Birdsong

Yesterday morning as I was making breakfast I heard a bird singing the sweetest little song and looked out the window to try to spot it, and saw either a sparrow or finch, I couldn't tell which, sitting on the herb garden fence post singing away. Such a welcome sound.
A few weeks ago, when we were still in the throes of a long winter, I would notice birds singing as if it were Spring. I heard other people commenting on the same thing; even my little five-year-old granddaughter who walked out of the house one very cold and dreary day and said to my daughter, "It sounds like Summer out here." Amazing. I wondered if the birds were letting us know that Spring was surely coming.
There were green garlic sprouts sticking up through the straw when I was cleaning up the garden area a little bit yesterday. The sunshine has made me so very anxious to plant something! Unfortunately, the ground is mostly frozen and the nights are still cold. But, the lettuce and spinach in the cold frames should take off soon!
I was standing at the fence watching the goats this morning hoping to take some pictures, but they wouldn't stay still long enough. Too energetic early in the morning and too determined to get to me first, in case I had brought some kind of treat for them, as I often do. While standing there, a bluebird landed on the fencepost and was chirping to another one while I got a good long look at him. Beautiful.
It's undeniable. Spring is on its way.
Nancy

The Thinking Spot

I walked down to the creek today to visit the "Thinking Spot". There's an old tree there that is probably five feet across the trunk. It has a very low branch that you can sit on and watch the water trickle by. Because almost all of the snow we've had melted on one day, it was more like rushing by. The sun reflecting off of the water was beautiful and the sound so soothing. There's a rock wall with a ledge on the opposite side of the creek that had icicles hanging from it. It's a beautiful spot. One of these days I'm going to take some string with me to measure around the trunk of the old tree.
Do you have a "thinking spot"?
Nancy

Giveaway

Marci over at Amazing Graze Farm is having a giveaway on their blog site! Check it out! Be sure to take a look at their store. They have a great selection and great prices!
Nancy

More Pictures

I'm trying the picture thing again!

Here are the bread and sandwich buns, then a picture of a pound cake that I made with a new recipe. If you ever find one of these cast iron bundt pans grab it; Lodge doesn't make them anymore and they are wonderful. I found this one at an antique mall after passing one up at a garage sale. I really kicked myself for that one! I found one for my daughter at a hardware store in a small town. Same thing for the bread pans. I wonder if they would start making some of these pieces again if enough people asked for them. I took the next picture not for the snow, which is definitely NOT unusual this year, but for the sunshine! We have had TWO days of sunshine! Everything is glazing over so it is like a Slip n' Slide around here! And finally, here is part of the chicken path I told you about that my husband cleared to get them out of the coops. They stayed right on the path for days, so it worked! Pretty funny!

I must say this picture thing wears me out. I'm so afraid I'm going to blow the whole thing sky high! I'm sure it will get better with time.

Hope all of your times are wonderful!

Nancy

Productive Day

It was gray and snowy outside yesterday, but inside it was a productive day! I was able to make four loaves of bread, hamburger/sandwich buns, butter, and mozzarella cheese. (We have homemade pizza on Friday nights.) I ran out of time before I got to roll oats, but I did that this morning. I made oat muffins with cultured buttermilk. It is amazing how soft and moist everything made with buttermilk is. And it is SO easy to make! Just warm a quart of milk to 72 degrees, add the culture, and let it sit on the counter for about 24 hours. That's it! You can buy the dry culture or use 1/2 cup of cultured buttermilk as the starter. I haven't taken the time to put my butter in a mold lately, but yesterday I put it in the round one and it was fun. I soaked the mold in cool water for 1/2 an hour before adding the butter and then refrigerated it until the butter was firm. (I know I need to improve in the picture taking area and add them to the post, now that we have a camera.)
I couldn't believe it when I looked at the weather report today and we have ANOTHER winter weather advisory! We could get up to 5 inches this time.
I took pictures the other day of the paths that Jack cleared for the chickens in front of the coops so that they would come outside. It really is funny. They were all standing on the paths and nowhere else.
Hope you are finding the time to enjoy these days!
Nancy

Chickweed and Snow

I was so excited to find chickweed growing in my cold frames! It is such a cute little plant but, oh so noble. It has so many uses. I put some in the food processor to chop it up, put it in a jar, and covered it with olive oil. Each day I shake it and after a couple of weeks I'll strain the oil off, melt a little beeswax in it, and have a salve! (I also treated the chickens to some, thinking they would love having something green to eat right now.)
We got about 4 1/2 inches of snow from the last storm so it makes for some interesting walking around the farm. There is another storm due in tonight that we might get 6 or more inches from. But, for today, the sun is shining!
Hope you are enjoying the days no matter what the weather!
Nancy

Pictures

We got a camera for Christmas so here goes a test.
Well, wouldn't you know there would be a problem.

Thanks to Ashley's know-how she got it working another way!