just be the trick.. the ford Maverick.. and I looked at it and went.. ok..  We put our name down for notice for a test drive and waited.. and waited an waited..

Finally we got the call, two had come in and we need to come now as they had sold but the one person said we could test drive.. thank you kind stranger..  My first thought was smaller then I expected as I stood and looked at it but i knew it was smaller then the ranger, I thought you are cute,, but how do you fit a sheet of plywood in your tiny 4.5 box and its going to cramped inside..

Boy was I wrong! It was the most perfect fit.. the seat has very gentle bucket rising edges but but its got a wait for it.. 8 way adjust on it and by the time I finished adjusting back, down and so on.. it fit like a dream, the seatbelt also fit like it was meant for me.. the design on the door is so you can fit big 1 liter water bottles which is fine, but what it means is it gives a lean for my left leg if I want and more open space to give my left leg on drivers and more space when riding in it.. the big thank you is that it has a low riding much more narrow middle bridge and it has this adorable but going to take some use to gear shift but all that space normally taken by the gear shifter.. open air and room for my bad knee!

I am not sure I will fit in the back three seater, but my hubby can on the RARE event we need to seat three and its big enough for my dogs , which will be the more regular, its got underfloor storage which I love because it means extra dog proof storage..

They designed the back tail gate to have a spot to lock it in and you can load 18 standard 4 by 8 sheets of plywood or sheet rock, and here is the thing.. this little truck is pretty bare bones and I love it for it.. its got great amount of tie downs, adjust this and that for different uses..

Of course you can bling it up to a point, go ahead peaple, drop that extra 10 or 15 grand and make it have so many of the “new standard” features .. or drop it really down to the bare bones and go..

For me, its a middle of the road.. I want the extras for the cab (remember long trips) including the heated seats and so on.. I am drooling at the idea of coming back from a good hike and driving with heated seats to where we are spending the night and having it help not have me stiffen up so much..

I also want the towing package, both for the towing but also for the improvements on a few things that would be good for the overall wear and tear on longer trips and for up and down the big old hills..

Now its a full 10 inches shorter then the F 150… but its still got 17 inch tires and good regular clearance, you might not want to mud bog with it, but it will certainly hold its own for our personal needs.. we are going AWD and because of the towing package, it means we have the ability to drop it into low if needed..

I love that it means I am not reaching up to get in.. that extra 10 inches means a HUGE difference on what I have to push up and come down on my bad knee.. having said that.. the way the truck is designed, you feel like you are driving either a very high SUV or a truck..

I also have to give a shout out to the amazing views.. so many of the vehicles we test drove had REALLY bad blind spots.. they made up for these massive glaring blind spots with all kinds of sensors.. don’t worry that you can’t see there the car will beep and adjust itself.. Let me tell ya.. I do not like test driving a car that auto corrects me or worse yet.. self brakes.. WTF.. both husband and I were totally impressed at how well it was designed to NOT have bad blind spots..

That was the thing I hated the most about the van, I turned it to sharply on a wide open space in the country and three times! it auto breaked me due ditch,, i had lots of room, I even got out and checked.. I  can see why the towing packages come with a switch to turn that off when towing.. the van did not have the off..  Trust me, you want to turn it off!

We both looked at each other and went.. well there it is.. meets all the farm needs, the travel needs, the possable commute needs and so on..

the only downside.. trying to get one, and worry about parts being made in this Pandemic.. at least there is crossover history on frame an other sections that have good reviews and I have joined a forum where there are some really hard core gents that have them in their hot hands and are running real time checks on all kinds of things and reporting their findings.. so far so good..

I guess that the other downside is that there are no deals to be had.. No.. here take this off, no down payment and so on.. three years ago, if you paid all cash, you got a cash price.. its a 500 difference at the moment.. and it used to be that if you paid cash that the dealerships liked it.. not any more.. they almost beg you to finance as they get a kickback from the bank.. or so at least 5 salesmans told me from different dealerships

So we are going to put down our deposit and hopefully by new years? we will have our new truck..  Keep you posted on how it goes.. I have never ever custom ordered before.. its different..  I am just grateful that after all that looking, sitting, test driving we FINALLY found something that is in our planned price range(its top end of it) that works for our needs and for me health wise!

Posted in At the kitchen table, Life moves on daily | 7 Comments