“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.”
― Tennessee Williams
We all feel trapped, I imagine, sometimes…
But there is nothing like having one of your animals trapped. Imagine that animal weighing over 1000 pounds trapped and how do you get her out? Or even scarier, but not quite as untouchable, your beloved puppy with his head in a noose of his making. And you feel trapped in watching them endure a situation they cannot escape.
Twice this week….this is the week for being trapped.
We have a cow in with our bull to keep him company. We bottle fed her and now she is grown. She is gentle, and I thought, would be easy to manage. But she is unhappy being away from her herd and having to babysit a bull (can you imagine?:)
When we move our herd from one side of the farm to another, they go through an alley behind our house. When we moved them this time, Little bit (that is the cow’s name…bottle calves usually get names) planned her escape. She figured she could stick her head through a gap in the gate and push her way into freedom. She probably would have except – the fence next to the gate has a hot wire. So I imagine, for her it was like being in the guillotine. Except instead of waiting for the blade to fall, she was getting hit by the hot wire…pulsing. There were two chains on the gate (to keep the bull in) so no way to go forward or backward.
Anyway, I had gone down to push the cows through so the bull wouldn’t get any ideas. I wound up standing right in front of her when she stuck her head through. She was screaming….if cows can scream. And there was no way to undo the chain because it was too tight. I could hear the fence popping every time it pulsed. And then she would scream and pull backwards with all her might. I kept waiting for the fence brace to break, or the gate to come off the hinges….hoping something would break. Her nose started bleeding…it was traumatic. I wish I had thought to go get the bolt cutters and cut the chain. The only thing I could thing of was to try to feed her so she would walk forward and I could get the chain loose.
I hollered to Curtis to turn the fence off. He was miles behind them, closing gates and had no clue what was going on. But he heard and it worked. When he turned the fence off she walked forward towards the feed and I was able to free her. I felt like I was ready for a Bloody Mary! She seemed OK, thank goodness, and amazingly nothing was broken.
Stay tuned for the puppy story next week….
Farm News: This was the week for getting/being trapped.
What’s in the bucket: County fair green cabbage, red onion, carrots, beets, summer squash, green beans, basil and dill.
If your green beans are stacking up….here’s a great idea to help them hang around even longer. If you are ambitious, double or triple the recipe and add carrots, onions, squash, any other veggies you want in a jar and out of your produce drawer!
Quick Pickled Green Beans
From upstate ramblings website
- 1 pound green beans
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
- 4 sprigs fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 thin slices garlic
Instructions
- Wash the beans and remove the stems. Cut to fit into your canning jar.
- Blanch the green beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling vigorously add the beans and cook for one minute.
- Drain the beans in a colander and then place them in ice water to cool.
- To make the brine bring the white vinegar, cider vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Stir to make sure the salt and sugar dissolve. Then remove from the heat and let the brine cool.
- Add the onion slices, garlic slices, peppercorns and red pepper flakes to a clean pint size mason jar. Add the cooled beans lengthwise along with a few sprigs of dill.
- When the brine is cool pour it over top of the beans. Put a lid tightly on the jar. Refrigerate once the jar is at room temperature.
- Let sit for about 4 days before eating. The dilly beans will keep in the refrigerator for 2 months.
Happy Pickling….Happy eating and thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm!