Skunks, Space Junk, and Relaxation

Well, you all missed it again. The adventure and fun never ends here on Whisperwood Farm. Laying under the stars tonight. Not more than 15 minutes goes by and I watch some space junk burn up on re-entry. Going east to west. Milky Way is awesome! Saw a skunk two mornings ago, saw another tonight. Got out of the zero-gravity recliner, and spotted a skunk near the coop. Walked toward it with my flashlight, and chased it away. It will be back, probably looking for free eggs. Might have to set the trap. Or do some night hunting (James?). Also have a groundhog that needs removing.

 

Mom was right on, with the location of the recliners. Need to be on the slight slope facing north. But must be careful to not tip over backwards. Viewing should be good this weekend. Bring sleeping bags to bundle up in while in the recliner (we now have 8, thanks to Kendy). I'll sleep under the stars if someone stays out with me (for protection against the roving coyotes). Heard some foxes the other night.

 

We will be serving venison this weekend. Also sausage dogs on the grill. Please bring chips and buns. I'll be sleeping in the camper. If anyone wants to "camp" too, they can. Bring ear plugs.

 

Your host with the most,

 

Farmhand Mark

First Deer

I've spent the past month building a deer stand (Ben's treeless tree house) in the back yard behind the carport. Have tried to spend as little as possible on it. Until I build some walls and a roof, the shelf that supports the bales of wheat straw will have to do. The stand is right on the edge of the woods behind us. I still have some camo painting to do.

Tuesday, business was slow, so I decided to take my new crossbow out to the stand and see what might happen. I've only shot the bow less than 20 times. It took only 3 shots and 2 adjustments of the scope to zero it. So I figured that I was ready to hunt.

I was in the stand for 30 to 45 minutes before I saw a deer approaching. I got an arrow loaded and waited. There were two does slowly making their way toward the salt lick that I put out in the woods at a distance of about 25 yards. A few times, the larger doe stopped and looked in my direction. I thought for sure that she saw me in the stand (I was peeping out through an opening between the bales of straw). It was another 20 minutes before she ended up between the salt lick and me, standing broad side toward me at a distance of about 20 yards. I pulled the trigger. The arrow hit her just behind and a bit above the front shoulder. Since I was shooting from at least 11 feet above the ground, the arrow angled downward and went right through her vitals. Perfect shot! She went right down. I did have to put her out with a shot from my .22 pistol, though. We now have some venison in the fridge, which we will enjoy this weekend.

Karen wanted me to add the photo of the deer after I had skinned it, so don't scroll down past this point unless you want to see it. I used the Harris Gutless Deer Butchering video found on YouTube. You can see the laptop, on the bale of straw, I was watching as I processed the deer.

I couldn't see gutting the deer, since it was my first one. And after watching many videos on how to field dress a deer, I think I'll stick with the gutless method. It seems to me that there is a lot less risk of contaminating the meat by not exposing the innards. And most of the meat can be removed from the bones using this method. Field dressing a deer is a must when out in the field, but with my kitchen and refrigerator within 150 feet of the stand where I shot and hung the deer for processing, there really isn't a need to make a big mess by gutting it.

Now to the good part! Just pulled a package of steaks, from the hind quarter, out of the fridge. Look how lean that meat is!

Seasoned the meat with Louisiana Cajun Seasoning Salt, placed it in a cast-iron skillet on the stove with a little olive oil. Cooked for about 3.5 minutes on each side, until rare to medium rare in the center. MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! There was absolutely no gaminess to it. If placed before me without knowing what type of meat it was and blindfolded, I would have guessed "a slightly tough beef ribeye". And it really wasn't chewy at all. I've had tougher beef. I will probably never buy meat from the grocery store again. At least, I hope I won't have to.

Greenest Summer I Can Remember

This has to be the wettest summer we have had in over 40 yrs.
Everything is green.

Got the rock in the fire pit all cleaned and ready for Fall.

Still firewood to split. Need to get the deer stand finished soon.

Some Fruits of our Labors

One large pine tree should supply us with kindling for 2 yrs.
A big thanks to lumberjack Bob Rezzarday for helping me load the logs onto the trailer.

We had 2 squash and 1 gourd grow out of the compost pile. The chicken manure was obviously excellent fertilizer. The squash shown is about the size of a basketball. Should I pick it now?

Bird Nest Soup?

Our King Bird's nest is getting crowded.
Is the mother a Queen?

Somewhere Under the Rainbow

July 22, 2013
 

Fool Moon

WELCOME

Welcome to Whisperwood Farm. This star has been on the house for over a month, and we've had a few gatherings since then, and no one has said anything about it (has anyone noticed?).

We will be getting our farm flag soon. I'll post a photo as soon as it comes in.

Home on the Shooting Range

The target backstop is finished, except that I will plant some shrubs at the front corners of the box. The crate behind is just leaning up against it and will be removed.

The box is 3.5 feet deep, filled with a coarse sand, which will stop the bullets.

My first shot with my sniper pistol (.22 with scope), shot from the fire pit (about 50 ft).

Time to move back to 100 ft.

Potential Egg Thief Caught

This hog nose snake checked into the Hotel California. For those who don't know the Eagles song, "you can check in anytime, but you can never leave."

It was at least 2.5 feet long, the biggest hog nose I've ever seen. Couldn't pull it out, so I had to do "surgery". The red-shouldered hawk that has been hanging around the garden may find it. If not, the vultures surely will.

May Showers Bring June Flowers?

A blue and green evening.

Photo doesn't do it justice.

Gentle rain soon to follow.

Wonder what it is like to be perched atop a high-power transmission line when a storm is going overhead (little black specks on tower are vultures)?

Spring 2013

Everything has turned green.

And yellow. 

Tick City

The 2-Flowered Cynthias have taken over.

We Take Our Gardening Seriously

The deer won round 1 last year, eating everything except the pumpkins. We sure enjoyed those pumpkins, though. I never knew that they tasted so good, with just butter and salt. We'll be planting more this year. And we should be able to get a good harvest now that our deer-proof fence is up.

Farmhand Mark designed the fence; Richard, James, and Mark drilled the holes and set the posts. Mama and Mark put up the wire fence, gate, and strung the lines above the fence. The fence measures 60 feet wide and 80 feet in length.
Got 8 rows of corn, 8 tomato plants, and 6 rows of okra planted. Still a lot left to plant.

Took the deer netting down from around the fruit trees so that I could mow and prune the trees. We have some peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, and apples forming. The deer killed 2 of 3 fig trees. Might have to get a dog, or two.

Whisperwood Pile

The Wall of Wood

Before I'm finished splitting up the tree I cut down several weeks ago, the wall will be two rows deep. Then I'll start another wall on the other side of the carport.

I am almost 1/2 way through the tree. It was a red oak, at least 90 years old. Must have gotten struck by lightning. It will provide many nice campfires next year.

Birdseed Thief Caught

It couldn't resist the bacon used for bait.

Eggstra Large Jumbo

This is the largest chicken egg I have ever seen. It is amazing that the chicken who laid it is still alive.

The egg to the right is the size of some
of the jumbos sold at the store.