My Favorite Rifle

I walked out to the old corral and stock chute, looking for a place to take a pic of my favorite rifle.
Wonder how many head of livestock have traveled through this thing.

I have visions of cows, beef steers and spent bulls being loaded into the back end of an old pickup......stock panels on each side of the pickup bed to contain them while being transported to the vet, sale barn or ?...





My favorite rifle... I use it during deer season.
It's a Marlin .30-30 lever action with open sites..





I absolutely love this thing. It's light weight and accurate.



One of the places I hunt.. This pic was taken during deer season. I'm sort of an old fashioned hunter I guess. No deer stand, blind, camo or feeders. I wear my blue jeans, farm boots, warm coat, coveralls when the snow flies....

Oh yeah.. I also wear my lucky little diamond earrings. :)
They must be lucky, I'm always able to bring home a deer.



It 's a good feeling to be able to provide meat for the table. :)

Canning Green Tomatoes for Frying

I'm not sure if I was a squirrel in a previous life but when fall is near... I kick into canning mode.

I've been canning up green tomatoes for frying this winter. They're handy to have in the pantry for an easy meal or snack. :)

I wash the tomatoes, remove the stem ends and cut off any dark spots.
Then slice about 1/4" thick. You can slice them as thick as you like.



I work with 7 jars at a time...that's what my canner holds.

Stack the sliced matoes into the hot sterilized jars.
I add a pinch of salt to each jar, and 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice (these are pint jars, add 1 TBS of lemon juice to quarts)



widemouth jars work best for me... they are easier to fill.



fill the jars with water, then run a knife around the sides to remove any air bubbles...fill with more water if needed, leaving 1/2" headspace.



I keep my lids hot....



Wipe the jar rims with a cloth and top with the lids.



Ready for the waterbath canner.



Lower the jars into the canner making sure you have at least 1" of water covering them...
Process for 40 minutes...





Ready for use this winter. :)



When ready to use, just drain, season with salt and pepper, use your favorite coating and fry until golden and crisp. Here is the recipe I use.. Fried Green Tomatoes

I crave fried green tomatoes year round and it's nice to have some on the shelf when the snow flies. :)

Fried Green Tomato BLT with Bufalo Chipotle Mayo

I've been canning green tomatoes for frying this winter and decided to fry up a couple for supper.

How I make Fried Green Tomatoes











I brushed the top of the bun with melted butter, then sprinkled with kosher salt, minced onions and some herbs to make it special. :)

Mixed a bit of Bufalo brand chipotle sauce with mayo and slathered the lid. It had a bit of a kick to it.





I kicked off my shoes, curled up on the couch with a pillow and my sandwich...it was just what I needed, kind of a comfort meal. :)

I'm really lovin' these peaches :)

I decided to make a batch of jam...





added lemon juice, pectin and then the sugar....I just followed the pectin instructions.







into the water bath canner for 10 minutes...





Gave it the cracker taste test....



Mmmmm... going to be nice on a hot biscuit this winter. :)

Bent's Fort

Bent's Fort is located a few miles outside of La Junta Colorado.
It is the site of an old trading post built in the early 1800s and was reconstructed in 1976.
It was pretty interesting to walk through.















The hide press....



The upper level...







Looking over the wall, I could see the river....



There were a few of these located around the upper level and a larger cannon below.





I liked the huge ceiling beams. :)





The water well was located inside of one building, there was a ladder to get down to it...



I seemed to be drawn to the horse and mule tack. :)







and the kitchen....



The room on the right side of the fireplace was for cool storage...



the upper part of the cold storage room... for hanging meats..



and the lower part of the storage room was nice and cool...





The place was pretty interesting. Every thing they needed was contained inside the walls of the fort. I enjoyed checking it out. :)