Tuesday, May 31

Tuesday Farm Photo: Color Coordinated

color coordinated laundry line - Farmgirl Fare


Love laundry lines? You'll find lots more stuff hanging from ours here.

The Daily Donkey 114: Low Down Treats

© FarmgirlFare.com, where we're having a heat wave, a hot enough for hay cutting heat wave. . .

Sunday, May 29

Sunday Farm Photo: Once the Treat Trough is Empty. . .

Donkeys heading out to graze
It's time to head back out in the field.

The Daily Donkey 112: Startled by a Bear

© FarmgirlFare.com, where green comes in about 459 different shades this time of year.

Saturday, May 28

Saturday Dose of Cute: Chin Rest

Sheep Chin Rest - Farmgirl Fare



© FarmgirlFare.com, where we're gearing up for another Sheep Working Weekend! Holiday, you say? What's that?

Thursday, May 26

Wednesday, May 25

Wednesday Dose of Cute: Next. . .

Rooster going in, Bert coming out


The Daily Donkey 108: Daisy in Donkeyland (she only looks miserable)

© FarmgirlFare.com, where we cluckle and chuckle our way through the day, and I'm really behind replying to comments and e-mail. Thanks for your patience.

Wednesday Farm Photo: Hail, Hail

handful of hail - Farmgirl Fare
The weird weather's here!

We often have large hail predicted during warm weather thunderstorms, but it usually never materializes. Today it did, starting out small and quickly increasing in size. I've never seen hail this big before—and look at those spikes. Very cool.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where today's storm also brought a nice little drop in temperature—and some really loud pounding on The Shack's uninsulated old tin roof.

Monday, May 23

Monday Dose of Cute: The Creek's Still Running

Lucky Buddy Bear in the wet weather creek - Farmgirl Fare
And it's been hot enough for a dip.

The Daily Donkey 106: Blending in in Donkeyland

© FarmgirlFare.com, where Lucky Buddy Bear looks a whole lot smaller when he's soaking wet.

Monday Farm Photo: Safe and Sound

Front field looks good enough to eat - FarmgirlFare.com
And all is well.

Thanks to everyone who has been asking if we're okay after last night's devastating weather hit Missouri. We had the animals tucked in and everything battened down before the storm arrived, and thankfully we weren't near the tornado. Our hearts go out to all of the people and animals in Joplin.

Check back later today for the Monday Dose of Cute and the Daily Donkey 106.

Wishing you a safe and happy week!

Sunday, May 22

Sunday Dose of Cute: Two's a Crowd

Cluck Cluck 1
Especially if you're the one crammed into the back of the nesting box.

More photos below. . .

Saturday, May 21

Saturday Night Dose of Cute: Froga

Frog doing yoga - Farmgirl Fare


More frog photos:
5/16/08: Ribbit

The Daily Donkey 104: Stock Dog Inspection

© FarmgirlFare.com, where you never know what you'll find on the front door when you come back from tucking in the sheep—and this has been the froggiest spring we can remember. They are, as you can clearly see, everywhere. It's great.

Friday, May 20

Friday Dose of Cute: Sheep Freedom Day!

Sheep Freedom Day 1

The sheep are always excited. . .

More photos and a much longer than planned story below. . .

Thursday, May 19

Thursday Night Dose of Cute: Tucked in the Tall Grass

Tucked in the Tall Grass
Eugenie's twins

The Daily Donkey 102: Dolores and Dinky Rush the Camera

© FarmgirlFare.com, hidden in plain sight.

Recipe: Sunburst Carrot Soup with Fresh Ginger, Orange, and Carrot Juice

A healthy, lowfat soup recipe that's packed with carrots and bursting with color and flavor.

During a summer outing several years ago, a friend said to me, in the way only a British gentleman can, "How do you get the bottoms of your feet that lovely shade of golden bronze?"

I examined the bottoms of my feet. They were orange.

"And your palms match, too." I flipped over my hands.

I thought of the 80's movie Soul Man, where the main character takes a mega dose of beta carotene tanning capsules in order to darken his white skin so he can pass for an African American.

How had I not noticed this?

"Um, I eat a lot of carrots," I admitted sheepishly.

Wednesday, May 18

Wordless Wednesday Dose of Cute

Bert listening to a lamb


Want to see more wordless cute? Click here.


Tuesday, May 17

Tuesday Dose of Cute: Why We Laugh at the Thought of Landscaping the Backyard

Why we don't landscape the backyard - Farmgirl Fare mole patrol
Back on the Mole Patrol (in the backyard)


Just discovering The Daily Donkey? I post a new donkey photo every day, and you can catch up with all the longear laughter here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, loving the fact that for the first time ever we have the living room wood stove going in mid May (and the bed still piled with vintage quilts), especially since this will probably be our last night using it. Yes, we really are (finally!) moving out of The Shack and into the (still sort of) new building very soon. No, seriously.

Monday, May 16

Monday Dose of Cute: Off To Greener Pastures!

Off To Greener Pastures - Farmgirl Fare
Oof.

The Daily Donkey 99: Dan and a Whole Lot of Lambs

© FarmgirlFare.com, where a silly old donkey gate will never stop a bunch of starving sheep—or even a bunch of sheep with full bellies on their way back to The Shack for the night. (Well, not to The Shack, as in curled up on the sofa watching Babe, but near The Shack.) These woolies go where they want.

Saturday, May 14

Saturday Dose of Cute: Sometimes It's Safer. . .

Donkey Treat Time 1

If you keep a gate between you and the donkeys at treat time.

More photos below. . .

Friday, May 13

Friday Night Dose of Cute: Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!
We're back!

Blogger, my awesome blog host, had a little hiccup yesterday, and nobody was able to post for about 20 hours. But after the tireless Blogger team spent all night chasing down the problem, we're back and ready to blog better than ever.

I'm a little bummed that after 95 consecutive Daily Donkeys (in addition to my regular daily posts) I had to miss a day, but at least I can say it definitely wasn't my fault—and The Daily Donkey is back today, too.

The Daily Donkey 96: We're Back!

© FarmgirlFare.com, where it's storming once again (no complaints here, as we need lots of rain this time of year to help the grass in the grazing and hay fields grow), but I'm trying to quickly finish this up before the satellite Internet connection goes down and we won't actually be back anymore. See you again—hopefully—tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 11

Wordless Wednesday Dose of Cute

Cheeky, Tuffy, and Smudge - Farmgirl Fare


The Daily Donkey 95: Young Esmeralda Sitting Pretty

© FarmgirlFare.com, where the chickens are good about not chasing the cats. And vice versa.

Tuesday, May 10

Tuesday Dose of Cute: A Nice Cool Drink

A nice cool drink
For a big thirsty girl

That's our Crazy Daisy!

The Daily Donkey 94: Treat Time Bliss in Donkeyland (one of my favorites)

© FarmgirlFare.com, where the wet weather creek is down to a very refreshing level, and the weather is hot enough to put up hay—which is what we're doing today. Gotta go help pick up bales. . .

Monday, May 9

Monday Farm Photo: At Least It Started Out Peaceful

Peaceful Morning in Donkeyland
This morning in Donkeyland


© FarmgirlFare.com, glad to be finally heading toward bed—by way of the kitchen in the hopes of foraging something for dinner—after a very long, hot day both on and off the farm. Ah, sleep.

Book Review: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

And a recipe for Midnight Cry Mocha Brownies from the book

Even though I'm not there physically all the time, I want them to have something that says, I'm out here. I'm okay. I love you. I want them to bite into a cookie, and think of me, and smile. Food is love. Food has a power. I knew it in my mind, but now I know it in my heart. —Ginny Selvaggio in The Kitchen Daughter

The heroine in Jael McHenry's debut novel, The Kitchen Daughter, is Ginny Selvaggio, a young woman with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Ginny's long time special interest? Cooking.

The process of following a recipe—its rhythm, its order, its predictable result—is calming to her, so when she finds herself overwhelmed, embarrassed, or uncomfortable she copes by turning to food, either in the kitchen or in her mind.

More below. . .

Friday, May 6

Friday Dose of Cute: Baby Cary is Five Years Old Today!

Baby Cary 1
Cary about to go for her first car ride

Five years! Does time fly by or what? How about we take a trip down memory lane like we did last year? These are some of my favorite photos of Cary that were never posted until now.

Don't know who Cary is? Meet her in A Tiny Tail for Mother's Day.

More photos and a Cary update below. . .

Thursday, May 5

Thursday Night Quick Dose of Cute: Run!

Little lambs on the run
Just because they can.

© FarmgirlFare.com, in it for the long haul, not the quick sprint—and it's pouring down rain again.

Thursday Farm Photo: Oh, Clear Blue Sky. Oh, Pleasant Breeze.

Blowing in the fresh spring breeze
Oh, nice big dent in the laundry pile!

The Daily Donkey 89: Cute Butts

© FarmgirlFare.com, pulling weeds, mulching mint, watching shadows on the grass and bouncing baby lambs munching grass (once they finally stop bouncing), admiring wild turkeys strolling through the hayfield, defrosting three sticks of organic butter for a late afternoon baking session (during the coming rainstorm) of Lemon Coconut Quick Bread (so good toasted!) and really easy Baby Shortbread Coookies with Mini Chocolate Chips and Toffee Bits—unless I get sidetracked snuggling cute little lambs of course.

Monday, May 2

Monday Dose of Cute: Water, Water, Water

clarissa and triplets
Clarissa and her triplets

The Daily Donkey 86: Making Faces
Love longears? You'll find all The Daily Donkeys corralled up here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where I snapped this photo during a splash of sunshine on Friday, but so far April showers have only brought us May showers; we've had well over a foot of rain in the past 10 days and it's still coming down. We made a bridge out of an old wooden door so the sheep (who hate stepping in mud) can make it across the muck moat and into the barn, everybody's soggy (even everclean Daisy is a mess), and the wet weather creek, which was on its way down, is now rising back up. The good news is that with all this rain, the hayfield is growing well and looking good!

Sunday, May 1

Sunday Dose of Cute and Farm Life: It Was Sheep Working Weekend!

Hunky Farmguy to the Rescue 1
One sneaky little lamb tried to escape, but my hunky farmguy hopped the fence and saved the day.

Now that lambing seasonwhich lasted less than a month!—seems to be over (it doesn't look like that last ewe is pregnant), it's time to focus on other things, like keeping the sheep in tiptop condition. This means working them, which is always so much fun! Not.

More below. . .