The Garden Thread - November, 2025

Jeff won the mule deer lotto?

Did some shopping, did some dishes, made a water run and by that time it was getting chilly and close to sun down so I ended up inside where I got quite a bit of house cleaning done. Seems I fell back into single guy mode pretty easy when it comes to having an unkempt place. I've also been working on cleaning up rarely used kitchen center type gadgets. I never put any thought into making sausage 20-25 years ago when I was collecting those things but I guess there were signs.

I've also got a couple more old style all metal crank type meat grinders that are clean and rust free and still usable. Had no plan or idea as to what I'd use them for.

I ate some of the smoked butt roast and gave the rest to a neighbor. Not going to do that weird andouille recipe that calls for smoked pork butt plus raw pork butt. In fact, I'm going with brats again. Gonna put off mechanical work until tomorrow so I can have clean hands today. Grocery store had a couple of cut down pork butt roasts yesterday about 2 lb each so I grabbed them. Gonna cut up, grind and season the meat this morning, re-fridge and stuff casings tonight. Will see what the wind does tomorrow and decide if I can do smoked brats. We're having the typical Fall gusty winds which will last until late Spring.

Gotta make a second water run after I transfer the full trailer tank to a tunnel tank. Then I'll probably work on figuring out the tunnel shed. Get pole holes laid out and started/marked. Gotta go through my wood and I see how I can utilize what I have. I have enough good corrugated tin for the roof and remembered yesterday that I have a lot of not as nice corrugated tin that's still good enough for walls. Couple of 4x4s for poles might be all I need to buy.

I make a To Do List every week for my days off but hardly ever stick to it. Making sausage was not on my list. Cutting up trees got cancelled by saw still in the shop. Rake and burn is a permanent to do list item because weather cancels it most of the time. Too wet or too windy is the norm around here.

Son is finally up. Time to fire up some noisy meat grinders.

Safety First! Meat grinders are as accident prone as snowblowers!

Other than animal chores, I’m not sure what I’ll get done other than cleaning out more beds.

It’s windy as heck and will be all week. Too windy to put down light straw mulch. Light snow this weekend. As she has proven all season long, Mother Nature is working against me. :(

All is not lost, though. The beds still have a decent amount of mulch on them from this summer. Strawberries need covering and the asparagus needs to be cut back and mulched. Those will be the priorities.

Also, I love a sunny March day when I’m MOTIVATED to get the garden beds back into shape. ;)

Are you saying your man has Hound Dog Hearing? That’s what I think you’re saying. lol

Half a dozen times a year I’ll have someone ask me if I would be willing to bring Nanner to their place to dig this or drag that.

My answer is always the same - NOT FOR HIRE.

Not today, not tomorrow, not ever, will I risk destroying my worn out machine in exchange for $50 or a 12 pack, which is the typical offer that comes with such a request. lol

Beau gets $70/hour for his efforts, and people happily pay it - but for someone that’s a total Math Nerd, I just can’t understand how he can’t see that he’s really not earning squat!

But, it’s his life and his headaches. The most it effects me is giving him a ride here or there to drop off or pick up a vehicle.

Skid steer had to go all the way to Madison and they had it for over a month, but he hauled it there himself. He also put all new tracks and bearings on it himself. I got to help with that. Oh, Joy! Oh, Happiness!

Hound Dog Hearing, LOL!

Wonderfully warm here today @ 76°; however, the wind is howling & it’s a “high fire alert” day. It’s hard to work outside when the wind is so strong.

We went to the old house yesterday & I have a PU full (seats, floorboards & bed) of stuff I brought back plus a trailer load as well. It was a long day & extra stressful because mom took her car too. We were trying to get back over the mountains before dark on the way home & barely made it in very low light after sunset. She did very well keeping up with me, etc., but I told her she can’t take her car any more until we get back to some longer daylight hours in the spring.

While she was going to her appointments & having lunch with a friend, I was loading up the truck & trailer. I (carefully) wrangled some pretty heavy stuff by myself that I was determined to bring back. With no rain in the forecast, it might be a day or 2 or 3 before I tackle getting it back off the trailer ..... I am just ‘whipped’ today.

The shop is still a mess from the last load that I didn’t have time to deal with so adding this load to the mess will be quite the organizational challenge. Next week will be much colder, too cold for comfortable work outside so I will see if I can fire up the wood stove in there & figure out where everything goes.

Another successful trip over the mountains! *I* don’t even like to drive in these diminished daylight hours! I’m ready for bed now at 6pm, LOL!

I’ll be back to myself starting December 21st when the Winter Solstice hits and we get more SUNSHINE!

Beau, and all racoon hunters, LOVE this time of year. The darker the better. Ugh!

He called a while ago. They finally made it to the eastern edge of Colorado! Had to replace the alternator in Jeff’s truck this morning, so they are about 6 hours behind schedule. But, those Mule Deer aren’t going anywhere. ;)

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