Cow Patties In The Yard

Ahhhh.... nothing like morning on the farm. Jack pulled the blind open on the kitchen window this morning, as he always does when he's the first one there, and scanned the pasture, then the hay field, the trees along the creek, up to the back yard, and Marty..... Marty???!!! There was Marty (short for Martin), the Angus steer, lying by the back steps. Closer examination revealed that he wasn't alone. There were four Jersey cows with him.
The gate to the upper pasture was open and they had roamed around the farm free. No harm was done and we won't have to fertilize the yard for a while.
Things do have a way of working out, don't they?
Hope things are working out for you today!
Nancy

Journey To Simplify - Part One

Our journey to Family Circle Farm started many years ago. We both grew up in suburbs of large cities but spent a lot of time outdoors. I climbed trees, hiked around cotton fields and pastures that lay behind the subdivision, and spent much of the time swimming, while Jack explored creeks, and climbed mountains, and fished in crystal clear water. Because we lived in the city, though, we experienced everything that goes along with that. When we were married we were very home-centered (we didn't have a television!) and enjoyed creating things and doing things outside. When our children were born we had a strong desire to leave the city, not wanting them to grow up as we had.
We would escape the city on weekends whenever we could by taking drives in the country, fishing, or camping. Our youngest son was only two weeks old the first time he went camping! We continued to be very family-oriented and began to pursue paths that would lead to the country. As seems to be the way, though, when you begin to go in a definite direction; we found ourselves taking quite a detour. One that took us half-way across the country and then back again six months later.

Picking Strawberries

We have been picking strawberries for a few weeks now. The heavy rains held off for a while this spring so the flavor of the berries has been wonderful! We have two varieties of berries and both are June bearing so we are getting to the end of them. Look at this cute little berry!

And look at this sink full of delicious berries! What a blessing!

I hope you are enjoying strawberries this spring!

Nancy

Fiddle Contest

My granddaughter Ashley was in a fiddle contest Saturday. She was the second to youngest person entered and she took FIRST PLACE!!!! She worked so hard and played BEAUTIFULLY!!!! She is an awesome young woman. Congratulations, Ashley!!!!

Filling Herb Capsules

Did you know that it is very easy to fill your own herb capsules? I bought The Capsule Machine a few years back and it was about twelve dollars. I don't think they are much higher now. I powder the dried herbs in a coffee grinder saved just for herbs, and then fill the capsules, which is very easy to do. I rarely buy herbs already powdered because they don't last as long as the cut and sifted. The empty capsules are also inexpensive and are easy to find.

Dairy Things and Simple Life

I added 1/4 tsp. lipase powder to two gallons of milk for mozzarella cheese this time and it does have more flavor. Now I need to have people do a taste test and tell me if they like it better with or without. I'll let you know how it tastes on pizza!
Someone asked why their homemade butter doesn't taste good and it is because the buttermilk wasn't rinsed out well. Easy to fix! The butter has to be rinsed thoroughly after it forms to remove the buttermilk. Otherwise, it will not keep well and will taste sour. Be sure to save that buttermilk that you pour off of the butter before rinsing; it makes the most wonderful biscuits, pancakes, muffins, etc.!
I've been giving a lot of thought as to why a person simplifies their life, after someone made an observation as to why we might be doing it. There is a lot of talk about this subject these days because of the economy and other things going on. As soon as I get my thoughts together I want to explain what led us down this path and why we pursue it.
Stay tuned and have a great day!
Nancy

Making Cheese

I added lipase powder to the mozzarella cheese this time to give it that extra flavor and it was good. I put an 1/8 of a teaspoon in just before the rennet. Next time I'm going to put in a little more and see what happens. I ordered my cheesemaking supplies from Hoegger Supply. Their prices are good and they had the last order here in two days!