New rug for the mudroom. I don’t imagine it will look this pristine for long. Spring means muddy chore boots and muddy dog paws, all coming through the mudroom. So much mud. Makes me want to skip straight from winter to summer.
8 years ago:
I love this time of year when all the fresh, green things start coming back into season again. The only things I’ve got ready to eat in my own garden are chives, but even that little bit somehow makes my spring salads taste that much fresher! Here are a few I’ve made lately:
First up is Mixed Baby Greens with Strawberries, Gorgonzola and Poppy Seed Dressing
I didn’t have shallots, so just left them out. I used walnuts instead of almonds, and feta instead of gorgonzola since that’s what I had on hand. Can’t wait until we have our own baby greens in the garden!
Next up is Sweet Sesame-Lime Cabbage Salad
I had both red and green cabbage languishing in the fridge. I love that about cabbage – it will wait very patiently for quite a long time until you get around to doing something with it. This is the one where I got to use my chives!
And some local honey. Love this stuff! You can check them out at the Dam Pure Honey Company Facebook page.
I left out the shallot again, and the cilantro. This one is a fantastic alternative to coleslaw!
Finally we have Asparagus Egg and Bacon Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
Any recipe that uses eggs is nice in the spring when the hens start laying a lot again. I wish I had my own asparagus, but my asparagus patch met with an unfortunate accident thanks to me forgetting it was there when I had my dad come and turn over our garden one fall with his big tractor and soil saver. One of these days I need to start again!
Got any tried and true spring salad recipes? Leave a link in the comments!
7 years ago:
Sometimes in the spring, when the weather is cold and damp, chicks develop what I so technically call “poopy butt”. Usually, as their feathers grow in, it takes care of itself. But once in a while one gets such a buildup on his bum that I feel bad for him and help him out.
This involves soaking his little behind with a warm, wet washcloth and trying to pick that buildup off as gently as I can.
As you can imagine, it’s a thankless job. But the reward is that after a few days I can’t pick this fella out from any of the other chicks. It’s cleaned up and healed up nicely and feathers are growing in.
6 years ago:
Rafe’s first meet of his first season of track.
I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment for over 12 years now. As soon as he could walk he was running. The soundtrack of his early years is just me saying, “Rafe, slow down. Rafe, don’t run. Rafe, walk please.” on repeat.
And now I’m sitting in the bleachers yelling at him to run.
5 years ago:
Last Friday was finally a gorgeous spring day and a day that I had off work. So I was working in the yard, raking up the detritus of last fall. The sun was so warm, the grass finally green, and the creek was so happily babbling I had to take a moment to just listen to it. I lay down in a patch of that green grass (after checking for dog poop, of course), closed my eyes, listened to the creek, and soaked up some vitamin D.
When I opened my eyes, a couple of these guys were checking on me.
It was nice of them to be so concerned. I suppose I did look like a crazy woman lying there in the grass like that. But the memory of that moment is what is carrying me through this week of being back to cold wind and rain.
4 years ago:
Titus has spent a lot of time barking at the creek lately. See that gray long-necked visitor in the creek? It’s that time of year when we see cranes, herons and Canada geese stop by as they migrate. This guy doesn’t seem very bothered by the barking, but I have noticed only a fraction of migrating birds that we usually have.
Normally I enjoy having them, but with the outbreak of bird flu this spring I’m okay with him chasing them off. I’m just hoping he feels that way about hawks this year.
1 year ago:
This time of year I get itchy to get in the garden and grow things, and I get a hankering for something fresh and green to eat. I haven’t started seeds for a few years now, but this is my year! And when I ordered my garden seeds, I included an order for sprouting seeds. Sprouts give me my early growing fix, and something fresh and green and healthy to eat.
I have a 3-tray sprouter so I started mung bean, alfalfa and broccoli sprouts. You can sanitize the seeds if you like by soaking them in a 1:9 solution of bleach:water for 40 minutes. Then drain and rinse and soak in plain water overnight. Drain again and dump the seeds into the trays. I used 2 Tablespoons of the mung bean seeds, and 1 Tablespoon each of the alfalfa and broccoli seeds, one type of seed per tray.
2 or 3 times a day, pour 2 cups of water in the top tray. It will trickle down through each tray and end up in the well at the bottom. Each time you water, empty the water from the well at the bottom and rotate the bottom seed tray to the top before you water again.
By the end of day 2 I had this:
Talk about instant gratification!
The mung beans were ready after 3 days, the alfalfa sprouts after 4 days, and the broccoli sprouts after 5 days.
When the sprouts are ready I put them in a large bowl and fill the bowl with water. Then I swish the sprouts around in the water to separate the seed hulls. The hulls won’t hurt you, they’re just kind of bitter to eat. But there’s always a few mixed in with your sprouts and that’s okay. After I swish them around I just sort of pick the sprouts out of the water and put them on a paper towel to drain. Then store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
The alfalfa and broccoli sprouts are good added to a salad, or use them to top a sandwich. The mung bean sprouts are nice in soups. Tonight I made bean and ham soup and garnished with the mung bean sprouts. They added a nice, refreshing crunch to the soup!
2 years ago:
Snow day
4 years ago:
Together
5 years ago:
Spring is coming
6 years ago:
Cuteness ensues
7 years ago:
Trestle
I think she’s got it backwards
Small Farm Business : Enterprise Budgeting
8 years ago:
9 years ago:
10 years ago:
I know posting has been a bit light as of late. So I thought I’d better let you in on a new little project I’ve got going with one of my forever best friends called “Postcards”. You can find it here:
“Postcards is Susan and Kelli, two farm girls who grew up together in northeastern Iowa.
After college both went into tech careers. Kelli moved back to their hometown. Susan wound up in NYC.
When they’re together they enjoy collaborating on an impressive collection of Pinterest fails. This blog is their way of collaborating on something creative from a distance.”
Hope you enjoy it!
1 year ago:
Since we won’t have pork in the foreseeable future, we wanted to pass on that our friend Wendy Johnson of Charles City has half/whole hogs for sale now! Berk-duroc cross, non-GMO feed, outdoor raised, not given any hormones or antibiotics. She will deliver to local lockers. You can contact her at 207wendy@gmail.com.
Ava & Titus making sure the front porch is secure
Our first winter delivery to Mason City is set! Thursday, January 22nd at 6 p.m. in the southwest corner of the KMart parking lot. Check out our current inventory, then call or email an order by Tuesday, January 20th.
In farm news, all of our beef quarters are spoken for. This summer we plan to be at the Friday Mason City market as usual. If Osage does their monthly Saturday market again I’m sure we’ll be there as well. We’ll start taking chicken orders in April for June chickens. Haven’t really discussed whether we’ll do more chickens this year than we did last year. I keep telling Matt that we should just fill the whole pasture with chickens, but so far he’s unconvinced. Olivia is planning on having more pies at market this year.
Hope you all are staying warm this winter, looking forward to seeing some of you next week!
One year ago:
Today I am…
