Today really feels like winter. And since I had an “extra” hour this morning, winter animal management was accomplished. The younger sheep who had been rotating were moved to their winter pasture.
Here are some stragglers.
I disconnected and emptied all the hoses we will not be using daily. That way if we mess up and our daily hose freezes, we will have back ups.
The cows had already been moved to their winter pasture. But I started feeding their full daily ration of hay now. I also opened up the gate to the next field so they can have access to shelter if they would like (they usually do not).
It has been really stormy recently. Lots of rain and wind. But now its cold with snow in the mountains.
I decided to clear the greenhouse out of dead and dying plants. This included some tomatoes, peppers and basil. There are some of each still alive, surprisingly for this time of year. I harvested the last of the Ascent thai peppers.
And then this afternoon I have been rendering lard. I realized when I made the mini pumpkin pies that my lard is getting old. So it was tossed, and fresh lard from Peppa is being processed. This gives us lard but also opens up more room in the freezers for the upcoming meat.
In sad news, a red tailed hawk killed one of our hens on Friday. Tom saw the whole thing. She had wandered to the front fence for some reason. And the hawk swooped down and killed her. Tom was able to chase the hawk away, but she was already dead. She was a favorite. She was a gold Wyandotte hen I got from my friend Rasa last year. Here she is eating cauliflower last July.
So that is the farm news. I feel good about our preparedness. But winter always has a way of messing with you. So we shall see.
Feasts of Ice and Fire
Cooking from the Game of Thrones
You Can’t Eat Mount Rainier
Recipes from 1950's Seattle restaurants
I’m so sorry about your beautiful hen! I’ve never seen one like that before. Was she your only one of that breed? It sounds like it. It must have been hard on Tom, to see that.
My mom used to make her own lard, but I can’t remember the process. To bad you had to toss out your old lard. Do you freeze it?
Are the thai peppers quite hot?
She was beautiful and the only one we had. Henny Penny was that breed as well and she was dumped here. Assuming we get chicks again in the spring, I might order some of that breed. Both Tom and I loved her.
I do freeze
The lard but keep some in the fridge to use. This jar had been in the fridge a while. It wasn’t rancid, but a little piggy. Plus it tends to get piggy toward the bottom of the jar I have noticed. Bits that don’t get filtered out in the cheesecloth must settle down there. Happy to have gorgeous white lard again. I just realized that I should probably keep it in smaller jars in the fridge.
I used this recipe this time, https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/01/the-mystery-of-the-missing-pig-fat-and-how-to-render-lard.html
Well, for goodness’ sake! I totally missed your reply to my question on rendering lard. I did look up the link, and enjoyed reading it! Thank you very much!
You are welcome
So sorry you lost your hen!
It sucks.
It is so hard to lose a beloved farm animal. And the lard looks like it will be amazing. Only thing to use for making good old fashioned donuts.
Thanks Gayle. It is hard. I haven’t used the lard for donuts but love it for crusts.