Another storm and more damage...ugh

We had quite a storm last night.  Extremely high winds, lighting and thunder seemed not to stop.  At first we thought it only did minimal damage until Molly told us to come look!

This is a manager and we use it to feed the larger animals hay. 

It flew from the stall area to over here, where the tractor was parked. 

A claim was filed today. This has never happened, not even during the tornado a week or so ago. The winds were brutal last night. 

We took time tonight to stop and enjoy the fireworks and forget about the storms for a while. We have a perfect spot on our front porch to watch. 

Norman did great for his first fireworks display. 

Stay safe if you are celebrating this week. 

Happy Independence Week!

peace

Drying apples , getting dinner ready and what was Dude up to today?

My time was limited this morning since my hours have changed to 10 hour days but only 4 day week at work.  I still had to get some things done. I sliced apples and as I sliced them I soaked them in lemon water.

  Then laid them on the racks to go in the dehydrator.

I made cinnamon ones and ...

Carmel apple. They were all finished by the time I got home. I don't think most will last a day, the way Dude is eating them. 

I made a salad for dinner... garden lettuce, apples, cheddar and bacon. Good stuff. 

Roast more broccoli and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. 

I bought chicken thighs and cut up onion and peppers on the way to work . I put my salad in a tray of ice to keep until dinner.

Lined a crockpot, added the vegetables.

Then the chicken and a bottle of barbeque sauce. 

In four hours it was ready to eat.  It made the long day away from home not as long. 

I was glad it was still light when I got home. I was so proud of my baby turkeys using the roasting rod for the first time. 

Then a couple of little ones wanted some back scratches and kiss. Who could turn these faces down. 

Dude spent most of the day moving a huge pile of manure to the gardens that were destroyed by the hail. 

I found these two going for a long walk and coming home. 

Everyone was pretty happy tonight.. not too hot but just hot enough. 

peace

Day in the mountains, homestead style.

We decided to take a daytrip today.  We packed the car, took the dog and went up north to the mountains, lakes and rivers...okay and cool air.  It was almost ninety degrees today. 

So , we dug out our vintage water jug from my mom.  It was on many trips to the mountains when I was a kid.  Extra water, apples, pretzels, sunflower seeds and cheese were added. 

We made a brain power salad from the garden.

Spinach

Blueberries

Walnuts

Brown rice

Lemon juice

We packed everything in one of the bags I made from our feed bags. These are strong and sturdy.

Then put in lamb (that we had raised) into the crockpot .  Ranch dressing mix, a can of chicken soup, and a cup of chicken broth (yep, we made and froze in the past). Add all to the crockpot over the lamb shanks. 

Then headed to the mountains.  Dude has been working with Norman, the dog. I was worried he (the dog, not Dude - wink)would pitch a fit the whole way.  He is really doing much better. He used to bark and howl riding in the car.  Today, he road in the back part of the car. He was quiet the whole two and half hours up to the mountains. (thank goodness)

He stayed calm on our walks too. 

We stopped to see Dude's brother. He has a fun A-frame cabin near a lake...wow!  We went from 89* on the eastern plains to 67* up in the mountains.

You can see there is still some snow visible in the higher ranges. 

Dinner was ready and waiting for us when we got home. (sorry so blurry) It was great over mashed cauliflower. 

I did get some crocheting done and Dude walked and trained Norman when we got home.  All our skills paid off today.

Happy Sunday.

peace