Keeping Christmas simple...

Brita as Iduna.                          Christmas Morning
Art by Carl Larsson

Dear Friends,
I know it's not Christmas yet, but if you're like me, you are already hunting for those special little things that you want to give to your loved ones.  Things that tell them they are loved and special.  Sometimes it's hard to find just the perfect gift and sometimes the big holiday can't be attended by every family member.  What do you do?  Well, tonight I found this little love letter from a mother to her daughters (and son), and it meant so much to me and said pretty much what I feel in my heart, so I wanted to share it with you too because maybe you feel this way, and you wish your children could know it.  I passed it on to my grown-up kids.  They were glad, I think.

Dear Daughters (On Keeping Christmas Simple)

Be blessed,
Jody

Nature walk...

 

Tree Sparrow (or Winter Sparrow)

 

 

Golden Eagle

 

Jackrabbit (white-tailed)

I took another walk through The Woods today, but along the way I found a few creatures that caught my eye.  The first was the Golden Eagle.  My DIL called me after breakfast to say that there was a huge Golden Eagle in the Cottonwood tree below our houses.  Sure enough, he was perched right up towards the top of the tree and didn't budge at all when I walked right underneath him. It's that time of year once again when we see the eagles come back for the winter to hunt jack rabbits, cottontails, and mice.  We have a plentiful supply of all three so I hope they eat their fill!

As I was walking into the shelter belt, I spied the cute little American Tree Sparrow or winter sparrow.  There was a pair of them, but this one perched nicely for me to take her picture.  Many of the summer songbirds are gone now, but the tree sparrow comes for a winter visit.  Our American Goldfinches sometimes stay for the winter depending on how cold it is.  They have changed their clothes from bright yellow tuxes to their tweeds of gray and white.

Do you see the white fur starting to color in the jackrabbit's coat?  The jacks are hanging close to the shelter belts now and that usually means that the weather is going to change -- likely cold and probably snow.  I haven't seen the Sharptail Grouse in the trees yet, but when they arrive, that is a sure sign of winter weather coming.  They like to nibble on the Russian Olives.  

I saw an owl fly by twice today, but again, I didn't get a good look at him.  I will though.  You can be sure.  I got to thinking that it might be a young Great Horned Owl too.  Stay tuned.

Morning fires, fall walks, recipes and more...

 

The mornings start out downright chilly now, even in the house. It's a great comfort to get up and start a fire in the stove and just sit there and sip coffee with the man.  I have found nothing so radiantly warm and mesmerizing as a wood fire.  I can stand with my backside to a fire for a long time before I feel like I'm heated through, and I can sit before a fire for an hour just gazing at the flames flicking this way and that and changing from red to yellow to blue.  We've had no snowy weather yet, but with the sun so low in the sky, it never seems to be bright and sunny anymore.  It's mostly gray and hazy with a sharp wind.

The colder, biting weather keeps me from walking up the road or through the open pastures, but instead I like to take to The Woods.  The Woods are really shelter belts planted long ago to block wind and snow from homes and for livestock.  For me, The Woods make for a quiet, mostly wind-free place to walk, and the scenery is altogether different from the open prairie.  I have to take my time walking there because there's quite a lot of down trees and limbs lying around and the grass is fairly tall and lays over certain branches.  The trick for me is to keep track of my footing whilst looking up in the trees to spy out owls and grouse and raccoon.  

Yesterday I took a long walk through several shelter belts around the houses and barnyard and I did find one lone owl.  Actually, I didn't spot it on my own, but I was making so much noise stumbling  amongst the branches that I scared it from its perch and it flew away.  I couldn't identify it, but it was smaller than a Great Horned Owl and did not have ear tufts that I could see.  I'm anxious to go walking again and see if I can get a look at it again -- maybe close up.  It could be either the Short-eared Owl or the Eastern Screech Owl.  If you have time, there is a short video on the camouflage of the Screech Owl.  They are HARD to find when perched because they blend in so well with the tree bark.  See this one below.

Eastern Screech Owl, 

Wikicommons by Zach of Gamboa, Panama

From the Garden: 

I roasted the last of the tomatoes tonight.  I had a box full of green and slightly ripening tomatoes that I plucked a month ago and hoped would ripen soon or later. Most of them did, but some of them just went bad and I fed them to the eager chickens.  I've decided that I like roasting and freezing tomatoes best of all methods of preserving.  They tend to be sweeter and less acidic than canning.  I brought in a big bucket of carrots from the garden and covered the rest that are in the ground with a heavy layer of hay mulch in hopes that they can stay there awhile longer.  I've found that carrots tend to stay crisp and fresh longer in the ground than any other place, but I can't let them freeze or they will turn to mush.

The butternut squash were plentiful and are especially delicious.  I found a really good recipe in my cookbook by Ina Garten called "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics."  I involves roasting the squash  with pancetta (or bacon) and garlic and sage.  Oh is it ever good!  Click here for Maple Roasted Butternut Squash!

About Weaning Calves:

All of the calves are now weaned and eating feed -- ground hay and a very little cracked corn.  We used the calf weaning nose flaps on one bunch and that seemed to work out pretty well.  We decided that next time we will keep them in for 6-7 days in hopes that the calves don't wean as hard as they did.  It takes time for the bawling part to subside even though the pairs are together in the pasture.  We've had a few sick calves, but very few.  Those who do get sick are the calves that won't eat.  They tend to pout and sulk and stay away from feed and water and that makes for sick animals.

Wild birds -- in felt

 

 Black-capped Chickadee, Lazuli Bunting (blue), Downy Woodpecker

 

American Robin

Guess what?  I found DownEastThunderFarm!  And you know what Susan does there?  She makes patterns for wild birds -- made of felt.  Lots of them.  And you know what else?  She lets you print her patterns for FREE.  The only stipulation is that you don't sell them for profit.  I am so excited because each of my eight beautiful grandchildren are going to have a wild bird ornament clinging to their Christmas tree this December.  So far, I have these three made and another black-capped chickadee ready for its wire feet.  I've got an American Robin, Meadowlark, Burrowing Owl, Wren, and Red-winged Blackbird printed, and there are so many more to choose from.  Susan's patterns are clear and easy to understand.  I think the birds look very life-like, and as a bird-watcher, this thrills me.

If you're not into birds, there are also a few patterns for wild animals.  I'm especially smitten with the Whitetail Fawn, and the Christmas Moose is really sweet too.  I hope you might find your favorite bird at DownEast Thunder Farm.  Even if you don't intend to stitch up any birds, take a look around the farm anyway.  I think you'll appreciate the beautiful birds Susan has created.
 ..........................................................

Bread and milk for breakfast,
  And woolen frocks to wear,
And a crumb for robin readbreast
  On the cold days of the year.

~Christina Rosetti

Halloween Fun!

Dressing up

Trick or Treat

Eating "bones, skeletons, and monster cookies"

Chili and Cauliflower-Cheese soup

Pumpkin Ale

Jack-o-lanterns

Candy

Grandkids

Halloween!

A little chillier, a little darker, a little quieter...

 

The days are getting a little chillier, a little darker, a little quieter, a little shorter. I've had to break out my gloves and warm winter hat.  I'm not very well-adjusted yet to these colder days of 45 degrees for a high.   The hens have a heat lamp in their coop now that turns on at about 5:00 am and stays on until the sun rises fully, giving them a little extra light which stimulates egg production.  Twenty eggs a day makes me think it's a good idea.  This afternoon as the sun sank low, I noticed several hens and the rooster standing on one leg.  The ground is getting colder now too and I guess they are feeling it.

The weaning has begun.  Yesterday we got the cows and calves in and put these yellow nose flaps in the calves' noses.  The flaps are made of a flexible plastic with little nobs that stay in the their nostrils.  The flaps prevent the calves from sucking their mothers which eventually results in a weaned calf.  Weaning is one of the most stressful times in a calf's life.  Separation from mom as well as separation from their milk supply can cause stress and sickness.  Our hope with this new-to-us weaning method is that the sickness and stress is greatly reduced during the process.  In about 5-6 days we will bring the cows and calves back in and sort the calves away from their mothers to complete the weaning.  You might wonder why weaning is necessary.  The cows are pregnant right now and the double demands of the calf requesting milk and the developmental needs of fetus-calf puts a large nutritional demand on the cow. The calf is getting the majority of its nutrition from grazing now anyway, but the attachment to mom is still strong.

 I picked the last of the calendula flowers and parsley to dry.  

I'll use calendula in my body creams and parsley for cooking.

With the cold, fall days comes my desire to bake.  I especially like to bake bread and EAT bread.  I've come to the conclusion that I don't like store-bought bread.  For years when the kids were at home, I made our daily bread.  At least ten loaves a week.  After they flew the coop, I made bread only occasionally, but now I want to go back to baking all the bread we eat.  It's just the two of us, so it's not quite the chore it once was, and we both appreciate the crusty, rustic loaf and the healthful goodness it provides.

 I made a sourdough starter this past week and used it for these loaves.  They are a mix of white and whole wheat flour along with some ground flax seed and honey.  There's no oil in the bread except for what was in the pans to keep it from sticking.  But I sometimes like to butter the crusts of the loaves when they come out of the oven, and then there's the butter that must be smeared over each slice before eating! I found that by kneading the dough for an extra long time (maybe 15 minutes) the interior was very soft and the exterior crunchy. I think this bread would even make a good sandwich loaf.  I had a "good do" this time!  I've had my share of failures.  I was thinking that maybe tomorrow morning I'd use some of the sourdough starter to make sourdough pancakes for breakfast.  Doesn't that sound yummy?  Yep, I think so too.

If you watched The Great British Baking Show on Sunday, did you also watch the short clip about the  National Loaf?  During WWII England's Ministry of Food established a wheatmeal loaf as part of a food-saving plan.  The Brits preferred a white loaf, but because Britain imported 70% of it's grain at the time, it was determined that the national loaf must use the whole grain, thereby using all of the wheat grain without wasting any of it.  Although the people did not like the national loaf,  the wholewheat bread proved much more nutritional than the white breads.  I prefer the taste of whole grains and seeds in my bread loaves.  What kinds of bread do you prefer?


"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?" --Julia Child

Itty bitty bows....

 

I've been fiddling around with felt and came up with these itty bitty hair bows for my lil girl grandies.  The two on the left are larger, about 3" wide.  But the other bow on the right and the one in my hair are much smaller.  Perfect for baby girls.  I found a cool method of making hair clips stick in fine baby hair -- grippy shelf liner.  You cut a small bit of shelf liner and glue it to one side of the clip and it will grip onto the finest hair.  I made all of the clips like that, even for the big girls.  Why not?

I found the tutorials for the hair bows here and here.  All it takes is some wool-blend felt, scissors, needle & thread, a hot glue gun, and metal hair clips.  Give it a try.  It's fun!

Old tools -- a 1950s Cord Wood Saw

This old saw has been around for a long time.  Hubby's dad likely used it when he was a young man to cut wood for heating the old house.  When coal became inexpensive and available, the old cord wood saw was put out to pasture.  In the 90s Hubby and I got the saw out and cut up a bunch of old fence posts for firewood.  It was cool to see how it worked and how quickly we could saw up a lot of posts. 

NumberOneSon really wanted to get the saw out this past weekend and run it with his favorite tractor, the John Deere Model A.  He and Hubs set up the saw and fired up the tractor which would turn the belt which powered the saw.  The original belt broke on their first run so they had to figure out something else to use.  Resourceful as they are, the guys went to the shop and found a piece of baler belting and attached that to the saw and the tractor and zoom!  Away it went!  The old saw whirred beautifully and didn't have a bit of wobble in it despite its years of storage out in the open.  The men cut up a few fence posts and decided the saw might need a little sharpening.  It could easily cut through softer fence posts, but it took a little longer to saw through the hard pitch posts. 

The guys were truly amazed at the quality of workmanship that went into building the saw.  It was well-balanced and perfectly round, keeping it spinning without the wobble that comes when things are not machined just right.  I think it probably does a better job of cutting firewood than the chainsaw.  The nice part of using it is that it stands at waist height which makes it much easier to cut a lot of firewood at a time.  Not quite such back breaking work as it is leaning over a chain saw.

Carrot-Orange Cookies...

 

From the 1980 Betty Crocker Cookbook

which was given to me for a wedding gift in 1981, 

this recipe is one of those yummy frosted cookies

that hardly anyone makes anymore. 

Carrot-Orange Cookies

(Originally called Carrot-Coconut Cookies - revised)

1 cup mashed cooked carrots (about 4 medium)

3/4 c. sugar

1 cup shortening (half butter)

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. shredded or flaked coconut (opt.)

2 tsp. orange zest

2 T. orange juice

 

Heat oven to 400* F.

I grate some carrots and cook them a little in the microwave.

Mix carrots, sugar, shortening/butter and eggs.

Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add orange juice and zest and optional coconut.

Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 " apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake until almost no indentation remains when touched, about 8 minutes.  

Do not brown. Remove from pans immediately. 

Frost cookies when cool.

Makes about 2-3 dozen.

Orange Butter Frosting

2 Tbsp. butter

1 1/2 to 2 c. powdered sugar

dash of salt

2-3 T. orange juice

2 tsp. orange zest

Mix well to spreadable consistency. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was inspired to bake the Carrot-Orange cookies after reading Thimbleanna's recipe for Frosted Orange Cranberry Cookies, which I intend to try very soon.  Her cookies reminded me of this recipe and I had the ingredients on hand -- including a garden full of carrots --  so I baked.  And I'm glad I did!  It's been years since I've baked these little cakey cookies.

Speaking of baking, this past Sunday I found the TV tuned to the PBS channel and the program was in progress was The Great British Baking Show.  I just love things that are obviously named like a black kitten named Blacky or a late night show called The Tonight Show, and The Great British Baking Show is exactly what it is.  The fine bakers who are competing for the title of Best British Baker are so much fun to watch and listen to, and the judges are so brilliant and use the best adjectives to describe the baked goods.  When one of them used the word "scrummy" my heart leaped!  If you enjoy baking or eating delicious pastries and buns, you will love watching this show.  Check out the preview here and find the airing time where you live.  Don't miss it this Sunday!  Oh, and after the baking show is Masterpiece Theatre!  I like the one right after.

In this house carrot cake and carrot cookies count as vegetables.
~Anonymous

Cows, preg checking, weaning, fencing...

 

Fall is a very busy time of year on the ranch.  There are cows to pregnancy test, calves to wean, and livestock needs to be moved out to winter pastures.  After 25 years or so with Ralph pregnancy checking the cows, he retired to full-time ranching and we've had to hire someone new -- a lady vet named Chandy. And she's good.  That job is behind us now and we have just begun to wean calves.

Have you noticed a lot of semi-trucks on the road lately?  It's livestock shipping time and if you live in rural areas, there's no end to the trucks taking dry cows or weaned calves to and from sale barns or  ranches or feedlots.  The only livestock we ship this time of year are the dry cows.  Dry cows are not pregnant. Often they are called Open Cows.  At the sale barn they have a big O on their backs if they were tested there.  Our cows have a big paint stick mark on their sides and back which help use to identify them when we sort cows.  Tomorrow Hubs will take in the remainder of the open cows to the sale barn and their calves will be weaned.  Later this month and into November, we will wean more calves, a bunch at a time.

 

Yesterday afternoon I went along with Hubby to help him finish fencing.  We had a long stretch, about a mile, of fence to fix.  The fellas had most of it done the day before, but there were a couple gates to build and some steel posts to clip.  Hub made the gates while I walked the fenceline and clipped the wires to the steel posts.  The photo above is what the clips and the wire pliers looks like that I was using.  On the wider steel posts, I have to use the wire pliers, but on the skinnier posts, I can twist the clip on with a nail spike.  These past few days have been gorgeous.  Sunny and warm but not hot, with a gentle breeze.  Glorious fall days for fall work.  I'm soaking up all the sunshine I can!