Gardens-In-The-Sand

Spring

Unusual year so far... Rain in due season, gorgeous spring temps! I can't remember a spring this nice in the entire time I've been here in Georgia...

Cherokee rose in March. Late freeze last year meant no flowers... This plant is some aggressive...

Florida Anise also March bloom... Started cuttings in pots a couple years ago, went through an unusual winter cold spell in pots without probs, set out last spring.

Robinia (black locust) in flower also in March... Planted root suckers from town...

Eventually will be useful as fence posts... in the meanwhile, new root suckers are replanted outside of garden... hopefully to improve the sand.

Another March bloom.... Grancy Greybeard(Chionanthus virginicus) finally blooming... After several years of nothing.

Spiderwort (now)

Poppies (last week)

Box turtle in town, (couple weeks ago) seemed to be laying eggs!

Labels: Cherokee rose, Chionanthus, Florida anise, poppies, robinia, spiderwort

Paw paws

Back when I first came to Gardens in the Sand... I purchased some paw paw seed...

The seed came up readily when I planted them in nursery pots.... Eventually I spread them around... Everybody that wanted paw paw trees got one.

Unfortunately... it takes more than a single seedling to bear fruit. Since then, the root suckers of the different plantings have been getting moved around.

So... I finally have fruit this year!

Low hanging fruit

Fruit in bowl

Sliced paw paw fruit

So finally seeing fruit from seed planted in '07, isn't really the headline here... More interesting, is the fact that I'm able to grow Asimina triloba in the sandhills without supplemental watering.

Our existing locally native dwarf paw paw (Asimina parviflora) gets by on the rain that God provides...

But I seldom see fruit. One year I beat the possums and raccoons to the fruit on my locally native bush... and planted the seed... Sadly none grew.

I originally ordered seed over the internet because I wanted to see more zebra swallowtail butterflies...

Zebra swallowtail butterflies

They're awfully pretty... But I can't really say that I'm actually seeing more of them than before... Can't hardly hurt though.

Labels: Asimina triloba, paw paw, pawpaw, zebra swallowtail

Processing a (road kill) Deer

Apparently people are having difficulty finding someone to process their kill.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pennsylvania-hunters-struggling-find-deer-processors/

That seems wrong.

In PA... Those animals should stay cold in the winter... Although... Doesn't look like freezing cold up there right now...

Maybe a pictorial post on how to process would be of some help?

I found this doe along the road side last week... Poor thing had a busted pelvis...

I salvage as much as I can... The cats help:

Observe the buckets and cooler... They contain rainwater.... The animal gets parted out into these... and what water remains is used to clean off the tailgate.

Here the animal lies on top of hide before I start removing parts...

2 legs removed...

2 Legs in cooler with rainwater.

Removed the other 2 legs...

Cut through ribs with a cross-cut saw... No special tools are required...

And the two pieces of the spine (where the tenderloin lives) plus the neck.

I prefer to freeze the largest pieces I can... Further processing can be done as necessary, later.

And hang the hide to dry.

4 legs...

And rib cages in one bag, neck and 2 pieces of spine in their own bags.

I used to put the entire carcass in the freezer unwrapped... I like eating deer meat, it won't get freezer burned even when left completely unwrapped... Unfortunately, it will freeze together...

If you want to pry the frozen pieces apart with a pry bar.... wrapping is unnecessary... Personally, I got tired of doing that.... the pieces will freeze to the freezer shelf as well.

Now... A lot of hunters remove the tenderloin first... and sadly... they may even discard the entire deer afterwards...

I think that cutting the spine crosswise (tenderloin intact) for chops is a superiour cut of meat... And those people discarding the deer? Should be arrested. Lot of hungry people out there...

I hope this helps.

Labels: Butcher deer, road kill