7.7.24
Well, Mother Nature has finally decided summer is here and has seriously turned up the heat! Today we are predicted to reach 107 degrees and by Tuesday we will be touching the 114 degree mark! I know I should not be complaining as there are those folks a wee bit farther south who have been dealing with these hot temperatures too. Good news is, the corn likes it and as long as we keep it well watered hopefully will continue growing like mad! The only problem with this heat, apart from having to retire to the house by mid-day, is the risk of wildfire. Thankfully Darrell has our pumper truck all set up and ready to go should the need arise. Fingers crossed we have another uneventful season!
One of the other issues with such unrelenting heat is the effect it has on our animals. When temperatures get this hot, I usually forego milking for a day or so at a time and let Heidi’s calf take the milk. Despite having lots of shade trees, such temperatures are hard on the girls. Poor Lass is big as a house! Yes, this grand old cow who is in her 15th year, is due to calve around July 14th after being in retirement and not conceiving for nigh on two years! Quite the surprise but a happy and most welcome one. She seems very content so I will just keep a close eye on her during this heatwave. Oh, what we would give for a big old rainstorm… sans the thunder and lightning of course!
Each morning, I get up bright and early before the sun peeks over the horizon, savouring the cool morning air as I put the kettle on for my tea and flip the switch to get Darrell’s coffee on the brew. I love this time of the day. It is so peaceful and quiet, well, other than the roosters greeting the dawn. Standing on the front porch I look out over the fields and see the cows slowly start rising from their beds, heading out from the shelter of the trees to begin their morning graze. Here and there a deer is browsing, mainly does but soon we will see their fawns out beside them. Right now, the mums are out there by themselves, their babies safely hidden in the tall grass. Looking towards the milk cow paddock I see Heidi has her eyes fixed on the house. She will wait until I leave the house with my milker in my hand before she rises from her bed, stretches and slowly starts making her way to the paddock gate.
These days I head out to turn water on to irrigate before setting off to milk. The garden is coming along nicely but in this heat the veggies need constant attention. All of a sudden, I noticed how many tomatoes have set on the plants, there should be a good crop this year. We have already harvested a meal of broccoli and more needs to be cut before it bolts and goes to seed. Nothing beats freshly harvested broccoli florets steamed to perfection and bursting with flavour! My carrots ,growing once again in our old hot tub, were doing fantastic! I say were, because Bonnie dog decided that lovely soft, sandy soil was the perfect spot to bury a bone or two! Uprooting some of the wee carrot seedling in the process! No worries, another seeding will have us eating carrots through the winter again.
The other day I was asked to attend our local 4-H club gathering and give a demonstration on the dispatching and processing of meat chickens. Two large birds were destined for the freezer and the young lad who had raised them was there to watch and was a champion throughout the procedure – although had no desire to take a hands-on part in the affair! After explaining how these birds could not tolerate extremely hot weather and how easy it was for them to unexpectedly succumb to high temperatures, the youngsters present were ready to accept the need to dispatch the fowl. After I quickly and cleanly dispatched the first bird, one of the brave young lads agreed to give it a go himself. Wielding the axe the deed was done and he enthusiastically dug right in, scalding and plucking and even giving a go at the more challenging part of eviscerating his bird. In no time at all, the freshly dispatched fowl were nicely chilling in a cooler filled with cold water prior to heading to the freezer. As the youngsters helped pack everything away and tidy up, I was presented with one of the birds as a thankyou gift! What a treat and it will be greatly enjoyed as a nice roasted bird for today’s Sunday dinner!
I really have to admire Rebecca, the leader of our local 4-H group for wanting the youngsters to see just where their food comes from but more importantly, how to process and prepare it. Maybe none of the youngster’s present on that day will ever butcher a chicken on their own, but then again, maybe they will. It could be years down the road when one day, they might look back and remember that afternoon in the neat and tidy back garden of Rebecca’s house. Then, standing axe in hand with a chicken’s neck stretched out on a block of wood, ready to dispatch a bird of their own for Sunday dinner, they will smile… remembering.
