Life At Cobble Hill Farm

Weekend

2012-01-30T19:26:00.001-05:00

Computer troubles again. Our computer is ill. Not good. Just when I'm finally starting to recover from a cold-turned-sinus infection the computer decides it's on hiatus. It will absolutely not connect to the internet. Strange.

It's been a rough week and weekend, but I'm finally back on my feet again. I sure am wishing I'd started my once-a-month-cooking in January. Why in the world did I decide on February?? It would have been so nice to have meals, bread, desserts, etc. in the freezer just ready and waiting to be popped in the oven when my head's full of junk and I just want to sleep.

After reading a few articles on prepping meals ahead of time I decided that although I won't be prepping the entire month, I can certainly try a couple of dishes a week made ahead and frozen. I've got my recipes all picked out. Along with that, I'm going to go back to grocery shopping once a month. I liked it when I tried this before, but found if you don't have a month of menus prepared, you end up back at the grocery store before the month's over.

My magic circle vision board is still a plain white canvas. Not one ounce of creativity has entered my mind this week. I did get a little reading done, so that was nice.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Tuesday's "Three"

2012-01-24T21:21:00.002-05:00

3 Things I plan to make this week:

a magic circle vision board - if you've read "The Dirty Life" by Kristen Kimball, then you're familiar with her husband Mark's magic circle. Regardless of whether or not you welcome the belief of a magic circle, we all have dreams and aspirations and that's the focus of my vision board. Inspiration struck after reading a magic circle post by blogging buddy Jillian at Into The Domesticated.
handmade thank you cards
next weeks' quote art

3 Things I know for sure:

when people show you who they are, believe them the first time (thanks to Oprah for this one)
learn to listen to and trust your instincts
take nothing for granted

3 Things I'm grateful for this week:

my ability to laugh - at myself, at situations, at life
homemade chicken soup - perfect remedy for feeling icky this week
cuddling with Oliver, Emerson and Jackson

Recipe - One Pot Meal: Southwest Chicken and Rice

2012-01-24T18:14:00.004-05:00

We're back up and online! Whoo hoo!!

I just posted the recipe for this One Pot Meal Dish on my food blog {here} if you're interested.

Weekend

2012-01-23T19:37:00.000-05:00

We are still waiting for internet.
We have found out it's not a cable issue, but rather a computer issue.
The whole thing stinks.
Thank goodness for friends who understand computer withdrawal and are willing to lend me their computer.
It's been really odd, to say the least, not being able to check in with my favorite blogs.

Jay and I were sick all weekend.
It's not fun to both be sick at the same time.
At least if only one of you is under the weather, it's the others responsibility to take care of the animals, meals, laundry, etc.
When it's both of us apparently I'm the default care-taker.

It snowed on Saturday.
Oliver and Emerson are loving it.
Speaking of those two characters, can you believe they turned 2 years old on Friday?
I told them this means they have to stay out of trouble.
There's higher expectation of you when you're a "big boy".
They didn't seem to care.

A huge "welcome" goes out to all the new followers as well as our visitors from Pinterest.
Thank you so much for all your kind words, particularly regarding my chicken articles and random acts of kindness advent article.
It means a lot.
I'm working on a more in-depth chicken "how to" section for 2012.

I photographed the photo above in the Saratoga State Park last week.
I took time out from a walk to take photos.
I just love that place. So quiet and beautiful.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Waiting and Waiting.......

2012-01-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

We are "patiently" waiting and waiting for our cable company to figure out why we haven't had internet connection all week. I can't wait to be back up and running!! Wishing you all a great week!!

Weekend

2012-01-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

Oliver slept in until 6:50 a.m. this morning.....a new record! Lucky for me by the time he got up and we went outside the temp.'s had risen to a "balmy" - 4 degrees {Fahrenheit}. Yes, that is a negative in front of the number. It was cold. Oliver did his business immediately, and there we waited for Emerson who had to get the proper intake of snow before he could complete his morning duty. The moment Emerson was finally successful Oliver took off at a top speed for the back door. I can't blame him. If I had been more awake I would have joined in.

Needless to say the girls have been in their coop all weekend. They're trying to keep their spirits up. When we coop them we try to give them things that keep them busy - a head of cabbage, frozen lettuce or cabbage, greens in a suet feeder, etc. This keeps their minds busy so they are less likely to pick on each other. Our high today was 14 degrees. Too cold for chickens.

I didn't get all of my "Tuesday's Three's" completed. The boys did not have a bath. Lucky for them.....unlucky for the rest of us. I felt too guilty yesterday and today to get them wet with it being so cold, so I have high hopes for tomorrow.

We found another interesting show on tv this weekend. The discovery channel has a new reality show called "Alaska: The Last Frontier". Have you seen this? It follows the Kilcher family, 2nd and 3rd generation homesteaders in a remote part of Alaska. The show follows them preparing for winter. I'm assuming it will also detail how they spend their winter. They do show graphic scenes (slaughtering cows for example) so if you are offended or squeamish, you may want to look at the week's description prior to watching.

I must admit, the lifestyle and cooking shows are much healthier for me to watch than the hoarding shows. Have you seen these? Once I've watched about 15 minutes I want to get rid of everything in my own home. All that stuff just makes my skin crawl and makes me crazy. It's bad enough that my husband's junk has taken over a corner of the kitchen. We don't have a junk drawer, instead, he has a junk corner. It started out small. I found a basket for him to contain it all in {so I didn't have to see it}. Within a month his stash had piled out of the basket and onto the counter surrounding. I try to move his things back in the basket with absolute failure. He gets upset and moves it back out again. I will add this to the 2012 goal of going thru and getting rid of things we don't use. He'll be thrilled.

I'm currently taking a break from cooking and cleaning. Dinner and dishes are complete and cinnamon swirl bread {recipe here} is baking in the oven - smells so good! Hope you all had a good weekend!

Tuesday's "Three"

2012-01-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

3 things I hope to accomplish this week.......

clean my craft room
start a craft project {in the clean room}
read more of "Diet For a Hot Planet" by Anna Lappe

3 smells I'll be enjoying this week......

blueberry scones for breakfast {freshly baked each morning}
clean dogs {hopefully tonight}
crockpot shredded BBQ pork sandwiches.....super easy AND yummy

3 sounds I'll hear this week......

chickens elated about their warm rice and yogurt breakfast
the snow blower {on Friday}
the clicking sound of dogs nails on the hardwood stairs as they come to tell my I've slept in too late Saturday morning {Oliver gets antsy at 5:30 but usually manages to wait until 6a.m.}

Easier Chicken Cordon Bleu

2012-01-09T22:20:00.001-05:00

In the past I always avoided making this recipe because typically it was too time consuming. This recipe if fairly fast and easy and most importantly, it's yummy! You can prepare the chicken breast ahead of time, up to the point of stuffing them. They can be refrigerated up to 24 hours. If you do this it's only 1/2 hour to finish at dinner time..........

To see this recipe, visit my cooking blog {here}.

Weekend

2012-01-08T21:54:00.002-05:00

My entry floor is finished.
FINALLY!! Whoo hoo!
The husband was able to finish the grout and trim today.
I can't tell you how happy it makes me.
3 more projects and he'll be ready to work on the next room.
I'll post photos when he's finished.

Our weather is back to fairly mild again.
We are so used to single digits and snow, we're not sure what to do with the 40 degrees we've been spoiled with.
The chickens are thrilled. They were unable to go outside 2 days last week because it didn't get above 20 degrees, so when it's in the 40's they are celebrating.
We're thrilled too because molting is over and egg production is up.

Although I don't find much to watch on t.v., I stumbled across "No Impact Man".
Have you read the book?
I wasn't as thrilled as I wanted to be with the book, but the 1 hour televised documentary was very interesting.
It featured basically the same information as the book, but I guess I liked the delivery.

If you haven't read the book or seen the documentary, it's about Colin Beavan along with his wife Michelle, daughter Isabella and dog Frankie, challenging themselves to make as little impact as possible on the environment for 1 year. Their challenge included shopping for necessities only, going vegetarian, purchasing food items the are grown within a 250 mile radius of them (they live in NYC), cutting their garbage down considerably, living without electricity, and cutting out car/bus/train travel.

I respect them greatly for going to such extremes and then, at the end of the experiment, making many changes permanently in their lives. At the very least, it made me (and hopefully others) think seriously about my own consumption patterns and the disposable-type of life we lead. I also have been pondering something Michelle had said. She was coming up on her 40th birthday and said something to the effect of she was trying to figure out who she wanted to be and what experiences she'd like to have for the last half of her life. It's so easy to lose track of the fact that who we are and what we experience is, for the most part, completely in our control.

What do you think?
Hope you had a great weekend!

Quotable Tuesday

2012-01-03T18:20:00.000-05:00

Weekend and Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T21:34:00.003-05:00

There's a strange emptiness in the house with the Christmas trees gone.
Funny how you get so used to the fullness they provide.
I'm also trying to re-train myself on where the coat rack is {back in it's original spot}.
.....this could take a week or two.

Happy New Year to you all, and I want to say welcome and a heartfelt "thank you" to all of the followers who have found us recently.
We are so grateful.

Have you set any New Year's resolutions?
I've helped the Cobble Hill Farm animals set theirs:
Oliver - less barking.
Emerson - less snoring.
Jackson - less terrorizing of the sister, less hanging from the curtains and climbing up the tallest part of the chair just to show off your claws, less stealing money and less relocating my shoes around the house.
Cait - less fits when you don't get your way {p.s. the biting does in fact hurt}.
The Chickens - more eggs please.

The egg production is picking up, however, and it's a big however......we should be getting more than we are receiving.
16 girls who lay {in theory} once every 26-28 hours = 16 eggs every other day.
Hmmm.....I'm getting 9 - 12 eggs every other day.
I know that we're short 1 blue and the rest browns but I haven't yet figured out who we're missing them from.

I hope your Holidays were safe and happy and I wish you all happiness and good health in 2012!!

Weekend

2011-12-26T20:44:00.003-05:00

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I tried to teach the dogs how to open presents. It resulted in me performing most of the tearing. I really thought they'd enjoy it. Emerson was too busy looking for food and Oliver couldn't figure out why the green paper was squeaking. Next year I'll hide treats inside as well. I think that will be the ticket.

Christmas started off rough for Jackson. He spent the first part of his morning in a couple of time outs, but things seemed to get better from there. Jackson and Cait received gifts from Santa too. Cait could care less about the toys, but Jack carries them around like they're fresh kill. The new boxes are what Cait's excited about.

We had barely a dusting of snow. It sounds so strange to complain about the lack of snow since we were absolutely bombarded with it almost weekly last year, but it just didn't feel the same looking out on green grass.

The chickens received a Christmas Eve morning feast of warm rice and yogurt and a Christmas morning breakfast of oven baked oatmeal. Needless to say, my carb addicted girls were lovin' it. (That's Lucy Lou in the first photo dressed in her Holiday attire)

I was going to take the trees down today, but didn't take the time to do so. They'll get packed up next weekend and the house will return to normal.

Tonight my house is full of cinnamon smell. I have Cinnamon Swirl Bread baking {recipe on my cooking blog here} and just put homemade butter in the refrigerator {directions to make butter here}. I'm off to make myself a peppermint mocha latte and sit and relax.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T15:51:00.002-05:00

....from everyone at Cobble Hill Farm.

Because I find this funny.......

2011-12-21T17:32:00.003-05:00

Not one of his best photos, but absolutely hilarious nonetheless.

Poor Jack.

Maybe too many sugary treats for the Holidays???

Who's Been Naughty?

2011-12-19T19:47:00.003-05:00

Just look what I discovered when I came home tonight.

The trim had been chewed a previous day, but today

someone had a wonderful time chewing up a brand new bed.

Hmmm.....I wonder who it could have been?

Could it have been Cait?

Could it have been Jackson?

We all know he's a trouble maker, but somehow I don't think this was his handy work.

I'm betting on my little Oliver.....

and Emerson.

Dynamic duo.

More Quick and Easy Christmas Truffles

2011-12-18T21:14:00.003-05:00

Oreo Cookie Truffles

For the recipe, go to my recipe blog {here}.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

For the recipe, go to my recipe blog {here}.

No-Bake Treats For The Holidays

2011-12-17T19:55:00.001-05:00

Here's 2 delicious no-bake candies you can whip up quickly for the holidays:

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pretzels

The recipe is on my cooking blog, {here}.

Cake Batter Truffles

The recipe is on my cooking blog, {here}.

Freezing Cookie Dough

2011-12-11T19:49:00.001-05:00

Did you know that you can freeze many different types of cookie dough and bake as needed? It's so easy and handy to have on hand! I have included with any cookie recipe you find on this blog, directions for freezing........

To read this post in it's entirety, click {here}to be taken to my cooking blog.

Wander The Web Saturday

2011-12-09T19:53:00.001-05:00

Don't you find as you're wandering the web and you discover something great, you would like to share it with others? I found myself thinking exactly that about the following stories, ideas and blogs. I hope you'll find something of interest or inspiration.

Yes, usually it's "Wander The Web Wednesday", but I've decided to share today since I've recently come across a few things I adore.

Birthday Memories Gift - a wonderful idea for someone special. Click {here}.
A One-Month Zero Dollar's spent challenge. A GREAT idea that I would like to try. Click {here}.
Magical Thinking Jar - wonderful for those with small children or grandchildren. Click {here}.
Blueberry Breakfast Cake - I think I'll be making this soon! Click {here}.
A Rag Rug Tutorial. I may never get the time to try this, but I like to believe I will. Click {here}.
Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Recipe.....YUM! I love Elsie's blog and I especially love this new hot chocolate recipe. Click {here}. She also features something I'd never even thought of but now can't get out of my mind - a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake. Double YUM! Click {here}.
Mexican Baked Eggs - breakfast is calling for this! Click {here}.
Freezer Cooking With Slow Cooker Recipes. This is an array of recipes that you prep and freeze and then pour into your slow cooker before you leave for work that day. Brilliant! Click {here}.
Vanilla Sea Salt. Click {here}.
Snowball Wreath - love it! Click {here}.
Loads of Christmas treat recipes. The list starts with Cookie Dough Truffles.......need I say more? Click {here}.
52 Things I Love About You project - perfect for a wedding, Christmas or for your Valentine. Click {here}.

Spaghetti Pie

2011-12-09T12:38:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love spaghetti? Whether it's made with ground turkey or ground beef, it definitely fits the "comfort food" category. For a twist on the same old spaghetti, try your hand at this easy pie version.

To see the recipe for Spaghetti Pie, click {here}.

How To Get Put Into Time Out......A Jackson "How-To"

2011-12-07T19:29:00.001-05:00

Another installment from Jackson's "how-to" guide.

So you'd like to find yourself in a little more trouble for the holidays? You know, test the saying "Making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice.....".

Here's another way to go about getting in trouble.

This will surely get you put in time out.

Wait until your sister is relaxing in front of the pellet stove, enjoying the Christmas tree {if you don't have a pellet stove or Christmas tree, just wait until she's relaxing - works the same}. It works really well if your Mom is trying to photograph her and she's not cooperating. This way, she isn't expecting what's next at all.

You have to move quick and do this all in one motion.

Jump up onto her chair and grab her from behind.

Ensure she doesn't move by putting your teeth into her neck.

As she starts to get away, grab at anything you can.....even if it's her behind.

Now hold on.

When she starts to turn on you make sure to fight back hard.

When your mom is yelling at you to stop, just pretend you can't hear her.

Ta da!

Time out for sure.

Now you want to look really innocent and pout {pulls at the old heartstrings}.

On Christmas day we'll see if Santa really does know if I'm naughty or nice.

Quick And Easy Fudge

2011-12-07T19:28:00.001-05:00

This is on my cooking site. To get to the recipe, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-12-06T20:07:00.001-05:00

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have

a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing

when our time is up that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Book In Review - "Make The Bread, Buy The Butter" by Jennifer Reese

2011-12-05T17:35:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this book? I recently came across it while looking for the newest book by Michael Pollan {which I didn't find}. I must say that I've enjoyed it tremendously. Jennifer successfully weaves her trial and error stories of cooking from scratch and raising animals with recipes and ratings full of genuine laugh-out-loud humor.

With varying degrees of success, Jennifer has made from scratch her own mustard, bread, pop tarts, hot dogs, cheeses, to name a few and has cured meats in a crawl space and aged cheese in closets. Additionally, she has raised goats, ducks, chickens, turkeys and bees to her backyard farm, all in an effort to determine for herself and her family what should be made and/or raised and what should be purchased.

If the stories about her experiences and experiments aren't enough, she provides recipes for 120 items and rates each food product she reviews as to whether or not, in her opinion, we should buy or make that particular staple. She comes to the determination through weighing several factors, namely taste, hassle, amount of time to make it, and cost of making versus purchasing. All of this information is provided to the reader which is extremely helpful when determining for yourself whether or not you should make or buy {or raise or buy}.

Whether or not you agree with her final rating, she writes with a wonderful sense of humor, supplies some great recipes and provides an enormous amount of information. I think it's worth purchasing.

If you want to find out more about Jennifer, check out her blog at Tipsy Baker.

Weekend

2011-12-04T19:48:00.001-05:00

The weekend is quickly coming to an end, and I'm currently taking a quick break from baking. I made Rocky Road fudge, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Quick Bread, Artisan dough {stored in the refrigerator to use all week}, and blueberry scones {stored in the freezer to bake fresh for breakfast all week}.

You'll be happy to hear that Jackson was able to go on a "play date" on Friday with his biological brother Phin. They did ok. A lot of hissing, chatter, and knocking over of things. By the time I picked him up he was sitting in his crate, waiting for someone to take him home. I think the farewell was much anticipated by both. Oh well. As a side note, he was weighed while he was there......almost 12 pounds!! Wow - he's not even 1 year old yet. The good news is that the play date did successfully wear him out and we all got a good night sleep Friday night. Saturday night, however.......not so much.

I received a lovely package in the mailbox Friday as well. I had ordered hand-knitted ornaments from Meg at Little Bit of Life. They came beautifully packaged and I just love them. Unfortunately both Cait and Jack love them too. If you get the chance, please check out her blog {here} and her Etsy "Bit of Knittery" store {here}. She is a super-talented lady!

Speaking of ornaments, both Christmas trees are up, and so far {knock on wood} still standing. Jackson and Cait are both curious about the ornaments and bat at them, I'm just hoping they don't realize how fun climbing the tree might be.

Our weather has been mild and sunny making it easy to work around the house and still get things done. Who would have guessed? Still growing beets, carrots and salad greens in the garden.

And because I can't resist sharing photo's of my cute "babies", I leave you with this afternoon's photo of Oliver {left} and Emerson {right}.

Have a great week!

Christmas Advent Calendar - Random Acts Of Kindness

2011-12-04T19:46:00.001-05:00

I am re-running this post from last year.

Instead of doing the traditional advent calendar this month where you uncover small goodies or trinkets, why not start a tradition of a Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar?

Every day you uncover a kindness “task” to do. Remember though, the other person needs to be receptive to being helped so you should ask first if you're going to try to help them physically.

Here’s some ideas for random acts:

December 1: Make a card and send it to a friend for no reason.
December 2: Drop off books and magazines to a hospital, nursing home or doctors office.
December 3: Give a compliment to the manager of someone who helps you today.
December 4: Check in on someone you know is alone.
December 5: Send someone a small gift anonymously.
December 6: Hold the door open for someone today.
December 7: Make eye contact and smile at those you encounter today.
December 8: Run an errand for someone.
December 9: Send a thank you note to someone who has helped you in the past.
December 10: Forgive someone in a bad mood or who is negative today and say something genuinely nice to them.
December 11: Help someone at the grocery store retrieve something out of their reach or difficult for them.
December 12: Purchase a couple extra bags of dog food and bring to a local animal shelter.
December 13: Leave your change in the soda machine, vending machine, parking meter, etc. today for the next person.
December 14: Offer someone behind you at the grocery store to go ahead of you.
December 15: Say hello to everyone you come in contact with today.
December 16: Renew a relationship with someone you’ve lost touch with.
December 17: Listen to (don’t just hear them) everyone you speak with today.
December 18: Offer to help someone do a task they don’t want to do.
December 19: Ask a friend or family member about something important to them and genuinely show interest in what they have to say.
December 20: Return a shopping cart for a stranger in the parking lot.
December 21: Pick up litter you see lying around by the road or in a parking lot.
December 22: Offer to help someone who looks like they need assistance (i.e. a mother trying to open a door, an elderly person pumping gas, etc.).
December 23: Acknowledge someone who has helped you today, no matter how small the task.
December 24: Say an encouraging word today.
December 25: Tell all your family members how much you appreciate them.

The calendar can be made in any way you can think of – canvas, paper, plywood, or simply making a list and attaching it to the refrigerator.

In the example shown, I’ve used a blank canvas (11” x 14”), painted it off-white and made 25 small envelopes from a sheet of “jingle bells” music. I had tags from an office supply store lying around, so I attached ribbon to the tags and adhered the acts of kindness.

Taco Soup

2011-11-30T21:00:00.001-05:00

Just the name sounds like a comforting meal for a cool fall or winter day, right? For some reason one day I had the idea to add taco seasoning to soup. I have no idea why, but I did it and I've been making it ever since.
As with any soup, this is very versatile ......

To view this post, including recipe, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-11-29T22:05:00.001-05:00

"Sometimes a person has to go back, really back - to have a sense,

an understanding, of all that's gone to make them,

before they can go forward."

- Paule Marshall

Weekend

2011-11-27T19:18:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that Thanksgiving has now come and gone and Christmas is on it's way? I will say, since our weather has turned a little colder, it at least feels seasonal now. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good fun, lots of laughter and stories abound. We went the non-traditional route this year. We grilled a beer can chicken. It was so moist and juicy......scrumptious! With the chicken we had butternut squash, salad from the garden, creamed baby red potatoes, homemade bread, homemade butter, and pumpkin roll for dessert. Yum!

Speaking of the lettuce in the garden, you can see from the photo above the mornings are a bit chilly now. It's holding it's own though! I cover it with a row cover to keep it from getting too hard a frost. I thought this past snow would be the end of it but a pleasant surprise was the lettuce standing up tall surrounded by the freshly fallen snow.

We decided {against better judgement I'm sure} to put up 2 Christmas trees. The large one is in the entry room and the small one is on a side table in the dining room. So far {knock on wood}, Jackson has pretty much left them alone. I've asked Jay to please secure the large one so we don't find it on the ground one morning.

Speaking of Jackson, he found himself in time-out only once this weekend. Not bad. He just gets so crazy that you can't stop him from terrorizing the house and the other animals. The only way to slow the guy down is time-out. He glared at me the entire time he was in there but once out, went on his merry way to hang out on the bench, sprawled out in the sun. He forgives and forgets quite easily.

Hope you all have a great week!

Last Minute Thanksgiving Sweets

2011-11-23T18:11:00.001-05:00

Sweet and simple "acorns".

This is by no means my own original idea, I see them all over the internet and thought they were very cute.

I used Hershey's kisses, Nutter Butter bites {split into 2 halves} and a handful of chocolate chips.

I melted 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips to use as the glue and then a chocolate chip for the top of each "acorn".

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-11-22T20:18:00.001-05:00

"Each moment in time we have it all,

even when we think we don't."

- Melody Beattie

Giving Thanks - Tree Of Thanks

2011-11-21T19:42:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is a great time to think of all you're thankful for. What better way to remind ourselves than to make a Tree of Thanks. A simple branch put in a vase held by rocks, marbles, or whatever you have lying around the house works well. Don't forget to provide blank tags so that your guests can record what they're thankful for.

Homemade Granola

2011-11-20T16:25:00.001-05:00

Homemade granola is so much cheaper than that you purchase from the store. When you make it from scratch, like anything, you can also control the ingredients that go into it. This is a very basic recipe which can be adjusted depending on what type of granola you're hungry for...

To view the rest of this post including the recipe, click {here}.

How To Get In Trouble: Jackson's How-To Guide

2011-11-19T21:03:00.001-05:00

So, you want to do things that your Mom says is naughty?

The first thing you have to learn is the approach:

work on looking cool, casual, just "hanging out"

Once you're pretty comfortable that your Mom doesn't suspect your next move, slowly and cautiously assess the situation.

"Hey Mom, just saying hi!"

You still have to remain cool and calm.

Now, you start to make bigger moves.

"Hey Mom, let me pose for a photo. I'm still just hanging out doing nothing!"

Working quickly, look toward an item so your Mom thinks you're just checking something out.

Take just a brief moment to pause like you're really interested, but then it's time to move quick.

Before she figures it out.

Success!

I'm sitting on the kitchen counter posing for a photo.

Mom thinks I'm doing this for her, so she can take a marvelous photo

but I know I'm doing this because it allows me to be someplace I'm not supposed to be!

Snow Day!

2011-11-18T19:55:00.001-05:00

Ok, so by no means did we have a lot of snow. Not even close to enough to justify staying home from work, but it did coat the trees and plants nicely and was just beautiful.

Chilly too......so after doing his "business" Ollie went right back to the stove.

Can't blame the guy!

Voluntary Simplicity Step 8 - Being Ourselves

2011-11-17T21:01:00.001-05:00

Have you ever felt you had to mask who you really are to fit in with the group around you? Have you ever found yourself projecting a different image to those you're in company with other than your true image? It's natural to want to fit in and feel accepted by others. The challenge is to stay true to yourself.

I suppose the first step in working toward "being ourselves" is to define who we really are. What are our values? What are our beliefs? Remember you don't have to define yourself by who you used to be, even if it was as recent as yesterday. We do not have to be defined by our previous choices and/or mistakes. Rather, accept the choices and/or mistakes you may have made as well as previous behaviors you may not be so proud of and consciously set a new definition for yourself.

Making a conscious choice to determine who we are and that, despite what others may think, these are in fact our values, beliefs, goals, etc. is not only being ourselves, but being true to our self.

To read the entire Voluntary Simplicity series, click {here}.

Jackson, a.k.a. "Mr. Trouble" - More About Me

2011-11-15T20:47:00.001-05:00

For those of you that would like to find out a little more about our man Jack, here's a sampling as I would imagine he would tell it.

I have a whole list of favorite things, but sleeping, eating, causing trouble, eating, listening to my name yelled, eating, chasing my sister and brothers, oh, and eating, are some of the top things.

My mom tells me I'm a cat but I think she's wrong. I tell her I'm a French Bulldog like my brothers. She tries to give me cat treats.....what is she thinking???? I tell her those are for Cait, she's a cat, I need dog treats. I don't know why she can't get this right so I often help myself to our dog treats. Sometimes I even pass off one or two to my brothers. That's when I hear "Jackson!" My brothers thank me though.

I love to give hugs to my mom when she's on the computer and I especially love it when my brothers and I get to lay on her lap. My brother Em lays on the bottom, then Ollie, then me on top. It's just perfect. Ollie gets a little nervous when I move - that guy's too jumpy!

My sister Cait needs a lot of help. I make sure to watch her every move and critique her when I think she needs it. I watch her eat, drink, walk, and use the litter box. My parents tell me she can handle this by herself but I'm not so sure.

I love to smell what's for dinner. If I can get to my mom's plate then I take a whiff of everything on it. Although I'm not typically a fan of the taste of her dinner, I sure do love the smell. It makes me hungry for dog treats!

I know how to get my brother's going. I like it if they get in trouble. I can run real fast and Ollie can usually catch up to me but he can't get me because I can hide in smaller places than he can. I think it's funny when he tries to get me and he barks because he gets upset. I figure if I can make him bark then I won the game.

Mom tells me she's going to set up a play date with my biological brother Finn. I can't wait. She says it's to wear the both of us down. I don't think she understands that it's not possible. I hope she gives me enough notice so I can find someone to watch my sister while I'm away. I'm sure she'll miss me terribly.

Here's a few things I'm very good at: opening bags my mom doesn't want opened {I love helping unpack groceries}, helping her make the bed {I hold down the sheets and blanket for her}, helping mom with laundry, tackling my sister, hanging from the curtains by my claws {I'm trying to increase my hang time}, catching bugs, rearranging mine and my brothers toy boxes and beds {mom just doesn't put them in the right spot}, borrowing money, and giving gifts. One day I gave my friend Miss Sarah a dead mouse. I just knew she would love it and she did. Mom tells me I'm very generous. I think she's right.

Mom and dad tell me that everyone needs a Jackson in their house.....but only one.

To read previous "Jackson" stories, click {here} and {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-11-15T20:24:00.001-05:00

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.

Be the living expression of God's kindness:

kindness in your face,

kindness in your eyes,

kindness in your smile."

- Mother Teresa

A Fall Favorite: Cranberry and Orange Quick Bread

2011-11-09T21:49:00.002-05:00

Cranberries mean Fall and as we all know, I love Fall. As much as I love the beautiful red berries I dislike the traditional sugar laden cranberry sauce, but, they are much too tart for me to eat without all the sugar. This bread seems to be the perfect mix ........

If you would like to read the full post including recipe, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-11-08T22:47:00.001-05:00

"I have learned to live each day as it comes,

and not to borrow trouble by dreading tomorrow."

- Dorothy Dix

Freezer Pumpkin Butter

2011-11-06T17:36:00.004-05:00

I love Fall. I love the weather, I love the smells, I love the colors and I love all things pumpkin. Pumpkin "butter" is, I suppose, technically a sauce and not so much a butter. Regardless, it's scrumptious on toast, english muffins, waffles, or used for dipping gingerbread cookies or crackers in.

This is best used within 6 months, but will keep for about a year. You can start with fresh pumpkins and make your own puree or, I'm told, you can used canned pumpkin puree, although I've never personally tried it. If you're using canned pumpkin puree or some puree you have leftover or frozen, start with step 2.

To read the entire recipe, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-11-01T21:29:00.001-04:00

"Can't nothin' make your life work if you ain't the architect."

- Terry McMillan

Weekend and Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T19:43:00.002-04:00

We are spending more time around the pellet stove than we had thought we would at this time of the year. Our first snow was last Thursday. We hadn't even had a frost yet, although that came Thursday night into Friday. Our second snow was Saturday into Sunday. Like so many others, we awoke to a light coating of snow on the ground. We were very fortunate that we didn't receive the 12+ inches so many others did. Thank you Mother Nature, we are glad you spared us.

I always have a laundry list of things I think I'll accomplish over the weekend. Before I know it the two days have come to an end and only half of my checklist has checks beside it. In my ongoing efforts to make so much of our food from scratch as well as garden, blog, craft and create I find myself running out of time quickly. I think I need to organize my weekends better. This sounds like a perfect New Year's resolution!

So, the weekend is over and suddenly I'm realizing it's Halloween. We had a little dress up party of our own. The chickens and the cats refused to participate as did the adults, but the dogs allowed me to entertain myself. Our theme? Backyard Farms.

What does every backyard farm need?

a bee.........

and a chicken.

If you think you are reading absolute disgust and upset on their faces you are correct.

Sure was cute though!

Happy Halloween!!!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-10-25T21:28:00.000-04:00

"The path to simplicity is littered with complexities."

-Susan Ohanian

A Letter To Lucy Lou (the chicken)

2011-10-20T18:08:00.003-04:00

Dear Lucy Lou,

Please know that I hear you and your concerns/complaints every time I step out of the house.
There's no need to cackle louder.....I hear you.
There's no need to get up on the roost to try and get face-to-face with me.....I hear you.
There's no need to get on the nesting boxes when I start to collect eggs....I hear you.

Thank you for assisting in making sure any broody or laying girls leave the nesting box area when I am collecting eggs. This is not necessary and will gain you no friends, but it's the thought that counts and you are very helpful.

To help ensure you believe me that I understand your concerns/complaints, please know that I am aware of the following:

Yes, Kessa is a very loud chicken, but remember she has to try and yell louder than you so I can hear her issues as well.
Yes, Lizzie is very grouchy when she is broody, and I am aware that she is broody a LOT.
Yes, it's annoying that Hattie pecks at you and others for no reason, but remember, when she was smaller than you, you did the same to her. It's karma sister!
Yes, I am aware that you feel you should receive blueberry pancakes or amish oatmeal every morning for breakfast, cottage cheese every day for lunch and either scrambled eggs or mac and cheese with meal worm crunchies on top {a Cobble Hill Farm Coop Cafe weekend special} every day for dinner. Unfortunately, that's just not in the cards for you.
I am also aware you feel your chicken garden should be expanded, you should have a window A/C unit in the summer {you've been hooked on A/C ever since you rode in my air conditioned car to sit in an air conditioned veterinary office one very hot summer day}, and that you are upset your chicken tractor has yet to be completed. I realize the chicken tractor has been on your Christmas list for 2 years in a row now {about to be year #3} but Santa is very busy - he and his helpers have many ~~children~~ chickens to build things for.

I'm sorry for it all.

I have to say that I very much enjoy when you tell me the good things such as you're happy about the special treat you got mid-day as a "just because", or your happy you had a visitor who told you how pretty you are, or that you're happy to sit and just chat, somewhat quietly, with me about the day. Let's have these chats more often.

Now that you are assured I hear you, let's talk about this decrease in egg production......

Love,
Mama

Linking to:

Too Cute For Words

2011-10-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

I couldn't resist bringing this over from my photo site.

Oliver and Emerson are something else!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-10-18T19:47:00.001-04:00

"Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain,

but simply points the way."

- Florence Scovel Shinn

Voluntary Simplicity Step 7: Making Do With What We've Got

2011-10-17T20:52:00.002-04:00

Ah... another lesson we struggle somewhat with. It's so easy to just run to the store and purchase whatever you suddenly "need". It takes time to train yourself to think about the "need" that has suddenly appeared and to determine if 1. you can do without, 2. you have something else that will work, 3. you can make a change to the recipe/project/etc. and make do with something you've got, or 4. the answer is "no" to 1-3 and you must purchase the "need".

My husband probably struggles with this more than I. He thinks we should just go purchase what we want or need. In his mind, we work hard and if we can afford it we should buy it. As you can see, I've got a long way to go with him.

For the most part, I think we all work very hard to pay for our spending. Often times we spend without a second thought to the checklist in the first paragraph. We also spend without a second thought as to how many hours we worked to purchase that item. The purpose of paying attention to what we spend is not to stop spending altogether but rather to see if we are getting the value we deserve from what we purchase. If it's an item that will be tossed out in a year or two, did we really need to purchase it? Was it worth our work time it took to make the money to purchase it?

Take a moment to consciously think about alternatives to purchasing something new, It just may assist in the development of gratitude which, in turn, will likely make you genuinely aware of material waste. Living simply means slowing down and slowing down helps us become consciously aware of everything, including possessions.

Weekend

2011-10-16T21:35:00.000-04:00

The deck is coming along.Jay still has 2 more sides of railing to finish and needs to re-do the small portion next to the house. The floor boards are also not completely attached. Next year will bring lattice and plants.

The poor girls are molting. Don't they look awful? Emma is on the left and Lucy Lou on the right. They look downright scrawny without their feathers. They are somewhat clumsy flyers on a good day so when they lose their feathers, including tail feathers, it sure throws their balance right off. Poor things. Jay and I help them on and off the roost in the morning and evening.

In this photo they are happy. They had pancakes for breakfast followed by carrots {thanks Mom!}, cabbage and a few beet tops. This was after their favorite scratch grain {chicken candy} and a little organic cat food {for protein to help them through the molt}.

Fall means pumpkins and pumpkins mean baking. At least in this house they do. Pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread, pumpkin roll and pumpkin pies. I love the smell and the flavor.

I am continuing to grow loose leaf lettuce in my lettuce tables. We've been fortunate enough to have pretty mild weather so they continue to produce. The corn and the rest of the garden is just about put to bed. We're still getting peppers, eggplant, green beans, carrots, beets and a few squash.

And then there's Jackson. I couldn't resist including a photo because he is the only animal I've got who doesn't mind his photo being taken. Oliver and Emerson aren't very interested, Caity Bug despises the camera and the chickens think it looks like a very large treat and try to get at it.

Yes, Jack is still stealing and although he's stolen larger items like clothing, money is still his favorite thing. I tested him last night. I had a 5 dollar bill in my pocket so I left it in a small pile of papers on the counter. This morning the papers were still on the counter and the 5 dollar bill was on the floor in the living room. I'm not sure why it's such a favorite, but it still is.

Hoping all of you had a wonderful weekend too!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-10-11T18:02:00.000-04:00

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger to a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

Weekend

2011-10-03T20:22:00.000-04:00

Well, Fall has finally made it's way to upstate New York. The air is crisp and I even wore a sweatshirt yesterday. It sure made me happy. The weekend flew by as all days seem to be doing lately. I dream of the days when we exhaust ourselves everyday working on our farm. Our someday larger farm. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and all but it's just not the same feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day. I relish caring for the animals, digging in the garden and slaving over the stove as I make homemade goodies and staples from scratch.

I didn't seem to accomplish a lot at home this weekend. I have big plans for next weekend though - clean the house, clean the dogs and cats, bake bread {including some for the freezer}, make butter {getting close to running out from last month}, make granola, make yogurt {for the granola} and make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Quick Bread. Maybe Apple Crisp too. Yum! I'd also like to take the dogs into town or the park for a walk or two as well as clean out the outdoor chicken coop.

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law came over for dinner one night last week. Apparently Jackson must have thought they doubted his well earned reputation for being a Kleptomaniac and decided to prove the rumor was true. We were sitting around the dining room table, chatting after dinner, and in true Jackson fashion we heard a rumpling of paper. I went into the kitchen to see what he'd gotten into and lo and behold he was carrying off cash and a receipt from my sister-in-law's handbag. The little thief was busted. We laughed at what a character he is and kicked him out of the kitchen. Tired of his fun being ruined he headed upstairs and decided to rearrange the decor. Flying down the stairs comes him and his designated upstairs bed. He moved it into the dining room. Later that night I took it back upstairs, and he promptly brought it back down. I brought it back up, and he brought it back down. It remains in the dining room since that's the only place he's happy with it.

We're down to eggplant, peppers, lettuce, cauliflower, beets, carrots, onions and green beans left in the garden. We may have the first frost later in the week so I'll be covering my little treasures, hoping to salvage them. As delicate as pepper plants are I'm not convinced they'll make it through but I'll certainly try. The ground is covered with beautiful Fall leaves and most of the flowers are going to seed.

Hoping you all had a comforting weekend.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-09-27T21:47:00.004-04:00

"Kindness is difficult to give away

because it keeps coming back."

-Unknown

Weekend

2011-09-25T22:30:00.002-04:00

I'm finally back.
Whew!
My work life has been taking over my whole life, but I'm hoping to juggle it all.
I was supposed to be on vacation this past week.
That didn't happen.
Jay enjoyed our vacation by himself.
At least he was able to get some work done around the house.

Let's see....Fall looks like it's here, but it sure doesn't feel like it's here.
No crisp feel to the air, no sweatshirts, jeans and soup weather, nope, it's still humid.
Yuck.

Jay is coming along with the deck. He works on it when he can.
Oliver and Emerson love walking on it - they can see more things over the stone wall.
More things to bark at.

Speaking of the two of them, they are doing well.
With all the rain we've had a lot of mushrooms growing in the yard, so we've had some bouts of intestinal issues when they manage to sneak a few, but all-in-all they are doing well.
Cait is doing well. She still hates Jackson, so all is normal.
Jackson has added pens and rubber stamps to the list of things he steals.
I'm wondering if he's making Christmas cards. He could stamp on the receipts he steals and sign it with a pen.
Jay doesn't think so.

The chickens, for the most part, are doing well.
It's molt season.
I think Little Kathy is still sick. I'm not sure she'll make it through this molt.
I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I don't think she's breathing well.
With the humidity still out of control we treated again for lice and mites.
I'm really hoping we don't have to throw out another bag of chicken feed.
This season we've had to throw out 4 bags due to mold from the humidity.
It's getting quite ridiculous....and expensive.

I was able to salvage 2 butternut squash before the squash bugs completely sucked the life out of the plants.
I've still got a few more winter squash plants holding on.
We are picking green beans, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.
I've got 2 watermelon left but I'm sure the rain has ruined them.
It takes the flavor right out.
Bummer.

That's all for now.
I'm hoping to get caught up on all your blogs tomorrow.
Hope all is going well and that you had a wonderful weekend!

Homemade Butter

2011-09-12T20:42:00.002-04:00

Butter. Just the word makes me think of steaming hot homemade bread, waffles on a Saturday morning and corn on the cob on a summer night. I don't know why it took me so long to attempt making this luscious dairy product, but I finally took the time and boy was it easy.

Saturday, armed with Ashley English's book "Home Dairy" from her Homemade Living series and 3 quarts of a rich flavorful cream from a local dairy {Battenkill Valley Creamery}, I was determined to give it a try.

I don't have a dairy thermometer, so the first step of bringing the cream to 72 degrees F was accomplished by simply leaving it out for a few hours. I'm not sure what temperature it actually was when I started, but it seemed to be fine.

I placed 1 quart of cream in the bowl of my food processor {you can also use a stand mixer} and turned it on. Ashley writes that it takes between 6 and 9 minutes to go from cream to butter. My food processor took 3 1/2 minutes. I'm not sure if it's the food processor or the temperature of my cream that sped it up.

The photo above left is what a successful bowl of butter separated from the buttermilk looks like. Next I strained off the buttermilk {saved for baking}.

After straining I rinsed the butter under cold water until the water ran clear. The book states this takes several times of filling up the bowl and emptying. I found this took quite a few times before it ran clear. I followed the book exactly for my first batch, but on the second and third I began gathering {kneading} the butter while I rinsed and found this to work out very well. It also seemed to cut out some of the water in the next step {below}. At this stage, after the final rinse, salt is stirred in with a metal spoon if desired.

After the rinsing and adding salt, it's time to press out any remaining liquid from the butter. The book suggests a pastry scraper or potato masher. I don't have a pastry scraper so I tried the potato masher and did not like that, so I found an indoor grill cleaner that worked out very well. It's small enough to maneuver and flexible for easy pressing.

I also found that putting a flexible cutting mat inside a cookie sheet caught any water that was there. A paper towel was helpful for dabbing the board and the butter to soak up water.

Voila! In about 15 minutes {not including the time it takes for the cream to come to temp.} you have homemade butter! We immediately enjoyed some slathered on a piece of homemade Oatmeal and Honey Bread.

Each quart made about 1 1/2 cups of butter. I use a butter crock on my counter so I chose to shape mine into rectangles and wrap in waxed paper to store in the refrigerator until time to use. The extra I wrapped in waxed paper and then put into a freezer bag to store in the freezer.

A quick word about the buttermilk that you're left with. This is not cultured buttermilk and, therefore, won't have the acidity and/or the tang. If you choose to use it in recipes it should be used in place of milk, not cultured buttermilk. I used some this weekend in waffles and replaced the baking soda {activated by the acidity in cultured buttermilk} with baking powder {activated without the acidity}.

I really enjoy all of Ashley's books in this series and can't wait to try more of her recipes and techniques.

I'm on to cultured butter next!

Our Everyday Life

2011-09-10T20:32:00.003-04:00

Happy Saturday! A few photos of a typical day here at Cobble Hill.

A loaf of Oatmeal - Honey Bread mixing in the kitchen

Jackson {above} and Caity Bug {below} sleeping on our bed

"What's for dessert?" asked by Jay.....so I whip up an Apple Cream Cake {photo is before it's baked - see all that luscious cream on top???}

More work to do on the deck

The chickens begging {which quickly turns to demanding} to go out

Fall lettuce coming up

A bunny has been back in my cabbage patch! Apparently there's good bugs for spiders there too

My hanging flower baskets are loving a break from the heat and humidity

The last of the beautiful blooms

All this makes for an exhausting Saturday!

Weekend

2011-09-06T20:52:00.000-04:00

Humidity and Rain.
There, that sums up the weekend.
I realize this sounds extremely whiny, and I'm sorry, I'm just ready for summer to be over already.
I'm tired of sweating while performing mundane tasks and I'm very tired of air conditioning.
The leaves are changing and it's getting darker earlier, so where is Fall???

All-in-all, despite my complaints, it was a good and productive weekend.
I'm still getting a bowl full of green beans every 2-3 days.
What few winter squash have survived my bug infestation are looking Fall-ish.
Is that a word?
I wanted so badly to cook Fall/football watching food, but it was just too hot to enjoy it.

Jay is coming along with the back deck. You can somewhat see where the old deck ends.
The stairs will stay and we're thinking of adding a small gate to keep the boys on the deck.
Lattice will go around the bottom and then some lovely plants.
Next year for the lattice and plants.
Next year we'll also extend the small roof above the deck to cover the stairs so they will no longer get icy.
That will be VERY nice!

We're getting ready to paint the house too.
We've settled on a brown for the body and cream and barn red for the trim colors.
Home Depot had a paint sale over the weekend, so the paint has been purchased.
No changing our minds now!!

The chickens are doing well.
Kathy seems to be sick with a possible upper respiratory infection, so we are giving her some chicken med's.
I'll treat the rest with Vet RX just in case. It's a liquid herbal supplement that I've found works well as a preventative, but not so effective once they're actually sick.

Jackson stole $17.00 from me on Thursday.
I had $19.00 on the counter and I went outside to check in with the chickens.
I didn't notice the money missing when I came back in until I saw him taking off with a receipt.
I followed him, and there was $17.00 behind the pellet stove.
He must be saving up for his Christmas gifts.
Hope I get something nice!!

Oliver and Emerson are doing well.
They are clean boys - Sunday was bath day. Whoo hoo!
Emerson has somehow discovered the yummy flavor of tomatoes and tries to steal them from my plants.
Naughty boy.
Cait is doing well.
I think she's getting used to the daily torture from Jackson.

It's a busy end of Summer/start of Fall for us.
How about you? What are you finishing up or just getting started?

Quotable Tuesday

2011-09-06T20:48:00.001-04:00

"Kindness is never wasted.

If it has no effect on the recipient,

at least it benefits the bestower."

-S.H. Simons

A Very Cute Corn Thief

2011-08-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Voluntary Simplicity Step 6: Doing It Ourselves When We Can

2011-08-30T19:35:00.002-04:00

This step in the process is still a struggle for us. We both work outside of our home 40+ hours a week, making it difficult to find time for homemade cooking, blogging, cleaning, caring for the animals and garden, spending time with each other AND doing things around the home. Additionally, Jay works all week on other people's home improvement projects so he's a little burned out by the weekend.

For the most part, however, we complete the projects ourselves. We do at times hire a friend or two to help out with things we either just want to get checked off our list or things that are moving a little too slow.

This topic is not only about working around the house, but also includes things like growing our own food and making items from scratch instead of purchasing the final product. This year we've had the largest garden to date providing us with almost all our veggies during the growing season as well as items for canning and freezing. I've also begun devoting the first weekend of the month to making homemade things that can be frozen for consumption throughout the remainder of the month. Pie crust, pizza dough, some cakes, soups, unbaked cookies, muffins and scones, and a few main dishes I've had success with. Also, shortcuts such as cutting meat and packaging it in a marinade before freezing. This cuts out a step when I take it out for defrosting on a busy weekday.

I think it really comes down to consciously thinking about everything before you purchase it or hire someone to do it. Is this something I need? Can I make do with something I've got? Can I do it myself? Is it the best solution?

What about you, what things have you had success in doing yourself when you can?

To read the entire Voluntary Simplicity Series, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-08-30T19:05:00.000-04:00

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am,

then I can change.

- Carl Rogers

Hello and Goodbye to Irene

2011-08-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

Hurricane Irene came and is now on her way out. She overstayed her visit and we're happy to see her go.

We are grateful and lucky that we had no damage to our home or homestead.

Sure, we have branches down, lost all the sweet corn and sunflowers (they used to be in the chicken's garden in the photo above) and we lost power for about 9 hours, but everything else is in tact.

Jay and I spent Saturday moving anything that could become projectile in 50-70 mph winds into the outbuildings. The garden shed, for one, was packed full.

After packing all items away, putting a netting over my tomato plants, picking all ready veggies so I didn't lose those and making sure the generator was ready, I spent the rest of the afternoon getting laundry caught up and making homemade soup, bread and Blondies in the event we lost power. This way, all we needed to do was heat things up.

It worked out beautifully.

As you can see in this photo, I've got about 5 stalks of sweet corn remaining. The chickens will enjoy eating the not-quite-ripe corn. My tomatoes, thanks to my husbands netting idea, made it through.

Oliver and Emerson made it through the storm just fine. They were not at all happy about doing their "business" out in it, but as you can see from the photo, they survived. Ditto for Cait, Jackson and all the girls.

Here's hoping all of you and your friends and loved ones made it through the storm ok.

Potatoes, Beans and Carrots....Oh My! A Garden Update

2011-08-24T20:41:00.001-04:00

Tomatoes gone wild!

I am happy to report we are still getting plenty of produce from the garden.

Currently harvesting:

tomatoes (and tomatoes, and tomatoes, and tomatoes, and......)
cukes
corn
cauliflower
lettuce
radish
beets
carrots
potatoes
green beans
summer squash (yellow and zucchini)
eggplant
peppers
cantaloupe
herbs

Peppers and Green Beans

Re-planted for Fall harvest:

beets
carrots
lettuce
broccoli
peas
herbs

Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cabbage

Haven't yet harvested:

watermelon
honeydew melon
winter squash (here's to hoping it survives)

Watermelon and Cukes

Next year, I want add to my garden:

celeriac
kohlrabi
brussel sprouts
garlic
spinach (didn't do well for me this year)

My freezer is chock full of green beans, peas, squash, herbs, tomatoes (sauce, slow roasted, and whole), rhubarb, strawberries and blueberries (from the Farmers' Market - Emerson ate my blueberry plants.....the whole plant, not just the berries).

How about you? What are you currently harvesting?

Quotable Tuesday

2011-08-23T15:38:00.000-04:00

"A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way

that everyone believes he has the biggest piece."

-Ludwig Erhard

Gigantic End Of The Season Cukes

2011-08-17T14:46:00.000-04:00

I've got some cooking to do!

The last of the cukes are absolutely enormous!!

I put a large onion in the middle so you can get an idea of the size.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-08-17T07:08:00.001-04:00

{on Wednesday :-)}

"A stumble may prevent a fall."

-English Proverb

My Little Man Jackson

2011-08-15T18:50:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I couldn't resist sharing more ~~tails~~ tales of my little man Jackson. He certainly enjoys being the household troublemaker and works very hard at maintaining the title.

Do you remember seeing on the National news a few months back the cat that would steal from neighbors and hoard his stolen treasures in his home? This is Jackson. The difference, however, is that Jackson is an indoor cat so the only people he can steal from are Jay and I. He has a fondness for paper, namely money and receipts. Jay discovered his downstairs stash under the couch and I discovered his upstairs stash in my shoes. Although the receipts were doing him no good, he had stashed away enough cash to purchase himself 3 Starbucks Latte's. I've taken to borrowing money from him.

Oliver barks at Jackson when Jackson is doing something naughty. This is Oliver's way of enjoying someone other than himself getting in trouble. For instance, when Jackson was tightrope walking on my curtain rod in the living room, Oliver barked to let us know and danced with glee when I made him get down. Oliver also takes great pride in barking at Jackson when he's on the side table in the dining room, which he is not supposed to be on because it has photo frames on it and he always knocks them over. He also enjoys barking when Jackson manages to dump drinks, food, or anything else on the floor.

Sunday was just an average day with Oliver barking in the back room of the house. Jay and I both went to see what in the world Jackson was doing. We entered the room to see him squatted in the pellet stove bucket, which still had ash in it from the last heating season. Seems he thought his father did him a favor by leaving a litter box on the main floor. After removing him from the bucket and washing the ashes off of him, we realized he's been using the bucket for some time as it was quite smelly. The bucket was removed. Later the same day Oliver began barking again in the same room. Jackson had piddled on the floor where the bucket had been and was now trying to find something to cover his treasure with. We have stacked boxes and baskets in the area hoping he'll forget about it.

Last night I took Oliver and Emerson out for their before bedtime pottie. It was pouring down rain, so it was a quick trip. {Oliver and Emerson WILL melt if left in the rain too long - this is what they believe} We came running in the house and I closed and locked the door behind me. I was just finishing up in the kitchen when I could hear Jackson crying. Cait was sitting on the bench, ears back. Oliver and I were looking around and we couldn't find him. He continued to cry. I suddenly panicked and opened the back door. There he stood, soaking wet, crying up a storm. Somehow he had managed to get out when we were coming in. Boy are we lucky it was raining and he too would melt in the rain, so he stayed on the back deck!

He certainly keeps us on our toes, but I must say, some of the things he comes up with are so funny it's hard to keep from laughing. Tonight he's recovering from his neuter. He had a small reaction to the anesthesia....why should that be a surprise? Seems all our animals are sensitive!

Gardening Area - Befores and After

2011-08-12T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't very good at taking photos of the house and property prior to working on it. But I wanted to share what I have of before, during and after photos of the garden area.

Photos 1 & 2: The garden area was not raised when we moved in. We found out quickly that the soil was not good and extremely rocky. Rather than taking the time to amend the existing soil, we chose to add raised beds and bring in some compost and soil. The initial expense turned out to be worth it as we were able to garden immediately. You can also see the old chicken coop in photo #2. That was torn down {too run down to re-use} and the garden shed was built in the vicinity.

Photo 3: The start of the raised beds.

Photo 4: This years garden and garden shed.

Chicken Gifts

2011-08-09T19:59:00.002-04:00

The wonderful gifts from my girls are one of my favorite things to photograph.

Look at that range!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-08-09T19:56:00.001-04:00

The great danger for most of us

is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,

but that it's too low and we reach it.

- Michaelangelo

Long-Term Storage for Lemons and Limes

2011-08-08T18:44:00.000-04:00

What to do when lemons or limes are on sale, or you've bought more than you need?

Don't pass up the sale, and definitely don't let them go bad.

Squeeze the juice into ice cube trays, freeze them, then pop the cubes into a zippie bag or freezer container labeled so you know which is which.

The next time you need a teaspoon, tablespoon or more of the juice, it will only take seconds to defrost and measure.

Works with orange and pineapple juice too!

Weekend

2011-08-07T20:59:00.003-04:00

Rain at last.

It's still oppressively humid, but at least we received some rain.

My garden is happy again.

The chickens, however, not so much.

They think this humidity thing is just getting down right ridiculous.

Poor things.

They received cantaloupe this morning, one of their favorites. (not from the garden - not ready yet. I broke down and bought some from a farm stand) I thought it make take some of the anger away.

It did for a moment.

They came outside chattering up a storm but as soon as they saw that cantaloupe, a hush fell across the flock.

It was silent.

Made for a lovely morning.

It's been a "getting things done" kind of weekend.

Saturday we ran errands most of the day.

Did a little cleaning too.

Today I spent most of my time in the kitchen.

I've learned one lesson this weekend - Jay is not to peruse my King Arthur Flour catalog.

He decided I needed to make Monkey Bread today. {Recipe here}

All because of that stupid catalog.

I was thinking a nice fruit dessert.

Nope. The catalog is their Fall catalog, and therefore, no fruit desserts.

Monkey Bread I made.

I had a plethora of onions {not from my garden....yet} and no place for long-term storage, so I sliced them up and put them in the freezer.

Thin sliced for French Onion Soup and thicker sliced for Sausage/Peppers/Onions, Cheesesteak Sandwiches, pizza's, and other soups.

I had also purchased blueberries from the farmers' market, so I wanted to get the leftovers frozen.

Tonight I'm still working on Freezer and Refrigerator pickles.

I've got 26 cukes in my refrigerator.

I made Blueberry Scones to freeze. A perfect treat on a busy morning - pull a couple out of the freezer, bake them for about 25 minutes, and fresh, yummy scones are served.

I made Blueberry-Yogurt Popsicles earlier in the week which were a great mid-day treat.

I'll post the recipe this week.

Super easy and very good.

My garden is still producing quite a bit.

I picked another large bowl of green beans today.

I've already got 13 bags packed away in the freezer.

I'm not so sure my winter squash will make it.

The squash bugs and striped cucumber beetles are a little out of hand.

I spent about 35 minutes on Friday killing squash bugs.

Yuck.

Laundry is caught up.

Dishes are done.

Cleaning the house and bathing Emerson and Jackson did not get completed.

Lucky them!

Now that Jay has finished the garden shed, he's on to the back deck expansion.

Always another project waiting in the wings, isn't there?

So that was our weekend.

How was yours?

A Garden Shed At Last!

2011-08-07T11:27:00.004-04:00

My garden shed, I'm happy to report, is 99.8% completed.
Hooray!
The two remaining items are a step to the front door and a small garden bed underneath the front window.

I plan on planting a bed of lavender.

To the right of the shed, we'll build a raised bed and move the strawberry patch there.

It's an 8'x10' shed.

The 2 smaller windows are hung by hinges and open for a nice breeze.

The longer window in the back is a re-purposed sidelight for a front door.

All windows are "found" windows.

The screen door came off our condo that we had prior to this home.

The shelves inside were found on the side of the road as was the work bench.

We purchased the lumber, roofing and siding.

We did not have the little tool shed on the side in the original plans.

That was my brainchild after Jay started building the shed.

At first he wasn't so thrilled, but as it started to come together he began to see the value in it.

Now, my interior walls aren't filled with hanging tools.

Since it was an afterthought, it needed it's own roof.

My talented husband pulled it all together splendidly!!

I have plenty of room for pots, netting, buckets, and all the things one needs for gardening.

Somehow I also inherited the chickens' misc. items which had previously been housed in Jay's shop.

They have mysteriously made their way into my shed upon completion.

Hmmmm.....I wonder if Lucy Lou moved them. Maybe Kessa? Possibly Allie? Certainly couldn't have been Jay!!

I am thrilled to be able to use it, although I've heard a rumor that it will serve as winter storage to many of our outdoor items.

Seems the barn and shop are no longer contenders for this.

We'll see!

Hi, My Name Is Jackson Pigpen

2011-08-04T17:48:00.001-04:00

This is the post I imagine Jackson would write.....if he was able to do so.

Hi. My name is Jackson but my family also calls me "pigpen" and "trouble".
I don't think that's nice.
My mom tells me I'm called pigpen because I'm always dirty and stinky.
I like playing in the sandbox.
Mom tells me it's for going to the bathroom, but she obviously has never played in it before. If she had, she'd see how much fun it is.
She tells me I'm called trouble because I seem to be attracted to it.
I don't think that's true.

I love the bathtub.
Mom says Cait used to love it too.
I lay in there after someone takes a shower.
Once in a while I'm in there when the shower is turned on.
That scares me, but I think it's pretty fun.

I don't mind getting baths, but I think I get them too often.
I feel like I just get dry and mom says "Jackson, bath time".
I say "Oh my dog! I just HAD a bath!!"
She doesn't seem to care.

My brothers are crazy and I love playing with them.
I chase them and they chase me.
We go pretty fast around the dining room table.
Mom and dad tell me they like this because it wears them out.

I love to play with glasses. You know, the kind you drink from.
I especially like it when the glass is full.
I like to tip them over and watch the liquid run over the furniture.
My mom or dad yells "JACKSON!!!" because they think it's fun too.
They want to come and watch it with me, so I tell them that they are very welcome.

My sister can be grouchy.
Sometimes she's in a good mood, but most of the time she's not.
She hisses and spits.
I like to try and put her in a good mood, so I jump on her from behind and grab her around the neck.
She doesn't act like she's having fun but I know she really is.

I love to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper.
My brothers like it when I do this.
Mom doesn't.
I also love to hang from the blinds.
It makes me feel like a gymnast and I like to show off for my brothers.
Mom doesn't like that either.
Grouch.

My mom tells me my brothers are scared of me.
This makes me feel pretty good.
When I go in and lay on their "big boy bed" with them, they get up and leave like their pants are on fire.
If they wore pants.
I don't know why. All I do is give them hugs and scratch their backs.
Within seconds I get the bed to myself so I stretch out as far as I can.
Dad says I'm bragging.
I am.

I like watching for birds and I'm a master bug catcher.
That's what dad says.
I can hear a bug anywhere in the house and I pounce on it until dad gets there to get it.
Dad says we make a good team.

More things I enjoy are:
I love to be petted and held on my back.

I love to play with my parents in their bed at 2a.m. (biting their toes is what they love the best)

I think food is more enjoyable when you've spilled it on the floor first.
I also think my water dish is a swimming pool.
I love to help my brothers eat their breakfast and dinner.
I like to supervise my mom when she puts dishes away.

I love to sleep with my brothers in their crate.

Paper is for shredding. All paper - books, receipts, notes, etc.

I love to entertain my family.

That's me!

Wander The Web Wednesday

2011-08-03T16:51:00.002-04:00

Another rendition of wander the web Wednesday. This week my focus seems to be on food.

Eggs on Sunday is a lovely blog about what else? Food. The focus is on cooking with whole foods and organic ingredients. There's a recipe for Maple-Walnut Apple Cake that looks divine!
Piece Of Cake is a combination of scrumptious recipes and photos that will make your mouth water.
Kevin Kossowan's blog features his life of hunting, gardening, smoking meat, and cooking over a wood fire among other adventures. It's a fascinating read. Kevin is also involved with the Edmonton slow food movement.
Sense of Home Kitchen is a place where Brenda blogs about her homemade life. A little gardening mixed with a lot of cooking combined with frugal living and photography. I found some very unique recipes on her blog. I mean, where else can you find recipes for Parsnip Cake or Parsnip Muffins?
A Foothill Home Companion is a beautiful blog with interesting photos and posts. Although I wish there was an "about me" area to learn more about the author, I've found her posts quite enjoyable. And she raises chickens and bees.....you've gotta love that!!
A Lego A Day is a site devoted to, well, legos. It's 365 days of a different lego scene per day. Although the 365 days just finished, it's amusing to go back through and see the creativity.
Noble Pig is yes, you guessed it, another food blog. This one, however, focuses a lot on main and side dishes (to help balance the sweets from the others!). I plan on trying the coleslaw and cheese broiled tomato recipes this week!
One Perfect Bite Simply put - beautiful photos, and fantastic recipes. A great "go to" site when you need to find something to bake or cook.

Hope you find something you enjoy!!

Voluntary Simplicity Step 5: Consume Less

2011-08-02T20:24:00.002-04:00

Perhaps this chapter would be more aptly titled "Consume Less, Spend Mindfully and Pursue Quality" since reducing what we consume is really only a part of the equation. Thinking purchases through (i.e. Is this something I need? Can I make do with something I already own? Can I buy a used one?), so you're mindfully spending helps not only reduce consumption, but reduce wasteful consumption.

To pursue quality, we narrow spending down even further by determining if we are in fact going to make a purchase, it's going to be something of quality that will hopefully last. Purchasing quality items may have a higher initial cost, but the total cost of ownership may actually be less than that of a lesser quality item.

I have been working at our reduction of consumption of things like paper products, packaging, etc. For items we need and use, (furniture, garden tools, etc.) I am certainly looking at the questions above, i.e. do we need it? If the answer is yes, we are purchasing quality items. Although I'd like to tell you we only purchase things for function, I will tell you that I love aesthetically pleasing items as much as the next person and I think it's important to surround yourself with things you love. That being said, if I look around at my home, I'm surrounded by things that I love, things I've purchased for their function, but also things I bought on a whim or have been given as gifts that I keep simply because I feel as though getting rid of them would be wasteful or disrespectful. In my attempts at being honest with myself, purchasing them was wasteful and keeping them is just plain silly.

Speaking for my own household, we simply have too much stuff. Each room of our small house is packed full and if that's not enough, we have a storage unit the size of a one-car garage that's three quarters full of stuff. Yes, we pay rent on that unit every month to house our stuff. Not only is it appalling to think of the amount of money spent on the items sitting in storage, but the amount we spend each month to keep it all. I've requested my husbands assistance in sorting through it all, since some of it is his and I would never get rid of things that mean something to him without his approval. I had set a goal of Spring 2011 that he quickly moved to Fall 2011.

Purging is an important first step. Once you see you can live without all the stuff, there isn't such a drive to buy it. No one ever said this process is easy, but I think he'll feel good once we've gone through it. I know I will!

To read the entire Voluntary Simplicity series, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-08-02T20:17:00.003-04:00

"The deepest principle in human nature

is the craving to be appreciated."

- William James

Weekend - Garden photos, bugs and critters

2011-07-31T22:38:00.002-04:00

Another hot weekend, although not nearly as awful as weekends past.

The humidity showed up again today. It just can't take a hint that we don't want it anymore.

Last week Jay found a HUGE egg in the coop. It's in the photo above on the far left.

We don't know who laid it, but it had to have hurt.

The egg in the center is Daisy's XL egg.

Saturday morning Jay found the tiniest little egg in the outdoor coop.

It's the egg on the far right. Barely bigger than my thumb nail.

I bet the chicken who laid it didn't even realize it.

Speaking of the girls, they had a great weekend of foraging for bugs, grasses, weeds and all good things chickens love.

Oliver is doing better by the day. His lumps continue to decrease in size.

Jackson was in quite a bit of trouble this weekend. He seems to enjoy that.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to find he discovered where I was storing the bag of cat food that didn't fit in the container.

He must have spent an hour or two at it, but he managed to claw the bag open and spill it all over the closet it was stored in.

Old hardwood floors with gaps between that perfectly fit cat food nuggets.

Thanks Jackson!

He was pretty proud of himself, I must say.

I keep telling myself we WILL make it to year #2.

My garden is doing pretty good.

It's now officially infested with striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, moles and a woodchuck.

Ugh.

The cucumber beetles I can deal with but those squash bugs are sneaky and they work quick.

They've already destroyed 3 winter squash plants.

The moles are enjoying watermelon plant roots.

The woodchuck has just discovered the grocery store in my back yard. He's been digging his paws into whatever he can grab.

I sprinkled "Critter Ridder" around the perimeter of the garden to try and keep the woodchuck away and am spraying insecticidal soap on the squash and cuke leaves.

My refrigerator is overflowing with green beans, cukes and squash.

I've been packing the beans for freezing as well as making freezer pickles.

I tried a new recipe that uses honey. I'm hoping it's tasty!

How about you, how was your weeked?

Baby corn on the left and eggplant on the right

Field of melon - watermelon, cantaloupe, muskmelon and honeydew

Gigantic summer squash

Beans

Winter squash

Clockwise from upper left: Re-plant of beets for Fall harvest, cabbage, cukes, and cherry tomatoes.

A Visit To Essex Farm - Kristin and Mark Kimball's Farm As Featured In "The Dirty Life"

2011-07-27T17:34:00.005-04:00

I must say, this book is wonderful - very inspirational, and when I saw advertised that Mark and Kristin were offering a farm tour this past Saturday I was thrilled and signed us up immediately.

What I liked the best about their farm is that it's not a "boutique" farm. Nope. This is a real, get your hands, arms, legs, feet and everything else dirty, work until 4a.m. and then start again at 6a.m. type of farm. I'm also happy to report that Mark and Kristin seem to be as down to earth, passionate and genuinely nice people in person as they appear to be in the book. They are truly thankful for where they are and what they have.

Although they do use tractors sparingly, almost all work at Essex Farm is done by a combination of manpower and horsepower. The work horses are stunning. Watching them work is even more beautiful.

Mark and Kristin run a year-round free choice CSA which offers vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, grains and dairy. What is free choice? The farmer doesn't determine what each shareholder will take home that week. The shareholder gets to determine. Mark and Kristin set out a huge array of vegetables, meats, grains, dairy and eggs and each shareholder chooses what they want for the week and how much of it. I think it's a wonderful idea.

We toured the fruit and vegetable fields first and had the opportunity to watch the horses in action. Probably the most amazing thing I learned about the fruit and vegetable fields is that they have no irrigation. They do not water at all. Their soil is that good. Amazing, right?

Next we toured the baby chicks, dairy barn and learned about their solar system. Their entire farm is run off the solar panels. They were fortunate enough to receive federal and state grants to fund most of the costs. The milkhouse is another wonderful idea. The thought of the most inexpensive way to create a milkhouse that would be sufficient to pass inspection. They purchased a refrigerated trailer, removed the wheels, set up the inside and voila. Milkhouse is in business. Kristin shared that the inspector, upon visiting the farm, told her "well, it's not the most attractive milkhouse, but it certainly passes inspection".

They used the same idea for their butcher shop. A converted refrigerated trailer. Again, not so attractive but extremely cost efficient and functional.

They have 3 root cellars, a large compost area {everything is composted}, a greenhouse, and a simple yet practical gathering area for the shareholders to pick up their groceries every Friday.

Although the weather wasn't pleasant {upper 90's}, it was enjoyable to listen to them speak about their passion for farming and connecting with the members of their community. They both acknowledged that although there are plenty of things they would do differently, they are very happy with what they've got and have many hopes and dreams for their future. Every person who took the tour walked away with bags of wonderful produce grown at Essex's Farm.

They are living my "retirement" dream.

An Ollie Update

2011-07-26T17:55:00.001-04:00

Thank you to all of you who have emailed or left comments regarding Oliver.

We really appreciate all of the kind words.

Oliver is doing well.

We are still thinking he has a vaccination reaction.

He is on a new medication and it seems to be working well.

He is back to playing with his sister and brothers and just generally causing trouble.

He still has rough moments, but all-in-all, he's much better than he was.

All the animals are currently doing good. {knock on wood!}

The chickens are enjoying a few days of lower temp.'s and humidity.

Cait is still enjoying my guilt.

My guilt for bringing in 2 crazy dog brothers and then a crazy kitten brother.

She gets away with pretty much anything right now.

And she hasn't had a bath in awhile - lucky girl.

She's feeling pretty good about all of this.

Last night she was trying to bury the cat food bowl.

It didn't work.

I suspect it was to hide it from Jackson.

We pretended we couldn't see it to make her feel better.

Jackson is a crazy bundle of energy.

He is still a little pigpen.

He gets bathed weekly because he smells like he plays in his litter box.

Do you remember that movie "Parenthood" with Steve Martin?

Do you remember his son who would entertain himself by putting a bowl on his head and spinning in circles in the yard?

This is what Jackson makes me think of.

He runs into walls, the dog crate, chairs and our legs for no reason.

Full steam ahead.

He is very funny.

Then there's Emerson.

He's been getting into his own share of trouble.

He tends to frequently get caught with a cat toy in his mouth.

We say "Emerson, I didn't buy you a toy mouse. Is that YOUR toy mouse?"

He slowly drops the toy to the ground and walks away.

This is when we actually catch him.

When we don't, we find the couch full of cat toy stuffing or shreds of toy mice on the floor.

Emerson tells us he doesn't know who came in the house and destroyed those toys but he is determined to watch for the intruder and let us know when he finds him.

That's the update on the critters!!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-07-26T17:36:00.002-04:00

"If we all tried to make other people's paths easy,

our own feet would have a smooth even place to walk on."

- Myrtle Reed

Time, Ollie, Chickens and The Weather

2011-07-20T22:12:00.002-04:00

I find that the days and weeks just fly by in summer.

Do any of you have the same issue?

I seem to have no time to do anything.

I start out my week with a list of items to accomplish, and barely check off one thing by Sunday.

My poor little Oliver.

He has gone to see his favorite doctor for a biopsy of his lumps (yes, now plural) and we're patiently waiting for the results.

I am hoping and praying for good results and hoping and praying his pain can be taken care of soon.

My heart absolutely breaks to see him desperately trying to stand, shaky as can be.

Sitting takes a while for the little guy too.

Everything right now seems to be difficult for him.

Except barking.

I am grateful now when I hear that bark.

The poor chickens.

Heat and humidity.

They are absolutely miserable.

Tomorrow and through the weekend we're looking at upper 90's and high humidity.

I've been giving them the chicken version of Gatorade and they sleep at night in front of their box fan, wings out so they can feel relief.

A difficult week here.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-07-19T22:24:00.003-04:00

"Whatever we do to any other thing in the great web of life,

we do to ourselves,

for we are one."

- Brooke Medicine Eagle

Weekend

2011-07-17T21:14:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh.....a hot summer weekend.
The humidity has again settled in.
Makes for the dog {and cat} days of summer.

As you can see from the photo above, Emerson, Jackson and Oliver got some serious naps in this weekend.
Too hot to be productive.
That's what they tell me anyway.
Cait was upstairs in ~~our~~ her bed.

Poor Ollie still has a lump on his bum.
He had another one pop up on Thursday night.
Not sure what it is.
Possibly vaccination reaction.
The one on his bum makes it hard for him to get his little leg going.
I can only hope it goes away soon.

My garden shed shelves are up and it should be painted this week.
Hooray!

My garden is doing very well despite the heat and humidity.
I'm giving it lots of water.
I picked 2 medium zucchini on Saturday.
Perfect for Chocolate Zucchini Cake.
Yum.

Cukes are getting close.
In the meantime, I purchased some at the farmers' market for eating as well as for freezer pickles.
I've got lots of flowers on my green bean plants {photo above}, but not much to pick yet.

Emerson has chosen a favorite squash.
Every time we go outside he checks on his squash.
He could care less about the rest of the garden {except trying to eat corn stalks and sit in the melon patch}.
Funny how he remembers it.

Well, Jay's on to his next "honey-do" project.
He's expanding the back deck.
Those "honey-do's" just don't end do they?

How about you - how was your weekend?

Garden Photos

2011-07-14T19:30:00.000-04:00

Can't wait until the watermelon, cukes, squash, peppers and beans are ready to be picked!

Quotable Tuesday

2011-07-12T16:03:00.002-04:00

"What comes out of you when you're squeezed

is what's inside of you."

-Unknown

Weekend

2011-07-10T21:04:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the weekend is over.

We had BEAUTIFUL weather.

Sigh.

Humidity is on it's way for tomorrow.

My photo collage, I realized, is almost all food.

Hmmm.....not sure why.

That seems to be what I photographed this weekend.

Let's start with the not so good.

Oliver is not feeling well.

My little man has a little hard nodule on his back hip.

It causes him some discomfort.

Hoping to get him in to see Dr. Lori tomorrow.

The chicken's garden is coming along s-l-o-w-l-y.

They are getting VERY impatient.

They are supposed to be getting dandy greens, marigolds, nasturtiums and other lettuce from their garden.

Hasn't happened yet.

I made "Eclair Cake" on Friday.

Have you made this?

It's not actually eclairs, but pudding layered with graham crackers and chocolate on top {photo above}.

I have to say it was ok.

My husband can't get enough of it.

The recipe I followed was homemade pudding, graham crackers, and melted chocolate chips.

The pudding was great.

I pulled off my graham crackers.

Speaking of my husband, he is also slightly obsessed with breakfast burritos.

Do you make these?

Again, I'm not so much a fan, but he tells me I make a heck of a breakfast burrito.

Whatever makes him happy.

Especially since he hung my garden shed shelves today.

Now it's time to organize it.

Although I'm not getting many ripe tomatoes, my farmer's market has lots of them and they are heaven.

Yum.

Tomatoes and basil.....tomatoes and cilantro.....tomatoes and pesto on puff pastry.....greek salad with tomatoes.....homemade salsa......love it all.

Hoping you had a nice weekend as well!

A Look Around The Garden

2011-07-09T14:15:00.002-04:00

My garden is growing well.

The ongoing rain certainly doesn't hurt.

While I have lots and lots of green, I'm still patiently waiting for the final products.

Asparagus and strawberries are now done for the year.

I've picked a few cherry tomatoes and peas (Sugar Snap and Estancia) and quite a bit of lettuce.

Other than that, our veggies and fruit are purchased at the farmers' market.

I know in another couple of weeks we'll be bursting at the seams with fresh produce.

Can't wait!!

Weekend

2011-07-05T20:55:00.003-04:00

The long, wonderful weekend has come to an end.
Saturday was filled with working around the house.
Jay almost finished my garden shed.
Whoo hoo!
It needs to be painted a final coat and he needs to hang my shelving.
I hope to be using it soon.

My garden is bursting.
I love it.
Lettuce is ready, radishes are coming along, peas are plump, cucumber, potato and squash plants are like leafy giants and melons are flowering.
Can't wait.

Jackson is doing great.
He has found his place in the pecking order.
I've taken to calling him pigpen.
He has such a laid back personality, that he doesn't care if Oliver stands on him while licking him, Cait hisses at him while he plays, and he certainly doesn't care if he tips the cat food bowl over {constantly} or scratches litter all over the floor.
"Oh well", he says, and walks away.

I'm very excited about a farm tour we're going on later in the month.
Have you read the book "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball?
Well she and her husband have a farm in upstate {way upstate} New York and they're offering tours on July 23rd.
I can't wait!
Even Jay is excited.
The have a CSA that offers much more than vegetables, they offer meat, eggs, dairy, and grains as well.
A CSA Grocery Store!

Another exciting farm trip we have planned is on Labor Day weekend.
Jenna Woginrich, author of "Made From Scratch" and "Chick Days" also has a farm in upstate New York, and is offering an all-day class "Sheep 101" Labor Day Weekend.
If you're interested, you can go to her farm blog: Cold Antler Farm.

Back to the weekend.
Sunday we had friends over then went to my Mother's house to watch fireworks.
I made Beer Can Chicken for dinner.
Have you ever made that on the grill?
It's so moist and juicy.
I make my own rub, which I use on all meats that I grill, the recipe is: 3/4c. Chili Powder, 1/2c. Brown Sugar, 1/2 T. Salt, 1/2 T. pepper, 1t. Cumin, and 1t. Garlic Salt. Mix it all together and keep it in a jar to rub on beef, pork or chicken.

It was a hot weekend so I did minimal baking, but I did manage to pull off both a Blueberry Pie and a Peanut Butter Pie.
Love the Peanut Butter Pie in summer since it's refrigerated.
We also grilled peaches and pineapple on the grill.
So refreshing.
Are there desserts you make specifically in the summer?

On a quick side note, today I received a beautiful little gift in the mail from my sister-in-law.
She made dish cloths and I LOVE them {pictured above}.
They are so soft.
Thanks Kim!!

She may have to make Jay his own.
He's trying to steal them. :-)
Too bad he's not trying to steal them because he wants to do the dishes.

That was our weekend, how was yours?

Quotable Tuesday

2011-07-05T20:29:00.002-04:00

Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear

and the blind can see.

-Mark Twain

Quotable Tuesday.....

2011-06-29T20:17:00.001-04:00

This week, Quotable Tuesday falls on a Wednesday.

Why?

Well, I completely have lost track of the days yet again this week.

Oh well.

"Until you make peace with who you are,

you'll never be content with what you have."

-Doris Mortman

Book In Review - The Overspent American

2011-06-28T19:57:00.002-04:00

I really enjoyed this book by Juliet Schor. It was written in the 90's, and although the price and wage information has certainly changed, the information is as pertinent today as it was then.

The main message of the book is much of what we already know - Americans are spending more, saving less, and working longer hours than ever before. The author makes an interesting point in stating she doesn't believe we are trying to keep up with the Joneses any longer but rather we are trying to do better than the Joneses.

The book does a nice job of exploring consumption history, our motivation(s) for acquisition, consumption patterns, alternative lifestyles (i.e. downshifters) and then strategies for breaking the cycle.

It was a very well researched and interesting read that, at the very least, serves as inspiration to make changes.

What A Week.....

2011-06-23T20:28:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just keeps going, and going, and going......?
This is one of those for me.
I didn't post a "weekend" post, so I figured I would write a weekend-style post mid-week.

Jackson is doing great.
He is the perfect personality to fit in with this crazy family.
He is laid back and loves attention from his brothers and sister as well as being held by his mama and papa.
His little paws knead constantly.
When you're carrying him in your arm, laying on his back, his paw hangs over the side and kneads.
Looks like he's doing the side stroke.
I would call him our little Michael Phelps, but he doesn't partake in any illegal activity.
So he's just Jackson doing the side stroke.

The theme for this week is rain.
Monday and Tuesday were beautiful.
Wednesday thru Friday = rain.
Rain and humidity.
My chickens are miserable but my garden is loving it.

Speaking of Monday and Tuesday, my aunt flew in from Washington State on Monday.
Tuesday I took her and my mom to Vermont.
It was a beautiful day.
We walked, shopped and drove around to see the sights.

Mama Claire, Little Lizzie and Renee are all still broody.
2 months this has lasted.
What a pain.
Renee has quite the attitude.
When we make her get out of the nesting box she fluffs out her feathers {including tail} like a turkey.
She hisses at the others and pecks at them.
Brat.
She came at me twice like a rooster.
I told her "puh-lease!"
Then I reminded her that I got rid of the handsome Mr. Clyde when he started coping that attitude, so I could get rid of her too.
She's stopped doing it.
I'm sure she stopped because it didn't work, not because of my threat, but I like to believe she understood me.

Tonight I'm making Chocolate Zucchini Cake {recipe here}.
So yummy!
My zucchini plants haven't even flowered yet, but they had zucchini at the farmer's market so I picked up a few.
I need a greenhouse.
......and cold frames.
......and a fence around my garden.
My husband says "dream on sister!"
He reminds me there's only so much time in a day.
Ugh. Darn him for being a realist!

My garden is looking great.
Potato plants are waist high, cukes are flowering, pea vines have peas, tomato plants have tomatoes, and watermelon plants are flowering.
I love that.
All that hard work will be paying off shortly.

How about you, how is your week going?

Quotable Tuesday

2011-06-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

Your single good deed, big or small,

can inspire others and cause a ripple effect of kindness

that continues to grow as others join in.

- Unknown

Meet Jackson

2011-06-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

Meet the newest addition to Cobble Hill Farm.

He's super sweet and his name is Jackson.

A.K.A. "Jumpin Jack Flash", or "hey you, stop wrecking my house!"

We adopted him tonight from our wonderful Veterinarian.

He's a little crazy tonight - he's loving running through the house at top speed and knocking things over.

I'm sure tomorrow will be more calm.

He's getting hissed at by Cait and constantly sniffed by Oliver and Emerson.

The poor guy's got patience.

He was our wonderful Miss Sarah's favorite kitten and now he has a home where she can see him all week long.

There's 3 more BEAUTIFUL kittens left for adoption.

I'll post photo's and a link tomorrow if anyone from the Albany, NY area is interested.

Light Shades of {Green} Month 5: Go Meatless One Day A Week

2011-06-16T21:52:00.033-04:00

photo from seattlemet.com

Going meatless once a week can help reduce your environmental impact. Consuming less meat can help lighten your carbon footprint because of reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well as fossil fuel and water usage.

Meatless Monday is a well publicized campaign dedicated to this very mission. It was founded in 2003 to encourage people to make healthier decisions at the beginning of every week. Healthier, because a reduced intake of saturated fats is found to help reduce chronic preventable conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.

The challenge, of course, is finding an array of meatless meals your family will eat. Luckily there are many cookbooks and websites devoted to helping make this an easier transition.

Give it a try! You just may find you enjoy vegetarian meals as much as those that include meat.

If you'd like to read the entire Light Shades of Green series, click {here}.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-06-14T18:49:00.000-04:00

Be kind to unkind people.

They need it the most!

-Unknown

Weekend

2011-06-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

It was a rainy weekend for us and boy am I happy about that.
My garden is grateful too.
After days of high heat and humidity, the constant drizzle and rain over the past 2 days has really perked up the veggies.

I am amazed that we're still enjoying asparagus from our garden.
We've cut quite a bit from a patch that is only into year #2.
Can't wait to see what next year brings!

Speaking of the garden, Meg at Bit of Life blogged a couple of weeks ago about squash beetles.
Have you dealt with these awful things?
The last 2 years my cukes, melons AND squash have been hit by them.
This year, as you can see in the photo above, I've used floating row covers.
They'll be removed when the plants begin flowering.
The idea is to use them to get your plants strong and healthy enough to withstand the squash beetles sucking the life {literally} from them.
This Fall we'll also be turning the chickens loose in the garden to hopefully eat any remaining larvae.

Mama Claire {who is STILL broody} has discovered the delectable taste of raw eggs.
Yup. She's breaking into the shells.
Thursday when I came home from work she was covered in raw egg and quite happy to pull her feathers out while enjoying her afternoon snack.
Oh boy.
I don't believe there's a way to break this nasty habit.
If any of you know of something to try, please let me know.

Good news!
We've been able to pick and enjoy our own strawberries this year.
So far the chippies and birds have only sunk their teeth and beaks into 2 strawberries.
Apparently the bird netting is working. {last year we only enjoyed 2 strawberries as the chipmunks and birds devoured the rest}

Oliver and Emerson have decided they are now officially "big boys" and no longer need to be carried down the stairs.
What a relief!
I think it was our recent stay at the B&B that helped with this.
After a few days of 2 flights of stairs to and from our room, they had it mastered.

Since I couldn't work in the yard or garden, my weekend consisted of working in the kitchen.
I made Taco Soup for lunches since the weather was wet and cool.
I baked BBQ Pork Spareribs for dinner last night as well as homemade mac and cheese and asparagus from the garden.
I made a fresh Strawberry Tart with our berries from the garden. This has a delicious shortbread crust.
I'll try to post the tart recipe this week.
I made more Rhubarb Quick Bread {recipe here}, Cinnamon Swirl bread to enjoy throughout the week, homemade granola to enjoy with yogurt we purchase from a local farmer, and pasta salad for our lunches this week.
Tonight I'll be making Chicken Parm.

What about you, how was your weekend?

Book In Review - Farmer Jane

2011-06-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

Have you read this book? I thought it was an interesting read. In this book, author Temra Costa profiles 26 women in the farm to community movement.

I enjoyed that she profiles what each of them is contributing. What was also nice was at the end of each chapter she gives some ideas about how you, the reader, can also get involved. She also shares plenty of reference information making it a great resource for the sustainable food movement.

Although I wish the author had found a way to personalize her visits and/or interviews with each of the women profiled, it is still a great source of information and inspiration.

Quotable Tuesday

2011-06-07T20:32:00.000-04:00

In my life's chain of events nothing was accidental.

Everything happened according to an inner need.

- Hannah Senesh

(Boy, does it seem hard to think this while things are happening, but once the storm passes and you can look back, it sure does seem to be true!)

Weekend

2011-06-05T21:48:00.000-04:00

We went to the farmers market Saturday morning.

I lost my patience waiting for my own strawberries to ripen.

I broke down and bought some.

Worked on the garden shed and in the garden Saturday.

Suffered from an allergy-related headache most of the weekend.

Ugh.

Made cream cheese danish {recipe here}and strawberry rhubarb tart for sweets.

First BLT of the season was enjoyed on Sunday.

Yum.

Still enjoying the lovely smell of the lilacs around our property.

Lillies, phlox, allium, and echinacea are getting ready to bloom.

Laundry is caught up.

Dogs are squeaky clean.

Chickens will have leftover amish oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow.

They will be very happy.

Still need to cut the grass and weed flower beds.

How was your weekend?