Alligatorob's Diary

Congrats Rob On such a successful harvest . You must be very thankful for it all and to be feeling so good and able for all the work .
 
Just did my 10 laps. It was hard, but not real hard, I wasn't tempted to keep going this time. I am sure I burned more calories in my harvesting and juicing over the weekend than I missed in not doing the laps, but that is different. The laps get me winded and my heart rate up, the farm work doesn't. I do appreciate how much more farm work I can do now than before my weight loss. I am still not able to do what I could have long ago, but more than last year.

I wasn't sure I would be able to, the farmer and his crew had the back half of our loop blocked, but then they moved out and I rode. They were also doing the final harvest before the hard freeze that's forecast tomorrow night. He hauled out at least 4 pickup loads of pumpkins and squash. We may go out tonight and salvage anything worthwhile he left.

Cate and LaMa, there is some evidence of European records that might have been the supernova, just nothing that can be verified like the Chinese and Arab records. I guess we call it the dark ages for a reason.

Thanks Petal, and I do feel good about it. I am sure it costs more to raise your own fruit and veggies than to buy them, but it just doesn't feel as good. There is an apple orchard nearby and right now you can order the juice from them for $10 a gallon, they will squeeze it to order. So my 7 gallons would have cost $70, I am sure I spent that much on pesticides, fertilizer, and water, not to mention equipment and our labor. On the other hand I know it would not have tasted as good as that cup of juice I had last night.
 
Hi, Rob. I don't think it matters so much if it's psychological that food that you grow tastes better, or if it costs more to grow yourself. Nothing beats it! Well done on the 10 laps :)
 
Do you pasteurize the juice you make, Rob? Just curious.

That's great that you notice the difference in the amount of farm work you can do. Great to have that positive reinforcement. I haven't always recognized my gains. I have gone by "how it feels" versus a more objective measure. That's partly why tracking my calories and exercise helps a lot still. I don't have any plans to stop doing that once I hit my final target weight.
 
Rob, no we don't pasteurize it, don't really do anything but squeeze it. I do try to keep all the equipment as clean as possible and add a little sodium metabisulfite as an antioxidant, but that's all. We freeze it to preserve, I guess we could heat it and can or bottle, but we don't.

Cate, you are right home grown always tastes better, to the home grower anyway.

It was a good day, and I got the truck back, I am not 100% sure its fixed but its better, we'll see.

Monday

breakfast
yogurt 80
cereal - grapenuts 110

snack 2 small pears 164

lunch the last of the left over pozole 228

snack jerky 20

dinner

lasagna 340
4 pretzel crackers 24

snack crackers 135

total calories 1,101

I think I have done this one before in history so I looked up the Angel Number 1101, and among other things I found:

When you see angel number 1101, it is time for you to be realistic and take your life more seriously. You need to accept things as they come and face your problems head-on. Do not dwell on whatever bad experience you must have had but keep moving forward. Number 1101 will give you the motivation you need to move forward only and overcome whatever is hindering your success. ​

Sounds like good advice even if you don't see the number 1101.
 
Rob sometimes those little notes you leave are like little messages. That's a good one. Well done on achieving 10 laps. Hooray .

Sadly it's true it's so much cheaper to buy fruit and veg here but it's also true that home grown tastes better. And what a wonderful farm you actually have and a healthy lifestyle working it and that's far better in the long run.
 
Did my 10 laps today and it felt good, things were real busy at the house or I might have tried for a couple more. I'll see how it feels tomorrow.

LaMa and Petal, home grown is worth it. And it makes you appreciate real farmers. Lots of work for not a lot of money. I now appreciate that farming takes a lot of know how. It may seem like the ultimate blue collar occupation but it takes more technical knowledge than many jobs.
 
I wouldn't be a farmer for anything. It is hard work & you are so dependant on nature & get screwed for a price by the people you supply.
Well done on the 10 laps. Love your snippets :)
 
Cate said:
I wouldn't be a farmer for anything. It is hard work & you are so dependent on nature & get screwed for a price by the people you supply.
Click to expand...
So true, I had a great uncle who grew oranges in south Florida. I remember him telling me about price and supply. It seems that on the best years, when he got a bumper crop prices fell, sometimes too low to be worth even picking, he always lost money on good years. On a year with a hard freeze he might lose half his crop but the price went up by more than 2 times and he did well. He used to say the best years were the worst, and the worst years the best.
 
Farmers markets are becoming more & more popular here for that reason, but they are more for hobby farmers. Prices are never much cheaper than at the supermarkets but the produce is much better & it feels better knowing that the producers are getting a good price.
 
It was a good day, rode the bike and ate well.

Tuesday

breakfast
yogurt 80
cereal - grapenuts 110

snack
small pear 82

lunch
sardines 180

snack
jerky 20
small pear 82
4 pretzel crackers 24

dinner
cheese enchiladas 480
salad, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes only, no dressing 40

snack crackers 42

total calories 1,140

The small Scottish town of Lanark was made a Royal Burgh in 1140. A Royal Burge was Scottish thing that seems to have given a kind of official status. Until tonight I did not know Lanark was a Scottish town, Burge or not. However I used to live near Lanark Village in Florida. Lanark Village is a funny little town, first settled as a kind of resort when the railroad went through. It was waterfront, but had no beaches and so got bypassed by later developers. Then in World War II it was taken over and turned into an army base. The army built a lot of small houses that make up most of the town today Lanark-by-the-Sea . Now I know where the name came from.
 
Cate said:
I wouldn't be a farmer for anything. It is hard work & you are so dependant on nature & get screwed for a price by the people you supply.
Click to expand...
I probably would have taken over our farm if it hadn't been for my passionate dislike of paperwork. Good thing I didn't or I would've ended up a recluse. Leaving my village forced me to learn so much!
 
I thought from your description of the Florida Lanark that the Scottish Lanark would also be waterfront, but I see it's well inland - thanks for sending me off to Wikipedia to find out about the burgh status (essentially, market towns set up to establish a good "civilising" trading network).
 
Well done Rob . happy for you and that’s a good solid loss . We rooting for you , I love seeing what you lose every week .
 
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