Farmgirl Fare

Friday Night Surprise Dose of Cute: Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

2012-02-24T20:35:00.002-06:00

Estelle with her newborn twin boys

Early last Tuesday morning my hunky farmguy Joe drove off to spend a week visiting his family out of state. We planned the trip so he would be back in time for lambing season, which would be starting around the first of March.

Estelle decided not to wait.

So far she and her twins, who were born a couple of hours ago, are doing great. And if 2012 is anything like 2011, there are going to be a lot more lambs bouncing around the barn by the time Joe arrives back home Monday night.

And so it begins!

Need a bigger dose of lamb cute right now? You'll find all the 2011 lambing season posts here and here. (This photo is one of my favorites.) I'll be down at the barn.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where this is always the cutest—and most tiring—time of the year. All that constant lamb cuddling really wears a girl out. Or it could be the weeks of nightly 2am trips down to the barn. But I bet it's the cute.

Friday Dose of Cute: The Beauty of Black and White

2012-02-24T11:48:00.000-06:00

Have a beautiful weekend!

More Mr. Midnight? Here.

More farm cats? Here.

More snow photos? Here.

Thursday Dose of Cute: Down at the Barn

2012-02-23T19:43:00.001-06:00

More photos below. . .

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Wordless Wednesday Dose of Chicken Cute

2012-02-22T14:58:00.001-06:00

More wordless cute? Here.

More chickens? Here.

More snow? Here.

Tuesday Dose of Cute: Snow Dogs

2012-02-21T19:34:00.001-06:00

More photos below. . .

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Monday Farm Photos: Out the Upstairs Windows

2012-02-20T11:00:00.005-06:00

9am last Monday. . .

More photos below. . .

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Friday Farm Photo: The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Today—and You're Invitied To Join In!

2012-02-17T11:29:00.003-06:00

We counted over 40 wild turkeys in the hayfield last Friday—a new record.

Warmer temperatures and lack of snow in parts of North America have set the stage for what could be a most intriguing 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, which runs from Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th.

Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to take part in this neat four-day event, a joint project between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada (BSC) that engages bird watchers in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.

Anyone can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. It's a great opportunity for families, students, and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature in backyards, schoolyards, and local parks while making an important contribution to conservation.

It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It's free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds. Last year, an estimated 60,000 bird watchers submitted over 92,000 checklists online. There were 596 species observed and over 11.4 million individual birds counted.

For more information, check out the Great Backyard Bird Count website. Details on how you can participate are here, and you can read more about the GBBC here. You can learn more about birds in general at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website. And at WeLoveBirds.org, bird-lovers can share stories and information about birds and help protect birds from activities that harm them and their habitat.

Happy counting!

© FarmgirlFare.com, where we're fortunate to be surrounded by all sorts of birds on the farm, but my favorites are definitely the gorgeous wild geese that migrate twice a year overhead (we just saw some this morning!) and this amazing little owl that showed up one cold and windy, heartwrenching morning back in 2008 and stayed for most of the day.

Wednesday Dose of Cute: We Want Our Treats

2012-02-15T20:18:00.001-06:00

And we want them now.

More sheep? Here.

More snow photos? Here.

More treats? Here and here and here. (In case you hadn't noticed, life on this farm revolves around treats.)

Tuesday Farm Photo: Valentine, Farm Style

2012-02-14T13:37:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Need a bigger dose of love? There are all sorts of other found farm hearts here. And you can see some of my ever growing collection of heart shaped rocks here and here. They aren't all perfect, just like love isn't perfect.

I'd forgotten how many stories are woven into some of those heart rock posts—and how incredibly bright green it is here in early spring. This morning I took a quiet trip down memory lane, revisiting everyone from a growing up baby Cary to Rosebud and Snugglebunny (one of my favorite ewes, who sadly died last fall). Saying goodbye to New Cat, and reading through your amazing outpouring of heartfelt comments. When we started losing baby lambs left and right. My dear, sweet brother.

Happiness and sorrow, all wrapped around rocks in the shape of a heart. I have hundreds—both rocks and memories. Cherished, one and all.

Wishing you peace, joy, and love this Valentine's Day—and every day.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where yesterday's gorgeous snowfall is melting, the champagne is chilling, and I'm getting ready to bake up a quick batch of those delectable little Baby Chocolate Chip and Toffee Shortbread Cookies because (hard to believe as it may be) one of us has (temporarily, I'm sure) actually reached chocolate cupcake overload.

Recipes: Easy Little Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting and Cruciferous Vegetables for Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T14:22:00.002-06:00

Say I love you with a big helping of antioxidants! My fondness for this crunchy Napa Cabbage and Broccoli Winter Slaw with a Creamy Dijon Dressing just keeps getting stronger.

Radishes and brussels add more color and flavor, and everything is quickly chopped up in the food processor. It even goes well with champagne, though of course I think pretty much everything goes well with champagne.

And then there are these Easy Chocolate Babycakes with Mocha (or Chocolate) Buttercream Frosting, which definitely go well with champagne (and milk). They're made with the batter for my simple Emergency Chocolate Loaf Cake, which I've been making for about 14 years, and are really cute and really tasty.

And I could just leave it at that, but I'm going to share some recently acquired chocolate cupcake wisdom with you instead.

More below. . .

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Sunday Dose of Cute: Chickens on Snow (Not a Recipe)

2012-02-12T16:55:00.001-06:00

More photos below. . .

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Friday Farm Photos: Okay, Now It Feels Like Winter

2012-02-10T16:25:00.007-06:00

Hey look, I'm actually letting you see (the better looking) half of The Shack. (The glass in that second story, plastic-covered window literally just fell out one day onto the ground below—I tripped over it in the grass and couldn't figure out where this big piece of glass had come from. I wasn't kidding when I said the place is falling apart!)

More photos below. . .

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Wednesday Dose of Cute: Meet Our Future Milk Supplier

2012-02-08T16:40:00.005-06:00

For the past five years (I can't believe it's been that long already) we've been buying our milk from a farm about eight miles down the road. This homesteading family of ten drinks a lot of milk, and they also make their own cheese and butter—something I've been meaning to start doing for, oh, the past five years. The money they make from selling their extra milk usually covers the cost of feed for their very small herd of Jersey cows, so it works out well for everyone.

More below. . .

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Monday Dose of Cute: It's A Brand New Week

2012-02-06T21:57:00.000-06:00

Seven whole days to try for treats.

More donkeys? Here and here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where everybody only thinks they're starving. Every day is actually treat day for our seven donkeys (Daphne, aka The Daphinator, is off to the right, braying loudly), but they think it should happen twice a day. Or even three times. You've got to admire their optimism and persistence.

Sunday Dose of Cute: Sheep Shearing Day 2012!

2012-02-05T16:16:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday our longtime sheep shearer—who thankfully hasn't retired yet—arrived at the farm about 9am and sheared 33 of our 42 sheep, 20 of whom are pregnant. Lambing season will start around the first of March, and you can learn why we now shear the sheep before lambing season here.

Ten-year-old Silly, the oldest member of our flock (all my really old pet sheep have died), didn't need the stress of being sheared in the middle of winter (we'll shear her ourselves in a few months), and the other eight are Katahdin hair sheep, which don't need to be sheared. You can read more about how and why we added Katahdins to our flock four years ago here.

The shearer left about four hours later with payment of $6 per sheep, plus a tip and half a batch of Nigella's big chocolate chip cookies. Despite this being the earliest we've ever sheared (we were his first sheep of the year!), we lucked out and only had to reschedule once. We'd planned to shear Friday, but the sheep weren't dry from Wednesday's rain, and you can't shear wet sheep.

Lots more below. . .

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Super Bowl Recipe Ideas: Easy Black Bean Chili, Homemade Beer Bread, and Manly Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies

2012-02-03T12:52:00.001-06:00

This thick and hearty black bean chili makes a great dip, too. (recipe here)

Still finalizing your game day menu? You're sure to score big with these winning recipes from the Farmgirl Fare archives.

My Quick and Easy Tex Mex Black Bean Chili is loaded with beans, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and corn. It's low fat, full of flavor, and easy to make vegetarian. It also tastes great as a dip or on nachos and even freezes well. What are Farmgirl Fare readers are saying about it?

My friends said it was the best chili they ever had!!

Just made this for a Super Bowl party. My fiancé had been worried about a vegetarian chili tasting right but said that this recipe was the best chili he'd had in years! I added one minced chipotle and a teaspoon of the adobo sauce and used water instead of stock.

This Beyond Easy Homemade Beer Bread has been one of my most popular recipes since I first shared it back in 2005. Five minutes of work and you'll be rewarded with a warm, crusty loaf in under an hour. Try dill and cheddar, rosemary and feta, onion rye, or even whole wheat. The flavor variations are endless.

I've been baking these Big, Soft, and Chewy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies for 20 years, and every guy who's ever tasted them has loved them. (I love them, too). My hunky farmguy Joe says they're even good with beer—and nobody ever guesses they're made with whole wheat flour.

Go team!

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

Thursday Dose of Cute: A Very Happy Groundhog Day

2012-02-02T18:52:00.001-06:00

My four-footed laundry helpers are back in action.

Sunny, breezy, and 64 degrees on the second of February in Missouri? You can bet the laundry line was in full swing today!

More photos below. . .

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Wordless Wednesday Dose of Cute: Bored Beagle and Stoic Stock Dog

2012-02-01T17:10:00.000-06:00

More photos below. . .
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Tuesday Dose of Cute: Firewood Security

2012-01-31T20:51:00.001-06:00

You don't want to mess with Mr. Midnight.

More Mr. Midnight? Here.

More firewood? Here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where it's been too freaky warm for January. A week in the 60s during the (usual) height of firewood burning season just feels wrong—but our freshly shorn sheep don't mind a bit. (And I haven't forgotten about those shearing day pics. Soon!)

Sunday Dose of Cute: Hey!

2012-01-29T21:59:00.003-06:00

What are you doing with our sheep?

Not to worry, Marta and Daisy, they're just being sheared. Photos from Sheep Shearing Saturday 2012—which everybody survived just fine—should be up in a day or two. In the meantime, better beware of the big dogs.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where sheep rustlers don't stand a chance—and can you believe how well Daisy cleaned herself up? There's nothing like a self-cleaning farm dog. And then there's Marta Beast, whose self-cleaning mechanism isn't quite 100% functional.

Friday Dose of Cute: (Still) On the Move

2012-01-27T19:31:00.006-06:00

Hello from the new house! Although we moved ourselves over here late last summer, until yesterday our satellite Internet connection was still located in The Shack, so I've been blogging all these months from my old cluttered little studio office (which you can read a little about here).

The commute across the farmyard, which I made numerous times a day, was very pleasant, and Sarah Kate and Mr. Midnight, who still prefer to hang out and sleep in The Shack, kept me company, but it feels so good to finally be over here in the new house.

More below. . .

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Wordless Wednesday Dose of Cute: Pupsicle

2012-01-25T13:47:00.001-06:00

More Wordless cute? Here.

More beagle Bert? Here.

Recipe: Sunburst Carrot Soup with Fresh Ginger, Orange, and Carrot Juice

2012-01-24T14:42:00.004-06:00

Could you use a piping hot bowl of healthy winter sunshine? (recipe here)

This cheerful, low fat soup is packed with carrots and bursting with antioxidants and flavor. It also freezes beautifully. The flavor and color from the fresh carrot juice stirred in at the end add a wonderful brightness (we love our powerful little $49 Waring juicer!), but the soup tastes great even without it.

Adapt my easy recipe to suit your taste: try more fresh ginger, more orange zest, maybe extra garlic—or leave any of them out. A little ground cumin is a very nice addition. However you serve it up, cold and flu season won't stand a chance.

Can't survive on soup alone? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

Monday Dose of Cute: What the. . .

2012-01-23T14:13:00.001-06:00

Oh my.

More photos below. . .

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Sunday Dose of Cute: Another Sheep Working Sunday

2012-01-22T18:17:00.001-06:00

All lined up and ready to be drenched.

After almost a year, we're still being really good about keeping to our new Sunday sheep working schedule, which is a source of both pride and constant amazement to us both, considering how discombobulated our days on the farm always seem to be, and how much trouble we have keeping to any kind of agenda.

More below. . .

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