Beating Winter Colds

Why me? Once again, fighting a nasty sick bug.

Here is little Abigail, bundled up and soaking in some sun from her “sickbed” on a warmer day.  Poor baby.

 

 

We do all the right things to stay healthy. Our regular diet includes cod liver oil, broth, fresh produce, naturally fermented sauerkraut, cultured raw milk, and a host of other good things. We also exercise and get outdoors. Why do we keep getting sick? Why me?
And then a friend suggested sleep. Yes, in my zeal to never miss out on anything I would normally retire between midnight and 1 a.m. (Not good for a pregnant mother of two!)
Henceforth I am valuing rest, as it seems to be the missing link. I’m talking 10 p.m. If mama is healthy, chances are the kiddos will be, too.
Here’s to a good night’s rest.

Cheers,
Western Woman

Deer Processing

Last night ended the Saga of the Endless Deer. Our good friends in town were kind enough to share a deer with us, sans the five-point antlers. My poor sportsman husband was disappointed that his work schedule did not allow him to hunt his usual buck, mule, and whitetail for the year, but we were grateful for our friend’s generosity.

My husband skinned and quartered it for me, and I insisted that I would finish the job so that he could get his own work done. For three long nights I cleaned off hair, cut meat off the bones, and diced it up to put through the grinder. Thankfully we don’t have to crank a manual grinder; we have an Open Country 400 Watt Professional Food Grinder, so that was the easy part.

I’m so glad a deer generally has four legs! That allows me the chance for improvement. I don’t know how long the first leg took me, but by the third leg I had it down to an hour and the fourth leg was about 45 minutes. One thing I discovered that helped me immensely was having a bowl of warm water to dip my fingers in when they would go numb from the cold meat (also a great way to get rid of random deer hairs that will not leave my fingers!).

I was flying high when it was close to midnight and I completed the last bit of the process, seasoning the backstraps. But what should I find mixed in the backstraps? I wasn’t quite sure, but there were two of them, which I labeled “mistery meat” on the freezer bag. My husband had a good laugh at me when I nervously asked him about it, and excitedly told me about “rocky mountain oysters.” Hmmmm. (If you don’t know what that is, google it. Haha.)

All you veteran sportsmen may well laugh. But I am proud of my baby steps in the wild west! Now, all I need to do is figure out how to get some rabbits and pheasants on the land. Can you picture it–dead of winter, and a fresh meat in the slow cooker for dinner! The seven mousers keep the land clean of all small animals. That’s a good question, please enlighten me if you can: How does one keep the land clear of mice and rats, yet encourage pheasants, rabbits, and other tasty animals?

Thank you for reading, and thank you for any insight you may have!

Cheers,

Western Woman