There’s so much fall work to do that Will is feeling like nothing is getting done on the barn. The sheet metal is all here but the weather first was terribly rainy and windy, then VERY cold with five inches of snow. But finally we’ve caught a break. Yesterday it turned milder with sunshine and Will got up and knocked off as much of the snow and ice as he could from the rafters. And now it’s in the low forties with sunshine! So today, he’s down screwing on the flashing in preparation to putting up more (or hopefully all) of the sheet metal so the new barn will be under cover. Yes, he’s being careful but he doesn’t have to climb on the metal roof, only on the ladder and the ladder-like dry purlins.
Meanwhile, I’m watering stock and trying to get the house a bit cleaner and get more onions dehydrated. (I dehydrate my onions by cutting slices then dehydrating them. When dry I put them in my blender and whiz them into coarse powder. It works great in a ton of recipes.) When you have a three-month-old puppy, it seems like you spend the day cleaning up after him and saying “Hondo! No!” But he’s pretty much potty trained and is learning to mind (usually!). And grow? Wow, how he’s taking off — all legs and body. He’s going to be a big boy. We were told he was Australian Cattle Dog, but on closer look, he looks more Australian Shepherd as he has a fuzzy coat and floppy ears and a more “collie” look to him. Who knows? But we sure do like him a lot. Especially when he’s sleeping! — Jackie
Thanks, Jackie. I will dry the powder next time I do some more. Makes good sense.
Rick,
I’m sure Hondo will be a great family member. He’s SO smart and tries hard to please. We tell him to “sit” and he first sits down, then if we don’t praise him right off, he squiggles down even more so his hind legs are sticking straight out like he’s saying “See! I’m REALLY sitting now!”. We’re lucky Spencer is there to mentor him. And Mittens too. She kind of likes him and even when she boxes his nose, she doesn’t have her hooks out.
Stephanie,
I’m glad you like the cookbook. You gave the very reason I wrote it! I, too, HATE recipes calling for ingredients that I have no idea of what they are, can’t buy in our boondocks grocery store or take hours to make. You’re right; these are all simple, old-fashioned recipes for homesteaders.
Sheryl,
Sometimes my onions do this too, which is why after I whiz them in the blender I always spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at its lowest setting with the door open for awhile, stirring once in awhile so they don’t brown. Then I put them in a jar to store. Barn photos in next blog!!
Stephanie, maybe I will try chopped next instead of going straight to powder. Thanks for the tip.
Jackie, I almost hope Hondo is an Australian Shepherd. We had a delightful female Aussie years ago. Annie faithfully herded the goats , chickens, geese and children. She was a good watchdog, was protective of the property and everything belonging there. She resented rabbits and groundhogs in the garden or near it, and loved us all. She has been gone now for 20+ years….. You’ll love Hondo whatever his parentage, just include a picture occasionally as you do of his mentor…. ‘nuther thought, maybe he is a farm collie. I remember when there were many such in our community, some folks called them shepherd dogs….Rick
I dehydrated some onions this summer when the humidity was high and didn’t have a problem unless my kids had used the blender in the last 24 hours. Just seemed like no matter how you tried to dry the blender after washing, it wasn’t dry enough if used before 24 hours. It would stick around the bottom and blades. Just a thought. I also made most of mine chopped for minced onion and then thought if I needed powder, I could then blend it. I love my dehydrator. I had way to many hot peppers and made dried red pepper.
Jackie, I love your canning and pantry cookbook! I usually have the things on hand and know what they are. It’s frustrating to buy a cookbook and have most of the items be things you have never heard of and can’t grow and find locally.
Hi Jackie, thanks for the picture of onion thickness. I wasn’t sure how thin they needed to be. I tried dehydrating onions this summer for the first time. They seemed dry but when I finished blending, the very bottom of the blender was a pretty solid mass. I had to get a knife to scoop it out. The top portion was fine and powdery. I am wondering if humdity here in the south would have caused that. Perhaps I should have waited till around now to try. Any thoughts?
Can’t wait to see pictures of the barn!
Jackie, I have to dehydrate my onions outside so the smell doesn’t linger in my house. So I am done for the year.
I also feel that winter is coming too soon and my fall work is not done yet. I did pay for someone to till up the garden this year as I am getting older. So that’s done. My barn needs patching in a few places, too. That might have to wait. As I don’t have a Wil, I leave the deep housecleaning until after Thanksgiving.
Good luck and keep writing.
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