Whatcha Up To???

[w_r_ranch]

Been a good day for killing things... I got the pesky armadillo that has been digging up the flowerbed at sunup, then a snake when I open the garage door & a squirrel that was in the garden. Buzzards are going to eat well today, LOL!!!

Harvested the onions (since they have started falling over) & laid them out on the tables in the party barn to cure. Then re-mulched the row so its ready for the fall planting.

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Made stuffed jalapenos.

Seasoned up strip steaks that I'll smoke for supper tonight. Mrs. Ranch made 'twice baked potatoes' to go with them. I also harvested 4 leeks to go with the steaks.

 

[wolffman]

Note to self- Don't post on Facebook about dewberry picking. You'll get all kinds of potlickers trying to find out where your patches are. Hahaha, I'm taking the mother in law picking this evening though.

 

[Waite]

Got the rest of the tomatoes planted. This is a week earlier than my typical target of Mother's day weekend, but the weather is holding and the plants are so big they had to be planted or repotted.

I usually tie my own jute trellis using thinwall conduit for a frame. This year I'm trying cattle panel.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Refilled the hummingbird feeders as needed.

Continued spreading the remaining mulch in the melon patch. As I am now out, I'll order another load tomorrow so I can finish.

Harvested 4 more leeks to go with our leftover steak supper

Watered the trees, garden & asparagus bed.

 

[Waite]

Planted the beets and bunching onions. Amended the last two beds. Planted a couple of bare root lilacs from the Arbor Day Foundation. First grass cut of the year, looks like hell...it always does after the first one.

Chicken on the grill.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Yesterday I used my father-in-law's Dodge Dakota to get 6 heaping loads of mulch. The bed holds 1.7 ish yards and I had the beg filled level each time with another bucket or two heaped on top of that. No one followed me too close on the drive home. I probably have 11 yards of mulch now. 2 of the 6 bed loads have been spread out. It was mid 80s F and sunny - I ended up in the heat exhaustion realm and felt sick because of it.

Today is about 70 and sunny so after church I planted one 12x4 raised bed with onion transplants then came home and started cleaning up the yard a little before working on more mulch. I also found out that I can get another raised bed at the community garden so this year up there I will have 25x75 in ground and three 12x4 raised beds.

Cheap fun for kids on a sunny day - paracord, canvas drop cloth, some scrap wood stakes.

 

[wolffman]

Mother in law says she wants dewberry wine. If you're going to make wine, you make a decent batch of wine. I'm shooting for 4 gallons. Good grief that's a lot of picking that has to be done. Knocked out 20% of it this morning, making another run this evening.

 

[Waite]

When I was a kid my stepdad made 50 gallons of grape wine every two years. I remember the kegs on the stand out in the garage. Some of it never made it to bottles.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Made our yearly supply of BBQ sauce (about 3 quarts) & got it bottled up...

Sprayed weedkiller (2,4-D) on the yard as there is hardly any wind & there's no rain forecast for 7 days.

Made soybean succotash to go with the last of the steaks/leeks.

 

[Waite]

Made our yearly supply of BBQ sauce (about 3 quarts)...

I make my own variation of the KC style sauce from Amazing Ribs. Over the years I've adjusted and modified it for our taste. I usually make a double batch, but we don't care for it as much as a grilling sauce, only for smoking. It has a strong vinegar base that really stands up to smoke but needs time to mellow that a grill doesn't provide. I really only sauce full racks of spare ribs when I smoke, everything else is left dry.

We like the yellow Carolina and vinegar based mops too. If you want to try a decent store-bought sauce, the Heinz collection is pretty good. They make a very good vinegar Carolina sauce.

 

[w_r_ranch]

We never buy sauce. This was a recipe that I got from a A1C in the Air Force. He was a great pit smoker & a magician with anything pork!!! I haven't seen 'Underdog' since 1980, but if he's still alive, I wish him well.

 

[wolffman]

Another evening of dewberry picking. Few more to go and I'll have enough for the wine batch. Harvested all the onions.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Put out 2 rolls of hay for the cattle.

Started harvesting the potatoes This morning I did 1/3 of them & got them in the curing trays. There are a number of sizable ones!!!

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Spent the rest of the day on the back porch with Mrs. Ranch & Dieter watching woodpecker baby flight training. Dieter did very good at 'staying' & not chasing them.

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[Waite]

Is Dieter a Weimaraner?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Yep, 90 lbs of pure Prussian stubbornness, LOL!!!

 

[ksk]

Dug onions.Over all,considering the crazy weather we had at times since November,pleased of the results.Potatoes getting close to be harvested.

 

[wolffman]

Stumbled on a jackpot of dewberries this morning. Some of the best I've ever seen. Some of the old timers around here say this year's crop is the biggest they've ever seen. Heading back out this evening to add to the wine batch.

 

[Waite]

Planted the pole beans and finished the trellis. Planted the Brussels sprouts, eggplant, dill, and a chive I started in the house. Watered the peas and the back tomato bed.

 

[wolffman]

Crispy tacos, horchata, and capping it off with a Padron Maduro. Nice combo this evening.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Made bread.

Finished harvesting the potatoes & got them in the curing trays. It was an excellent year for them, almost too good!!! a good 70% are what I consider normal size & maybe 20% are the smaller 'new potato' size. The remainder definitely fall in the lunker category, LOL!!!

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[wolffman]

Finished picking dewberries for the wine batch this morning. Now the wife says she wants to make jelly. Lol, let the battle between me and the water moccasins roll on.

 

[wolffman]

2018 Onion Harvest.

 

[Waite]

Melons and peppers planted. More severe weather forecast. I've been just ahead of a storm darn near every time I plant.

 

[wolffman]

Made bread.

Finished harvesting the potatoes & got them in the curing trays. It was an excellent year for them, almost too good!!! a good 70% are what I consider normal size & maybe 20% are the smaller 'new potato' size. The remainder definitely fall in the lunker category, LOL!!!

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That is the biggest Pontiac I have ever seen. You and Mrs Ranch can share it as a BBQ baked potato and Dieter will have the leftovers.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Mrs. Ranch said that one potato is almost enough to make a batch of potato salad!!! I told her to stop talking & start doing, LOL!!!

I grew 'Yukon Gold' one year & I had some as big as a football, I'm not exaggerating (too bad they don't store better). Wish I still had the pictures...