Springtime on the Farm

Getting the mowers ready for the season



Mom and Baby


Bucklings playing the challenge game. They love jumping on and off this sewer manhole.


My other kidlets playing the challenge game :-)



Moms and Babies relaxing


Isabel loving Chloe. Poor Chloe, she's hooked to her chain to keep her from chasing the guineas

Hmmm . . . . wonder what lives in here?

Isaac insisted I take a picture of the creek. We're so blessed to have this on our land so that our animals have fresh water all the time.

Isaac and Isabel think Chloe's new house is the greatest.

Boris looking casual and distinguished, as usual. He loves the camera.

Chloe the coonhound

Betsy recuperating. Hopefully she learned her lesson about chasing cars when she clipped the tire of a truck while going to the mailbox with me this morning. The super-nice guy felt terrible and backed up his truck to make sure she was OK. She was just a little stunned, LOL.

Speckled Hen lays her nest here every year. She has 4 little hatchlings this time around. They were out foraging, so hopefully I'll get some pics of her with her brood soon. It's precious!

This is Isaac's favorite spot, on top of the hay.

Way up there! He loves that spot!

Boris, cool as cucumber, as always.


First mowing of the spring. This was so cute. The grass is a lot greener in the front of the house.

Brenda and her baby

The challenge game. Aren't they cute? Isabel is crying in the background because Chloe ran by and her chain whipped underneath Isabel's feet and knocked her flat. Poor baby! She was OK, just mad. She climbed in Chloe's doghouse with her after that. :-D

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

I've wanted to try something like this for a while, so found a basic recipe, and of course tweaked it to my likin' :-) Mike likes to have breakfast he can take out the door with him in the morning and these are great and healthy!

Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
3 c. quick oats
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. flax seed (I ground it in my coffee grinder first)
1/2 c. raw honey
2 tsp. blackstrap molasses
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. milk
*any sort of fruit or nuts you prefer*
I made this batch with raisins and blueberries, but one could also use diced apples, peaches, strawberries, bananas, almonds, pecans, etc. etc. Many yummy possibilities here! (Ooh, maybe even chocolate!) :-)

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add fruit to dry mixture and stir. In a separate bowl mix honey, molasses, butter and eggs. Add to dry mixture. Add milk and stir until blended. Spread into a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 25 minutes. Let cool, cut into bars. Store in airtight container.

Beef Lentil Stew and Parmesan Herb Bread

A couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed the best Beef Lentil Stew at a quaint little coffee shop in Arkansas. It was thick and hearty and had a nice chili kick. I have been thinking about it ever since so I decided to try and make my own version. I'm very pleased with the results! Of course we can't have stew without some sort of homemade bread . . . . . so I paired it with one of Mike's favorite bread recipes I came up with a while back.

Here it is!



Crock Pot Beef Lentil Stew:
Beef soupbones (or 2-3 cans organic beef stock, or a small bone-in roast)
A big handful of thinly sliced organic carrots
A handful of diced onion
One can of diced tomatoes
1 lb. lentils
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. chili Powder

Place soup bones, carrots, onion, salt, pepper and garlic in crock pot with 4 cups of water. Turn on low for about 4 hours until you have a rich stock. Add lentils, tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Stock should cover lentils and vegetables. If not, add a little more water until they are completely immersed. Cover and set on high for approx. 1.5 hours, until lentils are cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve!

Parmesan Herb Loaf (protein packed!)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. garbanzo bean flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. herb seasoning (salt-free)
a generous shaking of parmesan cheese (shredded works fine as well)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. butter or oil
1 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients. Mix the egg and butter/oil, add to dry ingredients. Stir in milk gradually. Batter will be thick and almost pourable, like a quick bread. Spread into greased 5x8 1/2 loaf pan and sprinkle the top lightly with more herb seasoning, and another generous shaking of parmesan cheese (this makes for a yummy crumbly crust on top!). Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until top is browned and begins to crack. Let cool, remove from pan, slice.

Enjoy!

Ummmmmmm . . . . . . . Deuses????

This was an actual ad on Craigslist today:

HALF DUCK HALF GOOSE BABIES - $10
Date: 2009-03-24, 3:00PM CDT
I will have baby dueses born soon. We thought that the goose and the duck were both boys, WELL....... WE HAVE EGGS! There are eight of them. They are half duck and half goose. They will be for sale about two weeks after they are born. I will be selling them for $10 each. I am sure I will have more to come after that. I am not sure what they will look like but I am sure they will be cute! If you are interested in one of my dueses please call me at ***-***-****I will take your name and number and call you when they are ready. Thanks.

Bless her heart. I'm sure she's gotten a bazillion emails already. I hope that, by now, someone has tactfully informed her of the facts.

Ducks/geese/chickens just lay eggs. No fertilization necessary.
Ducks/geese do not cross. If so, we'd have them at every duck pond in the universe.

I wonder if she's keeping them for two weeks so they can nurse.

(kidding)

This ad did make my day, though. :-D

Free Coffee??!!

Dunkin Donuts will send you a free sample of their coffee! Click here!



Can't beat that.

Isaac-ism #3

Isaac burned his tongue on his dinner.

"Isaac, be careful, I told you it's a little hot"

"No, Mom, it's a BIG hot"

:-D

My Son

I really need to start blogging this stuff, because I know I'll forget it as the years go by. This is just copied and pasted from an email I sent to my mom . . . . . .

Isaac has a birthday list. He is very excited for his birthday to come on the 28th. He wants:

--Balloons (red)
--Cake
--Ice Cream and stuff
--chess
--bingo
--a blue bag with a Little Einstein shirt in it (he means a blue gift bag)
--a drumpet (A trumpet, it's on order. When he opens it, he will gasp. He's demonstrated.)
--a Spongebob video game
--silly string
-- a musical hat of many colors. A purple one. (?????)

He cracks me up. He wanted me to tell him a story tonight about his birthday (he just wanted to keep talking about his birthday). So I got out the video the hospital made when he was born. He absolutely loved it. He says that's when we "built" him. He also named all the parts of his body that have grown since then. Then he said "But you don't have any kids in your belly". I told him not anymore, they already took them out.

I was narrating the video and told him he was saying "Where's my mommy!?" and his daddy handed him to me and said "Look, Mommy! Here's your Isaac!" And I said "Oh, I love my Isaac!"

Isaac narrated himself: "And I said 'Where's my sister!?' "

He chattered all the way home from church, mostly about his birthday, but he got sidetracked when he saw the big, orange moon. He asked me if he could ride an airplane. He really wants to ride an airplane so he can see the moon. He wants to sit by his dad and HE wants to push all the buttons. (You know, to fly the airplane!)

:-D