Work, work, work.....

I'm pretty sure all my friends have just about given up on me. Almost all of my communiques for the last couple weeks have been "Hands full, can't talk, lots going on here..." Wow - are we getting a lot done! But we have to work while we have the weather.

 Broccoli is coming on.

Pretty much it's been nothing but work work work and more work and additional work after that. Mostly we've been working on garden stuff. And tons of mowing. So much mowing. I hate the mowing.

Look at these potatoes (with rare self portrait).

I can't really complain about this spring. We've had the right mix of warm and sunny, cool and sunny, and some beautiful rains. Everything is growing like mad.

We'll have some sporty weather later so I need to get out there.... so my message today is... hands full, can't talk, lots going on here!

Happy Tuesday! Now get out there and get planting!

Editor's Note: I don't know about you but I'm shocked and saddened at the terrible destruction from yesterday's massive storms in Oklahoma and parts of the Plains. Keep a weather eye on the sky, everyone, stay safe!

Holy Surprise Goatlings!

Nothing happened yesterday. Or so I thought.

Meet the mini-Dahli's!

We got home late from church and I was supposed to take a sabbath... because, you know, not taking one is my worst sin.  But instead I was using a power-washer on the kitchen. I was gonna repent later.

At some point in the afternoon I tromped out to give some stuff to the chickens but it was way too hot to be out there. Like real hot. Like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot. So I leisurely called out to the goats, "Hey are you dead yet?" Not hearing a response I figured they were fine. I went back inside to the air conditioning.

Much later I went out to do evening chores and guess what I found? I thought Dahli was due next week but these little cuties made an early appearance. For heavens sakes.

From now on I'm gonna call Dahli "Sneaky Pete" - she had absolutely no signs of impending labor yesterday. In the morning she shoved her face in her food dish like every day and I thought that I'd work on getting her set up in the turkey house today...after I checked her due dates.

So there you have it. Two perfect doelings. They were up and walking around like they owned the place. No one was more surprised than me.

I'll have some better pictures later one but for now please welcome the newest little money makers to the farm! Now I just needs some awesome "D" names..... Dacia, Dani, Danica, Darla, Desdemona, Drusilla....

Happy Monday everyone! Anybody else got some surprise goatlings?

An Everyday Miracle

I'm not the biggest fan of goats but it occurred to me yesterday that it's an everyday kind of miracle that they take bramble and weeds and, amazingly, make it into luscious milk. Thanks Nibs.

That's all the deep thoughts I have for a Friday.

Have a great day, friends, anything could happen!

Box of Peeps and a Rant You've Just Gotta Read

Here they are! A cute box of peeps arrived perfectly yesterday at the post. The two chicks we already had were terrified of the fuzzy invaders and kind of hid in one corner for a while.

 Heapin', peepin' box o' fun!

But then I brought down more chick feed and everyone started to get along. The white ones are the creepy meats.The brown ones are Welsummers and one Buff Brahma - those were extras I ordered to get a reduced shipping price.

All the little buddies bellied up to the drinker for some sips.

These guys will be in the house for just a couple days then they will be moved out to a kiddie pool in one side of the turkey house.

There were a lot of great things passed around the interweb yesterday, not the least of which was this rant by one of my favorite food guys, Michael Ruhlman. He's my go-to guy for all things Charcuterie. Plus I love how he rips on people who refuse to cook their own food and how Big Food and others  have pulled the wool over our eyes so we don't think for ourselves about how we live and what we eat.

Here is the bottom line, convenience food aren't very convenient if they just give you heart disease, a stroke, or diabetes. All you're really doing is rushing yourself to an early grave and a lifetime of some kind of medication.

I made dinner last nite and it took less than 20 minutes of standing up time. Then I went out and did chores and came back and ate our meal hot from the oven. And I liberally salted our food.

Happy Thursday everyone! Now get out there and cook your own food!

Great Expectations

At this writing (Wednesday morning) I'm eagerly waiting for a call from the local post office letting me know they have a heapin' box of peepin' fun for me.

Remember these little cuties? We took them up from their not-really-their-momma, that little duck hen in the garage, so that she could finish brooding her own eggs. However, there have only been just these two chicks. Unfortunately two really is the loneliest number when it comes to chickens so we used it as an excuse to order another round of meat chickens.

Yep.  We busted clear thru another "never" - we are getting some summer meats. We really do not like having meat chickens in the summer. I couldn't help it tho  - we are getting low on chicken. After the supper I made the other nite I just can't wait until fall for more chicken dinners.  Goes without saying I won't be buying store chicken any time soon.

Much to my surprise, I couldn't just call up any old hatchery and demand an order of chicken! Most of the hatcheries are sold out for several weeks if not into July. I was desperate.

Lucky for me, tho, I called up Meyer Hatchery here in Ohio on Monday morning and asked if they didn't even have a small lot of meats somewhere? They did! I received excellent service and they placed the order quick as a flash. They only had 11 creepy meats but that was OK because I was looking for a small lot. As much as I love chicken dinner I do not like butchering in summer. This small lot will be just two (short) days work and we'll be having chickeny goodness until the fall.

The order taker was really great - she reminded me that I could save almost $15 on shipping if I ordered 4 more chicks (to meat.. I mean "meet" their 15 chick minimum for regular shipping). The chicks were flying off the shelves as we were talking but she was able to get four peeps for the reduced shipping costs. Now I just have to wait around for the call.

Depending on who is working at our local post they will either call me any minute now... or at 9:30 when the counter opens. I have a feeling the guy with zero sense of humor is working or they would have called by now. He won't ever call for early pick up. Maybe he likes the peeping but it drives the other lady nuts so she always calls. He's like the mail nazi - no rule breaking for you! For the record, that guy does not think I am funny. At. All.

So until I get the call I'm going to round up the dogs and head out for some early morning garden work. It's supposed to be 86* here today! Just two days ago it was so cold that I had to wear two sweatshirts and a warm hat with my shorts. Today, tho, it's already creeping toward "maybe I should turn on the air conditioning...."

THEY JUST CALLED! Yay!  Ok this is a great day - yay peeps!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Anybody else waiting for a heapin' box of peepin' fun?

How to Make Butter

The other morning I stumbled out into the kitchen to find my precious half gallon of Snowville cream sitting on the counter - not in the fridge. The cream had been sitting out all nite. It was only half used so someone around here, who is not me, was In Trouble. Dang.

Arty butter making picture.

So instead of getting mad I just got busy and made butter. Can you make butter at home? Sure! It's so easy peasy you might never buy regular butter again.  Why go thru "all that trouble" to make butter? Um... it's no trouble, it's fun, and you get a superior product.

All you need to make butter at home. Or a jar. You could use just a jar and shake it.

Most instructions say to let the cream come up to room temperature and since that was already done I just dumped the whole thing into my mixer with the balloon whisk attachment. Then I just turned it on low and walked away. But don't go too far! You need to watch or listen for it to be done.

Pretty soon you'll get whipped cream... then you are getting closer to butter...

You are even closer still when it starts to get grainy....

Done!

And then finally it "breaks" - this is when the butter fat all clumps together and the liquid separates. You can hear this happen - when the mixer starts to slosh around - so run right over and turn the speed way down.

I let it mix a minute more just until the butter all formed up on the whisk.

Pour off the "butter milk" and put the butter into a sieve so you can "wash" it with cold water. You want the water to run clear. This sounds weird but it totally works. Use a spoon to kind of squish the butter around to make sure all the liquid releases.

You get butter and butter milk (not the cultured kind) that can be used for cooking.

Then the only thing to do is get some radishes and dig in.

See? Making your own butter is easy and fun. You don't need special equipment - you can even just shake it in a jar (or get the kids to do it).

One thing to be on the look out for - check the label on your cream. Is it JUST cream - or are there stabilizers in it? One of the reasons we like Snowville products so much is because they serve up dairy how it's supposed to be - from grass fed cows and in its natural state. Check the label - it just has cream in it.

If you think it's weird that the cream in your coffee isn't just cream - remember that some folks still want the FDA to allow aspartame and other weird stuff to be added to dairy products WITHOUT LABELING IT. That's right - your kid's chocolate milk could be chock full of who knows what if this passes. Maybe you should run right over and tell them what you think.

So there you have it - how to make butter at home. It's fun and easy!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Did you find your cream sitting on your counter? Don't get mad just make some butter.



Editors note: Is this a paid endorsement for Snowville? Nope but we know these folks and think their products are terrific. You should try their milk, cream, and other products!

Chocolate Chips Scones

Because it sounds better than having cookies for breakfast.....

I'm pretty sure I'm not fooling anyone but wow they are really good! Use this recipe but substitute chocolate chips for the blueberries. Even better if you make your own butter. 

Happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!