The Weekly Digs #161
I had a fun time visiting family last week! I went to my cousin’s wedding, visited my 92 year old grandpa, and was able to also visit with other family members I haven’t seen in a very long time.
While I was there I stayed with my sister Amy and I got to see what she was up to on her homestead. Seeing things on the internet is good, but it’s just nice to be able to see everything in person and visit in person too.
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She has a permaculture orchard and garden. We planted potatoes, mangel beets, and pulled up some of her horseradish. We started with a small area for the beets but we soaked a bunch and had so much extra soaked seed, we planted even more than planned. I even took a horseradish plant cutting home in my suitcase haha!
I haven’t seen my grandpa in five years but he hasn’t changed much! He is very spry and healthy for 92. He walks up and down stairs without issue, danced on the dance floor at the wedding, and his mind is still clear.
We talked a lot about health and he said that he eats very healthy and also takes special vitamins which has helped him stay kicking at his age. Seeing and visiting him is good motivation for me to keep up all the gardening and healthy eating. I hope I’m as active as him when I’m older.
On the way home, Noelle and I went to the airport and found just as we got to our gate that our flight was delayed and we would miss our connection in Chicago. So we went back to Amy’s for an extra night, then My mom and step dad took us back to the airport in the morning to try again.
First flight was on time, but the Chicago to Arkansas flight was delayed for 3 hours because the flight crew wasn’t there. We finally made it and I wanted to kiss the ground because I was so glad to be home after two days in airports.
Cam and the boys gave me a tour of the garden and I was shocked at how much the grass, the weeds, and the plants grew in just six days! Oh and I also got to meet our new calf which was born the day I got home.
I felt equal parts excited and overwhelmed with all that needed to be done. But apparently nature had a different idea and instead of being able to work in the garden a whole bunch it rained every single day this past week. We got 7 inches total.
I managed to harvest and freeze dry some spinach, we potted up tomatoes, weeded the peas, seed starting mix, and put down compost on a row.
Today, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect so I spent the majority of the day catching up on garden chores. I weeded a row and a half of raspberries, crimped and tarped our cover crops with help from my family.
The kids were working on their personal gardens adding mulch in walking paths. It is a big chore and they worked super hard.
In addition to the garden things, a friend sold us some of his Dexter cows and brought them to our place today. We needed to add some genetic diversity and got a new bull, two moms, and their calves.
Our old bull we tried to sell for months and months but we didn’t have anyone interested. We were almost out of beef and didn’t have another cow ready this year so we took him instead. Our freezers are full again.
I haven’t tried the meat yet but while I was gone Cam had some of the hamburger and he said it was very lean and “beefy”. We were wondering if it would taste a little different since he was an intact bull and with the ladies up until the last day. We also grass finish so that may have some play in the taste. Even though it’s slightly different in taste, Cam says it’s still worth it 🙂 I’ll find out soon enough!
