I'm Back

I have not been posting much lately because my computer broke and then it broke worse and did not work at all and then I was using a random assortment of old borrowed slow computers.  I am back in the game now though with a computer that runs at a decent speed and does not freeze or poop out on me whenever it feels like it. 

On that note it has been uncomfortably humid lately and my hope is that the weather gets a little more comfortable soon because I want to go outside for more then 10 minutes and not be sweating profusely.  I want to go outside and visit all the animals and it be enjoyable.

I want to go see all the babies

I want to visit the friendly cow (which is not common on a decently sized dairy farm.  We are by no means huge but the 450 cows that are milked each day are not necessarily interested in letting you come up and pet them, but 126 will be your friend)

I would also like to ask this cow if she is sure she can possibly get herself into the bed of this truck, because she is certainly thinking about it

....but all of these things would not be as enjoyable because it is so incredibly hot

Cow In the Road

Something you deal with on a regular basis on a dairy farm is cows (yes I know obvious), but I don't mean cows in general.  I mean the kind of cows that are places you do not always expect to find them.  A few weeks ago for instance a few cows were blocking traffic on the main road.  This cow was simply on our road so it was not blocking anything but my passage and I was not in any hurry and I had my camera in the car.  This nice girl was also polite enough to vacate the road when I pulled up a little.  See the cows behind her, that is where she should be.  I think they are wondering how she did it.  That's the thing too, the ones who get out usually will get out again and again.  Once they know how that's it.

Sometimes they are in my yard, sometimes there is one and sometimes there are several and sometimes there are more then several.

We do though have an alarm of sorts that lets us know if any of the cows are out and happen to be in our general vicinity.

Slide will bark if there is a cow out in the yard at night.  Which is nice until I go to peek out the window and one of the said cows is looking back in at me.  Then I have to go change my underpants before I can go motivate the cows back in the direction of where it belongs and hope that someone up by the barns will put them back where they belong, which they typically do.

The Road

I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  I read it in a day and it was intense.  It was emotional and sad and a lot of other things.  I watched the movie a few days after I finished the book and I thought it was a great match to the book.  Myles said he did not like the movie, he watched the whole thing and I think he found it a little disturbing, which it is.  I would recommend the book and the movie, but be prepared for sadness, it is moving and the relationship in the book is so inspirational.

Calves

I was just looking through some old pictures and came across this picture of a scary calf.  Well it looks scary in this picture.  

It looks as if the calf is trying to eat the baby (who is not a baby anymore, but a 2 year old)

I believe if this baby could talk he would ask, "Why are you taking pictures instead of saving me from this suckling beast?"

I'm Still Alive, Call Off the Dogs

We are in Raleigh this week for the State 4-H Horse Show and I have not have the time to get on the computer until now....My computer also is not working.  I knew I needed a new one but I was hoping I could hold off until the end of August.  We have a desktop computer at home and I may try to get by with that for the next month and a half.

The horse show is going well and has been a lot of fun besides the fact that it is 100 degrees with 80% humidity and the sun shining down as hard as it can.  I will post pictures from the show on Monday (we will be heading home Sunday).

Three quick things though. 

One being that Myles planted sweet corn  this year and it was ready to be harvested on Thursday and I missed it.  I am sad.  Myles went home for a few days to take care of things at and keep the horses worked and he will be back to the show tomorrow so he was there for the corn.  My sister and bother-in-law and their three boys were there for the corn too, but not me.  There will be some for me when I get home, but they have been eating it and enjoying it without me for a few days.

Secondly, it rained!!!  We have not had measurable rain since June 16th.  Last night it rained at home, I missed that too, but it can rain while I am gone and that will not hurt my feelings.

Last:  Molly was the chosen one to come to this horse show.  My dad went and bought her this pool  to keep her cool while she is here in Raleigh and she loves it.  Molly loves to swim (I took her swimming in the creek on Tuesday and I slipped and fell in the water, of course)  She likes to just sit in this water and stick her head under.

That is all for now, back to the heat of the horse show I go.

4th of July

The fourth of July means two things are going to happen for us.  One we are going out of town for leisure (oh the horror), which means lists and house sitters and animal feed organization and so many other things.  We have 2 people helping out while we are gone.  One is feeding calves and the other is looking after the horses, donkey, chickens, turkey, cats, and the dog who will be staying at home (Slide will be joining us on our trip and Molly will be staying home to look after the house).  We will only be gone one night though. 


The second thing is that the fourth of July means cooking.  I am responsible for an appetizer or two, and a side dish.  I don't have to think hard about what I am going to make this year because requests have been sent in.  I will be making buffalo chicken dip, blueberry salsa, and white cheddar mac and cheese.  So here are the recipes in case you want to include these dishes in your 4h of July weekend.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(this is a single recipe I double it)

What You Need:

• 2 (8oz) bricks cream cheese
• 2 (10-12 oz) cans chunk chicken (or you can use shredded fresh cooked chicken, the canned chicken is fast and easy though)
• 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• Ranch dressing (1/2 cup or more to taste)

What You Do:


1. In a skillet heat the chicken and wing sauce
2.  Add the cream cheese and stir this every so often until it is all melted and combined
3.  Pour this in a slow cooker (for a single recipe a 2 quart cooker is just right, but whatever you have)
4.  mix in your ranch, start with about 1/2 a cup and then taste it, if you like things hot this is probably fine, if you are more mild then add some more ranch to tone it down
5.  Turn this on low for about an hour, stir it at least once during this time so it does not dry out around the outside, then you can turn it down to warm.  Serve with chips, crackers, celery, or whatever you prefer.

Berry Salsa

What You Need:

• 1 cups coarsely chopper blueberries
• 1 cup coarsley chopped blackberries (you can use more blueberries or some raspberries if you want)
• 1 cup whole blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 seeded and finely chopped jalapeno
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

What You Do:
1. mix everythign together!!!
2.  Serve or cover and chill
this is best served the day you make it

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

(this is a big recipe, you can half it for a smaller group)

What You Need:

• 24 oz shell pasta (a box and a half)
• 12 tablespoons flour
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 12 oz sharp vermont white cheddar cheese shredded
• 4 oz white american cheese shredded

What You Do:

1. Bring a bot of salted water to a simmer

2. Melt the butter in a skillet then add the flour

3. Cook over medium-ish for a few minutes to make a rue

4. Add the milk and cream and cook stirring regularly to make this thicker like a gravy consistency

5. Throw your noodles in sometime around now and turn the water up to a full boil, you want the noodles to be hot when you add the sauce.

6. Turn off the heat and add the cheese, you can substitute some of the white cheddar for more american if you don't want it to be too sharp.  The cheese should melt in completely

7.  Pout your hot noodles and sauce in serving dish or bowl and stir to combine.

Serve it up

New Neighbors

First of all I found this egg.  Funny shaped and funny sized eggs always make me laugh.

We are getting new neighbors here on the farm.  In about a month we will have 3 little boys living on the farm.  My sister and brother-in-law are moving into a house at the front of the farm with their 3 kids.  What fun these boys will have.  The kids have never lived anywhere but a neighborhood and they are excited about so many things. 

Charlie wants a chicken named "Chicken soup." 

Alexander will probably be more interested in the equipment and I am sure will be a big part of the gardening because he loves the garden they have now. 

Jack is just a baby but he loves tractors and animals.

On another note,
I started a new book called The Road by Cormac McCarthy.