Necie

The cost of fishing, for me, is irrelevant. It is my peace and joy. It is my HAPPY PLACE!! 🎣 I could fish every day! As long as it’s not cold or windy... but light rain is fine. I am even happy to be woke up early to go fishing. (I’m a VERY grouchy not-a-morning person.) Y’all wait til next spring/summer/fall... I will drive ya nuts with all my posts of fishing. The refrigerator freezer in the garage is dedicated to fish only... and it is FULL!!

I hadn’t had them till about 5 years ago. Started finding them at my mom’s out by her woods... in the yard, under her hammock of all places!! I had to really read up on them before I’d even try them. These are red boletes. There is a lookalike that causes stomach upset. But everything I read says that even the lookalikes are ok if FULLY cooked. So I fry them in butter nearly to death!! lol They still taste wonderful! DH won’t eat them... he doesn’t like mushrooms. Again... picky-@$$!! MORE FOR ME!! I got 5 pints of them this year and left plenty to spore out.

Management is a huge part of hunting and something that many of younger hunters don’t truly understand. My grandpa lived through the depression. I remember all the stories about how country people had family from the cities just show up to stay with them. My great grandparents had family from Detroit with them. They hunted... A LOT! After the depression, my great-grandpa and grandpa would NOT take a doe. Bucks only. The deer population had been decimated. For over 70 yrs, my grandpa would not take a doe. Only my youngest uncle and my DS2 knew that my grandpa did start taking a select few does in the last 5 years of his life. The deer population has exploded in the last 10+ years. Yet, he still felt the need to *preserve* the herds. Nobody else was allowed to take does on his property... only him. And he didn’t let others know that he did. After my grandpa passed and my DS2 decided he wanted to start hunting again, he, my uncle and myself had a discussion— I wanted him to take does (me not knowing that my grandpa had started to). The deer on the farm are overpopulated. They’re tearing up crops, gardens, getting hit in the roads, etc. We don’t allow coyote hunting because at least they take fawns to keep the deer somewhat in check. Boy, was I surprised when I said that I wanted 5 does for every one buck, and uncle and DS2 just smiled and agreed. This year, we are doing 3:1 because EHD was a problem 2 yrs ago. It cut numbers a bit... but there are still too many. Oh... and every other buck has to be a *management* buck... there are some funky ones out there. 🥴

For my grandpa, it was the cost of a shotgun shell. So, to him it was all but free. He never bought a license for on his own property. He always said, “I’ll shoot all I want! They’ve been feeding on my corn and alfalfa all year.” So I guess he also considered the loss of some of his crops as a cost also. Now, my DS2 is a different story. He does put money into (deer) hunting. Blinds, stands, cameras, clothing, plots, gas, bows/guns/ammo, licenses, etc. (no beer). Also for DDIL and DGD(12)... and DGS(6) and DGD(4) when they’re old enough. But he loves it and it’s also a hobby that does provide food. It’s a family tradition that is being passed down to the next generation to respect the land and animals it provides to us. Then there’s small game— both sons hunt... mostly rabbit and squirrel, some turkey and fowl. They don’t put all that into it— just licenses and ammo. We all fish. Licenses and bait. Everyone has their own boats/tackle. DH and I have the cost of a gas motor. DS1 uses a trolling motor. DS2 uses a kayak.

FINALLY!! Backstrap and boletes!!!

Got the first batch of venison simmered off the bones and started the second batch. I’m wondering why I didn’t just throw the bones in the freezer and do it after Thanksgiving... DD came down for a couple hours to help me straighten up the house, haul some stuff to the basement or barn to be out of the way, and do some general cleaning. She dusted... I HATE dusting!! I’m finishing up the venison tomorrow and cleaning up the kitchen. Running to town on Tuesday. Prepping for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. Well... that’s the plan. 😂 Haven’t heard from DS2 about hunting, so guess he hasn’t got another one yet. Won’t see him for Thanksgiving—he’s going to the Lions game. DDIL and all the kids will be here though... and maybe her dad if he doesn’t have anything else to do. and Necie

This made me giggle a little. My grandpa raised beef cattle. At different times, he also raised hogs, sheep, chickens,... but he ALWAYS raised beef. And, he always hunted. He’d say: “The more free meat I can put in the freezer, the more market meat I can sell.” 😉 When my kids come down for Christmas, we still have venison and homemade noodles. It’s tradition from my grandpa. (And, yes!!— boil (simmer) them bunnies til tender before frying. Otherwise ya might as well make fried jerky. )

Last night was a free-for-all. I had some hard boiled eggs to use up, so had egg salad sandwiches. Don’t even remember what DH had. It wasn’t egg salad... he doesn’t like it. I have no idea how I ended up with such a picky man!! 😂 Tonight DH made *chicken and noodles*. He made a couple of those butter/herb noodle pkgs and added a store bought can of chicken. Easy, but yummy!

No. Not under normal circumstances... and probably not even under abnormal ones. 😂 It would take something absolutely crazy happening. It is a big part of our preps though. I learned a lot of my prepping habits from my grandpa... and his mom, my great-grandma was the original conspiracy theorist!! I come by it honest, for sure! The area is both good and bad. Good that it kinda is out in the middle of nowhere... but, bad that it’s less than half an hour from a *smallish* city— with a military base. 🥴 Got the deer all cleaned and cut up. Put in bags and labeled to either can or grind and threw them in the freezer. Got 4-2 gallon bags full. Started the hind quarters and rib bones simmering. When tender, will pull those out and add front quarters and neck bones. Will use all that meat and broth to make our venison/veggie/barely soup to can. Was gonna make backstrap for dinner, but... tired and my back hurts. So hubby make chicken and noodles. Backstrap tomorrow. 🤤

I’ve had coon and bear. Very similar. Rich, dark meat... a bit greasy. Not something I’d want all the time. Never had possum, porcupine or woodchuck. Would try it from a cook that knew what they were doing. Love squirrel, rabbit, game birds, venison, etc. My boys hunt those and we look forward to them every year.

Instead of turduckhen, could be opporccoon!!

Canned 16- 24 oz jars of pasta sauce yesterday. One didn’t seal, so in the fridge for the next batch. Today am working on venison. I’m just gonna clean it up, cut it off the bones and throw the whole mess in the freezer. I’ll can it up after Thanksgiving. DD(35) is coming down tomorrow to help me clean the house up for Thanksgiving. Monday or Tuesday I need to go to town. 🤢 Wednesday is prep day. and Necie

Not huge by any means. Not even big by today’s standards. Small— under 300 acres. Almost would be considered a hobby farm by most. It was my Grandpa’s farm. He passed in 2017 (almost 93 yrs young) and my mom and her 3 younger brothers inherited it... split up into sections. My youngest uncle and his wife and kids moved there about 25 yrs ago and built a house on what would be *his section*. So he’s always around. Anyone who wants to can pretty much do anything they want there. One of the uncles lives in Ohio... he and his kids don’t really want anything to do with it. His section is mostly tillable, so he leases it. My mom and youngest uncle also lease some of their tillable ground. The uncle in the back is a PITA... long story, but he stays off everyone else’s sections and everyone stays off his. But the rest of the farm is available to anyone that wants to use it. We don’t really see *property lines*. The old house is there, but still needs a lot of work. We’ve done the basement/foundation, new bathroom, new plumbing. Next, it needs electrical work. Some of those old wires are scary. The house/barns are on my mom’s section, so we do all that work, but everyone either has a key or knows how to get in anyhow. 😉 It’s about 60 miles from my house, so when gas prices skyrocketed, we started staying over instead of doing 2-3 trips a week.

Picked up DS1 yesterday and went to farm to rake leaves. Wind was pretty good. Was going to rake leaves to the east fence row, but wind was blowing straight north. So we went with it and raked them through/over the front fence (stock panel) out to the ditch/road. Wind is supposed to change and be out of the north... will probably blow them back. 😂 Hopefully, the fence will hold most of them back. We cleared a couple of good size grape vines out of the fence row and picked up some downed limbs for the campfire. My uncle stopped over. We’ve had a critter(probably ground hog) get into the basement, through the wall at the top of the stairs. Made a mess. My mom had an *old friend* redo the foundation (rock) around the house and part of the basement. He also did new basement stairs. Did a pretty good job, except sealing back up the wall at the top of the stairs. Would be nice to figure out where the critter is getting in, but my uncle said he’s got some old tin laying around and will fix the wall so at least it can’t get in the house. He also asked if I’d seeded something in the big garden... nope.. was spraying the stuff that keeps seeds from germinating. Said he was thinking about plowing it up now to help keep weeds down next year. Weeds, and especially grass, are awful to try to keep under control. Told him to go for it and that we were also done in the little barnyard garden and the small plot, so he could mow/plow those whenever he wants to. Got DS1 home. My mom was just starting supper and DS2 called. Was wondering if we got leaves done.. or he’d work on them a bit today before hunting. I asked him if he was up hunting... no- him and DDIL were working on the deer he got Wednesday to get it down cuz it’s too warm out. Told him I was just leaving Grandma’s and I’d stop on my way home. When I got there, they had it skinned out. So all we had to do was quarter it up and throw it in bags. I brought it home and tossed it in the garage fridge (had to take the pan of sauce out). So I’m gonna have to squeeze working on that in this week. 😳 It’s getting cold after today, so when he gets another, then it can hang til after Thanksgiving. We really need to get a cooler put in his shed. We’ve been *talking* about it for a few years. 😏 Pic of deer that DS2 got. He’s having it mounted. Only an 8 pt, but DANG —it’s a big one! 😳 Other pic of our raked up *camp site* at the farm.

Still just working on the pasta sauce. It’s about done. Am putting it in the garage fridge in the morning and will probably can it Friday. Won’t start the next batch until after Thanksgiving. Might be even later than that as DS2 got a deer tonight. So gotta figure out what to do with that and when. Picking up DS1 tomorrow and going to the farm to finish raking leaves. It’s supposed to be a bit windy, so will probably just rake to the fence line and not burn. We usually stay over, but there’s not much left to do, so it will just be a day trip. and Necie

Pan fried bluegill and jalapeño poppers yesterday. DH is grilling chicken leg quarters tonight and I’m just making some plain ole broccoli. Probably one of the last times to grill for the year.

Yup. My DS2 was born with a small trachea and small eustachian tubes. The biggest concern was the tubes getting plugged and causing ear infections. Too many ear infections cause overuse of antibiotics, possibly causing hepatitis, and then the need for tubes put into his ears to keep them clear. His pediatrician was very proactive about prevention. As an infant/toddler we used small doses of children’s cold medicine with antihistamine in it. Once he was old enough (3 yrs old or so), we switched to nasal spray. The doctor also showed him how to *blow his ears*... deep breath, pinch nose, close mouth, blow til you feel air come out your tear ducts. Proud to say, he never had an ear infection!!

Does anyone else feel like we’re this bunch of little old ladies trying to herd cats???

Are we officially playing *Tag* yet?? I tried to edit the title of this to say Part 9, but couldn’t figure out how, so added Part 9 as a tag. As far as I’m concerned, we’re all good.

FOUND YA!! Read through the last few posts since mine and now understand what happened. All fine by me since I started the new one. I’ll edit the title on mine to say “Part 9”. No wonder I couldn’t find it! URBAN?!? I never come here... I get lost in cities!! *Necie wanders up one street and down the next mumbling “how in the world do I get out of this place? I’m soooo looooost... and a little bit skeeered”*

Didn’t do much today. Went to pick up DGD(12) to go to lunch today. She said her lunch was at 11:15. I got there and the secretary told me her lunch is at 12:15. I asked her what class she was in— “Art. Do you want to pull her out now?” Noooooo... I don’t want her to miss any classes. Just can’t figure out why she told me 11:15... like, who wants to get out of art?? 🤷‍♀️ (Sneaky girls, yanno!! ) So I ran to a local Amish store and picked up a few things on my list to kill time. Went and got her and we got Mexican 🤤 and chatchatchat. We were a little late getting back. Of course, her next class was history! Should’ve pulled her out of art a little early. Got home, started another batch of pasta sauce, did dishes, *bring home leftovers* for dinner, did a bit of crocheting, and now am playing on my phone. Pic of DGD and her pineapple thangy. She’s such a sweetie! 🥰 and Necie

Well, thank goodness I’m not crazy!! Or if I am... I’m not the only one! <bigcheesygrin>

I can’t find the old one... ?? I know it was here in The Kitchen, under Preserving The Harvest. Am I lost? Crazy? (Don’t answer that!!! ) Anywho... started another batch of sauce. 12 qts tomato juice in the pot with the automatic stirrer doing it’s thang! Last batch was 15-24oz jars. All sealed! YAY!!

Went to mom and dad’s today for our family Thanksgiving dinner. Figured there was 31 there 🥰 and 29 missing 😢. It’s awesome having a big, close family. The cousins (20’s/30’s- 14 of them) are all very close and hang out with each other... even when they don’t have to. And that means that all the grandkids (newborn to 13 yrs old- 19 of them) are growing up together and know each other. Big dinner— got stuffed!! 🤤 Kids/grandkids played some baseball, pushed each other on the tree swings and hammock, walked through the woods, 2 ended up in the lakes 😂 — one after a dog and one *mis-stepped* , then they had a bonfire. Decided to do Christmas Sunday dinner December 10. Sister6 is in charge of that. (I was in charge of Thanksgiving.) It takes a lot of the work off Mom. We’ll have a kids (under 18) gift exchange and she’ll figure out some gift game for adults. Always a fun time!!! Hopefully we’ll have snow to play in!! Doubtful that the lakes will be froze over though. and Necie

Another batch of pasta sauce done. 20 qts tomato juice 3 qts (about) of other stuff Got 15-24oz jars. Will start another batch tomorrow evening.