Big Mama Hog

This is the Big Mama Hog at the farm. She smells, and she slings nasty when she jumps up, but I really wanted to get a picture to show how big she is. So, Noah thought by waving a tomato piece in the air she would jump up. She didn't jump up until she heard Chris digging in the hog feed bucket. Smart Hog....LOL I thought I needed a better picture. I don't think you can really see how big she is, but this might show how gross it can be.
See all the mud and junk on her hooves, and when she jumps she shares it. YUCK!!

Potatoes Vs. The Village....canning potatoes round 2

You have already seen pictures of the potatoes, now for pictures of the village...LOL

We have Papa Farrell...he is a cutter, washer, and 'the funny man'....well some don't find him funny, but I do. Only because his 'funniness' isn't directed at me.... My 'King' Chris...He is a hauler, washer, cutter, chicken baker, jack of all trades so to speak....He was also very cranky. He didn't find Papa's 'funniness' funny....LOL
This is Amanda she is a filler in of all trades. She refers to this as moving laterally....I call her the food Nazi, or the inspector....She checks everyones work, lets us know what we need to do to improve, and then follows it up with your doin' a great job don't quit. All while smiling her bless your heart smile.....I just love her...

This is Courtney....She is best at washing jars, filling jars, changing pots,...I think she just likes all the jobs that require clean hands....(she's lucky, but we all can't be jar people...LOL)
This is Josh....He thinks of himself as our fearless leader...we think of him as the guy who gives orders alot....LOL Just kidding while he is giving orders and checking on progress he fills in where needed. He is really great at moving us along at the fastest pace possible...At any given random time you can hear him say 'shake n bake people'....every time he says it I think 'boy I do love shake n bake'....LOL Yes, sometimes it's distracting...LOL

NOBODY took any pictures of me. I guess they were all to busy or something....LOL I did want to share one thing...my hands have never looked grosser a day in my life then they do right now. They are so potato stained, it's disgusting.....I also didn't get any pictures of Pat with her wrapped arm...

All in all it was a great couple of days...the potatoes put up a really great fight, but in the end the village won. I have some fun potato facts I learned on the Internet: Every quart jar holds 2.5-3 lbs of potatoes. With that being said I will give some facts on how we beat the potatoes.....
We had 428 quart jars filled with potatoes.
That is 1070-1284 lbs of potatoes which is half a ton of potatoes.
It took almost 36 cases of jars, 3 lbs. of salt, alot of water, and a whole small village.
P.S. If I have forgot anything I'm sorry! I am so tired, and up really early. Just leave me a comment. I'll edit...LOL

Potatoes out the ears.....canning potatoes round 1

Have you ever read the story "The Little Red Hen"? Well in that story I was always the fat cat. I never would help plant, sow, harvest, prepare, or cook the wheat. I mean that was the little red hen's job. Right? I did however always want to eat the bread.....

Well this year I've turned over a new leaf. I didn't help plant or sow...I came in alittle late in the game, but I think I'm slowing catching on and catching up...

Last Saturday we went out to the farm and dug potatoes. I don't have any pictures to share, because I didn't use my own camera...that will never happen again....Anyway, I 'm not a digger of potatoes. I'm more of a gatherer, hauler, mover of drinks, everything else but digging kind of gal. I'm what you call the big helper...LOL So, what does 3 giant rows of potatoes look like?

It looks like this.

Yes, I know that's alot of dirty, dirty potatoes. How does one clean that many at one time?

This is how...

Look how shiny clean they are now.

We set up a cutting station. And we got busy. During this part I've realized I'm more of a cutter/chopper of the potatoes. I mean I like filling the jars to, but there is something in me that wants to hand put them in, and bang them down to fit more, and redo it and redo it. Then I check the lid to see if it's tight, then I check it again, and again. So that part is harder for me.

We were so busy that I didn't take another picture until the end when we realized we were in trouble with time. Yes sometimes time is not a friend, but an enemy.

We cleaned and cut enough potatoes for 200 quart jars. We were really flying by the seat of our pants last night. We had cut all the potatoes, and had more outside that were wet. What were we going to do. We couldn't stay up all night and process them, we couldn't clean any more. It was getting really late.

The ones in the jars already we filled with water, and put saran wrap over all the jars. The ones still wet in the trailer we brought inside the porch, and laid them all out on towels to dry. How much more you ask?

This is how much more....

That's alot more potatoes. I think we will get 200 more jars, and Josh thinks we will we have 300-400 more. It will be nice to see who is closer. We should make a game....LOL I got home took a shower, and climbed in bed. It was 12:30 a.m. Right before I went to sleep I said a quick prayer that the potatoes would be alright over night...

I didn't think I would like this at all, but I really love it. I could never thank my wonderful Sister In Law/BFF Amanda for really showing me the ropes. She just about knows everything, and can do everything, and she is great fun to hang out with. It takes a small village to store so many potatoes. In are village we have Amanda, Josh, Me, Chris, Pat, Farrel, and Courtney. I think I'm so tired I am confusing storing potatoes with raising kids....LOL Tonight will be round 2. I will take actual pictures of real people instead of all pictures of potatoes...LOL