When They Grow

I know they're getting older. I knew it was going to happen. I even enjoy it, as each new stage brings new experiences, joys, trials, accomplishments... But some days, you notice the growth in strange ways and it just brings it home how little time you have with them before they're off and out on adventures of their own!
So, here are our shoes all lined up. In fairness, I do have rather tiny feet. But still... :)

Uh, Spring???

Well, March is almost over. And this morning, we woke to snow on the ground. Not much, just a light dusting but still. And Tuesday is supposed to be 73°...

What's Up?

I'm planning to use this blog more than my FB page. It's a bit too much right now. There is so much information, so many photos, so many voices! I don't want to lose contact with any of you! I simply don't have the time right now! Ha!

I hope you'll join me over here occasionally to see what we're doing and how things are going! Feel free to leave comments or questions or something about your own life in the comments section! I'll post a link on my FB page when there's a new post here. I downloaded the app to my phone so should be able to post a bit more regularly!

Catching Up

So, I've been away from this blog awhile. Again. It's been an overwhelming year. A lot has happened. Births, deaths, comings and goings, ups and downs. In December of 2014, hubby was sent to Korea for a year. We knew before he left that he would not be stationed back at home. The military placed him about 6 hrs from home, instead. It's a bit of a haul for us to see him but we manage! He has just over a year until retirement, so we're just counting down at this point. Our kiddos and I stayed on the farm. We manage the property, animals, school, activities, etc from here. The next year can't go by too quickly!

Last spring we added a pregnant Jersey cow to our farm! She gave us an adorable bull calf in June. I was thrilled to have found the "perfect Jersey"! Unfortunately, at some point in the fall, she was killed by coyotes. I was devastated. She was such a sweet, unassuming girl, and I was looking forward to many years with her. Her calf is fine, thankfully, as is Edith.

We also added a couple more ducks, a Narragansett turkey, an African goose, and a random large white chicken! A friend was needing to get rid of them and offered them to me. For free! Now that was a fun car ride home!

We're coming up on the end of several school related things, too. Co-op is almost over. The homeschool drama production is this weekend; it will be the last for our beloved director and my dear friend. My show choir is doing wonderfully and will be performing their showcase next month! And, of course, spring is almost here!

The grass is already turning beautiful, rich shades of green. The trees are budding and forming leaves. The sun is bright, the skies are blue (except when it's raining). Take a big, deep breath and breathe it all in!

I'll try to snap some photos tomorrow, if the sun will cooperate!

Next Time, Don't Wait So Long!

No, that title is for me, I assure you! I can't believe how long it's been since I've been on this blog! It's difficult to remember to get on here when I have the ease of FB posts. Sorry. But I'm making a new resolution to put more time and effort into this blog!

I'm not putting photos or anything in this particular post. This is just a post to say "I'm baaaaaack!!!" We've been busy around the farm and a lot of things have happened in the months that I've been gone from the blogosphere; some good, some bad, and some ugly. I will try to elaborate on some of that in a later post.

For now, I just wanted to pop in and give an idea of some of the posts you can look forward to in the upcoming weeks!

Future Posts:

• Our Kitchen Renovation-- A lot has happened and a LOT has changed! I'm eager to share the ups and downs of our kitchen reno!
• Fall on the Farm-- We're getting ready to head into winter in just a short time and there's still so much to be done!
• Hubby's Deployment-- Gone for a whole year?!? Yep. It's happening! And soon! How will we cope with his longest deployment yet? And so close to retirement, too? Stay tuned, and we'll share some of our ideas and plans!
• Christmas Open House--  Oh my goodness!!! Christmas is only 10 1/2 weeks away!!! What plans does Moose Spitt Farm have in store for this year?? I know, you're excited, too, aren't you? Go ahead. This is a "Christmas-Encouraged Zone"! 

So, there you go! Some wonderful and exciting things to look forward to! I'll see you again soon!

Fine. One picture. Sunset and fog on our farm. Gorgeous and soothing, isn't it?

Recipe #2: American Style Beef Pot Roast

Tonight was a good night to try the next recipe on the list for this pay period!  My good friend Laurel from SnailCreekFarm.blogspot.com brought over a beautiful roast the other day.  (Check out their blog for great recipes and information on how to purchase grass-fed beef!)  The recipe calls for veggies; celery, carrots, onions, canned tomatoes, and garlic.  I totally cheated.  No fresh veg.  Only garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, tomatoes but no carrots at all.  Sadness, I know.  But I will be a good girl next time.  I actually had forgotten to put those things on my grocery list.  Oops!  And despite all that...  It was delicious!!!  So tasty!  We also had mashed potatoes and gravy and canned pears.

Here are some photos of our fantastic meal!

The beef with tomatoes.  Yum!

The recipe.  Pretty simple and straightforward!

Our whole meal... Delicious!

I used my cast iron pot for this meal.  Since I wasn't using fresh veg, I didn't bother browning the meat and veggies in separate pans.  I browned the meat in the cast iron pot and then sprinkled all the veggie powder on top of that and then followed the instructions. Let me know if you decide to try any of these recipes!

Thanks for stopping by! 

A New Old Cookbook!!!

So, I attended an auction with some friends a while back and my friend won a stack of old books.  As it was nearing the end of the evening, they had piled a bunch of other books on top of the few she wanted.  After the auction was over and she went to collect her things, she allowed me to poke around through the books she didn't want.  I came away with a yearbook from 1950-something and one from the 1920s!  Very cool...  There was also this neat old cookbook....

The cover says "Westport Victory Cook Book".  Printed in 1942, it encourages individuals to "patronize the firms whose advertisements appear herein".  There are many old adverts for local businesses throughout the pages.  How interesting!

Inside the cover

I'm picking a few receipts from the different sections of the book and trying them each week.  This time around we have Peter Pan Pudding, "My Blue Ribbon Devils Food Cake", Orange Slice Cookies, Graham Cracker Pudding, Butterscotch Rolls, and American Style Beef Pot Roast.  It looks like a lot of sweets this time around!  I'm taking the first receipt from each section and working through it throughout each pay period.  So there will be another set of yummy deliciousness in two weeks!

For tonight, we made homemade pizza with pepperoni, cheese, and pineapple toppings.  Yum!  My good friend Laurel from SnailCreekFarm.blogspot.com came over to drop off a roast for our meal later this week.  While we were chatting, she mentioned a new food related blog and that got me thinking,  "Why not post about what I'm doing with this cookbook!"  And so here is the first of, I hope, many food related posts!  

On to tonight's experiment with the 1942 receipts...  I made the dish Peter Pan Pudding.  Odd name for a tasty and cool treat!  It consists of gelatin, whipped cream, crushed pineapple, marshmallows, marashino cherries, and pecans.  It went together quickly and tasted better after chilling for a bit in the fridge.  The recipe actually calls for you to "stir and allow to set".  I could tell why very quickly!  The cream is bland tasting at first because it hasn't had time to soak up the other flavors yet.  After setting in the fridge for a little bit, it tasted very good!  Laurel had left by the time we got out the fancy dessert dishes and served some up!  Everyone enjoyed it!  So here are some pics of Peter Pan Pudding and the receipt from the cookbook for you to try, if you'd like!

Stirring in the marshmallows and pecans.

The recipe from the 1942 cook book.

Finished Peter Pan Pudding served up in beautiful dessert dishes!

I hope you enjoyed this post and will come back for more!  

Thanks for stopping by!

This Week at Moose Spitt...

The last several weeks have been very full.  A lot has happened, a lot has been accomplished...  To start off, let me apologize for not updating the blog in all that time!  I had good intentions of posting once a week but somehow became very distracted by Life!  Let's see if we can do a quick re-cap of the last few weeks and get caught up!
My daughter and I went to a JASNA event on the 27th.  It was "Picnic at Pemberley" and had three very interesting workshops to attend and a most delicious tea! Here is the link to JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America):  www.jasna.org  My daughter and I both dressed in Regency fashion!
We also  enjoyed the birth of five kittens to our cat Cookie!  But then something went wrong.  We lost all but one kitten during the first two days after their birth.  We made the decision that third morning to take the last kitten and attempt to bottle raise him.  He made it through his first week of life, mostly with a bottle and human "parents".  We named him Melvin, and he was much loved.  The evening of his seventh day of life, his breathing became labored with ominous clicking sounds in his lungs. He was gone by his 3 a.m. feeding time.  It was a sad time at Moose Spitt Farm.
To brighter things, however...  Our chicken coop is almost done!  Finally.  We have only to put hinges on the doors, build the nest boxes and attach that, and put the chickens inside!  Yes, they are still in my bathroom.  Yes, I am becoming concerned that I will be collecting eggs from the tub or sink.  Yes, I really, really, really want them out of my house!  And it looks like it should happen today!  Yay!!!  It will be painted barn red with white trim.  The inside will be painted with white exterior paint, as well.
Our other animals are all doing well.  The horses are overdue for a hoof-trimming.  We'll get that worked out in the next week or so.  The dogs are all enjoying the outside weather.  Mae Belle is loving being out, running around, acting like the goofy puppy she is!  And our cats are becoming quite the hunters!  Vermin, beware!
One more thing that happened just last night...  Pip, our other kitten, had a kitten!  Yes, that is singular.  One kitten.  It's a rather large one, too!  She is being a very good momma, however, unlike her own sister.  We have better hopes that this kitty will make it.

And that, dear readers, is a brief and somewhat messy recap of what we have been doing here!  There is more but I am tired and hot and still have much to accomplish today!  Finishing the coop and finally getting my plants in the garden!
Thanks for stopping by!

This Week at Moose Spitt...

So I've been talking about repainting the kitchen. The old color was nice, just a bit too dark for my tastes.

(The old color, in case you forgot.)

It was kind of a terracotta color.  Pretty but dark.

And this is the new color!  It's called "Limish"!  Lemme tell ya, it's definitely a lime-ish color!  And I love it!!!

The kitchen just looks brighter, lighter, and more open!  It also makes the light fixture appear for citrus-y, which is nice!  I'm really liking it!  All that is left is to prime and paint the trim white, fix the bizarre trim at chair level, a new screen door for the back porch, and refinish the wood floors!  Eventually, I'd like to reconfigure the kitchen by getting rid of the permanent island, relocating the stove (don't know where, yet!), and just making the kitchen more open!

We also finally moved the ducks outside.  Poor babies were very confused at first but seem to have adjusted just fine!  I will have to cover them Wednesday evening as the temps are supposed to drop again overnight.

In related garden news, there are finally some sprouts coming through!  It's so exciting!  But the rather large dog prints in the soil are showing the great need for a garden fence.  Crazy dogs.  They just have no sense of human-made borders!  

And that is where we are now!  Thanks for stopping by!

Spring is Here!!! Isn't it???

I can't believe it's been this long since I posted on here!  I'm so sorry about that!  I probably should just make it a weekly thing and hope that I can stick to it!

So, spring technically arrived March 20, nearly two weeks ago.  With the arrival of spring came snow.  Lots of snow.  The hubs had the opportunity to attend an Army law class for two weeks.  He traveled to the east coast for this course and thoroughly enjoyed it!  I was able to drive out with him but then had to fly back a few days later.  When we left, we had a little over a foot of snow on the ground.  It was beautiful!  We shoveled the drive and allowed the horses access to their hay bale.  What I came home to was an additional foot and a half of snow!  Oh dear!  Where is my driveway???  Seriously!  Normally, if the snow covers your yard, you can see the dips and valleys of your yard, see where the drive is...  Not so with this snowfall!

We were unable to shovel our drive this time.  So I began making phonecalls.  I called a couple ladies from church and asked them to start the prayer chain in an attempt to find someone near me with a tractor, snow removal attachment, and the time to come save us!  Within thirty minutes, I had a couple leads.  And then a phonecall saying a gentleman would be on his way at some point that afternoon!  Hallelujah!!!
And sure enough, shortly after lunchtime, there he was!  He came up the drive, introduced himself, and proceeded to do a fabulous job!
I have a driveway again!










Now that the snow has (finally!) melted, we are able to focus more on springtime activities!  My garden area is now plotted out.  Our good family friends will be over this weekend to help till and get that ready for planting!  We purchased eight chicks and two ducklings from our local Orchlen's a couple days ago.  They are currently residing in our downstairs bathtub.  Cute babies!

I also managed to get hold of three lengths of electric net fencing!  For free!  I just need to do some repairs and get a charger and I'm ready to bring home some sheep!  We're starting out with just a couple ewes and lambs, raised for meat and wool.  We're all pretty excited!

Our garden is now tilled, turned, and prepped for growth!  We planted a few things Sunday afternoon.  We're starting with a large plot but only planting some of it.  The ducks will have a special section just for them while the plants gain some maturity.  Then it's Ducks-on-Duty!!!  They'll be given run of the place in the hopes that they will help with pest control.  A small but accommodating pond will go in at the bottom of the garden.  Exciting!!!

Our family and friends hard at work!

Christmas At Moose Spitt... A Post Overdue!

Well, Christmastime has just passed here at Moose Spitt Farm!  We've had our annual Christmas Open House, which was a hit!  So many friends and family came to help us celebrate not only the best time of year but also our new farm!  Our home was decorated from top to bottom, inside and out.  The sounds of Christmas music and laughter filled our home the entire evening!  After we got cleaned up from the party and finished wrapping presents, we were ready to get to the big day! Here's a little walk-thru of Christmas at Moose Spitt Farm!
We had a nice, little snow, almost three inches of lovely, fluffy stuff!  The kiddos enjoyed it every chance they had!  I even went so far as to grab a couple sledding discs for them.
Here's one view out our windows:

 There were three Christmas trees throughout with an evergreen outside wrapped in white lights. The banister was wrapped with garland. Every flat surface held some sort of holiday item, be it candles, little snowmen, shiny garlands wrapped around picture frames....  It was a lovely sight, to be sure! And now, without further ado, some photos of our lovely, little farm decked out for Christmas!

And our Christmas dinner shared with friends....

 

Fall at the Farm

Just a few pictures of the farm this fall! I meant to get out and get some a couple weeks ago when the leaves were all shades of orange, red, yellow... Now they're mostly muted variances of brown. Ah well. It's still lovely seeing the trees dressing for winter. Or is that undressing? Oh my!

I hope you enjoy the view of a different season here at Moose Spitt Farm!

Here are our big boys, Sky and Sarge, just relaxing in the field! I'm glad I took these pictures when I did, as a mere five minutes later found Sarge fallen over on his side and nearly invisible! Silly boys!

A view of our neighbor's silo and our windmill. We're planning on cleaning up the windmill and seeing if any of the equipment attached to it can be made to work again! If not, just having a windmill turning will be lovely to see!

Poor little Liberty is so cold! It's too chilly for her short fur coat! So out come the doggy sweaters and sweatshirts!

And now the Twins! Here is lil Pip! She has become my little sidekick whenever I'm outside doing chores or, like today, taking pictures or just relaxing! Such a sweetie!

And her sister, Cookie. This is how she usually looks! Lol She is a very vocal little kitten! Just like her mama!

The view across the street. Rather large cornfield cut down for winter. And my swing. A wonderful place to sit with a glass of ice tea in the summer or a mug of warm cocoa in the cooler months!

Two of our eight chickens. Started out with twelve eggs, only ten of which hatched. Somehow something managed to get hold of two and they disappeared. Without a trace! No feathers, no bodies. Nothing. Maybe they eloped and ran away together? Who knows. It's butcherin' time though! Yum!

One of our roosters. They are huuuuuge!!! I kid you not when I say that this guy's legs (the orange part, mind you!) are almost 1 1/2 inches in diameter!!! But they're all very friendly. Not cuddly. Just... polite.

If you look very closely, you can see four of our chickens waaaaaay out in our neighbor's field. They have quite the grazing range here! Thankfully, our neighbor enjoys their wanderings and does not run any livestock in his fields and so is fine with them making their way out that far!

And that, friends, is our farm right now! We have recently begun the process of clearing a space next to the barn for a chicken house lean-to. We also have plans in the works for a run-in shelter for the horses. We hope to have that up before the first snowfall. And we finally have a definite "yes" on the hay we're going to need this winter! That is a huge relief!

Are you ready for the upcoming holidays? We are very anxious to spend our first Christmas in our new home! Next blog post will be about our holiday plans. What are you planning?

Our Pets

Just thought I'd dedicate a post to introducing some of our pets and livestock here on Moose Spitt Farm!  We have only a few animals now.  We hope to expand in the future but with the drought this year, we're really glad this is all we have to worry about this winter!  So, without further ado, here are the other inhabitants of MSF! (Warning!  Picture heavy!)
I suppose we can go in the order in which they've become part of our farm!

 Here is my Sky-boy.  He's a Tennessee Walking horse.  He's nine years old and full of personality!  He's a real jokester!

Sky-boy in the winter.

Here's Sky's new pasture buddy, Sarge!  He turned one year old this July.  He's a real sweetheart!  He'll begin riding training sometime next year.  Very exciting!

Sarge laying down, just chillin' on a hot day.

My daughter's early bday present, Octavius!  He's a Lionhead rabbit and just the sweetest little bunny ever!

Our new kittens we received from my sister's kitty's first litter!  This one is Pip.  She's very inquisitive and very bold!  I think she'll be a great mouser as she gets older!  She loves hunting the bugs and mock-hunting her sister and the chickens!

And this sleepy baby is Cookie!  She's a little more reserved but enjoys cuddling and falling asleep in one's lap.  Aw!

 And our chickens.  They were a hatching project through the local extension office.  Some kind of meat bird.  I think they are called "Rich's Meat Bird" or something like that.  Anyway, they are a strange looking set of chicks.  And they have grown very quickly!  Here they are at two weeks old.

                                          

Smile, chicky!

All of the animals seem to be getting along quite well!

I said at the first that I would list them in order of arrival but I couldn't resist holding this picture til last.  Here are our puppy dogs.  Zorro is a large mix breed.  Liberty is a Miniature Pinscher.  They are really great dogs!  We had an issue at first as our neighbor feeds his cats on his back porch and Zorro found their food!  But after some boundary training, he seems to be doing better at recognizing where he may and may not go.  Good boy!!!

And there you have it!  Our little farm, thus far.  We have plans to expand next year.  A milk cow, some laying hens, perhaps a pig...  We'll see what the next year brings!  Thanks for visiting!

A little horsey silliness in the rain!