(Above: Ritsabittle #41, a surprise was to be found at the Salt Springs.)
11/7/2021: A day beginning cool in the mid-40s and ending comfortably in the low-70s. Cloudy in the morning and sunny by early afternoon.
Early morning hours were spent tending to farm-related activities. This occurred afterward: I granted the second hugelkultur 4 more buckets of compost. 
The chiltepins of Hugelkultur #1 are just beginning to turn. 
Dinner for Padre and I on 11/7/2021: Two pounds of deer sausage situated atop 4 heads of braised romaine lettuce. 
The flavor of both was excellent, with the bratwurst spices of the sausage being particularly suitable to the deer’s lean constitution.
11/8/2021: A day beginning cool in the high-40s and ending comfortably in the mid-70s. Sunny throughout.
Morning of 11/9/2021. A cool day bearing a vacant, blue sky. 
Lunch: An enjoyable acquisition from Sushi Bistro of Ocala. The salmon this day was especially ‘well-marbled’. 
One of this morning’s minor projects (picture taken later in the day, as can be seen by the lighting) consisted of replacing the old valve with this one. 
The old spigot. 
Dinner this evening consisted of left-over taco beef mixed in with some eggs and placed upon pan-warmed corn tortillas. Delicious.
11/9/2021: A day of pure Fall, beginning in the low 50s and warming to the high 70s. Sunny throughout.
Morning of 11/10/2021. One of my projects consisted of clearing out more shrubbery to the west of the hay barn. 
Another view of the same area. This is much better than it previously was a couple weeks ago. 
An especially fat bovine, #277. She is an Angus cow yet resembles a pig in stature. 
Twelve collard leaves harvested for dinner. 
Dinner consisted of Wagyner Blue rump roast cooked to medium rare and accompanied by sautéed and steamed collard greens.
11/10/2021: A day beginning in the low 50s and proceeding to warm into the low 80s. Sunny at the beginning and cloudy at the end.
Ritsabittle #41: A surprise at the Salt Springs. 
Ok. 
This is a tree snail I found on the wall where I usually sit, read, and play accordion. 
A sizeable specimen with index finger for scale. 
The spring were particularly calm today. No one was swimming when I arrived, so the surface ripples were primarily caused by the breeze, the springs themselves, and the intermittent leaping of fishes out of the water. 
The water level was high today which may be cause for the surprise that I found therein. Indeed, on the way around the swimming area, I met a couple who told me that there were manatees in the water, and sure enough, there were. Unfortunately I did not have a submersible camera, but I do have a quote from my journal entry that will describe my experience (below). 
Lunch: A delightful repast at Off-Duty Tavern with Padre. This time, they served some freshly baked croissants (glazed with honey-butter) as an appetizer. 
For the main course, I had a Southwest Salad (with fried corn tortilla slices on top along with some avocado), a bowl of the excellent chili, and 10 of Padre’s French fries. 
A late afternoon activity: IV’ing a calf with Padre and Wag as the sun went down. 
Dinner came a while afterward and consisted of two Wagyu round steak (one for me, one for Padre) accompanied by a plenitude of delicious salad comprised of Eduardo-grown greens.
Quote directly from journal entry of 11/10/2021: This was ensued by a swim in the springs. At first I stayed away from the manatees because I was uncertain of how skittish they were, and I didn’t want to chase them out of the relatively warm spring water. After enjoying a swim around plenty of fishes and touching the bottom of the central spring with my toes despite the 3′ increase in water level (noticeable pressure difference), I saw the two Russian women approaching the manatees. I saw that the creatures were not moving, so I too investigated. They were massive. I later described to Padre that they were akin to legless cows of extremely fat proportions (#277) with very broad and flat tails. After lending the kindly Russian woman my goggles and then getting them back, I ventured even closer to the animals. I thought that they would swim off, but they did not. They were resting with their tail-tips and noses in the soft sand. I drew closer and closer, and then, with a measure of slowness like I would use when stretching my hand out toward an untame cow, I reached out and patted the larger of the two creatures – the mother, not the calf – on her back. She did not move and inch, and I was able to feel the texture of her skin. It felt like thick skin with large goose-bumps and on a little bit of pressure, possessed the ‘give’ of thick skin overlying blubber. Satisfyingly squishy. Seeing as the creature did not move at all, I let out all of my air and descended beside her to see if she was alive, and she was awoken. Unlike cows which would move quickly away, the gentle animal simply drifted leftward and away, nudging her calf to do so. They did not go far before resuming their resting positions again.
11/11/2021: A day beginning in the mid-60s and warming to the low-80s. Cloudy throughout.
Morning activity of 11/11/2021: Rearranging, cleaning, and removing excess boxes from the central table in the hay barn. This is one of many Dolores-like spiders that I found during the clean-up process. 
After a bout of licking from almost all of the Gaur-spawn behind it, our newest Gaur (front left) was accepted into the Gaur-group’s ranks. I took a video of part of the ‘assimilation’ process and have placed it below. 
Lunch today consisted of some delicious Angus fajitas spiced with cachucha and ghost peppers. 
A return to the Fat Tuscan. Tonight, I learned how to make (and spell) tiramisu and honed my skills in the art of making bowtie noodles otherwise known as Farfalle. 
A supple ball of noodle-dough almost ready for rest. 
The finished product: plenty of farfalle topped with a particularly delicious Bolognese sauce. 
Tiramasu, comprised of lady-finger cookies dipped in coffee imbued with Amaretto, some cream bearing marscapone cheese / cream cheese / sugar, and shaved dark chocolate built into layers 
I shared this dessert with Padre and Madre, and we all very much approved.
11/13/2021: A day beginning in the mid-60s and ending in the mid-70s. Cloudy throughout.
Morning activity of 11/12/2021: Escorting the lime-rock bearing loader convoy to the East Pasture. 
The purpose of bringing lime-rock to the East Pasture was to dump it in front of a water trough experiencing significant erosion. 
On returning to the main farm area, I heard some wrens squawking fervently. On further inspection, I found a grass-snake on the prowl. 
Lunch today was eaten at Lorito’s Pizza. It was an excellent fare of fresh Italian-dressed salad, a couple French fries, and 3 slices of pizza on which reposed some particularly delectable cheese. 
A couple large bullocks in the East Pasture. 
After fixing a fence which had been broken by a certain Red Wagyu Bull (#27), Padre and I had to finish the beef pasture inspection in twilight. 
Dinner: A Wagyu chuck steak accompanied by Eduardo-grown greens. The steak was particularly delicious, and I had only seasoned it with salt.
11/13/2021: A foggy and drizzly day in the high 60s led into a beautiful sunny afternoon in the mid 70s.
Morning of 11/14/2021. The fog was thick in the south-eastern pasture. Somehow, the camera could see farther than my eyes could. 
Lunch today: Egg burritos made with farm-fresh eggs topped with a ‘slaw’ of garden-grown collards, onion, and lime. 
After tending to a variety of tasks between lunch and dinner (one of which included planting spinach in the new Hugelkultur… pictures will be included in next week’s post), I returned to Jacobhouse and reverse-seared a chuck roast. Here, that chuck roast can be seen accompanied by a garden fresh salad containing collards, arugula, onion, and a Padre-cut apple.
Final Note: This coming week, Padre and Madre are venturing off to Mexico while I stay at home and help my Uncle Wag with the farm. It is to be a Ritsabittle for all of us, I think!
Update, Cozumel Ritsabittle… The first full day included both morning and evening swims, spotted many fish, an eel poking his head out and watching me as I found small sandy spot to stand and a huge starfish which I just be watched for a bit. Also included were numerous conversations in Spanish, which yielded all sorts of interesting information. Of course, there was some red wine enjoyed intermittently too. Could go on, but it’s going to be siesta time soon. Appreciate your sharing.