Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[farmerjan]

I will do a short explanation here... I knew @Baymule was coming to get a ram lamb about a month or 2 ago from a conversation... Thought if I could swing a couple days I would like to "meet in person"... sorta invited myself to @Mike CHS to coincide with Bay's visit... Wanted to swing by and meet @rachels.haven too... Life got complicated with our cattle and situations... I managed to leave home Tuesday morning... drove nearly 600 miles... got there Tuesday eve and we visited and had a great supper... Teresa and Mike made wonderful food, and both are super nice hosts...Meeting @Baymule in person was like someone I have as a next door neighbor... of course we have had lots of phone conversations and she posts pics with herself and the grands on her different threads so knew just who to expect.... We talked long into the evening...
Wed morning, we got up, had breakfast, and Mike took us out on the "mule" thing for a ride around the property. Got to meet Bay's new ram lamb... he is quite something at 6 months already... real nice confirmation and body length.... and then met his sire Oshi.... very much a herd sire... LONG bodied ram also...
The ewes were just as nice, and a couple are definitely Mike's "babies"...and they are just as nice as his pictures are... They stay in exceptionally good body condition and their pastures are very dry there. Another thing I found interesting as they are so much further south than me... closer to Alabama... so you would think real warm... yet they have had a hard frost and the leaves and all look it... lots of hills/mountains... and we have not have a frost here... about the same elevations..... interesting.
I took the "damaged" potatoes in separately named bags, and told them to split up with @Baymule and do some taste testing and see if they have favourites... likes and dislikes... Also took some of the "smalls" that I use in soups and stews since they are not real "saleable"... and a couple of jars of @Ridgetop 's spiced "mock" apple rings that I did as spears..... and some eggs....
I left about 12-1 (their time as they are central and I am eastern) and after heavy traffic with afternoon "going home from work" and alot of construction, Knoxville is a mess.... got home about 11 or so (10 their time). Did make one stop coming home for gas and a break at the Buc ee's in Sevierville... gateway to the "Dollywood" , Smokey mountains/Pigeon Forge whole deal....allowed myself about a 1/2 hour there. Had stopped going down also since I needed gas and had never been in one... Yes the bathrooms are as clean as they are touted to be... and it is a "tourist/money trap" but the brisket sandwich is good... and the gas is cheaper...

So, I did not try to fit in @rachels.haven also... there was not enough time... I was there in TN at their place less than 20 hours... but in it's own way it was a very relaxing visit... and I do not regret the drive one bit. I had to be home to help get in cows this afternoon for the neighbor that we do most of the custom work for and do all the "working his cattle" as they are getting shipped to market Friday, and I am going to the grist mill I used to work at Friday aft for "orientation " on their register and systems so I can wear myself out at the Apple Butter festival on Saturday....

That was my "vacay" ....nearly 1200 miles/18-20 hours driving... for an 18 hour visit....

 

[Baymule]

I’m home! 13 hour drive today, got home after dark. Spent an hour at a standstill on I-40 outside of Little Rock, big wreck.
Chris was here when I got home, he was late feeding and he was putting a new battery on my tractor.
Rocky didn’t want to jump out of the truck, so Chris crawled up in the back. Rocky liked him less than the tailgate and he jumped out.
I had a wonderful visit with Mike and Teresa and it was so nice to meet @farmerjan ! We all had a great time. Thanks to Mike and Teresa for being such wonderful hosts!
I’m exhausted, going to bed.

 

[Ridgetop]

Did make one stop coming home for gas and a break at the Buc ee's in Sevierville..

Allways have to stop at Buc-ee's in Texas! Definitely a tourist trap and overpriced but good food. DS1 likes to buy costumed stiffed Buc-ee Beavers for his nephews and nieces. LOL

 

[SageHill]

Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all - and well deserved. Love it. good things for good people.

 

[Mike CHS]

We put our summer garden beds to rest yesterday and picked all of the bell peppers that were left. We had covered the pepper plants during our frost a couple of weeks ago but it has been warm ever since with more frost coming in the next few days. We wound up with another gallon bag of chopped peppers for the freezer. We haven't quite finished up what is left from last year so we should be good. We use a lot of bell peppers in our cooking but I can't remember the last time that we got any from the grocery store.

 

[Mini Horses]

Do you remember how much you put up? that's MY problem. I need to keep track of what I had, to know what to do for following season! a chart!! Of course, that backs up to how many plants & production toooo many charts.

 

[Baymule]

Y’all had some nice healthy bell pepper plants!

 

[Mike CHS]

Do you remember how much you put up? that's MY problem. I need to keep track of what I had, to know what to do for following season! a chart!! Of course, that backs up to how many plants & production toooo many charts.

I had already pulled up several but we planter 14 plants. We don't keep a running tally but we have a freezer shelf full of this seasons and I just took a glance and there is probably 6 quart bags left from last year. Most of those will get dehydrated and ground up for powder that we cook with when we want that all day cooked taste in a few minutes like sauces.

 

[Mini Horses]

Never thought to dehydrate & powder. Good idea, thanks! . Something else to do

 

[Baymule]

I just found out that O-i-shi means “delicious” in Japanese! Pass that on to Oshi and tell him he’d better behave!