(Above: A yellow rat snake ‘prowling’ through the flowers which have been planted in the old flood-tank at the front of the central barn.)
5/1/2022: Today began in the high 60s and warmed to the mid 80s. Mostly sunny. Rain at the end of day.
Dawn of 5/1/2022. 
One of lunch’s components this day was a freshly wrought salsa verde consisting only of blackened tomatillos, a blackened jalapeno, 4 cloves roasted garlic, and salt. All of this was mashed together in the molcajete for terrific flavor. 
This salsa was used on tacos much akin to yesterday’s. Beef, greens, tomato, onion, & red bell pepper positioned atop pan-toasted tortillas. 
Before heading in for the evening, I decided to attempt putting up hooks to hang a banner in the freezer room. It ended up being an easy process, especially seeing as I was able to use the old grout lines as a level. 
A closer look at the stick-on hooks. They worked very well. 
Due to the rainy evening, I cooked dinner inside. This consisted of reverse sear and then broiling the beef to achieve an adequate crust. There was smoke. Lots of it. But was it worth it? 
… Yes it was. Dinner was comprised of a Belgian Blue burger-steak topped with a delicious cucumber & onion salad. The vinaigrette dressing in combination with the light beef proved to be exquisite.
5/2/2022: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the high 80s. Mostly sunny throughout.
Dawn of 5/2/2022: Bovines laying in and grazing on the burgeoning summer grasses as the sun rises. 
A mulberry breakfast procured from the trees located behind and partially within the milking parlor. 
For me, this morning’s primary farm-project consisted of digging a hole for and putting in a new post for this gate-and-fence amalgam behind the hay barn. 
Lunch at Lorito’s – the first since my return from Mexico. Today’s salad was made with fine & fresh ingredients topped with an in-house Italian Vinaigrette. Quite delectable. 
Something happened to the first pizza during its creation, so we were granted 3 additional pieces in addition to a delayed (and quite sizeable) cheese pizza. The sausage on the original slices was surprisingly tasty. (It was not surprising that it was tasty… but it was surprising how tasty that sausage was.) I should also note that I gave the owner, Billy, the couple bottles of real & artificial vanilla that I brought back from Mexico. 
A banner that I pulled out from one of the old boxes and which shall be going on the outside of the Master Blend freezer room. 
A truly enjoyable dinner of Belgian Blue burger steak accompanied by Padre-made & Jacob-dressed salad. The crust this evening was phenomenal… result of being able to utilize the cast iron skillet.
5/3/2022: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the high 80s. Mostly sunny throughout.
Dawn of 5/3/2022 in the south-easternmost pasture. 
This morning, Wag and I completed the ‘fence-wall’ behind the hay barn. Our hope is that captured bovines will no longer be so inclined to escape via leaping over the postern fence. 
Homemade chilaquiles (verde) topped with eggs and beef and accompanied by homemade guacamole and shredded Romaine lettuce. A savory and satiating repast. 
On replacing the old lights with new lights in the freezer room’s northeast corner, I found that the cause for malfunction was a ballast gone bad. This is a picture of the aged appliance. 
A hibiscus flower to be found on the recently planted bush just west of Jacobhouse. 
Dinner consisted of a Belgian Blue burger-steak topped with cucumber / onion / tomato salad. It is a terrific combination. 
Dessert: A Granny Smith apple sprinkled with cinnamon. As I wrote out this caption, I wondered how Granny Smith apples came about their name. They were named after Maria Ann Smith, an Australian woman, who became known as “Granny” Smith in her township during her later years. She was an apple cultivator who happened to produce this cultivar by mistake and was pleased with the results.
5/4/2022: Today began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm into the low 90s. Moderate humidity.
Dawn of 5/4/2022. 
One of this morning’s tasks entailed Wag and I’s clearing a fallen tree-top off a section of barbed wire fence. Between that fence, the blackberry bushes, and the smilax vines, it was a very ‘scratchy’ task. 
After that, we cut the electric fence cable which extended onto our neighbor’s property and fastened it to this post instead. We didn’t need unsuspecting people to get shocked by a 200-mile fence charger. 
A snake ‘prowling’ through the flowers which have been planted in the old flood-tank at the front of the central barn. 
For lunch, we went on a bit of a ritsabittle, starting with Terry’s Place. It proved to be a very popular lunch spot for a great number of people — so many people, as a matter of fact, that it felt a bit like ‘cattle eating at a trough’ in there. We were going to give the food a try, but after 10 minutes, no one stopped by our table. So, we departed. 
We proceeded to go to Taverna Berrocal. The atmosphere here was cool, bright, and quiet with tasteful music playing over the speakers. 
The Taverna Salad: green mix in a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with little tomatoes and purple onion. 
For my entrée, I chose the fried calamari. It was served with a salsa verde and a salsa roja. The former was my favorite, and it complemented the main dish very well. 
Madre got the Antichuchos de Pollo: Peruvian chicken skewers with potatoes. The flavor and presentation was excellent, but the portion size was a bit lacking for someone who had not eaten yet that day. 
Madre’s dessert at Taverna Berrocal contained a couple large scoops of Vanilla ice cream topped with strawberries and simple syrup. 
The duskly beef pasture inspection of 5/4/2022. 
Dinner of 5/4/2022: A greatly satisfying meal consisting of a pan-seared Belgian Blue burger-steak topped with 4 cloves of garlic and some spicy mustard. Accompanied by a Padre-wrought & Jacob-dressed salad. 
Dessert: A photogenic arrangement of apples & blueberries sprinkled generously with cinnamon.
5/5/2022: Today began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm into the low 90s. Mostly sunny.
Dawn of 5/5/2022. 
One of this morning’s tasks consisted of tying up and moving 17 bags of compost down to the Moo-Magic stand. 
Salt Springs – the first viewing since I’ve returned home from Mexico. It was a warm, sunny day – perfect for a 35 minute swim. 
Cast-iron pan pizza topped ‘dressed’ with homemade tomato sauce (4 cloves roasted garlic, 1 medium-small tomato, dried oregano, and salt mashed together in a molcajete) and topped with purple onion. I made the dough before heading to Salt Springs, and it had risen very nicely by the time I returned. 
This pizza was accompanied by a Madre-made-and-dressed salad. The combination of pizza and salad is a classic. 
These are two shelves I installed in the Jacobhouse office. They are there for if I ever want to hook up a small PC. For now, they are going to be used for books and writing implements. 
A western-style omelet comprised of 7 oz. ground Belgian Blue beef, 6 eggs, Parmesan cheese, roasted garlic, and topped with thinly sliced tomato and jalapeño peppers. I started this on the stove-top and finished it for 2 minutes under the (low) broiler. 
This Western Omelette was accompanied by a Padre-made / Jacob-dressed salad. Eggs & greens makes for a fine combination.
5/6/2022: Today began in the low 70s and proceeded to warm into the low 90s. Mostly sunny. Rain during the ensuing night.
Morning task of 5/6/2022. Today I worked on a bit of broken fence in the upper weanlots. After completing the repair, I realized that the top board was warped and would look better if it was flipped. I proceeded to do just that. 
That’s better. 
The lantana southwest of Jacobhouse is well on its way to full recovery from January’s deep freeze. 
For lunch today, Padre, Madre, and I ate at Latinos y Mas. The ‘gratis’ starter consisted of a bountiful chip-basket accompanied by a freshly made salsa (pico de gallo). 
For the main course, I asked for the Latinos Avocado Salad accompanied by blackened white-fish. The quality, amount, and the swiftness with which it was brought out was all very impressive. 
The fully assembled salad. It was probably one of the best non-homemade-salads that I’ve gotten in Ocala. 
One of today’s tasks consisted of finding a place online (webstaurantstore), measuring, and selecting boxes for the upcoming Master Blend Beef Box model. 
A reverse-seared Belgian Blue bottom round roast (2.4 lbs before cooking) just pulled out of the oven. 
A slice of reverse-seared Belgian Blue bottom round roast accompanied by a miniature mountain of crunchy and refreshing cucumber salad. A splendid combination.
5/7/2022: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the high 80s. Small bouts of rain throughout.
Early morning in the central beef pasture (5/7/2022). 
One of the first things I did this morning was transport 20 bags of compost down to the Moo-Magic stand with Padre and Wag. 
One of this morning’s tasks entailed cutting limbs to clear way for the feed wagon and for the dump truck that would be coming later on in the day (to pick up a load of compost). Here, Padre is pushing a pile of limbs into the the awaiting jaw-bucket of the loader that my uncle was operating. 
Hibiscus shortly after rainfall (5/7/2022). 
A lunch of Western omelette (beef, garlic, chiltepin, jalapeño, tomato, and cheeses) accompanied by a bounty of Padre-made & Madre-dressed salad. 
Late afternoon in the central beef pasture. (5/7/2022). 
An enjoyable dinner of 5 egg tacos (5 tortillas and 5 scrambled eggs) topped with fresh onion and Cholula sauce. 
Dessert consisted of a small apple and about 25 red grapes. Both were at prime ripeness. 
This bug came in on my clothes when I took them down last night. It proceeded to fly (quite loudly) and land on the back of my neck. This, of course, resulted in my grabbing and hurling it away as quickly as possible. The unfortunate creature landed in dishwater where it proceeded to drown (not due to the water, but due to the soap therein). I still do not know what type of beetle / insect it was.
Final Note: I have already been back from Taxco for 10 days. It doesn’t feel like 10 days. It feels simultaneously like a month or like yesterday. Either way, it seems that my return to the farm has, too, heralded the return of summer. Though the temperatures are not quite what they will be, the increase in humidity and the distant rumblings of storm clouds on the horizon are all indicative of the season’s changing.
Great pictures, seems like that week went by quickly, certainly glad to have your company in person. There was some tremendous food too.