Learning a new Language & barbecued Beaver Ribs

We now start our third week on the farm.  It is a full moon tonight and very beautiful.

They are framing the loft in the barn for our apartment.

A picture that shows how far away the house is from the back of the barn

There was dried mud all over my Coach purse!  I should have taken a picture because it spoke volumes of how things have changed.

There is so much mud from all the big trucks bringing construction supplies and workmen, that some of them are refusing to come until the road is fixed.  UPS got stuck the other day.   My son bought a large chipper that attached to the back of his large tractor.  So Alyce and my son started up the tractor, figured out how to work the chipper and began feeding it small trees.  I might add that the entire process of having the chipper delivered, figuring how to get it on the tractor, pulling it on level ground, then figuring out how to work it too hours.  And it was raining!

Last Friday, we ate Beaver Tenderloin and Beaver Ribs.

 He Sous Vide the ribs and cold smoked everything for 3 day to preserve it and tenderize it.  We will have sausage from the haunch & the belly!  The meat was cooked perfectly and was very tasty and tender.  There was also a lot of meat on the ribs.

He cooked the tail and made a "beef broth" and added vegetables for a tasty soup.  I never would have thought I would one day be eating beaver.

I started  Small Engine Repair class tonight from 6-9.  I was very excited as I sat among the other students waiting for class to begin.  By 7:00 I felt I had made a big mistake and still had 2 hours to go before it was over.  It was an intro class, but the teacher moved very fast through his powerpoints stopping briefly to ask if we had any questions!  Yeh, I had lots of questions - but it was a class of men and I was the only one who didn't seem to have a clue.  I was so disappointed that I wasn't going to "get" this stuff and wondered if I was going to have the same experience with my beekeeping class.  Then all of a sudden I looked up and it was 8:00 and I was engaged!  There was a 2 stroke engine in front of me and I suddenly recognized the piston, then the fly wheel, the intake & outtake valves!  OMG I was speaking the language... I was getting it.

Here is a picture of the disappointed ducks returning from the pond because it was frozen.

And Roosters, ducks & hens begging for food at the kitchen door

And....just another hilarious moment with the grandchildren!!!

First nite of our third week.  We are still exhausted by 7:00 - but so then are the parents!