Pigtails

I was just talking to Jessica and mentioned how I really like wearing pigtails in the shop...and how today I actually went into town (the tiny redneck haven of Leonard) to run some errands in them. I guess I must really be getting old seeing as I no longer seem to care what other people think of my appearance? Or perhaps my transformtion into a quasi-new-age-redneck is complete? Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, Jessica, here they are in all their glory:

Carburetion

Jessica is out of town for the family reunion for a few weeks, so I get to do pretty much whatever I want to around here with no interuption. Of course, it also means that I am eating frozen pizza every day, leaving the toilet seat up and occasionally talking to myself....but I digress. Today, I spent pretty much the whole day wading through carburetor parts. I was knee deep in parts from the tractor (which has always had a problem with the float sticking and just recently started draining the entire gas tank through the carb and down to the ground and (it looks like) into the oil pan) and from our "new" Honda fourwheeler. It is amazing that it pretty much took all day, but it was nice to get it done and it really needed to be done. I have been having to intermittently tap on that carb with rocks to get the tractor going.

Anyway, that is the story of the day - pretty much totally boring, but Jessica wants updates, so....

Jessica's B-day Party

Today, we took on the torch of tradition and in the spirit of our ancient ancestors from the old country (Yugoslavia,) my immigrant grandfather, and most recently, my uncle by slow-roasting a goat (traditionally it has been lamb, but I am sure the old ways included goats too) on an open spit. Uncle Bill was kind enough to offer his custom-made spit with electric motor to the task and for that we are VERY grateful. It made the whole chore a pleasure. We started early with the slaughter of one of our homegrown goats (see this post and this post) Homegrown means we know that he never got into any sort of nasty medications that could be lingering in his flesh and that he has been healthy. He was born here on the farm, raised on this farm, and consumed on this farm. That is kind of a fun concept.

We had a bunch of family and friends over to share in the fun/food (part of the ancient tradition) and everyone brought tons of tasty side dishes and it was awesome. After all was said and done (and after Sterling's brazen cat nabbed about a pound of meat right off the table right in front of our faces and ran off in a mad dash to the bushes with it) we still ended up with at least 15-20 pounds or so of good meat for the freezer! Everyone seemed to enjoy the meat and for all you Benac relatives, it was actually very similar to the lambs we usually do. Today I discovered the benefits of being at the table when it first comes off the spit. Those who are cutting the meat off and putting it on the platters for all the others are those who get first dibs on the best cuts of meat. There's a mental note to keep for the future!

For my own personal reference the next time we do this, here's the important info:

Shopping list:

• 1 bottle of pepper
• 1/2 pound salt
• 10 or 12 large garlic bunches
• 4 bags of charcoal
• Some olive oil for basting

We slaughtered the goat at 10:30a and it took till 12:45 to get it skinned/cleaned and all the garlic "implanted" in it. The salt/pepper went on quick as did the process of getting it onto the spit. We pulled it off the spit at 7p and it was perfectly done.

Thanks to all who contributed by bringing food, helping with the prep or cleanup, etc. We had a blast. Jessica will remember this B-day (hopefully) with fond memories - I know she really enjoyed all the company.

Happy B-day America

We woke up this morning at Robber's Cave (near McAlester, OK) and spent a few hours exploring the caves before the heat kicked in. The kids and Jessica retired to the lake and I hit a hiking trail around the lake which pert near killed me. It was hot and while the trail was excellently marked (blue spots on every other tree) sometimes, it simply wasn't marked. Also, it was a hiking trail and so there were quite a few areas that were totally unridable (requiring "scrambling" skills) but it was nice to get out on the bike on a trail. We drove home in time for "burgers and bullets" at the Huber's house (Lenore was there as was Julie Anderson) where we threw a half ton of lead into a dirt bank demolishing targets comprised of everything from toilets to effigies of B. H. Obama.

There were fourwheelers and I thought Winter had bought it when I looked up just in time to see her roll a small 4-wheeler in a horrific accident on flat ground. She was very banged up and is going to have some major bruising, but seems to have come through it with nothing permanent. Those little cheapo foreign 4-wheelers seem to be (in retrospect) too tall and not wide enough - a recipe for roll-overs. Our best guess is that Winter tried to hit the brakes while turning and got the rearend of the thing sliding to instigate the roll. I thought for sure that she had broken her back or something - it was really scary. She had a full-face helmet on and still ended up with a fat lip too. Wow.

When we finally got home this evening (at like 11p) we lit off the fire works that I found on the side of the road and they are the best fireworks I have ever lit. There were 4 or 5 successive volleys of 3 rapid-fire rockets that went up into the air 40 or 50 feet before exploding in fun colors and crackles. It was our own mini-fireworks show. I took care of the farm chores and unloaded the sub and it is bed time for this tired ol' dad.

No more bottles!

Sammy (the bottle calf) took his milk from a bucket today. That is
great progress. Another month or so & we can wean him.

More On (not moron) unkigiash

You far-flung siblings will appreciate these (even though they would look like 1,000 times better with a little lightening in Photochop):


And lest you think no fish were caught - behold this monster bass that was singlehandedly brought to shore and subdued with bare hands after a fierce struggle by our own unky - this lunker was released to be caught another day. Be sure to note the contented look of a man who has conquered beast which shines through the unkempt mop of hair to betray unky's true nature:

Sterling

I arrived home from work yesterday to find Sterling had just been stung by a wasp (again) within an inch of his eye (again) and was starting to swell up (again.) We kept him dosed up on benadryl and this is the result this morning:

By the way, he is not winking at you. The eye is completely swollen shut and is apparently getting a bit uncomfortable.

Ginger reports she "stepped on a bee and a snake" so she had to have her picture taken too. You can tell from the look on her face that the pain and anguish from the reported event have been highly traumatic (not)