Reflections.....

Jason and I had the opportunity to go and help out Tammy and Stephen, since they have so graciously helped us out lately! It is their "harvest" time as well and we were helping gather yearlings to take to the sell. Jason had helped on Saturday, but some managed to get out of the pasture so yesterday afternoon we gathered again.

For a little background information, my family has farmed just on the other side of the mountain where Tammy and Stephen have their ranch since the early 50's. Yesterday was my first time to be one the backside of that mountain. WOW! I know that I have posted this before, but it is amazing how much AZ changes within miles of it's self!

ANYWHO...... At one point Teaspoon (my horse) and I were left by ourselves holding some cows and calves while Jason and Stephen were scouting for some more. The view I had was absolutely breath taking!! As I had a few minutes to myself I was praying and thanking God for the opportunity to even be up there, when I started thinking about the ranching life style. Now, farming is hard but ranching....that's a whole other kind of hard.

I was thinking about all the sacrifices that they had made to be up there, everything that they had done without. So many times we want to find our "security" in our checking account, or where we live, or what vehicles that we drive, or how new our farming equipment is.....but here's a family who love each other and I mean really love each other. The 3 kids are grown but they still look out for one another, at Will's wedding his dad was his best man, at Shay's wedding her brothers were her attendants and it is important to Shay Lynn to have her children close together so that they too might have the relationship that she shares with her brothers.

They built this relationship not by buying all the newest and greatest things for their children, in fact, Tammy told me that when the kids were little she would go into town and pick up free cardboard refrigerator boxes for the kids to make forts and countless other stories! But they were given a wonderful life by all of them working together, sacrificing together on that ranch. Now their family is not perfect, but to me it is a beautiful example of what God had is mind when he set up the family.

I pray that someday when I have a family of my own that I too will instill in my children a strong work ethic, the meaning of sacrifice, and what life is really about....a relationship with our Savior.

I wish that I could have carried my camera with me! It was so peaceful and to me, there is no better quiet time then when you're sitting horseback looking at God's beautiful creation!

The Chile Roaster!

I finally have some chile roasting pictures! Yesterday, Tammy and Stephen came back over to help Jason and I again!! Tammy and I roasted 320 lbs. of chile and we were able to get some pictures. Now mind you that we mostly roast green chile, but after we were done we decided that we would pick some red and try it out.



(the pictures are out of order) This is the final product. Red chiles are so sweet and flavorful! More so than the green.









We threw in a green pod just for fun!









This is the roaster in action.






You very slowly turn the roaster (by hand with this one) and let the flames blister the skin.








Close up of the chile while it is cooking.








The idea is to blister the skin but not over cook the flesh. It usually takes only 3 minutes to roast 20 lbs. So why does it take all day to do 320 lbs?!? It's the process afterwards of stopping the cooking by cooling the chili down with water.




This is right out of the roaster.







Thanks again to Tammy and Stephen! It's wonderful to have friends that you can call in a pinch and they will be there. We are looking forward to be able to help you out on the ranch in the next couple of weeks!

AAHHH.....Monday

Yes, I'm actually happy to see Monday and a start of a new week. We survived last week and the weekend! We picked 10 loads of chile, 5 loads of pumpkins, and I have lost track how many bags of chile, well over 100.

God has blessed us with such great friends and family, and we utilized them this week! On Thursday night, Tyler came over and he and I picked up bales out of the field while Jason finished baling. On Friday, Tammy and Stephen came over and she helped me roast chile all morning and we're not exactly sure what Jason and Stephen did.....drove around maybe?? No, they did keep very busy, but it sure felt like Tammy and I were doing all the hard work! ;) But talk about a wonderful friend because she brought with her breakfast burritos and sandwiches so that I did not have to worry about anything extra. Plus she sent all the extras with us on our unexpected trip to New Mexico! Thank You, Thank You, Tammy!!

So to top off a very LONG week, on Friday at 4pm we headed to Roswell, NM to take care of some unexpected business. Long story, long trip! But we made it to Alamogordo, NM around 11pm and could not find a room. Dream works production was in town filming the new transformer movie, they were having a hot air balloon festival on Saturday and Sunday, and a bike rally in Ruidoso. We finally got a room at the third hotel that we stopped at and we we got the very last room there! We had a hay rake on a trailer and we were asked if it was a transformer! I told Jason that we could probably sell it for lots of money!

We made it back home the next day around 7pm and Jason baled hay until 11:30pm. So on Sunday we slept in, he raked more hay, we napped, and then we picked up more bales until around 8pm last night.

Just a little side note, we are now down to just 2 dogs. Cash bit one of our biggest fresh chile customers on Wednesday, so now we just have Cody and Milo. It's really strange not to have Mimi's dog, Coco, or Cash around anymore!

Power of Prayer

This morning my sister-in-law, Jodie, and my niece, Brooke (4 years old), came over to pick up some roasted chile. Brooke needed to use the bathroom so we came into the house and while Jodie and I were visiting Brooke went into the bathroom 4 different times. So Jodie went in to check on her and told her that they were fixing to leave and that she would stop and pick up some medicine for her. Brooke told her not to worry about it because she had already prayed!

Have you prayed today? ;)

No Rest for the Wicked?

Reading other blogs inspired me to write about our "not" so restful weekend. And for once we did not have any rain! Wow....who would have thought that out here in the desert?

Let's begin with Friday.....that morning "we" picked 3 semi loads of chile, 100 bags of chile, I roasted 160 lbs. of chile, and shipped 2 semi loads of hay. I also finished cleaning and putting back together my disastrous guest bedroom. Then we loaded up a trailer with hay and headed towards Wet Stone to deliver more chile and hay. With 8 ton bales of alfalfa hay pulled by a gas pickup.....the going was slow!! Those hills around Benson are tough! But we finally made it and we were able to see Travis and Nicolette's house that they are going to be moving into soon. We had dinner with them, and got home pretty late.

Saturday I started out by roasting another 160 lbs. of chile, plus I am having problems with my big roaster with the motor on it, so I had to switch to my little roaster (which I just picked up a few days before that) and hand turn the it.....little more work involved with that, and we were only able to pick 1 semi load of chile because our crew was small. I did some more cleaning on the house and then looked into my Green Chile Bible for some good recipes. Then Jason calls.....

Jason: What's for lunch?
Me: Oh, I've made buttermilk chile cornbread and pollo ranchero!
Jason: Wow! Something new and we aren't even having company over!

When I called him to let him know that lunch was ready, he asked if Nicolette was there. So we ended up having company for lunch! We both had a great time with them and the kids, and I really enjoyed rocking Heidi most of the afternoon! ;) After they had left I roasted 120 lbs. of chile and we took them to Elfrida. We ended up getting home late again that night.

Sunday, we slept in!! Papa called and needed Jason to help get a ram out of the pen of ewes. When he came back we ate breakfast and then he went out to rake hay and I started some more house cleaning ( I know, I know, we should have gone to church!). I hung a new blind in the guest bedroom, washed that window, and then I shampooed the carpets in that bedroom and the office. I also made these really good sugar free peanut butter oatmeal cookies. After Jason finished raking the hay, we left to go the the mountains to have picnic with my family. We ended up in Turkey Creek and the water is running and the grass is so high that you can barely see the cattle! BEAUTIFUL!!!!

On the way home, we had to stop at a Border Patrol check point which they were in the process of setting up. Anyway...people we everywhere and here is how the conversation went between Jason and the agent.

BP: Good evening. US Border Patrol. Where are you heading?
Me: (oh no!! How's he going to answer?)
Jason: Home.
Me: (whew)
BP: Where's home?
Me: (Oh NO, he just had to ask!)
Jason: Cochise.
Me: (whew)
BP: Where are you coming from?
Me: (OK, here we go....)
Jason: Turkey Creek.
Me: (oh...THANK YOU, LORD!)
BP: Have a nice evening.

as we drive away.........
Jason: I don't like to be questioned.
Me: No kidding.

Fun times this weekend! This week looks to be our busiest of the season. This morning Jason already has an order for 90 bags of chile, and, hopefully, we will have a big enough crew for 2 semi loads as well. We start shipping pumpkins on Wednesday, I have chile orders to take to Tucson on Wednesday, and out of 240 acres of alfalfa - 180 acres have been cut and will need to be raked and baled probably by this weekend. Oh well, looks like next weekend we won't be doing much resting either!

I Love The Fall

I really do love September and October. It brings back good memories of county fair (showed horses so I was able to stay out of the politics!) and of corn harvest. One of my most favorite memories of growing up as a "farm kid" was spending time with my dad on the combine harvesting corn. Love It!! Love the smells, the sights and the sounds.....I highly recommend trying it! ;)

These days I'm no longer showing horses, my dad now has his corn custom harvested, and we don't go corn but I still love the fall! We started picking chile last Friday and things have been crazy. And the crazier things get, the happier Jason gets.....yes, I said "happier". I do count my blessings!! And I have fired up the roaster and have gotten a few bags roasted. I had a couple yesterday come and get 80lbs. of roasted chile and they told me that it was the best chile that they have ever had! Last year they canned some of it and gave it away as Christmas gifts and everyone asked where they had gotten the chile. They told them that it did NOT come from Hatch, NM! I just love it when people finally realize that chile doesn't just come from Hatch, and that it's actually better from Cochise, AZ!

We will start picking pumpkins next Wednesday. This year has been so odd! This is the latest start to chile that we have ever had, and the earliest start to pumpkins that we have ever had! I'll get some pictures of chile/pumpkin harvest, and of my chile roaster.

Oh yes...I mustn't forget....along with the chile and pumpkin harvest we are still putting up hay. Well, we are trying, but it won't seem to stop raining. They say that as soon as you plant hay then the rain will start, well.....they are RIGHT! But as my new favorite quote says, "Life is not about learning how to survive the storm, it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"

So if you'll excuse me, I have some dancing lessons to attend to! And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!!

Craziness!

I know that for the most part those who read this blog all ready feel the way that I do. However, having said that you MUST watch this video on you tube of Obama. If there was ever any doubt in you mind about if he has "faith" or not, this should clear it up pretty well for ya! I can not comprehend the fact that we as Americans would even consider such an ANTI-American and ANTI-Christian for our President. Also, Obama is counting on the Christians NOT to get out and vote this November.

http://www.youtube.com/v/4FCNKwHRCQM


Anyway, on a little lighter note.....today Jason and I went to my brother's house to practice shooting our bows for our up coming elk hunts. Well, actually we had planned on going up to Turkey Creek, but it was raining so we ended up staying at their house. Their house is in Sunizona and it sits right next to Turkey Creek. Lots of farm land all around, not many houses. As we were playing around a small blue car drives up the road close to their by one of their pivots. It goes up the road aways and stops, 7 guys run out of the creek to meet the car carrying big, bulky bags, then the car comes back, and the 7 men run back to the creek. We all look at each other, and the first word everyone thought of was drugs. We called the border patrol, but we called the Willcox station not Douglas, so then we called the Douglas station (government for ya) and waited. I guess it was about 15 minutes later when the BP showed up, and about 30 minutes later they had all 7 men caught. Thanks only to Jason, Preston and my Dad! After lunch they including another BP agent went back up the creek to see if they could find anything and found several burlap sacks all tied together. They were empty, but they definitely had been carrying drugs. Plus, that was the second time that morning that that car had been by the house. And I'm talking maybe 200 yards from their house!!

So back to Obama vs. McCain, we NEED the right to own guns! Most people don't understand that, but it is so important. So I'll leave you with this.....By not voting, who are you electing?