Blind Hog and Acorn

The sap run was short and sweet!  Acorn figures it was actually a false run, brought on by the Polar Vortex.  Two weeks of below freezing temps forced the sap back down, and when the temps warmed up, up came the sap.  Good enough for two quarts total of finished syrup.  Impressive, especially if you think of the 40:1 sap to syrup ratio!

Goats in the dairy barn are all kidded out, now is kidding time for the commercial and Spanish goats.  The old goat barn has been prepped, all good to go.

Acorn had to get out of bed at 10:30 pm to eliminate a varmint in the hen house that killed another hen.  Sam got skunk sprayed.  Blind Hog got his first Fauchi Ouchie.  All in all, a typical week on the farm!

The Polar Vortex is winding down, cold air receding and temps actually creeping above freezing. Hot Damn!

Blind Hog and Acorn have continued to soldier on- feeding the livestock, waiting for baby goats- expected and unexpected.

Fortunate for running water and electricity, however plans are in the works for "yet more farm improvements..." There is always room to make things run better, smoother, and to be prepared for outages of one sort or another.

Good news about the increased temperatures is that trees were tapped today for syrup, and Acorn saw sap collecting in the jugs!  Amazing!  Boiling it down will only yield a few ounces, but OH!  What a treat it will be!

The polar vortex is upon the farm.  Single digit highs, minus "whatevers"at night.  And snow...  And gusting north winds...   And yes, dairy kids being born!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been trying their best to deal with electrical resistance, amperage, wattage calculations. Working on electric lines from the house to the dairy barn, at midnight, in the 5F cold is a great way to kick off Valentine's Day...

Good news is that (knock wood) they have everything under control.  (knock wood louder...)

Acorn baked more brownies.  Why the hell not? Calories are being burned and two farmers need refueling!

Verdandi had twin bucklings, both weighing in over 10lbs each- which is pretty darn  impressive.  They need that size to help them get through the cold in the dairy barn.  Acorn made Verdandi an insulated "goat fort."  Verdandi is pleased.

Intrepid farmers will be tapping walnut trees by the end of the week- black walnut syrup is the goal. Spiles and tubing purchased, just need a day above freezing to drill the trees.
Check out the website for pictures from this episode!

Oy!  Blind Hog and Acorn have readied the farm for the upcoming hard, deep freeze. One day might have highs in the single digits and lows?  Minus whatever...  Been there, done that- they know what they need to do.  

Of course, the dairy goats might go into labor next week when the vortex settles in- let's hope not!

Blind Hog has been Mr Electrician, wiring in the new receptacles for the welder and plasma cutter.  Acorn has been busy doing other stuffs, including kidding pen set-up and freeze-proof watering for the geese, chickens, goats and cows.  All is ready!

Zucchini bread is in the oven as we speak- picture and recipe to be on the website.

BTW- Acorn fixed the microphone issue from last week, just a matter of the input source being changed after the computer did a system upgrade- back to the desired settings!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been busy- doing this and that...  Hay out for the herds, unpacking stuffs from 15-20 years ago, going through old papers, rewiring the shops for the new welder and plasma cutter, taking down old light fixtures and putting in LED flood bulbs. Going in a gazillion different directions, but slowly but surely, things are being accomplished.  Acorn is ready to get welding!

Of course, it has been raining. Flood or drought. Welcome to the Ozarks.

Acorn made Blind Hog some "special" ice cream.  If you have a counter-top ice cream maker, you already know how easy it is but perhaps you need to bring it out and give it a go.  Half and half, a bit of sugar, cookie crumbs and a splash of brandy.  Need I say more?  Recipe will be posted on the website.

Sam interrupted the recording to get his supper.  He can be hard to ignore when he has food on his mind. For some reason the microphones were super sensitive- had to really turn down the gain today.  Will give that a check later on.  Most peculiar...

Blind Hog and Acorn took their show to the road, literally, as they recorded the podcast while driving to the big city.  They had their sights set on a portable air compressor that would be big enough to use with the new plasma cutter, and Lowe's JUST happened to have one 45% off, PLUS and additional 10% off with military discount. SWEET!

Yup,  the farmers purchased a new wire feed welder that uses flux core wire, no cover gas needed, so they can both begin welding all kinds of project and new works of art.  The plasma cutter is not just a toy (says Acorn) but a much needed farm accessory.

Anyway, Blind Hog will have to wire up a couple new receptacle boxes and run a 30A breaker in the box, do the same down in the rock shop. Exciting times.

Blind Hog also recommended the Chocolate Gooey Cake for the recipe of the week.  It is pretty darn tasty.

Chores are done, hay is out.  Tune in and find out about the art project Acorn has in mind.  Something inspired by Jim Dine.

Winter chores mean feeding hay, bringing in firewood and baking yummy treats.  How about some Icelandic gingersnaps and a big batch of elderberry fire cider?

And that rooster we processed?  3 meals and 7 pints of chicken stock. All from one bird.  Excellent!

Check out the website for more details and links to the recipes.

Blind Hog and Acorn have enough to do on the farm.  Selling some goats, whipping up dogfood for Sam and blueberry-pumpkin muffins for the farmers- the recipe of the week.

Ozarks geology means goats must have selenium booster shots to avoid white muscle disease. Vaccinated half the adults, the other 24 will be done soon as I prefer 4-6 weeks before kidding.

Fixed the washing machine- replaced the drain hose and drain pump.  YouTube videos to the rescue. $65 in parts, but 4 hrs in very deliberate labor.  Removing rusted screws took up most of the time.

Winner winner chicken dinner- need to butcher a rooster tomorrow. Good eating to follow later in the week! But Acorn, how do you butcher a chicken?  Listen and find out!  No- I don't do that "running around with the head off thing..."

Blind Hog and the Acorn had a very nice holiday: usual farm chores, goats getting stuck in things, machinery to be fixed, hay to be set out. You know, all the typical things that go on regardless of holidays...

Acorn has some new plans for Season 2 of Blind Hog and Acorn.  Dare we mention the m-word?  (merch!)

Starting a new feature of weekly recipes from SteelMeadow Farm.  This week's installment are Farmhouse Brownies- they are freakin' easy and so gooooood. You can find the recipe link on the website post for the episode, which will take you to the farm's website:  www.steelmeadowfarm.com

Just a little farming done this week, as in Bonehead is still alive and doing much better, but also art and telescope magic.

Blind Hog has a commission for a wall sculpture.  He has a lovely piece that he is cutting in half, making a free standing sculpture into a wall mounted piece.  So far, so good.  The saw blade was awesome. Cut the stainless steel plate like butter.

Acorn is going out at sunset to view the planetary conjunction.  Jupiter with its moons and Saturn with its rings.  Such fun.  Too bad it is cold out there!  A couple more nights and the two planets will be practically 1 degree of separation apart!

Blind Hog and Acorn are going to take a break next weekend- they will be back with a new episode January 3rd. Hopefully by then they will have more interesting things to talk about...