After kind of a rough start, our newest baby calf is running outdoors with his mom, Mamba, playing and enjoying sunny days. Of course when he gets cold, he runs for the barn and snuggles down in the straw for a nap. Hopefully when our heifer, Salsa, who is Mamba’s daughter, has her calf the temperatures will be much warmer. We’re thinking it’ll be another month, yet. (But as we know well, cows can sure surprise you sometimes.)

Mamba walks over to visit with Frosty, our newest calf.
And Frosty decides it’s lunch time.

We moved our freezer down in the basement where the temperatures stay between 40 and 50, year-round. In the summer, when the freezer was on our enclosed back porch, it ran pretty much non-stop although in the winter, it was on much less. Still, having a freezer sitting in the sun didn’t make any sense at all. So David and Will hauled it downstairs and we filled it up on Friday with wonderful beef. Then we set about delivering the rest of the meat that was previously purchased.

This afternoon, if I have time, I want to can up a bunch of dry beans with ham and bacon. I’ve got a sack of two-year-old beans from our seed business and as we only sell fresh seed, I’ve mixed the varieties up and will can them for us to enjoy in the months to come. Dry beans can up so quickly and it’s so very handy to have pre-cooked (canned) beans ready to use at a moment’s notice, right down in the pantry. I can’t remember the last time I bought store-bought beans. Mine are so much better! (If you’d like to learn to can up some for yourself, check out my book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food.)

Just look at this big garden, waiting under the snow for me!

I’m sure eyeballing the new garden area, down by the training ring. I can’t wait to add another garden so we can grow even more. Especially when it will be sandy soil with rotted manure added. That means good drainage, something our north and central gardens do not have. When it rains, it’s impossible to get in there to weed or even do any sort of work. I’m so looking forward to a garden, like our main garden, where as soon as it quits raining I can go work in the garden! — Jackie

8 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you for the update on Frosty! I have your book Growing and Canning Your Own Food and I’m finally learning to can!!

  2. Glad to hear that Frosty is doing well. Getting snow through all of this week here in Michigan, which has made the 65 mile work commute agony. But spring is on the way. I can just picture that garden field in your photo full of wonderful growing foods. Thank you for the update Jackie!

  3. So glad Frosty is doing well, many years ago I lived on a cattle ranch in eastern Colorado, many times we had a newborn calf in the kitchen to warm up. Good memories. Got my greenhouse cleaned out and set up all the containers, so I am ready to start seeds soon. We are having unusually warm weather, and very little snow, so it will probably freeze as soon as the fruit trees bloom…Thanks for the reminder, I need to can up some more beans. Love having them in the pantry.

  4. We are getting a little snow here tonight. We have been so dry and any moisture is a blessing. I also love to have beans canned up. They are so handy and much better than any I could buy. The calf is beautiful! Take care and stay warm!

  5. Go Frosty!? Found a Great deal on a ham today and got my ‘Jackie’ books out to get things canned up. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge….you sure have helped improve our lives. Love you. Becky.

  6. Hi Jackie, just received your beautiful seed catalogue, enjoying it very much. Will be ordering soon..Take care..Barbara from Canada

  7. Another delightful post, thankyou Jackie,
    our weather here, down under, has been very warm. My tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and when you mention spring I feel a little nervous as winter seems not too far away and there is still so much to do. So glad your little calf is doing well. I find it difficult to imagine living in a country where snow is normal in winter as I have only seen snow once or twice and it melted as soon as it landed. Love your posts and look forward to them with anticipation, cheers, sue

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