THE LONG SHADE
You can see the shadows growing long in these shots. Out in the late afternoon with my cows. 
Both little herds got a new bale of hay yesterday and while the tractor was out we sowed the winter ground cover in the pig field. One more field to go and that is done.
I met with the mill man yesterday and spend all afternoon talking about interesting things. He mills his grains into flour. All organic of transitional. ( remember transitional means organically grown and transitioning to full organic). Mostly wheats, corns, rye, and something else I forgot.
Like I was saying yesterday when he changes grains there is a short run of mixed flours. This is a byproduct and is called Purge Flour. This goes into brown paper bags and onto a pallet and becomes a nuisance because to date he does not have a regular buyer for it.
I brought some home and put a small amount into the soaking buckets for the pigs. It changed the consistency of their feed dramatically. I fed them the rye. Not much yet it is a big diet change and that needs to happen slowly.
Naturally they loved it.
After dinner the oven was still hot so I mixed water and flour into a cake like consistency and spread into my huge catering pan. 
This cooked a while then I turned the oven off and went to bed. I scored the dough so it will be easy to chop up. I can throw these cakes to both the chickens and the pigs.
Incorporating the flour into their diets will be interesting.
We talked about the pellitiser but it needs lots of labour and I think it will just make the byproduct too expensive. But that might work for others so we will keep working on it.
I can hear that two of my ducks have flown out of their night pen. Hmm – I hope they already laid their eggs and have not started an avalanche of escapees.
Ah well the ducks are such a work in progress.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Celi
Weather for today:
39 Comments on “THE LONG SHADE”
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Great pictures! Your sprouts look good. Hopefully the animals take to the byproduct. He may give you a great price since he doesn’t have a market for it. Another warm day. I liked the weather we had a couple weeks ago better. Cool days and even cooler nights …….
That was amazing right? Slowed my hay right down though. These late summer days are the best so far
I love that golden sunlight this time of year. Have a fab day!
Yes – so do I-
I wonder if more easily digested carbohydrate in their diet (as opposed to having to break it down out the greens they eat) will enable them to put on weight faster… It’s such a great idea to make use of what’s otherwise a waste product, but is perfectly good food. And I could quite fancy a good handful of those sprouts in a salad myself!
The sunflower sprouts are definitely my favourite
The transitional flour certainly looks promising! And may work very well for both you and the mill man! 🙂
The pigs Loved their pig bannock this morning. It was a perfect distraction while I got into the pen to find their bowls! Why must they take their empty bowls and shove them in corners.? Must be some kind of primitive saving for later thing.
I had a Dandie Dinmont Terrier once, Duncan wouldn’t finish his kibble and he’d push the bowl to the corner of the cabinets so it was partially under the kick plate. There he would sweep his nose across the floor as if burying it. To be kind I always waited til he was not looking before I picked it up. Silly dog.
That is so cute. Dinosaur brain at work again!!
lol. The dog does the same thing here (but I think it’s to better hold it in one place while he cleans the bowl; )
“Naturally they loved it.” That is so funny. I love that. Your sprouts are LUSCIOUS!! You amazingly capable and inventive and resourceful woman. You remember the story of the Little Red Hen? Well, that is you.
I often think of the red hen – and while the dogs lay about watching me work I often remind them of that story!
That flour sounds like a very interesting option – I hope it works out.
I will be watching closely for constipation. That would be the main worry. Keeping the four at 1/5 of the diet for the moment.
Spiffy new weather set up! And I agree, the sprouts look thick and lovely!
Oh the weather- as I am working on my phone now I hit on the incredible and in no way original idea Of taking a screen shot. So much simpler!!
what , pray . is this new mixture supposed to do….? Its a very good idea and certainly saves wasting a good product…but what is the basic idea ….More shiny hair, stronger whiter teeth, better finger nails that dont split? send me some ……
It is flour / for bread – fills you up and puts on weight!
My mouth is watering about fresh ground corn – what a wonderful taste I’m sure. At Canton the first Monday trades day in east Texas, there was a man who would grind corn fresh for you while you waited. It made the best corn bread and breading for anything. He always had white corn and yellow corn – so you could do one or the other – I always wanted the mixed batch…..
This is all stone ground too so is extra beautiful
Could the other flour be millet? Those sprouts are looking good. Love the golden glow in the pictures. Laura
Maybe- I will check my notes.
I really love the first photo of the cows and their hay. It looks like a closeup in a Constable painting. (Minus the car of course).
That beautiful first photo ~ Constable’s peaceful beasts at the hay wain & Keats’ To Autumn “…soft dying day.” Just lovely, Celi. For the calendar.
You have such knowledgeable, thoughtful readers, Miss C. More than half the time I don’t have a clue to what you and they are talking about and I’m supposed to be educated. I’m not being humble either. Today’s topic—grains—not to mention Red Hen, nor the days you talk about recipes, I’m at a loss. But at least I can google the Red Hem story. I can tell the dogs don’t get it either—but may they don’t want to. (They can’t help it!)
I just read the story of the little red hen—but first I learned it was the name of the restaurant that asked Sarah Sanders to leave.
A good name for a restaurant
Lord love a duck! Ain’t that just ducky? They sure look calm and happy these days – compared to when they first arrived. Photos are wonderful! Thank you, Wonder Woman!
Would that, perchance, be a shadowy silhouette of yourself posing for that photo of your beautiful black cow? Lovely! “Here’s me looking back at you looking at me”.
I love how you’re fi ding good use for something that would otherwise sadly be wasted.
The Little Red Hen reminded me of the Stone Soup story! and your shadowy photos are marvelous!
Now I am wondering how bread for people made from that flour would taste.
Interesting? lol
I’m wondering if multi-grain flour would make a decent loaf of bread for you and John but I suppose it would be hit or miss since the proportions would be so different each time you got a bag.
Still, I bet it would make both magnificent bread and terrible bread in turns and it would be like a lottery each time as to which it would be. And you can always pitch the terrible stuff out to the chickens / pigs. I imagine they don’t have quite the same standards.
They don’t – they loved the bannock I made last night
Oh, I remember the long shadows! We learned about it in grammar school! No one notices such things anymore. The shadows are longer in Washington, and maybe not be so long in Los Angeles. (I never noticed a difference in Los Angeles, and the shadows in the driveway were those of Mexican fan palms half a block away.)
Perhaps they get shorter, the closer you get to the equator?
and longer the closer one gets to the North Pole (or the South Pole).