Crisp Squash Pickles

Canning season has begun!  Every winter we plan and dream about our gardens (we plant several) and they never quite end up how we planned, but that doesn't matter.  For some reason, we seem to be able to grow cantaloupes and watermelons in the dozens, but have trouble with "easy" veggies like tomatoes and zucchini.  So this year we planted an entire row of zucchini and an unfathomable number of tomato plants.  This approach seems to have worked for us, because we now have lots of green tomatoes and pounds and pounds of zucchini.

After rejoicing in the quantity of zucchini (I am less thrilled about the tomatoes, as I can no longer eat as many as I would like due to serious heartburn issues), I picked seven or so.  And there are still so many left growing!  Every time I picked one of the large ones, it seemed like there was a smaller one hiding under the leaves nearby.  It's nice that all the rain is helping with something, since it did not help our strawberry crop this year.

So, with the help of my food processor, I made four loaves of zucchini bread.  The first two will be gone by the end of the week.  The other two I froze before they get devoured. 

I then went to a book my mother purchased for me some years ago: the Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook.  If you have a large amount of any kind of produce to deal with, or are looking for some new and interesting ways of mixing produce I highly recommend it.  Each year we try out some new recipes.  A few years ago we did Lime Pear jam.  Last year we tried Pickled Green Beans.  With all the zucchini I thought I would try Crisp Squash Pickles.

The recipe calls for 5 lbs of zucchini.  Having recently purchased a small digital scale, I had a geek moment when I measured out my zucchini, getting just the right combination of squash to equal (almost) 5 lbs.  Here is what 5.1 lbs of zucchini looks like:

I then went back to the food processor (I love that thing!) to make the slices:

From there I simply followed the recipe.  The final product looks pretty good.

Mason Dixon Fair 2014: The Storm

Tuesday night, while the goat shows were finishing up, a brief large storm system moved through the area.  Thunderstorms had been predicted for the day and evening (it's seems like the weathermen predict thunderstorms on a daily basis during the summer, just to be on the safe side).  People with smartphones who had been looking at the weather radars started warning those of us without smartphones that there was a system coming through.  It looked like a long hot dog, with yellows and reds.  They were predicting hail and winds up to 70 mph.

The storm starting to come in.  This picture does not do justice to the actual darkness of the sky.

Then the phone calls started coming in.  People close by who had already been hit were calling to warn us: this system was coming in fast and hard, with little warning.  A husband called his wife and told her not to come home, but to go to a friend's house; their roof had been damaged by hail.  Others were calling to warn us to make the tents and barns and animals secure NOW, because this thing was coming.  In the meantime, the shows were continuing, because the skies were still clear.

My in-laws had come to see Colleen show, and decided to head home based on the weather report.  My husband went to see them to their car.

Colleen was through with showing, so I started putting anything of ours that was loose and could blow around away (chairs, clothing, boots, etc.).  Suddenly the sky started darkening and the wind picked up.  Within 5 minutes, the wind was whipping the large tent around.  Then a pole must have snapped, because the tent started coming down on top of us.

The collapsed tent.

I told Colleen to run to the cow barn next to us (it was a solid built structure, not a large tent), while I helped make sure that everyone in the tent got out safely.  A few minutes later I made it over to the cow barn.  I could not find my child.  There may be a something worse than not knowing where your child is during a natural disaster, but I don't know what it is.  Those were the worst few moments of my life, and they were brief.  I started screaming her name, trying to find her.  The woman with me, who I had been working with, quickly put me at ease, telling me that she had seen Colleen earlier and told her daughter to take Colleen to their car.  She had recognized Colleen by her neon yellow shorts.  Because there were cows in the cow barn, and everyone was running into it, she was worried that the storm might spook the cows and cause injuries to people.  After a few minutes we ran out to their car, where Colleen and her daughter were both safe.  Colleen was a mess, worried about myself and Chad (we managed to reach Chad on his cell phone.  He was hiding out in the goat trailer).  I later reached his parents, who were also fine.  We watched the rest of the storm pass by in the safety of their car.

The collapsed tent from the outside.

As far as I know, there was only one person injured by the collapsing tent.  She is now recovering.  I am thankful that the damage was limited.  At our house, we only lost power for a few days.  From what I heard and saw, it could have been much worse.  Afterwards, there was a beautiful double rainbow.

Rainbow after the storm.  Colleen took this picture.

It was also interesting to see the reaction from the goats that we took to the fair.  Little Buddy, who had been quite happy at the fair getting attention from everyone, took the Chicken Little approach.  The next morning he had diarrhea and wouldn't eat.  Apparently he thought the world was going to end.  By the evening he was back to normal, trying to get everyone to pet him and wanting all the attention.  Charcoal, who wanted nothing to do with being at the fair and didn't eat much since we had gotten there, apparently figured that if that was the worst that was going to happen, now she's a survivor and she's going to live.  After that she certainly had an appetite.

Mason Dixon Fair 2014: Tuesday 7/8/14

Tuesday was very busy.  Colleen had shows basically back-to-back-to-back.  The Open Fiber Goat Show began at 4 pm with Showmanship.  Colleen won first in her age category since she was the only one in her age category.  She did not do so well once she was competing with the other first place Showmanship competitors.  Charcoal, her angora goat, was quite hot, and not used to being walked on a lead.

Colleen and Charcoal begin their walk around the ring for the judge.

Charcoal won first place in her class for fiber goats (Senior Doe Kid), since she was the only one.  She also won Champion Doe Colored Doe (she actually had some competition there).  Based on comments from the spectators, fairgoers, and even the judge, she was also deemed (unofficially) the "cutest" angora goat there.  I totally agree.

Colleen adjusting Charcoal's feet during the judging.

The Fiber Goat Show ran from 4pm until after 6pm, when the Meat Goat Show started, which Colleen was also participating in.  Luckily, they started with Showmanship, beginning with the older group and going to the youngest group.  This gave us enough time to finish the fiber show, run Charcoal back to her pen, and switch goats. 

Colleen during Showmanship with Squeaker.  Notice how she's not even looking at the judge?

Following showmanship, it was time for Colleen's last show, with Little Buddy.  At home, during the few times that she had worked with him, he had refused to walk anywhere, simply laying down.  I was wondering how this would play out in the show ring; whether his interest in other goats would keep him on his feet (he's a nosy little bugger), or whether he would just lay down and play dumb.  Apparently he was happy to stay on his feet, but didn't actually want to walk anywhere.

Colleen and Little Buddy having a battle of wills in the show ring.

I guess I should be happy that she has no interest in showing cows.

Mason Dixon Fair 2014: Monday 7/7/14

We do not do a lot of shows.  With both of us working and Colleen being relatively young it just doesn't work out well.  However, the Mason Dixon Fair is close to home and one that we usually participate in.  It is also the first show of the season.  My daughter shows a few goats and I usually enter some items in the home goods. 

Monday was a busy day, as we were getting all of our tack, feed, and of course the goats ready to travel.  Even though the show is less than 15 miles from our house, it is still a big endeavor.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to be traveling several states away!  At least for this show, if we forget something, we can make a short trip back home to get it.

Charcoal, Little Buddy, and Squeaker settle into their new home for a few days.

Colleen only had one show on Monday: Breeding goats, with Squeaker.  As her mother, I had encouraged her to work with the goats that we knew she would be showing, so that they would walk on the lead around the show ring for her.  This wasn't her first show, and although she's young, she knew better what to expect this year. As her mother, I of course have no idea what I am talking about.  So she chose not to work with her goats until a few days before the show (this is not what is recommended by the way).  Which definitely showed in the ring. 

Colleen doing final touch-ups to Squeaker before taking her into the ring.

I am not, and will not, be the kind of parent who does their child's homework for them.  This is not to say that  I will not help her.  Chad and I both helped her clip the goats (which she is not able to do herself) and wash them in preparation for the show.  However, I believe that she should be responsible for age-appropriate tasks (such as feeding, water, and teaching them to walk on a lead).

Colleen and Squeaker walking around the ring for the judge.

The judges were all very nice about it (there were other kids who were in the same predicament).  They did not come out and tell the kids that they needed to work with their animals more.  They all said something along the lines of, "These kids had very uncooperative animals to work with and made the best of it."  But it also means that Colleen came in last in showmanship (this is where Colleen is being judged on her ability to show an animal).  Colleen didn't seem to mind coming in last, as she came in first/second/other places for other shows, but I minded.  I guess I felt that she didn't do the best that I knew she could have and I wanted her to.  I guess I will have to work on letting that go.  She had fun, and that's definitely important too.  Although I have asked some of the older 4H girls to give her some tips and encouragement for the next show (4H Fair).  That way she has some ideas on what specifically to work on, and it's not coming from me.


Colleen and Chad chillin'.