Farm Living

My nephew and Godson after cleaning horse stalls. We teach them young on the farm how to relax after a hard day of playin’.

There’s nothing better

 

More Rain

My sidewalk is now disappearing under the rain.  It has rained all but 2 days in the past 14 days.  My pastures are under water, my garden is sitting tilled but empty, the lawn is up to my calf almost, we have played 3 of 9 scheduled softball games and it shows rain for the weekend.  We can’t catch a break!!

Sunset over the Barn

The blue of the sky fades lighter and lighter as it winds its way down to fluffy pink cotton candy clouds…..Goodnight from the ranch

beautiful

Kale Chips

There are no easier chips to make than Kale chips in my opinion.  They are crunchy, lightly salted and so good for you!!  My kids asked for them after school so I made a quick batch before one was off to softball practice and the other to hockey practice.

I posted earlier about growing your own scallions for life (ok not life but it says a really long time) and I had to get some to try it.  While getting the scallions the kale was laying there all green and pretty just calling me to buy it.  I figured I would use it in a stir fry but that was not to be.  It’s now gone.

If you have never tried Kale chips and you like broccoli (as they have a similar flavor) I suggest you grab a bunch of kale at the store and try these.  Besides tasting great they are truly a healthy snack and a good way to get those greens in your body!!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale cleaned and de-stemmed (that means pull the leaves off the middle stem)

sea salt

olive oil

mix the leaves in a tiny bit of olive oil (just enough to give them a shine) and sprinkle with a few pinches of sea salt

lay them on a baking sheet and heat in a 350 degree oven until they are browning on edges and crisp to the touch.

Cool and Enjoy!!!

I could barely let mine cool enough to get a picture before my daughter photobombed and grabbed one.

Buffalo Zoo Visit

It was a beautiful morning so I decided to take the day off from work and treat the kids to a day at the zoo.  The Buffalo Zoo may not be one for the record books, but we are truly blessed to have something less than 15 minutes away that offers an insight into these wonderful animals lives!!  I do not think you can ever be to old or to young for a zoo visit.  When traveling we always try to schedule a quick trip to that state/city zoo.

I am not a photographer and this is truly the time I wish I was so I could capture the special moments these creatures offer the zoo visitors!!

These Buffalo represent our great city.  Enjoy!!

It’s an “Egg”stravaganza

Oh the fun my kids get to have when it comes to coloring eggs for Easter.  We have ducks, bantam chickens and regular hens.  Our egg collection is vast with light brown eggs, white eggs and even light blue duck eggs.  It’s such a fun hobby for the kids to collect those eggs everyday.  It is even more fun during Easter as they can decorate the small eggs, large eggs, and extra large duck eggs.

Yesterday they collected their eggs and last night they had the joy of coloring some.  I thought I would share some pictures of the farm and where our eggs come from!!

These are our mallards.  I try to get a few every year as the kids enjoy raising them until they are old enough to fly off.  The whole neighborhood celebrates as the ducks take their first flights around the yard, then circling above the houses making larger circles every time and eventually flying off.  In the spring a we will head back to our ice skating pond and there some of our previous ducks will be enjoying their old stomping grounds.  These will probably not fly off for another few weeks so the kids are enjoying them while they can.

 

I’m sexy and I know it

These are our larger hens with our only rooster “Flash” who is a bantam size.  He was born and raised with us and thinks he is a dog!! He loves to sit on our feeder looking in the back window.

And our banties

Here are the eggs collected, cleaned and colored

 

 

 

Gardening in Pots

Gardening in Pots

This is yet another gardening in pots list of items that will do well!!  Too good not to share.

I have been a gardener for around 35 years.  Can’t believe I never thought of this until I started seeing it on facebook so much.  Without a greenhouse this is a good option.  I have already filled my pot for my “100 lbs” of potatoes from an earlier post and can roll it in and out of the garage if needed until we are sure it’s spring in Buffalo, NY.  Today it is 72 degrees and tomorrow the high is 37 degrees with a light dusting of snow predicted!! 

I will update on my pot gardening as time goes on!!

If these animals could talk…

My barn is my refuge.  If you are not an animal lover, you may not understand this.  It’s almost like an addiction…in sad times I need my barn, in hard times I need my barn, when I am happiest I can’t wait to get into my barn, when I need to grieve I need my barn.  My horses know more about me than any human.  I’ve told them everything.  I’ve cried while brushing them sharing my grief, I’ve felt their warm breath on my neck while comforting me, I’ve listened to their soft nickers in understanding of my pain.  In joyful times I’ve watched them twitch their ears listening to my rambling while I am cleaning a stall.  Their eyes wide in anticipation of what I am sharing.  When they see me heading back to the barn, they come up from the pasture to greet me.  They love to explore with me riding the trails and enjoying nature.  All the while me talking to them about the leaves, the over full creek, the wild turkey running and so on.  We have a connection.

Tonight while brushing them with the moon brightly overhead, the Buffalo Sabres game on the radio, and the munching sounds of them eating hay, I was reminded again of what a blessing they are to me.  They fill a spot in my heart. I was born in the Chinese year of the Horse.  Maybe that is my need for a horse.

I have had a horse (or 3) in my life for 37 years this month.  I came from a family with not much money growing up and the only thing I begged for was a horse.  At age 10 my parents realized there was no getting around it and bought me my first horse and my dad built a pole barn and put up a small pasture.  I had to take full responsibility and I truly believe that is how I became the self sufficient person I am today.  I did not have money for amusement parks, the mall or movies but I did not care.  I had the best friend/companion in my horse.  He was a crazy thing but I was invincible so that did not matter.  I had him for 19 years until his last breath.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him and what we shared.

I have 3 horses now.  I have learned the training methods used by Native Americans so these horses are not wild like my first horse as I know now I am not invincible.  We have a stronger connection because of the training relationship we have and they are a huge part of our family.  Each one of them  came into my life a different way but the connection was made the minute our eyes met.

Tonight was a peaceful night of reflection in the barn.  My only hope while closing the barn up for the night was for my children to experience and feel what I have all these years.