Columbine Manor is pleased to offer grass-fed, lean, Texas Longhorn beef, pre-frozen, USDA inspected and heavy-duty shrink-wrapped for your dining pleasure. Texas Longhorn beef has less calories and carbohydrates, making it an excellent choice for those who are on restrictive diets. Some of our most loyal customers enjoy our beef for it's healthy content and delicious flavor!

Brrrr, it's cold & windy!

Celia & I certainly hope you & yours have had a joyous Christmas and a safe, New Year!
Most of the holiday celebration was relaxing and uneventful.
We celebrated /Christmas at home, then went to visit her mom in the afternoon.
My son and his wife came by after dinner. All in all it was relaxing.
We did journey to Cumberland on the 30th to visit some friends.
An hour on the road takes it's toll on me, but it was really enjoyable and meeting new people is always a treat!
Luckily my wife volunteered to drive home!

The Palmer get together is scheduled for January 5. 
Seems most of us "kids" are getting older, so need to meet is less and less urgent.
But it's nice to see the relatives and relive the past some. 
Took some family photos with Jeremy & Jana' s "big" tree.

The farm is holding up well. Aside from the annual mud, things here are going well.
The separated bulls and cows seem to be adjusting nicely. 
Still have a heifer who thinks she should be nursing. 
Don't know what that all means other than she needs to be watched for a while longer.

Started feeding hay and was using a 4-5 day schedule. With the warm weather that worked. 
I've since gone to a 3 day schedule and it seems to be working well. 
Talked to Horstdale and hope to order seed soon for the spring planting. 
I'm at odds over what to plant, especially with the warm season grasses. 
Might try some smooth bromegrass since it spreads by rhizomes and is long lived.
I'm trying to strike a balance and have good hay for the Longhorns over the winter.
That said, they have some grass to graze upon, but are a bit lazy if they have hay to eat.
We also give some supplemental grain (sweet feed) in the winter months.
The Longhorns hear the Kubota and know they are getting fed.
Dragged some of the fields and will monitor that to see what it does.

On the home front, I had a brick bread/pizza oven built. 
Decided to build a shelter that is nearly complete.
It needs to cure until mid January then be fired slowly.
I've been experimenting with some recipes and have had varying success.
Not being a baker or having experience with the 
oven is quite a learning experience!
I should have it working by the next branding 
so you are most welcome to come by for 
some Longhorn beef and other "surprises".
Fixed some tasty pizzas Sunday, 1/15/12!
Made some bread too but did find that doing it in the dark is difficult.
I'm either going to stay in daylight or add some lighting to the shelter.
Also the wood peel is fine for putting the pizza into the oven, but a metal peel is required to move the pizza around.

More photos will added soon!