Spring chores

Spring is teasing us a bit, but I do believe it will eventually arrive.  We have baby chicks moved into the brooder in the barn (almost ready to head into the coop with the big girls).  Lots and lots of projects around here.  A few of my favorites:








Getting garden beds ready and then planting.  Last weekend I amended with the big bags of organic stuff I fetched from southeast Portland.  Here is what one of the beds looks like today.

I plan to amend with compost soon.  You see, I made compost.  I did.  I really did.  Finally.  I think it took three years.  My determination is bolstered by the fact that I did actually create some.  Now I just have to figure out how to do it faster.  In any case, isn't it pretty?



And then there's this.  I have this big pile of bricks (the remnants of the mailbox monument we knocked down last year).  I've decided that I need to build a quirky path up to my greenhouse with them.  It's much cuter in my mind than it looks now . . .but I still have work to do. 

 This is just the rough layout.  The fitting in and sanding it all will take some time, but not nearly as much work as fetching those bricks from the goat pen (you know how goat helpers are).

And, finally, it wouldn't be Spring without the crazy chicken doing her thing.  So far this week I have fetched 3 eggs out of garage, from behind a case of chili.  I found one in the barn, on the workbench today.  And then there was this pile that was discovered in the compost bin.  This chicken definitely takes her breed to heart (she's an Aracauna which are the "easter eggers").  I think she just misunderstood . . .that was for the coloring, not for the hiding.

If I had only known what was coming . . . .

I thought the wildlife was bad . . .and then we got this kind of wild life!  A drunk driver missed a turn, trashed our fence, took out a utility pole and landed in our pasture, spreading glass everywhere, and necessitating a lifeflight helicopter landing in our pasture.  I've spent far too much time in the past two weeks dealing with insurance adjustors, estimators of all sorts, and the district attorney.  I no longer ask, "What next?!"  Because, frankly, I don't want to know!

In the meantime, I did manage to squeeze some productivity and fun into this unseasonably warm weather.

. . . like planting an additional 12 blueberry plants, bringing the grand total to 40.  We'll see what this year's harvest brings . . .

 . . . tried my hand at (sort of) sourdough bread . . .

. . . let the hens out in the garden . . .

 . . . more pics with the new camera (this one of the tree out front on a sunny day) . . .

 . . . lots of soccer this weekend (7 soccer games and 1 basketball game for the family this weekend) . . .

 . . . watched my silly boys just being silly . . . .

 . . . kept a safe distance from the slice-and-dice kitty that looks so peaceful and cute while she is sleeping . . .

 . . . and, finally, visited the cute litte piggies that moved in next door yesterday. 

I love where I live!!

One wild week

Would someone please tell the wildlife that there is no faith healer here?  We have no miracles to offer.  We have no magical touch that will restore the ability to walk.  Please stop coming!

Twice last week I killed birds that flew into my windshield.  Then we ended up with two wild animals with spinal injuries.  Must these animals linger?  Whatever happened to wild animals being fragile and dying of shock?  First it was a squirrel.  Three days later I nearly stepped on a raccoon curled up at the base of our stairs.  I now know where the audobon society is.  And I'm so very thankful for the service they provide.  But I don't want to visit them again any time soon. 

I'm ready to move past the randomly injured animals and get onto the business of Spring.  I definitely have the fever, and I'll be visiting nurseries this weekend to load up on trees and plants.  So, bring on Spring!

And .. . on to bread.

After my successful foray into barley soup, I decided to tackle sandwich rolls.  My oldest son wanted a sandwich from a particular, locally owned (oh, I've trained him well!) sandwich shop this past weekend. Unfortunately, said shop is closed on Sundays.  This of course spawned my newest quest, which was to create a sandwich roll just like theirs.  And .. . . I think I did it!

Above is the picture of the first batch.  It was universally declared "good" by the family.  But they weren't quite right . . .not exactly what I was after.  So, I tried again. 

This time I kneaded the dough a lot longer.  I also placed them closer together on the cookie sheet (so the sides are softer where you tear them apart.  And I didn't cook them quite as long.  Soooooo good!  Next time I think I'll do as I did this second batch, though I'll cook them a smidge longer.  The recipe was one I adapted from allrecipes.com (it was originally for a bread machine).

Honey Wheat Sub Sandwich Rolls

1 1/4 cup warm milk

1/4 cup honey

2 1/4 tsp (one packet) yeast

2 T melted butter

1 egg, beaten

3/4 tsp salt

2 -3 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

Mix together milk, honey and yeast in large bowl, and let proof for approximately 10 minutes (should be a little bubbly).  Add butter, egg, salt and 2 3/4 cup bread flour, and all of wheat flour.  Mix together into a shaggy dough.

Remove dough from bowl and knead.  Add bread flour as needed to keep dough from being too sticky.  When dough can pass the windowpane test, put in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (approx. 1 hour). 

Remove dough from bowl, punch down and shape into rolls.  I roll them into log shaped dough and then tuck the ends under, so the ends are square.  Place a few inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.  Let rise for approx. 30 min.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake rolls for approximately 10 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet to cool (otherwise bottoms will become gummy).

I just knew it!

Yesterday I just knew I had to make barley soup....it was a deep rooted need I didn't understand. Well, I did make it. And it was wonderful. My husband requested an IV . . .he said it was that good! So, I'm feeling somewhat triumphant today. This is the soup (with a slice of homemade wheat bread, which is another favorite around here). I'll work on posting the recipe.

I'm not feeling as triumphant over the weather. Lately I have been bundling up and going out . . .even though the weather is less than ideal. What a feeling to finally beat the weather! Well, today is downright nasty. Side-blowing rain. Cold and miserable. So, today I am staying inside. Cooper was supposed to be outside guarding the chickens, but then it started to rain sideways so he voted otherwise. And since I am inside, and have the time, I am cooking. My mission now is to work through the stash in my freezer. Today I'm working on turkey meatloaf . . .with reclaimed breadcrumbs. And for dessert . . .

frozen zucchini, soon to be butterscotch zucchini bars. Yummm!

Needing some inspiration (or barley soup recipes)

I've got the basics. Now I just need some inspiration. You see, I need to make barley soup. I really need to. I don't know why, but I do. I have had this bag of barley in my pantry since early summer. I can't remember why I bought it, but I'm sure I had a good reason. And now it needs to be soup. I just haven't been able to find any recipes that sound good enough to make. I'll keep looking . . .

In the meantime, look who I caught lounging on the couch. Doesn't he look guilty?

Summer Fun

Well, I did it . .. I completed my first half-marathon. My time was 2:12, which I am pretty proud of. I set out just to finish the race and really felt good while running. More than anything, I was pleased at how fun it was and how good I still felt at the end. It was the inaugural Rock n' Roll Marathon/Half-Marathon in Seattle. I went up with a bunch of girlfriends to run it. We all had a great weekend and it was a fun race.

I've also finished the greenhouse (finally). It's far too hot to do anything with it now, but it is ready and waiting for cold weather growing (or at least attempts at growing).

The new raised beds are working out great! The garden is much easier to keep weed free (those aren't weeds you see . . .those are volunteers) and we are enjoying food from the garden already. At the moment we are dining on raspberries, sugar snap peas, onions, beets and starting just a few days ago . .. squash. I love the summertime eating.

Finishing up those big projects really lifts my spirits. I have a list a mile long of projects big and small. It seems like this should discourage me, but it really keeps me going whenever I finish just one of those projects. I have to remember that we moved here because we were out of projects at the old house. Next up: improvements/repairs to the chicken setup, replacing all the burned out bulbs (alas, there are SO many), fixing the diningchairs, figuring out what is wrong with the automatic door on the barn . . .and the list goes on.

Next up . . .camping.