(Above: A pier at Crescent Lake somewhere near the heart of Crescent ‘City’. I found this scene to be somewhat surreal and thus pictured it. The water was incredibly smooth, and the two fishermen at the end of the pier only contributed further to the mirror-like effect.)
6/13/2021: This day began in the mid 70s, reached the high 80s, and then was cooled off by prevalent afternoon rains.
Morning of 6/13/2021: The clouds indicated a moist day to come. 
A garden task: Planting and fertilizing the Cachucha Peppers granted to me by Eduardo. 
Lunch today: A Master Blend Blue chuck steak accompanied by a fresh salad of spring mix, romaine, vidallia onion, and smoked breadcrumbs. 
Today I finally began scarifying (scratching the exteriors to simulate digestion) Chiltepin seeds. At present they are soaking in water to prepare them for sowing on the morrow. 
Afternoon of 6/13/2021: Gaur #3 and mother #318 peer toward Padre and I with full attention (we were clad in rain gear and on foot… not a typical sight). 
A Mushroom Pan pizza baked for Madre after a lengthy and active Sunday. 
Two omelets – one for Padre and one for myself – were also cooked for dinner. 
My omelette was filled with chiltepin and cooked in a small amount of beef tallow. It was savory creation that matched exceedingly well with the greens, onion, and vinegar accompanying it.
6/14/2021: This morning began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm to the mid 80s. It grew no hotter due to the rain that fell between 1 PM and 7 PM.
Morning of 6/14/2021: Cumulonimbus clouds towered in the distant West. 
As one of this morning’s activities, I cleared away sprouts from half of the collard garden and planted scarifie chiltepin seeds. 
A fully fertilized and weeded garden (the outside is next). 
I also tied back some of the drooping kale to the fence to allow for a more open walkway. 
Lunch today: A magnificent repast procured from sushi bistro. 
As one of this afternoon’s activities, I cleaned up the tallow pot and implements. It was much easier than I expected, and I believe that is due to the process utilized yesterday: 1. Fill the vessel up with soapy water and immersed the tools within that water. 2. Heat that pot over a low flame to ~ 190 F, then turn it off. 3. Intermittently visit the pot to use a ladle to remove any fat that floats to the top. 4. Let the pot cool completely, dip out any remaining fat on the top, and then rinse the pot and tools with soap and water. 
This evening’s beef pasture inspection occurred in the rain. 
The day ended much as it began: cloudy, damp, and cool. 
Dinner: An onion, chiltepin, & garlic omelet (cooked in beef tallow) and accompanied by a salad comprised of springmix & garden greens, and a couple small tree-ripened peaches.
6/15/2021: This morning began in the low 70s, rained for quite some time, and then proceeded to briefly warm into the mid-80s when the clouds cleared to create a sunny and truly steamy clime. Rain returned before 7 PM.
Lunch today: A Master Blend Blue Angus sirloin accompanied by a springmix, tomato, & onion salad dressed in balsamic, olive oil, and oak-smoked breadcrumbs. 
Midafternoon in the southeast beef pasture. Due to the sun’s presence at this point, the air was so damp it almost felt sticky. 
Late afternoon of 6/15/2021: A new storm-front approached, prompting us to venture out on a quick beef pasture inspection (on foot). 
We were actually able to complete the entire inspection without more than a mere sprinkling. Directly afterward, a true deluge arrived. 
A picture of the completed Segway hitch. It should be noted that today we applied a bottom bracket to ensure that the whole pad remains in place even when a load is added to the bicycle cart. 
Segway hitch in-place. 
Dinner: A tallow-fried omelet accompanied by watermlon and a fresh green salad drenched in balsamic.
6/16/2021: A mostly cloudy day beginning in the mid-70s and warming to the mid-80s.
Morning of 6/16/2021: A journey to the Harbison Farm Market. Much has changed since I last visited, including the construction of a very large barn under which the whole market is now sheltered. The first sight I found when I arrived was an 85+ year old man (Gerald Harbison) wielding a leaf blower to clean away all errant leaves and sand. 
My next stop was on a road that is found directly after the tall Eureka-Bridge on the way to Salt Springs. This was a boat ramp into the Ocklawaha River. On arrival, I heard a splash and then witnessed a baby alligator swimming away into the dark and gently-flowing waters. 
My second stop was at a dead end lane somewhere in the Ocala National Forest. There, I found some camp houses and a small flock of Sand-hill Cranes. 
Stop #3: A pier at Crescent Lake (somewhere near the heart of Crescent ‘City’). I found this scene to be somewhat surreal and thus pictured it. The water was incredibly smooth. 
Stop #4: Juniper Springs. This was my longest stop and consisted of my eating a lunch-snack of delicious Florida Peaches (procured from the farm market), reading Jules Verne’s “800 Leagues through the Amazon”, playing the accordion, and swimming in some exceptionally frigid water. 
This yellow fly was my reading comPainion. That is not a misspelling, for it bit me a number of times (at least 7 or 8 nibbles) before I finally ended its pestering with a well-timed flick of a finger. 
View from my reading bench. 
My reading bench. 
Stop #5: A late lunch at Lorito’s. There was a surprisingly large number of people there for 4PM in the afternoon, but the servers moved quickly, the food was made promptly, and it was delectable and fresh as always. This was the small salad doused with in-house Italian dressing. 
And this was the main course: a calzone filled with pepperoni, sausage, onion, and mushroom. I could only eat half due to its enormous size, but it was a truly tasty and satiating repast. 
Stop #6 (Final stop): The Marion County Library Headquarters. I took this picture to show the office pothos vines that someone is taking exceptional care of. All of the plants seen in this image are real, living plants. 
One of my main reasons for visiting the library today was to attend a ‘Meditation & Heartfulness’ meeting. Unfortunately, it fell through, but I did find an especially interesting sight in the intended meeting chamber: Many, many banana boxes. 
Dinner: On returning home and after tending to some gardening and Blue walking, I grilled up a couple Master Blend steaks (a Blue Angus chuck and a Belgian Blue shoulder) and consumed them with Padre alongside plenty of balsamic-drenched greens and watermelon.
6/17/2021: This day began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm to the mid 80s. Cloud-cover and nearby thunderstorms kept the temperature from rising any higher.
Morning of 6/17/2021: A big ole box o’ beef fat destined for Jacobhouse’s refrigerator for thawing. More tallow is to be made within the next 4 days. 
Lunch: A delightful combination of Chiltepin / Onion / Mozzarella omelet, freshly cut watermelon, and a salad comprised of local grown vegetables topped with smoked breadcrumbs, balsamic, and olive oil. 
Alas, after lunch, Padre found Gaur #3 wobbling about in the pasture. This, along the fact of its mother’s full udder, indicated dehydration. We proceeded to IV the calf with some difficulty. The Gaur-mother was slightly aggressive, and the Gaur itself was exceptionally strong. 
We checked on the Gaur and its mother a few hours later and found them both laying contentedly under a tree belonging to the central treeline. We will be keeping a close eye on this duo. 
A chiltepin plant showing a plenitude of ripe crimson fruit. 
Dinner: A Blue Angus cubed round steak seasoned with garlic and chiltepin peppers. Accompanied by a garden-fresh salad.
6/18/2021: Today began in the mid 70s and proceeded to warm to the low 90s. Humidity was high, but the sky was fortunately inhabited by a plenitude of clouds.
Dawn of 6/18/2021: A plethora of bovines. 
#326, her spawn, and a similarly colored Wagyu imposter. 
Lunch today: A tremendous Wagyu chuck steak accompanied by a springmix salad loaded with onion, sprinkled with smoked breadcrumbs, and drizzled with olive oil & balsamic vinegar. 
The Beef Master is still approximately 2 months from weaning. 
An afternoon project: Padre, Wag, and Madre helped me hoist the carport’s sail shade. 
Dusk in the Jacobhouse garden. 
A homemade corn tortilla filled with a mixture of sauteed mushrooms / kale / chiltepin, melted swiss cheese, onion, and a smidgen of chili sauce. 
A look in the Jacobhouse fridge. There is over 50 lbs of fat on the lowest refrigerator shelf, and all 50 of them are bound to be rendered into tallow over the next week.
6/19/2021: This morning began in the mid-70s and proceeded to warm to the high-80s in the afternoon before cooling down with the arrival of a thunderstorm.
Dawn of 6/19/2021: An beefmaster calf regards us cooly as we enter the southeast pasture. 
Morning activity: Making more tallow. The materials shown in this image are: A cutting board for dismantling / trimming fat, a strainer inside a pot for containing and separating the cracklings from the fat, and a garbage bag for all trimmings and packaging. 
Pictured here is the filled strainer pot along with the knife that I used to chop the suet into a manageable size. 
A closer look at what’s inside the pot. 
Lunch today: A second delightful repast from the Sushi Bistro within one week. The soup was especially enjoyable due to the overcast weather. 
And the sushi was downright delectable as always. 
Midafternoon in the southeast beef pasture. 
The late-afternoon thunderstorm approached. 
… And then arrived. 
After the storm passed, I cleared away weeds by the east fence of the garden. I soon intend to place shavings there to prevent future weed growth. 
Of course, the uprooted foliage went to Blue and the Weaned-Wagyu-Crew. 
Dinner tonight: An egg & ricotta omelet cooked in tallow and seasoned with chiltepin and garlic. This was accompanied by a fresh salad. 
Padre’s dinner: Sliced cold chuck roast & smoked bread crumbs atop a fresh spring-mix & tomato salad.
Final Note: This post was uploaded one day late. My excuse can be summed up in a single word: Tallow. Two times a day – once in the morning and once in the evening – I have been extracting the golden liquid from the rendering pot and adding in new chunks of fat. The first jars I made turned out nicely, but the ones I made last night and the night before are much more pure, and they were poured into heated jars. Between the fact of it being boiling fat (very inhospitable to bacteria) and the vacuum that was created by my pouring the tallow into hot jars means that it can be stored out of the fridge almost indefinitely as long as the jars are kept in a cool, dark place.
Seems like you squeeze a whole lot into 7 days