The Name Game

Please take a moment to vote on our bull's name over on the side bar.

Willy Wonka was suggested by my husband.

It's A BOY! updated w/pics

Eddie dropped her calf, and it is a wonderful bouncing baby boy! My camera died, will try to get pictures later.

So this year is the year of the W. Any one want to suggest their best W names for him?

Edit:

I got pictures!!!

I know, I know. He looks like all the rest. However, he doesn't have any white on him, like the others, and he will have horns like his parents, unlike all the others that have been born here who will be hornless.

Can you tell it's a he?


What do you think about the name Whiskey Will the Weekend Warrior of Neophyte Homestead? We can call him Wee Willy for short.

Tedium is hard at work here

Not much new to tell anyone about. The weather has been cooler for the past week or so. Which does indeed help. However the sun does need to shine so that I can get some tomatoes to turn red.

We are impatiently awaiting the birth of Eddie's new calf. And Wenonna (the newest calf) is coming along just fine.

I' m considering stopping this blog. After 4 years I have little left to compose. There are many death metal listening, tattooed, mistake making, homestead blogs out there now. Many are so new to this life that their enthusiasm is a great distraction. I'm just getting old (hat). I'm not sure yet. Maybe if something happens and I feel motivated, I will continue to post. I guess I have a few things to feel out, more so then think over.

I only have 1 persons mailing address, if your name is over on the side bar, please email me with your shipping info. They really want to get your prizes out to you.

I've been neglectful

I am still very sore. I have been stretching and all that jazz, but it doesn't seem to be getting much better. Of course I must aggravate it more and more everyday by doing simple chores.

I have been bringing in some HUGE squashes over the last few days. I will have to update my side bar on harvest amounts. My scale is broken as is my food processor. Making things a little harder to do.

I have been waking up with nightmares every night, and I can't tell you what they are about. I know it has to do with stress.

Some one is making meth in our area. You can't smell it on our homestead but when we go riding you can smell it about a 1/2 mile down. I can't pinpoint where exactly it is coming from, but meth manufacturing has a distinct smell, once you smelled it and know what it is, you never forget it.

Good neighbor told me the other day that the new neighbor (the one I told you about with the dogs that attack our horses and horses that get out and almost run down children on a weekly basis) might be cock fighting. One of their roosters had escaped and ended up at good neighbor's. He scooped it up. Now good neighbor's father, back when cock fights weren't illegal, use to raise and fight them. He has a good idea what it looks like and he suspects it's going on. The horse barn that the new neighbors built, I had questioned. It is slightly odd, not sure how to explain it really, there is no ventilation, or windows or anything like that in it. The shape seems off some how. It was explained to me that it was for training race horses. They keep them locked in that barn for 23 hours a day with no sunlight, and only take them out for training 1 hour a day. That seems wrong to me. But I am new to this horse thing. Good neighbor told me that not many people train like that anymore, and those barns are perfect for cock fighting. I hate being suspicious.

When you get a chance

Could you please keep Blessed Nation Ranch in you thoughts, or prayers. One of her toddlers was burned in an accident.

It feels like a hangover

Man oh man, I am sore. In case some of you missed it, Sammy pushed me over Donkey, and I bruised a muscle in my back, the cows escaped and I had to chase them all over tenbucktwo, all while blogging for 24 hours straight. I am a little sore.

I got just shy of 4 hours sleep on Sunday, then milked and pulled a truck engine out. Then Undies jumped the fence and was in the garden, so i had to wrangle him out. i passed out a little early, and kept having nightmares. Wonderful.

Julie, congrats! You got the tie breaking question correct. Send me your shipping info for the stun gun.

The thinker, gum was a good answer, but it was Echo that I was looking for.

Thanks to the game Dirty Minds for the riddles. (In cause you go looking for the trivia questions, I put them back in draft because they are naughty)

Now I have to get back to life here. I will see you tomorrow. Canning season has begun!

THE FREAKIN' END!

I have now been blogging for 24 hours straight.

I have been beat up in so many different ways.

But now the fun is done.

We raised $440 for Farm Aid! Thank you!!!!

The winner of the $100 gift certificate from Outer Sports is. . . .

Ginnie!

Please email me.

Thank you to every one that donated, stopped by to cheer me on, and for playing along with me. I am going to go to bed now, hopefully.

And to you. . . May goats never sit on your face while you sleep.

Only 30 mins left

If you see your name on the right side of the screen next to the word WINNER, please send my you shipping info. You can find my email on my profile page.

I have 1 more post to do, and one more prize to give away.

I really like Punky Brewster. Don't remember much about it, except some little girl on LSD hanging out with an old man. But I really liked the show.

Fact Sheet: Corporate Concentration

Grocery stores today are filled with many products, name brands and the appearance of choice: cereal consumers have an abundant and colorful array of products from which to choose, dairy cases are filled with different grades and brands of milk, meat counters boast row upon row of prime cuts. However, a handful of multinational food companies produces and processes most of these foods. Corporate control of the food industry is so broad that only a few companies dominate the entire food chain from seed to finished product. This is corporate concentration in agriculture.

Low Price: Pushing Farmers off the Land

• Corporate agribusiness, through its market power and its influence over policy makers, is the driving force in setting farm policies. ¹
• As a result, the market prices of most crops, effectively set by domestic farm policy, are well below the cost of operating the farm.² This enables multinational corporations to buy raw materials at the lowest possible cost while farmers struggle to cover the cost of production.
• To make up for the huge gap, between market prices and production costs, the U.S. government uses taxpayer dollars to provide farm subsidies. Unfortunately, these billions most often go to corporate farms not family farms. ³

Genetic Engineering: The Elimination of Farmers’ Rights and Livelihoods

• Two multinational companies, Monsanto and DuPont, dominate the US seed industry. ⁴
• Farmers who buy genetically engineered seeds are forced to sign contracts that dictate how and when the crop can be grown and deny farmers the right to save seed for the following year.
• Many farmers, whose crops have been contaminated by GE pollen drift, have been sued, by Monsanto, for unknowingly and unwillingly "possessing" GE seeds.

Corporate Food: Higher Quantity, Lower Quality

• Corporate food has to travel almost 1,500 miles on average to get to your dinner plate. It is picked or processed days in advance and it is often specially treated, processed, genetically engineered, or irradiated. ⁵
• Agribusinesses already process and market 95% of the food in the US. ⁶

Corporate Concentration: Removing Consumer Choice for Local, Fresh Food

Just like the farmer who can no longer sell his goods to a variety of buyers, consumers may soon lose their food choices. This is a real danger; by the time American consumers realize that corporate food is not always good food, all the local or independent companies could already be gone - eliminated by the corporate giants. To prevent this from happening, Farm Aid partners with and supports family farm organizations that fight for fair farm policies at local, national and international levels. These advocates help give family farmers the tools they need to bypass corporate giants and create a family farmed food supply.

Source: Farm Aid

Sing along -Songs pre-1919

THE END OF THE TRAIL

SOH, Bossie, soh!
The water's handy heah,
The grass is plenty neah,
An' all the stars a-sparkle
Bekaze we drive no mo'—
We drive no mo'.

The long trail ends today, —
The long trail ends today,
The punchers go to play
And all you weary cattle
May sleep in peace for sure,—
May sleep in peace for sure,—
Sleep, sleep for sure.

The moon can't bite you heah,
Nor punchers fright you heah.
An' you-all will be beef befo'
We need you any mo',—
We need you any mo'!


From Pocock's "Curley."

I've spent 22 hours on the computer

And no one to talk to the last couple. Sorry, not complaining, just so freaking tired.

It has been an interesting night at least. I made some new friends in Mafia wars. Been place on several hit lists.

I hurt my back, it is still very sore, while trying to give every one a treat. I think that Donkey and Sammy had it all planned.

Then the cows escaped. And with a hurt back, I had to run around trying to get them back on our property, all while keeping my obligation here.

The sun is starting to peek out. The rooster are crowing in their excitement. I just want to close my eyes, they're tired.

Husband wants me to help pull the engine on my truck today, and replace it with another one. I will be lucky to get 4 hours sleep before he bothers me. Then I have to milk and do all the other chores that have to be done.

I have been trying to listen to music on my computer, but it sounds like everyone is singing into a can. Have no idea what's wrong. Been messing with it for hours.

2 more hours. . .

What do you want to do?

I have some baskets to give away.

You can fight amongst yourselves to see who gets it.

Here is a picture of ducks swimming in a bathtub, enjoy.

I just got a very cool email

Three of my photos are being used on the cover of the 2009 Harley Davidson catalog.

Can you find them?

It's a mosaic of course.

first one is somewhere in here

second one is somewhere in there

third one is around this area.

After you find them, pull the picture out and see the full mosaic.

only 3more hours. You can still pledge if you want. You could win a $100 gift certificate for doing so.

Fact Sheet: Farm to School

Did you know that only one in ten adults in the U.S. consume the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings each day? Students, who need nutritious foods to supply mental and physical growth, don't fare much better: only 21% of high school students consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. A higher intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with improved academic performance, meaning that a dietary deficiency can hinder school success.

Did you know that every week, hundreds of farmers leave their land and that the average farmer now earns only 19 cents of every food dollar? Thriving, healthy, local farms contribute to community stability, food safety, the development of a strong, local economy, and the preservation of land and the environment for generations to come.

Did you know that there is a solution to both of these problems? Farm to school programs establish relationships between local farmers and schools in which family farms provide fresh, quality fruits and vegetables for students and teachers to enjoy, leading to healthy farms and healthy minds!

Farm to School and Farmers:

• Sales to schools have accounted for an average of 5 to 10% of participating farmers' income nationwide, though this number has been as high as 40% for certain farmers.
  
  
• Farmers often contribute more than just food: student farm visits, farmer visits to the school, farm taste-tests, and student participation in farm activities all enrich students by demonstrating the connection between land, food, mind, and body.
  
  
• Local farmers can get high quality, fresh produce to a cafeteria within 24 hours of harvest. Local purchasing encourages stability in both the school food service budget (because farmers set prices at the beginning of the season they are more resilient to market fluctuations) and in the farmer's sales market (because schools represent a consistent distribution outlet).

Farm to School and Students:

• Schools with farm to school programs have seen an increase in student fruit and vegetable consumption between 25 and 84%.
  
  
• Farm to school programs have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable consumption outside of school and have positive affects on parent attitudes, food habits, and grocery selections.
  
  
• Students with exposure to farm to school programs and associated educational components show an increased knowledge and awareness of the nutritional benefits of healthy foods, gardening, growing cycles, agricultural practices, and environmentally sustainable practices that reduce carbon emissions and global warming.

Source: Farm Aid

I'm dissapointed

no one covered me.

You can redeem yourself. First person to say anything to me will be sent a copy of how to cleanse your house of pollutants.

good luck. I am going back to play Vampire wars on facebook.

What's that I hear?

A tractor.

Who on earth is working in their fields at 3am without a harvest moon, nor any lights on their tractor?

Maybe I should go running around, could be cattle rustlers.

Cover me, I'm going in.

Sing a long - Songs pre-1919

THE DRUNKEN DESPERADO

I'M wild and woolly and full of fleas,
I'm hard to curry below the knees,
I'm a she-wolf from Shamon Creek,
For I was dropped from a lightning streak
And it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

I stayed in Texas till they runned me out,
Then in Bull Frog they chased me about,
I walked a little and rode some more,
For I've shot up a town before
And it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

Give me room and turn me loose
I'm peaceable without excuse.
I never killed for profit or fun,
But riled, I'm a regular son of a gun
And it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

Good-eye Jim will serve the crowd;
The rule goes here no sweetnin' 'lowed.
And we'll drink now the Nixon kid,
For I rode to town and lifted the lid
And it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

You can guess how quick a man must be,
For I killed eleven and wounded three;
And brothers and daddies aren't makin' a sound
Though they know where the kid is found
And it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

When I get old and my aim aint true
And it's three to one and wounded, too,
I won't beg and claw the ground;
For I'll be dead before I'm found
When it's my night to hollow — Whoo-pee!

Baird Boyd.

SUDDEN DEATH!!!!

We have a tie on the Riddles.

First here are the answers

1 Video Game console

2 Wizard

3 Farmer (sorry couldn't take hand or wife)

4 Fork

5 Stove

6 Tailgating

7 Chair ( I took rocking chair also)

8 Birthday

9 Cellar

10 Roadkill

The tie is between The Thinker and Julie

here are your sudden death questions

For The Thinker: She used her mouth to get me started, but after I got going, I did it again and again and again. Toward the end though, I did get a little softer. What am I?

For Julie: When you hold me tight and press me against your belly, I can vibrate hard enough to get your rocks off. Once you find my trigger, I'm so loud, everyone can hear me. What am I?

~I can hear the Jeopardy music, can't you?~

Good luck!

What to do? What to do?

Now is the time you should be chatting me up.

I have two more prizes to give away and 1 more drawing to do in the morning. The drawing would be for the pledging of $5 to win the $100 gift certificate to Outer Sports.

My backdoor is open and I am listening to the drag races a few miles away. Why yes it is 130am.

You have 30 minutes or 2am central time to answer all the trivia questions before I tally up and declare a winner.

Did you all leave me already? ah well, that's ok.

Dr husband says I bruised my Trapezius Muscle. Sometimes I find it annoying to live with a well educated man, but I still run circles around him when it comes to lit.!

Fact Sheet: Food Labels

Food Labeling

There are many different food labels that contain information about how food was grown or processed. However, some labels can be misleading. Below are examples of labels to look for, ask questions about, and avoid. Send your questions about food labeling to ask Hilde, our resident expert.

Look for:

Organic: The National Organic Standards, regulated by the USDA, assure that food products must contain at least 95% organic ingredients and that no synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, biotechnology, synthetic ingredients,or irradiation were used in production or processing. Organic labels can be found on produce, dairy, meat, processed foods, condiments and beverages.

Fair Trade: Fair trade standards are enforced by the Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO). Fair trade products must be produced in accordance with the following guidelines: Workers must receive decent wages, housing, health and safety guidelines, the right to join trade unions and child or forced labor is completely prohibited. Crops must also be grown, produced and processed in an environmentally friendly way. Fair trade standards have been established for coffee, tea, cocoa, honey, bananas, orange juice and sugar.

Free Farmed: The Free Farmed Certification Program was created by the American Humane Association in 2000 to ensure that animals raised for dairy, poultry and beef products are raised in a humane manner. These guidelines ensure that livestock have access to clean and sufficient food and water as well as a safe, healthy living environment.

The following labels depend on farmer and processor information to support the claim that the food products were raised in compliance with each set of standards. However, they are not certified or tested by any third party regulatory agency.

Feel Good Buying (not certified):

Hormone Free, rBGH Free: Some meat and dairy products are now being marketed as hormone free. In dairy products, this means that the farmer has chosen not to inject his cows with the artificial growth hormone called rBGH. Similarly, on beef

products this label indicates that the animal was raised without growth hormones or steroids.

Raised Without Antibiotics: This meat and dairy label indicates that the animal was raised entirely without the use of low-level and/or therapeutic doses of antibiotics.

GE Free, Non-GMO: Food products that use GE Free or Non-GMO labels are regulated by individual companies, distributors or processors. Often, the companies require certification or affidavits from farmers that the materials were not genetically modified in any way. Learn more about Genetic Engineering.

Ask Questions About:

All Natural: While many products have “all natural” labeling or packaging, there is no universal standard or definition for this claim.

Free Range: The Free Range claims that each meat or poultry product (including eggs) comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was allowed to roam. However, the regulations do not specify how much of each day animals must have access to fresh air. For example, in poultry, the USDA considers 5 minutes adequate exposure to be considered free range. In beef the use of the label is completely unregulated or standardized.

Avoid:

Irradiated: Irradiation, or cold pasteurization, exposes food to high doses of ionizing radiation, equivalent to millions of chest x-rays, in order to kill bacteria. This process destroys essential nutrients, creates toxins and carcinogens that remain in the food, and perpetuates dangerously unsanitary conditions in meat processing plants.

Source: Farm Aid

Here are some of the foods we grow here on the Neophyte homestead;

Everything except the wheat (for now)

Right now I am eating organically grown popcorn. Everything we grow or raise is organic and raw.

Midnight! Only eight hours left

The winner of the 8x10, blue ribbon winning photo from one of my mentor, Texas wren, is. . . .

JULIE F

Please email me with your shipping address!