Wow, you guys are great! I rarely ever miss a day of checking in and reading comments but yesterday I never made it to the computer. It was so comforting to find such positive comments waiting for me this morning. And people ask why I like blogging! Anyway, among the comments Abbie over at Farmer’s Daughter tagged me for the 7 facts about yourself doodad. Here’s how it works: Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog – some random, some weird.Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Alright, here goes… 1. I love 4x4s. Especially diesels. Not very environmentally friendly, I know, but trucks are my weakness. I’ve had 2 trucks and really want another one. I sold the last one to go back to college and I really miss it (that’s the one up above). Our first Christmas together I even had a license plate made for Brian that says “She Thinks My Diesel’s Sexy”. 2. Lucky for my wallet one of
Continue readingMonth: January 2009
Farm Update
No particular topic today, just thought I’d fill in with the latest happenings in our life. I thought this blog would be more of a day to day journal of the farm but it seems like every time I sit down to type I feel the need to find a specific topic. Well, not today. I considered titling this post “The Downside of Farming” because things haven’t been the greatest around here lately. Brian found 7 baby Holstein calves for sale last week and we bought them. They were cheap and we thought it would be nice to have some calves around again since we still don’t have a place to bring our bigger cattle home to. Anyway, cheap isn’t cheap when they all die on you. Brian’s sister took 2 and we kept 5, but we only have 2 left. The other 3 basically died of scours which is a broad diagnosis in calves. I fought hard to save the last one, taking his temp and tube feeding him milk and electrolytes. Didn’t work. I am pretty sure now that they probably never received any colostrum which gives them very low chances of survival. They remaining two are doing
Continue readingOur Winter in Pictures!
I’m away from home at the Michigan Vet Conference this weekend. I want to get a post up but don’t feel like saying a lot so I thought it would be a good time to post some pictures. These are all from the last few months (some are from fall). I’ll take advantage of the hotel’s wireless and upload these now instead of fighting with my connection at home. Enjoy! Brian’s grader, our grain setup in the background. Our first batch of Seventh Generation TP, Maci apparently wanted it out of the box! The TP neatly stacked in the cabinet. We really like it BTW. Sam doesn’t help much when I’m sewing. Our Christmas tree with all western ornaments this year. It is hard to see but look close: you can see Maci’s paw about to clock Baxter upside the head, and him about to fight back. They box all the time! He crammed himself behind the printer to recuperate. And they’re friends again…usually not this cozy. This is from early fall. Brian built this calf shelter in one day. I had mixed feelings about treated lumber and decided it is better for us than replacing/rebuilding every few years. I
Continue readingWaste Reduction and Chocolate Muffins
I am very excited to be taking on the the Food Waste Reduction Challenge hosted by Crunchy Chicken (see sidebar for link). To start out I tossed any old food that I found in the fridge so that we can start fresh. Most of what I tossed were old dressings and sauces that we never use and brought here with us from the old house. I also threw out some shrimp and cocktail sauce from Christmas and one thing of leftovers from a restaurant. I plan to use my postal scale to weigh anything we throw out in February. When I got to the freezer I was relieved not to find much that needed to be tossed. I did pitch some leftover cheesy potatoes we had frozen from our wedding. Then I came across the several bags of frozen shredded zucchini from last years garden. I had yet to use any of them. So, what’s a non-wasting girl to do with all that zucchini? Make muffins! Yeah, chocolate muffins to be exact. I pulled together a recipe from a few different ones to come up with the following: Chocolate Muffins with (Shhh!) Zucchini2 2/3 cups whole grain pastry flour (or
Continue readingNo Sunday Stroll
Well, I did my Sunday Stroll but cannot get my pictures to load. I have been having a lot of trouble with our internet connection. Look for a better post later!
Continue readingSelecting Heritage Breed Chickens
I’ve been pouring over my new Sand Hill Preservation Center catalog since it arrived. You wouldn’t think that a black and white text only book could demand that much attention but it has. My goal for the poultry sector of the farm is to expand the laying flock and add some broilers this year. We started in the spring with 25 conventional straight-run chicks from the farm store and through a disastrous attack from the dog, housing issues, culling some roosters, and losing one “outsider” last week, we now have 6 hens and a rooster left. The flock consists of: 1 leghorn rooster, 1 leghorn hen, 1 barred rock hen, and 3 rhode island red hens. The Rhodies are by far my favorite. They are friendly and seem to be doing well in the cold winter weather. The barred rock rooster we had was very mean and I don’t think the hen is the friendly bird either. The leghorns are flighty and the hen doesn’t lay incredibly well. After researching heritage poultry I have found 3 breeds that I would like to try out in the laying flock. I like the idea of helping to expand some of these old
Continue readingHomemade Garlic Shells
Alright, here’s the recipe for homemade garlic shells that I’ve been using. My friend at work gave me the idea and the basic ingredients. I’ve been experimenting with it and like the results. My husband and I both like the Lipton garlic noodles in the bag but they are expensive and full of preservatives and other junk. I doubt I am saving much because this recipe uses heavy whipping cream, but when all the ingredients are purchased on sale (or if you have a family cow!) it should work out to about the same, plus you know where it was made. The recipe is not real exact but tweak it to your liking and it will turn out fine. The taste is a little bit sweeter than I was used to at first. However, today Brian made the bagged kind again and they tasted quite bland to me. I guess taste buds adjust pretty quickly! Ingredients:1 cup heavy whipping cream1-2 cups milk or water1 Tbsp butter or margarineGarlic powder or saltParsley for colorMedium sea shells (pasta) Pour the heavy whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Add 1-2 cups water or milk (or a combination of the two). I add about
Continue readingBack 2 Basics and Other Challenges
I’ve decided to start the Back 2 Basics Harvest Keeper Challenge for 2009. Chicken eggs will be the only thing on the list for now but I am excited to see things rack up once spring arrives. This will be very good for me because I kept no records from all of the farming and canning I did last year. Check out my sidebar if you’re interested, and go visit Farm Mom for a better example. Other challenge updates: We haven’t been using our corn burner at all due to it malfunctioning and refusing to keep a fire going. Brian is trying to track down the problem but in the meantime we’re blowing our budget with all the fuel oil we’re burning. So much for keeping track of the corn we use! We do keep the thermostat set low (58-62 F) and I finally found the controls for our dual heated blanket so we use that every night to take the edge off. I covered most of our windows with the clear plastics kits in the fall and although I don’t how much that is helping I do like that I can’t feel a breeze when I walk by the
Continue readingA Local Loaf
Today I picked up another order of local flours from Hampshire Farms (see sidebar for link). I got: 25# 100% whole grain bread flour10# 100% whole grain pastry flour2# cornmeal5# sunflower seeds (dehulled) Randy Hampshire, who filled my order was more than happy to show me around their farm. They have a USDA approved kitchen on site along with the brick oven that Randy built himself. It was very impressive! The farm also boasts a nice warehouse in an old grainery, where all of their flour and wheat is stored. They also have, meandering around the pastures, a family cow. She is a nice looking Jersey and had a few other cattle keeping her company. I have given a lot of thought to having our own family cow and have thought about it more and more seriously lately. I don’t think it is the right time for us, and it would take a lot to convince my husband. He probably has a point – it is a lot easier to find someone to throw in some grain for our animals then to milk twice a day when we want a vacation. In any case, of was jealous of Randy’s family
Continue readingMy First Sewing Project
Remember how I said I was going to wait until February to start using my new sewing machine? I should have known better I guess because I completed my first project on Friday night. When we attended the Michigan Sheep Breeders’ Association (MSBA) Bred Ewe Sale at MSU in November we purchased two ewe lambs. One of the them had just been sheared and the former owners were nice enough to lend us a Sheep Sox to keep her warm. For those familiar with horses Sheep Sox are similar to slinkies. Basically it is a Lycra tube with leg holes in it. They are mainly used to keep animals clean before showing but also seemed to keep our sheep warm. I tucked a bath towel under her sock for an extra layer. I left the sock on for a few days when we got home to help her adjust to the temperature. Before I took it off she managed to put a good sized tear in the side. The garment didn’t look too hard to make so I bought some Lycra (spandex/nylon). I laid the old sock out and traced the basic outline on to the new fabric. I found
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