Storm Shelter

Growing up where we did, and now living where we do and in what we live in, we bought a storm shelter.
Arlis dug a hole, by hand, until it was quite deep.  But then he hit rock and we had to call in the big guns.

 The jackhammer of the backhoe scared the chickens, and made one guinea fly off (he came back).

 And many hours later...He finally dug through the last of the feet needed...

 And the shelter was brought in...hmmm...it looks awfully small...

 Overtarred so as to prevent moisture leakage.

 Just outside our front door.

 Cover it up a bit

 It looks good, but it's still not done.  We have dirt to mound on top and sides that's coming the next day.

 Inside.

 I'll just blow away, thank you because you are NOT getting me in there!

We were hoping to double it as a root cellar, but it really is too hot.  The top and door have to be left uncovered so we have a vent on top, and can get in.  This allows the sun to heat it up too much.  I hope it's not too hot when we have to use it!

Now, the really cool thing is this.  We advertise with cookouts.  So, we offered Dexter burgers to the crew.  The crew have friends/relatives that raise Angus.  They said our meat (with NOTHING added) was the best they ever had.  Now, Angus used to be that way, hence it's popularity in the day (now it's just a fad name).  But then the commercial breeders got involved and went stupid, and now they're all grain fed just like all the other meat on the market.  (Even a Holstein is the best meat you've ever had if pasture fed-and that's from buyers and their cookout guests' mouths!!)  Soooo....they're calling up their Angus friends to tell them to switch.  We gave them a long speech about grain/pasture and that if you grain feed Dexter, it'll kill the point of it all and will be awful.  They said they would pass it along.  One guy runs 80 cows of his own.  He wants one of our bulls for first time heifers.  Cool.  But the really cool part was that the fill dirt was free.  Now, I'm not saying it was the Dexter beef for sure, but Southern hospitality did seem to help us out for about....$350 that day.


Here's the owner smoothing out the top...it was my day off

 It looks real nice now.  And hopefully, we won't really need it. We've sprinkled grass seed, and we'll sprinkle some clover seed as soon as I get more from the store.  Then it'll look real nice.  I'm also thinking of pretty little flowers around it...hmmm.

How to Dry Herbs

It's time for a new "how to" blog.  Well, my oregano is waaaaay overgrown, so I decided to go ahead and dry some herbs for the winter.

See the green bush on the bottom right...no, over a bit more, no left, up....oh never mind.   That's oregano.  (this has been a difficult year)

 Mint

 Oregano

 And the little tiny pine tree is rosemary.  Now, rosemary lasts forever, and I even had fresh rosemary last winter, so I'm leaving it along for now at least.

 Cut young fronds.  Some of mine were going to seed.  Do NOT eat those.  You can tell when they are too old as they will be taller, bigger, and the leaves more spread out.  They stand out from the other fronds.  (oregano)

 Rinse them off real well.  Do this NOW as it's impossible once it's dried.  Line the cut ends up together.

 Lay whatever type of string you will use underneath.  Do not put too many together.  Just a small bunch so they can dry completely.

 Tye a square knot.  You want it tight, but don't break the stems.  Be sure to leave leaves on top of the knot to catch the string so the herbs don't slip and fall.

 Hang in an everyday room.  The basement is too cold and damp.  You want a place you will be normally.

That's it!  Now, bear in mind, USING dried herbs of this fashion is different than you're used to if you use "canned" or even fresh herbs.  Take a leaf or too CAREFULLY off so as not to lose other leaves, and crush in your hand over the food.  The crushing releases oils that will make it taste like you're using fresh.  If you chop the herbs or crush them before hand, you'll lose all flavor and you might as well go buy them from the store.  (I've bought plenty, as you can plainly see, so I'm not bashing that)  If you've only ever used store bought, test this in a well known recipe, and go gently, as you are probably not used to the flavor.  ENJOY!!

Ant Problem

A lot have had ant troubles.  Not me.  We just had one ant.

 OK, OK, we've had sugar ants, but it's that time of year.  Terro just lives on the counters and shelves this season.  FYI, that is one of those collection tubes for blood collection of pregnancy checking on cattle.  (Don't ask what's in the fridge)

 And here's a quarter to show you the size...and a lady bug...that's dead...I guess I need to clean.

 

I put the tube on top of it and drug it off the shelf onto our electrical bug swatter.  It's a tennis racket with metal instead of strings, batteries, and a nasty shock to insects....hee hee hee.