I Didn't Sign Up for Beef Trim

Beef Trim.... I had a tirade over beef trim this past Saturday. Sadly we have none of our own beef in the freezer. And it showed when my poor husband made the statement and echoed by his cousin.... 'EXCELLENT STEW!' Poor husband got a tirade over stew meat. 'I'm done with stew meat having become beef trim, if I wanted trim I would have purchased bologna thank you very much!' Stew meat looks like this on a wonderful little blog called The Life of a Wife:


Pieces of Stew Meat are suppose to look like this. What in the world has changed in the last two years since Mrs. Bowles has made this fab looking Sunday Stew and the stew meat I purchased at HEB in Mexia this past Friday. The pieces were a 1/3 of that size and tough as nails. It's not just at HEB either, Brookshire's is the same way as is Kroger. I didn't sign up for beef trim Mr. Grocer as stew meat. So HEB and Brookshire's I'm headed to Stephens Grocery this Friday to pick up some real stew meat to make that fab stew for Poor Dear Husband. By the way Sweetie, thank you for telling me the stew was just as good today for lunch! Made my day!

Just a reminder to self, I'm bookmarking Mrs. Bowles', The Life of a Wife, to get some of those fab recipes with delectable looking dishes she is creating in her kitchen! Link to that fab picture above and the recipe! Life is fun when your searching for a picture and you find a blog as a jewel in a haystack. Jewel sounded better then needle! ;-) Thank you Mrs. Bowles!

Bumble Bee

If you have not checked out the store over at My Scraps and More and the FAB Gallery it is must visit site and community to become involved in. Going on right now is the My Scraps Talent Contest!!! Fun Fun Fun!!! We are ending the third week tonight with five more to go. Even though you won't be eligible for the Talent Contest Prize there is a little prize awarded each week. Week 3 of the Contest was AWESOME! You can check it out on the thread here!

I had an absolute ball stepping totally out of my zone!!! A 2fer layout which required the use of two separate companies papers that don't match together. Talk about having to think. I have never fussy cut for a layout like I did this one. I have never done a seven photo layout and had to find a sketch to do the challenge. I used Page Maps sketch from p. 47. And this was my creation:



To find out more about this layout you just have to visit the link to the challenge above. Then scroll through the thread to find my layout. Hey, I just want you to see how fantastic this community is!!!

Predators in My Life

Following some of the friends I've made online in Agriculture a post on a Hunting Blog reminds me that life on a ranch is not always a friendly place to be. Please be warned there are graphic images.

Wolves Kill Prized Quarter Horse

We are fortunate we don't have wolves in our area of Texas. But we do have coyotes and mountain lions or cougars. They are the same species just different terminology. We have two donkeys in the pasture with the cattle to help protect calves. The really sad part as the drought deepens here, the chance of coyotes hunting in packs increases as their prey decreases. Their most common prey is rabbit and other small mammals in our area.

Yet, coyotes are opportunistic hunters and your pet dog can become a meal. Puppies in an yard are their favorite because they can lure them away from a home. Coyotes have learned to be leery of humans. When one has an experience that coyotes will not always remain out of a human's way, you begin to reevaluate your status on the food chain. We are only at the top of the food chain because of our brain in relation to other animals.

Top of the Food Chain came in full view earlier this spring as I watch unfold before me the cruelty of my environment play out in front of me. To become part of a coyote hunting it's prey was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The prey, our beloved German Shorthair Pointer Belle. I'm just glad I was there to remind the coyote he should be leery of humans. At the same time my biggest regret was I never had a clear shot and when I did he was out of range. I could have been the one the coyote was after, to think differently is just plain stupid on any human's part.