Summer Fun - Pictures

I just wanted to share a few pictures of the fun we are having outside these days!

The girls would swim and do the sprinkler all day if I let them!



Here are the girls feeding "Brownie" our orphaned calf. She is really sweet and pretty much thinks we are her parents and the girls her siblings.



Two generation of farmer working on building a "chicken tractor". This will be the portable cage we keep our meat chickens in so that they can eat grass & bugs and enjoy the great outdoors for their short time on this earth. Notice the third generation happily watching from the swingset.

Chicken Day!

Today was the day we have been waiting for! CHICKEN DAY! I got a call from the post lady in the picture at 6:30 am. She said we could pick them up and ring the side door if we were before 8:30. Yes, they really do just come in the mail. We ordered them through a reputable hatchery in Ohio. Before picking them up we went out and filled the food trays and water dish's and were off to town with banana's in hand. Kalena was still in her jammy top.

When we got the chicks home we gently lifted them one at a time and dipped their beaks in the water so that they would know where to drink. Our friend told us to do this, not sure if it's an old farm wives tale or not, but it seemed logical. They immediately started running around and checking out their brooder. They jumped into their food and ate their litter. I gave them a hydrating gel that was supposed to rehydrate the tired little day old travelers.

In all we have 57 chicks: 31 meat birds and 26 hens. The hens are three different breeds: Golden Buff, Plymouth Barred Rock, and Rhode Island Reds. These are all known for their large brown eggs and are excellent layers. We look forward to getting eggs from them in September. Now we need to get to work getting the chicken coop cleaned up.

After they graduate from the brooder they will range around the farmstead by day and hang out in the coop where it's safe from rotten raccoons by night. Say tuned for more adventures in chicken land!

A Cows life

So far this Spring we have had 9 calves.

You may be wondering what a Cows life is like on our farm. If not I'm going to briefly fill you in anyway. The cows "come home" in late fall in order to take shelter in the barns and eat fresh hay. They then calve in the spring once the grass starts to turn green. We typically start calving around tax day. When the calves are two or three days old and we are confident that they are healthy we send the cow with her calf down to the pasture where they stay until late fall. Out on the pasture the cows and calves have as much grass as they can eat.

Here are a couple pictures of our little Herefords heading down to pasture last spring. I have yet to get some good shots this spring. Mainly because it's always raining!

We should have about 30 kittens here in the next month. Let me know if you know anyone that wants to give a sweet barn cat a home!

Grilling Season Is Here!

We grilled out for the first time last night! Yeah! We moved an old concrete slab and pieced together some huge old foundation stones to create grilling central right outside our back door. I still need to fill in between the stones with some limestone findings. We are finally getting our yard in order a bit and look a little less like the Beverly Hillbillies, although, we still have a ways to go:) I simply made Riemer Beef burgers and veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions). Quick tip for burgers: add one egg/lb of beef so that the burger stays together nicely on the grill. This makes them easier to shape and flip and does not alter the taste as far as I can tell.

Sisters...awwww. I guess my girls are not the only sisters that like to cuddle. These lovely ladies (the yellow one might actually be a boy...to fuzzy to really figure it out) like to hang out on the porch and watch life go by. Dorthy Ann in the middle is the favorite but they are all very sweet. They did not seem as excited about the yummy grilling smells as I was though!

Corned Beef Brisket in the Pressure Cooker!

Our St. Patrick's day dinner is Corned Beef and Cabbage. I make it the quick way though in the pressure cooker. If you don't have time to slow cook, or if you want to make use of one of the handiest items in the kitchen use the pressure cooker!

So throw your corned beef brisket in the pressure cooker and enjoy some March Madness this St. Patrick's day! Brisket is the cut corned beef is made from. It is from the chest and upper front legs of the beef which can be quite tough, so it needs to either be cooked slowly or cooked in a pressure cooker to make it tender.

1. Place a 3-4lb brisket in the pressure cooker. Our processor preseasons the corned beef. If it is not seasoned it should have a spice packet included. Put enough water in the pressure cookers pot to just cover the beef and bring to a boil.

2. Place the lid with the rocker on the cooker and set so that there is a slow steady rocking motion on the rocker for 1 hour. Watch it for a while to make sure it does not blow out steam...these new pressure cookers can be testy! I wish I still had grandmas old style one (ugh...I sound old).

3. Take off of heat and let stand 5 minutes in order to release pressure. Cut and eat.

4. I roast potatoes, cabbage and carrots separately so they are all done at the same time. Grab a Guinness and a slice of Irish Soda Bread and you are good to go!

"The first corned beef was packed in salt, and sometimes spices, in order to cure it. It got its name from the corn kernel-sized grains of salt it was packed in."

Today, corned beef is usually made by soaking a brisket roast in a brine of water, salt, and spices. While it's not traditional in Ireland, corned beef is what most Americans prepare for St. Patrick's Day." taken from www.allrecipes.com

Note: This is a post taken from last March, but I thought it was worthy of reposting.

DIY Lifestyle

I (Jen) have always been the type to like to do things on my own before asking for help. My mother likes to remind me of my favorite phrase as a toddler "I do it mine own self!" This attitude persists in me now as well, which is why I feel well suited for the homesteading life. Sure I have been making my own bread (sorry no link, I use a recipe from "the bakers dozen cookbook", granola bars and using a french press coffee maker for years, but moving to the farm has opened up all new DIY opportunities. We even take part in DIY schooling now!

Living in the suburbs really is more "convenient" than living 8 miles from the closest grocery store (and that is really by no means a one stop shop). Living in the country forces you to get creative! Even when we do get to town for groceries and errands the selection of natural and organic products is very limited and very expensive. This has motivated me to explore things like making my own yogurt. It's actually quite easy! The step by step does not give you step one: getting over the fact that you are actively cultivating live bacteria for the expressed purpose of feeding it to your children. Sounds scary, yes, but that's what yogurt is! My kids love it and I can make organic yogurt in any flavor I want for 1/2 the price of Stonyfield yogurt (which is fantastic). I keep it warm in the huge slow cooker that Bryce got for Christmas. It keeps the yogurt at exactly 100 degrees on the warm setting. If you give it a try I would love to know how it works out for you!

We are also currently attempting to grow sprouts in our windowsill and catch flies that are literally coming out of the woodwork via home made methods. Next on the agenda build bat houses (to naturally control mosquitoes) and movable chicken tractors to grass feed the chickens we have yet to purchase. I'll keep you updated on how that goes!

Dude...Where's my Turkey?

"Bryce, could you stop by our favorite chicken farm and pick up a few chickens and maybe turkey?" asked Jen. "Sure, no problem" answered Bryce.

hours later…

Jen asks, "Where is the turkey? I thought you said you got a turkey." "What do you mean?" answers Bryce. "How did you misplace a 17lb. heritage breed (read-not cheap) frozen turkey?" replied Jen. "Do you remember if you put it in the car?" Bryce replies “ummm...I don't know. I might have left it at the farm, or maybe it's in the car. Too bad the car is in town at the shop". "Well," answered Jen "it's unusually warm for February, but I guess it takes turkeys a really long time to thaw, right? I'll email the farmer and see if you left the turkey there."

The next day, Cindi confirmed that the turkey was left on the counter of their farm store. At least there is not a thawing, raw turkey in the back of my car!

Later that day Bryce returned to the chicken farm to pick up the forgotten turkey from the farmer’s spouse who had no idea what Bryce was talking about. Fortunately, he took his word for it and handed over the turkey. With Tom the turkey securely fastened, he made his way back to the homestead only to find raccoons engaging in some sort of Olympic events on the roof of our house. There is always something to keep life interesting here in the country.