Soup & Cornbread Kind of Day!

I found this great recipe for cornbread! It is just SO yummy I had to share it with you! I usually just throw together a Cornkit and call it done, but I decided to try something a little different today. The weather is dreary out and there is a chill in the air. So, I just felt like today was a soup & cornbread kind of day!!

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

1 cup corn ( I used can but you can use fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

3 jalapenos seeded, and thinly sliced

oil to coat pan

Preheat oven 400* Place 10 in cast iron skillet in oven. Meanwhile, mix with electric mixer butter and sugar until pale yellow; about 3 min. Beat in eggs 1 at a time till very Incorporated.

In another bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add to the butter mixture and stir with wooden spoon till combined. Fold in corn and cream. Then fold in cheese and jalapenos. Do not over mix batter.

Remove skillet from oven coat with oil. Pour batter into hot skillet and smooth the top with wooden spoon.

Put back into oven and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean or about 45 min.

Mine turned out so pretty! If you like sweet cornbread you'll really like this recipe!! It's sweet with a kick!! I ate mine in a bowl of Campfire Stew!!

Campfire Stew ( my version!) I just throw stuff in. Start out with ground beef and add canned veggies or veggie leftovers...usually stewed tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, minestrone soup, diced potatoes....you get the idea. I cut up and saute with the meat- onion. bell pepper...whatever I have on hand to spice it up a bit. Served over cornbread it's yummy!!

Nothing says Fall better than a hot crackling pan of cornbread!!!

Mini Cow Crazy!!

Well friends, I did my research and I now have my Farmgirl heart set on getting a Miniature Jersey as my family milk cow!! This is a picture I found of 2 beautiful Mini Jerseys!! They are just like a standard Jersey only smaller. To qualify in the Miniature Jersey Association they can be no taller than 42".

This picture shows how small they really are!! Aren't they SO sweet!! While doing my reading I found that a standard Jersey produces 4-8 gallons of milk a day! Yep, I said A DAY!! Well, that freaked me out a bit! What was I to do with all that milk. But then, in Mary Jane's magazine, I read about her mini Jersey and that they are perfect for a family cow because they produce 1-4 gallons a day! Now, that is more manageable! So I started researching these cows and I found out great information about them. You can go to the American Miniature Jersey Association website to find out more about these cuties if you want to. I haven't found a seller in Texas yet but I'm looking!! I'm really excited about the idea of having our own milk cow!! The pros really do out way the cons. After finding out about the conditions of processed milk and how pasteurization strips the milk of all nutrients turning it into a substance completely different from it's original form, I was sold!! Everything I read about commercialized milk was negative. It made me never want to drink store bought milk again!

I have the space and barn for a cow this size. Having a smaller cow means less feed costs and space to house them. I'm going to be on the look out for dairy equipment at all the antique and thrift markets! There will be butter and cheeses to be made. Not to mention, cream and buttermilk to be separated and kept. I'm SUPER excited about this!! I'm not going out and buying a cow tomorrow, BUT I am set on the idea, and hopefully God willing and providing I will be able to make this a reality for our farm.

This is exactly the same way chickens came onto our farm and they have been awesome!! I'm getting about 5-6 eggs a day! That makes about 3 dozen eggs a week!!

The Blue Ribbon Farmgirls had their first meeting! I know I'm going to LOVE being a part of this great group of women! We are meeting for 1 project a month. October we will make homemade noodles and take a Farmgirl portrait. 1 of the women owns the Wool and Cotton shop, she offers classes as well. I'm not good at sewing so I'm excited to see what I can learn. Every Farmgirl was different but we all had one thing in common...a condition of the heart to be a Farmgirl!!

Fall is in the air and the cotton is blooming! Miles had the Cotton Festival this past weekend. We had So much rain, everything has been just a muddy mess! The kids still rode in the parade in the rain! Maddie rode on the 4-H float. It will be an event to remember...everyone slippin' and slidin' in the mud! AND where was my camera?! If only!! Guess I was too busy trying to stay upright and dry!

I decorated for Fall!! I LOVE FALL!! It is truly my favorite season! The falling away of the old to make new in Spring. The colors of Fall are all my favorite! The smells of pumpkin and spices..yummmm!! Oh and the food!! LOVE the FOOD!! Soups and chili, lots of cornbread, apple pies, pumpkin breads, turkey and dressing!! The list goes on and on! The chill of the air on Halloween night trick or treating with the kids! Lighting the fireplace and drinking hot cocoa!

Can you tell I'm ready for Fall to take off?! However, today is a warm 80* out! AND I'm talking about hot cocoa!! Hahaha! Well, it will be here soon! I hope!

Happy Harvest!!!

Farmgirl Dream

I received an E-mail and then a phone call from a fellow Farmgirl that wanted to start a Farmgirl Chapter in this area. I was SO thrilled!! I had attempted to begin a chapter but soon found out most of my friends like to hear about my Farmgirl escapades but DO NOT have any interest to get involved!! They just enjoy the view from afar!! I love my friends for supporting me, occasionally laughing (at me) with me, and listening to me ramble on and on about Farm stuff!! But I really dreamed of meeting ladies that have the same Farm interests as me. A fellow woman that knows what it's like to have a Farm dream! Who has chickens or wants chickens or LOVES to talk about chickens, grows a garden, contemplates getting a milk cow....You get the picture!! WELL...SO YOU CAN IMAGINE MY EXCITEMENT TO FIND SUCH A GROUP OF WOMEN HERE!!!! BLUE RIBBON FARMGIRL CHAPTER-WALL,TEXAS!! To top it all off and really get me into a fuss (picture me jumping up and down holding this card squealing with delight!) I got this wonderful hand-made invite to the first planning meeting!!

The envelope was stamped with a chicken wire stamp and a red rooster. The front of the card had a beautiful picture of a rooster crowing and welcoming the morning sun. Inside the card was a little envelope that had a card stamped saying "It's a Farmgirl Thing!" tied with red gingham ribbon. Then on the opposite page was the particulars of the meeting. So many hand-made details in this card it SO BLESSED me!! I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL THE MEETING!!! We are planning to do at least 1 project a month. To get more info or join the chapter check out the website. http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/blueribbonfarmgirls

ON TO MORE FARM BUSINESS......
I have collected a little more than 2 dozen eggs so far!! I gather 3-4 a day! I can STOP buying store eggs now! That is such an awesome feeling! I use the brown eggs more...I just like brown eggs! SO that's why there are more white in the carton! I will keep most of the brown eggs for us and sell the white ones. The size of the egg is getting bigger each time they lay another. They are about the size of a medium egg you'd get at the store. I can't even describe to you the feeling you get when you go out to check for eggs and there are eggs in the nests! It's just a great feeling! I look forward to that time of day when it's egg gathering time!




While reading Mary Jane's Farm Magazine I noticed an article on Milk Cows. In the article she mentioned the title and author of a book that she described as the book to get on anything you need to know about being a milk cow owner! Well, I had to check this out! I found the book at the library and I've just begun to dive in! ALREADY I'm getting sideways looks from my friends and family!! "What? Are you serious? A milk cow?" YES people I'm VERY serious! Now in no way am I about to haul off and pick me up Bessie tomorrow! BUT I'm in the research stage of my contemplating the idea! NOW this worries my husband, because the last idea I had --to get me some chickens--went from idea, to research, to reality! But, one thing my poor husband knows for certain I do thoroughly research my ideas. I read tons of books on the subject, talk to people that have them, drill my grandparents for stories and knowledge.... The research is almost as fun as the reality of the idea! I learn so much. AND I know my limits and what is feasible for our family. I try not to jump in feet first without knowing exactly what I'm jumping into! SO friends and family...YES I'm serious about this idea! BUT Bessie will have to wait until I read a ton more and see if it fits our family and our farm! It took many years before my chicken idea then research became a reality. With that said, I have to be honest with you IT IS part of my farm dream. Having a milk cow is as deep of a desire as having chickens! It's just something I would really like to do! Having fresh eggs and fresh milk is a HUGE part of the dream!

The Family Cow by Dirk Van Loon. So far it's chalked full of important info and I'm only on chapter 3!! The book behind it is titled Keeping A Family Cow -Revised Edition- byJoann Sills Grohman. I've not dived into that one yet! It's next on the list!

FARMGIRL IS A CONDITION OF THE HEART

Eggs--Peaches--And A Rainstorm

I've gathered 2 more eggs this week. 1 on Monday and 1 today! It's is such an awesome feeling to go out and look in the nest and find a treasure! So fun!! I check the coop for eggs a couple of times a day. I read that when the hens first start laying they will lay 1 egg about every 3 days at first before they begin to get regular and lay an egg a day to every 2 days. So that leaves me to believe I have 2 hens that have begun to lay. Today's egg could possibly be egg #2 of the hen that layed the first egg. I'm pretty sure it's the Wyndottes that are laying them. So if you are thinking of getting chickens that shows you how good the Wyndottes are!

I've been checking the peach tree in hopes of getting peaches this year. I noticed that they're ripe but very small. I'm guessing that last freeze is maybe the reason. OR maybe this tree just makes small peaches not sure. I've never been able to harvest any because the bugs or birds have always gotten to them first. Usually it's fruit flies and wasps that seem to eat them ---BUT this year a scary BIG GREEN BUG is eating them!!! I'm pretty sure they're Japanese Beetles. Much like a June Bug only bigger and greenish. They fly and dive bomb you---they scare the life out of me!! I began gathering as many ripe peaches as I could so these ugly bugs wouldn't get them. I had to climb up the ladder to get to the top of the tree to get the ripe peaches up top. I was trying to carefully pluck the peaches from the tree and not disturb the crazy bugs. BUT as I reached around this peach swarmed with the ugly guys they got perturbed and began bomb diving my head. I half fell -half jumped off the ladder screaming like a scared school girl!! I landed on my feet but ended up on my rear end!! The fall was too far!! I'm so sore today in the backside and oh my legs! I gathered a good number of peaches but they are so small there's not much I'll be able to do with them---Guess we can just eat them as snacks!! They really are sweet and delicious! Wish they were bigger!!

After just about killing myself on the ladder--later in the afternoon a crazy rainstorm came up. I say crazy because the wind was so strong the rain was coming down sideways from the North. I noticed my chickens in their normal spot by the back of the house under the trees. I'm guessing they got caught there and couldn't make it to the coop in the storm--I say this because I've seen them run to the coop when it begins to rain. WHY they didn't do it this time in this CRAZY storm--well, I just don't know!! I decided after a few minutes of pouring rain I'd better go stir them up and get them to run on to the coop. BUT as I shooed them, they all scattered running in every direction getting more soaked. I ended up chasing each chicken down 1 by1 and carrying them to the coop. This took about 20 min. SO you can imagine just how soaked I was! TO THE BONE!! The funny part was I had on my muck boots and the wetter I got the more it ran into my boots! Several times I had to stop and empty a gallon of water out of my boots! It was a crazy, funny, and yet almost typical FARM DAY! We were blessed with 2 inches of rain in a span of about 2 hours! CRAZY!! Then after all that drama the sun came out and I had to go back and let the chickens BACK out!! I added some apple cider vinegar to their drinking water to ward off them getting a cold. Chickens are very susceptible to respiratory problems. UGH!! But so far today they seem to be as happy as ever and I got that egg so I assume they aren't too traumatized by it all. ME --well I might be a little!! hahaha! The kids had a good several laughs at my expense yesterday! It will be a day to remember! --"Hey Mom, remember the day you fell off the ladder? Hahaha!"

The 1st egg!!...and much more!

I know I haven't written in a few months...Summer happened! The kids being out of school takes up all my time. We've had a great summer! We've swam and swam, traveled to family reunions, gone to the river, attempted to camp in the backyard, 1 trip to the emergency room, stayed up late, slept in, laughed, watched movies, and just fully enjoyed our time together! Back to school day is fast approaching and it will be so bittersweet! I love the time with my kids but I like my quiet time too!

The chickens are all grown up! That is RockaDoodle such a handsome guy! His feathers are so grand! He has gotten quite cocky over the summer months puffin' himself up and chasing all the girls around the yard.

I started letting the chickens out in the backyard every morning and closing them up in the coop at night. They really like to free range eating bugs, grass and the scratch I spread out. They spend time under the trees and in the flower bed next to the back of the house during the hot parts of the day. Which here lately is most of the day! The girls on the ground are dust bathing! They love a good dust bath!

I'd been checking the nests everyday for the last few weeks looking for the first egg. They're almost 20 weeks old so I knew eggs should be coming soon. The morning of my 32nd birthday I woke up and went out to the coop to check for eggs AND there was a perfect little brown egg in the nest! A wonderful birthday gift! I couldn't have asked for a better gift! I was so excited I jumped around all day full of joy! I know God orchestrated this wonderful thing for me and I was so thrilled beyond words! I brought it in and Sherman cooked it for me for breakfast.

It was a small egg but it had a perfect yolk! It was just so pretty! The kids were excited to crack it and watch Daddy cook the first farm fresh egg that OUR chickens provided! So cool!



My wonderful husband fried me up a tasty egg for breakfast combined with a tortilla, fried potatoes, and chili con carne! Yummo!! :P

Now that someone layed an egg I need to change their feed from chick feed to layer feed. I've already been offering them crushed oyster shell along with the grit. That should give them calcium and make the shells on the eggs strong. I can't wait till I'm gathering a few dozen a week!

A sad thing happened this summer, we had to put our dog Blue down. You remember her from the last post "chicken dog". She had been sick for a long time. It was such a hard thing to do. I still miss her and sometimes I absentmindedly see her laying in her favorite spots or hear her coming down the hall. We added a new puppy to the mix a few weeks before Blue was put down. Sherman named her Pepper. She is Great Pyrenees and Lab ( we think!) She has been quite a handful! She has kept us VERY busy this summer!

Pepper is all puppy all the time! We took her to the river with us and she LOVED the water! She swam and chased the kids, it was so much fun. If you haven't seen the movie "Marley and Me" you must watch it! Not only is it a great movie it will give you insight into what we've been living with! Pepper is Marley...in fact after watching the movie I really debated on changing her name! She is really a mess!! But I think we'll keep her...for now anyway! haha!



It's 2 weeks till the kids go back to school so I'm confident I'll be able to post regularly again! Thanks for reading! Farm life is fun and there is always something going on each and every day! I look forward to sharing the stories and experiences with you!!

Chicken Dog?!

So, I'll just get right into the story... I came home from town Monday afternoon. I let Blue out and then decided I would take a little rest before the kids came home. I had just gotten to that in between sleep and awake state when I was jolted by a shriek. I jumped up and looked out my bedroom window, which faces the front yard. There I saw Blue with a chicken hanging out of her mouth! I was in panic mode!! I jammed my bare feet into my boots, grabbed my glasses and was heading out the back door. As I opened the door there she was with the chicken screeching in her mouth. I yelled, "Blue! Put her down!" and she did! The poor Buttercup girl ran to a corner and hid. I scooped her up and held her close to my chest afraid to look at the damage. Blue ran in and laid down under the kitchen table as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Still clutching the hen to my chest, I went out to the coop to see if anyone else was out or hurt. I quickly noticed a hole going underneath the coop. Sherman built the coop up off the ground, so there is a gap between the coop bottom and the ground. Too small for my big fat blue heeler to fit in. But perfect for a mischievous cat to prowl in. The "Little Kitty" (as we call her, because she was the runt and smaller than the other two) had pushed her way in under the coop and into the run. I had barricaded the gap with wood and rocks but she worked until she made a hole she and a chicken could fit through. I'm assuming she went into the run and all the others made it safely inside the coop but one found the hole and escaped into the backyard. That is when Blue scooped her up! Everyone back at the coop seemed O.K. so I closed the chicken door and trapped them inside until I could fix the hole and doctor my hen. I took her into the garage where there is better light, armed with a bottle of Rooster Booster-pick no more lotion- it's to doctor wounds. I was so worried I was going to find puncture wounds from Blue's teeth. I thoroughly checked her all over. She was wet with foul smelling dog drool but I couldn't find a scratch on her!

She was very out of it and almost fainting. She was weak and wouldn't stand up. Her breathing was very fast and her eyes were wild. I wondered if after finding she wasn't injured if I would loose her to shock. I tried to comfort her and found a small box to put her in so that I could keep an eye on her. I was a little afraid to just dump her back in the coop with the others because they"ll pick on the weak. So I carried her in the box out to the coop with me while I checked everyone closely for injury. When I sat the box down she quickly perked up and hopped out to join the others.

She went straight over to get a drink and then laid down over in the corner. I watched to see how the others treated her. They didn't seem to notice anything different. She rested for the rest of the day and was leary of going out the chicken door. But by the next morning you couldn't tell anything had happened to her...She was back to herself! By the time the whole ordeal was over the kids were hopping off the bus. No nap for me!! Just crazy chicken drama!! Now... I'm going to assume the very best of my girl Blue. I figure the cat rounded the chicken out into the yard and Blue was saving her. The fact that she carried her so gently in her mouth is quite amazing to me. If she had wanted a chicken snack she certainly could have been well on her way to gobbling it up... that she brought her to the back door to me is amazing as well. The chicks did grow up in the house...maybe they bonded and she is now a chicken dog! I have seen her herd off the cats as they stalk the outside of the fence of the run. Maybe, just maybe she is loyal to the flock and will protect and serve!! I hope that is the case! I know she impressed me by not munching down on my poor hen! She is fat and lazy and not good for much BUT if she protects my chickens she will be greatly rewarded and live a long happy life!!!! I found some leftover wire and patched all the possible entries under the coop. The girls and Rock a Doodle are safe and happy scratching around in the run! You should see them fight over a June bug!! Funny!! Let's hope the entertainment stays in the coop and the girls live well and happy and grow to produce LOTS of eggs!!! That was enough excitement to last me awhile!!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?!

My garden is growing up nicely! My tomatoes are there in the pic. The corn is over to the left of the pick. My spinach was down by the corn but the 100* + temps fried it to a crisp! I don't know if it will come back or not. Spinach doesn't like extreme heat. I may have to try to grow it in a container so I can bring it inside if these temps continue to be so hot! My onions and herbs are in the plot directly behind the tomato plot. My herbs are growing well and the onions are coming along good too. With this heat I guess the ground is plenty warm enough for me to go ahead and plant okra. I may have to do that in the next few days!



I finally got my bean patch plowed! I'm planting pinto beans and black eyed peas! Yum! I have 3 rows of each. This hot weather is really drying everything out. We had a good rain but it soaked in so fast you can't even tell anymore! It is amazing what a good rain will do for your crops. You can water every night but a good rain will give your plants a huge boost! We could use another good rain!







This is a pic of the squash patch. It's planted in front of the chicken run! Which is FINALLY finished!! YAY! The chickens now have a nice yard to run in. It turned out great and they love it!
It took them a little time to get use to using the chicken door. But they soon got the hang of it and run in and out freely. I close them in every night and open it every morning. They usually go out and scratch around in the morning and evenings and stay inside the coop in the heat of the afternoon. With the hot temps I've been putting jugs of frozen water in the coop to cool them off. They gather around the frozen jugs and absorb the cooler air they produce. It seems to work very well and is easy to do. It is sad to see them panting and trying to keep cool in 110* days...Which is what the thermometer registered last week!! Crazy hot! I hope this is not a preview to what the summer will be like. It will not be fun to have this heat hang around all summer. I pray the temps become more pleasant and we have a few nice soaking rains without all the bad stuff! That would be nice!! How is your garden growing? I hope we all do well and have veggies in abundance! Happy gardening to all!

Moving in the Coop!

This is the coop! I named it STARCLUCKS! Open and ready for egg business! Well almost! Egg laying won't happen for another 14 weeks give or take.

I moved the chickens into the coop this last week. They had completely out grown their box and well, it was just time! I was SO ready for them to move out of my house and into their own! So I built them a pen outside to peck around in and got busy preparing the coop for move in.

I painted the windows and doors green. Since I picked the name I tried to make it resemble the Starbucks color. It turned out very nice. I'm really liking the green. The windows are covered with screen to let the air in. You just prop the windows and a nice breeze blows through. The chicken door leads out into the run...that is not built yet. My dog Blue is sniffing around wondering what is in there! She is very curious about the chickens. I'm not sure if given the chance she wouldn't gobble up a chicken snack.

The egg doors are also painted green. I can't wait till I am going to these doors each morning checking for treasures! I just KNOW my girls are going to provide me with many eggs!

I don't have much patience. I'm so ready for eggs! Every time I go the grocery store and have to buy eggs I just think WOW pretty soon I won't have to do this anymore! Whoo hoo! That will be such a great feeling to walk past the eggs in the store and not have to buy them! I just can't wait it makes me very excited. I think finding an egg in the nest will be like finding a ed ripe tomato in your garden. Knowing you worked hard and get to have the awesome treasure to enjoy. It is such a cool feeling. I can't wait to feel it!

The girls and Rock a Doodle rooster were so happy to have space to run around in. I set up the food and water on blocks so they won't kick bedding in to it. It is working well and staying clean. They were happy to have a meal in their new home! I've been using pine shavings for bedding. I like it! It works very well and is easy to clean. It smells better than the sand and is easier to manage. You can buy a pressed block at the feed store so it lasts a long time. It is cheap and will be easy to compost when I have to clean out the coop.

The green to the left is the chicken door from the inside. We nailed slats onto it like a ladder for the chickens to walk down. It will be nice when the yard is finished and I can let the door down in the mornings and sit outside and watch them scratch around. I built a temporary yard for them to scratch in till the real yard is finished. It's just a 4x4 square but they love it! They eat every bug in sight!

That is my girl Dorthy there in the middle the two speckled girls are the Buttercups aka The Twitchy Sisters! There are 3 of them and one has become friendly and even flies up to my knee if I'm bent down. Dorthy always flies up to my knee and even my arm or shoulder! She is such a sweet girl! She is the largest and most feathered still. This heat is really getting to her. It is up in the high 90* today and the humidity is so high. They have been panting and drinking lots of water the last couple of days because of the heat. The coop is giving them protection but it's only a few degrees cooler in there than outside.

I like this pic with Blue watching in the background! I've had so much fun watching them play around in the yard. I know sitting outside in the morning with my coffee watching them come out and scratch around will be one of my favorite times in the day! I can sit and watch them for hours. It is so entertaining! I know I'm so blessed that I haven't lost one. It is not always the case many times a chicken dies. I'm glad all my girls and rooster are doing so well. It's been quite a journey to the coop and I know it will continue on. I'm just glad we've moved on to the coop phase and moved out of the house phase!! haha! More pics and updates to come!

Being a Farmgirl is Many Things...Boring it is NOT!

This Pepe la Pugh decided to come right onto my porch and help himself to the cat food. He visited 3 nights, coming right up on the porch with the light on! I walked out on him twice and stood less than a foot from him before I saw him! I'm so lucky I didn't get sprayed! But really, he never even acted like he wanted to spray me...he just wanted the food! Skunks are kind of cute! I think it's funny how they have a huge tail and fat bodies and tiny little heads! We watched him help himself to a late night meal for a long while! He just tootled around checking things out! BUT as cute and harmless as he seems he still is a threat to my animals, kids and especially the chickens. He had to go...I'll save you the details!

Life has been busy around here. My chicken coop is in the finishing days. I don't want to post anymore pics until it's moving in day! That should be sometime this next week. I named the coop and will share more details about that on the moving in day post as well. I'm very happy with how it's turning out. I still stick by my recommendation of building the coop before you get chicks though! It has been very stressful having the chicks in the house not knowing when they will have an outdoor home! They are needing to move out soon! They are outgrowing the bigger box I put them in. They really need more room to move around, play and roost. I will be excited to move them into their permanent new coop! I think they will be happy and excited to spread out and be stable there too!

I got the garden planted! All I like is the bean patch...Sherman still needs to plow it up for me. Then once the pinto and black eyed peas get planted I'm all done! I planted the squash and zukes in one plot-- tomatoes, peppers, spinach and corn in another plot-- onions and herbs in their plot-- and the beans will have a little plot of their own! I'll be curious to see if I like it done this way or not. I've always just plowed up a big plot and planted everything in long rows. The chicken coop is in the way of what use to be my garden plot. So, I decided to spread things out a bit and make what kind of looks like raised beds...giving everything a little square of their own. I think it'll make harvesting easier. When the ground is wet it makes it hard to get in and out of a large plot and having everything smaller and more compact will make it easier to tend. I hope anyway! We will see!! I will post pics when things start to emerge from the ground! I don't think it would be as fun to look at pics of plowed squares! haha! It's just dirt!!

The coop, chicks, and garden have been taking up most of our time around here. The kids started T-Ball and Softball. That has us running! But, I did have time to teach my MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) group how to live simple, make home-made laundry detergent, and garden! I was glad to share how living a simple life has made me a better person. A girl closer to God! Saving money by making detergent, using a clothes line, and gardening...and eventually having farm fresh eggs is a wonderful way to bless my family and remember to be a good steward of what God as given me. The more simple I make my life and my families lives the happier we become. I've learned that I don't need or want all that this world has...I've found out what is important and can do without all the other fluff! I like SIMPLE! Simplicity, country, farm-life...that is for me! AND I love sharing with others what knowledge I've gleaned from doing it...I'm always impressed and encouraged at the response I get from girls that have their eyes opened to a new---OH, but SO old....way of doing things!! I love it!!

A FARMGIRL exudes kindness, grace, humility, gentleness, patience, and generosity, and loves the simple pleasures in life!

A FARMGIRL puts God first, believes in the strong arms of friendship, community, and the just plain fun of being together with the ones you love!

They Look Like Chickens

On the left is a Buttercup girl--Maddie says she has cheetah feathers! Rooster next to her on the perch, Dorthy, Dolores to the far right on the perch, The Wyndotte sisters on the ground all 3 of them.

You can see how big my chickens have become! They are about the size of a large dove. They are getting chest feathers. Their wings, backs and tails are fully feathered now. Only their little heads still have the chick fuzz! They are getting in their combs and their beaks look more pecky! Ha ha! They DO peck at everything! They are pecking the side of the box and it sounds like a box full of woodpeckers! My friend laughed at me the other day and said they would peck an escape hole in the box and be found running a muck around my living room! NOT a funny nor pleasant image! BECAUSE the more these chickens eat, the bigger they are getting, and the bigger they get, the MORE they poop! Frankly, they are becoming quite stinky! I'm really ready for them to move on out to their coop. Which, by the way, is still not finished! Sherman assures me it will be finished this weekend. It must get finished this weekend, because these guys are turning 4 weeks old next Wed. and it's time to face the world!

Word to the wise...OR Farmgirls looking to get chickens...This is the knowledge I've gleaned: Build your coop BEFORE your order chickens! I know, I know, I ordered first to...well, truth be told-- FORCE my dear husband into coop building out of necessity to house the ALREADY purchased chickens! I could not have foreseen hurricane winds for 2 weeks straight that interrupted the coop building. Lesson learned! Next, although the cute plastic bin brooder did function well, it wasn't big enough to house 9 chickens for long. --only about 2 weeks. If you were getting just a few chicks I'd say it was worth it, BUT it's just too small for 9. Save yourself the money and hassle --a large cardboard box works great and is easy to throw away when your done. The water, feeders and the feed I chose have all been great. The heat lamp and red bulb worked well. I switched to a 80 watt white bulb at the middle of the 2ND week. I had gotten them to 80* and was weaning them off the light for the night time. They were freaking out in the dark! Now they can go all night with no light. If the day is cloudy I turn on the light to give them "daylight". They are in front of a large window so I open the curtains every morning and close them in the evening to simulate day and night. This will prepare them for the coop. I also open the windows every morning to get in fresh air and build up their tolerance to drafts and outside air. Sand has worked well as litter...Some suggest pine savings. I can't say one is better than the other because I didn't try any other type of litter. The only complaint I have with the play sand is the chickens love to dust bathe, scratch and flap their wings causing a puff of sand to fly up into the air. It's like having a sand box in your living room! I've been going around everyday dusting and wiping things down because everything is covered in a layer of dust--similar to a West Texas dust storm blowing through. YUCK! I've not been too thrilled about that--BUT I'm not sure you wouldn't have the same problem with a different litter. The sand is easy to clean, very absorbent, and healthy and natural for the chickens. They seem to love it! Building a pen to allow them some outdoor time would've been ideal. Of course, if my coop would've been built first, it would've been equipped with a run. That would've been great. Tuesday I decided to move their box out on the front porch to give them a taste of the great outdoors! It was a sunny beautiful day with just a slight breeze. I stood over the box to watch their reaction to the elements. The first breeze pushed past and all the chickens layed over on their sides--like they were blown over. The wind passed and they all got up. The next breeze came up and they all fell over again! It was so funny! I felt sorry for them and moved them back in after a few minutes!

I'm still very happy I decided to get them. I enjoy watching them! I have a favorite--Dorthy--she is the happiest to see me. She likes to be held and petted. She tries to fly up to me. I think she will be more of a pet than the others. The Buttercups are very flighty and nervous, I don't think they will ever be "pet-like". But that's OK, they are here to serve a purpose--Give me LOTS of eggs! AND they will still be fun to watch. My rooster is --well a rooster! He is starting to assert his authority more and put the others in their place. He gets first pick on the roost and doesn't hesitate to kick someone off if he prefers their spot. I've been holding him and trying to make him gentle and tame--time will tell I guess. The Wyndotte girls are very active and pretty assertive as well. They might surprise me and become more gentle and pet-like as they grow, but so far they keep to themselves and aren't interested in much attention.

That's my girl Dorthy there in the middle, Rock-A -Doodle rooster to her left, Dolores on the perch to her right and a Wyndotte girl posing up front.

RAMBLING ON....

I bought my plants for the garden. I worked and got the garden plots ready so it's time to plant! I decided to go with heirloom tomatoes this year instead of a hybrid. I got Bradley, Homestead, Marglobe, and a funny looking striped tomato called..well--Mr. Stripey--of course! No, really that IS the name of it! I had to get it to see how it tasted and looked when ripe. I'll be curious to see how it turns out! I have jalapeno plants, bell pepper, and a variety of herbs--lavender, parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, and cilantro. I love cooking with fresh herbs. I planted them last year and my rosemary was still doing well, but I failed to inform my husband that it was an herb and NOT a weed so it got tilled up! So, I will try again and make sure I tell him where the herbs are so they don't meet an untimely death! They should remake and continue on each season. I purchased yellow crookneck squash seeds, zucchini, corn and spinach seeds. My corn didn't do well last year--grasshoppers devoured it. But I think I'll try again. I still need to get my okra plants but the ground and weather is still too cool for them yet. No hurry! I may have Sherman till me up another patch for black eyed peas and pinto beans. Not sure yet! But that is the plan and what I shall plant! May God bless it and it bring forth much fruit--and veggies! I LOVE planting time! I just LOVE getting my hands in the dirt and planting a tiny seed or a tiny plant and knowing it will grow and produce food. It is SO much fun! We just had a night full of soaking rain!! So the ground will be welcoming to my new plants and seeds! LOVE IT!! I planted onions a few weeks ago...they are coming up nicely! I have red and yellow onions in the ground...first time to do them. I hope they do well.

Well...I guess that's enough rambling for today! Check back! I will soon have more to share! If you are planting a garden this year send me a comment and tell me what you are planting!

Chicken Business & Other Ramblings

My chicks out grew the homemade brooder, so I found a large cardboard box to move them into. I think the tub brooder was a good idea...But when you have 9 chicks in it, they outgrow it fast. The extra guys are still in the tub. They are getting a little crowded but I think they'll be OK for another week or so. Willy was suppose to have gotten them this week. His Mother is very ill and he had to make a trip to see her. So, I still have them! It's a bit of a burden, but he's a good friend and I will help him out as much as I can. So for now... they are all still hanging out in my living room! The extra guys are getting in white feathers. Their top combs are growing in. It's amazing how fast chickens grow!

The chickens have wing feathers, tail feathers and are beginning to get back feathers. I can easily tell who is who in my bunch. The Rooster- I call him Rock-A-Doodle--has silver wings and is marked very different than the Wyndotte hens (peeking in at far right bottom of the pic). I can tell each Wyndotte hen is going to look a little different than the other but I have a hard time telling who is who exactly. We've named them Martha, Margo, & Marge (3 darker black ones). The Sicilian Buttercup girls (the 3 with speckled around the eyes) are usually called the Twitchy Sisters. There are 3 of them and they look the same. Twitchy has a head shake she does that resembles a nervous twitch. She is pushy, pecks and doesn't hesitate to step on someone sleeping. She's a bully. I'll have to keep my eye on her. They Silver-Gray Dorkings are the sweetest. They hop into my hand and like to be handled and petted. The "oldest" one is Dorthy(sitting up on wooden block). I say oldest because she has grown more feathers than the rest and is a bit larger than the others. I assume she hatched early. The other Dorking is Dolores (brown with a line behind her eye). She is the baby of the bunch. With the least amount of feathers. She holds her own well though. I'm guessing that because the Dorkings are more of a specialty breed, they had to wait on different hatching's, and that would explain the difference in age.

The coop is almost finished. Sherman still has to get walls and a roof on. It's been so windy he hasn't been able to. The wind today is 40-60 mph. It is crazy out there! It makes it impossible to do anything outside. I'd love to do my laundry but it would blow into the next county!! The most upsetting thing is---you wake up to this gorgeous Spring day and think "Wow, what a great day!" then out of nowhere about mid-morning the wind comes in on a forceful wave and blows on and on. We are suppose to have the kid's Easter parties at school today. They each have a class egg hunt...wonder how that's going to work out?!

I'm going to try to give you a full view of the coop.

This is the front of course! We attached an old screen door we had. The frame to the right is a window. We put in 2 windows to raise for ventilation. It is very important to have good air flow through the coop. To circulate the air to decrease the smell ,but for those hot Texas summer days as well.

This is the side view. I am standing in what will be the chicken run to take this pic. The window is framed at the top and the little door at the bottom is the chicken door that will be open every morning to let the chickens out to the yard. You can see through to the other side--inside the coop is the nesting boxes mounted to the wall. There are 10 boxes -5 on top-5 on bottom. Technically you only need 1 box per 4 hens but Sherman's Dad gave us this and we were glad to have it. There will be a hatch on the opposite wall behind the nest boxes where I can check for eggs without entering the coop. That will be so nice since I have designate boots specifically for the coop I must wear. Chicken poop can carry lots of bacteria so it's a good idea to have a pair of boots just for that job. I'm SO ready for these chickens to move into their new home and out of mine!! I tried to move them to the garage but it is so hard to regulate their temp out there. It's been so cold at night and hot in the day. They aren't ready to fully face the world until 5 weeks so I still have to keep them at a constant temp. I did wean them off the heat lamp. I decreased the temp until I got it 75*. I turned it off a little in the day so they could get use to the sunlight. Then I did the same at night--turned it off for a few hours at night so they could get use to the dark. They seem warm enough and content--They did get a little freaked out about the dark but soon settled down. Today they've gone all day with no lamp and have done fine. I'm going to try to go without it tonight. We'll see--they do seem to get a little more chilled in the night.

These chicks have been fun...but a lot of work! I just keep thinking about how fun it will be to sit out and watch them scratch and peck. I will enjoy feeding them the bugs I find in my garden. I will REALLY enjoy all the tasty eggs they will lay for me. I just keep focused on all these things and it makes the work bearable! One day I'll look back on this crazy time when I got a wild idea to mail-order some chickens!! What a memory it'll be!!

Spring Chicks!!

I waited impatiently all day Thursday for the chicks to arrive. I called the Post Office to see if they had them yet...Nope. I set up the brooder box just in case! This is it--a plastic tub. I put an old towel in the bottom. They need something like that for the first week so they don't develop spraddle leg-- then you can change to a litter. I set up the heat lamp--you have to use a red bulb to prevent pecking. I put feed and water in. I was set!! No chicks. I was bummed! I called the Ideal Poultry place to see if they had been shipped. They said they had been sent out Wed. so I should have them by Fri.

This is the water feeder. You buy the basin and attach a mason jar to the top! I like the look of it ~mason jars are just country! ha! I read you need to put a 1/4 tsp of sugar to give the new chicks a boost. I put colored glass rocks in it to keep the chicks from drowning. The rocks also are an attraction to them and will entice them to peck and encourage drinking. You have to keep the water on the opposite side from the heat lamp--chicks don't like to drink hot water and will refuse. After 3 days of clean fresh water I can add an electrolyte solution.

I thought you might be wondering why I seem to know so much about taking care of these chicks! Well....it's because I've done A LOT of reading!!

So...I got a phone call at 7:30am this morning from the Post Office that they had a box of chicks for me and could I come pick it up! OH YES! YES! So I dropped the kids off at school and went by to get them. I walked in the Post Office and you could hear them--cheep--cheep! This is the box they arrived in. I ran the heater in the van to try to keep them warm and comfortable. They peeped all the way home!!

I took each chick out one by one and looked them over. Then I stuck their beak in the water to encourage them to drink. They all looked good and all of them began drinking and eating right away. I had no casualties in the box from shipping. The hatchery that I ordered from has a very good reputation for getting you healthy alive chicks. But I was worried with the change in weather --we are having a cold front--that they might get distressed. The darker chicks are my keepers and the yellow chicks are the extra males. The extras were marked with a purple-red mark on their heads. My keepers are 8 hens and 1 rooster--he was marked with a green dot on his head. The hatchery marks them with washable marker to tell who is who! I separated the extras out into a separate brooder box.

For now this is where they are--in my living room! That is our wood stove in the background. Keeps us toasty in the winter!! --it almost feels like winter today. I hope this is the last cold front of the season...I'm ready for warm weather that is here to stay!! The keeper chicks are in the brooder to the left in the picture and the extra males in the right. I cut a large square hole in the lid to the plastic bin and covered it with hail screen (like chicken wire only smaller holes). The sides to the lid will keep out drafts and the screen will keep children's hands out and dog noses!! However, Blue has already checked them out and isn't very interested in getting to know them. She just huffed and went to lay under the dining table where she can keep an eye on things.


I'm having a hard time getting a good picture of the babies because of the red light coming from the heat lamp. But here is one of the Wyndotte girls! I can already tell them apart by looking at their markings. The 3 Buttercup girls are yellow with brown markings, the 2 Silver-Gray Dorking girls are almost all black with a silver stripe down their backs, and the Wyndotte Rooster looks just like the girls but with his green dot on his head! I am already enjoying them so much! They are so fun to watch!! The kids came in from school so excited to have chirping chicks in their living room!! It will be a fun adventure I'm sure...can't wait to share it with all of you!!

Coop Beginnings & A Litter Trained Bunny!

The coop is being built!! Sherman has up the frame. I'm so excited that my chickens will have a home! They will be arriving next week. I still need to get my supplies and make my brooder box. But that should be simple. The coop is about 8x8, will have a slant roof, the door and a window in front, chicken door on the left side, egg checking door on right side. The chicken run will be built out to the left towards the tree & telephone poll in pic. I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Gunther is happy! We got him a few fun things for his cage. He has a litter box and it only took one day to train him to use it! He has a bed made out of edible grass, he loves it! It's been fun to watch him nibble on hay, veggies, and grass. We gave him a container of grass you grow and they can eat...he mowed it down so fast! I had to take it out so it can regrow!! We've let him out to roam around...he hops and flops and does tricks! He's so fun to watch! The kids are really enjoying him! When we let him out to play, we put the litter box down too...he will go and use it!! So cool!! I had a bunny as a child and he would use the cat's litter box. So, I was excited to see if I could get our bunny trained too! They make it so easy with a box you buy that fits in the corner of the cage and comes with a scooper and litter. You put it in the corner (most bunnies soil in one corner) that you see him getting dirty and he will continue to return to that area and use the box. Once his scent is in it, you can take it anywhere and he will return to it...even if he's running around the house. If he drops droppings other places, you scoop them up and put them in the box to reinforce that's the area this goes into. He is still dropping other places but the urinating is all being done in the litter box!! Which is awesome!!

I'm hoping that after we get the chicks in and settled I can make him a bunny run...just a cage without a bottom that I can put outside and let him get some fresh air and grass! I think he would LOVE that!! It would be fun to sit outside and watch him nibble in the sunshine!!

Meet Gunther!

Everyone this is Gunther! A cute brown lop-ear bunny! The newest addition to our family and our farm!

We went to see Sherman's mom in Burnet,
over by Austin, and on the way home
I wanted to stop in at Tractor Supply in Brady.
Their store is bigger than the one here
in San Angelo. While we were looking around I
spotted a rabbit hutch with several bunnies
inside. There tucked in a corner was this cute
brown lop-ear. I reached inside and got him. He
snuggled up in my arms and I was hooked!
Course, the kids were chanting, "Can we get him, PLEASE!?" and I had already decided YES!
Sherman took some convincing...and well
sometimes you just have to do something
spontaneous and fun. Out of the box...just because! No rhyme or reason...it just feels like OK it would be fun to have a bunny to play with! I mean we live on a farm, for Pete's sake, we need animals! Even cute little cuddly bunnies to hold and love! I know, I know I have chicks coming in the mail next week! So, what am I thinking getting a bunny? I don't know! I don't have an answer except, if I can get chicks why not a bunny too?!

Maddie's friend shows rabbits for 4-H, so this may be something we can take farther later on. We'll see how well she can take care of Gunther. This will be a way to teach her some responsibility as well. Cleaning up poo, even if it does come from a cute bunny, is never fun! We'll see if she grows weary of the up keep, or if she enjoys the care taking. I'll be curious to see. BUT, isn't he a cutie!

I did a little Flea Market...junk shopping while at my In-Laws. I found this green school chair for Maddie's desk! It was a steal! Great find! Sherman found an old music stand he was very happy about. He's been playing the guitar quite a bit and was getting tired of looking down at the music. He got a great deal on it. He has already set it up and tried it out. We all gathered 'round and sang a little!

Sherman did a little digging in one junk store and came across pants stretchers! We got 2 sets! You put one in each leg of your jeans and you hang them out on the clothesline to dry. You get a great crease in your pants. They are great for guys like my husband who like that starched, creased Wrangler look! I tried them out today on a couple of pairs of his jeans and they work nicely!

I was praying for rain and we got some! 3 days worth! It was bitterly cold as well but the rain was very nice! We needed it so badly! Thank you Lord for the rain! Now I have to really get busy outside clearing garden beds and preparing for planting time. Everything was so thirsty it drank the rain right up! You could almost sit and watch the grass grow! There were blue bonnets blooming all the way to Austin. Soon Spring flowers will be popping up everywhere! I'm stating another goal...to have pretty flowers in my flower beds and yard this year! I would like to have a pretty green yard with lovely flowers this year! And a wonderful garden full of veggies!! And have my chickens lay an abundance of eggs!! AM I asking for too much?! Naaah!! Nothing hard work, determination, faith and the blessings only the LORD can provide!!

Laundry & A Lizard!

I had a hard time getting motivated today. I really was wishing the sky would open up and rain would fall and quench the land. Then I wouldn't get to do my laundry and I could stay in and listen to it pour. But that didn't happen. So, I got up and moved around and started the laundry process.

I have so much laundry that still isn't finished!
I decided to start with Sherman's work clothes
and then if it didn't rain I'd hang out the jeans
and so on... Well, so far still no rain. You can see

how dry it is here by all the yellow dry grass.

But what I really wanted you to see was the line

of work shirts!! I mean, REALLY, who needs a

line and a half full of shirts?! The real sad thing is,

that's not even all of them! There are clean shirts in his drawer, plus the one he's wearing today!
Let's just say he could wear a different shirt everyday for about a month!! I know it's crazy!! But, that's my guy!!

So while I was hanging the clothes out I heard a ruckus over by the barn and wood pile. I looked over and saw an animal...I wasn't sure if it was one of mine or something else. I went and got the gun, just in case. When I snuck over to the barn there was my tom-cat George with a huge lizard in his mouth. I went in to get the camera, but by the time I got back out he had let it loose and chased it around some more.

He has the lizard pinned under his paw but you can't see it. One of the other cats helped him in the chase and Blue (our Blue Heeler) joined in too.

This is Sweetie. They ended up loosing the lizard in the wood pile. I wish they wouldn't kill them, they are good to eat bugs. I have to give my barn cats kudos! They truly are awesome cats! They bring me many presents...dead mice, birds, you name it they kill it! They've even cornered a large rattlesnake. I have 3 cats...Little Bit wasn't in on the lizard chase so I didn't get a pic of her. Usually they do hunt all together, but she must've been off having a nap!

I accomplished 5 loads of laundry today. As I write this I still hold hope for a nice rain. I hear the beautiful 80* temps we've had are about to disappear and we will drop down into the 50*s by the end of this week. Just in time for Spring Break! Funny how that works! But hot summer temps will be here before we know it and we'll be ready for relief by winter months and the cycle continues! Like everything else in life, including the weather, guess we need to learn to be content in what we're given! Still I will pray for rain!!