New Baby Bunnies!

Midnight gave birth last night to 5 little baby bunnies! It looks like we have 1 brown spotted, 2 brown and 2 black. Time will tell as I get a better look at them. Mom got an apple treat while I got to sneak a peek at her babies! I will add pictures when the babies are a little more stable and have actual fur on them! This is Midnights first litter and I don't want to mess up by being too curious!

Numb Hands and Barn Chores

I am a warm weather kind of gal and this morning has proved that to me, I wake up at 5 am and get that all important first cup of coffee in me, Look at the weather on the computer while I try to wake up, then today I donned two pair of socks, long johns and jeans, Tee shirt, long john top and sweat shirt, put on my "Turkey Poop" Shoes and finally my coat, grabbed my gloves and out the door to the barn! There is frost all over the ground that glistened so pretty as the sun rose in the sky. I tread down the hill to the barn with my egg basket in hand and think...This isn't so bad!
That is until I get to the barn, start watering the animals and the darn hose is now leaking....out of the nozzle and over my hands, but I continued on even though after a short...and I mean short while later, I could no longer feel my hands! Have you ever tried to open the water bottle of a rabbit cage with numb fingers? Well let me tell you it isn't easy... but the chores must be done, I got the rabbits watered, fed and then saw Bubbers, our cat!!! He wanted fed, I needed warm hands with feelings and so, I grabbed him and tried to hold on to him for some much needed warmth!
Well...All I got was this look of disgust from him as he jumped out of my arms then proceeded to his feed bowl and demanded food! Lucky for him, I have a soft heart and obliged him.
Next it was the turkeys turn, I went in the coop with frozen, numb hands and grabbed the feeder...its metal! Good thing I already couldn't feel my hands grabbed the feeder and filled it, then had to empty the water can and fill it.... fingers burning from being so cold. After all that, I spread more straw about the Turkey coop and then had to make way to the chickens (ugg... I am so cold) and guess what?......
Same thing as the turkeys, the chickens needed feed and fresh water, well eggs have to be gathered and that is not easy to do with fingers you thought just fell off because you can not feel them! The only good thing was that while reaching under Queenie, I didn't feel much when she pecked me!!!
With the Morning barn chores done, I make my way to the house and grab my coffee, not to drink at this moment, but to warm up my hands!
Time to build a fire in the wood stove I think!!!!
The bad thing about this morning.....Its only October! I am not looking forward to winter, I think I need to ask Santa for some better gloves and warmer country clothing!

How to Shovel Manure

" When you imagine country life, do you imagine sipping lemonade on the front porch and spending quiet Sunday afternoons watching the corn grow? Think again, and let Gwen Peterson set you straight." (excerpt from How to Shovel Manure and other life lessons for the country woman.)

I am reading this book right now and recommend it to anyone who has ever lived on a Ranch, a farm or thought about trying it someday. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and makes the reading easy and enjoyable! I really liked the chapter about chickens and could relate to it! The book is packed full of country humor, helpful advice and touched with nostalgia. This is a great Christmas stocking stuffer idea for any country woman or one who aspires to live in the country!

Christmas Movie Warning!

There is a new movie coming out in December Starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliott titled the Golden Compass,and is based on a series of Anti Religious Themes. The first in a trilogy by Phillip Pullman an avowed atheist. Pullman stated in an interview that "My books are about Killing God"
Please be advised before you take your children to see this movie. Hollywood has of course watered down the Trailers in an attempt to avoid the controversy.
Please check it out on Snopes and see for yourself!

Stocking Exchange

Peggy over at Hidden Haven Homestead is hosting a Stocking exchange! Jump on over and check it out, this will be my first year and it looks like it will be alot of fun!

Making Apple Sauce

Its raining here again today, so I thought it would be a good day to make apple sauce!

I just core my apples and fill a large 10 quart soup pot with the apples, add enough apple juice or cider to the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and cook until the apples are very tender and it begins to resemble apple sauce. run this through a strainer, I use a colander and pour it in over a big pot, then use a wooden spoon to separate the pulp from the peelings. Next in your pot with the apple pulp just add sugar and cinnamon to taste and cook a little while longer to dissolve the sugar and blend the flavor of the cinnamon.

That's it.... Very easy!

you can then put them into jars and can them in a water bath canner!

**When you make apple sauce use any type of apple that is very ripe to obtain maximum flavor, you can mix varieties of apples for a better flavor. I purchased deer apples from a local grower for $5.00 a bushel and picked out the best ones to make my apple sauce, then the animals get what apples I decide not to use for my apple sauce or apple butter!

Try some today, you won't be disappointed!

Ten Things I Love about Autumn

The Ten things I Love about Autumn Are;

1. Pumpkin pie

2. Spiced Cider

3. Hay Rides

4. Cool Crisp Mornings

5. Warm Afternoons

6. Jack O Lanterns

7. Colors of the Leaves on the trees

8. The smell of Apples in the air

9. Corn Mazes

10.Weekend drives around the Countryside!

What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

Holiday cooking, Blogger style

Overwhelmed with joy is hosting this wonderful Holiday recipe swap! Jump on over there and check out her blog!

I entered my crumb topped apple pie recipe, There are many great recipes that have been shared!

Holiday Cooking Blogger Style

Everything is Pop Pops!

Alan is such a wonderful Pop Pop! He is great with kids, I think because he is still a kid at heart. Ryan just adores him and everything in Ryan's mind belongs to Pop Pop!

Today on the phone Ryan told Alan he was watching Pop Pops cartoons! Whenever Alan is at home that is usually where you will find Ryan, Sitting on his Pop Pops lap, holding his hand and leading him around or just hanging out with his favorite person in the world.... Ryan just adores his Pop Pop!

Hanging around on a rainy day

This is Bebub, Our cat who stayed in the barn all day because of the rain, He sits here waiting on his turn to be fed!

This is Queenie sitting on her nest, I don't reach under her to gather eggs, she pecks when you stick your hand in and if you even get near her nest, she growls at you, like shes warning you to go away!


This is Charlie our Silver laced wyandotte, he is our only remaining rooster since we had a predator attack last week, Charlie and the girls were upset this morning because I would not let them out of the coop today!

Rainy Day

Today has been a rainy day and we have needed it! I took the day to do some grocery shopping, house cleaning and laundry. I have a pork roast and sauerkraut in the slow cooker and an apple pie in the oven. We will have mashed potatoes and corn to go along with the pork!

Our cat Buber's has been hanging around in the barn to avoid the rain and Hunter has been pouting all day because he couldn't go out side much.

I have needed a day like today and the sweet smell of the rain is a delight!

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the tin roof and it was like music to my ears!

Foggy Valley

This was the view we woke up to on Saturday morning! The fog was lifting out of the valley below, giving us a beautiful setting for our first cup of coffee! The air was a little cool and the afternoon warmed up into the 70s it was a perfect day!

This was the view after the fog lifted!

Happy Fall

AUTUMN IS HERE!

I love fall, to me Autumn means Apple pie, Jack O Lanterns, Hay rides, Corn Mazes and Hot spiced cider!

I love taking weekend drives and seeing the lovely colors that are painted across the hill sides and mountains.

The cool crisp mornings and the warm afternoons

. There is something about Autumn that rejuvenates us ,but it also means that winter is not far behind and that is the season I like the least. Well, I just wont think about that right now and I will take full advantage of this wonderful fall day so, I am off to enjoy a cup of Hot spiced cider and look out at the beautiful scenery across the valley below!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Apple Crumb Pie

This is the best apple pie recipe I have ever made! I doubled the crumb topping though and added a little more cinnamon to the pie. It was great and people are still talking about how good this pie was!

Apple Crumb Pie
" Sliced apples, raisins and walnuts are sugared, dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg, and piled into a pastry shell. A sweet crumbly topping is sprinkled over the top. The whole pie is then loosely covered with aluminum foil, and baked until golden and brown.

"INGREDIENTS:

1 (9 inch) pie shell

6 cups thinly sliced apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

3/4 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Place sliced apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired. In a small bowl, mix together white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Stir in raisins and walnuts if desired. Spoon mixture into pastry shell.

3. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apple filling. Cover top loosely with aluminum foil.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com

Very Sad Day continued

Well with the help of my friends at Homestead.org, we have come to the conclusion, the animal that killed my chickens is probably a raccoon. The really sad news is that if it was a raccoon, they will keep coming back for more so we have decided to put out a trap.
I kept the chickens in the coop secured with cinder blocks against the door for awhile to hopefully keep them safe.
We are making more frequent trips to the barn to check on everything and today I have only gathered 3 eggs.... The poor things have been so traumatized by this invasion they just are not laying. I hope we can catch this intruder so the chickens can go back outside and enjoy the life they are used to having, sunning themselves, taking dirt baths and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise.
What a hard lesson to learn.

Very Sad Day

Today is a sad Day, Last night something got into the chicken coop and killed 9 of our chickens, what ever they were, they killed Rascal, Fancy and Big Red plus 6 hens.

Rascal and Big Red will be sorely missed as Rascal was our favorite rooster and Big Red was such a ham for the camera. I will miss Fancy and his beautiful feathers and I will greatly miss the other 6 hens when I go down to the barn and they come running up to me to see what treat I had for them that day.

This is the hard part of farm life. I will miss them all, they were such wonderful pets!

Mammaw's Pumpkin Cookies

My Grandmother used to make these cookies every year and they are one of my favorites!
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 Cup butter ( it was Oleo in her recipe, I had to ask what that was!)
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 Cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup raisins or choc. chips (optional)
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Cooking Instructions:
Grease cookie sheet,beat butter in a mixing bowl for 30 seconds, add brown sugar and beat until fluffy, add egg, pumpkin and vanilla, beat well and add dry ingredients, beat well again then stir in Raisins, nuts or Chocolate chips. Dough will be soft. drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 375 degrees 8 to 10 min.

Our Sunsets

Softly the evening came. The sun from the western horizon Like a magician extended his golden want o'er the landscape; Trickling vapors arose; and sky and water and forest Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline

This is the view from our back deck, We are fortunate enough to have a spectacular evening show almost every night! One of my favorite warm weather gatherings are to have dinner on the back deck while watching the beautiful sunset and seeing the bats dance around in the evening sky, while savoring the company of my family. I can not think of a more enjoyable way to end the day!

Our Country Mailbox

This is our new mail box that Alan and Robin and I built this year, I wish I had got some pictures with all the flowers planted around it, Alan is such a good handy man! People had even dropped by to tell us how much they liked the new mail box, There is no better compliment than that!

Fancy

Fancy is our one and only Buff Cochin Bantam, He arrived as a freebie with our meat chickens and had grew up with them until they were no longer here, Fancy was to young to introduce to our existing flock of Chickens so He went to live with the young Turkeys for awhile. To make a long story short Fancy now thinks he is a Turkey and prefers to roost in the coop with the other Turkeys at night!

He is a very gentle Chicken with feathers all the way to his feet, he is very soft when you pet him, I would like to get some more Cochin's for his companionship and our viewing pleasure!

Showing Off In the Coop

When I went to the barn this morning the Turkeys were showing off! What a wonderful display to see, I like to just sit and watch them strut around and show off for the ladies!
While I was feeding and watering them my cell phone rang and that got them all Gobbling.... It was like they were telling me to "answer the phone its ringing!"

Hungry Kitties

We found some very new kittens in a stack of tires by the barn, Mom kitty must have hid them there and they dropped through where she couldn't get to them, One of our Rabbits, "Winter" was still nursing so we thought we would try to feed the poor hungry kittens by allowing them to suckle on Winter, it worked! after they had their belly's full we laid them in a safe place where their mom could find them. All went well, and Winter was such a good provider to some very needy babies!

This Must be the Place

We came across this sign in Front Royal Virginia, while on our way to Sky line drive. It says it all!

Luna Moth

This is a Luna Moth that I found one day while doing my barn chores, what a spectacular insect to see and rare to see it during day light hours! Luna moths are only active at night, we enjoyed this one and then let him alone until he was ready to leave.

A bit of Popular Culture

Children's author Eric Carle prominently featured a luna moth in his 1990 book, "The Very Quiet Cricket". In the story, a cricket is born who cannot talk. During the course of a sunny day, the cricket meets many other insects, but each time the tiny cricket rubs his wings together, no sound emerges. By the end of the day, the cricket is tired and frustrated at being unable to communicate with his fellow insects. At the height of his despair, "A luna moth sailed quietly into the night. And the cricket enjoyed the stillness. As the luna moth disappeared silently into the distance, the cricket saw another cricket. She, too was a very quiet cricket." The book ends with the quiet male cricket finally finding his voice and chirping "...the most beautiful sound she had ever heard." In the original Dr. Doolittle movie, the titular character flew away on a giant luna moth.

Hunter

Hunter is our Golden Retriever, He is a very loyal and well behaved dog, great with kids! He enjoys running and chasing after his ball or a soda bottle, he likes Popsicles in the summer and is great around all the other animals!

Alan

This is Alan...The love of my life! with our dog Hunter. Alan is one of the most care free, fun loving and good spirited people I have ever met. He would gladly give you the shirt off his own back or the last dime in his pocket if you needed it. He is very Loving and hard working!
I am so grateful that God lead us to a path where we would meet, he has been an inspiration in my life and a true Blessing in the life of my youngest daughter and grandson.
Alan has always been a friend to the underdog, sometimes putting their needs before his own and many people are glad to call him friend, he is very humble though and often wonders why people like him so well.That's not very hard to see if you know him!
I am glad we are the couple that we are and I can not imagine walking through this life with out him!
He is one of many Blessings in my life!

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:
1½ cups skim milk powder
1½ cups white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
¾ cup non-dairy creamer
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well. For a finer mix, combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix well.
Store in an air tight container.
Directions:Place 2 or 3 tablespoons in a mug and add boiling water.

This is the best Hot Chocolate! My family begs for this every winter!

Home Made Granola

4 c. Rolled Oats
1 c. Sliced Almonds
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1 tea. Cinnamon
1/2 tea. Salt
Mix well in large bowl. In small saucepan, heat through:
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. oil
1 tea. Vanilla
Mix wet and dry thoroughly. Spread on cookie sheets (2). 300 degrees for 40 minutes. Stir often. The less you stir, the browner it gets, so if you like it "toasty" stir less.

This recipe was obtained from a friend at Homestead.org

Ryan

Ryan is such a joy to have around! Through him I find wonderous amazement in the daily things we take for granted!
everyday is something new! a new word, a new discovery and a new look at the ordinary!

nothing is missed or taken for granted at this age, the grass, the wind blowing through the trees, a bug crawling by on the porch! He reminds me to pause and take a look around at the things, I might otherwise miss! I love him at this age of discovery!

Five Generations

This is My Dad, My Mammaw, Ryan, me and Robyn taken on Ryans first Birthday!

I feel so very blessed that I was able to grow up knowing my Grandmother and that both my Daughters have also grown up to know thier Great Grandmother! Now Mammaw is seeing her Great Great Grandson grow up!

Puting By

"In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." Proverbs 21:20

One of the things I really enjoy is canning or "puting By" as it was referred to in the past, setting up autumns abundant harvest!
Here I had canned peaches, tomatoes, grape jelly and apple butter!

Raising Turkeys

Raising Turkeys is interesting and I have learned that I can not do my barn chores when the turkey's are out and about, they are very curious animals and want to be a part of what you are doing. They follow me around the barn watching every move I make and try to get into things when I am not watching!

Gathering Eggs!

Collecting eggs is very fun! I enjoy it like a game almost! Its fun to go into the coop and look in the nesting box's to find the days bounty from a hens hard work!
I collect about 22 eggs a day! the ladies work hard everyday to keep us supplied, I have read that when a hen lays an egg it is compared to a human giving birth! and these girls go through that every day!!
after collecting the eggs, I take them to the house where they get washed and carefully inspected. any cracked or pecked eggs are fixed and fed to Hunter our dog, the good eggs get packed away in egg cartons and sold or given away to family and special friends.
We have had a very abundant supply from our wonderful girls and we are very grateful for each and everyone of them!

Raising Rabbits

We started raising rabbits this spring and started out with two expecting Moms, about three weeks later we had 16! This is a three week old rabbit!
Rabbits are very easy to care for, We water them twice daily and feed them in the evenings. Rabbits are most active at night. I trim their nails when needed so they don't scratch me when I handle them. We almost lost one of the babies when he got drug out of the nest box and onto the wire of the cage where he became very cold(they were born in March). I took him into the house and placed him under a heat lamp for awhile, then we brought the momma rabbit up from the barn and made sure she let him feed. He survived! So he has been named Lucky!

Raising Chickens

I enjoy having chickens and watching their antics!
I never thought about raising these kinds of animals before we moved to PA but, I really enjoy it, more than I thought I would. We bought our first flock in February from McMurray Hatchery and I couldn't wait until the day they arrived! They actually came to us through the post office! it was very amusing to me, to think that I would have 26 chickens mailed to me! So the morning they arrived, the post office called to let us know our chickens were waiting on us and immediately I was out the door and on my way to become the Mom to 26 cute little baby chicks!
They arrived in a box, all huddled together nice and warm and just as cute as could be, we brought them home and put them in a brooder box with a heat lamp and sugar water, we took each one out and dipped their beaks into the water so they could find it and gently sat them down by the water, they started drinking right away and then we added some special mash that we purchased from the hatchery for them to eat. They looked so cute and we watched them like hawks! Our 26 little chicks were instantly entertainment for the whole family. We kept the brooder box in the basement until they were ready to enter the coop. I remember the first time I heard our first rooster crow! It was like a gift to me I was so excited to go and see that it was Charlie one of our Silverlaced Wyandottes!
That was like music to my ears and I had to call my Mom for her to hear it!
Then the day I walked into the coop to let the chickens out and found My first egg was another gift that my wonderful new friends had given me, I found a total of 4 eggs that day!
Now we get about 22 to 24 eggs a day! We feed, water and take care of our chickens and they repay our efforts with fantastic, great tasting eggs every day now!
I sell the fresh eggs for $1.50 a dozen so they even pay for their own feed!
I Love having my Chicken friends!

Amish Friendship Bread

AMISH CINNAMON BREAD(FRIENDSHIP BREAD)

Starter
1 package active dry yeast 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1 cup sugar
NOTE: DO NOT USE METAL BOWLS OR SPOONS AND DO NOT REFRIGERATE. PROCEDURE TO MAKE THE STARTER
Dissolve yeast in small amout of warm water. Mix all ingredients together in ample size bowl or jar (it will grow) This is day 1 of the recipe , then the next day go to day 2 and so on.
DAY 1 Receive fermented starter in ziplock bag. Do nothing! Put bag on counter.
DAY 2 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 3 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 4 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 5 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 6 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 7 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 8 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 9 Squeeze bag several times.
DAY 10 In a large non-metallic bowl, combine batter with 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix with wooden or plastic spoon. Take four one gallon ziplock bags and pour 1 cup of starter in each. Give these four starters with a copy of instructions to family and friends.
TO THE REMAINING BATTER IN BOWL, ADD:
1 CUP VEGETABLE OIL
2 CUPS FLOUR 1 CUP SUGAR
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
2 BOXS VANILLA PUDDING MIX
1/2 CUP MILK 1 TEASPOON VANILLA
1 1/2 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER
1 1/2 TEASPOONS CINNAMON
2 LARGE EGGS
In a separate bowl, mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 3 tablespoons sugar, sprinkle into well greased pans before batter. Bake at 325* for 1 hour or until done.
REMEMBER: Do not refrigerate starter! As air builds in the bag, let air out. It is normal for the batter to thicken, bubble and ferment.
Also, you can try different pudding flavors-add a little character to your bread! Someone recommended a box of pistachio and a box of lemon. Try it out!