Stop in and Say Hi...

Hi all!
Yes, it is 1 am, and yes, I should be sleeping.  I just finished a history assignment and figured a few more minutes awake wouldn't hurt, right?
Anyhow, I just looked at the stats on my blog, and found out that I've been getting a lot more traffic than I thought!  Either that or there's a glitch in the system and my computer is lying to me.  Who knows.  Either way, I'd love to see who's out there, if anyone, reading my blog....shoot.  I just saw a mouse run under my desk.  Got to go.
God Bless,
Rae
P.S.
Any comments will be posted directly if anyone wants to say hi and where they are from, or how they got here, or whatever.  :)

Taxes

Taxes.  That inevitable force in life, right next to death.  Funny, we seem to avoid both, don't we?  If you ask me, too much of either isn't very healthy.  Taxes have come up two of my classes the past couple of weeks.  First was in my Business Plan Developement Class.  If you have a business, you really can't legally avoid taxes.  If anyone knows a way around that without running into the risk of liability, let me know.  The other class that has prompted ponderings is my U.S. History class.  We are studying the events leading up to the American Revolution.  I shan't get into details, but apperently taxes had something to do with it.  It was something about the British raising taxes to pay for things that America neither wanted nor needed, and America not having a say in things like the rest of England. I guess I'd be pretty irritated too, if my government was taking my hard earned cash and using it to pay for things that I didn't think it should be paying for.  Especially if I was loosing out in other ways.  What would really bug me would be if I knew that the majority voted one way and the government still insisted on doing things another way.
Now, I do know that taxes are in many ways a necissary evil.  After all, taxes pay for things like roads and these community college classes I'm taking.  But it seems like that money goes for many things that I really don't see the benefit of, too.  Such as bike trails that people drive their SUVs to to get exercise.  I could probably go on all night.  But when it comes down to it, grandpa says it best.  This is a video clip from one of my favorite movies, You Can't Take it With You.

And the rain rain rain came down down down....

in rushing, rising rivets.  Yes, it is raining in Minnesota.  Lightly, right now.  Sometime in the last 48 hours we have gotten over 5 1/2 inches of rain here at the farm.  We don't know how much, because the rain gauge overflowed.  Up here, that's the worst of it.  From what I've heard, there is rain lots of other places doing more damage.  Long story short, it's wet here.

In other news....

Our last puppy will be gone on Saturday.  We will miss Rex, but we're happy he will be going to a great home in Washington State. I won't cry, honest....(sniff sniff)

Amy, our last milk cow's only daughter, is going to be calving soon.  We can't wait!  In addition to the fun of a new "baby" around, I'm looking forward to fresh milk for drinking and cooking and cheese making. I hope I will have time to make some mozzarella soon!  Fresh cheese is sooooooo yummy, especially on homemade pizza. Another reason we can't WAIT to see this new calf is it's parentage.  Amy is a Jersey milk cow, and the bull was a Belted Galloway/Angus cross.  If you have never seen Belted Galloways, they look like Oreo cookies.  What the Jersey will do to the unique color pattern, I daren't hazard a guess.  I do know that as long as he/she has the Jersey eyes, it will be cute.

Also new on the farm are 20 muscovy ducklings and 5 Khaki Campbell crosses.  We have had muscovies in the past, and I love them.  They really are a must on any farm, and would also fit nicely into most backyards.  They don't need a pond, because they can't really swim- they sink.  They eat flies and mosquitos, and who doesn't need fewer of those pests??? And, as a bonus, they don't quack.  Not that quaking is a bad thing, but if you are in town, quite pets are probably better received by the neighbors.  It's also better for those who raise large numbers for their lean, beef-like meat.  They do make some noise.  The drakes hiss, and the females kind of peep.

Last on the list of newcomers are the chickens, but there are quite a few of them.  We are currently experimenting with our meat birds.  Instead of our usual cornish-crosses, which don't graze very well, we're raising out a batch of Freedom Ranger chicks.  They are a colored meat bird, and are bred for their grazing.  We can already see a big difference in their activity compared to the cornish-cross-- they are constantly running around and scratching for feed.  We do expect them to eat a little more than the others, but we are also hoping for a superior meat from them.  Hopefully it will turn out well.
We also have some new laying hens.  We are trying to convert our current flock mixed variety chickens to about four different breeds.  Our beginning of this endeavor has resulted in the purchase of 2 Americauna hens (blue egg layers,) two Blue Cochin hens (brown egg layers) and a rooster, and two Silkie Bantam hens and a rooster.

Well, that's life on this rainy Thursday. If I don't post again soon, assume I floated away or was eaten by my homework.

Mater-Welon Pops

You ever have one of those great ideas that are so simple you wonder how you could have possibly not thought of it sooner?  This was one of those ideas.  Frozen watermelon.  Does it get any more simple?

Ingredients:

Seedless Watermelon

Equipment:

Large Knife
Cutting Board
Cookie sheet/plastic pan lid/plate/etc.

Instructions:

Cut watermelon, removing the rind (unless of course you want to keep the rind on, which would also probably work.)  I found that thinner slices, 1/2 inch or less, worked best when it came time for eating.  Other than that, you can go crazy.  I did cubes, which were perfect with a splash of mango rum on them, and strips, and wedges.

Place the watermelon on the pan, and freeze until, well, frozen.  I don't know how long they will last in the freezer, but probably not long once people figure out that they are as good as store-bought-corn-syrup-and-dye popsicles....

Latest puppy pictures

Well, actually it's a video.  Have you ever tried to take photos of 16 week old puppies? Not as easy as you might think.

August Ramblings

Hello!  I am done with the summer semester, and now have three weeks off to catch up with the rest of my life!  Things got a little busier than I originally planned, largely due the the 6 week, 4 credit college algebra class I ended up taking.  The class I wanted to take, Intro to Small Business, was canceled, so I got to do algebra instead.  I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, but I did pass.  Which means that I have fulfilled all of my math requirements and any further study can be strictly for pleasure and application! 

I also got the required computer class out of the way, and it did teach me something very important- I prefer Mac to Microsoft.  So now I have a new Mac computer.  Well, it’s a little more (or a lot more) complicated than that, but the fact remains that I am having a blast learning the ins and outs of my new computer and its really cool features.  Like the one that lets me have a conversation with my computer.  True, it primarily consists of knock-knock jokes, but hey, it’s still lots of fun.  

I was also reminded this past week of one of the reasons I decided to dive into this blog in the first place (or tiptoe in, as the case may be.)  I’ve been flipping through the back issues of “Taste of Home Magazine.”  It’s unbelievable how far they have gone-- in the wrong direction.  In addition to adding advertising, it seems like they shortened-- or completely cut out-- some of the best features in the magazine. 

For instance, they used to have column with some of the funny things kids would say about food.  I remember wanting to send it in when my little brothers would call sardines “sour-beans.”  And when one brother was 6 or 7 and he was cracking nuts under our walnut tree in the yard.  I asked him what he was doing and he said “I’m cracking walnuts, and inside are pecans!”  

I think the best thing about TOH was the fact that it was so much like an old fashioned community.  It gave the feeling of sitting in the kitchen with aunts, sisters, and grandmas all telling stories and cooking together.  True, you rarely knew the women (and occasionally men) who were writing and cooking, but you knew people like them, or at least wanted to.  And you knew that the recipes were recipes that weren’t just liked by the more sophisticated palates, but by families.  The new magazine seems to have lost that feel.  Maybe it’s just because it has lost it’s nostalgic feeling, with fancy new layouts.  Maybe it’s the adds every other page trying to get you to try a recipe because it has some brand or other in it instead of because someone’s family thinks it’s the best ever.  Who knows.  I just know I miss the old Taste of Home.  Someday I hope someone can recreate it.  Maybe the magazine itself will-- when they do, I’ll subscribe and buy a few gift subscriptions.  Or maybe I’ll just have to do it myself.  In the mean time, I do plan on putting some of my family’s favorite recipes up here.  Right after I paint my bathroom...    

The usual

I DO intend to put more up here than puppy pictures, honest!  But life is crazy, so I have to stick to the essentials.  Besides, who can resist a face like this? 

The puppies are growing fast, that's for sure.  And they are all so sweet.  It's hard to get good pictures because all the want to do is play!  

But now and then they do cooperate.