A very old friend of the Rancher's stopped in unexpectedly yesterday.
The Rancher and the Bag Lady took the rest of the day off to visit and have a few beers with him.
They hadn't seen him for about ten years.
They had a lot of catching up to do.
They had a very good time.
The end.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Mini-Rant
The Bag Lady, as you may have noticed if you've been reading her blog for any amount of time at all, tries to keep things fairly light and facetious cheerful, but lately things have been happening around her that are, to say the least, worrisome and slightly depressing.
One of her and the Rancher's friends is in the midst of a nasty and bitter divorce. Another friend has to have her elderly dog put down. Yet another friend was complaining to the Rancher that he approached his bank for a loan and was having trouble getting approved because he, as a rancher, doesn't have a JOB! WTF? The man has a herd of some 100 cows, but the bank, because he doesn't leave his home, work 8 hours, and put a paycheque in the bank every two weeks, decides that ranching is not a job?
Thousands upon thousands of people used to farm/ranch as their sole support a mere 30 years ago. A few cows, chickens, pigs, a crop of some sort and they managed to raise a family and perhaps even send a child or two to college or even university. Nowadays, ranching is not considered a job. The people who raise the animals who feed this great nation are not actually working. What the hell do the bankers think the ranchers do? Where would the rest of the world be without the people who raise the food they eat? Ranching is no longer a living - it's a lifestyle.
On a lighter note...... ummm, anyone want to step in here?
One of her and the Rancher's friends is in the midst of a nasty and bitter divorce. Another friend has to have her elderly dog put down. Yet another friend was complaining to the Rancher that he approached his bank for a loan and was having trouble getting approved because he, as a rancher, doesn't have a JOB! WTF? The man has a herd of some 100 cows, but the bank, because he doesn't leave his home, work 8 hours, and put a paycheque in the bank every two weeks, decides that ranching is not a job?
Thousands upon thousands of people used to farm/ranch as their sole support a mere 30 years ago. A few cows, chickens, pigs, a crop of some sort and they managed to raise a family and perhaps even send a child or two to college or even university. Nowadays, ranching is not considered a job. The people who raise the animals who feed this great nation are not actually working. What the hell do the bankers think the ranchers do? Where would the rest of the world be without the people who raise the food they eat? Ranching is no longer a living - it's a lifestyle.
On a lighter note...... ummm, anyone want to step in here?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Random Tuesday
Here are some totally random photos the Bag Lady has taken recently. The first was taken on the short weekend camping trip the Rancher and the Bag Lady embarked upon recently (she has been trying to find time to put together a video of that weekend, but she's been quite busy with other things!)
Like this! These are the first (of many) beans she picked. These were consumed for supper that night, unlike the rest, which were processed into mustard beans, or put in the freezer for later:
And, believe it or not, this is a picture of the flock of geese who stopped for a rest in the pasture recently. They were on a training mission, teaching the young how to stay together in preparation for their upcoming journey south. The Bag Lady thinks they may need just a wee bit more practice, because when the flock took off, one of them must not have been paying proper attention. The Bag Lady and the Rancher watched the whole group fly off, then one poor lonesome soul almost a minute later came along, honking and flapping, trying to catch up!
(There's no point clicking on that one to try to see the geese - the Bag Lady was quite a distance away, and had the camera on maximum zoom, so it just gets blurrier when you enlarge it! You'll just have to take the Bag Lady's word for it that those are geese. They are! Has she ever lied to you?)
Like this! These are the first (of many) beans she picked. These were consumed for supper that night, unlike the rest, which were processed into mustard beans, or put in the freezer for later:
And, believe it or not, this is a picture of the flock of geese who stopped for a rest in the pasture recently. They were on a training mission, teaching the young how to stay together in preparation for their upcoming journey south. The Bag Lady thinks they may need just a wee bit more practice, because when the flock took off, one of them must not have been paying proper attention. The Bag Lady and the Rancher watched the whole group fly off, then one poor lonesome soul almost a minute later came along, honking and flapping, trying to catch up!
(There's no point clicking on that one to try to see the geese - the Bag Lady was quite a distance away, and had the camera on maximum zoom, so it just gets blurrier when you enlarge it! You'll just have to take the Bag Lady's word for it that those are geese. They are! Has she ever lied to you?)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Weekend Report
The Bag Lady had a busy weekend dealing with her garden produce.
She picked spinach and peas and beans and more beans and more spinach and more peas, and dealt with all of that. She dehydrated the spinach and blanched and froze the peas, and made mustard pickles with the green and yellow beans. She also finally got around to making her pluot jam. She still has beans that need to be blanched and frozen, so she will do that today.
She will wait a day or two, then pick more peas and beans. The plants are still producing like crazy. She is also going to have to deal with her beets soon, but needs to go to town and get more lids for her canning jars.
The weather remains warm, verging on hot, but is supposed to change this week. A little rain would be welcome. Her tomatoes could use a drink.Actually, so could the Bag Lady, but she's afraid she wouldn't be able to stop!
Here is a rather strange-looking picture of the mustard beans being processed. The Bag Lady isn't sure why the colour is off a little.... it looks more like a picture of some bizarre soup!
She picked spinach and peas and beans and more beans and more spinach and more peas, and dealt with all of that. She dehydrated the spinach and blanched and froze the peas, and made mustard pickles with the green and yellow beans. She also finally got around to making her pluot jam. She still has beans that need to be blanched and frozen, so she will do that today.
She will wait a day or two, then pick more peas and beans. The plants are still producing like crazy. She is also going to have to deal with her beets soon, but needs to go to town and get more lids for her canning jars.
The weather remains warm, verging on hot, but is supposed to change this week. A little rain would be welcome. Her tomatoes could use a drink.
Here is a rather strange-looking picture of the mustard beans being processed. The Bag Lady isn't sure why the colour is off a little.... it looks more like a picture of some bizarre soup!
Friday, August 7, 2009
In a Pickle
Whew. The Bag Lady is exhausted. She's been working hard to create this pictorial/tutorial for you, and the most difficult part was getting the photos uploaded and set in proper order (because, naturally, when she uploaded them in what she thought was the right order, they all ended up in the wrong place....)
But here goes. The first step is assembling everything you need to do a proper job of canning. You will need jars, lids and rings, a ladle, and a set of tongs. One of the handiest things is a little magnet on a plastic handle for taking the lids out of the hot water. The Bag Lady has canned without one, but it is far easier to use one than it is to fish the lids out with a fork, scalding your fingers!
You will also need a canner. They are sold in hardware stores and come complete with a rack for lifting the jars in and out of the water. You can get by without one - basically all it is is a big pot with a lid - it has to be large enough to hold your jars with at least an inch of water covering them. Set a rack in the bottom of the pot so that your jars are not sitting right on the bottom - the boiling water has to surround the jars.
Next step is to assemble the ingredients you will use for your brine. You will need:
3 Cups of water
1 Cup of Pickling Vinegar (7%)
1/4 Cup of Pickling Salt (do not use regular table salt)
And, of course, your carrots, dill, garlic and onion (if you are using it - the Bag Lady didn't use onion in this batch, but always uses garlic!)
Cut your carrots so they are at least half an inch shorter than the jar - you need to leave a little headspace.
Put your clean jars in the boiling water canner and bring it to a boil. In another pot, mix the water, vinegar and salt and bring it to a boil.
Place the lids in hot water to soften the sealing compound.
Put your carrots, dill and garlic in the jar, then pour in enough brine to cover them, leaving about a quarter of an inch headspace.
Wipe the rim of the jar to make sure it's clean.
Using your handy-dandy little magnet-on-a-stick (the Bag Lady wishes she had been the clever person who invented this - she'd be rich!), lift a lid out of the hot (not boiling) water and....
...center it on the jar.
Screw the ring onto the jar, making sure it is finger tight.
Place the jar in the canner. Repeat for all the jars (or until you run out of brine and curse yourself for not doubling the recipe... which has never happened to the Bag Lady, nosirree!)
When all the jars are full, set the rack down into the canner so the jars are completely covered with water, put the lid on and bring to a boil. Boil the jars for 15 minutes (for pints) or 20 minutes (for quarts).
Remove the jars from the canner and let sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Try not to jump out of your skin when the lids snap - that means they have sealedand could possibly be why they are called "snap lids"!
Label the jars with the date and store in a cool, dark place. Your carrots will be pickled in about 6 weeks or so.
And then it will be on to the peas.....
And just so you don't think it's all work around the ranch, here's one of the Bag Lady's flowers:
She sincerely hopes she hasn't forgotten anything in her little tutorial.... but if she has, she apologizes.
Have a good weekend!
But here goes. The first step is assembling everything you need to do a proper job of canning. You will need jars, lids and rings, a ladle, and a set of tongs. One of the handiest things is a little magnet on a plastic handle for taking the lids out of the hot water. The Bag Lady has canned without one, but it is far easier to use one than it is to fish the lids out with a fork, scalding your fingers!
You will also need a canner. They are sold in hardware stores and come complete with a rack for lifting the jars in and out of the water. You can get by without one - basically all it is is a big pot with a lid - it has to be large enough to hold your jars with at least an inch of water covering them. Set a rack in the bottom of the pot so that your jars are not sitting right on the bottom - the boiling water has to surround the jars.
Next step is to assemble the ingredients you will use for your brine. You will need:
3 Cups of water
1 Cup of Pickling Vinegar (7%)
1/4 Cup of Pickling Salt (do not use regular table salt)
And, of course, your carrots, dill, garlic and onion (if you are using it - the Bag Lady didn't use onion in this batch, but always uses garlic!)
Cut your carrots so they are at least half an inch shorter than the jar - you need to leave a little headspace.
Put your clean jars in the boiling water canner and bring it to a boil. In another pot, mix the water, vinegar and salt and bring it to a boil.
Place the lids in hot water to soften the sealing compound.
Put your carrots, dill and garlic in the jar, then pour in enough brine to cover them, leaving about a quarter of an inch headspace.
Wipe the rim of the jar to make sure it's clean.
Using your handy-dandy little magnet-on-a-stick (the Bag Lady wishes she had been the clever person who invented this - she'd be rich!), lift a lid out of the hot (not boiling) water and....
...center it on the jar.
Screw the ring onto the jar, making sure it is finger tight.
Place the jar in the canner. Repeat for all the jars (or until you run out of brine and curse yourself for not doubling the recipe... which has never happened to the Bag Lady, nosirree!)
When all the jars are full, set the rack down into the canner so the jars are completely covered with water, put the lid on and bring to a boil. Boil the jars for 15 minutes (for pints) or 20 minutes (for quarts).
Remove the jars from the canner and let sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Try not to jump out of your skin when the lids snap - that means they have sealed
Label the jars with the date and store in a cool, dark place. Your carrots will be pickled in about 6 weeks or so.And then it will be on to the peas.....
And just so you don't think it's all work around the ranch, here's one of the Bag Lady's flowers:
She sincerely hopes she hasn't forgotten anything in her little tutorial.... but if she has, she apologizes.Have a good weekend!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Crash Tinkle Tinkle
The Bag Lady was going to post a lovely tutorial on pickling carrots, complete with pictures and everything.
Unfortunately, her computer had other ideas.
Her computer doesn't think anyone would be interested in pictures of carrot pickling, so it has decided she can't post those pictures.
Her computer doesn't think anyone would be interested in any pictures at all.
Her computer needs a good swift boot to an important part. Too bad the Bag Lady doesn't know which important part to kick!
Her computer is really pissing her off.
Her computer probably needs something, but is too stubborn to come right out and tell her what it's pouting about. It just does this annoying ssslllooowwwiiinnnggg down, then freezing. Why does the Bag Lady have to put up with getting the cold shoulder from a freakin' machine!?
Then her computer crashes.
She finally has a lot of things to share - pictures of her flowers and her camping trip and pickling.... maybe tomorrow.
Unfortunately, her computer had other ideas.
Her computer doesn't think anyone would be interested in pictures of carrot pickling, so it has decided she can't post those pictures.
Her computer doesn't think anyone would be interested in any pictures at all.
Her computer needs a good swift boot to an important part. Too bad the Bag Lady doesn't know which important part to kick!
Her computer is really pissing her off.
Her computer probably needs something, but is too stubborn to come right out and tell her what it's pouting about. It just does this annoying ssslllooowwwiiinnnggg down, then freezing.
Then her computer crashes.
She finally has a lot of things to share - pictures of her flowers and her camping trip and pickling.... maybe tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Chair
The Bag Lady has been really busy the past few days! She had a project to finish, and it was haying time, and her garden is producing all kinds of things that need to be dealt with, and she and the Rancher actually took a couple of days off and went camping on the spur of the moment!
She pickled some carrots and will write up a little tutorial for you, if you're interested. In the meantime, here is a picture of her almost completed project. She would like to add a pillow or two, but hasn't had time yet:
The Bag Lady is a firm believer in rescuing used furniture. She rescued this chair from the landfill a few years ago. It was natural colour (she thought she took a "before" picture, but can't seem to find it!), and had no cushions. She finally got around to painting it and had some foam leftovers from a previous project, so she made some cushions and set the chair on her deck. She knew the fabric was waterproof, which was a good thing because the weather broke while she and the Rancher were away on their little camping trip and the chair got rained on. The water just pooled on the fabric and she was able to pour it off!
She will try now to get caught up with what everyone was doing while she was away!
She pickled some carrots and will write up a little tutorial for you, if you're interested. In the meantime, here is a picture of her almost completed project. She would like to add a pillow or two, but hasn't had time yet:
The Bag Lady is a firm believer in rescuing used furniture. She rescued this chair from the landfill a few years ago. It was natural colour (she thought she took a "before" picture, but can't seem to find it!), and had no cushions. She finally got around to painting it and had some foam leftovers from a previous project, so she made some cushions and set the chair on her deck. She knew the fabric was waterproof, which was a good thing because the weather broke while she and the Rancher were away on their little camping trip and the chair got rained on. The water just pooled on the fabric and she was able to pour it off!She will try now to get caught up with what everyone was doing while she was away!
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