Wordless Wednesday

My World with cats

Is there anything better than a comfy blanket and a sunbeam? I think not. In my next life I want to come back as a well-kept housecat.

Happy First Day of Spring

We made it! Spring had officially sprung.

Extreme Sheep Art

Something about this cracks me up. I just love farmers with vision.

Wordless Wednesday

Side of beef

Have you ever bought beef in bulk? I mean really in bulk, not a family pack of hamburger. This is my sister's upright freezer crammed full of 415 lbs of beef. Given the economy, this is the way to go if you have a family. Seriously. You can either buy a whole cow, a side or a quarter. This is a side. She bought it from a local farmer. It was fed grass and alfalfa on pasture and grained once a day with ground corn, oats, alfalfa pellets and wet molasses. It was not pumped full of hormones or antibiotics and is as close to organic grass-fed as you could hope for. The cow was not the ubiquitous Black Angus, but a Simmental.

I asked her to give me a cost break-down so you could see how economical it is:
1400 lbs live weight divided by 2 = 700lbs X $.80 per =$560.00. (Remember she only bought a side. This check goes to the farmer dude)
Hanging weight 415lbs $.45 per lbs processing =$223.00 -- extra for the chop meat and extra for patties. (Another check to the meat processor butcher dude.)
Total is $560.00 + $223.00= $783.00 divided by 415lbs = $1.89 per pound.

The meat processor flash freezes it, so all you do is pick it up and stuff it into your newly cleaned and defrosted freezer.

She got Filet Mignon, New York strip, steaks, roasts, ribs, bulk and pattied burger, etc. All for $1.89 a pound.

Next time you are at the grocery store check out the price of beef and think about her $1.89 a pound beef. I know I will.

Pyromaniac on the loose

I hereby declare that things have gotten out of hand. I am tired of hearing fire sirens in the night. Someone is setting fire to empty summer homes on the lake and it has to stop. This house is only about 1.5 miles from mine. Too close. It is one of about 5, that I know of, that has burned. I remember that someone (I think they said kids in the paper) had set fire to the woods last Spring. Or at last everyone assumed it was kids. Now though, I am not so sure.

This week there has been lots of trucks, and backhoes at another house that burned and was starting to fall in on itself. They had to pull it down. Which is a good thing. It was dangerous, an eyesore and a blight on the community. While I sorta of thought that that one might have been torched for the insurance money (it has been empty for 9 years that I know of) that cannot be true of all of them. Or is it? Has the economy gotten that bad?

Monarch Migration

The Monarch colonies at the overwintering sites in Mexico are breaking up and spring
migration is underway! Spring migration begins every March in a flurry. The monarchs are in a
race against time. They can't stay in Mexico any longer — but they can't
move north too quickly either. The timing of the monarch's spring
migration must be precise. Why do they go now, and how do they know when
to leave?

Interested in tracking their journey north? Follow along at Monarch Butterfly Journey North

Skywatch sunrise

Sunrise, in July, in south Florida. Can you feel the heat?

I am no longer posting winter pictures. I can't stand it any more. So I went through the photo library to find something that spoke to me of summer. This one is bright enough that I almost need sunglasses; put on your shades and bask in the glow with me.

Wordless Wednesday

My World - still snow covered

The joyous anticipation that the mention of that snow brings in December gives way to bitter disappointment, I would even say resentment, in March.

To see other (and hopefully warmer) parts of the world, check out My World Tuesday