Colorado Bend camping

We spent the weekend on the Colorado River near Bend Texas.  We stayed at the Barefoot RV park, which is funny since all the grass in the rv area is grassburrs!  Don’t even think of stepping outside without shoes!  Once you overlook the stickers it is a great place to camp and play. This was our second trip. It has a couple miles of flowing Colorado River. Most is to shallow to tube in, we tried. We kept high centering   There are a few big deep fishing type holes.  Still it’s gravel bottom and great playing for kids of all ages.

 

Saturday morning we went to the Colorado Bend State Park. We had a day pass. If you don’t get a reservation ahead you don’t go.  It is a nice park. River is wide and deep looking in the camping area. No hookups so dry camping only.  

The real draw is Gorman Falls. It is a hike but seriously worth it if you are up to a strenuous 1.5 mile hike one way. Most of it isn’t terrible, but it isn’t a walking path either. It is up and down with lots of boulders and other rocks to navigate. The last 1/4 mile are so is HARD. 

Yes this is the trail!  It is just as slick as those rocks look. It does have a cable rail that helps you hang on. 

Now as to why it is worth the hike....

No swimming in this area but the river is right there to take a dip in if you came prepared. We didn’t so we hiked back. We are pretty sure the return trip back up the same trail was about 5 miles long.  My suggestion is get a day pass show up when the park opens hike to the falls first. There are several other hikes in the park if you have the energy. We didn’t.  Hiking along the river from the falls to the campground looks interesting if you had someone to pick you up. You can also hike to a scenic overlook then the falls. Because the Visibility was poor we didn’t even try that hike. It was very hot and humid. Not a good combination. The hike to the falls was enough. It showed on our iPhone we did 10 flights of stairs.  

Tomatillo Sauce

Tomatillo sauce is one of my favorites.  I don’t know why I don’t make it more often.  Today I thought I would share how I make mine.  

I roast onions, peppers, jalapeños today, tomatillos and garlic if I have fresh until the tomatillos are soft. They are way to sour to me

If you don’t roast them.  

Since I didn’t have fresh garlic I added minced to the cilantro in the vita mix. I added some salt to this.  

Let’s don’t forget a healthy squirt of lime juice!

Ready to blend!

Since I’m using a vita mix and don’t want it blended into juice I run the vita mix on one or two. 

Ready to enjoy!  

Love dipping chips in it. Topping eggs makes the eggs better. Or add it to any burrito!

Beef processing blog 2

Once the skin was off and the feet it was the meat cutters turn. 

Husband worked for a meat processed 30 years ago.  Friend worked her way through high school cutting meat. But had never processed anything larger than a deer. Between the two of them they got it into manageable pieces. 

Love having helpful young ladies that can wearbabies  and watch younger siblings and cousins. 

Finally it’s all in the refrigerator cooling!  Once it has cooled and ages then an afternoon of cutting and packaging.  

Beef!

With all the talk about beef prices what would you do if you were given a BIG beef?  Just one catch, You process!

Sadly neighbor was branding today and some freak accident a 2 yesr old heifer hung a back foot some how and broke it just above the ankle.  No real hope of it healing. It was nasty.  Instead of just putting her down he ask son if he wanted her. So they loaded her in his trailer shot her and brought her home.  To make this even funnier he was on his way home from taking a beef to be processed. He just swung by and picked this one up.  We started processing about 6:20. It’s almost 9 and they are hanging meat in the refrigerator. She is gutted, skinned, and cut into manageable pieces.  It was a family affair. With lots of science, biology, meat cutting and laughing tossed in to make it enjoyable.  We had two meat cutters and everyone has helped process deer. Pictures follow. Remember it is the reality of processing a beef.  

Thank goodness we have a backhoe!  It made the whole job easier. 

Lots of discussion on what was being done and why and how.  Kids were very I combed from about 5 years old and up.  

Younger kids watched a bit but soon lost interest. 

Biology discussion with all kids as they examined the organs.  

Skinned!

Blog only allows so many pictures so round two coming up. 

Morning in pictures

It’s beautiful this morning!  Seems an apology for yesterday 

and what is to come today. Then they say cooler  tomorrow. 

Since it was so pretty this morning I started chores early.  Grand daughters were great with it seems grandson felt I was doing them way to early.  He got to adjust.  

This is what my morning looked like.  

Three cows 7 calves!  They are all easy mamas and will let them nurse. They get days with cows nights with feed.  

This little Garden is an accidental garden. They were tossing scraps to chickens then moved the chickens and we got rain.  All these plants came up. So Granddaughter waters them now that rain seems to have stopped. 

Do you see what I see?   Second Muscovy mama to hatch!

Hollyhocks make me think of my mom and her yard.  Thes are beautiful!  Each area of flowers is about a foot and still growing. 

Another grandmother memory a red hot poker!   I am not sure how it came to be where it is.  I’m not even 100% sure it is a red hot poker.  I have some that claimed to be in another area.  They haven’t ever bloomed.  I’m Excited!  Hopefully it will spread. 

These are small lillies. Each bloom is thumb size or smaller.  I’m sure they were either clearenced bulbs or plants. 

Then we have some bigger lillies.  Again no idea what kind. Hopefully they will open today.  

Aquaponic harvest and pictures

Fresh greens from the aquaponic garden!  They are mustard I think.  I have harvested several times and they are just growing faster and faster.  

See these 5-6 plants that’s all the mustard I have.  But it is growing faster than I’m eating it.   Today I may do wilted greens   Which is a blast from my childhood.  I won’t be using bacon and bacon grease but coconut oil and maybe palm.  Chop green onions and fry them. Add vinegar then bring to a boil. Pour over greens and cover until they wilt.  

I planted two tiny tomatoes in two different beds over a month ago. They have decided to grow. No blooms yet but hopefully soon. 

Pictures of the most established bed. I planted green onions early.  It has some pansies that we’re clearenced last fall. A few spinach that haven’t grown as well as I would like. A big cabbage and a small broccoli.  Add green beans just coming up on one side so I can trellis them and it’s a full bed. 

Planted radishes in the mustard bed on Saturday. They are coming up. I also have green beans among one edge to trellis. Malabar spinach on another edge to also trellis.  I’m not sure that the birds aren’t snacking on them to much.  Time will tell. A tomatillo center. One of the two bigger tomatoes and several small ones where I squished an over ripe Roma tomato.