(Above: Eighty-four 1.5″ meatballs were wrought from 4 lbs of ground beef.)
6/6/2021: This day began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm to the high 80s. The humidity in the air brought the heat index to near 100 F.
Morning of 6/6/2021: By 11:45 AM, the day was beginning to grow a bit toasty. Accordingly, the majority of the herd sought refuge under the west tree line. 
Lunch today: A piece of Master Blend Blue lasagna served alongside much watermelon and some local greens. 
This is the rooster from next door that my second cousins call “King Rudy”. The name is somehow very fitting. 
Summertime skies. 
An orange-and-green striped leafhopper. 
This is a delectable mushroom pizza I made for Madre. I know it’s delectable, because I stole a piece. 
My dinner: a mushroom, chiltepin, & garlic omelet served with a garden-fresh kale salad.
6/7/2021: Last night, about 3/4″ of rain fell. This led into a warm and cloudy day.
Morning of 6/7/2021: The herd reposes after a night of constant rain. 
I utilized the morning’s comparatively cool temperature to perform a hefty bit of trimming around old ‘Cook house’s swimming pool. 
Today’s lunch was procured from Sushi Bistro and consisted of soup (Pho-style this time on account of the fresh vegetation and chile sauce I added to it), and… 
Sushi. Today’s was even better than usual, and I believe that is because of the supremely fresh avocado the chefs utilized. 
Midafternoon in the beef pasture. Still quite cloudy. 
A red velvet ant which appeared to be of a extremely saturated hue on an otherwise grey day. 
A late-afternoon kale-harvest for dinner. 
Salad burnet, Malabar summer spinach, garlic, and 4 chiltein peppers destined for my 5-egg dinner omelet. 
The aforementioned omelet accompanied by a garden-fresh salad.
6/8/2021: Today began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm into the mid-90s. Humidity was present, but not so prevalent as yesterday; there was a significant difference in temperature between shade and sun.
Morning of 6/8/2021. 
Convocation of the Gaur-mothers. 318 (Left), 3980 (center laying down), 273 (center standing up), 268 (bottom right), and 338 (red on the right). 
A morning activity: More clearing around the swimming pool. 
Lunch today: A Belgian Blue cubed steak topped with a salad comprised of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese. Delectable. 
Making the meatballs. This picture was taken after the sauce was made, the meatball ‘dough’ was fully mixed, and the pans were greased. 
Eighty-four 1.5″ meatballs came from 4 lbs of ground beef. 
Another project for today: the creation of some actually-risen sourdough bread. I think I had been putting in too much water recently, and I needed to give the dough more time to rise. 
Meatballs being packaged for potential sale at the Master Blend store. 
A new chiltepin plant I espied growing near where I had procured the original peppers. 
This plant bore an even greater plenitude of spicy and delectable fruit. 
Dinner tonight: an onion, Malabar summer spinach, Parmesan and chiltepin omelet.
6/9/2021: A sultry day beginning in the mid 70s and warming to the mid 90s. Cloud-cover was intermittent.
Morning of 6/9/2021: Gaur #3 was witnessed. Though it is similar color to Gaur #2, it is different in the way that it is a bull (and therefore more muscled) and that it has a red nose and hooves instead of black. 
Wax berry florets. 
Ritsabittle #26: A return to Rainbow River. This time, however, I took my recently procured paddleboard. It is fortunate that I brought my own, otherwise I would not have been able to venture upriver from KP hole. All kayaks, canoes, and paddle-boards were out on the water. 
It took me about 38 minutes and one bout of cooling off in the water to reach the headspring. This picture was taken shortly after my heading back downriver. 
The rest-spot. This is my favorite place to repose on Rainbow River trips. 
Proof of presence. 
Lunch today was taken at Sabores Latinos. I ordered the beef soup of the day, and it was tremendous. Large pieces of chuck or brisket were accompanied by hefty chunks of potato and yucca root — all of which floated in a delectable broth garnished with plenty of fresh cilantro. Rice, fried plantains, and a grilled tortilla were served to the side. 
Gaur #1 displaying the stance unique to his specie. 
Dinner tonight consisted of sourdough bread dunked in meatball sauce, five of those delicious Wagyu meatballs, a fresh salad of local lettuce, and watermelon as dessert.
6/10/2021: This day began in the mid-70s and proceeded to warm to the low-90s before cooling off back to the 70s in the late afternoon due to nearby thunderstorms.
Bonus Video: A family gathering (Padre, Madre, Grandma, Aunt Betty, and myself) took place at Aneta’s Bistro today, and I brought my accordion to play as the food was prepared. Here is one of the songs I played: La Llorena – a Mexican Folk Song.
Midafternoon of 6/10/2021: This watermelon along with two others was granted to us by a fellow named Bruce. This was probably one of the best if not the best of the season thus far. 
Gaur #1 resting amidst a plenitude of logs just as its specie is meant to. 
Dusk of 6/10/2021. After the presence of nearby thunderstorms, the afternoon cooled off, and I was able to go pick some more chiltepin peppers in relative comfort. 
This is the trunk of the little gnarled oak tree that harbors a couple chiltepin plants at its roots. Hanging from the weathered bole’s north side, I found a hammer that had been left there for what appears to have been a couple summers. Moss spots and lichen adorned both the haft and the head.
6/11/2021: A day beginning in the low 70s and warming to the low 90s. Humidity was a tad more scarce today, so temperatures in the shade were comfortable.
Morning of 6/11/2021: Six bags filled with Moo-Magic and a pile of shavings stand at the ready for garden maintenance. 
After a little less than an hour, the garden was weeded, the especially prodigious jewels of Opar were trimmed back, and the walking lanes were mulched. 
Lunch: A final buffet at Aneta’s Bistro. Today marked the final day of operation for this excellent Polish restaurant, and to celebrate, Robert and Aneta gave a splendid Pierogi festival. On this first plate, there are three pierogies (cheddar & jalepeno, bacon & potato, and spinach), a heap of cabbage salad, and a stuffed cabbage roll. 
Second plate: More cabbage salad, another stuffed cabbage roll, three more pierogies (2 pork and 1 spinach), and some pickled mushrooms. 
Dessert: A concluding heap of cabbage salad & sauerkraut along with a mustard-drizzled kielbasa sausage. 
During the ensuing afternoon at the farm, I found that Old Yellow Cow #3981 had given birth to a British Blue heifer. 
Midafternoon in the southeast beef pasture (clouds provided great contrast between the sunlit field and the shadowed treeline). 
Dinner: A delectable repast of a 5-egg chiltepin garnished with cilantro AND a fresh salad topped with homemade smoked breadcrumbs (inspired by the smoked breadcrumbs my brother and I tasted in Sicily).
6/12/2021: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the high 80s. A little bit of rain fell between 1 and 2 PM and consequently warded off the midafternoon ‘scorch’.
Morning project of 6/12/2021: A mostly completed Segway hitch for the tow-behind bicycle carriage (which will be utilized for toting calves). 
Lunch today: A Master Blend Blue Angus cubed steak accompanied by plenty of local hydroponically grown greens. 
I rendered beef fat today, and it was fairly simple, resulting in 8 full mason jars of golden cooking tallow. Though the process went well enough, I have to say that clean up is a lot of work. Beef fat is already sticky, and ours is even stickier. Probably because of the potatoes our bovines are fed… 
An evening mini-project: Planting the Eduardo-grown artichokes. They appear quite at home amidst the dark and fertile loam.
Final Note: It is presently 7 minutes after bed-time, so I’m going to go ahead and publish this post. Here’s to another interesting week!
Quite a week, seems like a lot in just 7 days as I read through things