It finally happened!!!!

July 24, 2011

Well......It finally happened !!!!!!!!  Our long awaited moment happened during the night or early morning hours........Our Oreo had her calf!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up this morning, as the coffee was brewing i walked to the window to check on the sheep, Rosey, that had made several escapes out the fence the other day, and to my surprise....... i spotted something white on the ground up the hill, grabbed the binoculars, and confirmed it was indeed the baby.

I couldn't stand it....I had to get a closer look and get some pictures because hubby is out at work and it will just drive him crazy not to see this cute little thing. She let me walk down a little closer in the field to get a good look.  She seemed calm and confident, being her first calf.

Isn't it soooooo cute........Not sure if it's male or female yet. I didn't want to get to close for too long and make her nervous. She is showing all the signs of being a good momma cow, very attentive to her young.  When we know the gender we will post it's name along with more pics. 

All the new additions to the farm, along with the regulars, are all co-habitating together just fine.

Thanks for stopping by............ more later.

                                              Live simple.....................................Sheryl

Happenings on the farm

July 21, 2011

It's been awhile since i was able to sit at the computer and post the latest happenings on the farm.  Family and farm duties keeps us hopping and we are enjoying every minute of it.  With the hot and dry weather we have been having, it's been a chore to keep everything watered and alive.  We have been lucky to have gotten enough from our garden to freeze and do some canning as well. 

Besides putting up whole tomatoes, i tryed a batch of chili sauce, a sweet sauce that goes well over fresh butter beans.  It was a big hit with the family, they enjoyed it on blackeye peas also.

Our pole green beans and butter beans with mammoth sunflowers growing in the center of this circular bed.  It turned out better than i expected.

Our fig tree was generous this year, i had to work fast before the bees and wasp ate them up.  I was able to make a few batches of strawberry fig preserves.  By adding a few boxes of strawberry jello to the cooked figs, everyone thinks they are eating strawberry preserves.  Another item grown on this small farm that we are able to utilize, and by making this myself, I'm able to control the amount of sugar that's put into our preserves.
Figs are a good source of potassium and calcium



A few views of what it started to look like around here with lack of rain and record heat a month ago.

This cypress tree started showing some fall color, and the green pastures were slowly fading into brown.  This was taken about a month ago, and we have gotten some rain, but we still are in a deficit, and praying for more.

A view of the pond drying up, and the cows trying to stay in the shade.  Poor girls.............not enough water in the pond to keep them cool.

Some much needed rain brought greenier pastures

Our poor "Oreo" the Belted Galloway, we are still waiting for her to calf.  We thought it would be around early July, but was wrong.........she may go into August.  She has done well through all this heat.  They are a breed that does well up north because of their thick winter coat.  They do shed it during the spring here and she has surprised us and done remarkably well.  This breed is listed in the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) as recovering.  They are a very adaptable breed and they forage well, as you can tell by looking at her.  They eat alot of what some of the other cattle won't eat.  It's been fun watching her grow and we are anxiously awaiting the birth of her first calf.  Will keep you posted...........

Remember the baby chicks we got at Easter?....... Well, this is whats left...........The whites, turned out to be cornish hens, so those found their way to the dinner table.  I had two reds and this black one, which i turned out with the Barred Rocks when they got old enough.  One red didn't make it so im left with these two social ladies.  They are busy free ranging and chasing crickets and other insects to fortify their diet, which will inturn improve ours.

Ramsey and Rosey

Our latest additions to our little farm............Meet Ramsey (left) he is a four month old ram St. Croix hair sheep.  I have always wanted a sheep and we have been talking about it for months.  I did some research on hair sheep and looked into the Katahdins.  Last week we found a breeder selling a ram an hour and a half away from here.  The kids fell in love, so did I, with the pictures on the internet of these cute little things.  So do i need to say more.............he came home with us.  The woman told us he would bond with other animals but would do better with a companion.  The next morning my husband took off to the sale barn to see if he can find him a friend.  He came home with Rosey, a Katahdin mix ewe.....let me tell you, she is a Nosey Rosey......if she hears us walk outside, she makes her way to the fence and wants to visit.  We have discovered that finding a St. Croix ewe around here is tougher than we thought.  This breed is interesting to us and its another breed thats listed on the threatened list with the ALBC.  The St. Croix is well adapted to the heat and humidity of the south.  It has excellent forage ability and the breed has a strong resistance to parasites that other breeds of sheep lack, which makes it a easy keeper. No sheering needed, they shed the little wool they grow.  They have a high fertility rate and can breed at six months of age with sometimes two lambings a year.  They often have twins or triplets which Ramsey was a triplet himself. We are excited to learn more about this breed of sheep and will keep you posted on this journey with Ramsey.

                    Live simple.....................................Sheryl

First pickings

June 1, 2011

Good morning!!!  thought i would share with you some of the first pickings from our garden.  We have been picking squash for several weeks now,  and our favorite is having it grilled on the pit, sliced up, wrapped in foil with butter and onions. With the first few pickings, we eat it up as fast as it comes off the plant.  Last week i had a surplus and the kids said " Mom!!!! not squash again...." so i was able to blanch some and put some up in the freezer for later use.

Putting up squash is pretty simple, i just wash them really good, and slice them up, dump them into a pot of boiling water and blanch them for 3-4 minutes.  I then remove them and cool them down under cold water and drain well. 

I have a "Food Saver" vacuum sealer that i use to freeze my food.  I find that i have to make sure the squash is well drained and spread them out onto big trays and flash freeze them before bagging them up.  Squash has a lot of water content which makes it a little difficult for the bags to seal using the Food Saver. I seem to have this problem only when i blanch my vegtables.   I have no problems with the bags sealing if im putting up meats or other dry goods.  Has anyone had this experience using the vacuum method of putting up vegtables?  If you have a different method i would love hearing from you.  Leave me a comment or you can e-mail me with your technique.  I love this gaget for putting up meats and other dry goods. 

Total of five bags in the freezer thus far, if we dont get some rain anytime soon our surplus will be limited......

I picked my first dish of pole green beans this week.  Im pleased with the way the pole beans took off and grew well thus far in this new garden spot.  Remember.... this area was our in-ground pool site that we turned into a victory garden type area, with vegtables and some flowers mixed in.

This is my pole beans that we planted in a circular bed with bamboo poles for the beans to climb.  I planted some Mammoth sunflowers in the center of the beans.  The package states they grow 7ft-12ft tall.  Can't wait to see how tall they will tower over my beans with big yellow flowers smiling down on us.

I use the same method that i used with the squash to put up my green beans; Wash, snap, blanch, cool and drain, flash freeze, and seal. Haven't cooked these yet, thought i would save them and cook my first batch when hubby gets home from work.  His mouth has been watering for some fresh cooked snap beans with fresh dug potatoes to go with it.  How's that for a welcome home meal.........

Look at the size of this tomato i picked this week!!!!!!!!! We have four "celebrity" tomato plants this year that has some really nice size fruit on them.  I don't think we ever grew some this pretty ever........I will credit the aged manure and compost we added to this area, not to mention the daily care it gets, now that the garden spot is closer to the backyard where we spend alot of time hanging out.

I also picked a small batch of blueberries this week.  Not as many berries this year due to the lack of rain.  Last week i had to put the water hose to the bushes and that helped plump up some of them.  They were looking pretty sad and wilted.  I know you folks up in the northern states have been getting your share of rain and record snows this year.  We are getting some of it from you all via the mississippi river.  Too bad we can't pump it out the river and dump it on areas that need it.......

Our favorites are blueberry pancakes and pie.  I make a cream cheese pie and top it with blueberries that have been cooked down with a little sugar. Yummmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!

That sounds like a wonderful homecooked, homegrown meal for hubby when he gets home after having a long rough work week.  Fresh snapbeans and potatoes, salad with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, deer roast and a pie to top it off with.  He works hard to provide all of this for us and we are so grateful.  We love you honey.........xxxooo

       Live simple.......................................................Sheryl



redos and future projects with shabby finds

May 29, 2011

Good morning, What a beautiful morning, although its hot and dry and we are still praying for rain. Some areas had rain a few days ago along with some severe weather and more tornadoes.  Our hearts and prayers go out to those folks who have been affected by the tornadoes and flooding across our country. 

I thought i would show you some of my redos and some shabby finds and future projects.  Awhile back i posted a chair that i repainted and distressed, well, here's the finished look.



before .........(blahhhh..drab...)

I have to show you what my sweet son-in-law scored for me the other day.  I like getting the word out to my friends and family about my love for shabby, vintage stuff, because you never know what they may bring you................

Is he Awesome or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  he has a good eye.

I'm not sure what type of table this pedestal came from.  It's shorter than an average dinning table and taller than a coffee table.  Hubby and i haven't decided what type of top to put on it yet, or if we are gonna cut it down some or not.  Love the metal claw foot on the bottom of each leg.  I think it would make a cute lamp table in a living room.  What do you think??????

       

Remember the old child's rocker i found in my shed that belonged to my daughter's great-grandmother???????  I have been slowly stripping and sanding away all the chipped white paint that was hiding this beautiful oak wood.  I know you hate hearing this, but...........I had a before pic way back with the torn canvas seat on it and the chippy white paint, but cant find that pic.  So here is a pic during the process.   

       The wood was so dry and cracked it soaked up anything i put on it.  This pic is during the process of putting some cherry wood stain on it.  I love the wood grain of oak.

Still trying to decide what type of seating to do on it.  Like i mentioned earlier, there was a canvas type fabric tacked with upholstery tacks will no padding of any kind.  So I'm open for suggestions if any of you out there have any to give.  My first thought before i started stripping it was, i wanted to leave it in that shabby old chippy look and just do a burlap seat of some kind.  But when i discovered it was oak under all that chippy and goop, i had to bring that wood back to life.  I'm pleased with the way it looks thus far, now i need to figure out the seating part.  Let me know what you think in my comments.

          Thanks, and have a happy and safe memorial weekend.

                                       Live simple............................Sheryl

using up stale bread and surplus of eggs

May 27, 2011

Was looking for a recipe that would make use of some french bread i had laying around and the surplus of eggs we have these days.  I came across this recipe called a "strata", I have never heard of a strata before, but the ingredients were familiar.  I have made omelets and quiches before but this called for day old french bread or Italian bread.  While in my search for a new recipe to use up ingredients i had on hand, i discovered there are many eggs dishes that are similar but some are cooked in different ways.  An omelet is an egg mixture of meats, cheese, vegetables, cooked on top of the stove.  A Frittata is an egg mixture of the same but cooked in an oven.  A quiche is an egg mixture of the same meats, cheese, and  vegetables also but its poured into a pie shell and baked.  A strata is the same with the exception of bread cubed up and its also baked in the oven.  Whats fun about making these dishes is that you can combine what ever you like as far as meats, vegetables and cheese to your liking.  Be creative and use up some leftovers.  My family loved it..........

                            

                                                                Spinach and sausage strata   

I started out by tearing the bread into pieces and covered the bottom of a 9x13 dish.  If you don't have french bread you can use stale slice bread, about 9 slices, enough to have a good layer on the bottom.  I used a 9x9 dish .

Brown breakfast sausage in a skillet, add onions, green onions and parsley and cook until wilted.

Drain spinach and squeeze out any water.

Add meat mixture and drained spinach to bread.  Beat eggs with milk, add salt and pepper or other seasonings of choice, pour over bread mixture, top with cheese and let set on counter for 15-20 minutes to let bread absorb milk.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until golden and eggs are set, and knife inserted comes out clean.

Spinach and Sausage Strata

9 slices of stale bread; or french bread or Italian bread

1 small pkg breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean)

1 small pkg frozen spinach thawed

9 eggs beaten

2 cups milk or half and half

shredded cheese of choice

1 small onion, green onions and parsley

salt and pepper to taste

This is an quick and easy recipe that my family loves for brunch on the weekends.  Give it a try and let me know what you think............

               Thanks for stopping by.......................................

                        Live simple........................................Sheryl

Farm happenings

May 26, 2011

Hi everyone, It's been a while since i had the chance to sit here and blog.  I miss it so much, but life gets busy, and family has needs, and those come first.  My oldest daughter had to have surgery, and i have been helping her out and taking care of my grand baby, and loving every minute of it.  Recovery for my daughter is long and slow, but doing better everyday.  Baby is growing fast and doing fine.

nap time at meme's house

It's grown hot and dry around the farm, we need rain so bad.  While some areas along the Mississippi river are worried about flooding, some of us are in a drought and can use the rain. Would it be great if we could tap into the river to water our fields and garden and put that excess water where it's needed!!!!!! The garden is hanging on by watering every day.  This new location for the garden has worked out pretty well.  We're growing some of the prettiest tomatoes we have every grown, but with the heat and no rain the bugs are starting to get to them.

Hoping to get to eat several of these beauties before the bugs do.  Hmmmmmm I'm spying something red in there...........

I can't seem to get the whole salad together, no matter how hard i try, my lettuce gets done before everything else,  I guess that's just the way it goes in south Louisiana.  This is what was left of my buttercrunch lettuce that finished up a few weeks ago.  Now the tomatoes are starting to turn red and the cucumbers are lagging behind as well.  My vision of eating a beautiful, healthy salad i grew myself is not lost, even if i have to eat these ingredients one at a time, as they are grown and ready.  There is such satisfaction in knowing that you grew this yourself, and you know that its grown in a healthy way with no chemicals.



buttercruch lettuce





shallots

We are starting to have a few ears of corn getting close to being ready.  I was feeling disappointed that things were off to a slow start.  We had to replant several things twice, corn was one of them, due to the lack of rain and cooler than normal temps this spring.  Hubby had to remind me that this location was once the pool site, that needed lots of amending.  OK......so maybe next year this site can be more productive.



view of tomatoes, beans, potatoes and corn



This year i planted pole beans and potatoes for the first time and I'm pleased with the way they are growing, spite the lack of rain.  I planted a variety called "rattlesnake", it's a long green bean with purple variegation running through it, a beautiful bean, can't wait to taste it.

We also planted pole butter beans (Florida speckled) and top pick pinkeye peas. They are starting to flower, can't wait to see them. Will get pics of those later. 








We dug potatoes on Sunday, the kids helped and were amazed at how they grow under the ground.  we were pleased with the size of most of them, considering we never grew potatoes before. 

                                                          

The yearling heifers are growing also; the one in the middle is "Oreo" the belted Galloway.  She is expected to have her first calf in July. We met a dear friend that raises registered Belted Galloway cattle and he was kind enough to let us bring Oreo to his farm in Jonesville Louisiana for breeding.  This breed of cattle is an old breed, does well on grass and easy to keep.  It has a small frame size and docile, which makes it easier to keep on small farms.  She needed a home, so we brought her to ours a year ago, not sure what we wanted to do with her, we researched and learned alot about this interesting breed and made her part of the farm.  We are all anxiously waiting to see her calf come July. 

 "T-Boy" young black bull (on the right) is the newest addition to the farm.  We got him at the end of March of this year. Our two yearling heifers liked him alot........... can't wait to see if his work payed off. 

These are some pics of the baby chicks we got at Easter.  These were taken a few weeks back, i will have to take some more recent ones..........just wanted to get a few shots of everything growing on the farm.

Our Barred Rock chickens are doing fine, they are free ranging during the day, and surprisingly!!! they are staying out the garden.  They did get into a few of my flower beds and scattered things around.  I always wondered how do people have these beautiful gardens and flowers and such, and still able to keep the chickens free ranging.  These ladies love to hang out around people, they are very social, which i love...........I love watching them walk around my yard and eat grasshoppers.  We move the portable coop around, trying to keep them more toward the back of our property.  But.........free ranging means sometimes they don't make it back to the coop to lay an egg.  We have found a few eggs in the barn stall and flower beds, kids love it, it's like Easter egg hunting everyday.

These are the happenings on the farm..........check back often to see the updates and progress;

Thanks for stopping by.................

                       Live simple............................................Sheryl