Great Room Addition update! Work continues on the Great Room…this is basically a “one man show” as Kelly is building this mostly by himself with some help here and there when something takes two to lift, hold or set into place! This man is amazing! Of course…some design ideas and features are upon my request! ~wink~

Got the walls up and two doors. This is a shot of the framing for the subflooring and some of the subflooring that’s been laid. In this pic you can see the door that leads out to the Railroad Tie Deck which is the view we want to capture from inside the Great Room...all y'all that have been out to the Silver Spur enjoyed many a day and night visiting on that deck enjoying the view, the fire pit and some good eats!

This next pic is to show the 2 tiered level, which we designed to make the most of the view into the back pasture. In California years ago and also in Colorado, typically a Great Room had one of two things, an amazing view and/or huge ceilings in a super huge room. To the left is the other door which opens onto what will be the new patio/dance area for parties! Where the two chairs are will look out from a "deck view" to the back pasture.

This pic shows a view from that upper level where the chairs were, looking towards the wall where the huge picture window will go. The Great Room in our last home was in Colorado and the view was of Pikes Peak and the Front Range. With this Texas home, we are focusing on the green pastures, stock pond, arena and trees which surround the property. The two tiers make the most of that view which is on an elongated property.

We are keeping within the Texas Style with timbers inside the house and the outside will be styled after the Western Buildings of the 1800’s that you see in Western movies. Once this subfloor phase is completed, the picture windows will be put in. More to come…so keep checking into the Bunkhouse Blog!

What Are We Talkin?

So, tell me, what are we talking about? Let me know by commenting on my blog. I’ve had lots of folks calling me asking me a lot of questions about ranch life, from poultry to pets, horses to heifers, you name it and I’ve probably heard the question or at least the info that’s been looked up on the internet.

For years there has been an almost “cult like” frenzy in survivalists, Hobby Farming and the like. And is it any wonder? But so much is hype or hysteria that once folks “get into it” on whatever end they choose to, they begin to realize that it’s not anything like they thought and as they try to go larger or “full scale” so to speak…it becomes more than they bargained for or even understood. That’s when I get the calls to find out what we’re doing over here at the ranch and how do we handle this or that situation.

 I’m learning too, remember, as I continually meet with Ranchers and Farmers who have much sage knowledge but do not do internet. We are losing what they have to teach us, without the hype but with all of the wisdom and experience! So often what we do here at our humble little Hacienda Ranchita and what we know is not something we write about or even think much about. It’s what we’ve been raised with and simply DO! ~smile~ If anything, my hubby & I will be talking and remember something of what my Mom taught me about living on the farm and what my Grandparents taught me about the old ways of life. Or, what his Daddy or Mama taught him with their experiences of growing up in the country, living off the land and working to feed the family with their livestock, making some money on the side just to exist.

We are all learning here and I’d like to give y’all some of the information…pass it down, that is, before we, too are no longer here. Seems many folk can just post whatever they want on the internet…true or false and an awful lot of what I’ve read or looked up is mostly those trying to reinvent the wheel as they experiment. But, mostly it isn’t age old advice and knowledge as all of those (nearly, me, too) are not too much for the internet…those 10-20yrs. older than me are not posting. That’s why I am asking if we can all learn a bit more from our elders, or at least, those who have taken over for Mama & Daddy or Grandma & Grandpa. Because life is just that…learning! ~wink~ Just sit yourself down with a cup of Cowboy Coffee (Y’all know what that is, right? If you throw a horse shoe into the coffee pot and it stands up…it’s done!) or if it’s evening maybe a  beer, put your boots up and let me know what y’all want to talk about, how does that sound?

Btw...this is a picture of my Great Aunt Mary on my Mom's side...she is in her 90's here in the mid 1970's. Gotta love it...in her 90's & clearing land!

 

 

Great Room Addition!

It’s been a long time coming, folks, but we have finally started on the Great Room at the Ranch! The first part to any remodel and addition is any tear outs that need to be done and that’s MY department for the most part…it’s what I love doing! There are many jobs too big for me these days as age creeps up on me, but my hubby always lets me know that there are tools of leverage that can keep me going and give me the advantage to do what I enjoy and yes, he and the boys will do the big jobs! ~smile~ I am well blest with talented folks in my family who are able to see a dream and fulfill it! Here is the old closet area under the patio, Jessie took the antique doors off and we are keeping them for decorative use in the Little Bunkhouse as we get it set up.

As many of you who’ve been out to the Silver Spur know that we’ve had to make do with a really bad looking patio area that’s been the entertainment area of many a good times here at the Ranch. We learned well from rodeo friends in Colorado how to dress up anything, we had whole rooms there in tents that serviced the Cowboys, Stock Contractors and other VIP’s. We’ve used all of that experience here at the Silver Spur as we’ve had Wedding Receptions, Fall Festivals and Summer Parties here under the old patio area which we’ve decked out in furniture, hay bales, saddles, boots, spurs and flowers to make it fun and functional. Had even used tarps and the grill to keep it warm during winter!  That same area is now getting most of the old materials torn out and new materials put in and it will be totally enclosed but I hope to also keep it Festival Friendly by putting in double glass doors (or sliding glass doors,  not sure yet) which will open out onto the RR Tie Deck on one side where the Fire Pit is and on the other side, another set of double glass doors which will open out to where we will build a new veranda to dance under!

By remodeling and enclosing that old patio area and making it into a Great Room, we can extend our fun times into many seasons or inclement weather! I want to capitalize on the great view into the back pasture that everyone has enjoyed off the deck and from the old dining room area. A couple of large windows placed just right should do the trick! So many of you have commented on the gorgeous view into the back pasture either from the deck, the old dining room or while watching Jessie’s students ride, that this is something I am excited about opening up!

Mind over Money Leads to Practicality over Property

BATES CABIN IN THE WOODS where Kelly grew up, in the Mountains of Colorado! Second pic is of the cabin (now updated as it used to have rough bark log slabs on it), the dirt road up the hill was sled hill in winter. The third pic is where the old outhouse used to be. Kelly's family renovated the cabin a bit, hand digging and pouring into block the second floor to make it into rooms. But at the time, they had no stove in it and Kelly's Mama cooked on the fire place using a Dutch Oven in the fireplace that had a cast iron handle to place it over the fire. Only cold water, no hot water and no inside bathroom...only the outhouse which was quite an experience to go out in the night in winter and having to watch for critters who might be out...like bears!

Due to recent events, it’s come to my attention to write a bit on the “surviving it all” bend once again! Doesn’t it seem like the fabric of our society is unraveling in a rapid rate these days? How can we deal with these uncertain times? What do we do? Do we save up money? Do we learn to raise our own food, learning also how to butcher and can or do we buy survivalist packages? Maybe we should buy up large pieces of land in order to survive on?  Understand this, in times of civil unrest, money often becomes worthless and even land can be taken away. The best way to hedge your bets is to educate your mind to those things that were known and practiced in years gone by. You can’t necessarily do that on the internet, btw, because there are a lot of folks who “experiment” and give info as fact when the rest of us who really do this sort of thing and have done it for generations, read some of the stuff others send to us and just have to shake our heads on the silliness of what some folks

put out as fact. Over the years we’ve had to re-educate folks who got a bum steer on the reality factor of living with livestock, growing, canning, dry preserving food, living in the wilderness, survival in extreme weather conditions without modern conveniences…well the list goes on and on. In reality…first, we don’t know how this “emergency survival” will come about and how it will impact us. Nuclear war? Invasion by others, terrorists and of what kind which could

even mean from within, cataclysmic disaster from asteroids, financial? Well, we just don’t know, now do we? But the signs of this and more are all around us.

 Your best way to hedge your bets is knowledge and know how. Now, I’ll give you just a little reference here as to what I mean. We have had a reputable historian tell my husband, “I have studied all of it, but you’ve actually lived it growing up”. And yes, there truly is a difference between book smarts and experience. So, make sure your sources are reputable and stand the test of time. Lots of people can talk the talk but there ain’t many who have walked the walk.

Check on the actual experience of others. What have they actually done themselves and how did it work out for them? How many years have they been doing whatever it is successfully? So…there is a lot to know to survive and it’s not all tied in with an amount of land you may have the money to purchase, or the fancy set ups on that land which most who do this for reals do not have! ~smile~ I was just saying to my hubby the other day that when living in the blizzards of Colorado, we never even had a barn! When living out on land when we were young, we didn’t have cell phones or internet, heck, we didn’t even have a regular phone, we had a party line! Does anyone out there remember what that is? You knew it was your call by the amount of rings! Then, let’s try to start a car in 20 below temps? Well, I spent many a day when my children were babies in those conditions where I had to walk to the neighbors farm/ranch a mile away while leaving my babies at the house with 104 temperature in order to get help. Yes…those were the good ole days!

There is much to learn to exist in the world of the 1800’s or even further back. First, do you have or have you built a horse/mule/ox drawn wagon? Well…this is one of the first steps you must think about and how to get a team together as this may one day be the only mode of transportation. I mean, if there is no electricity or if there is a reason to “live off the land” or go into “survivalist mode”…do you seriously think there will be gasoline or any other mode to run a vehicle with? In many situations in history, fuel of any kind is nearly non-existent in these circumstances.

With that in mind, have you learned how to work with horses in the same ways that the Indians did? Are you able to catch a wild horse? Do you speak “horse language”? These are just of a few of the skills you will need in order to make this happen in reality. We’ve seen a lot of folks over the years buy land, experiment and then sell, moving back to what is comfortable. So…best to learn from those who have been raised doing it, not simply a “how to” of sorts. Those who were raised that way can teach you what it takes to live most anywhere and be able to survive on little to nothing, with what resources you have around you.

Let’s all keep in mind that it isn’t simply about having a lot of land, but it is more about learning how to cope with and live off the land. In the 1800’s there were many different kinds of lifestyles just as today. There was the trapper, plains or “roaming” Indians who followed food, there were those who grew their own food and much was bartered. There still was a lot more in the 1800’s than earlier in time as they were already becoming industrialized. You would be surprised at what they had for their day and age. We can’t even truly visualize a world destroyed by nukes…survivalist/packaged foods may not be something we will care about because as the bible tells us, “The living will envy the dead”. But, for any other civil unrest, your mind is best positioned in growing & storing your own food, this is true. Still, one has to realize there is soo much more involved in turning back the clock for you to learn, to be able to survive without modern conveniences. 

There may not be electricity. So, do you invest in solar? Well, nice thought, but where will you get the batteries or parts to keep that going? Even today the cost can be prohibitive on a large scale. We’ve known of some folks who built houses with total solar power 20yrs ago, it broke down and the cost to fix and maintain it is more than it’s  worth in the long run. They have since run lines to get power. Think on it awhile…there is a lot to this whole “going back” thing and most haven’t got the faintest idea, which is exactly why so many have sold the land they bought and given up on it. All except for those who were raised that way and have the “mind set” that can teach you what you will need to know.

Have a good one, ya’ll!  Happy Trails from the Bunkhouse!

Chickens Plain & Simple or Cackleberry Quizzin’

Got a friend who asked me to write a bit on chickens and give some “Ranch Reality” to all the online hype. It is a pity these days that there is so much misinformation in the way of folks wanting to have Hobby Farms and finding new ways to invent the wheel. But folks, it just doesn’t work in Ranch Reality!

So…here we go, got some info for those inquiring minds of the internet as to good ole fashioned ranching and farming practices.

A friend told me that folks are feeding their chickens hardboiled eggs and yogurt to stop pasty butt on their chicks. Well…I can’t say that it works or it doesn’t, but if you are dealing with 4-14 chicks maybe that isn’t expensive or difficult for you. But man oh man, how expensive and difficult that gets when you have 50-200! AND let those chicks do what God intended them to do and that is peck at dirt! ~smile~ So, it’s real simple and cheap, go out in your yard and pick up a handful of dirt with a little grit in it or sandy soil and put it into those crumbles! Put it in a pan and let them scratch. You’ll have healthy happy chicks! God knows what He’s doin’ y’all!  Ranch Reality right there, I’m tellin’ ya!

Another tale of Ranch Reality (and I may have blogged this one before) is that when you see chickens running around free and not fenced into a run, ranchers/farmers only leave their meat chickens roam that way as they never collect the eggs and if some chicks are hatched from the eggs, GREAT! We grab up a meat chicken and have dinner that night. But, we don’t let our laying hens roam. They are still considered “Free Range” if they are in a run and that is exactly what you’ll get in the stores…they are free in a large “run”, not in cages indoors but also not running all over the property. Why? Well, as my husband told me, “You’ll have rotten eggs and dead chickens!” so, I experimented on my friend’s advice years ago and guess what? We had rotten eggs and dead chickens…hmmm. That is, if you have eggs or chickens at all because you will be fighting for them with other critters that like them just as well! Namely, raccoons, coyotes, owls, hawks and snakes just to name a few. Yep…best forget that and get some Ranch Reality in your life! Make a hen pen which is a “run”, the size depends on how many chickens you have. Never put too many in a pen or you’ll have cannibalism (shhh…no one likes to talk about this but chickens are the small version of a T-Rex). So, for anyone who is a vegetarian you may feel a little less feather friendly if you knew what they really do! LOL!

Well, y’all…join my blog and receive much needed info! I won’t blow up your email as I don’t post real often. But if you have a question, be bold and ask me on or off the blog. I’m here to hear Y’ALL!

Cooking & Cast Iron...

Cooking since prehistoric times has been on an open fire typically over a spit. Cast Iron Skillets and Dutch Ovens were made for a fire. As we became more civilized, that open fire was brought into the home in the form of a fireplace and the spit was built-in with multiple handles or arms to cook on often at varying heights above the fire. This is how my mother-in-law cooked for many years in a cabin where they lived in the mountains of Colorado.

By the 1830’s the low-cost cooking ranges made of cast iron were on the scene but most ladies were not ready to give up the hearth for “them new-fangled iron monsters” of the industrial age. If you find old cookbooks of that period, they won’t give the temperatures in degrees but the break down would go something like this: Warm Oven (250-325 degrees), Moderate Oven (325-400 degrees), Hot Oven (400-500 degrees).

As far as cast iron, it’s not only an age old means of cooking, it’s equally healthy for you as the iron will enrich your blood! Throw away those iron pills…you won’t need them anymore!

Often we hear about non-stick cookware. But our grandma’s knew the secret to that and it was called having a good oiled or seasoned pan. Remember…a well-seasoned pan won’t stick! If yours is sticking, you must be doing something wrong. You are probably over washing it and under oiling it. I’ve got many a cast iron skillet that I simply can wipe out with a paper towel if necessary. First, the heat kills germs and bacteria so a lot of soap and water is unnecessary…so don’t over wash. If you want to wash it, then a little warm soapy water and rinse quickly…never let it set in water or in a sink. If you must use water and it seems dulled, rub on a thin coat of oil after it dries and let it soak in without seasoning it in the oven.

Second…you want to use something non-abrasive if at all possible if you must scrub. I use non-scratch sponges that have scrubbing fibers made from 50% agave plant and are 100% plant-based fibers. If I have a skillet or Dutch oven that isn’t seasoned well and I have some sticking, I put some water in it and heat it on the stove, once warm but not hot, I use my scrub sponges to lightly loosen the stuck on food. I don’t really scrub, it just rubs off. Try NOT to use steel wool. It will scour and score the cast iron making it nearly impossible to get the skillet to season well ever again. Now…I know if there is rust, they say to use steel wool…but I’ve found better results with less damage to the pan that will keep it from seasoning right by just rubbing it down with oil and rubbing it off with paper towels, then seasoning it well. It takes a bit more time and effort but you’ll be more careful about getting it rusty in the first place and you’ll save your skillets and time in the long run.

I know they say you can use lard and vegetable oil and some folks even use butter. But I have to say, my Italian Grandma who grew up on land and raised their own food in Italy knew what worked best. Olive Oil…because it doesn’t typically get stale, carry other odors or get sticky. It is amazing if you start off your Cast Irons seasoning with it and keep it up.

If you do need to season your pans, you want to coat it with oil evenly all over the pan, inside and out. Heat your oven at about 300-350 degrees and set them inside for an hour or two. Turn off your oven and let them cool naturally making sure there is no moisture in the oven. When you remove them, there should be a shiny coat of oil that has hardened onto it. If you don’t see that, repeat the process. For beginners, do this as often as is necessary to keep that shiny coat on. When a pan starts to stick…repeat it again. Eventually this builds up to the point that you will hardly ever need to season them. The best thing my grandmother ever gave me was her cast iron skillets that had become so well-seasoned over the years from cooking in them, that things glide off them like no nonstick pan has ever done for me! My grandparents lived into their 90’s so it must have been clean, healthy living enough that they hardly ever got sick! So, even if you think having cooked on oil is not as clean as a non-stick pan…think again. Flakes coming from an iron skillet give you iron…flakes coming from a Teflon or other non-stick cook wear give you…what chemicals? Bet it’s nothing good for you!

And be sure to cook with oils…they are good for you. I have managed to have a high good cholesterol to the point where it has cancelled out my high bad cholesterol…I attribute it to the Olive Oil!

It makes perfect sense to me that they’ve found a Mediterranean diet is healthy and those folks live longer than we do in America! And you’ll find once you learn how to care properly for your cast irons…they will never let you down!

Happy Cast Iron Cooking Trails Y’all!

 

Living Simply...what's in YOUR cabinet?

Here’s another on my series of simple living and getting back to basics. Today, I’m gonna talk about something you may well have in your kitchen that is absolutely TOXIC! Yes, and before you look any further into all the other things that may be causing you to have health issues…let’s take a look into your cabinets for this one! And here’s why…

 

When I was newly married, I received a wedding gift that I wasn’t the most thrilled with, but I am sentimental and thought I’d go ahead and keep and use them. After all it was a wedding gift, right? Within a few years, I became exhausted most of the time. I didn’t realize what was happening to me and of course, being in my 20’s my doc had no real reasons, either. They always talk about what my diet might be. Well…having been a lifelong natural/health food type person loving fruits and veggies from childhood and growing our own most of the time in sunny Southern California I had an edge on what folks are only realizing now. I wasn’t much for junk food, although I do remember a couple of times in my teens, due to hormonal fluctuations and what not, ~wink~ I did enjoy a bag of chips now and then. I began by researching health food books as I always was up on this from college, looking to find why I was so fatigued. I had thought perhaps I was having trouble with low blood sugar so worked with that idea. But, I realized that there was something kind of yucky in my food after cooking and so…I finally brought myself to throw away my wedding gift. Have you guessed it yet? Yep…it was a set of nonstick pans. That nasty Teflon was coming off in my food as black flakes. For a long time I thought it was just black pepper! I often wonder how much I ate of that stuff before realizing it. And yes, before you ask…I used wooden/plastic spoons. I had always used wooden spoons because my grandpa from Italy had made me a set for when I was grown! So out with the new and back to the old…I took out my grandma’s cast iron skillets. Within a few months, I was feeling more active and just fine again.

This will give you an idea on how great cast iron skillet cooking is for you! I had my daughter when I was 35, eldest son when I was 37 and youngest son when I was almost 41! I did great through my pregnancies and I’ll tell you why. First, with my daughter they started giving me prenatal vitamins. My doc became upset with me because I wasn’t gaining weight as I should. I told him although I had chalked it up to being nauseated in my first trimester, by the second, I was realizing I felt fine every morning until I took my prenatal pill. I had them run a test on me to check my blood levels. Come to find out, I was high in iron and didn’t need the prenatal vitamins because they were causing the nausea due to too much iron! I already had all of the good vitamins and minerals I needed for a healthy pregnancy. I asked the doc about it and he said that most women in our modern society are anemic, especially during pregnancy. Hmmm…doc said my good iron was due to those iron skillets of my grandma’s! Btw…during all my pregnancies I was on hands and knees mopping floors, driving vehicles, working with horses, training dogs, etc. basically…I was full of energy and doing everything…when most younger women were exhausted, uncomfortable, etc.

 By the time I was pregnant with my second child, my doc’s nurse asked me if I would teach a class for her on nutrition! She was simply amazed at how my blood levels were so good and I had no problems at my age, throughout my pregnancies when so many of their young women were having so many health issues. This was asked of me again, during my pregnancy when I was 40yrs. old! Of course, I had to turn her down as I lived about an hour drive from town.

I had a dear friend remind me of this the other day when we got to talking about nonstick and cast iron skillet cooking and had really totally forgotten how the change affected me. Now…the next thing I’ll talk about is care of those skillets. Grandma knew how to keep them “nonstick” for her day…but that along with many other things has been lost in our modern throw away, easy peasy, nonstick society! ~wink~ So, if you’re not feeling your best or if you are anemic and have nonstick pans…you may want to toss them out and get cast iron. You can throw away those iron pills as well! Oh…and aluminum pans are not good, either…best option is tempered glass or Stainless Steel.

 

Happy Trails,

Elvira