A Favorite From the Summer: Camping at the Lake

We went camping at our favorite spot this last July. 

Sharing now as way of officially saying goodbye to summer. 

So long summer, you were good to us, mostly. 

Looking forward to fall and all its golden, crisp, yummy splendor.

...more photos...

Juicer Delight!

Me-Oh-My! Sugar Mountain got a juicer, and it is heavenly! Never imagined how much joy would come with one of these bad boys, The Champion Juicer. I find much pleasure in knowing that in the morning, I will awaken to a tall glass of apple, grape and carrot juice -all grown here on the farm!

Maybe its just me, but this juice "latte" carries hope for a new day, all poured into a tall glass.

Roasted Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

The other night I used SpiderWomanKnit's blogged recipe for Roasted Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes. Not being a huge 'right off the vine' tomato fan, I was bit nervous (silly me) and only roasted 2 small pans worth.

Those warm, sweet little candies literally knocked me back 3 steps! No joke. I tried to find someone to share my amazing discovery with  ..."WOWZA these are AMAZING!" ... but quickly remembered I was the only one awake at that hour (mama's work is never done). Bummer for them. I ate lots right there, standing by the stove.

This evening I spooned some over dabs of locally crafted, jalapeno/garlic goat cheese and a hearty wheat cracker. Added a glass of wine, and I called that dinner! Added a second glass of wine, and I called that dessert. Cheers!

New Love For Cherry Tomatoes

Picked some salsa makings from the garden this past weekend. Found that Finn likes little cherry tomatoes -not something I normally just pop into my mouth. Finn inspired me to venture out of my comfort zone and give it a try ... YUM!

I like my tomatoes chopped with peppers, garlic, onion, cilantro and a big twist of lime and dash of salt. However, I am proud to say that I have turned a new leaf and am excited to grow more next year. Stumbled on this great recipe just in time.

Collecting Rocky Mountain Bee Plant Seed

Out collecting Rocky Mountain Bee Plant seed from our native plant garden. Moving the seed to different restoration area on the farm. Loved spending the time with Lance - just him and me (add a few critters and one chicken). Rare thing that is. 

From Garden to Kitchen

Lots of yumminess coming from the garden right now...from fresh pesto to tomatoes, corn, onion and okra. Hollowed out jalapeno peppers in the freezer to zucchini bread and stuffed wantons!

Late Summer Garden...

Bringing the garden inside: fresh flowers on my windowsill and we enjoyed our first harvest of corn last night! I can almost feel fall in the air, and it feels good.

...more garden photos...

Chuckars Come Home

The chuckars, and two pheasants, still find their way home every night. We have come to expect them. Finn believes they are for his pleasure only and gets so very excited when he sees them. What a treat!

Clipping the Chicken Wings

"Golden Boy"

"Big Red"

"Jed the Half Breed" From what we can tell he is half Polish Crested and maybe Wyandotte? He is a small rooster, with such a pathetic crow, we couldn't bring ourselves to kill him.

Before we had the main chicken coop finished (still waiting for completed fencing before I show the final project) , 30 plus of our chickens lived in the barn. They liked it there, a lot. We didn't like the mess though, so as soon as Black Bart's "Hide Out" was finished, we moved the other chickens into their new, soon to be finished home.

Only problem? Some of the chickens REALLY liked the barn and wouldn't stop flying fences to return to the beloved space! Only solution was to clip wings. We started with the roosters and so far, only one hen has made her way back to the barn. After clipping her wings, she returned back to the barn again! What to do with her now? I'm not so sure. Black Bart may just receive another lady! Hopefully she will be happy with him in their new home. Time will tell!

We like our eggs fertilized, so we decided to keep as many roosters as possible for our group -about one rooster for every 13-15 hens. We are still a bit short of hens for that quota, but craigslist has proven helpful in our quest to obtain more hens.

We watch a lot of "Chicken TV"

The Garden Grows

...an evening spent in the garden, through the eye of my camera...