A Kind Word and a Smile

This has absolutely nothing to do with my farm, but it was such a nice thing that I am going to share it anyway.  The other morning I was waiting more or less patiently to have my car worked on, and every seat in the lobby at the repair shop was taken.  Once it hit me, after a few short seconds of thought, that the rest of my day would be spent sitting at a desk I took up residence near the entrance door and happily stood reading my book, occasionally reaching out to hold the door for other patrons of the business as they came and went. 

After perhaps 20 minutes of this, an older gentleman came up to me and asked if the job paid well.  He was perhaps in his late 70’s or early 80’s and said he may need it after the repairs on his car were finished.  I only smiled and said that the money isn’t good, but sometimes I received a kind word and a smile.  That payment was good enough for the day.  He chuckled and struck up a conversation, telling me about the accident that brought him in that morning and his recently deceased wife, as well as his family.  He was a kindly man, still full of sorrow for his wife who had passed two years ago, but one who filled his time volunteering to work with underprivileged children, and helping out at the local soup kitchen.  His kindness and interest in modern events was so genuine, as was his sorrow.

We ended up riding together to the car rental place to pick up our rentals while our automobiles were in for repairs, and he continued to tell me his tale of moving here from Ohio only 5 years past, and his delight in finding out that in my past I too had lived there for several years.  We spoke of many things during the long wait, far too many to include in this brief missive, but it was memorable.  He had a ready joke, and only complained that he now lived in a retirement community.  I asked if he wasn’t finding his neighbors to be friendly.  He said with a grin, “Aside from that… I’m surrounded by old people!  And I’m not old!”  That reminded me so much of the elder members of my family, and I shared with him wisdom from some of them.  I was told by my grandparents that you’re only as old as you think you are.  He liked that, but alas his car was ready and it was time to part. 

His last words to me, after handing me his card, were “That kind word and a smile?  That helped.  Thank you.” 

What you do and how you treat others really does make a difference in the world.  I am positive that he makes a difference in many lives, and I was reminded that even I make a difference sometimes. 

The Hunt Is ON!

With the close of adventures in moving the chickens out of the main barn, a new adventure has arisen: The daily egg hunt!  Now that they have a new "house" and fresh nesting boxes, there are a few girls who have decided to give me a daily challenge.  I think they call this "see if the bitch can find this one!" 

Now don't get me wrong.  Most of the hens are laying in the nesting boxes, but there are a few that apparently have decided to leave their presents for me in the goat pens. And the manger.  And in the donkey feeding area.  And I can't wait to find out where is next! 

It's probably the one that attacked me leading the expedition! 

Basking in Springtime

 
Lulu Belle is enjoying the lovely spring weather...

 

And Penny has her first good roll in a springtime field!  Oh how those hooves need trimmed!

The sheer bliss of rolling and laying in the grass, in the sunshine! 

I want everyone to try to enjoy at least 10 minutes a day as much as this yearling donkey enjoyed the ten minutes she rolled in the grass and basked in the sun.  What a better world it would be!



Attack Chicken!

She really didn't want to move to the new chicken house.

Completion of a Project

So a while ago (long enough ago that I don't want to admit the actual length of time) we started a new chicken coop.  In its evolution, it has actually served as several things - when our donkey foal was old enough to need her own feed that her mama couldn't get to, instead of building or buying a creep feeder we would separate them and mama would have dinner in the lovely big outdoor stall that had 3 half walls, so the air flowed through quite nicely.  Then, when Penny was big enough that she and Lulu could eat together, we stored hay in it, covering the hay with metal wall panels to keep it dry in case of rain.  A bit cumbersome, but at least the hay was in an easily accessible shed. 

The main barn expanded when we were expecting goat kids, and the interior was absolutely too full of things.  The chickens had their own area, but only separated by a wire fence that went floor to ceiling.  On "Our" side of the fence was the milking stand, and the various feed containers for all of the animals feed and some shelves for care products.  To say it was crowded is probably the understatement of the year! 

So this morning we went to a farm tour at Latte da Dairy (Really, go check them out!  What they do is our dream.)  We spoke with some interesting people, and met the owner and one of the ladies who works with them.  Both were so kind and welcoming, and shared so much knowledge!  We left with a wedge of Caerphilly, (which tastes like cheddar, but without the cheddaring process!), and inspiration!

When we got home, it was a quick lunch and then to work we went.  The kids stayed inside enjoying the last of their weekend while Bill and I finished turning that long ago begin second building into a chicken coop with half walls, fenced top sections, nesting boxes, roosts (made from recycled monkey bars!), and a little chicken door that is small enough the goats cannot get in to steal their food!  The big barn chicken section was ripped out, completely cleaned and limed (chickens do after all leave behind a rather penetrating aroma) and revamped so it now has room inside for hay, all their feed, the milking stand and even a little bit of room to spare!

The chickens new roost and boxes which protect the food and water from droppings.

Sometimes, all we need is a reminder of where we are going to get it back in gear and finish our tough projects.  We ache a lot tonight, are sunburned, and thanks to one attack chicken will no doubt have a few scars to sport later - and count it all well worth it!

The Beauty of A Simple Soup

The weather has been delightfully warm this spring.  To be more precise it has been warm and damp, helping raise the water tables that were severely depleted during the preceding years drought.  And with the capriciousness of springtime, we have been dealt a few chilly days tossed in just for flavor.  There is nnothing like a sudden plunge back into 40 degree temperatures to inspire a mom to make a giant kettle of soup, and what could be more warming and nourishing than making that soup Minestrone?  Making it not minestrone, but minestrone with grilled chicken cubed up into it :-)

1 large on onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup cut green beans
1 cup peas
2 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic
3 or so tablespoons of olive oil
2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
2 cans water
1 big carton of chicken broth
1 cup of chopped grilled chicken
1.5 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon (or so) of Italian seasonings
2 cans canellini beans, drained
1.5 cups of small pasta (shells, piccolini, ditalini, etc.)

Dice the veggies and saute in hot olive oil in a stock pot.  Once they have sweat a bit, and the onions are translucent add tomatoes through Italian Seasonings and bring to a low simmer until the carrots are tender.  Add canellini beans and bring back to a medium boil, then add the pasta.  Cook until the pasta is done and serve with crusty Italian bread.

Oh the delight of this on a chilly evening - and the leftovers for lunch the next day are even better!  Enjoy while you're waiting on the sun to come back out and dry up the barnyard - and grass that needs to be cut. :-)

A Step Back In Time

We woke to my phone alarm going off at 5:45 a.m., set as a precaution just in case we should lose power during the night, and listened to the downpour outside.  It was still howling down on us, and we struggled to wake up when all we wanted to do was wait it out under the covers.  The clock alarm sounded as well, and we knew we couldn't stall any longer.

Just in the middle of the buzzing, a great crack of lighting and long lasting boom of thunder struck and out went the power.  No more stalling - "Honey, where is the lighter?  I know there's a candle on the armoire."

Candles lit, we dressed hurriedly and conserved as much water as we could in our morning ablutions, then went to light candles in the kids bathroom and their bedrooms.  Everyone shaken out of bed, and the hopeful requests of teenagers wishing the power at the school was out (it wasn't), we brought our candles to the kitchen to assess and make a plan.  A quick foray of my husband into the attic produced a Coleman lantern from our camping supplies, and he headed to the barn.  I couldn't help but smile thinking that it was a step back in time to feed and milk by lantern light. 

If only I'd had the time to grab a camera and capture that pretty glow coming from the barn through the shroud of rain in the early dawn...  *sigh*  By the time he came in, the dogs were fed, the kitchen glowing softly in the candlelight, and a cold breakfast awaited him.  Tomorrow, it's my turn. 

We managed, though awkwardly, for everyone to be ready and even fed - though only on bread and cold ham, served with a glass of juice - in time to head out the door when the bus came.  The girls took their eyeliner with them, and ponytailed it for lack of power to do "Girl Stuff" like fix their hair.  My son sighed with exasperation, and shook his head.  I didn't have the nerve to tell him I was taking my hair dryer and make up with me to the office to do the same thing!

I rather liked the quiet of the morning though, despite its challenges.  It's not a bad thing at all to step back in time and be reminded how peaceful and soft a candle lit morning can be.

Rainy Days and Monday’s…

Did you know that when donkeys are wet, they really have no interest in anyone touching them?  It’s true – anything that pushes the water through from their coarse outer winter hair in close to their skin makes them decidedly cranky. 

It started yesterday, that being Monday, with storms that brought torrential downpours to north Texas.  The morning was windy and cloudy, but the real fun began just as we pulled into our driveway in the evening with 100 pounds of goat feed and an urgent need to get everyone fed before it became even worse.  Just running from the car to the front door of the house left us rather wet.  After a quick change and a check of the radar, it looked like we would have about 15 more minutes of downpour then it may lighten up a little bit. 

That’s great!  So we waited – and there was no sign of it letting up, so out we went in the rain.  Me in my Carhartt and Bill in a rain slicker.  I headed for hay storage, and he loaded in 50 lbs of feed – by the time I made it to the barn with the animals, my coat and jeans were soaked through. 

25 minutes later, just as we finished up with the evening barn chores, there was the break in the rain.  Isn’t that the way it always goes?!  So, it should clear about 4pm today – and give us a wet and mucky barnyard, but at least it’s only from one direction! 

The upside, in my way of thinking, is how fast the grass and hay will grow.  Everyone cross your fingers for a good week of dry warm weather in early May for the first hay cutting.  Other farmers, much like ourselves, will be thrilled to have local hay again!

Oh how they grow!

Surprise!  The blackberry canes that we planted last year (2011) just prior to one of the worst droughts ever to hit this area have survived!  It's amazing!  So the weeds have been pulled, and they can see the sun again! 

I had a good helper - Bill's 4 month old puppy, Cami (also known as Cameo, Camisole, Chamomile, CamiWami, etc..)  She is quite the model though:

After all that hard work, she needed a nap.

Preparations

One of the greatest things about living in Texas is the early spring.  I grew up in the midwest, and while I would give my eye teeth for the fertility of the soil in my home state of Illinois, the early springtime is a pretty nice trade-off.  We can amend soil, and we can plant so early!  It's March 18th and the spinach and mesclun lettuces that we planted in February (!) are coming up beautifully!  We were able to take off the glass exterior door that served as the coldframe lid 2 weeks after their planting, and now look at them!  We will be having salad from this in the near future!

But I couldn't stop there - for years, I have been so practical as to plant green beans as a border around the house so that we could water the foundation and gain food from the process at the same time.  This still makes a fair amount of sense to me, but lately I do begin to realize that practical can also be that which is just good for the soul. 

This morning's project was all about cleaning out the weeds from the walkway planting bed and doing something that will be beautiful.  I started with this:

and with much work, removed all the lovely green weeds by hand to be left with this:

Amend with well aged compost (again, remembering that everything on our farm is here for a reason!):

And till it in, so the soil is deeply amended:





Plant my variety caladiums for a lovely splash of color and water deeply.  I cannot wait to see how the lovely colors come up!

Peaceful morning

After the week of too little sleep, and too much exhaustion I was sincerely dreading getting out of bed this morning.  I even slept in until 7:00 am, and when my alarm went off, rapidly followed by the dual brays of the donkeys, I dragged my weary ass out of bed and plodded around the house getting ready to go do the deed.  The best surprise was that it turned into one of those mornings of fantastic achievement.  The kids stayed up late last night so were all still asleep, and the hubby who has been very sick this week was still abed.  It became my morning, with no rush to get it all done and hoof it out the door to work.  I turned on Pandora on the I-pod, stuck it in my back pocket, and started to enjoy everything!  Visions of accomplishment in my head!

Pre-setting at night for an easy morning has got to be one of the smartest things we ever started doing - after the evening feeding, I measure the morning feed into coffee containers and put on the lids so that when they are all demanding to be fed, it's a fast process.  Decaf canister is for the donkeys, the blue one is for the kids, and the red one is for the first milking doe.  (She's a pill, by the way.)  The second doe to be milked is the only one I have to measure for in the morning. 

After the feeding and milking were done, I even had time to stay out and play with them.  Walked my sweet donkey girls out to the pasture, and scratched the baby goats.  Every time I get my hands on Balvenie, our now 3 month old doeling, I make a point of petting her everywhere including her baby teats.  It's all in the hope that she will not be like her mama and act the terror on the milking stand! 

Back in the house I discovered that the entire family was still asleep!  After filtering the milk, and unloading the dishwasher I fed the dogs and decided it was time to start a batch of cheese.  Still no family awakenings.  The milk is warming now, and I've just enough time to finish this and pour another cup of coffee before I need to go tend it.

Only other mom's would appreciate this, perhaps, but I felt so alive and capable this morning with everyone still asleep and accomplishment in my pocket!  Now, I'm ready for them to be awake, and feel like I can be Mom and Wife with a smile.

Adventures in Baking

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I do believe this is true.  When a person has need they can improvise, learn new skills, and in general bluff their way through all sorts of situations creating all sorts of new ideas. 

I love to bake - bread in particular, and oddly enough I'm a huge fan of casseroles.  At my workplace we were planning a pot luck to celebrate another baby that is due, and without thinking I said Sure! I'll bring a breakfast casserole!  Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day, and breakfast foods are far and away the tastiest dishes that should be eligible for consumption at any time of the day.

I went home after a long day of work, taking kids to doctor's appointments and errands, took care of my little farm and animals - adventures in goat wrangling that left me sweating and the little doeling playing hide and seek behind the donkeys - feeding my family, and finally... finally I was ready.  I got out a couple of casserole dishes, and took stock of ingredients. 

A dozen eggs fresh from the hens, Check
A pound of turkey sausage, Check
Shredded potatoes, Check
Sweet onions, Check
Homemade goat Gouda cheese, Check
Salt and pepper and dry mustard powder and parsley, Check

Oven... oh bugger.  It came - the unfortunately belated realization that both of my ovens are still out of commission due to damaged elements.  Crap! 

So I kind of gave up on it and said Eh, screw it.  I'll go watch a movie with the kids.  So I did and it felt incredibly good to do nothing for a little while.  That little while turned into 3 hours of watching Shakespeare In Love, and crawling into bed at 11:30pm!  Still no casserole.  Ok, I'll set the alarm 15 minutes early and figure something out. 

5:45 a.m., and laying in bed inspiration strikes!  If I can do a crock pot meatloaf, why couldn't I do a crock pot breakfast casserole?!  The office party isn't until 10:30 or 11:00, so it should have time to cook, right?  Off to the kitchen to brown the turkey sausage, saute the onions, mix those with shredded potatoes and shredded Gouda.  Pour over it a blender full of a dozen blended eggs to which the salt, pepper, mustard powder and parsley have been whizzed together and give it a little toss.  Pour it all in the crock and turn it on.  The morning moved on a little more rushed than usual, but I managed - even Cindy, my big lamancha doe was unusually cooperative for her milking!  By the time I left for work it was just starting to cook around the edges... Screw it, it can cook at work, so away I go.

3 hours later, cooked on high (so the edges are a little on the dry side, unfortunately), it's done. And it tastes FANTASTIC!  I have a new way to conquer weekday breakfasts with the family!!

Oh the Mighty Egg

It's springtime in North Texas, and with that the days are warmer and the hens are laying a little bit more!  We've sold a few dozen (from the gate), and when I look in that refrigerator I begin to think of all the ways to save / preserve eggs.  It's definitely time!

You can preserve the life of your fresh eggs, and here I stress fresh because store bought eggs probably are already at best a few weeks old before you buy them and don't have very good cell structure, in a number of ways.

To freeze them, take a standard ice cube tray and crack one egg into each compartment, then freeze solid.  The frozen eggs can be stored in a ziploc bag in the freezer for baking until you need them, and then you can just pull out the number of cubes as the recipe calls for.

For the fresh eggs in the frig, put them in a deep glass or crockery bowl and cover with cool water.  What this does is close the porous egg shell off from air.  This slows down the decomposition of an egg remarkably, and while I've never had them in water more than a month, the old country wisdom books claim you can get several months out of an egg this way.

You can scramble the eggs in a blender, and freeze small portion bags of this ready for omelettes - just thaw the bag in water until the egg is liquid again, and cook right away!

The best possible way though is by baking!  There are plenty of cake recipes that call for 4 or more eggs - bundt cakes and angel food cakes are by far the best!

Projects

No matter how small the farm, the projects are still never ending.  My good friend e-mailed me today, and my mind took off at high speed on all the things that need to be done. 

There is:

• The chickens new palace to put some hinged sides on, and roof paper the roof - oh and install the top half of the !@!#$%! Dutch door
• Stretch the fence to segregate the chickens
• Running electricity to the barn
• Set posts and stretch the fence to segregate the garden patch
• Build a movable temporary chicken coop so the chickens can do their magic in the garden patch
• Put a new floor in the (soon to be new) hay storage area
• Build a milking bench
• Cross fence the big pasture
• Build a run-in, in the "Run" out in the big pasture
• Turn the compost heaps (which, by the way, it looks like something has been digging down into it and sleeping in there for warmth during the cold nights)
• Fix the gate on the big goat birthing stall
• Haul in more roadbase and level up the floor of the barn

These are the beginning of the projects, and may sound like a lot - especially in addition to the daily activities involved in keeping and raising livestock and simply keeping house / life, and making soap and cheese, but there is a method to the madness.  This has been something I've wanted all my life - the early hardships are still worth it.  When each of these projects reaches completion, it will be that much easier to maintain.  I am ridiculously EXCITED about each of these projects!  There isn't a single one I dread! 

It's always busy, but because it's our farm it is not ever overwhelming.

The Incredible Edible - and oh so useful - Chicken!

The kids are all teenagers now, with one ready for college this year.  The humongous fort that came with the house and land is no longer needed and just in time, as it's starting to get a little shaky!  That has to come down and be recycled into other useful stuff like a portable chicken coop so the chickens can be moved around from time to time for composting purposes.

I like to think of my dear little flock of chickens as an integral part to our little farm.  With the addition of the Americauna chickens, who like small bugs like ants and ticks, and the turkens (ugly as all get out, but tough!) who like to eat the crickets and grasshoppers, most of our pest control is taken care of!  They will break down donkey and goat manure, and old straw and barnyard gradings - leaving behind tremendously useful compost that you can grow darned near anything in.  They will also tear up the earth and pre-work your planting beds for you, just given the chance. 

So one of the next projects must be a temporary coop, built out of reclaimed material from the fort.  This will go in the garden patch, where they can break down the over-aged hay that is decaying on the bottom and soften up the earth while eating bugs and leaving behind their own brand of fertilizer.  Hooray for multipurpose animals on a farm!

Who would have thought?

As I make rather regular posts on Facebook about what’s going on with our little farm, and the successes and failures of various projects (I will refrain from doing more than mentioning briefly how evil is the making process for mozzarella cheese), it never once occurred to me that someone may be inspired by some of what I do. 

My old friend Cathy, from way back in high school and I reconnected via Facebook – like it happens, right? – and it turns out she and her family have a little farm outside of our hometown where they have raised pigs and Kiko goats.  (Here I digress and admit open jealousy of the fertility of the soil up there!)  After remarking last night that I was finally cooking dinner and stated what we were having - piccolini with homemade pesto, chicken breasts with homemade goat milk mozzarella cheese and a garlic basil sauce and a salad in case you were interested – she said she wanted to come to my house for dinner.  It’s a nice compliment, and I joked that she would feel right at home helping to feed and milk, etc.  Her next statement just floored me:

“Milking may be an issue (we don't have milk goats...yet) but knowing me I will work on it. Right now we are expanding our poultry and birds. Hopefully, we will get our peachicks in a few weeks. I have thought about getting a milk goat to be able to make and sell my own soap---you have inspired me to think outside of the box about my farm and what I can produce!”

I always wanted to work with animals, and have made that a reality even if it’s just in the form of a hobby farm.  Someday, hopefully, it will be more than a hobby.  One of the best compliments (aside from “Wow, you smell fantastic!” of course) is “You’re a farmer.”  It's still a compliment when the speaker says it more as a question, and with the expression of a puzzled beagle.

But – a farmer who inspired someone else to expand their own horizons?  That’s pretty damned awesome! 

Sanity

It's been a traumatic week, emotionally for the family and peaceful moments have been hard to come by.  However, the chores of the farm are those moments.  It's funny how simply mucking out a goat stall in the company of a cacophany of birdsong from the woods, the bleating of the goats, and the quiet clucking of the chickens can settle a person. 

Maybe it's because you feel you finally have control of something, even if it's just a shovel full of manky bedding - or maybe it's the productive and peaceful time of milking the does, and seeing that pail fill up while they are happily munching on their feed.  Or even, perhaps, it's the silly antics of a nine month old jenny who wants to be brushed but right *there* it tickles.  It heals the soul and soothes the wounds of the day. 

Never question where peace comes from - just accept it when it does.