January 4, 5, and 6
Jan 4 – Big news of the day – my dairy, fiber, and red meat are secure for 2019! 4 of 5 of my adult goats are prego and 3 for 3 on my sheep.
Jan 5 – Breakfast 99% farm grown. Too bad peppercorns don’t grow in New England! Cut and split logs from a couple of standing dead trees we took down over the fall. Nearly the first cord set aside for next year. Strong considered mucking out the sheep stall but a bath won out! Nice long soak with Epsom salts and home made soap (everything but the caster oil for suds). Started rendering leaf lard for 2019 cooking. First gallon complete. Back fat will be rendered after all of the leaf lard is done – used for soap, lotions, balms, and animal feed.
Jan 6 – Made bagels for breakfast with goat cream cheese (thank you ladies), dragged out a couple yellow jars of lard from 2018 for suet. Yellow lard is well, burned lard. It’s still edible but tastes a bit like over cooked bacon. It doesn’t make great soap or lotion either. I normally plop a dollop in with the dog’s food over the winter but thanks to some negligence on my part – I have more than I need. So what do do? SUET!!! Mine is a combo of burned lard and stale nuts and seeds. Sometimes a bit of freeze dried fruit, the bottom of bags of animal feed, etc…My chickens go nuts for it. I line a baking dish (usually a shallow loaf pan) with foil. Melt the lard and pour in. Once it starts to cool I start adding seeds and nuts a layer at a time. My hens haven’t complained yet! The afternoon was skating. Sadly, we’re indoor skating as it hasn’t been chilly enough to maintain proper pond ice
https://www.almanac.com/content/homemade-bird-food-recipe-suet