Cheese!

With lots of milk in my fridge, I was running out of jars on my shelf.  I solved both problems by making 2 batches of mozzarella!  I had success both batches, although the first was a little lacking on salt, so I upped it for the second batch.  I really like this recipe because it is so simple!  This morning, I've got the leftover whey on the stove, to attempt whey ricotta.  Looks like a lasagna night!

Grapes

It has been 4 years since I planted my 2 grape plants.  One died the first summer and the other hung on with just barely perceptible growth for 3 years.  Last year, it just took off and now surrounds about half of my garden perimeter (remind me to ask DH to make me some kind of arbor for it to shade my sprouts!).

Friends, family, neighbors and pretty much anyone who came over noticed and complimented on my beautiful grape vine and I was pretty happy to have it so explosively green and taking over the view at the end of my driveway.  I didn't dare hope for anything more out of it, but to my delight, about a month or so ago, teeny tiny bunches of grapes began to appear!  I was shocked, and the kids were thrilled.  People then began asking what kind of grapes they were.  Turns out it's been so long and I'd given up hope years ago and I have no idea.  I assumed some green variety, until last week when we had another surprise and they started to turn purple!

I am impatient and keep sneaking the most purple ones for a taste, and they are about 50% sour still.  Within a week or so I will cover them with netting to try to keep the birds away.  I can't wait for my harvest!  :D

Egg Hunt

Sadly my chicken coop isn't finished yet. So, the chickens have no reason to lay in the nest boxes provided! I'm not sure how old they are, but it seemed like it was about time for me to be seeing some eggs. I went on an egg hunt this morning and found 2 nests (plus Giselle's, which looks almost ready!). One had 6 duck eggs in it and the other had 2 leghorn eggs. I have 8 hens, 2 turkeys and 2 ducks. I should have more eggs then that! But, I am happy that I figured out where they were starting to lay. I looked all over for any other hidden nests, but didn't find any. I'm excited to finally have my own eggs again!!!

It's been months...

.....since it rained last. It's been going all night and now, though letting up a bit and the clouds are breaking here and there, it's still drip-dropping. Love the smell, love the free water, love the sounds and especially the break from the blazing sun. Thank goodness; it's about time. I was starting to forget what weather was like.

Meet the herd

Nadeyus: 26 year old purebred Arabian, chestnut. Nariadni son. Prize winner, shown English hunt-seat, some Western....now retired to be our kid's horse, loving baths every week, slow trail rides and senior food.
























Nevada's Lucky Gamble: 5 year old bay arab/QH. Rescued from a feedlot in Nevada, brought to AZ and brought back to health. Started on groundwork at the rescue. After adopting her and building a friendship with her, we've started work under saddle and she's coming along so well. Has agility and power...hope to run gymkhana events with her in the future.


























Bentley: 15 year old APHA solid palmomino. Curious, powerful and a little lazy. Loves baths, treats, and walking slow. Loves the round pen and hauling kids around. Hadn't been worked much in recent years before we got him so we're refreshing him on just about everything. Not quite as bad as starting from scratch. Big friendly giant.

Harvest

So we picked our fill from the nearby corn field (donated by the farmer to our church for the use of the members). We got a wagon load, plus the equivelent of 5 bushel baskets. There was corn coming out our ears. ;) Ha ha, get it?....So, Mom and Friend came over to husk and prep it all, and we simply blanched, cooled, cut and bagged all those sweet golden kernels. I lost count of how many quart bags we filled, but it was A LOT. So nice; I've already used a ton of it in all kinds of recipies! It was super yummy in some spicy enchiladas; the combo of spicy and sweet was delish.

Make way for (more) ducklings!

Giselle decided to sit on another nest, after losing her other ducklings.  This time, she hatched 7, with 5 others that got about halfway out before dying.  Still, 7 is a big brood, and she is taking better care of them then she did her first babies.  I hope they make it!  I love watching them run and tumble all across the grass, and see them learning how to swim and eat.

Also, we've had 6 of these nasty guys so far this summer.  I bet there will be several more before the season is over.  Ick.

Chicken Pox

So, I'll tell you something you might not know.  Chickens can get an illness called 'avian pox'; literally, chicken pox!  About 2 years ago, a flock of young chicks we had here got it and we had 2 chicks die.  

Yesterday, I noticed a turkey of ours had a badly scabbed and bleeding beak and the others were really pecking at it, so I separated it out.  This morning, I saw that several other chicks had similar scabs around their faces, also

 getting pecked badly.  By this afternoon, all but 2 of the chicks had the scabby bleeding sores, and I knew it just wasn't a coincidence or bored bully chickens.  It looked too much like the pox I had dealt with previously.  

The turkeys were really bullying the smaller chickens so I separated them out so hopefully the chicks will be able to heal a bit.  One of the turkeys still looked fine last I checked, but two others were in sad shape; one was missing almost half of the top of his beak.  :(  It will grow back fine if he makes it, but it will really make it hard to eat until it does and so it will likely die.  

I am bummed; I hope we don't loose too many birds to this.  Last time the symptoms lasted almost a month so it will be a while before we know what the total damage will be.  I hope they pass it along to the pigeons that roost under my roof....

Why, hello, Peter!

So, I was out watering my little garden today and I saw a small hole under one of my raised boxes and there was something furry wiggling around, trying to hide.  Thinking it was a gopher, I took the hose and blasted a good long stream of water into the hole (inhumane?  maybe.....).  A minute later, I was surprised to see 3 baby bunnies pop out of that hole!  I have no idea how the mama got into the garden area in the first place, but it struck me as a little funny that she had made her home a foot away from my lettuce.  

I love where I live

....because I get to see this beautiful sight every morning when I drive down my street,

and because I get to see baby ducklings hatching (grand total of 9, by the way, but only 6 have survived so far, and those only because I keep rescuing them!).  

It's been really windy this last week.  When we first came here, it was so windy all the time, then it seemed to subside for a while.  Now, I remember what it was like!  Nice thing about it is, though, that it helps keep the flies away!  :)

Easter surprise!

Yesterday I found a little newly hatched duckling, barely alive, inside the 'peep-peep hotel' with the older chicks.  I'm not too sure how it got there, DH speculated that Giselle was showing it the food and it got stuck.  We tried to put it back with her but it didn't make it.  

This morning, we found another surprise!  This time, it was a very happy, healthy duckling.  Giselle seems to be doing ok showing it the ropes, but she still has about 17 eggs in her nest that haven't hatched.  I find it hard to belive they are all duds, so hopefully she won't mind sitting a few more days, just in case.  :) 

Darn dogs

So, this morning, I looked out to see our black duck, Quack, looking very lonely and lost.  It took a minute for me to realize why he looked so strange.....he was missing his best friend, Edward.  :(  I looked all over the yard and Edward was nowhere to be found.  Giselle was sitting on her nest still (thank goodness!), but Edward was for sure missing.  

A while back, some neighborhood dogs got a hold of an 'extra' rooster of ours and although I was a bit frustrated that they were roaming the neighborhood, I felt like it was my fault that the rooster was out of our fence at the time.  Sadly, though, they enjoyed the chase and kill and then just left it!  Didn't even eat it....what a waste of a life. 

I am pretty certain those same dogs are responsible for the disappearance of our gray and white crested duck, Edward.  A side gate was left open and so, again, I can't throw a fit about the roaming dogs since it was my fault they were able to get in.  I am just glad they didn't get our little mama duck....

I found Edward on a neighbor's lawn this afternoon, very dead,   and uneaten.  Just a mass of feathers and broken neck.  :(  Poor guy.  I really try not to get too attached to my farm animals, but some of them just have a personality and make me smile.  I'll admit to feeling a bit sad over Edward.... 

Sights that make me smile

Walking around this afternoon, I saw a few things that made me smile:

Delicate blossoms on my plum tree,

fragrant flowers on my orange tree,

a surprise purple iris,

adorable goat kids,

Giselle (our duck)'s nest,

and peaches growing on my brand new peach tree. (my Grandma reminded me the other day that I needed to thin my peaches. She was joking, of course, if I thin this little tree I would only have one peach on it. :) I'll let it do it's thing without thinning it this year. The other peach tree got a once-over with the 'rule of thumb' and I flicked off everything that was closer then my thumb knuckle together).

Belle's Kids

I guess Belle was a bit jealous that Penny looked so much more comfortable today then she did yesterday so she went and had her kids as well. 2 little girls and a boy. She is doing fine and the kids all seem to be happy, healthy and playful! Busy milking season ahead!

Penny's Kids

Penny had her kids this morning! 2 little bucklings, with the funniest ears ever! I guess that's what you get when you cross a Nubian with a Lamancha, though. :) They both seem to be doing just fine and Penny is being a very good mother.

Signs of Spring

Our Cottonwoods just burst!  Can't wait until they are completely leaved out; they will be gorgeous this year!

Cheese Crutons

I don't remember where I first saw this idea, so I can't give credit where it's due, but I LOVE these fried chesse 'crutons' and wanted to share the 'recipe'....You'll need: grated cheese. And a hot pan (I use my electric griddle).

When the pan is dancing-water hot, sprinkle a scant tablespoon of cheese in little piles. Let it sizzle for a few minutes, and when it starts to brown and look less wet, use a spatula to peel it up in a flat disc. Turn it over and use a fork or other utinsil to make a 'bowtie' in the middle by pinching the center together. Let it sizzle another minute and then set it aside on a papertowel until you're ready to eat them. I usually make about twice as many as I think I will want, because I end up eating about 50% of them while I'm cooking them. :)

Finished! (finally....)

I started this quilt 2 years ago.  It was meant for my then-two year old daughter, just the right size to fit on her toddler bed.  I lost interest in it as I was determined to hand stitch it and it was taking a VERY long time.  I put it away and forgot about it. 

I remembered it a few weeks ago and decided to finish it for her for Christmas.  It no longer will fit her bed, but I am sure she will love it.  

It's a very simple block pattern, but it was my first real quilt.  The piecing was done by machine, but every where I could find to quilt it was done by hand.  There's quite a bit.  :)

More Fall

Only 2 of my cottonwood trees have decided it's fall. The others are stubbornly holding onto their lush green leaves. The two that have changed are beautiful, though, and I hope the other soon follow so I can have the full 'Fall' effect. Right now, it looks a bit odd. ;)



The lemon tree I planted last Spring has gone crazy and there are TONS of lemons. I'm really excited to have them, although there are few things I use lemons for. I'll be picking up some new lemon recipes, I'm sure.

My 3.5 year old tangelo tree has finally put out some fruit, and while it looks to be on the small side, I think it will be edible and is on track to be ripe in a month or so.

It's so nice to see some trees giving back (in fruit or shade or whatever) after all the work, money and care that's gone into them!

(and a sidenote: it was a record high for yesterday's date; 87* in town, and about 85* here. 84* predicted for today.....ugh.)

Finally! Fall leaves!

It seems like it has taken longer this year, but finally the leaves are starting to turn.  I'll be sad when the trees are bare, but I'll enjoy the cool weather and beautiful colors for now.  :)