(Above: A morning activity: I helped Madre connect the final breakers in the panel box. Now, she has electricity for her entire kitchen. Una actividad por la mañana: Ayudé a mi madre con conectar los últimos interruptores eléctricos en el panel eléctrico. Ahora, ella tiene electricidad para toda su cocina.)
8/18/2024: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the mid 90s. Starting to become dry.
The brilliant dawn of 8/19/2024. El brillante amanecer del 18/8/2024. 
This morning, we placed the compost bags I filled last night at the Moo-Magic stand. Esta mañana colocamos las bolsas de abono que llené anoche en el puesto de Moo-Magic. 
Lunch: A pan-seared tuna filet accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo: Un filete de atún dorado a fuego vivo en una sartén, acompañado de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
Dinner of 8/18/2024: Thinly-sliced and pan-seared F1 Wagyu flap steak. This was served atop a salad and topped with sliced avocado, banana peppers, and homemade barbecue sauce. La cena del 18/8/2024: Bistec de falda de Wagyu F1 cortado en rodajas finas y dorado a fuego vivo en una sartén. Este estaba servido encima de una ensalada y cubierta con rodajas de aguacate, pimientos amarillos enfrascados y salsa barbacoa casera. 
Dessert consisted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied y a spoonful of Greek yogurt. El postre consistía en una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
The full moon of 8/18/2024. La Luna llena del 18/8/2024.
8/19/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the low 90s.
The morning of 8/19/2024: This is a Florida willow and it can be found to the south of the central barn. Apparently, this species is in danger of extinction. La mañana del 19/8/2024: Este es un sauce floridano y se puede encontrar al sur del establo central. Al parecer, esta especie está en peligro de extinción. 
Lunch consisted of a tray of sushi accompanied by a bowl of miso soup garnished with avocado, green cabbage, and lime. El almuerzo consistía en una bandeja de sushi acompañada de un tazón de sopa de mizo adornada con aguacate, repollo verde y limón. 
Dinner consisted of Belgian Blue beef brisket accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. The brisket was roasted for five hours in a 250 F oven, and it was seasoned with salt, black pepper, chiltepin, fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce. La cena consistía en pecho de res de Azul Belga acompañado de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. El pecho de res estaba horneado durante cinco horas en un horno de 250 grados Fahrenheit y estaba sazonado con sal, pimienta negra, chiltepín, romero fresco, ajo fresco y un poco de salsa inglesa. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some green grapes. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y algunas uvas verdes.
8/20/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the mid 90s. Quite dry.
The dawn of 8/20/2024 in the central pasture. El amanecer del 20/8/2024 en el campo central. 
A morning activity: I worked with Madre in her kitchen container. There, we installed the dishwasher (and its cabinet). Una actividad matutina: Yo trabajé con mi madre en su contenedor cocina. Allí, instalamos el lavaplatos (y su mueble). 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of eggs and Belgian Blue beef brisket. It was accompanied by a green salad. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos y pecho de res de azul belga. Estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde. 
This afternoon of 8/20/2024, we saw rain in the distance, but it did not arrive here. Esta tarde del 20/8/2024, vimos lluvia en la distancia, pero no llegó aquí. 
A raw “lasagna” that contained: Belgian blue ground beef, cream cheese, mozzarella curd, egg, and tomato sauce. It was topped with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Una “lasaña” cruda que contenía: res molida de azul belga, queso crema, cuajada de mozzarella, huevo y salsa de tomate. Estaba cubierta con queso parmesano y pimienta negra. 
The plated dinner: A piece of the already shown lasagna accompanied by a green salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. La cena emplatada: Un trozo de la lasaña ya mostrada acompañado de una ensalada verde rociada con una vinagreta balsámica. 
A sliced green apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Una manzana verde en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
Este es un dibujo del final del libro “The Giving Tree” escrito por Shel Silverstein.
AND
A photo (with a filter) of Padre seated on a tree stump. He was posed like the man at the end of the book “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein.
Una foto (con un filtro) de mi padre sentada sobre un tocón de árbol. Él estaba puesto como el hombre en el final del libro “The Giving Tree” por Shel Silverstein.
8/21/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the low 90s. Still quite dry despite a little bit of rain.
The dawn of 8/21/2024 in the easternmost pasture of the farm. El amanecer del 21/8/2024 en el campo más oriental del rancho. 
A morning activity: I helped Madre connect the final breakers in the panel box. Now, she has electricity for her entire kitchen. Una actividad por la mañana: Ayudé a mi madre con conectar los últimos interruptores eléctricos en el panel eléctrico. Ahora, ella tiene electricidad para toda su cocina. 
Today’s lunch consisted of last night’s lasagna leftovers accompanied by a green salad. I remembered to take this photo of lunch a little bit late. So, I took a photo of the empty plate (sprinkled with cinnamon from the dessert, a red apple’s core). El almuerzo de hoy consistía en sobras de la ‘lasaña’ de la noche anterior acompañadas de una ensalada verde. Recordé de tomar la foto del almuerzo un poco tarde. Así que, tomé una foto del plato vacío (espolvoreado con canela del postre, un corazón de una manzana roja). 
The afternoon of 8/21/2024. We saw many clouds in the distance. La tarde del 21/8/2024. Vimos muchas nubes en la distancia. 
Dinner: A Belgian Blue burger-steak topped with homemade cultured butter and accompanied by a slaw of cabbage and carrot. La cena: Un bistec de res molida de azul belga cubierto con mantequilla cultivada casera y acompañado de una ensalada de repollo y zanahoria. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by some blueberries, some green grapes, and a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de algunos arándanos, algunas uvas verdes y una cucharada de yogur griego.
8/22/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the high 80s. Cloudy afternoon that threatened rain but never really did.
The dawn of 8/22/2024 in the central pasture. El amanecer del 22/8/2024 en el campo central. 
Lunch: A fried mixture of eggs, dried beef, and parmesan. This was topped with Cholula hot sauce and accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo: Una mezcla frita de huevos, res seca y parmesano. Esta estaba cubierta con salsa picante Cholula y acompañada de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
The afternoon of 8/22/2024 looked like rain, but it never arrived. La tarde del 22/8/2024 parecía que iba a llover, pero nunca llegó. 
An afternoon activity: I made (heated) homemade barbecue sauce as an experiment. I think that the process of heating it is going to improve its flavor and texture. Una actividad por la tarde: Yo hice salsa barbacoa casera (calentada) como experimento. Creo que el proceso de calentarla va a mejorar su sabor y la textura. 
The glorious dinner of 8/22/2024 consisted of reverse-seared lambchops accompanied by roasted potatoes, a green salad topped with cabbage slaw, and a horn of red wine. La gloriosa cena del 22/8/2024 consistía en chuletas de cordero doradas al revés y acompañadas de unas papas asadas, una ensalada verde cubierta con ensalada de repollo y un cuerno de vino tinto. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a dollop of Greek yogurt and some blueberries that Wag gave us. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y algunos arándanos que nos dio mi tío.
8/23/2024: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the 90s. Quite dry.
Sunrise on 8/23/2024 in the southeasternmost field of the ranch. El amanecer del 23/8/2024 en el campo más sureste del rancho. 
This morning, Amy helped us take ultrasound photos of the inside of our oxen. We learned which animals have the most marbled meat. Esta mañana, Amy ayudó a nosotros con tomar fotos del interior de nuestros bueyes por ultrasonido. Aprendimos cual animales tienen carne más jasepeada. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of ground Belgian blue beef, mozzarella curds and eggs. This was accompanied by a colorful salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de res molida de azul belga, cuajada de mozzerlla y huevos. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada colorida hecha por mi padre. 
Here I’m showing the difference between homemade cultured butter (left) and homemade uncultured butter. Both butter balls are frozen in this photo. Aquí estoy mostrando la diferencia entre mantequilla cultivada casera (izquierda) y mantequilla casera sin cultivo. Ambas bolas de mantequilla están congeladas en esta foto. 
The inside of homemade cultured butter. El interior de la mantequilla cultivada casera. 
Dinner consisted of Belgian blue ribs seared inside out and accompanied by a green salad made by my father. To dip them, we used the new homemade cooked barbecue sauce. It has a milder flavor than raw barbecue sauce. La cena consistía en costillas de azul belga doradas al revés y acompañadas de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. Para mojarlas, utilizamos la nueva salsa barbacoa cocinada casera. Tiene un sabor más suave que la salsa barbacoa cruda. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some blueberries. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y algunos arándanos.
8/24/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the 90s. Threatened late day rains, but it never actually rained.
The dawn of 8/24/2024. El amanecer del 24/8/2024. 
This morning, I used yesterday’s dough to make blueberry puff pastries to enjoy with the Santo Domingo coffee. They were quite delicious. Esta mañana utilice la masa de ayer para hacer unos hojaldres de arándano para disfrutar con el café Santo Domingo. Estaban bastante ricos. 
This is the most recent variation of the exhibition of our extra products in the Master Blend store. I think we’re planning to ask Brimage if he will create some crates (likes these, but stronger) for in the freezers. Esta es la variación más reciente de la exhibición de nuestros productos extras en la tienda de Master Blend. Creo que le preguntaremos a Brimage si puede crear unas cajas de madera (como estas pero más fuertes) para el interior de los congeldores. 
Lunch: A fried mixture of dried beef, eggs, and barbecue sauce. This was accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo: Una mezcla frita de res seca, huevos y salsa barbacoa casera. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
This is a spider that I saw on a gate to the south of Jacobhouse. Esta es una pequeña araña que vi en una puerta al sur de mi casita. 
A photo of many cows grazing in the afternoon of 8/24/2024. Una foto de muchas vacas pastando en la tarde del 24/8/2024. 
Dinner consisted of a salad of pan-seared Belgian Blue ground beef, romaine lettuce, red cabbage, banana peppers, avocado, olive oil, and homemade barbecue sauce. Para la cena comimos una ensalada que consistía en res molida de azul belga a la sartén, lechuga romana, repollo rojo, pimientos amarillos enfrascados, aguacate, aceite de oliva y salsa barbacoa casera. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Furthermore, I included some delicious wild grapes that Madre harvested (in spite of being bitten by many mosquitos). Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. Además, incluí algunas deliciosas uvas silvestres que cosechó mi mamá (a pesar de que le picaron muchos zancudos).
Un mapa que dibujé en la mañana del 20/8/2024 (y revisé en la tarde del 24/8/2024) de una ubicación en el libro que estoy escribiendo.
Final Note: Part of this week’s writing consisted of drawing the map to the left. It takes some time to create and properly label such images, but it is time well-spent. Maps like this provide a very convenient reference for numerical values and an excellent framework for events.
In other news, Guesthouse progressed this week. I visited with an engineer from Duke Energy, and he told me how to proceed in regard to hooking up electric. It looks like the next step is to contact the electricians.
In other other news, Padre and Madre are returning to the Dominican Republic tomorrow (8/26) for another adventure while I remain on the farm with Wag to participate in bovine adventures.
In other other other news, I am about 1.5 weeks away from learning whether or not I’m eligible for Italian Citizenship by descent. That’s a project I have not yet mentioned on here, but it is one that will likely be mentioned again in the near future. (For posterity’s sake, the process of pursuing Italian Dual Citizenship began on August 5, 2024.)
Many projects, little steps.
One has to ask, just how many projects Jacob had going… Much appreciate the weekly review of activities, I won’t comment about that old guy on the stump but…
I am so proud of you and all your growth as a person this year. All experiences acquired in all aspects. I am also very proud that you are trying to acquire that benefit for yourself and your family, which can open new horizons and new opportunities, but above all that you are living productively in your present, be patient with your dreams and goals that have no end date. expiration, with small steps (and at a healthy pace of life, without demanding yourself, simplifying what is excessive or what generates frustration) sooner or later success will be in your hands, congratulate yourself and only with the projection of your heart of a good future (you have already achieved it) because the intention is what is important regardless of the result. I trust your abilities. Your friends from Venezuela. Remember: Plants point to the Sun in order to grow. 😎 Postscript: my mom and your friend send you to tell you that it is okay (she agrees) with the last part of the letter of 8/2024 (less effort) all in favor of well-being and effectiveness in the present. Happy Monday!!! 🎊
Happy Monday to you, as well, wise turtle. Give Monty a nibble on the tail, and tell your Mum that her compadre la quiere muchísimo.
And my most important advice: “In every project to start (as was the Spanish one) the most important thing is to solve the problems as they arise” PRESENT. Keep your mind calm, Resilience…. Flows in the TODAY. Time puts everything in order. I wish you the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😃
The present is the soil from which the 🥕’s of the future are gathered.