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GrassRoots Meats Newsletter
July
2019
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Fully Stocked!
After a long winter during which we sold out of much of our meat inventory, we have just processed some lambs and beeves and are ready to rock again. You will not be disappointed in the quality of this beef and lamb, guaranteed! We will be processing some more pigs this month so soon enough we will have that stock full again. As usual our chicken stock is fine.
And the really good news is that we have both lamb and beef organ meats again, including liver. Yahoo! It has been a long wait for many of you, and we are sorry about that, but glad to be able to offer them again. Please don't delay in ordering because our stock will go fast, and we cannot guarantee that we will have beef liver each time we process. The drought was very hard on the animals and it definitely affected their livers. But for now all is good!
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What's Happening at the Ranch?
We added this water trough to the greenhouse last fall and I really think it kept the temperature a little higher throughout the winter, helping the plants make it through. We added some ruby red fish (and some goldfish soon), as well as some plants, hoping that it will humidify the greenhouse and keep it a little cooler on those hot summer days. Time will tell, but it is going to be fun watching the plants and fish grow. I will definitely keep you posted as it develops and changes.
 Our grandson, Teeg, loves riding the horses. Grandpa made his dreams come true this past week. Yay, Grandpa!
The albino raccoon had a litter, and we found this one in the barn. Allan has adopted it as a pet. Teeg and River, Allan's 14 year old cousin who was visiting for a few weeks, took on the raccoon as their own personal project.
Allan helped me create this lovely little corner at the gate going down to the orchard. My friend, Lisa Wagner, gave me the irises, and in the open area below the irises I spread at least 20 kinds of wildflower seeds. Should be absolutely beautiful if they all sprout and grow.
To say the cattle are belly deep in grass may be a slight exaggeration, but as you can see from this picture they are getting fat and happy. Thank God for the rain and irrigation water.
The cactus were blooming and just lovely. They are easy to miss and I am grateful to Allan for pointing them out to me. That something so gnarly could produce such a beautiful flower is amazing. God is a very clever feller!
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Garden Update
The hollyhocks (left) are about ready to bloom, and the day lilies (right) are going strong. If you haven't planted day lilies you are missing out on a VERY easy to grow plant that gets more abundant and beautiful every year. They come in lots of different colors. Plant the bulbs in the spring or fall for best results.
Some of the melon plants in this center trough are slow to get going, but the corn (left) Allan planted and this pumpkin (below) are all going crazy.
I put my snap and snow peas in a new spot in the greenhouse, and they are going strong. The problem is that everyone likes to eat them straight from the vine (so good!) and none have made it into the house yet. Unfortunately, as it gets hotter, they will stop producing and the plants generally die off. Enjoying them while we can.
The tomato plants are thriving. I started them all from seed that I saved from last year's plants. I really didn't have much confidence that I did it correctly, but as it turns out they ALL sprouted and I had LOTS of plants to give away to friends. Nice.
The salad bed. Lettuce, onions, carrots, and radishes. Some come up quickly, and others, like the carrots, take much longer. If you are not already container planting, you are really missing out. It is so easy, and just a few seeds will produce lots of wonderful, edible things. We like to mix a bag of good raised bed soil, some old leaves, and some composted dirt together to get a healthy soil base. Cover with a light amount of straw, keep the seeds and dirt moist until they sprout, put in a little more straw around the plants to keep the soil moist between waterings, then just water and watch them grow. Oh yeah, and then pick the fruits and vegetables to eat!
The green beans (left) are doing well. This is my first year to have success with them. Planted them in a different place in the greenhouse and I think that helped a lot. Kale (right) grows almost wild here. So easy. Most of this is still coming back from last year.
The potatoes (left) are doing great. I think I over watered them last year so I am trying hard to rectify that this year. Above are my apple trees and shrubs that I am nursing along till we get them planted in the ground. The blue buckets have new fruit trees - plum, peach, cherry, and pear. Right now they are just sticks, but hoping they take off. At right are some onions and garlic that I planted from bulbs this spring. The garlic is flowering and looks so cool.
I covered my cherry trees with Agrabon this year. I am tired of the birds beating me to all the cherries. I was able to pick a bowl yesterday, with more to come this week.  The apple, chokecherries, and peach trees are down below the cherry trees, blocked in part by a beautiful willow tree. I planted a few more raspberries that my friend, Ann, gave me, and am hoping to harvest both raspberries and blackberries for the first time this year. We will see.
Our strawberries are producing quite well this year, for the first time. If you look closely you can see one in the middle of this picture. Unlike store bought strawberries they do not need any sugar to make them sweet. Honestly, most of them get eaten as they are picked, and rarely make it to the refrigerator. What a treat!
In the bucket you can see one of the four blueberries
I planted. They are not producing yet, and while I may not get any this year, I am just hoping they survive the winter so that we can get a harvest next year.
At the end of the day it is hard to imagine a better life.
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Diverse Colorado
There's still a lot of snow on Wolf Creek, especially for this Houston boy.
Just down the road in Arboles they are cutting hay on the Seibel farm. Lots of us are fighting hay fever, and this year it is especially bad.
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4th of July Special 
Top Round Steak
$6.99 per pound
regularly $7.99
Short Ribs
$2.99 per pound
regularly $3.99
Sirloin Butt Roast
$6.99 per pound
regularly $8.99
Chuck Roast
$6.99 per pound
regularly $7.99
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In Closing . . .
We've been having some pretty hot weather, as might be expected this time of the year, but nothing extreme. Been getting enough rain to keep all the vegetation going strong. All in all, it's been a great year and the summer doesn't look like it's going to change that pattern. All of this will surely be reflected in the quality of the meat we are producing.
Hope you and your family have a fun time celebrating the 4th. May the fireworks be outstanding and the BBQ the best ever. If you are lucky enough to see a small town parade, then you will surely have a great holiday. Ours is coupled with a rodeo, a craft fair, and a carnival. The best that small town America has to offer.
May God continue to bless this great nation, and in so doing may He bless you as well.
Lois & Allan
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Contact Information
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Phone:
970-582-0166
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