{ My Saturday }

It's been a busy day, getting things done inside and outside the house. 

Well, the outside was mainly Curt, he had to get an oil change, an inspection and his registration renewed. 

 

I on the other hand spent the day inside, getting things done that really needed doing, but had been put off for a bit. 

Before I continue though, I just have to show you one of our does and her baby.  This is the baby that mama kept leaving on our property, for hours, a few weeks back.  I didn't understand, and at first even though the baby was abandoned, but after looking it up, this is normal behavior.

 

This is how mama teaches the baby to forage for food and spend longer periods of time on their own.  They will leave their babies up to 12 hours at a time and then come back and pick them up.  And sure enough, that happened for about 3 days.

 

We would wake up to baby on our front yard, or back fence line, just laying under the trees.  He/she would stay there all day, and then mama would show up at night, eat, then take the baby with her for the night.

 

Next morning, the same thing.  Nature really is amazing isn't it?

 

Baby is much bigger now.  But this morning, we had another doe just show up on our front lawn with a tiny, tiny baby in tow.  I mean this little one wasn't even strong on it's legs yet.  Not sure how old it is, but it looked like it may be but a day or two old.  Wow!!!

 

I'll definitely be keeping my camera nearby in case I see it again.

Last night, I got apples into the crockpot, and then left them overnight, cooking away with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla.  They were just perfect this morning, and after blitzing them with the immersion blender, I put them in jars and processed them.

I only had enough for 2 jars, but that's ok, every little bit counts.

And this batch of apple butter came out so good, so thick and dark, just like I like it.  I already have a recipe for it on the food blog, but I basically did 6 cups of apples (cored, I didn't peel them), 3 cups of sugar, and then I added cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla to taste.  So good!

 

After the apple butter was done, and was cooling on the counter, I got busy with our pecans.  We still have a ton to get through.  I have 2 big boxes, plus a plastic tub filled with pecans.  I need to get them either in the freezer whole (which will last about 2 years), or I need to get them cracked, processed somehow and also into the freezer or used.

My plan is to freeze as much as I can.  I do want to crack as many as I can, put them in ziplocs and freeze them as well, to use for pies, desserts, cakes and milk.  I did two big gallon ziploc bags of boiled pecans earlier and will pop those in the freezer in the morning.

I just wish there was an easier and quicker way to just crack them all at once, but, alas, there isn't and after a big batch, my poor thumbs are killing me.

Thankfully we harvest every 2 years, and since our last harvest was last year, we won't be having one this year, which gives me time to sort through this one.

 

 

The next job that Curt and I worked on together, was replacing my coolant reservoir.  I started noticing that my car was going through a lot of coolant, and then recently, I noticed some coolant on the driveway and when I checked the reservoir, it was wet underneath.  I couldn't see an actual crack anywhere, but it's definitely leaking.

Thankfully the job is quite easy to do, so in no time, we had the old one out and the new one in.  Hoping this makes my car run smoother.

I did take a break in the afternoon, to get my Bible reading done.  I'm continuing reading in Isaiah and I must say it is one of my favorite books, in the Bible.  

While I read, both Kaia and Elliott took their afternoon naps, next to me.  It's so funny that they both have their routines and schedules during the day.  They always take a morning nap, of about two hours, then they play and eat, and then in the afternoon, they're back on the bed for another 2 or 3 hour naps.  

I just think it's sweet how our pets develop their own routines.

 

While Curt worked in the front yard, feeding the animals, Kaia watched him. She always does this. She loves sitting at the front door watching the yard, or whatever is going on.  Elliott either lays by her too, or he is nearby, relaxing. 

 

 

This time, I joined them and grabbed my zoom lens.  The birds were so happy out front, because rain had just started falling.

They kept flying back and forth, making lots of noise and happily chirping back and forth.  It was like the rain started falling and the yard came alive.

And just like that, our Saturday has come to an end, with a good productive day, and rain blessing us after this horrid drought we've been under.

We even got a flood warning, just a few moments ago.  Haven't seen one of those in months.

The rain is continuing all through Monday night.  I think the garden is going to be very happy.

Tomorrow I have church in the morning, then I'll be coming home to make us a batch of Million Dollar Spaghetti.  It will be our lunch/dinner.  Weekends tend to be quite relaxed when it comes to meals, either I don't cook, like tonight, because no one wanted dinner......or I make the meal earlier in the day, and everyone eats when they're hungry.

Weekdays is different, we have a set dinner time, and we all sit down at the table to eat.  It's just a tradition that we've kept since the children were little, and it's pretty much the only thing I ask of them all.  To share a meal, to sit, to chat about our days, and enjoy a home cooked meal together.

So, that is what is on the plan for tomorrow.  I hope you've had a wonderful Saturday and an equally good Sunday.

Have a blessed night friends.

xoxoxo

{ Harvesting Pecans }

Typically, we like to get the Pecans harvested as soon as they're ready, which for us could mean middle of October, but usually very beginning of November.

However, with all the craziness happening around here, it is not something we had a chance to do, until yesterday.

We've been blessed with 6 Pecan trees on the property.

When we first moved into this house, I had no clue we had so many, and the first year we didn't even realize there were pecans to harvest.  The second year we had quite a bit to harvest and we got as many as we could.

What we also didn't realize is that Pecan trees don't produce a huge crop, every single year.  So last year we were all set on harvesting and were quite disappointed not to see many at all.

This year however, we have an abundance.  Two of our trees put out a huge crop, enough that last week, my husband went out back to check on the trees and came back after an hour, with a full box.

Yesterday we decided that we needed to take some time and get out there, so we could gather as many as we could before they went bad, and before the squirrels went through them.

As it is, one of the trees was depleted and all that was left were a bunch of shells scattered at it's feet, with half eaten pecans.  Those silly squirrels!

However, there were still plenty to harvest.  We spent, maybe two hours and came back in with boxes full.  I have never seen so many pecans in my life.

The job is far from over, I now need to cure all these pecans.  If you don't cure them, you run the risk of mold growing and the nuts being inedible.

Now that we've harvested them, they will need to be placed in a single layer, on a surface that allows for good ventilation.  They will have to sit like this for about 2 weeks, and then we will shell them, freeze some, make pies, make pecan milk and all sorts of goodies.

These are the kind of chores that some people will turn their noses at, wonder why bother with all this work, just go to the store and buy them.  Absolutely, if you're willing to pay over 6 dollars for a small bag of pecans.  I don't know how much they are where you live, but I've always found pecans to be incredibly expensive, it's almost heartbreaking paying that much for a small bag of crushed pecans.

When you have an abundance that the Lord has blessed you with, you use it.  You make the effort, you harvest and cure and then enjoy the rewards.

For us, it's just part of living in the country, of homesteading so to speak.

It's not easy work, and after harvesting for just a few hours yesterday, my lower back was killing me, but it's work that I do with a smile on my face. 

If we are blessed to stay in this house, Curt and I have so many plans for the property, and I can not wait to take you along.