Crying and Corn

Cool in 3D!

The Ohio clan and my precious Pinknesses left this morning for home.  We took them out for breakfast early so they could start out with a good meal, since ds1 does NOT stop for anything other than serious potty breaks and gas.  They have a cooler of food for on the go meals so they won't starve, but we still wanted a little more time with our girlies.

Ice cream silliness

I hate those first few hours after they leave.

Love my Girlies

 Pappo and I always cry when they leave. (they live sooo far away)  and then we have to clean up and put away all the toys and the memories come flooding back.  It's hard for an hour or two.

Being Cute

She just won't stand still!

But if we keep busy and once our house is put back to non-Pinkness, we start to get back to normal ourselves.
I stripped beds and washed bedding to hang on the line.  All the toys were stored back in the basement closet and the books in their container.  The highchair and car seats will be stored in the basement closet as soon as I reorganize the suitcases.

I had an hour or so of work at the office from yesterday, since I left early.  So I went in and finished that up.  A quick Wal-mart trip and home.

Blue-eyed Farmer was hauling bales from the 80, so he was doing his own thing.  I did more laundry and then started in on freezing corn.   Farmer bought 2 dozen ears during the week and we kept it on ice; trying to find an evening when we could have it for supper.  We ran out of evening meals.  And we didn't get it in their van to take home.

From This

To keep from wasting it, I washed, blanched, cut and bagged it.  From those 2 dozen ears, I got 6 quart bags.  They are freezing flat in the big freezer.  The fat calves got the cobs and my plants will get the blanching water after it cools completely.

to This.

(I tried Terri of Blue House Journal's idea of using cooking water on my plants.  I poured the cold water from the hard-cooked eggs on my 2 flower pots out front and they are going bananas.  I guess they liked the little bits of shell and ??  from the eggs.  Thanks Terri for the great idea!)

I used my new Amish tomato knife to cut the corn off the cob as it is super sharp and serrated.  Worked well.  It needed a longer handle to be truly comfortable but for the little bit I had to do, it worked fine.  I also stand my ears, tapered side down, on the middle part of an angel food cake pan, to cut off the kernels.  That way the kernels fall into the pan and not all over the counter/floor/etc.

After I cleaned up the mess (because "doing corn" always makes a mess, no matter how careful you are!); I sat for a few minutes to rest and then took the cobs out to the calves.  Fed the cats.  And slowly ran the hose on the cucumber, summer squash, my potted tomato and the basil & rosemary plants.
Farmer came home from spraying then.  While I waited on the watering, I snipped the tops of the basil that was wanting to go to seed.  I have the basil in the dehydrator now and hope to get many more harvests this summer.  Store-bought dried basil is NOTHING like my home-dried basil.

Brought the bedding in off the line and we are both now showered and fed and relaxing.  It's VERY quiet in our Farmhouse and I miss my girls.  At least I have my memories of all the fun we had and my photos.
And I have some harvests to make the day worthwhile also.

Have a blessed Sunday and tell me if you "do corn" or have started drying your herbs.

Hugs
Kay
** "The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap." ~Author Unknown

Starting the mostly daily postings and Potatoes

I try.... really I do.  But then these silly things call "Big Gurl Town Job" and "Farm Wife Life" get in the way and by the time I get some free minutes, it's late o'clock or I'm just plain tired of looking at a computer screen and thinking.  Reading others' blogs is fine, along with Facebook and Pinterest but that's about all I'm good for.

So I'm going to try doing what Kristen at Going Country does and that's just write a little bit most days about whatever she's doing or done or going to do that day.  It works so I'm going to try too.  Maybe I won't end up going AWOL for weeks/months/years on end again.

So, today... Thursday (which felt like a non-day because Yesterday was Thursday to me)... did the 8-5 routine and then a quickie to the local grocery for a few sale items and home-sweet-home.  My ebook is calling me but darn that old Catholic guilt.  I can't just sit and read when I know there's chores/stuff/work to be done.

I rounded up the daily laundry and started that.  Watched the weather because apparently I'm the one who is suppose to know what the weather will do later/tomorrow/this weekend at any given moment.

Then it was supper prep time.  Potato packets for the grill, check.  Pork chops brining, check.  Cut up the cantelope I got.  And threw it to the cows because it was totally tasteless.  I hate when that happens.
GRRR!  Waste of $$ and time.

Thought about sitting for a spell and then heard the tractor/windrower close by and thought perhaps the Farmer was coming home from behind the house, but no, he was just on the field closest to the house. that killed any idea of just sitting.  He would need the gates opened when he came home.

Headed out to see how the garden looked and realized the potatoes need to be dug NOW!  Especially the volunteers.  The weeds are taking over and last year we didn't get to the potatoes before Farmer mowed off the weeds and dried tops.  We had a terrible time finding the plants.  (Hense all the volunteers this year.)  So I got my trusty potato fork and started in, telling myself I'd only do the North half of the space.

Farmer came home and I watered the calves.  Then he brought down the sprayer to be filled with 180 gallons of water. I decided to keep digging since I had to watch the water while he finished cutting hay by the road.  And then the mosquitoes found me!!
(If I get malaria, I loved you all first....)

In the end, I dug all the volunteers I could find.  I have a good 10-15 pounds on the back porch, drying.  Ds2 can dig the potatoes he planted in rows and we'll have to pull the onions.  The hail we had last week really did a number on their stems/stalks/greens.

This is the craziest year for growing things.  Everything is EARLY, including the locusts singing.  Old Farmers tales say it's 90 days from the first locust to the first frost.  I heard them a week ago so mid-Sept should be a frost.

I'm in the house now. I'm showered and the potato packets are in the oven because I couldn't get the grill started (still too damp after last nights showers/rain.)  Farmer should be home soon, in fact I hear him now.

I hope this mostly-daily posting works out.  I've missed "talking" to you all.   Comment if you have a minute and let me know I'm not all alone here.

Hugs,
Kay

**How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?  ~Paul Sweeney

Changes are in the Air…

Oh Dears… the changes… they are a-comin’… I can’t divulge some of them right now but as someone special said to me the other day, (paraphrased) “Just when life starts getting calm and settled, it all goes kaflooey!”  Never get “settled.”  


Some changes I can talk about here… Our church’s Easter Drama is coming up soon.  For you local-yokels, it will be April 13, 15-17.  Here is the official announcement and information.


Stretching the theme a little but I have a "newly changed" light fixture in my kitchen.  The old one was put up by Farmer-dear's parents back in probably the 1970s.  It has worked beautifully everyday for over 30 years.  I have a new fixture and new "daylight" bulbs now.  Will it keep going for 30 years?  All I know for sure is it is SO bright and there will no more cooking in the shadows or by flash light.  


Changing times… it’s almost spring!  It has been a couple of beautiful 70° days and then WHAM!  The cold front came in this afternoon and it’s wildly windy and very chilly tonight.  Warmer temps again by the end of the week. Schwoo~


While south of the Big City yesterday, I heard the Peeper Frogs.  None are singing here yet, but I always figure we are about a week later than the City for Spring advancements. The forsythia are blooming there and the daffy-o-dills too.  I figure in 2 weeks we’ll be blooming and “singing” too.


Just to keep up with “the neighbors”,  Farmer-dear tilled my 2 garden areas this afternoon.  

From 2 years ago, but same tiller and same Farmer.

This is the bed south of the patio.  It will be for flowers and shade loving plants--Hostas! Columbine! Bleeding Hearts!  Lupine!


The only veggies that ever did very well here were lettuce, peas, spinach and chard since they grew before the trees leaf out.  I will probably plant my sugar snap peas and put up the fencing for them again but as soon as they are done in June, I can pull it down and plant some annuals.  The edge closest to the patio is sunny all summer.


 I just read about planting potatoes in bottom-less 5-gal buckets.  We have an abundance of bottom-less cattle lick barrels (half 50gal drum size).  Farmer suggested using those for the tomatoes too, since one is not supposed to plant tomatoes where potatoes were the previous year.  
I’m hopeful that by using these taller containers I will:  
A.  Get more potatoes from fewer seed potatoes. (you just keep mounding up the dirt as the plant grows, then in the late summer, remove the container and knock the dirt aside to find the potatoes… no more digging for them!  Ds2 will be happy.) 
And B. Whatever varmint that keeps eating my tomatoes as they start to ripen will be deterred with having them 2 feet off the ground.  My only concern will be caging the plants.  I will need taller cages if I plant the vining kind of tomatoes.


I am reading “Lasagna Gardening” by  right now. 

 I’ve done variations of this type of gardening for years.  Basically it involves layers of wet newspaper, compost or mulch and then planting.  I want to seriously implement this in the main garden and plant more peppers, zucchini (darn squash bugs anyway!), onions, maybe green beans.  I’d like more perennial plants around the garden.  More rhubarb and some berries.  I have a pyramid strawberry “bed” that has never been used.  I just need to find a spot for it.  It’s hard living on a hillside.  And I’d like to plant more asparagus or move the bed I have by the peonies.




Speaking of Lasagna Gardening, few years ago I surrounded our Big Rock...

Thank goodness for a couple of friendly trees.

 with wet newspapers and rubber border and filled it all in with river rock.  The Rock needed to be “grounded” and this worked very well to keep the weeds out for a while.  I wish I had made the newspaper layer thicker as now the weeds come through, since the paper has disintegrated.  My hope this year is to “zap” the weeds as soon as we see them and also to plant some Yucca plants in that hot, barren landscape.  The Rock looks a little lonely up there all alone. 

While in the City this weekend, I noticed the pop-up garden centers are open.  Pansies!!  And my favorite family-owned bedding plant market will be opening April 25!  Be still my heart!  I don’t anticipate any huge events this early summer to keep me too busy, so I hope to get everything weeded, mulched and settled in before the heat gets going and actually have a decent garden again.


And then there are those Standing Salad Tables (read about those HERE) I made 2 years ago.  They need to be painted (Badly!) but they are just waiting for some new potting soil and seeds.


I guess it’s good that nothing stays stagnant and boring.  Shake out the cobwebs and throw open the windows of our souls to all the good things Father God has for us with each change in our lives.  Everything He allows for His glory and our good.


Be watching tomorrow for another Change… a new menu for this week. 


Hugs!
Kay~

** “Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”  ~Pauline R. Kezer

Our "Brief 2-day Spring"

Good Morning Puffins.... technically it's morning as it was at 3:45 a.m. both yesterday and today.  Farmer-dear is working some over-time at the factory, so we all get up then... him, me and the cattle.  I don't mind quite as much in the summer as it is dawn about then, but in March, after daylight savings time has started (Way too early IMHO!), it's DARK!   But it is morning so we'll just get on with it...

Remember a few days ago when I mentioned the Blue-eyed One had the tractor and disk out for oats sowing?  I remember it well, for it was our 2-day Spring.  Here, let me show you how we spent it....

We had a thunderstorm complete with HAIL!  Those white blurs are more hail stones falling.   The hail ranged from quarter to pea-size .

This was a marble-sized hail stone outside the front porch.  If you look closely you can see a few pea-sized.

But shortly after that brief storm, the sun came out!  I hung jeans on the clothes line in the breeze and Farmer-dear did this...

Opening the drill boxes.

Reading the settings for oats.  (Notice the glorious sunshine on the hills.)

Pouring in the oats seed.  This was the last bag.  I helped by lifting the bags onto the walkboard. (I'm sure there is a technical term for that, but I don't know what it is.  I should ask Mr. Thinker.  )

Dumping out the last bits, as this was rather pricey seed!  And then off he went behind the hill until way after dark.  He was pleased he got finished and used all the seed.  

These "beauties" will have feed this winter.  We have a variety of colors in our lot now.  From pure white calves to these  funny brownish ones to dirt-colored ones.  Most of the Mommas are black, with a few brown and one white.  The Bull, Amos, is a white Charolais. 

Hello, Inquisitive.

And then it turned cooler (ok, cold) and Winter came barreling in for another round of rotten weather.  **sigh~**  To keep my spirits up, I went to the Thrift Store and found some bargains.

A gardening book, (the Farm Animal Ailment book is for Farmer-dear... I just don't want to know about any of that!), a Grace Livingston Hill book and an audio book for my sewing room.  Some serger thread.  I only got one spool to see if it will work for piecing quilts or if is too thick.  Some greeting cards.  And music cds.   

This morning (yes, I could see it in the dark) we awoke to snow on the ground, snow coming down and more in the forecast.   **bigger sigh~~**   On the bright side, we also had 2 new calves in the last 24 hours.  All is well with them and their mothers.  We are past the half-way mark on calving.  YAY!


I believe I'll be home today and while I should do some bookwork, I think it will more cozy to do my Bible Study, read more chapterz for our church's Bible Reading Challenge and then see how  many pinwheel blocks I can sew.  Also feeling like sewing some small giftie-type items like bags and tissue holders.  Both the laundry and dishes are caught up and it will only take a short amount of time to do the rest of the dailies.  


Final question... Chocolate Chip Cookies or Brownies?  


I hope Spring is firmly in place wherever you are (unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere, then I hope you are having a nice long, beautiful Autumn.)


Hugs!
K~
** "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."  ~Anthony J. D'Angelo

A few of my favorite things

The Girlies, age 5.

Pappo reading the nightly bedtime story

One of my favorite girlies

The "Kids"

My other favorite Girlie

Hugs
K~

Frugal Friday

Even more quickly here... it's wayyy past my bedtime.   We just got home from our Big Shop.  I love saving $$.

I'll tell you all about it later this weekend.

Just wanted to thank everyone who has commented so far and entered my Blog-iversary Give-away.  And if you haven't done this yet, you still have plenty of time.  Just comment on any of my posts, starting with This One and do so before 11:59 p.m., Nov. 8th.  I'll select a name at random and that person will win an Amazon Gift Card.  ( I promise!  I will have the denomination for you before the 8th!  Sheesh, how lame can a blogger be....)

Ok, I'm getting punchy and loopy.  Definitely time for bed for the Prairie Chick.  Tomorrow will start with taking calves to be doctored for pink eye and lumpy necks.

And if you would, pray for my Farmer, who is fighting off a cold.  Aches, pains, fever, oh my~~
Thank you.

Hugs
Kay
** "I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy in whatever situation I may be, for I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our disposition and not our circumstances." ~Martha Washington

Harvest of Friends

The Real American Occupation.... Farming

Sorry about that little hiatus.... all of a sudden life got B.u.s.y for me. 

Blue-eyed Farmer finished harvest last Friday, cutting those last 10 acres of beans off the 80.  On Thursday, we enjoyed several hours with our Pastor Aaron and the children.  Miss Melanie had to work at her big-girl job. :(

 Here are a few photos of our fun together:

The Two Blue-eyed Farmers, Big and Little, talking about corn.

Pastor Aaron getting last minute instructions before driving the 75.

Little Blue-eyes, resting, after all the hard work of riding in the combine.

Blue-eyed Farmer, Pastor Aaron and Princess ME, waving for the camera.

We are very blessed with the harvest God has given us.  The prices are up (unusual for harvest time) and the yields were more than "enough."  We had few breakdowns and even now have the combine monitor fixed for next year.  The combine has had a "bath" and is ready for it's long nap.  The trucks are stored away in the shed we rent at the neighbors and all the other implements are situated "just right" for the winter months.  

We are ready to finish up some Autumn projects and get snuggled in for the winter.

More soon.... until then... CALGONE... take me away~~~

Hugs
K~

** "If you want work well done, select a busy (wo)man - the other kind has no time."  ~Elbert Hubbard

And the Corn Rolls In....

Just a quick stop to tell you all we're still combining corn and Thank You Father God, it's going well!  We moved to the last field on Jim's farm and Monday will go to Our other Farm (The 80) for the week.  Then we'll be down to a small field by our Vegetarian/Disney-loving Neighbors and the field east of our place.  The end is getting closer!

And we're glad, since Doug at the elevator said they will be dumping corn on the ground starting mid-week.  That takes so much longer, especially since most farmers will be done cutting beans after the weekend.  

The weather has been perfect, so everyone is getting alot done.  And you know once it turns bad, it'll probably stay that way.

I've been helping Farmer-dear move to this field and rode along in the grain truck a few times this morning.  Made a quick lunch of grilled meatloaf and cheese sandwiches (they were just 'ok'), chips, carrots or cole slaw and a pop for him.

Ds2 came out and fixed the electric fence around the corn stalks that the deer went through.  Stupid deer.  And my wonderful son push mowed the ditches for me.  

While I have been in the fields this week, I took some short videos of the Blue-eyed Farmer combining and unloading.   I hope to get inside the combine with him next week and take some from that angle.   I'll get them looped together and fixed and post it ASAP.  (Right now my ISP is having major issues, so I'll have to work some later at night to get it uploaded when the traffic is not so heavy.)

Now I'm off to hang out another load of work clothes, start the dishwasher, and paint that wicker chair (FINALLY!) or pot up some herbs.

Have a great weekend!!
Hugs,

K~

Harvesting: Soybeans, Corn and Potatoes (Oh My!)

 Blue-eyed Farmer unloading corn into the '63.  

He is so glad we bought the grain cart last year.

We are harvesting as you know.... and Praise God!  The soybeans are off (except for 10 acres that have to finish drying down and can't be cut until the corn is down alongside them.)

The Blue-eyed Farmer is cutting corn now.  It's a much less stressful job.  The corn head does not need to be as close to the ground as the bean head and there is little worry of a rock going through the combine.  That is NOT a good thing to have happen.  Rocks and fast-moving parts just don't mix.

Unfortunately with harvest comes a few repairs.  Over 2 days earlier this week, Farmer-dear welded on 3 different combines.  No, we are not BIG farmers like that.  Our neighbors/relatives had some break-downs and called for help.  Which was a good thing, as our combine had a few "issues" also, that they helped diagnose and repair.

For 2 days he ran without a monitor inside the cab, to keep track of overloading and such.  It was combining "old school," listening for odd noises and watching for the outflow and the grain inflow.  He was blessed to find a local circuit board manufacturer who was willing to work on it.  We picked it up this morning, so I'm hoping it is all working as it should.

Then yesterday it was the feeder chain working itself looser than it should be.

As he said, "If it's not one thing, it's another..." 

While the last of the beans were being combined, Ds2 helped me start digging our potatoes.  We finished yesterday.  From 3 long rows and 2 short rows, we got these:

Photo dedicated to Kristen of Going Country and her love of potatoes.

I'll be boxing them up and storing them in the storm shelter where it's cool and dark.

Ds2 also pulled the onion crop.  A lot of them started to re-sprout, so I'll be chopping and freezing them in the next few days.  My farmer's wife-mentor told me that you should dig them in late July.  Now I know.

I also harvested The sweet potato.  As in ONE, small sweet potato.  They obviously did NOT like where I planted them this year, as opposed to last year.  Last year Farmer-dear brought me up a dump of pond soil, all gooey with manure.  "yum-yum"... for sweet potatoes anyway.

Next comes harvesting the last of the basil, potting up the thyme and rooting some rosemary and drying some Swiss Chard.

But first, I'm off to ride in the the combine and grain truck.  I hope to get some photos from the combine cab and maybe a video.  And then I'll get to those veggies.

Stay well and enjoy the Harvest, Puffins.  Just remember to give the right-of-way to the combines and grain trucks/trailers you meet. 

 The '75 Orange (left) and the '63 Red International Grain Trucks.  I ride along in the '63.

Hugs,

K~

** "It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn."  ~ B.C. Forbes

Green, Lavander, Yellow and Wheat, with a Dash of Red-head

My "projects" are done.  :oD   I'll take photos and share them soon.  

And speaking of color... I went a little more Red this time around when updating the ole "Do."  A certain Farmer says he can't see much difference.  Maybe he's color-blind?  I guess he was expecting a Red-headed Stranger in the kitchen last night?   Next time, Baby. 

Be watching the Recipe Blog for "Braised Short Ribs."  If they taste anything like they smell right now, I'll have the recipe up very soon!  

The combine rolls on and on through the beans.  God is blessing us greatly with low moisture on the beans and no break-downs, so far.  The Blue-eyed Farmer took the week off from the factory and it's been so nice to have him here in the morning to do devotions with and eat breakfast and lunch together.  I'll be at our church's Women's Retreat this weekend, so I hope the radiator for the '75 grain truck is ready Soon!  It'll make his life easier.  (He's running with just the '63 and the grain cart now.)

That's the news from the Prairie Farm today.  What's life like in your neck of the woods this week?  Drop me a comment.  

Hugs,
Kay~

** "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~~George Eliot

Lavender, Green and Harvest

I can't say anything more, but working on something Lavender and Green and Chocolate.  It's a surprise and I'll post photos next week.

And I worked on something Wheat and Brown today.  Fun!!

I love surprises!  

In the mean time, enjoy a photo or two from past years showing what the Blue-eyed Farmer is doing this week.  I love having him home in the morning to do our morning devotions together.  It doesn't happen often enough.

 (Note how dingy and ugly this truck cab is and stay tuned for a photo of the improved cab soon.)

Hugs!

Kay~

** "For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."  ~Edwin Way Teale

Menu Monday and Harvest is beginning

Happy Monday Puffins!

It's a Menu Monday here at the Prairie Farmhouse and with Harvest breathing down my neck (HEY!  that tickles!),  I need to plan and be ready for whatever!  That means suppers that can wait (and wait and wait and WAIT!) or be rewarmed and food for lunches, hot and field and cold; as the Blue-eyed Farmer is planning to take time off from his "other" job and just get the grain out of the fields.  I think all the trouble some areas had getting crops harvested and then trouble finding elevators that would take their grain, has him a little anxious.

So lets start with breakfasts as he might want some.... or actually I think he needs to eat it, when he's working so hard and such long hours.

And he's a toast or cereal kind of guy.  Cold cereal even.  blech~  He also likes oats.  I can't call it oatmeal as it's barely cooked.  He boils water, dumps in the oats, stirs it for about a minute and it's "done" and this is NOT instant oatmeal!  Maybe he's part horse??

So as long as I have milk and bread and some fresh cereal on hand, we're good to go in the mornings. (Oatmeal is a staple in my pantry.)

Lunches:  Leftovers if I heat them up for him and if he's going to be around the place.  If it's a hot field meal, it has to be "quick eating" because he doesn't like to stop too long.  Nothing that requires a knife to cut up and preferable nothing "sloppy."  So we'll go with pizza, hot sandwiches (burgers, brats, hot ham & cheese, chicken bacon toasted subs) and the occasional meat loaf cups and mashed potatoes (small glass baking dish holds them nicely for traveling).  I'll make up some cookies, bars and puddings for desserts, get more fruit and that should get us through.  If he's taking a cooler, he'll be fine with either our dried beef or some summer sausage sandwiches (buns work best), some chips (get the more whole grain kind) carrot & celery sticks and those desserts and fruit mentioned above.  I like to make lunches a bit more substantial than when's non-harvest as he doesn't like to stop for "break" in the afternoon when everything is working.  Occasionally he'll get a soda from the coop and I do have candy bars here I could surprise him with for a treat.

Suppers:  Now it gets tricky.  I never quite know when he'll be coming in.  I have to plan a main dish that can be done around 7:30 ("Dark" these days) and yet still hold until upwards of 10 p.m.  If it's going well and he's on level ground, or if we need to bring everything home and shed it, it gets later.

We don't like to eat too heavy and yet it's been a long time since he ate lunch or a snack.  So I plan smaller pre-portioned meals.  Those mini-meat loaves for example.  It tricks your mind into thinking you are eating a big portion and even if you take a second one, it's still not alot.  Just use your muffin tins to bake a recipe of meat loaf.

Other ideas are Sloppy Joes, Single portions of Cheesey Pasta Bake, Soup and grilled cheese, leftover homemade pizza (don't try to time the dough getting done and then baking it on harvest evenings... it only creates anxiety for the cook!), frozen processed foods.  I know.. I know...  But when Popcorn Chicken or Pizza Rolls will cook in 15-20 mins, that is long enough for him to shower and read the mail and it doesn't get too late.  Other ideas are our usual Breakfast for Supper -- pancakes or eggs/bacon/toast or Frittata or Hashbrown Casserole; Tator Tot Casserole if it's going to be an earlier night (it's kinda rich for late night suppers); baked ham or sausage rings and scalloped potatoes (this can be a hot lunch if the ham is cubed up, but  NOT mixed in with the potatoes.... we don't like that at all!)

All of the supper meals will get some kind of veggie or salad addition.  Again, depends on how late it is and how heavy we want to eat.  Probably no desserts and little breads at that time of night.

I realize this is not my typical Menu listing, but I have to be flexible this time of year.  I can tell you that tonight will be some kind of pasta dish as I have ground beef, romaine lettuce for salads and garlic bread that all need to be used up, now!  Tomorrow's forecast is for rain, so I hope to get some baking done and cooking up some ground beef and chicken and it all frozen & ready. 

Speaking of chicken... just one more little tip I discovered this past week.  I picked up  my annual organic chicken order of 6 birds.  I know... that's not many but the Farmer still is not a fowl-eating fan.  And I still have 2 birds in the freezer from last year.  (Eek!  Gotta get those cooked up, pronto!) As I was saying, I had 6 fresh chickens to deal with.  One was left whole for roasting for maybe Christmas Day (with a ham).  The other 5 I cut up.  The drumsticks and wings all went together into a couple of bags for cooked chicken.  I'll do that sometime when I have a day to mess with it.  The "odds and ends" like backs, necks, etc. went into the "Stock" bag and again, I'll make stock on a cold raining day when I have time to monitor it.  The thighs and breasts are what we like best for eating as "fried chicken."  But I hate thawing out even one-chicken's worth of those pieces all stuck together.  Sometimes I want chicken and Mr. Farmer does not.  So this  year I decided after I de-boned the breasts and halved each one and removed the tenders; I would flash-freeze the pieces and then bag them up.  It worked GREAT!  I maybe, should have put parchment paper down on the baking sheets, but it didn't take too long to warm up the bottoms enough to unstick the pieces.  All the tenders went into one bag for possible Chicken Strips.  I bagged up the thighes and breast pieces seperately for if I just want dark meat or want to use the white.  I think this will be a better way for me to actually make chicken for us, no waiting for a chuck to thaw.  (Why does waiting for a "chunk" of beef or pork not bother me??)

So Puffins, do you cut up your own whole chickens?  Do you buy organic ones?  What are your go-to meals when life is C~r~a~z~y?  Comment below, cuz I can always use new ideas.  And stay tuned.  Plum Kuchen recipes soon.

Hugs!
Kay~

** "Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

30 years ago today

Sweetie, I'd do all again in a heartbeat. 

I love you and can't wait to see what the next 30 years brings us.

Hugs,
K~

"Wasn't marriage, like life, unstimulating and unprofitable and somewhat empty when too well ordered and protected and guarded.  
Wasn't it finer, more splendid, more nourishing, when it was, like life itself, 
a mixture of the sordid and the magnificent; 
of mud and stars; 
of earth and flowers; 
of love and hate and laughter and tears and ugliness and beauty and hurt."  
~Edna Ferber, Show Boat, 1926

And just when it was looking so good....

BAM!! Spring-time planting moods, tiredness, aching backs all take over and it's blue, black, grey, nasty, horrible, painful, and just down-right unpleasant here at the Prairie Farm.

Of course I know nothing like that happens in your happy domicile, right? (just let me keep believing that little dream.)

So.... what's a poor Farmer's Wife to do?

Throw in the towel and sell the Farmer along with his stupid cattle?
Head for the hills and not leave a forwarding address?
Turn into a combination of Roseanne Barr and Jezebel?

Or.... How about....

SING at the top of her lungs in the pickup (after one too many "words")

"I have PEACE like a river; I have PEACE like a river; I have PEACE like a river; in my soul.... I have JOY like a fountain, I have JOY like a fountain, I have JOY like a fountain in my soul....."


And.... Pray.

"Please God.... increase my patience. Increase my strength.
And PLEASE hold your hand over my mouth, again!"

Sometimes He does and sometimes I pry His fingers away, spout off and have to pray all over again.

It's a good thing He loves me.

And it's a good thing, this one does, too.


Thank you Father God, for your patience, your peace, and his forgiveness.



Hugs,
K~ (the mouthy, but trying to be humble, Farmer's Wife)

** A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. ~Ruth Bell Graham

The corn is planted and Amos checks in

Yes, the corn is planted for 2010 and Amos' "little swimmers" are alive and active for the 2011 crop of new calves.

The potatoes (all but 4) are up and growing, as are the onions, sugar snap peas (time for a fence!), and both colors of chard. The spinach and lettuce were slow, but with the last rains and warmth the lettuce looks like lettuce now.

I dug, divided and replanted an old rhubarb plant in hopes I can make lots of desserts and some Strawberry-Rhubarb jam in the future.

The berm is mulched and the new purple coneflowers seem to have settled in, as has the Easter Lily.

This week I hope to dig up and return the 2 hydrangeas I bought last year from the local nursery. They winter-killed and I'm going to get either a butterfly bush or some other smallish hardy bush for those 2 areas.
Also on the list is to clean off the patio. How embarrassing, we had a party for the Blue-eyed Farmer's 50th birthday 2 Saturdays ago and they all gathered on my messy, leaf-molded, muddy patio. **blushing** At least the guests were all farm folk who understand dust, leaf mold, mud, cat tracks, etc....
While I'm working on the east side of the house, I'll straw the potatoes, put up the pea fence, and hopefully plant the first of the cilantro and basil. I need to take cuttings from the rosemary and repot or fertilize the sage. Oh and the volunteer dill is up!! (lots of it!!) So is the volunteer lettuce and I'm assuming the spaghetti squash (right smack-dap in the middle of the onions. sigh~~). But hey! Free plants are free plants.
And my final goal for this week, is to weed the day lily bed east of the porch. It will need mulch too but there is too large an area to haul it there myself. I figure if I can get the flower beds weeded, then when I get my ONE day (annually) of Farmer help, the mulching will go quickly and I might get all the beds done this year!

That is life on the Prairie Farm for now.

In consideration of your sensibilities, I left out some cattle angst & rebellion; the round-the-world cruise we are financing for someone at the local John Deere shop after 3 pieces have/are being worked on and my on-going and now increased displeasure of push mowing that Danged Ditch!

You're welcome.

Hugs!
K~

** "The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing." ~Lord Chesterfield

Flea markets & Daffodils

It was a whirlwind day of cattle moving, front-end loader lessons, the city flea market & antique show and groceries.

Remaining twin and mama are in the lot with the rest of the bouncing, tearing around babies. On bovine maternity watch over the red heifer, "Horny" and #23. I never thought I'd ever be so interested in the business end of a cow or her udder.

Blue-eyed Farmer sorted Amos the bull and a calm cow out of the herd and they are enjoying a vacation together in the South pen. It has been a hard start to the calving season with all the cold temps and snow, so we're going to adjust the breeding to be a little later next year.

The Blue-eyed one had a brain storm and decided to make life a little easier for himself and brought a bale ring to put inside their pen.
Imagine a log chain attached to the front end loader, the other end attached to this large round ring. The loader is lifted up high and the bale ring is swinging like a pendulum.
Imagine one nervous Farmer's Wife in the tractor seat having to learn how to raise and lower the bucket as the Farmer maneuvers it over the fence.
Do not imagine the following 15 mins of tears, yelling, hysterics and some boiling-over PMS hormones.
Let's just remember that anything said in the heat of the moment while working with cattle does not count and should not be taken seriously. 'Nuff said.

We then cleaned up and my still beloved Blue-eyed Farmer took me to the Flea-Market and Antique show in the city. It is soo not his thing... so you know I'm still his beloved too.

The first room was a bust and I was afraid it was going to be more flea market with the die cast models and flags and tee-shirts, etc. But the main room was full of good booths.
Some vendors were not looking to bargain much on this first day of the show. Maybe those are the going prices on "E" site or in the Antique Mall but this is a flea market show. Cut us a break here!
And then there were a few who wanted to sell and priced accordingly.
A few prizes that I let get away....
•Old silverware stamped with herb names for plant markers. Loved them but 3/$10 was a bit much for my first booth stop.

• Old early plastic doll house furniture, just like we played with when me & my sisters were growing up. (Mom! Are there any of those older pieces left from the doll houses??? )
I left these today because they were about $20 per room set. But oh I loved the cute white and blue kitchen, the nursery with baby in the buggy, the grand piano, the parlor couch....sigh~~~~

• A oh-so-sweet little guy's western outfit from the 40s-50s. Shirt, jacket, neck kerchief, guns, boots and red felt hat. There was a Gene Autry book at another booth and I'll bet there was a Hop-A-Long Cassidy or Roy Rogers movie in one of those booths too. I wanted it so badly.

• And at my favorite vendor's booth, the cutest little vintage electric fan, for $10. I may dream of this one....

While I left all those prizes for someone else, I did come home with these:

Here is the entire group.

Aren't the illustrations so vintagey (new word) and sweet.

I know!! **hearing squeals** The bottom is the sugar holder and the rollers are the salt & pepper shakers. It will be a partner to my red & white stove.

Did you know I collect red & white crocheted potholders. I have 12 now and a few more others in greens and pinks.

And this vintage Christmas tablecloth! $6!! I couldn't snatch it up fast enough!

My poor Farmer... he followed along, endured my squeals of delight, held my shopping bag and handed me $$. I definitely will keep him (despite what was said during the loader/bale ring escapade. Poor thing.)

After we saw all there was to see there, it was off for some lunch and a Sam's Club visit (toilet paper, jeans for Farmer and reading glasses for him.... LOL... that just is all so wrong, listed together for him.)
And then the grocery store for bag salad, baby carrots, avocados, mushrooms, corn meal, chili beans, pecan halves, chocolate nut mix (purely for medicinal purposes...lol) and....

These!




Because I could not take another day without some promise of Spring.

Hugs!
Kay~

** "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn". ~Hal Borland

Update on the quiche and new calves

In January we experienced some Sundogs, which predict colder weather. We got that too.
Sundogs are mini-rainbow effects on either side of the setting or rising sun
and are created by sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in the atmosphere.

I wrote a few days ago, " Found a recipe for Quiche HERE and it sounds soooo good. Zoomie's posts almost always make me hungry! lol I need something quick for breakfasts as I've been doing with a protein bar and a piece of cheese lately. So since Blue-eyed One will enjoy his French toast, I think I'll see what I can find to make individual quiches in muffin tins. I know I have some asparagus in the fridge, some garlic cheese curds and bacon. I don't need crust, unless I'd line the cups with some olive oil brushed tortillas? I'll let you know..."

I took Zoomie's basic recipe but since I was making a 2 small pyrex dishes instead of a 9" pie plate, I decreased her amounts by 1/3 (4 eggs instead of 6, etc...). Also, I didn't make or use anything for a crust. It was fine without it.

Her recipe called for Parmesan and Swiss or Gruyére cheese. I had the Parmesan and some locally-made garlic cheese curds. Those I crumbled using my Handi-chopper.

Instead of her half-n-half, I used 1% milk and instead of kefir, I used regular sour cream.

For the filling ingredients, she used onion, mushrooms, Swiss chard, salami. I used onion, some rehydrated mushroom, some jarred roasted red peppers, a few chopped "good" ripe olives and mini pepperoni. I had some asparagus, but I just roasted those and ate it alongside.
I also added some of my homegrown dried basil and a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes.

I sauted the onions, added the mushrooms and their soaking liquid and let it all reduce down to very syrupy. I sprayed the 2 pyrex (about 1.5 c capacity). Put the cheeses in the bottom, added the filling ingredients. Mixed the eggs, milk and sour cream together with the basil & poured it over the filling.

I baked these on a small rimmed baking sheet at 350° for 30 mins, until they tested done with a butter knife.

One of the quiches along with the asparagus and some rye toast and OJ made a wonderful dinner. I had the second one for breakfast today. It was good but a bit high-flavored for me for breakfast. It would be great for brunch as I'm a boring breakfast person. I don't really like early breakfast, but prefer it about 10 a.m.

Anyway... go on over to Zoomie's blog and try her recipe. A+


And now updating the calf count here on the Prairie Farm....

In the past 2 days we've had 5 new calves. 3 singles and another set of twins born again this afternoon. Why do twins come when the weather is frigid?? The singles are all doing super fine, but one of the twins is not doing so well. A bit limp and weak. We got some colostrum from the nearby dairy and irrigated her. She raised her head after that. We think Mama may have lost count of who she all had or this one got away from her being tipsy after birth and she thought the other one was this one.... who knows....

It was a crazy afternoon. Helping the Blue-eyed Farmer as he tried to figure out the bad wiring on the cattle trailer and ending up taking that into our auto repair shop in town. I had to go get him since he left the pickup there so they could change out the connection plug.

Home to find the twin calf emergency and dealing with getting them up to the barn, feeding, getting hay for everyone else and regular chores.

By the time we got in the house, it was 7:30 and I was chilled to the bone. Supper tonight was whatever we could find in the fridge. It ended up being leftover bacon, toast, salad and chips.

Tomorrow if the trailer is fixed, we'll be taking 3 older cows to the sale barn. And checking on the new family every 3-4 hours. Probably more feedings. B-E F is taking tomorrow off from the factory to take care of all these extra responsibilities since I'll be going to work.

I'll be thrilled if the sun shines and the temperature is suppose to warm up starting tomorrow! And there is that Flea Market to look forward to this weekend!

And now I'm heading for the shower and my warm bed. Night All!

Hugs!
Kay~

** I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.