Sunday, August 09, 2020

I've got earworms

"And another one gone and another one gone; another one bites the dust." Yep, Poppy caught another mouse. But they just keep coming. Tonight I saw one in the tack room and tried to help Poppy find it, but it seemed to just disappear. Then I saw it – a hole in the corner. I'm going to get some steel wool tomorrow to stuff in it and see if that takes care of their access.

I try to check stock tanks and water buckets frequently, not just to make sure everyone has water, but also to make sure it's drinkable. Occasionally Lance poops in his stock tank, and occasionally I'll find a drowned mouse in one of the sheep buckets. This morning there was something much bigger:
UGH! At first glance I thought it was a RAT; at second glance I realized it was a ground squirrel. Needless to say; I dumped and scrubbed the tank before refilling.

That unpleasant find speaks to how dry it is right now. This is our typical summer weather, but it always seems to surprise some people who think of NW Oregon as perpetually wet and green. The other day after working Stella I hosed the sweat off her before turning her out. Freshly bathed horses invariably roll and Stella always chooses a fairly steep slope to do it on which is entertaining. The photos I took show that the grass is toast. Our lawn looks about the same.



Yesterday Rick and I took Poppy for an afternoon walk. Rick wanted to go somewhere other than up our hill or to Willamette Mission State Park, and chose the E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area. We found ourselves walking a long, straight, deserted blacktop road with gravel crossroads and rectangular concrete foundations visible in the weeds, faint reminders that this area used to be Camp Adair. Hard to believe that once upon a time this bucolic scene was once basically the second largest city in our state, had it been incorporated – and that it was such a flash in the pan!

There were dozens of apple trees on either side of that road, all of them different, so clearly planted and not volunteers. I was fascinated by the variety; these are just a few of them.





These were the darkest red apples I've ever seen




These were bronze!
Today was a rare Sunday that Brian didn't have to work (and Rick did), so I pressed my son into service. Our 'hay guy' had three tons of beautiful second cutting orchardgrass hay saved for us, and we needed to get it out of his barn and into ours. The bales were heavier than his first cutting, but we got 'er done. On top of that I watered, did laundry, and started a jar of fermented eggplant (using my new fermentation springs and lids that I first saw here), making me feel a little like the old Enjoli ad; "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan...."


And for those of you who come here just for Chuckie content (I'm looking at you, wyomingheart!), here he is with his friend Poppy on the deck this morning.


That's it for the weekend at . . .

13 comments:

Mountaingmom said...

I recently added one of the Ball lid and spring fermenters to my Nourished Essentials ones. What recipe do you use to ferment your eggplant, I haven't done eggplant before? Great photos as usual.

wyomingheart said...

You are awesome!!! Thank you very much for my Rock Star fix!

Goatldi said...

Could you share your fermented eggplant recipe?

Tim B. Inman said...

Why is it that dogs just can not seem to learn that when a cat rolls over on it's back, it isn't a sign of submission; it is a sign of readiness for a really sore nose! Yet, the dogs stick their noses into that fluffy tummy every time. They'll never learn.

I'm interested in fermented egg plant, too. Please share. I have made our own sauerkraut ever since I was a boy helping my grandmothers do it. I'm up for a new twist!

Jeanne said...

I guess I'm weird! The thought of fermented eggplant is not appealing to me!

I really enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing!

Poppy and Chuckie are fun to see.we enjoy our two - Rico loves to chase Chica and when she's in the right mood, she'll turn and chase him! When Chica doesn't want to play, she'll swat him!

That's very nice that you got the hay, and especially that Brian helped!!

Michelle said...

Fran, Goatldi, and Tim, I got the recipe/method out of the Shockeys' book, "Fermented Vegetables," which I can't recommend highly enough. Get it, if you are at ALL interested in fermentation!!! Anyway, eggplant is handled very similarly to sauerkraut. Eggplant, peeled (I didn't peel my slender Japanese eggplant; we'll see how that works) and cut into 1-inch cubes, massaged with unrefined sea salt until brine forms. Mix with minced garlic if desired (yes, please!). Then put half in a jar, add a sprig of fresh whole basil leaves, put the other half in, and press to cover with brine. (Mine did not form enough brine so I added enough homemade brine to cover when pressed down with the spring.) Let it ferment out of direct sunlight for 4-14 days. You can start testing on day 4; you'll know it's ready when it's pleasingly sour and pickle-y tasting, without the strong acidity of vinegar. The Shockeys say the color is unappetizing but the texture is not mushy, and the flavor won them over.

You're welcome, wyomingheart!

Tim, Chuckie has never swatted Poppy's nose! He really does seem to be inviting interaction when he lays on his back. Yesterday they gently tussled for a bit and then lounged in the sun together. Sometimes Poppy is amped up and plays very rough; you can tell because Chuckie starts "siren growling" and bites back hard before running away.

Jeanne, Brian made it clear that he'd rather NOT help with hay, but he did it AND cleaned the chicken house before he ran off to "play."

Tim B. Inman said...

Thanks! Book ordered. Maybe it is just my O.J. He doesn't play. He really really doesn't play. At. All....

Retired Knitter said...

You are just the energizer bunny!!!

Mama Pea said...

You are woman! W-O . . . M-A-N!!! ;o)

Michelle said...

Tim, what can I say? Chuckie is a very strange cat. ;-)

I don't FEEL very energized, Elaine!

Yep, I thought of that song, too, Mama Pea. :-)

A :-) said...

So much accomplished - and yes, I apparently absorbed your ear worm ;-D Those apples look good. Do you think any of them are edible (i.e., safe)?

Michelle said...

I'm not sure what you mean by "safe," A. They obviously haven't been sprayed. I ate a couple of the one variety that was closest to being ripe and they were good. All the others were still too 'green.'

Mokihana said...

Oh yuk about the squirrel, but the rest of the photos are wonderful. I love all the apple varieties...will you pick some of them? Yum!