Abundance

I've canned more tomatoes, tomato juice, and green beans than I had originally planned.  I put six quarts of corn in the freezer after intentionally planting just enough, I thought, for corn-on-the-cob, fresh, a few times.  Okra has finally started, and I'll be putting plenty of that in the freezer for our wintertime gumbo.  My single eggplant keeps producing more than we can use.  The sickly zucchini plant finally died, but if I can keep enough water going to the garden, I have a couple of young plants starting to bloom.  
I've concentrated on canning tomato juice lately.  When I have some left over that isn't enough to fill a jar, I put it in the refrigerator and drink it next morning.  Now I find myself getting out of bed wishing for a glass of cold tomato juice, but I don't want to open a jar that I just processed and sealed the day before.  So today I made about a gallon of juice, put a quart of that in a jar in the refrigerator, and after cooling the rest, will put it in quart freezer bags just for immediate use.  I add a little sugar to it, and a little salt:  I'd say 1/4 of a cup of sugar and less than two teaspoons of salt for a gallon.  
I am giving lots of tomatoes away.  Blight is always in evidence on the plants, and I don't want to waste a single tomato as long as we have them.  If somebody can use them, that's great.

Today Cliff had to see the doctor to get his prescriptions renewed for another year.  We are liking our young doctor better all the time.  He is pleasant and caring, and young enough to outlive us, the good Lord willing.  After reading a blog post on Dr. Kevin, MD, I'm glad we have a young one picked out.  Doctors are expecting an influx of new patients next year.    

Jody's doomsday approaches

Yesterday we went down the road to the local butcher shop to set an appointment for Jody's execution.  She had many chances with the bull when we had him, all for naught.  Makes no sense to keep a cow around if she can't have a calf, and as luck would have it, we're out of ground beef.  I bought one of those five-pound tubes of 80/20 ground beef at Walmart yesterday.  When I cut into the tube to portion it in one-pound packages for the freezer, a foul smell arose.  Yeah, the meat stank.  Oh, we'll eat it, but I'll try not to think about the smell.  I've been spoiled by four years of eating our own beef.  

Jenny, Jody's calf, will be forcibly weaned  when mom goes to the butcher.  She'll be six months old, so she is old enough.  I am thankful that she is the spitting image of her mother, even though she has a greater proportion of Jersey genes.  Because she has always run at her mother's side, she isn't as tame as my bottle calves are, but she isn't really wild, either.  

We'll have no homegrown milk for at least a month.  Bonnie-the-Jersey-cow is due October 10, and if she still has a decent quarter or two to milk, she'll provide our milk.  

I'm used to having cows butchered that have been pets, but this one is a little more difficult than usual.  

Jody as a baby

I will, however, have no problem eating the meat.  Especially after dealing with the smell of that Walmart meat, which may be from Mexico or Canada, according to the packaging.  My bet is on Mexico.