Building Upon a Legacy of Faith: Part 1

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (Deuteronomy 4:9)

 

A few weeks ago, Scott served as an usher in our little country church. When he sat back down, he leaned over and whispered that he couldn’t help but think about how many times he had watched his grandpa walk down that same aisle as an usher. That got me to thinking about the legacy that we leave our children and grandchildren.

Merriam-Webster defines legacy as (2.) something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.  What legacy are we leaving?

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Canning Pear Pie Filling

This week we finished working up the delicious pears that we picked at my friend, Caroline’s house.  The trees were planted over 100 years ago and several generations of her family and the neighborhood have benefited from those trees.

Previously I have always just canned the pears as slices or pear sauce.  This year I also canned some pear pie filling. The recipe I used for the pear pie filling was the same as the  apple pie filling recipe.

Note: A few years ago when working up pears Adisyn asked why we didn’t use the apple peeler/slicer for pears too. Um, well because I never thought about it! So needless to say now we use the apple peeler/slicer and those pears work up much faster.  However, if the pears have started to get soft it doesn’t work well.

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Apple Pie Filling

One of my favorite things to can is Apple Pie filling.  It is so nice to have a quick and easy dessert on hand.  Each fall I try to stock up on plenty of apple pie filling that I use for pies and cobblers throughout the year.

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Our First Year with Red Broilers

In the past, we have raised numerous Cornish-X broilers and processed them. Although Cornish-X chickens produce large amounts of meat in a short period of time; they are very prone to leg problems and heart attacks (especially when it is hot, and we have hot and humid here.)

So this year I decided to try Red Broilers that I ordered from Cackle Hatchery.  I had read that unlike the Cornish-X, the Red Broilers are mobile and will aggressively forage for food but they take longer to grow.  This is true on both statements!  These chickens actually act like chickens.  Unlike the Cornish-X, they are not lethargic. The Red Broilers were active foragers. We did not have any leg problems or heart attacks.

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Red Broiler chicks in brooder.

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Pig Production Update

We have been steadily increasing our pig herd over the past several months.  Up to this point we have been marketing our pigs locally, however with our numbers quickly growing we will have pigs to sell to Niman Ranch starting in December. (This coming year we are planning to farrow 45 sows/gilts. )   It is very exciting to think that in two short months we will sell to Niman Ranch for the first time!

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Some of the pigs just lounging.

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