Tangle Tree Ranch

Books and more books, no not the reading kind, well, you can read the numbers, but there is not more text. Mostly numbers.

You got it, I am preparing for our taxes, so we can pay what we owe, or get money back. We do not mind paying taxes, as long as it is fair. So I guess I hope it is fair, I mean the tax laws, I can hear some of you laugh, well I am blond, so I am using this to my advantage for this tax issue. 

Let us talk about more fun issues, like house cleaning, wood cutting, and laundry. You say that is not fun, well we make it fun and a family affair. Everybody helps, it goes faster, is more fun and we spend time together.

We got snow last night, so now we can ski, cross country ski. Our daughter likes to put her skies on, and take her puppies for a run. It is a nice sight.

I am not sure what tomorrow will bring, but cats are to meet the vet, for fixing issues, so no more kittens.

I like seed catalogs, dream of spring and summer, enjoy growing different looking vegetables. In my head I have plans for low tunnels, high tunnel and green house. The last one passive heated from the sun, maybe a circulation fan run off a solar panel. 

Does this sounds like fun, or just plane work????

For me it is work on something that is fun, so I guess I get the best of 2 worlds. I am lucky, do you not agree??

Yes, the miserable weather is here, and I do not enjoy it. Bob did the outside chores today, so I have stayed in the house. I have made Norwegian brown cheese, kept the house warm, cleaned and tried to de-cluttered. This will be a never ending project, but I know I will win. It is going to take time, but organized it will become.

Our sick goat is still not walking, but she eats and drinks, so she is not dead. I think we will keep trying for another week or so. You just never know........

Well, thank heaven the pipes in the kitchen did not freeze up, just the bathroom sink.But I am making cheese tonight, and thawing out frozen pipes. What a combo, you just can not buy that on in the drive thru.

The pipes for the bathroom sink is rum a bit odd, sorry Doug, but it is straight out dumb. It freezes once every winter, so this summer I am rerouteing the pipes. I have 2 heathers going, and is waiting, something I do not always do patiently, but I am trying.

The cheese is in the press for the night, actually until tomorrow afternoon, so we will see how that turns out in about 6 weeks. I just made farm cheddar, but the real reason I made cheese: I need the whey.  I make Norsk brunost of it.  If you think cheese is spendy, try to look for the price of Ski Queen cheese from Norway, or Norwegian Goat cheese. I payed enough for a small chunk, to feed 4 goats for a year. So I am again making my own.  I have made it before.

My family NEVER stopped making cheese, so I am the eminent generation making cheese. My Mom makes cheese, my Grand Ma did, her mom did and so on. I like home made cheese, and will teach our child to do so. My future milk cows, Anabel and Tinkerbell, are heavy with calves, so I am closer every day to my own, farm raised milk. I get water in my mouth just by writing about it.

I guess when you are not afraid of work, you can enjoy the bountys of you own seeding.

I know we are not certified organic, but we strive to do everything we can the organic way.  This is the issue for alot of small producer like us, so I know we are not the lone ranger in this field.

I have actually been called The Lone Ranger. That happened while I was herding cattle up in the mountains of Norway, on my trusty mount Silver. Yes, my Døla horse, from Norway, that I brought with me, is Silver. He is a sorrel gelding, and is mine, all mine. Well, Bob and our child can ride him, now, but he tried to buck Bob off the first years we where married. So talk about being protective of his owner. 

We are in full swing on seed ordering, and plant schedule. All those event that says SPRING. It is cold out side minus 2F and wind, so it is cold. I have to get outside to cut up some wood. Not my favorite, but ok.

PS the wood is not certified organic, that I know for sure. I even know it is lazed with spray, but it burns the same.

So long, stay warm, and remember USDA.

So, since I have done nothing, Bob have hauled out manure from one of our barns. A job that is nice to get done, before it gets too cold or hot.  He spread the black gold on our garden plot, so we are ahead of schedule for this spring.

So, I just did nothing, grounded feed, fed poultry, goats, peafowl, one load of laundry, made lunch and supper, put Christmas decorations away, started to clean house. Worked on our tangletreeranchcsa.com website. All of these things take time.

He came back, or Bob found him in the trees, on the ground, almost like he was waiting to be caught. Maybe he missed his other friends. We have 4 peafowl, Thelma and Luise, our peafowl hens, and 2 male, who are nameless. I am not sure what to name them. Maybe Houdini and Sherlock. I do not know, but I will find name for them, sooner or later.

Other that that, we have not thing planed for tomorrow, or this weekend. But I am sure we will have a plan by tomorrow at noon.  I will keep you posted.

Oh, I forgot, Bob weaned our 2 calves, so now we have 2 cows mooing, and 2 calved answering, in each end of our farm yard. FUN!!! If you do not believe me, come and listen. It will stop, but who knows when????

I got a phone call at work today: Your peacock has taken to his wings, and is in the highest tree. We are under a winter storm warning, so this could mean one less peacock. 

I am hoping for the best, but I will save his tail feathers if he is dead. They are beautifully right now. I am hoping he is sitting safe on his feet, so they do not freeze, high up in the tree. I hope he come down in the morning, so Bob can put him back in. The wind had blown out the window in the door to their house, so that is how he found his freedom. 

I will let you know how it went.