So much to say!

I'm not back on my regular computer, but I think I can get some stuff out.  Many changing conditions here at Muddy Boot.

Jessalyn had her 12th birthday!

I am not mean,  it is tradition to make your own cake (that way you are the one that gets to lick the bowl!)

 The girls were in a Fun Horse Show in August.  Lots of horse games and races. She and the neighbor (who has the horse trailer) practiced for weeks before. Jess had her own horse, Becky rode a neighbors Mustang.  A little faster than Rosie. They each got a few ribbons between the two of them.   Ken even got in on the act and rode Dusty in the Dolly Parton race.  Yep, you got it.  Ride in and put on an unmetionable, put the water balloons in and race back to the start line without losing them. 

Back a few weeks we were having health problems with our biggest sanaan boy, Zeke.  He seemed to have punctured his chest somehow.  We think it was a bush while he was out grazing.   I had it healing up just fine, but think it did too much damage.  We had to put him down.  Poor Clem. (He is the one featured up on the right side of my page sniffing the sunflower) We moved him into the barn with the ladies but I know he misses Zeke.  They were always together.

Beautiful gardens yeilded nearly nil.  I bought the cabbage to make my kraut, cheated and bought canned sauce for soup. I had only enought of my own tomatoes to make 6 qts.  And that was with doing up the cherry tomatoes with the romas.  I did pick one bunch of broccolli and tons of beans.  That , cherry tomatoes, and carrots were the only things that  actually came in.  I had stalks of corn, but only one ear grew, and that was so small Jess gave it to the rabbits. I  have started apples, some from our own tree but most bought to make sauce.  With shortening being priced out of this world,  I thought it would be good to have a bit more applesauce than usual to use as a substitue for baking.  We were fortunate again this year to have picked pears from a friend of my mom's. She has a tree in the city that the pears go unused so she offers them to us.  I think I will puree them and try to make jelly.  I know there are recipe's to make strawberry jelly with tomato preserves, and I am wondering if I add flavored jello or maybe coolaid if I can do the same with the pear?   It will be an experiement. It seems that the 36 jars of stawberry are going to fast and won't last all winter!

Things are coolg down.  We are starting to work on the yard and getting it ready for winter.  Putting away and storing up yard goods. 

The barn is coming along with hay in the loft, but we are still waiting for some metal roofing to come in from the Amish to cover the last few feet of the hay roof.  Tom and Ken put rolled paper on the attatched leanto roof  this year so that will be good for the livestock this year.  Tom is still digging holes around the yard making way for the front pasture fence and working on the the north side of the barn where the other leanto stalls will go.  I would like him to dig a few for post for my garden next year too.  I have metal poles, but would like something more permanent and a little nicer looking. It should at least look nice even if it might not actually be functional. 

Friends have moved into their newly built home and tore down their old farmhouse.   I ask if they would mind if I took their pine cupboards.   Again, Tom and Ken were busy and put them in the kitchen.  It is so nice to have cupboard space!

before

and after!

I am busy filling the cupboards and storing for the winter.  I just started making my master mixes.  I made buckets of bisquick and shake and bake and will probably make the pudding and hot chocolate mixes today.