Movin’ Day!
with the oinkers

Even during our days in the military, we always moved ourselves. So this day was no exception. Only the fact that we were not using a moving truck and we were not moving furniture!
One thing I have learned on the farm is: If you want something done---buy an animal!! And “wheather” rain, snow or blazin heat, everyone gets to work! Building fencing, pens, or “animal shacks”. Therefore, when we got our piglets, pepperoni and salami a few weeks ago we did not have their permanent “condo” finished yet. We still had some “interior designing” to do and last minutes “brush ups”. So as in the last blog we put them in a “temporary hotel” for a few weeks.

Only we forgot they would grow……………..

The day the piglets palace was finished and it was time to move them down, and I mean way down, the steep hill. We all looked at each other kinda like……..

How we’s gonna get ‘em down there?!

A bright idea coming to dad said we will just “wheel barrow” them down there!! Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Pick up the back legs and make them babies walk on their front two hooves.

Only we forgot how quickly they move………

My husband (yes I was the camera person, only I was laughing too hard!!) finnnnnnnnnnaly caught his piglet. Then he held it for a bit for the middle son to catch his piglet and after much chasing literally around in circles! He grabbed those back legs. SQUEALLY all the way!! Off he went with that little piglet, holding on very tightly lest it get away. Wheel barrowed him all the way

D

O
W
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My husband at the last minute decides not to bend over so much so he arranges his piglet right around the middle of the belly. You would have thought we were killing them on the spot-----they squealed and cried all the way down there. He tried to switch to the piglet to our oldest son who quickly tired (remember they grew!! They were now about 90lbs) It was one of the funniest things we have done so far!!
As for the piglets, they are very happy in there new “condo” it is at least 4 times their old place and is much more shaded and decorated much more to there liking!

I do believe except for me, this moving day may have been harder than our move cross country!

New Porkers

We have ventured into a new area for us. The Bradshaw's were thinking of getting some pigs and wondered if we were interested. I think it is safe to say that we are always interested in trying something new around here. The price was good and the delivery was free. They borrowed our goat trailer and made a few modifications for the journey. This picture brings to mind a statement: You might be a Tennessean if.....

Well it was an interesting first hour or so. Notice the before and after pictures. these fellas make short work of plowing. I wonder how they would do in the garden? Hopefully these pigs will be ready for bacon and chops in a few months. Pork is our favorite breakfast meat by far. More later on the new arrivals.

A Few New Things and A Few Old Friend Around Our Place

This is just a quick update on the homefront here in Tennessee.

Our new goat kids, Salt and Pepper are getting big already. It seems that the one that was blind can now see. There is some type of eye infection that goats have been getting in this area that passes in a couple of weeks according to a goat raiser.

We have added to new animals to the small herd. One is Snowflake, a La Macha nanny goat that is pregnant by a Nubian. This should make an interesting combination, one almost no ears and the other one with long and floppy ears. We also picked up a 3 month old ewe lamb, called Sinnaman, we hope to add a ram in a few more months.






We had a visit from some of our brothers and sisters in Christ that live up near Washington DC. We had a really good visit. Rick helped me make a rabbit hutch I have been meaning to do for sometime. And we were able to help celebrate Joseph's birthday.

The boys loved having someone else to shoot with and play with over the short time they visited us. The Brown's are a very special family to us.

Well I think we will leave this posting for now and go relax like Zechariah has a habit of doing.

Seek to follow Christ and please Him in all things.

Did I hear a "PEEP"?

We got our children a chicken incubator for Christmas this year. A perfect gift for Trisonschickery don’t ya say! Well we collect 23 eggs and popped them things in there and waited the appointed 21 days and guess what………………….

Yep, the first one must a been a rooster, for he cracked open and was a peeping loud and clear 5:45 am on Monday morning!!

Then several more decided they wanted in on the show and out they popped too! Peep peep peep . Here a peep, there a peep, everywhere a peep peep!!

There ain’t nuthin’ like seein’ a chick crack open and come out into the bright new world. They are so cute and fluffy after about an hour. They just look up at ya and peep. We had 14 hatch right away.
Just wanted to give ya a peep into whats going on here at trisons chickery these days!

Blinded

We went out to the goat pen last Saturday to check on the two new kids, born on Christmas Eve. I took out the mamma’s favorite treat---Triscuit crackers, and some corn for the other goat Buckwheat. Taking food in hopes that we could get a good look at the little cuties! As I watched my husband come to the fence side with one to show me, I noticed right away it’s eyes. And as my husband approached, he said he is blind. We were devastated! Blind? Sure enough both eyes were completely white. I recalled many times looking out the kitchen window thinking that something was wrong with the one kid---he seemed to lag behind and be smaller than the other, but I just thought that was normal when having twins. Just after my husband put him down---he ran full steam into the metal side of the shelter they live in. Yes, he was indeed blind. So much of his behavior made sense now. Poor poor thing. My heart is just broken for him. It made me thing even more of how many children with handicaps and deformities are just shrugged off and left because of imperfectness!

A more sobering parallel is the children of Israel.
The ever looking – but never seeing--- blinded people!
He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Isaiah 6:9
A scary thought. As we watch this wee little kid bump into things, often frightened, how easily it would be to led it into danger and destruction. And this is just what happened to the hard hearted Israelites. They were blinded to the Truth, which led them down the road to their own “light” and to make up their own “truth”. A new religion that had no need for light at all. The sad thing is they were never “seeing” their need for a Redeemer!
We often think we would never be like that. Yet I challenge you. What have you turned a “deaf” ear to that has spoken to you in God’s Word. What Truths do you simply culturalize out so you do not have to obey. Or perhaps you just don’t read much of the Word so you don’t have much to obey? I think we do, it just looks different.
Just one last note on this thought of “blinded” to the Truth is in evangelizing others. Though we are commanded to do so in the “Great Commission” However, we are NOT to coheres, persuade, manipulate, give a man centered gospel, share an easy believism, or in any way do God’s work in “opening eyes”! We are not the “eye openers”! We are not the “converters”. We are not the heart changers. We are the gospel proclaimers as the Holy Spirit gives us opportunities! And nothing more. Anything else is saying that God can not save a person without our help. And that my friends is simply not true.

Walk in The Light!

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

Just Kiddin’

Boy were we surprised this Christmas eve!! Nanny had twins!! I ain’t kiddin’ either! We woke up Sunday Morning Dec 24th to the cutest twin new born baby goats!! (new parents always say that) We were so excited. All are doing well.

I thought how very cold they must be in the simple lean too structure they called “home”. It is just a pallet with some scrap tin on top. IT is completely open in the front. Not much room for the two goats we have plus two new ones.

Not that we would dare compare this to the Birth oF Jesus. But with the day of the year it was, I could not help but immediately think of my Lord. And what meek and humble conditions it was for him on His birth of which we were on the eve to celebrate. (I know the exact date is not known)

We thought it a special Christmas gift, that came as a reminder of the humanity of His birth & His birth for humanity!

(Pictures will have to wait. Our digital camera finally quit working after 7 years.)

Don’t count You Chickens
Before they hatch!

We have all heard the saying don’t count your chickens before they hatch! There is truth to this saying. In our own lives we have done that financially and ended up with a “bunch of cracked eggs”!! There ended up not being any chickens!
With a society of “credit cards” we have disproved this old country saying. However, these “credit card” chickens taste like plastic!! Let me tell you about a recent story of how our family personally experienced this lesson in “real life”, then we can talk again of perhaps a deeper meaning of this.
Now remember we have only been doing chickens for about a year. We city folks have made it for over a year now in the country! We have processed chickens several times, all with a unique “science” lesson of there own. This time was really neat! We had been given some hens that were about 2 years old. They were layers and so we took them in to help up the egg supply. However, we did not count on the fact that they were also, egg eaters!! Soooooooo, they were eating more eggs than we were---so we decided to eat them!! Nice big juicy chicken dinner we were gonna make out of ‘em. Those chickens were not going to eat any more eggs!
Well we got everything set up, we had our friends over and we were going to process about 11 chickens this time, 4 of those 11 were the egg eaters! Guess what we found in the egg eaters?????? Betcha can’t guess………you’re right, eggs!! I’m not “yoking” either. We had always processed young/early chickens so we had never come across the “unhatched eggs” before. But of several different stages were big round orange yokes with a thin clear covering that we pulled out of the chickens while we were getting the other “stuff” out of them!
So there ya go…………….the real “chickens before they were hatched”!! We had never seen them before and were so surprised by what we saw………..any one for scrambled eggs?
Now for a more serious note. How many times do we count our chickens before they hatch? I thought about this a lot. And one very deceptive way we do this is through the use of credit cards. It still boils down to buying what you do not have money for. Just like in the old days where leans were put against a crop or a house etc for money. We just have a simpler (I say a deadlier), means of “counting your chickens before they hatch” and those credit cards add up quicker than dirty dishes in a sink!
So I hope you enjoyed the Chicken/Egg story (it is a true story) and the challenge to not “count your chickens before they hatch” in any form lest they hatch a snake and bite you!

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Luke 12:15-21

PASTURE to PLATE
Well it has been a really amazing adventure with "RIBEYE". From the pasture to the plate, this has provided us with an extraordinary experience. There is a deep sense of appreciation for where the meat on the table comes from, and just how much effort it takes to place it there.

This past Saturday we went over to the Bradshaw's for the final packaging of the cow quarters. After hanging the meat for four weeks I was a little unsure of what to expect.



The meat had a purple tinge to it along with some light mold growth. This required the removal of about the top 1/8 to 1/4 of inch on the carcass. With that removed the meat had an extraordinary good texture and smell.

We started by processing the rear quarters first. Keith had set up the HOW TO video in the basement, which turn out to be a real help getting started. We each processed our meat in a little different fashion.





The Bradshaw's went for a more conventional cut processing while we had chosen to try removing the meat as it was naturally grouped together. I can say in retrospect that Keith's turned out very nicely, but I was very satisfied with our results as well. Everything to me that wasn't clearly a steak cut (i.e. the tender loin) was either a roast, cube steak or hamburger. This method proved to be much quicker, but clearly either method produced good results.

Laura did such a wonderful job packaging up all of our meat. She used standard freezer paper and tape, while finishing off with labeling and placing it in a gallon freezer zip-lock bag. It was a lot of work but she really enjoyed the day, just being able to work together as a family.


The meat lost some weight during the aging process. It went from taking 3 men to carry and hang it to one man being able to carry it to the processing table. It would have been nice to have a before and after measurement. It will take another time or two before we can be sure whether 3 or 4 weeks is optimum for the hanging time.

Zechariah asked if he could cut up the meat for hamburger. I was a little hesitant at first, but then decided that it would be nice for him to be able to help. I kept a close eye on him because the knives were really sharp. He really did a wonderful job. When he was done he toes out some time to play with Luke. It really blessed my heart-to see some loving fruit in his life.

Joshua and Samuel took time grinding up the meat for hamburger. It took a lot of patience while dealing with the Kitchen Aid grinder. It tended to overheat frequently. We were very thankful to have it, but I believe it was too much strain upon this type of equipment (it was never intended for continuous operation like that). We would be well served in the future to purchase a commercial grinder

In the end we filled up a very large cooler, along with another smaller cooler and one larger water cooler. It filled up the bed of the truck nicely. We ended up with a freezer full of meat, but it looks like so much less when it is all packed up. I really cannot judge with any certainty how long a half of a cow will last our family. It will take a little more experience and planning to be able to provide for our meat usage for each year.


This is the best tasting meat I have ever had. I would like to thank the Bradshaws and Ribeye. The Bradshaws gave a lot, but Ribeye gave his all. :-)

The boys got in a few minutes of play before it was time to go home. Quite frankly I am not sure where they came up with the energy after all of the work they did.

This was by far one of the best times I have ever had with my family. There was no complaining, no fussing-just willing hearts working in peace and harmony together. Not perfection, but love in action. We were all tired-and I do mean totally exhausted, and yet there were no grumpy or self-centered comments. This is the way it should be, the LORD richly blessed this day in the life of our family.

I would just like to end this with a short thought. How are things in your household? Men I can tell you this much, the spiritual tone is set by you! What will you do with your God given leadership? Will you example out the love and peace that are only found in Christ or will you get frustrated, angry, and self focused? You will do one or the other. Do you make it a joy for your wife to be your help-meet? Do your actions tell your children they are a blessing from God? If you want peace and unity in your home it starts with your own spiritual condition and relationship with Christ. Examine your own heart and consider your own ways.


1 Peter 1:12-14 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look. 13Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance

"BILLY BURGERS"

Our Billy Goat had become somewhat of a problem lately. He was butting our new buckling, our pregnant Nanny Goat and various fence parts; plus he smelled really bad. It was time for us to recoup our money out of him in meat.

It was a real interesting slaughter attempt. We used a 22 caliber rifle at first, but it bounced off of Bill's head. Not a good way to make friends with a goat. I had the boys go get me a bigger gun, my .308, it finished him off quickly.

Joshua offered to drag the goat up to the processing area. This wasn't an offer I was about to turn down. We made this a family project. The boys did most of the skinning, although as you can see below we had to read up on some of the finer points. We sometimes stopped and looked at each other wondering what we need to do next.

With a lot of patience and effort on the kids part we got the hide and guts off of the carcass.











Now with Billy out of the picture we can breed Nanny in a few months with our Nubian goat "Buckwheat".

We will keep you up-to-date with the progress of our growing goat milk efforts. Since we have never milked anything nor have we ever had goat kids, it should be really interesting.


Once all of the left over were gotten rid of we cut the goat into two halves. Samuel got rid of the goat guts in the back area of the property. Seems there has been a lot of interest by the local bird population in studying goat anatomy.
Even the dog seemed to get better acquainted with Billy after his demise. It is interesting to note that Nanny (in the background) seemed to be quite happy that Billy was gone so she enjoyed the grain he had been previously consuming.





We borrowed a cooler from some friends to age the meat. We placed about 4 cups of vinegar along with 10 cups of salt into the cooler and filled it with water and ice bottles. This was changed out twice. The end result yielded us meat free of Billy goat smell and taste.

The final product gave us around 25 lbs of Billy burger and four shoulder roasts. We are going to tan the hide with the hair on if we can get the Billy goat smell off of it, more on that in a future post.

This has been a real adventure for us. I am not particularly found of killing animals, but I have been very pleased with the end results. We have been very isolated from where our food comes from and the death and processing involved. The boys and Laura and I have a greater appreciation of the food the Lord provides to us now than ever before. We know that our livestock have been well treated, feed and processed in clean conditions.

Genesis 9:2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

Revisiting the Past

As age has crept upon me, I find myself taking inventory of my life from time to time. The most recent time came as we took my oldest son (now 15 years old) back to St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital for his annual check-up. As I looked around the hospital and the various clinics, I saw parents dealing with the same issue Laura and I had dealt with some years earlier. Many of the staff members are the still here after 13 years. One nurse I saw had gotten a divorce 8 years previously. Others had aged somewhat, but were still doing the same jobs has they had for so many years. It occurred to me while we were waiting for Samuel’s appointments, that these people have gone about their daily lives everyday since we first met them. Whether it was soccer, marriage, birth, death divorce, they had a certain routine and stability. This may seem so obvious to most people, but it wasn’t to me until just then. As I reflected back on our early days at the hospital, I could still remember the intensity that my family’s life took on. By God’s rich mercies we never felt overwhelmed but I had come to understand what the word means in Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I did not have the time or energy to devote to things that were not of the utmost importance. My child had just been diagnosed with cancer with a little better than 50% chance for survival. Daily cares just seemed to pass from our view. What we would do for vacation? What was for dinner? These things simply did not matter anymore.

Most of our time for the next 2 ½ years would revolve around the treatment of Samuel’s cancer. We would face many ups and downs during this time. Many of the people that we befriended would lose their child’s life to cancer. I quit counting when it reached 100 deaths. God has yet to require that of us. Yet we would wonder from time to time if the treatment wasn’t worse than the disease. Many times we struggled, but were never completely drowned. God used this time of tragedy in our lives to put a failing marriage back together and draw us closer to Himself than ever before. We had hearts rooted in a faith found only in Christ. We had let our own selfish desires tear our family apart. God mercifully put it back together. In months we grew more in Christ than in many years.

Now what is the real point to telling this tale? It wasn’t to draw attention to ourselves, but rather it is to answer the question “So What?” As I looked back over this time God exposed something lacking in my life today. That intense singleness of mind had somehow gotten lost in living life. Each day God gave me sufficient grace for what lay ahead. He didn’t show me what tomorrow would bring, nor could I have handled it. This is what God showed me as I reflected back; my life is to be fully devoted to Him. I am not to be consumed with the fleeting pleasures of this world. My heart and thoughts are to be consumed with living this life to bring glory and honor to Him. This is NOT MY LIFE!

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? Romans 6:16

Our lives must be lived in view of eternity. The only things that will last will be those things done in obedience to righteousness. I am not speaking of monastery living - but rather to live each moment in presence and fear of my Holy God. There will be no middle ground, God’s word is clear. Your life is not your own nor your money nor your time-nothing is yours you are but a steward that will one day give an account to God. You cannot serve to masters. You are either for or against God.

For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body you will live. Romans 8:13

Do you prefer to obey God always or do you demand your own way?

Is there a difference between the life you live and that of the world?

Remember the standard is not better than someone else… “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:3

Many people call themselves by the name of Christ, deluding themselves and leading others on to hell. We are called to examine ourselves to see if indeed we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). So what about your life…are you in Christ…does Christ know you… (Matthew 7:20-23).

Just a closing thought. If you haven’t experienced this my next statement may not make much since. If there had been anyway to have spared my child from going through this I would have gladly done it, but I wouldn’t take anything for the chance to walk through it. Only one thing I count on in this world is that all God does in my life is for my ultimate good and His glory, Amen!