10/02/2022
October is deer season here on the farm and there seems to be plenty of deer and even a couple bear. This year they have so much food in the way of acorns, chestnuts, apples, and autumn olives. It’s going to be a challenge and take some time to get an opportunity, but my bow is lined up and shooting great and I’m excited. I’m the only one that bow hunts, Eddie is the black powder hunter during deer season and he & Heather are the rifle hunters. I’m sure there will be plenty of meat in the freezers and cellar shelves when all is said and done.



Hurricane Ian came into Florida, went back into the Atlantic and landed here on Friday. The rain is still coming in and hoping it moves out tomorrow so I can get in some hunting.
Eddie has family in the Richmond/Chesapeake are and one of his cousins’ girls and family came to camp on the part of the family farm that joins our land. Kenny & Dana have three gorgeous little girls by the name of Vada, Jolene and Jillian (twins) that entertained us while they were here. Dana’s family inherited part of the family farm that is across the main road from us. The house on the farm is in rough shape but they bought a big tent and warm sleeping bags for camping out. They stayed for two nights and three days and they were all over the Little Mountain that runs in front of our house. They bought their UTV and traveled the farm, the kids played on haybales and inherited some dolls from me while they were here. We can’t wait for their return in the spring!!

Our trip to Grundy was fun and we finally saw elk on the last evening and night, and we were there. It was great getting off to ourselves for a few days and our daughter took care of the animals while we were away. Grundy is a coal mining town, and it was hit with a horrible flood in the eighties which took out most of the town, but it has rebuilt, and houses are now built on the hillsides. I saw my first three-story Wal-Mart. It has two bottom stories of parking, and the top floor is the actual huge store!!! Strangest thing I’ve ever seen!!!

When we returned home, we had one new calf born, and Sadie ignored me for one whole day. The second day home she acted like I had been gone for weeks!!! Guess she wanted to teach me not to leave her again!!
The day after we got home my oldest brother had a second cornea transplant and we learned last week that this one was successful, and his sight is already 75% percent better and he is to be fitted with new reading glasses this week!! I’m so excited for him and his wife! She has been really worried for and about him and now she can rest easy too!!
The main string on my bow broke and we had to take it to Whitetail Outfitters for repair. I love this Wicked Ridge TenPoint crossbow and it is so accurate. It took a week to get the new string and repairs and now I’m ready to hunt again. Thankfully it didn’t break when I was hunting, it happened when we fired after an unsuccessful hunting day.
We had our first propane refill on the 18th at $2.99 a gallon and the following weekend it went over $5.00 a gallon. We’re so glad we got it filled when we did!!! The full tank will last us through the winter unless we have a really cold winter. Even if that happens, we’ll use both the woodstove in the living room and light up the cook stove in the kitchen.
Sadie turned four on the 20th and she has turned into a beautiful dog!

I planted my fall garlic on 23rd and as of this date it has sprouted. I also ran a test planting in a large planter in the greenhouse. I checked on it yesterday (11/29/2022) and it’s four inches tall. We’ll see what happens as the winter goes on.
I had a great checkup at the end of the month, only lost three pounds but bad cholesterol is way but still needs to come down more. I had my first mammogram in four years that didn’t show any masses and man was I thrilled. The last four years have all been benign but just the scare of it all was such a relief this year. I am attributing it to not having any iced tea for the last six months. I really love sweet iced tea!!! Water is my main drink now!
End of October, had us selling the first batch of calves and a second group will go on November 5th. We sold just in time because the prices are dropping drastically. Now the cows will get a good rest and fatten up the babies they are carrying which will arrive in March or April. The calves included weights from 445-730 in three different loads. The smaller ones were late calves but filled out better than we thought.
NOVEMBER
Our granddaughter turned 25 this month and hubby turned 71. We’re so proud of our granddaughter and how much she cares about her job and students. She is now trying to organize a Parent Teacher Organization since they haven’t had one since Covid arrived. She is also working on some ideas for fund raising for that organization. While doing all of this she is also working on another Master’s program and tutors in her free time!!!

Our daughter treated her dad to a fishing outing to “The Hidden Gem” trout farm on the 21st of November. It was a great father-daughter outing, and they brought home some beautiful trout. I froze over a dozen packages for the two families, and they plan to go back in the spring, weather permitting, and before her tax season begins!!

Deer hunting has been somewhat successful, and I’ve canned three canners of venison, froze 30+ packages of burger and meatballs. I need one more deer for Sadie’s jerky and I wouldn’t hate to can a few more quarts of venison. In the future, I will add our mixtures of burger and canning to my blog.
We had snow flurries on the 13th and have had a good bit of rain since the end of September. The ground needed refreshing and the cows needed the grass though it didn’t grow a lot it was enough to keep from feeding our hay supply on a daily basis. That will happen soon. Our temps here on the farm so far for the month of November is running from 13* to 57* in the mornings around 7:00 a.m. This has been the craziest weather for 2022 that we can remember. Makes you wonder if the weather systems have Covid too!!!
Thanksgiving was quiet but had a fantastic meal. Recipes will be on the blog, as well. The month has been slow compared to the rest of the year, but I think we can stand it!!
The month has also had me trying to figure out the best health insurance plan to get us through another year. We are both healthy and get around really well, but you can never tell when that would change. Both of our parents were diagnosed and died from cancer so that is always in the back of our minds. We continue to stay busy on the farm instead of wasting away in a recliner watching tv!! That I just can’t imagine! I finally decided to try one of the Medicare Advantage plans and at the end of 2023 I hope to give a good review!
I believe this catches me up since I closed the old blog so until next time. . .