rachels.haven's Journal

[rachels.haven]

I'm avoiding letting her in now, but if I did let her in the house during a storm, I bet she'd be a happy dog.

We've been having to teach and re teach the "thou shalt not push rachel over and shove into the house or barn when you feel you're entitled to it" lesson so she gets fewer liberties unless necessary until she gets it down to pat on all fronts. I've reclaimed the barn for the most part, so no more barn pooping. The barn is MY space, not her toilet. That totally fixed that. She gets to sleep there at night with the door open until I take her out with a biscuit in the morning for morning milking, and I shut the door. Now I need to continue re-claiming the garage, which has now become her latest attempted possession of passion since I let her in. And I don't need to be mean. Out consistanting her works, it just takes time. First step is to just prevent shoving and passing me and getting what she wants (my threshold, my door) , the next is to demand space at the door and send her back a few steps every time, after a week or two she starts just gives me space at the door as habit, then I use the "in" command to invite her into my space when I want her there...and I'm willing to give her space in the garage if the thunder gets bad. It's secure there, so she can't magically get out of the fence while panicking and get hit by a car. She's just not allowed to live and poop in there like she tried to do with the barn. Sorry, no free pass.

I'm surprised she needed a manners recap, but I guess that's life with a dog. They are opportunists, and mine is ready to be dominant, but in a good hearted way even if poop is involved. She mostly owns the barnyard(sort of, at least at night). Why shouldn't she try to own the garage and barn?

 

[Bruce]

She mostly owns the barnyard(sort of, at least at night). Why shouldn't she try to own the garage and barn?

Isn't that the way to increase your standing in the community, by adding to the land you own?

traditional New England July 4th snapping turtle soup

Hmmm, didn't know about that tradition. We have 2 (at least) snapping turtles in the pond.

Teeny Tiny Turtle was originally spotted in the fall 2 years ago. At the time it's shell was MAYBE 2" long. I saw it (ASSUMING) a couple of weeks ago and it was about 6". I checked with Google and yes they do grow fast the first few years.

Today I saw the larger one in the pond, streaming green algae from the edges of its shell, sitting on the bottom a few feet from the edge. Went to get the DDs so they could see. When we got there and started approaching the area where it was it got nervous and swam into the murk. DD2 saw it but DD1 didn't.

 

[rachels.haven]

That sounds like food storage.
Actually, I'm not sure I (or most people) would ever eat one unless it was brined and brine switched out quite a bit, and then deep fried. The ones I caught stank. But apparently they were a thing once. I'd blame the british there, except instead of snapping turtles apparently they used "green turtles". The tradition came over with the colonists where there were lots of snapping turtles and I guess they thought "eh, close enough"?

The smell does not stop me from telling my husband the next one I catch will be eaten. And who knows, maybe I will.

 

[Bruce]

Near as I can find "green turtles" are green sea turtles, not freshwater turtles. Having never eaten turtle of any sort I have no idea if one stinks more than the other. However since I know my farm pond is mucky clay bottom with no input other than rain, therefore pretty stagnant, I have to believe anything living in there will be kinda stinky. A sea turtle at least has a vast expanse of water and I think would be cleaner.

 

[rachels.haven]

They'd probably be pre-brined. Still probably not a good idea though. I don't know if they reproduce super efficiently anymore, unlike our snapping turtles that you can find all around town here larger than their supposed top size, but whatever.

Also, wikipedia says something about a kind of poisoning green turtles can occasionally cause...so I think catfish are better. Catfish soup with potatoes, onion, bacon/ham...but then suddenly that's southern fare.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Jambalaya, crawfish pie, and fillet gumbo....
They eat big snappers down in Cajun country....some go over 120lbs...they get real big in the bayous....

 

[farmerjan]

When I was a kid growing up in Ct, my grandparents had a big "pond" which was originally an ice pond to cut ice blocks and store in the ice house.... about 4 acres I think. Anyway, there were quite a few snapping turtles in it. When we could get them flipped into the boat on their back, and I'm talking the nearly the size of a wash tub.... the chef's that worked at the restaurant across the road from my grandma's house would gladly take them. They would keep them in large wash tubs, clean water daily, feed them like lettuce, for at least a week or 2. The clean water changes every day would help to "flush out " the muddy, murky watery taste I guess.... they made them into soup. I am sure they shared it with us but I don't really remember it much. We would try to catch as many as we could because they did a number on the baby ducks and they did eat alot of fish too. The fun was in the trying to catch them....We were very respectful of their powerful jaws; my dad saw to it that we learned VERY EARLY, by taking some pretty stout tree branches and showing us how they would snap at them and break them right in half. Since we also swam in "Nana's pond" we were very eager to keep the population down.

 

[rachels.haven]

That does sound very fun. They let you have a piece of the culture that was going away as well as making the pond safer.

Personally I don't think continuing turtle soup would have wiped out the snappers, as some of the websites suggested. They have a habit of, like coyotes, existing in isolated pockets, then when the pressure eases migrating out and taking over again-at least that was what I saw down south and in Iowa (everyone killed snapping turtles, because they were destructive and EVERYWHERE, and they never went away completely, always a mild danger). Plus, I think they reproduce fast and very well, and as bruce suggested, they do GROW fast. They will likely stay with the land until pollution does them in-all over the US. I would not be surprised if turtle soup faded out because it was bland, or an acquired taste, or very labor intensive and the younger generation didn't understand the value there.

And I bet that treatment would take the mud flavor right out of them. Southern snapping turtle prep documentation recommends lots of brining of the meat with water changes-one place said for three days. What you described is basically long term living brining without the salt.

...So there is culture and color here, and not just snobbery. That would make this place more tolerable. I feel like the current locals have successfully buried or lost it because anything not sophisticated or chilly is too country. Aw well. Maybe I'll get to dig some more stuff up before DH's job changes to make life interesting. He may have to move me before we get run out of town.

 

[Baymule]

There is a soft shell fresh water turtle that is a green color. They are highly prized for soup-or at least they used to be. They are a big deal in Cajun country.

 

[Bruce]

Plus, I think they reproduce fast and very well, and as bruce suggested, they do GROW fast.

My research says they grow fast the first few years then slow down and that they are 15-20 years old up in the northern areas before they breed.

Jambalaya, crawfish pie, and fillet gumbo....
They eat big snappers down in Cajun country....some go over 120lbs...they get real big in the bayous....

How do they get them into the boat?