Lamb Roast

A couple weeks ago we had a few friends over for a lamb roast.  We butchered 3 of our lambs, and decided to roast one.  We had it quartered, and roasted it along with one of the Boston butts from the pig we raised a couple years ago.  

Our good friend Mark came over  that morning and helped David get a good fire going so they could roast the meat.  Of course it was supposed to rain, so they fashioned a roof out of a sheet of metal.  It worked perfectly!

The meat was delicious, and the rest of the food was too.  We all had a great time, and the best part of the day was probably the bonfire at night.  

Reverend Matt

I met Matt (the one with the ball cap) while attending the University of Maryland.  He was an Animal Science major, like me (and the rest of the gals in the photo).  He's one of the coolest and nicest guys I know.  He's got something in common with everyone in the picture, besides going to school together.  Know what that is?  He married us all! 

Matt got ordained a few years after graduating, and the first of our group of friends he married are Annabel and Steve (the couple with the cute twins!).  Then he married David and me, then Lindsay (with the dog) and Kevin (Virginia shirt).  Most recently he married Jenny and Josh (Jenny's the cute preggo chick). He's also married other people, but not in our circle of friends (that I know of). 

We had a pig roast (more on that later) a few weeks ago, and Matt realized that with the exception of one married guy there, he had married all the rest of us!  I made everyone take a picture because I just think it's so cool. 

I think it's special that a good friend and a great guy married us, and I think it's extra special he married so many of our friends, too! 

Not at All What We Expected

My friend, Lindsay, and I went to the Mid-Atlantic Hair Sheep Sale in Reedsville, PA yesterday. She had 3 sheep for the sale- Calvin, the Katahdin/Dorper ram that has been at my place, a Katahdin ewe lamb, and a Katahdin/Dorper ewe lamb.

Lindsay brought them in a utility van that is perfect for hauling a few animals! It's got a nice rubber floor mat so it's easily cleaned out.



We didn't quite realize how far away the sale was-about 4 hours from my house. The drive was scenic-through the hills of PA. We drove through Lancaster which is always pretty.

We finally got there in time for the sale, but there weren't many people there. Turns out a few other people were running late. The fairgrounds was pretty, with hills surrounding it.


There were only about 26 animals at the sale. That's a big difference from 60+ last year. Unfortunately, there weren't as many people there as last year either. There was only a handful of buyers. There were a lot of no-sale sheep. The sale sets minimums for the sheep, and many people just didn't want to pay those prices.

Here's the Katahdin/Dorper ewe lamb. She sold for $200 (which was the minimum for her).


This is the purebred Katahdin ewe lamb. A no-sale.


And Calvin. Also a no-sale.


Unfortunately it was just a bad day for the sale. I'm not sure if the economy has to do with the lack of interest, or maybe the rainy weather.



I did happen to find something interesting while I was there. A patch of mushrooms had grown up in part of the livestock barn. I thought they were weird and pretty at the same time.






So we loaded the two remaining sheep and headed home. I wonder what drivers behind us thought...


They settled down for the ride home. You know, I really am not a big fan of Pennsylvania roads. Windy, hilly, and terribly graded. There was standing water everywhere, water gushing across the road. It made for a slightly stressful trip driving back.



But we made it safely.

Now, does anyone want to buy a ram or a ewe lamb?

Food and Fun

David and I invited a few friends over yesterday for a little cookout. It was a lot of fun and now we're pooped!

We had lots of food. We grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and a beer can chicken. Then we had macaroni and cheese, potato salad, veggie tray, 7 layer dip, deviled eggs, and Pioneer Woman's Stuffed Jalepenos! Holy cow were those things GOOD! I'm going to make them again very soon! Oh, and for dessert we had chocolate chip cookies and pie!

My brother Chris came, and brought his girlfriend Denise. My two best girlfriends (besides my sister) came. Lindsay and Jenny came (we went to college together). Jenny brought her sweetie, Scott, and her dog. An amazingly huge Great Dane named Jaden. Last time I saw him he fit in my lap. This time? Not so much.

Here he is helping her get a drink.


We introduced him to Scooter and Elmer. Elmer got scared at first and piddled on the floor (oops). After about 2 minutes, they were best friends.


They played...hard.


This is how Jaden likes to sit.


Jenny and Scott, David, and Chris. Denise is asleep on the couch to Chris's left.


The three goof-balls. I really miss being able to see them everyday like we did in school. Now we're grown ups. Lindsay lives about an hour and 20 minutes away, and Jenny lives just a little farther than that I think. At least we're still close enough to hang out now and then.


Jenny, Scott, and Lindsay stayed over, so this morning we did a photo shoot with the dogs.



Scooter


Elmer


Jaden. Poor guy saw a chicken in the yard and wanted to chase it so badly. He listened when his mom said "stay" though.



Now our house is clean and we have leftovers in the fridge. Yay! We'll have to have these get-togethers more often!