I recently had a conversation with a new friend/neighbor of Daniel's. It began with me noticing that whenever he wanted my attention he would yell, "Hey!"
Me: Do you know my name?
Boy: No.
Me: It's Jennifer, but you can call me Jen.
Boy: Can I call you by a nickname?
Me: Sure. Daniel's Mom or Jen will do.
Boy (thoughtfully): How about Mom! (big smile on his face)
Me: That'll work!!
I think maybe I've been adopted as his "other mother." My heart grows big!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Signs of Spring
After 4 days of temps above 70 degrees, everything is popping forth from the long winter nap. It seems like overnight the grass turned green, the asparagus shot up and the flowers began to bloom. O, what a wonderful reminder of life.
Our 5 chicks are doing quite well and growing very quickly. Their mom, our white silkie named Genti, is a great caregiver and protects them from the other chickens who are constantly after their vitamin water and feed. Even the big ole' rooster, Fred, who is 3x Genti's size is scared of her. Smart man! The yellow chick, probably an Araucana (lays Easter egg colored eggs), has quickly become our favorite and is aptly named Sunshine. The last photo is of our "Free Exotic Chick" from last years order. He is a bantam rooster and is very short, but rules the roost like no other. You should see him chasing those hens around!
Yes, Spring has arrived, and like the Easter proclamation that "Jesus Has Risen!"--our hopes are renewed in the joy of the season!
Last spring, I--at the urging of my flower loving mother-in-law-- planted a bed full of perennials behind my house. Here in Choteau, the only place to plant flowers is where they will be protected from the wind. Since the front of our house gets the wind full force from the west, my backyard is lush, green and landscaped, while the front is, well, left to fend for itself! While I have no idea what kind of flowers these are (I'm more the veggie type of gardener), I am loving the bright colors and the way they seem to take care of themselves.
About this time of year, the brown brittle grass of winter gives in to the sunshine and moisture and turns green. Behind our fenced in backyard, is what we call the "way back." Technically it is the land beyond our property line that at one time housed a railroad. While the tracks are still there, the line is no longer in use and makes for a perfect chicken pasture. Almost 1/2 acre, our flock of 28 can roam, peck, hunt and chase all they want. Truly, there is no better sight than happy chickens roaming the green grass. This is also where I house my large yard waste compost pile and, needless to say, this provides our chickens with lots of fun stuff to scratch around and fertilize.
Last fall, with the hope of jars upon jars of Garlic Pesto, I planted a fall bed of hard neck garlic. Unlike its soft neck counterparts, hard neck garlic sends up a shoot, called a scape, that you chop off and use for cooking and canning. These little buggers came up on our first 45 degree day and are growing like crazy. The asparagus, strawberries, raspberries and onions are also looking good and 2 days ago I seeded in the lettuce, kale and spinach. Here's hoping that yesterday's rain didnt wash it all away.
Our 5 chicks are doing quite well and growing very quickly. Their mom, our white silkie named Genti, is a great caregiver and protects them from the other chickens who are constantly after their vitamin water and feed. Even the big ole' rooster, Fred, who is 3x Genti's size is scared of her. Smart man! The yellow chick, probably an Araucana (lays Easter egg colored eggs), has quickly become our favorite and is aptly named Sunshine. The last photo is of our "Free Exotic Chick" from last years order. He is a bantam rooster and is very short, but rules the roost like no other. You should see him chasing those hens around!
Yes, Spring has arrived, and like the Easter proclamation that "Jesus Has Risen!"--our hopes are renewed in the joy of the season!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Early Spring Happenings
This winter the weather in Montana has been quite unusual. The mountains to our west are coated in a thick blanket of snow, while the plains where we live are still fairly dry and wind blown. The past few weeks have been bright and sunny- aside from 2 quick snow storms- and life is beginning to return to the hills and trees. Underneath the brown grass of winter is an almost undetectable green hue--gentle and delicate, coaxing forth the promise of new life. The trees are budding out and perennial flowers are poking their heads up toward the warm sunshine.
Our lives have been full of springtime activity. Easter, of course, is a highlight for us this time of year. Taylor was especially excited for her 1st Communion held on Maundy Thursday.
Of course, no Easter is complete without dying eggs. We actually had to buy white eggs in order to color them since the 14-16 we collect from our chickens are either brown, green or blue.
Easter Sunday was a beautiful day! After worship, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with family and friends sitting outside, eating a wonderful ham/lamb meal and playing horseshoes.
Daniel and Taylor also worked this spring on their public speaking skills with the Teton County 4-H Demonstration Day. This was Daniel's second demonstration and Taylor's first. They both worked VERY hard to come up with their topic, put together a 5-7 minute demonstration and prepare visual aides.
Taylor demonstrated how to put together a professional looking bouquet. She loves flowers and even spent a few afternoons with our local florist perfecting her technique.
Daniel chose a project from his favorite book, "Dangerous Things for Boys, " and demonstrated how to fireproof material with alum. This project will also be tweaked a bit for the science fair.
With the warm sunshine and increasing length of daylight, two of our chickens went "broody." They were ready to be mama's, so we collected about 14 eggs and they snuggled right in.
Genti, Daniel's favorite hen, has been a mama before and did a wonderful job. We put this variety of eggs under her and about 10 minutes laer, the broody pen looked with this:
All the eggs were safely nestled under her.
Our other broody-Gossie- is a bit of a whirlwind, so we will see if her delicate eggs make it. Here she is pushing the eggs under her soft breast feathers for incubation.
Birds are also a wonder to behold as they return to the frozen north after a warm winter in the tropics. Eight miles east of us is one of the snow geese and swans favorite places to stop for a break. One warm Sunday afternoon we went out to see the swans. There were thousands of them.
While we were out an impending storm made its way into Choteau. In this part of the west you can see storms coming from quite a ways out. This one looked ominous, but proved to be a fast moving threat.
This last photo shows a group of Canadian geese flying into Freezeout Lake. What a loud, honking sight to see!
While most of these photos are of the kids and our natural surroundings, my life would certainly not be complete without this special guys who makes spring a fun time for all of us!
Our lives have been full of springtime activity. Easter, of course, is a highlight for us this time of year. Taylor was especially excited for her 1st Communion held on Maundy Thursday.
Of course, no Easter is complete without dying eggs. We actually had to buy white eggs in order to color them since the 14-16 we collect from our chickens are either brown, green or blue.
Easter Sunday was a beautiful day! After worship, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with family and friends sitting outside, eating a wonderful ham/lamb meal and playing horseshoes.
Daniel and Taylor also worked this spring on their public speaking skills with the Teton County 4-H Demonstration Day. This was Daniel's second demonstration and Taylor's first. They both worked VERY hard to come up with their topic, put together a 5-7 minute demonstration and prepare visual aides.
Taylor demonstrated how to put together a professional looking bouquet. She loves flowers and even spent a few afternoons with our local florist perfecting her technique.
With the warm sunshine and increasing length of daylight, two of our chickens went "broody." They were ready to be mama's, so we collected about 14 eggs and they snuggled right in.
Our other broody-Gossie- is a bit of a whirlwind, so we will see if her delicate eggs make it. Here she is pushing the eggs under her soft breast feathers for incubation.
Birds are also a wonder to behold as they return to the frozen north after a warm winter in the tropics. Eight miles east of us is one of the snow geese and swans favorite places to stop for a break. One warm Sunday afternoon we went out to see the swans. There were thousands of them.
While we were out an impending storm made its way into Choteau. In this part of the west you can see storms coming from quite a ways out. This one looked ominous, but proved to be a fast moving threat.
While most of these photos are of the kids and our natural surroundings, my life would certainly not be complete without this special guys who makes spring a fun time for all of us!
Monday, April 9, 2012
What to Do With Those Easter Leftovers
Ham, one of our choice meats for Easter dinner, is one of the most versatile meats to use in leftovers. Not only does it make wonderful ham sandwiches, but it can be cubed and frozen for future dishes including scalloped potatoes, casseroles, ham and cheese omlets and, of course, cool spring dinners.
Recently, I made an old fashioned pot of ham and beans with a unique twist. My inspiration was the desire to use my new cast iron, enamel clad pot that I have oogled for the longest time and received for Christmas from my in-laws.
There is nothing quite like a good ole' heavy pot of ham and beans simmering on the stove, or if you are lucky enough to have a wood burning stove, all day. Add to this recipe a wonderful cornbread (our favorite recipe, www.theonlinerecipebox.com/eggless-cornbread/-- I add to a smokin' hot cast iron pan with a few bacon drippings in the bottom, then stick in the oven) and some sort of veggie and you have the makings of a great, old fashioned and easy meal! Enjoy!
Chipotle Pinto Beans (from Simply in Season Cookbook, pg 305)
1 pound dried pinto beans
Soak overnight, Drain. Add fresh water to cover beans. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, 10 min. (I used piquinto beans which are small and skipped the soak overnight step.)
2 cup tomatoes (or 1 can stewed toms)
1 cup chopped onion
1 T. garlic chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (do not taste supper hot)
1 ham bone
Add all to beans and bring to a boil. Remove pepper and reserve. Lower heat and simmer until beans are tender, stirring frequently and adding water if necessary to prevent scorching.
Notes: I tried the tiniest bit of the adobo sauce since it was a new product to me. I about died of heat and gulped several glasses of cold milk to cut the searing pain. Cooking time for me was about 3-4 hours and much of the water cooked out leaving a nice thick "broth". Yum!
Recently, I made an old fashioned pot of ham and beans with a unique twist. My inspiration was the desire to use my new cast iron, enamel clad pot that I have oogled for the longest time and received for Christmas from my in-laws.
There is nothing quite like a good ole' heavy pot of ham and beans simmering on the stove, or if you are lucky enough to have a wood burning stove, all day. Add to this recipe a wonderful cornbread (our favorite recipe, www.theonlinerecipebox.com/eggless-cornbread/-- I add to a smokin' hot cast iron pan with a few bacon drippings in the bottom, then stick in the oven) and some sort of veggie and you have the makings of a great, old fashioned and easy meal! Enjoy!
Chipotle Pinto Beans (from Simply in Season Cookbook, pg 305)
1 pound dried pinto beans
Soak overnight, Drain. Add fresh water to cover beans. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, 10 min. (I used piquinto beans which are small and skipped the soak overnight step.)
2 cup tomatoes (or 1 can stewed toms)
1 cup chopped onion
1 T. garlic chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (do not taste supper hot)
1 ham bone
Add all to beans and bring to a boil. Remove pepper and reserve. Lower heat and simmer until beans are tender, stirring frequently and adding water if necessary to prevent scorching.
Notes: I tried the tiniest bit of the adobo sauce since it was a new product to me. I about died of heat and gulped several glasses of cold milk to cut the searing pain. Cooking time for me was about 3-4 hours and much of the water cooked out leaving a nice thick "broth". Yum!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)