I used to have a brother-in-law (now deceased) who lived in Sparks, and he really liked it there, too. We went to visit him ( this was many years ago, of course) and it was a nice sized city, not too large, but large enough to have just about anything a person wanted or needed . He and his wife took us out to eat at the casinos, and the meals were cheap and the food was awesome, and the whole visit was completely enjoyable. Since it is basically just outside of Reno, it would have easy access for anything you needed to go to Reno for as well.
Yep,I’d normally be preserving / drying fruit and making jam but I’ve only got about 5 kg of apricots this year compared to the normal 70~ 80 kg of apricots just as well we have a few in the cupboard from last year ,but I’ve ran out of jam so the apricots I have will go into making jam ……... oh I almost forget ..a few days ago I was cutting up a few daggy looking apricots up to stew and put in the freezer, then I remembered…nah …no room in my fridge top ( freezer part ) no room in my upright freezer so I dragged out 6 of the ball pint jars and put …the cut up ( very roughly cut ) apricots in the jar , got out the sugar for light syrup ..and the stew pot ( we normally use a pressure canner inthe shed) so I ended up with 6 jars of stewey / looking preserved fruit ..who cares only us eating …and its waste not ..want not in this house Looks like I have a few air bubbles in my daggy apricots but they will be ok they will prob just turn a bit dark in the jar @Mary Stetler
Yeah we are alike , it’s a pity we live in the opposite sides of the world we could a good chat and giggle while cooking the jam or fruit. @Mary Stetler Hubs had one of the carport doors up this morning and next min we know there’s a nose at out patio door ..it was the postman in his Honda motor bike , he was asking me if I’d give him my instructions how to dry slabs ( fruit leathers ) or apricot halves …yeah maybe …he said he’s searched the internet and can’t find instructions how I do it ….. well that’s prob cause I change the rules to suit myself , but on the other hand I stick to the food safety rules , so I’ve just been up on my old clunky lap top typing out the instructions for him. Im here to help anyone who wants to learn food preparation, he’s got 2 year old fruit trees that have fruited for the first time
Headline at Yahoo.com First Significant Snowfall To Hit the Northeast in YEARS Getting us to run to the article thinking global warming; turns out is is TWO years. Here it is a nice, but cloudy, 32 degrees. I warmed up the chicken water but it was still liquid in their barn. Frozen in the sheep bucket outside from over night colder temps.
Mary, I remember how frozen the pig troughs were during winter months while I was in high school. I had to "try" to break up the ice, so I could pour in hot water from the house. Since I was so skinny (98 lbs.) in high school, I really don't know how I carried two buckets of hot water at a time down to the barn, but I did it.
Temps have moderated--+14 F. No new snow. We have heated water for or chickens and it hasn't frozen this winter--yet. When it gets really cold the heated waterer can't keep up and the water still freezes over the top. I just kick it with my boot to break the ice. For our goats, I made a heated bathtub. I got an old steel tub, flipped it over, and filled it with foam, then covered it with all-weather plywood. The top was 2/3 covered by insulated plywood (foam sheeting glued to the plywood). I then used a stock tank heater to keep it warm. For those who have had dairy animals, you know how much water they drink compared to meat stock. It was the only way I could keep them in water during the cold months.
My friend used an insulated box like that for the horses. She put a toilet seat over the top to keep them from chewing on the styrofoam. I used a ladle with holes in it to scoop out the ice from buckets after breaking. I put hot water into cat litter jugs with lids so I don't slosh it into my boots (anymore) to add a touch of warmth. Especially helpful in the rabbit bowls, But their section has electricity and a heater for whelping. I had a cattle water heater that actually heated the stock tanks too hot.
I love my paint and will take him home after he is broke to death and three legged lame. He's been learning a lot through free leasing. I used to use him as a really big cane to throw my arm over his withers and he would walk me around. I may get another calf some time. But won't keep it for 20 years as a pet. If I could have cloned Bella, I might have thought about it.
It's cold here but not much for January. It snowed hard but for just a little while today, and didn't add much to what's on the ground.
Gonna hit 19° tonight. That's pretty cold for us, although I have seen near 0° Saturday's supposed to start with snow/ice and then become rain. Same for Tuesday.