October is Fire Safety Month

 You might just enjoy the Chiefs' messages on fire safety!  Fire Inspector Bobbi Clauson put this together to get to our kindergarten kids for Fire Prevention Month!!  Take a look at the video by clicking on the video below! 

Mr. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Palermo!

 Gray clouds and drizzle brought in the fall afternoon as guests of Todd and Janet made their way to the river side setting at Broken Arrow Ranch.  Pop up tents covered hay bales (Trumbower hay, of course) and an arbor stood front and center.  The bride dressed while the gathering of dearly beloved waited.  

Pictures may best reflect this great afternoon.  The rain quit.  The sun actually came out a bit too.  A wonderful time was had by all as Todd & Janet finally tied the knot!  They've been together for 20 years!!  I think their relationship has stood the test of time! 

Red Cabbage

 It was harvest time last weekend in the Freedom garden.  Thanks to the generosity of Heather, the gal who runs Riverside Greenhouse in Thayne, I ended up with 49 cabbage plants; two of which turned out to be cauliflower plants.  

The cabbages were lovely in the garden, their giant palmed leaves backlit by the sun.  One of the great things about having copious amounts of dirt, is doing something frivolous like planting 49 cabbage plants.  I watched the white butterflies flitting around knowing that the cabbage worms were right coming soon.  For some reason, the cabbage worms do not like red cabbage. 

I did not count how many cabbage heads were harvested for 2020.  Not all plants made a head worth picking.  But there are plenty, for sure.  

The first batch of kraut included zucchini and onions from the garden.  I threw in a few caraway seeds as well.  Another batch of the same ingredients minus the caraway seeds.  The red cabbage was combined with peeled red beets (one only makes the mistake of not peeling the bitter, acrid skins away once!) and ginger.  This is a nice combination which I have done with great success already.  In two weeks or so, the fermentation will have done its magic and the bright-tasting kraut will be ready to enjoy on a burger or an egg. 

Did you know you can use red cabbage juice to check for the pH of your soil?  I noticed one of the outside red cabbage leaves was a bit green, leaving me to think that this might mean our soil is a bit more alkaline.  Hmmm. And, turns out, red cabbage is very high in vitamin C and vitamin K, which incidentally, is an important vitamin for blood clotting.  Who knew??

Here are some garden shots.  More chopping to happen soon.  Any suggestions for kraut flavors?  

  Wheel barrel of cabbage heads. 

After the harvest, below. 

Meet Lucky

There is a new often-seen critter at K Lazy M Ranch.  Meet Lucky.  This black rabbit showed up a couple of months ago and continues to surprise us that he still is alive.  Hence the name, Lucky!! 

Often seen around the corrals, in the hay barn, or hippitie hoppitieing out to the giant manure pile (why, we do not know), this once-pet rabbit amuses us and entertains the mules and dogs.  

Guessing Lucky was someone's pet and they got tired of the rabbit.  Dropped him off.  No way to know if he was deposited here or roamed over from somewhere else.  But, he seems to like it here.  Lucky left my garden alone or Lucky would not have been so lucky!! 

The hard frost of last week left the sunflowers and cosmos dead.  The cabbages may continue to grow, we shall see. 

A big harvest of honey was made and prep work for winter on other hives.  Count on getting honey for holiday gifting!! 

Changing Seasons

 We worked hard over the weekend.  Temperatures on Sunday soared at a 93 degree high with winds and low humidity.  The hay on the field was drying out.  A storm, promised to arrive on Monday, was our threat for success.  We need to bale and pickup a whole lot of hay before the storm arrived. 

Thanks to very few breakdowns and some help from neighbor Lou, we succeeded.  I took this picture as we were pulling the rest of the equipment out of the field, lightning bolts flashed to the north. 

It was quite a storm.  Jackson experienced a blizzard followed by a hurricane.  Trees toppled down all over the place in town.  On brand new Subaru cars, onto powerlines, blocking driveways, and causing all kinds of havoc.  The event was a strong cold front which terminated any further discussion of summer or zucchini picking from the garden. 

I picked a bunch of pink cosmo flowers to put on the counter as a tribute to the summer that really was productive.  Ten cabbages were lopped off their stems, onions harvested, potatoes dug, and peas, well, I've had enough peas for this year.  They froze!

This morning's low in Hoback was 19 degrees.  Killing frost.  

Now, the maples are turning colors down Snake River Canyon.  The temperature at noon is warm and luxurious bring back memories of hunting camp with huge breakfasts followed by deep-sleep naps in tents warmed by the afternoon summer sun.  That was a good chapter!

Fall can stick around awhile, methinks.  But, snow is on its way.  This we know.