Eeeeeek....It's A Giant!

At 13-inches long and a circumference of 11-inches this cucumber is the largest cucumber we have found in our garden.

As I was cutting it up it reminded me of zucchini.

The cucumber made a nice treat for the chickens.

The Maize

Tuesday was chilly, cloudy and windy but Elizabeth and I decided to brave the elements and participate in a Home School field trip. We had so much fun; the grounds were so pretty and inviting.

The outhouse area made me think of "hillbillies"! When we opened the door to one we were met with a strong odor; but the odor turned out to be the pigpen that was beside the outhouses.

I love this windmill, which sits next to a very large and lovely man-made pond, but I couldn't tell if it was real or not.

After walking through the grounds and visiting all the animals it was time to begin our journey through the corn.

Walking through the corn, getting turned around over and over again, was so amazing! We had the best time and hope to go again in November.

Kitchen Tragedy?

Considering all the canning I have done this year...One broken jar isn't too bad.

My New Glass Dish

Over the weekend I found myself a 4-qt. glass baking dish for $3-dollars.

To test my new dish I used it to hold garden fresh chopped tomatoes while I was preparing the tomatoes for canning;

And then I used the dish to hold fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

I'm very pleased with my $3-investment and look forward to using my new dish this Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Canned Pumpkin

With lots of pumpkin sitting in the garden, and wonderful cool and cloudy weather outside, I decided to try my hand at canning pumpkin.

As I filled the jars with pumpkin cubes I thought they looked a lot like peaches; Elizabeth thought they looked like cantaloupe.

By the time I had all my little pumpkins peeled and cut up the chickens ended up with a nice treat of seeds and skins....but I ended up with a sore thumb and finger!

While the pressure canner was going I contemplated whether or not it was worth all the time it was taking; 3 hours to cut, gut and peel pumpkins; 90-minutes in the pressure canner.

Once I saw how pretty the pumpkin was I decided it was worth it!

Creative Leftovers....Bar-b-que Sandwich

What does one do with leftover bar-b-que ribs? One makes a chopped bar-b-que sandwich!

Begin by slicing the ribs it into small pieces.

Next put the pieces in a pan with a little bar-b-que sauce;

And heat on low; stirring often.

Once the meat is warm pile it onto a burger bun;

And add the top.

I was amazed at how good this sandwich was the first time I made it. The flavor and texture was as good as any sandwich I have purchased in the past...only my sandwich was cheaper!

I just love it when I come up with a creative way to serve leftovers!

Milo

This morning Pat traveled to Petersburg Texas to buy a trailer load (almost 3,000 pounds) of Milo for our chickens. When he got back home I was very surprised to see it was not red Milo but beige Milo!

I had no idea Milo was any color other than red (this is what the red Milo looks like). Over the years we have purchased Milo by the bag and by the trailer load; but this is the very first time we ever received a different color.

Most of the chickens do not know what to think of the change; but I imagine they will get used to it.

We currently have around 175 chickens that will need to be fed all winter; the majority of their diet is Milo.