With temps in the 20′s this past week, we’ve had a lot of indoor fun, breaking out the Sculpey polymer clay and making all sorts of oceanic creatures to fill our Apologia “ocean boxes” as recommended in our recently finished science book, Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day.

Every other year or so, we go scissor happy crafting delicate snowflakes, which we then use to decorate our windowpanes all winter. Usually we find inspiration at online sites such as Dave’s snowflake pages, which are incredible, but this year on a friend’s recommendation, I ordered Cindy Higham’s book, Snowflakes: Creative Paper Cutouts. My kiddos keep asking me when we’re going to have our “snowflake day”! The book hasn’t arrived yet, so I keep putting them off…

There are a couple of other ideas for those wintry afternoons when staying inside is just the best idea of all. I hope you go check it out, and in the meantime, share your favorite wintertime family activities in comments!

Blessings,

Mary

My little girls celebrated by digging out their jackets, and raking up a huge leaf pile. After about a hundred leaf-splattering dives they came inside for hot cocoa and marshmallows! Ahh…the rosy cheeks of fall!

There is something about billowing curtains and chill temps that fires up my creativity. That and my oldest daughter telling me that home-made bread was a must on this day. So out came the grain mill and the prairie gold wheat berries and my favorite pizza dough recipe, which doubles up nicely for rolls or buns, and we got to work. Pretty soon my younger girls were rolling out individual pizzas and adding their favorite toppings, and in the end, we had a delicious pizza lunch and since I doubled the dough recipe, we’ve also got buns for supper. We’ll cut them open, butter the insides and grill them on the griddle, then serve them with bacon and cheesy fried eggs! Mmm! Mine will have fresh basil leaves on it as well…are you hungry yet? *wink*

Here is our favorite pizza dough recipe, it’s easy, FAST, and a real joy to mold around in your hands…just add a little olive oil to your hands first, and fall in love!

Pizza Dough

• 2 packages of yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 5 cups flour (I use 100% whole wheat home ground flour, you can also use half whole wheat and white flours)
• 4 TB olive oil
• 2 tsp salt

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 2 tsp sugar.
2. Pour into a mixing bowl with remaining ingredients.
3. Knead (I have a dough hook attachment to my mixer, that’s what I use, and it doesn’t take but 4-6 minutes of kneading for this recipe)
4. Let rise in a greased bowl, in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.
5. Punch down, and use for pizza crust, or let rise again another 20 minutes and make into rolls or buns.

Sometimes we make pizza pockets instead of pizza…those are fun. Roll out chunks of dough into circles, and fill half the circle with  your favorite pizza toppings: hamburger, onions, black olives, cheese, etc. NOTE: NO SAUCE! It will leak out the edges. Fold your circle of dough over and crimp edges to seal. Make a slit in the top for steam to escape and bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, and serve with sauce for dipping. We love these.

Happy Labor Day!

This year I decided to utilize the greatest treasure of all as the trove of clues for my students…the KJV Bible. Each girl will get 12 of their own clues, which involve looking up a scripture reference, and zeroing in on something in the verse that has to do with the next clue’s hiding place. And the treasure at the very end? Why, this year’s new school books, readers, and supplies, of course! For weeks now, we’ve had mysterious packages arriving in the mail only to be whisked away by “mommy”, contents unknown…so many surprises, the girls can’t WAIT for the great “reveal”! Sometimes along the clue route, I’ll leave surprises. Could be a stick of gum, an eraser, a fun pencil…once it was an alarm clock!

So here’s what this year’s clues look like for my 11 year old…I put some clarifying notes in parentheses for your benefit, not hers!, kind of a teacher’s edition, if you will! *wink*

One last tip, each girls’ clues are color coded, so if they trip across someone else’s clue, they know to ignore it if it’s not “their” color. I try to do a mix of clues both indoors and out. One year we had all outdoor clues, and did it in the pouring rain! (Soggy clues lend a bit of difficulty to a treasure hunt!)

Treasure Hunt Clues 2011, for 11 year old daughter

First Clue: Matthew 7:17. What is this verse about? (trees) Go out the back door, and take a right. Follow the driveway to the first one in sight. (on ground by tree at bottom of driveway)

Second Clue: Zechariah 14:21, third word. Where do we keep ours? (Pots)

Third Clue: Acts 19:19, the eighth word in this verse rhymes with darts. Find the word, and find our stash of supplies. Remember, they are not where they used to be! (Arts drawer, we reorganized!)

Fourth Clue: Genesis 3:12. You want words number 13 and 16. Put them together and think small, dark red and sweet—what a treat! Go look here quick as a wink! (Bing Cherry Tree)

Fifth clue: Look up Exodus 37:17: Count the words, count 22, where these things are stacked, you’ll find your next clue! (Bowls)

Sixth clue: Psalm 18:28. Hm, we have several of these in the living room! Happy hunting! Hint!! It’s under and out of sight! (Under a living room candle)

Seventh clue:  Judges 5:14, fourth word from the end of the verse. We have some in a drawer. (“pens” in phone book drawer)

Eighth clue:  Genesis 2:8, seventh word. Go there. Look everywhere. You’ll find a clue by something red. (In garden, by tomato plant)

Ninth clue:  Leviticus 14:6. 5^th word.  Where do we sometimes feed these pretties? (taped to hummingbird feeder)

Tenth clue:  Daniel 4:15, 4^th word. We don’t have too many of these, but one big one for sure! (by big stump near hammock)

Eleventh clue: You are so close. Time for a cloozy.  Isaiah 10:14. “Gathereth”what, exactly? Hope the one you find is not oozy! (near an egg in chicken nesting box)

Twelfth clue: Ding! Ding! Ding! FINAL clue!!!  Three different verses contain three different words, put the three words together, in order, and go a-hunting for your treasure!  1. Proverbs 26:11, 3^rd word. 2. Job 39:12, last word. 3. Psalm 118:22, last word. Put them together and follow the clue! (dog barn corner)

Well, that’s it folks. Hope your first day of school is a blast like ours!

Proverbs 2: 1-5,

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Remember, if you desire to tweak these for your homeschoolers, the words and their sequence found within the verses is tailored straight from the KJV Bible.

And MUMS the word, folks, till sometime Thursday! My 11 yo must not catch wind of this blog post!

I don’t know what we love more. The fact that we’ve got such a terrific way to use up our raw organic milk, cream, and farm fresh eggs, or the satisfaction of yet another family pastime…sitting in the shade of a warm almost-summer evening taking turns at the crank. Or, the awe on my children’s faces after 23 minutes of cranking…as we all hold our breath and lift the cannister’s lid, can it be…YES, WOW, thick, perfect ice cream!

Oh boy.

My mouth is watering.

It’s sure hot in here.

I’m so glad we picked up more ice at the grocery store the other day!

HUBBY???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are our two favorite recipes, so far. ;O) Care to share yours in comments? I’m looking for a fresh peach ice cream recipe if you have one!

Strawberry Ice Cream (one bowl of this is NOT enough)

• (2) 3 oz strawberry jello dissolved in 2 c boiling water–cool
• 4 eggs beaten**
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 c. cream
• 1 qt milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• (2) 12 oz strawberries (or 3 cups chopped berries), thawed (add last)
• milk to fill cannister to 3/4 full

Vanilla Ice Cream  

• 4 eggs well beaten**
• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• Vanilla extract (may also add a little lemon juice or extract if desired)
• 1 qt cream
• 2 qt milk
• May add 1 large box instant vanilla pudding for flavor

Again, add milk till your cannister is 3/4 full, crank and enjoy!

My only other tip, is that it is a lot cheaper to go to your local feedstore and pick up a 50 lb sack of livestock salt, rather than “rock salt” from the grocery store. Works just great!

I think ice cream is a must on these 96 degree days, don’t you?

Thanks to my wonderful friend, Bonnie, for sharing her recipes with me!

**Special note, we don’t cook our eggs…since they are fresh as can be from our own chicken gals, and no danger of salmonella…if you are using store eggs, you might need to find a recipe with cooked eggs…fair warning!

I love waking up before the kiddos, our open bedroom window carrying in a fresh breeze and birdsongs, the nanny goat’s merrily tingling bell, the happy neighing of baby colts–all beckoning me outside while it is still blessedly cool!  I check the indoor/outdoor temp, making sure it’s still cooler outside than it is inside, and leave the house with its billowing curtains, preferring instead, my great big tree-shaded hillside with its billowing leafy branches and the white rope hammock that has found its two tree stands for the summer.

But first things first…the laying hens need me to fling their barn door open so these gals can scritch-scratch and forage the day away, and hubby and I must amble down the driveway and beyond the grain bin to move the two field pens full of young chickens to fresh green pasture. Once fed and watered, the Cornish-cross broilers and little layer chicks release me to some quiet time in the hammock with God’s word and my handy Bible pen. I can rest easy for a while, knowing that one of my family’s favorite breakfasts is in the oven.

Baked Oatmeal w/dried Cherries

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. melted butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries (we love dried cherries in this!)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C)
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in dried cranberries (or cherries). Spread in an ungreased 9×13″ pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve with milk in bowls.

We are a family of five, and can easily demolish three-fourths of this filling dish. But we have country life appetites going for us as well!

Do you love the life God has given you? He can fill your cup to the brim and over with love for your husband and children, and joy as you live for their well-being. Just ask Him.

According to Titus 2, we women are to be teachers of *good things*, keepers at home, loving our husbands and loving our children…obedience in these things m’dears, brings lasting joy!

Just building the snowman took an entire evening. The sun went down on a “Frosty-in-limbo”–an armless, eyeless, scarfless, hatless wonder. The next day was a Sunday, so after church and lunch, we donned our winter apparel, and scoured our property for likely ornamentations for our over 10 foot tall snow friend. By the way, we measured the circumference of his base, it was just over 16 feet around.

Everyone took a ride in the bucket of the CAT to the top of Mr. Snowman, the only way to properly attach his hat, his pringle can eyes, red plastic cup nose, and charcoal smile! Eventually, we got ‘er done…

This picture is of me and my two youngest…they bestowed upon me, the honor and privilege of making our snowman’s happy smile! Cold job for bare fingers!

Finally he is finished…a sight to behold, visible from the country road about a half mile from our home…

When it was all said and done, Hubby dusted the snow off his coveralls and declared that we’d have to start over again on this “snowman spree” next year, staying closer to the ground. So it would seem that “Jolly Jake”, as my younger daughters officially christened this year’s snowman, will hold the record for biggest snowman ever, for at least a couple more years!

We’ve sure had a wonderful winter, several beautiful snowfalls and plenty of cozy fireside evenings…but I’m more than ready to welcome spring!

(The following was originally posted in December of 2006…)

Yesterday the girls and I spent from 8:30 AM-5:30 PM making graham cracker gingerbread houses. We do this each year with homeschooling friends…one of our favorite Christmas traditions!

This is a craft that can be as detailed and intricate as you want it to be. Using graham crackers instead of gingerbread takes a lot of the headache out of the process, making it very “mom” friendly!

Over the years I’ve made these fun little houses in many sizes and themes. If you want a fun and easy version go here or here. For this version, you can use as few as 3 full graham crackers per child. Here’s another cute site with several to look at.

For a more impressive version, you’d have to get Traditional Christmas Cooking, Crafts & Gifts by Cy DeCosse. There’s a several page spread in there with diagrams to help you make a fancy town…

We start by combining our efforts with another family or two. We decide which candies each family will buy, and then we pool all of them together for the maximum effect!

Here are some of our favorites:

• miniature candy canes (for stair rails up into churches or for “props” to hold up a 1/4 graham cracker door overhang)
• normal sized candy canes (these are cute stuck in snow icing with a gumdrop stuck to the curved end–ta-da: a lamp-post!)
• wafer cookies–the rectangular kind (we make benches out of them–to put under the lamp-posts. Use sugar cubes for the bench “feet”. You can also use wafers to make shutters for your windows, or to line the roof of store-front type buildings such as the General Store in the the book I linked above)
• Gumdrops (flattened and cut to fit, these make great window panes. Cut them in different shapes/sizes and make stained glass windows for your town’s church)
• Sugar cones (steeple for the church, or frost with green icing and decorate for Christmas trees)
• Red and Green M&M’s
• Red hot cinnamon candies
• Peppermint hard candies (great stepping stones to your bench)
• Hershey Kisses
• Cereals: Grape nuts for gravel pathways, Shredded Wheat for hay bales, Chex for shutters
• Pretzels–straight ones for porch railings, miniature rounded ones for fences around the yard, simply stick them in snow frosting
• Marshmallows–use toothpicks to make snowmen out of these, or cut them into small pieces and pile in the yard for snowballs
• Red and Green sugar, or candy sprinkles to shake on snowy rooftops

You get the idea…

Each family also needs to bring cardboard bases to be covered with tin foil. We like to use Cinnamon Graham Crackers because the darker cracker looks more authentic for buildings. Plan on one box per house, if you’re tackling a large one.

For icing, you can buy meringue powder at any cake decorating store or in that section at Wal-Mart and follow the instructions inside for Royal Icing. Or, an easier and quicker way, is to use white Almond Bark. Melt it in the microwave and pipe it, or spread it with a knife to “caulk” your house seams together.

Yesterday we made the house w/yard, the church and the general store pictured above. On Saturday we’ll be taking them to our local rest home for their visual enjoyment!

I was thinking that about myself this morning–my tendency of appreciating the old and reliable things of my life–as I scrubbed my stove-top with comet. We’re one of the few families left still cooking on a stove with four detachable burners. I still have a phone with a cord on the wall. We don’t do TV, video games, etc. Obviously, we have internet, but even at that, it’s dial-up!

Is there something wrong with that? *Wink*

Maybe that’s why homeschooling brings me such joy. It’s the way things used to be, back when our country was a youngun’, before women went out for careers, before the government mandated preschool. (Okay so maybe it’s not mandated, but the age of compulsory school attendance is getting lower and lower.)

We’re getting our first full week under our belt and I’m increasingly thankful for the freedom I have in this country to choose how to educate my child. What a gift! It’s right up there with the best of God’s blessings. No material comforts we’ve sacrificed compares to what I’m getting back in terms of relationships with my girls.

Here’s a few things I’ve loved this first week back…

First Day’s Treasure Hunt

We ALWAYS do a treasure hunt to kick-off school. Here the girls are at 7 a.m. raring to go. This year’s hunt was complete with a total of 27 clues, split 3 ways for 3 girls. Each girl found treats along the “trail” of clues with their names attached…things ranging from mini-candy bars to alarm clocks and each girl’s hunt ended at the horse barn, in the tack room…at a big box of this year’s new school books. True treasure, we remind them every year, is what you keep stored in your heart and mind. And, yes, they do get excited to see what new books mom’s ordered for their learning enjoyment!

Here is my oldest trying to find the yellow clue taped in the top right-most roosting box.

We had clues in the garden beneath a cherry tomato plant, beneath the stone walkway to the garden, under a shovel in the sandbox, in the “dog barn” on a pet’s gate, on a post by the horse pen, in the play house, down the hill in the barrel of chick feed, in one of the sheds on the seat of the four-wheeler, and so on.

Memorable note about this year’s hunt–we did it in pouring rain! Yup, soggy clues, wind-misplaced clues. What an adventure under blackening skies! And hot chocolate all around once we arrived back in the house for breakfast!

Making Bubble Snakes

FUN! While waiting at an orthodontic appointment last week, my oldest and I both read the same Family Fun magazine at different times, and don’t you know, we both zeroed in on the same fun activity to try at home later.  I’d determined to gather the things necessary w/o telling any of the girls, and my oldest daughter pulled it off before I could. We cracked up once we realized we’d both intended on doing the same activity without any consultation whatsoever. And that’s another fun thing about homeschooling. My older girls are all about putting fun things together for their sibs to enjoy.

Here’s what you need for some Bubble Snake fun of your own!

• recycled plastic water bottle with the bottom half cut off
• a square of toweling
• a rubber band
• blowing bubble solution, dishsoap or best of all, bubble bath

To assemble, rubber band the piece of towel to the bottom of the plastic bottle. Get the towel damp-to-wet. Put a thin layer of dishsoap or bubble bath in the bottom of a small bowl and dip the toweled end of the plastic bottle in it. Blow through the drinking hole and you get these lovely snakes! Magical fun for an hour at the very least! And then again when Dad gets home to see!

More of a recess activity, but we counted it as Kindergarten science because we experimented with all of the above soaps to see which worked best! Mr. Bubble!

Such fun catching the floating bubble snakes…you should have seen our lawn afterward…bubble snakes galore!

Other Highlights

For the first time ever, thanks to a generous homeschool-mom friend loaning me her FIAR books Vol. 1-3, I’m using Five In A Row with my Kindergartner, a wonderful many-faceted approach to all school subjects via the premise of reading the same classic literature for “five days in a row”.  This week, we’re reading The Story About Ping. Each day, after reading, we tackle a unit study about some theme in the book, whether it be ducks (Ping is a duckling that gets lost in the Yangtze River in China), China, the beautiful crayon and colored pencil drawings of Kurt Wiese, etc.

Yesterday we were discussing the copyright page, and what makes a book a classic. The Story About Ping was written and published in 1933. A classic is a book read by many generations, so I tried to home in on that fact by asking my 5 year old if she knew who was born in 1934, the year after Ping was written. (her grandpa)

She leaned forward, eyes huge and completely serious. “God?”

Obviously I’ve failed to impart the eternal aspect of God to this girl.

But giggles aside, we have been having so much fun with Ping. Found all sorts of neat helps at homeschoolshare.com for a lapbook on the study, and youngest and I were having such a great time that her older sisters had to come to the table and get involved as well.

Last but not least, my oldest and I are enjoying such a cool friendship. Yesterday after school was done, after we’d helped out at the CSA farm for a couple hours, when we were back home and I had a messy house to deal with for company coming the next day…my younger two vamoosed outside to escape me putting them to work, but my oldest volunteered herself for duty. Her only request? Christian music. Loud.

So while we were cleaning the DJ comes on and tells about how Maria Chapman’s “House of Hope” opened in China recently, and how 700 orphans are living there now…and of course, anyone who knows about the tragic death of little Maria (Steven Curtis Chapman’s little adopted girl from China) would be moved to tears to hear the story behind why this orphanage is called “Maria’s House of Hope”. My daughter and I paused with our dustcloths and bawled happy tears together.

Moral of this happy ramble…

If you love having fun and spending time with your kids, if you want to be there when they learn to read-when they lovingly and patiently help their younger siblings learn to read, if you want to impart what’s most important to you (God, morals, character, family), there’s no easier way to do it than homeschooling.

I pray we have many more years of freedom to parent our children the way we choose in America.

And long live homeschooling!

This picture, gingerly taken by soil-dirty fingers belonging to yours truly, shows you the view from my garden facing North, toward our house.  Behind the red tiller is our puppy run, current home to three adorable Australian Shepherd puppies.  See our Suburban behind my potato patch? The potato patch I’m forever scaring our chickens out of. My hubby swears he is going to catch me on film and turn it into millions on “Funniest Home Videos”–I guess I’m rather a hilarious sight to behold, giving those hens a piece of my mind for enjoying the loose soft dirt around my taters. Poor taters–er, chickens.

Tonight, at 10 p.m., on my way back to the house after shutting our chickens up for the night…I just couldn’t resist a visit to my garden.

It’s one of those cool, rustly summer nights. If the wind in our state could ever be termed “peaceful”, it is tonight. Loving the sound of it in the treetops, I panned my flashlight through the garden fence, tiptoeing to the old wooden gate as if my light hadn’t already scared away those pesky rabbits who made away with my cauliflower and lettuce transplants a few weeks ago. But even the rabbit raids make for great memories, as my eldest and her daddy have taken to “rabbit hunting” with their rifles at dusk. They’ve eliminated a few rabbit pests from the property in past weeks. I’ve eliminated rabbits from my garden with good old cayenne pepper on the plants. *Smile* (Thanks for the tip, hubby’s mom!)

The garden is dry, in spite of the wonderful rain we received on Tuesday. I bend to pull some weeds in my lettuce bed and realize I’m unearthing radishes–oops. Best save weeding for daylight. Weeding wasn’t meant to be done by the glow of the moon anyway. About as unromantic as a gardener that mistakes radish tops for weeds. Ah-hem.

I’ve meant all spring to write a post about the fun we had making soil blocks at Farmer John’s, which we planted and stowed beneath grow lights in the basement. Perhaps I still will post about it, I’ve got some great pics to share, and soil blocking is a super fun and economical way to start seeds. The second picture on this page showcases my Romaine and Salad Bowl lettuce still in flats on planting day several weeks ago!

Here’s a picture of my wide row of yellow onions, the first thing in the garden–pic taken back in April. I’d love to keep a garden journal, from year to year, not only for the memories, but for the practicality of having a record. My memory is mush when it comes to details. Too many in my life already!

And last but not least, my garden is full of these homemade stone markers. Since we grew most of our plants with the help of grow lights, we needed garden stakes or markers to know what was growing where. Rather than buy blank stakes and keep track that way, my girls and I decided to paint stones. Here’s the one we did for “cherry tomatoes”.  For watermelon, we painted a triangle shaped rock pink with a green “rind” and dotted it with dark brown seeds…

This will be our first year gardening “organically”. I do hope the cutworms and squash bugs don’t dampen my resolve at first sighting! I keep asking Farmer John about organic pest control, and he keeps saying…vigilant patroling of plants and a lot of bug picking.

Joy.

Speaking of Joy. My mom would agree that our favorite gardening book of all time is The Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond. Farmer John thinks it’s a must have as well. If you even think you might want to learn about gardening, this is a book  you won’t be able to put down. It’s full of great pictures, how-to’s and tips from a pro on everything from starting seedlings, to tilling, creating raised soil beds, wide row techniques, composting and root cellar storage. I even take my copy to the garden with me, and have dirt smudges on the pages to prove it.

Who all is growing veggies this summer? Do you have a favorite book on the subject? Organic pest control tips? I’d love to hear them in comments!

“Farmgirl livin’ makes for a more cheerful person, no matter where you are. It’s hard to describe in words what that means–you just know; you just live it.”

Check out this adorable Barred Rock chick, one of 156 that arrived this past Thursday morning. Fear not, these chickies are for laying eggs, not for butchering! (and not for possums either!!!!!)

Farmgirl livin’ to me is…

• planting green beans barefoot in a gentle rain
• flats full of plants I started from seed under grow lights
• cute lil chicks with yellow diapered bottoms
• cute lil girls with garden hoses–watch out!
• fresh rhubarb crisp with a few dark sweet cherries thrown in
• grilling steaks over a pile of smoldering logs in the back yard
• puppies frolicking with chicks
• letting the goats do the mowing when I don’t want to
• cast iron skillet cooking–and fried chicken fresh off the broiler I raised myself
• collecting clean bee-you-ti-ful brown and green farm eggs and having an overabundance for angel food cakes, deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches
• running down the road to the neighbors to watch them capture a swarm of wild honeybees

Aren’t these “cackleberries” purty?

Check out our fully critter proofed barn stall. See all the “playpens” outfitted with heat lamps, feeders and waterers? There are six such “stations” in this one barn stall…each with 26 chicks. Four Aldi’s orange boxes, and two large green wooden crates. All in all, a cushy brooder house, completely wrapped in chicken wire so no bad guys can harm the tenants. This project kept dh and I busy till 1 am the night before–nothing like waiting till the last minute…

See the post office boxes atop the green crate? Can you believe those small boxes were home sweet home to 156 chicks? Kept them nice and warm, and we had no casualties! Yay!

Another fun thing to note, the circle of sleeping chicks who’ve found their preferred temperature range…just beyond the radiating heat lamp!

This is the other half of the barn stall full of chicks…the blue barrel is full of organic chicken feed…$100 worth! We’ll see how long it lasts…

Lovely day for mowing, but who needs to? Just turn the goats out…see my irises? They’re the only flower that goats and chickens leave alone…to my knowledge and experience! Behind that grain bin is a nice expanse of green grass, home to our two field pens. When they are full of chicks, I get to traipse down the hill twice a day to check their feed and water, croon at them a bit, and move their pen to fresh grass. Thus the term: Pastured Poultry.

I’m in love with this 10 inch cast iron skillet my mother in law gave us. It’s the best for frying chicken,  scrambling eggs, baking deep dish pies…

By the way, this chicken was my smallest of the broilers, weighing in at 4 lbs 14 oz. Not too shabby! We even had a couple that were close to 7 lbs! One chicken was just enough to feed our family of 5, with one piece leftover. In telling my mom this, she said that in her childhood, one chicken had to feed their family of 8, and  her mom always claimed that her favorite piece was the neck. What a woman.

Saving the best for last…rhubarb crisp! Watch for a post soon in which I explain my reformation from being a rhubarb snob into a rhubarb hog…this is GOOD stuff! We are a family of converts…

This is the life for me! “Have what you want and want what you have”…right?