Wednesday Daily Dose Of Cute:Staving Off Unwanted Advances

Bear Doesn't Play

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the bipeds aren't the only ones who have to resist the livestock guardian dog cuteness.

How To Cook Lamb: Recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms with Ground Lamb and Feta (& My Mother's Secret Ingredient)

Stuffed Mushrooms With Homegrown Lamb, Onion, Parsley & Feta

We always eat well when my foodie mother visits the farm. During her most recent stay we were so busy with lambing season (which is still dragging on by the way) most of our homemade meals came straight from the freezer. Last fall, however, we had a chance to do lots of experimenting in the kitchen, and I'm slowly but surely getting some of those new favorite recipes posted. Enjoy!

I'm embarrassed to admit that up until last November I'd never stuffed a mushroom in my life. I now realize this is tragic, and I'm determined to make up for lost time because I've also realized there are a lot of stuffed mushroom recipes out there. I mean, you can stuff a mushroom with just about anything! Who knew? Okay, probably everyone but me.

My late-in-life stuffed mushroom introduction happened purely by chance. After picking my foodie mother up at the airport last fall for her twice yearly visit to the farm, we stopped by Trader Joe's to stock up for our upcoming ten day cooking and eating spree. And there they were: packages of giant 'Stuffer Mushrooms' nudged up against the regular-sized mushrooms and screaming at me. "YOU NEED US! YOU WANT US! TAKE US HOME AND STUFF US!"

Tuesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Ready For Her Close Up

Current Lamb Count: 22. Number of cute overload moments lately between all the new baby lambs, baby chicks, and fluffy white pups: More than should probably be allowed on one farm.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the new puppies are even softer than they look - not that we've been snuggling them or anything, because you aren't supposed to make cuddly pets out of the livestock guardians. But a little pat or two never hurt anybody.

Monday Daily Dose Of Cute

Meet And Greet With Cary

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the new puppies are growing faster than I can answer all your fun questions about them, but hopefully I'll have some answers posted soon. Thanks for your patience, and in the meantime, enjoy the cute before they get to be 125 pounds apiece!

Sunday Daily Dose Of Cute: Woof! Woof!

Our Latest Defense Against The Coyotes

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where just because you're adorable doesn't mean you can't be scary, too - and one of the toughest things about farm life is knowing that you're not supposed to cuddle the livestock guard dogs.

Wild Kingdom: A Big Sunday Feast & A Mysterious Little Owl

Screech Owl in the Farmyard on January 20th

Note: I wrote this back on January 26th. Unfortunately it's only the beginning of the story - and at this point there is no happy ending in sight. There is, however, a small bright spot in all of this sadness and frustration. Two small bright spots, actually, which even qualify for Daily Dose Of Cute status. Stay tuned.

January 2009 Update: You can read the rest of this story here.

There are days when farm life sucks, and last Sunday was one of them. I was here by myself, it was zero degrees, and all the water pipes were frozen. But that was no big deal. That was just January in Missouri in The Shack. But then around 11:00 am, two coyotes killed a sheep in the hayfield. Yes, during broad daylight. Yes, while the donkeys were out there with them.

The time between looking out the kitchen window and realizing what had just happened and getting to the scene of the crime was agonizing. As Bear and I ran the several hundred yards out into the field I switched between sobbing "No! No! NO!" to screaming at the coyotes in a vain attempt to scare them away from the white, unmoving lump I knew was a sheep.

The rest of the flock had fled. I was pretty sure the sheep was dead, but I held onto the slim chance that it might still be alive. Not knowing who it was - that was the most awful part. I figured it would be 12-year-old Skinny Chip, one of my big pet wethers who has bad hooves and trouble walking. I prayed it wasn't Cary.

It wasn't. It was a healthy young wether who probably weighed 100 pounds and would have graced someone's table in a couple of months - and put a couple of hundred dollars in our pocket. Instead it had become this Sunday's dinner. It was a clean kill, and it had just happened. The body was still warm. The blood that covered my hands was still warm.

When I was a little kid I watched "Wild Kingdom" every week on TV with my dad, who loved nature and animals and died when I was just eleven. I want to say that it was on on Sunday nights, maybe at six o'clock, right before the Walt Disney hour. At least that's how I remember it. Mutual of Omaha sponsored the show. I had no idea what Mutual of Omaha was, but to this day I can still remember their 800 number.

We don't have TV reception down here in our little valley. Instead I look out a window and realize I live in Wild Kingdom.

I can't blame the coyotes. They live here, too, and they get just as hungry as I do. It's the dead of winter; food is scarce. I heard there weren't any acorns in the woods this year. Things like fences and property rights and animal ownership mean nothing to them. All they see is a field full of fat and easy targets. A lamb is a lot easier to chase down than a deer.

I do partly blame myself. We've become complacent about the coyotes. We know we're surrounded by them. We hear them at night, their howls and barks echoing through the hills. We know we've been extremely lucky all these years to have sustained so few losses to them. And yet a couple of weeks ago we chose to watch a mating pair of these beautiful creatures (because they are indeed beautiful) cavorting around in the hayfield through a set of binoculars rather than through the scope on a rifle.

We don't shoot 'varmints' for sport or to 'clean up' our property, and for that we have paid a price. This coyote couple had been hanging around, watching, scheming, waiting, wanting. We knew this, and yet we still didn't shoot them. People around here think we're crazy. Some of you reading this will think we're crazy.

On Sunday I watched the coyotes tear into the lamb. My lamb. Later I watched an enormous bald eagle eat his fill of fresh meat while he stood on the wooly body, nervously looking around between bites. I watched a flock of crows move in for their meal. I watched two friends shoot at the coyotes from the second story window of what will soon be our new bedroom and miss. I want them both dead, I said. They know the taste of lamb. They know how to get easy meat. They need to be killed. They need to be dead.

As he was driving the quarter mile from The Shack to the front gate late that afternoon, one friend saw a coyote standing in the front field by the sawdust pile, which isn't far from the barn. He shot and missed. His dad, one of the shooters in the bedroom, had seen a coyote at the top of our driveway that morning.

On Monday reinforcements arrived. A pack of men and a pack of dogs scattered themselves around the valley at dawn and spent the next 10 hours tracking and chasing and shooting. One dog attacked a coyote and had his face torn up.

At four o'clock in the afternoon I looked out into the hayfield and saw both coyotes back at the lamb. Their lamb. And despite my yelling and Bear's barking, not to mention their having been chased all day by a pack of dogs and men with guns, the brazen, hungry coyotes were hesitant to leave their prize.

Loss is inevitable when you're raising animals, whether they're packed into a giant building under horrid conditions or out on the open range. You expect it, and you learn to take it in stride. You do the best you can, and you learn from your mistakes. You worry yourself to sleep. And you tell yourself it's okay to cry.

None of that lamb went to waste. By Tuesday afternoon there was nothing left but the pelt.

We're doing what we can to ensure the safety of the flock. Skinny Chip is in a big pen. The hayfield is off limits to the sheep. We've installed even more spotlights at the barn and turned up the volume on the radio that plays down there all night. I'm learning to shoot the varmint rifle. Because there are two coyotes out there who will no doubt kill again.



Fortunately it isn't all just death and killing in the Wild Kingdom. In the midst of everything that was happening on Sunday, I came across this little owl sitting on a fence post in the farmyard. Armed with only my pistol, I could do nothing except stare in awe and curse myself for being without my camera. I'd never seen anything like it. It held its face toward the sun, eyes closed, its feathers ruffling in the frigid wind.



It popped open its eyes and stared at me as I stared back at it. It turned its head almost completely around like you've always been told that owls can do but have never really believed. It didn't seem bothered by my presence at all. I really wanted to reach out and touch it.

I ran back to The Shack to get my camera in the hopes that it wouldn't fly away. It didn't. I couldn't believe it.



It was neat. It was gorgeous. It was adorable. I snapped photos until my fingers went numb. I was shocked to see that it hadn't flown away when the shots had been fired from a window directly above its head. I proudly showed it to off to the donkey peddling cowboy and his four-year-old son, who had answered my coyote phone call for help.

"That's a screech owl," the cowbody informed me. "Don't touch it!" he said to his son, who had cautiously reached out a finger.

I took more photos. I moved closer and closer to it, until I was standing just inches away. I was mesmerized.



The little owl stayed on the fence post for most of the afternoon. I checked on it every few minutes from the kitchen window. It was starting to seem a little weird. "What's wrong with that owl?" the cowboy had asked as the three of us stared at it and wondered why it was just sitting there in the middle of the farmyard.

Eventually it flew over to another fence a few yards away, where it sat for a couple more photos. Then it disappeared up into a tree.

Like I said, Wild Kingdom.

Note: After a week of thinking about it, I decided I wasn't going to write this. I was simply going to post a neat photo of an owl I saw in the farmyard. No backstory. It isn't easy putting yourself and your actions out there for attack, admitting that you've failed or that you made the wrong choice about something and somebody died because of it. But I know a lot of you don't just want the photos. You want the backstory - even when it's bad. You read my blog because you want to know what life is really like out here on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately right now this is what it's like - and the killing hasn't stopped.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the in awe of nature foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares the good and the bad of life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Saturday Daily Dose Of Cute

Somebody Answered The Ad!

Actually there have been two responses so far, but the other interested party is a little camera shy and was hiding under its mother when this picture was taken.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the chickens have decided that the first batch of Daily Dose Of Cute photos had way too much wool, so the second series is going to be full of fluff and feathers - even if it did require sitting on a pile of eggs for three and a half weeks (and sneaking photos up a day late).

Friday Daily Dose Of Cute

Time Out

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and it's exhausting being this cute.

Thursday Daily Dose Of Cute: Country Classifieds

Single Chick Seeks Companion Of Like Size & Species

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where it's always more fun (and more cute!) with friends, but at least if you're the only kid you don't have to fight anybody for the landing pad - and you get all of mom's attention.

Wednesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Baby Talk

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where everybody talks with their mouth full. Or partway full. Or maybe just a little piece of hay full. Oh, wait. Last Wednesday I said nobody around here talks with their mouth full. Okay maybe she's just chewing. Or maybe I just shouldn't be trying think up captions and tag lines this late at night. At least there's no arguing that she's cute!

Tuesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Bear The Babysitter (among other things)

Current Lamb Count: 18, including three lambs born yesterday. Eleven more pregnant ewes to go!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Liselotte, who looks like she's going to give birth any second, is now safe and secure in a bonding pen and has been ordered pleaded with to please wait until morning to have her lamb(s) because it's way past this tired farmgirl's bedtime!

Tuesday Farm Photo: Who Needs Ducks in a Row?

We've Got Chickens Lined Up

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the fine feathered foodie farm blog where sometimes you can't help but wonder if the chickens really do all see something that you don't, or if they're just entertaining themselves at your expense - and we still only have the one new baby chick.

Monday Daily Dose Of Cute

Milkface Moves Beyond Milk

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and even baby lambs know everybody needs some fiber in their diet.

Sunday Daily Dose Of Cute

Raa Raa Black Sheep! (You know I love the black ones)

Current Lamb Count: 15, including this itty bitty newborn cutie pie. Number of farmgirls getting a little tired of stealth milkers - baby lambs who act as if they don't know how to nurse (and refuse to drink from a bottle, so you end up feeding them every couple of hours with a syringe) and then take a nice little drink as soon as you turn your back: 1.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where it's late night sheep-related multi-tasking time: I've been ordering vet supplies (10 minutes before they closed), doing a prego/baby barn check (the moon is so bright!), and posting this lamb photo (the problem with black is that it always shows the dirt!) in between baking trays of banana bribe cookies (recipe coming soon!) for a farmgirl friend who's leaving her sheep tomorrow in order to come over to help me work mine. Baaaaaa!

Sunday Farm Photo: Chick Days Are Here!

A little freshly picked arugula while you wait?

Three weeks ago, two of Whitey's chicks—who are now grown-up hens and laying little brown eggs of their own—decided they were in the mood for motherhood, so they each settled down on a pile of eggs in side-by-side nesting boxes for the 21-day incubation period. (Did you miss Whitey Watch last year? You'll find links to all of Whitey's 2007 baby chick posts at the bottom of this page.)

8:56 am this morning



11:06 am

1:36 pm

Yesterday three chicks hatched but there was something wrong with them and all three died. Fortunately things are going much better today. This little bundle of fluff belongs to Cheeky (the hen on the left), who isn't in the picture because I had to briefly relocate her in order to check on what was happening underneath her. That didn't make her happy. Fortunately I was wearing thick gloves.

There are six more eggs under Cheeky and four more under the other hen (whose name is still being decided), so cross your feathers that this chirping little cutie pie will have some siblings soon - and that we don't end up with another bunch of roosters!

The chicks all started last year with Whitey:
5/12/07: Whitey's Gone Broody
6/1/07: Whitey Gets Her Wish
6/4/07: Peep! Peep! Peep!
6/2/07: It's Been Quite A Chick-Filled Day
6/5/07: I'm Just Wai-tin' On A Friend
6/17/07: Whitey & Her Baby Chicks
6/19/07: Caution - Foodie Forming
8/2/07: Wall Inspection & Farmgirl Inspection
8/3/07: Baby's First Perch
8/4/07: Baby's First Dustbath
8/5/07: Mother As Landing Pad
8/9/07: Little Rooster Showin' Some Style

© FarmgirlFare.com, the fine feathered foodie farm blog where no eggs, chicks, chickens, or farmgirls were harmed during the taking of these photos (thanks to the gloves), but Cheeky got so pissed off while being gently removed from her eggs that she started screeching like The Alien. And that was a little bit scary.

Saturday Daily Dose Of Cute

Dee Dee & Her Baby Boy, Milkface

Sometimes it can take a while to get a name around here. And when you do finally get one, there's no guarantee that it'll be a good one - especially if my mother happens to be around. During her first visit to the farm she renamed one of the cats. Crook, so called by his previous owners because he not only had an odd little crook in his tail but also used to steal food from other cats, became Patchy Cat because he "looks just like my Patchy Cat who got run over by a car." Okay, fine - though Joe still can't believe that our all doing, all seeing, all around manly Farm Boss feline is now named (use your best high pitched girly voice here) Patchy Cat.

Then several years ago she named Auntie Rose, which isn't horrible but isn't so great either. The ironic part is that not only does my mother have no recollection whatsoever of actually coming up with the name Auntie Rose, she also swears she doesn't remember the conversation she and I had during her visit last fall when I informed her that the sheep she was inquiring about was named Auntie Rose because that's what she told me I should name her, and I hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings by later changing it.

Then she decided to come to the farm this year during lambing season. And when she first arrived and was trying to figure out which lamb was which and who they each belonged to, I pointed to one and said that he was the little milk face baby whose photo I'd posted a couple of times. That did it. From that second on, every single time she was down at the barn she would look around and say, "Where's Milkface?" even though she'd never actually seen him with any milk on his face.

Naturally the name quickly stuck. Even I started referring to him as Milkface. At one point while we were watching him playing in the barnyard I turned to her and said, "I can't believe that poor little guy is gonna have to go through his entire life being called Milkface." She laughed.

Fortunately Milkface doesn't seem to mind. Although while my mother was here, and his name was constantly being said aloud, I did notice that he'd stopped sleeping curled up next to Dee Dee and was cuddling up next to the biggest lamb in the barnyard instead. I figure some of the other kids had started teasing him behind my back. They're just lucky my mother left before she'd had a chance to name them, too.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where an Auntie Rose by another name would be as sweet - and cute little Milkface is pretty much just out of luck.

Saturday Farm Photo: Daffodil Delight

I Love Them Even When They're Soggy

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and we get the biggest kicks out of the littlest things.

Friday Daily Dose Of Cute: A Little Look Back

Cary (age 2-1/2 weeks) & The Nanny Bear In The Greenhouse, 5/06

Don't know who this little lamb named Cary is? Meet her in A Tiny Tail For Mother's Day. And find out how she's doing now in yesterday's Farm Photo 4/18/08: Cary Update.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we can't help but wonder if it bothers Bear that the sheep all start out much smaller than he is but quickly grow up to be three or four times his size.

Friday Farm Photo: Cary Update

Too Hungry To Say Hi

Wondering who Cary is? Meet her in A Tiny Tail For Mother's Day.

Many of you who have kindly asked how Cary's been doing since she lost her baby last month. Thanks to that late night visit from the vet, she made a full recovery and seems to be just fine. She's back to her pre-pregnancy bouncy self, and no longer looks as if she swallowed two bowling balls - though her appetite hasn't diminished any.

Cary still doesn't care to be cuddled or even pet much, but she does come over and give me dirty looks when I'm snuggling an adorable baby lamb. She doesn't seem to miss having a lamb of her own, and still acts very kid-like herself. The other day I saw a lost lamb run straight through her legs while searching for its mommy and she just stood there looking confused.

The lambs love to pack up and play Race Around The Barnyard this time of year, and more than once last lambing season I busted full-grown Cary racing right along with them like she was still a little member of the gang, kicking her legs in the air and shaking her head around like she does when she's really happy. It was hysterical. These were some of my favorite Cary moments, but of course she never let me capture any of them with my camera. Maybe I'll catch her at it again this year.

Want to see more Cary?
Cary Is Two Months Old Today!
Cary Is Three Months Old Today!
Cary Is Four Months Old Today! (And still allowed in the house)
Cary Is Five Months Old Today!
Cary Is Six Months Old Today!
Cary Is Seven Months Old Today!
Carybunga! Nine Months Old & Coming At You!
Cary Is One Year Old Today!
12/7/06: Cary Goes Grunge
1/7/07: What I Learned From Cary Last Year (Plus lots of links to photos of Cary laying waste to in the kitchen garden)
2/11/07: Cary's First Woolcut
12/6/07: Finally, A Cary Update

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where lambs will be lambs - and sometimes grownup sheep will, too.

Thursday Daily Dose Of Cute

Stretch Refuses To Eat At The Kids' Table

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where even four-legged kids in the country want to grow up as fast as they can - but some of us are wishing time would please slow down!

Wednesday Daily Dose Of Cute

The Sheep Equivalent Of The Kids' Table



Complete With Fighting

Wanna see more cute?
Other Daily Doses Of Cute
Lambing Season 2006 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2007 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2008 Photos & Reports
More Sheep Stories & Photos
Farm Stories & Farm Life Tidbits

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where hardly anybody talks with their mouth full during dinner, but you wouldn't believe the racket while the food is being dished up.

Wednesday Farm Photo: What's In This Season?

Lots Of Bright Color!

Help! I love this flowering bush, but I have no idea what it is. Do you? You can see a photo of the whole bush and find out why I love it so much at my offshoot blog, In My Kitchen Garden.

Want to see more flowering color?
3/20/06: First Day Of Spring Daffodils
4/16/06: Tulips For Easter
4/16/06: Dogfoot Tiptoed Through The Tulips
4/27/06: Color Coordinated In The Garden
5/17/06: Lilac Iris & A Lamb Report
4/5/07: Lilacs!
6/25/07: Echinacea By The Cat Cabin
7/2/07: Holding On For Dear Life Or Just Hanging Out?
8/14/07: Joint Pollination Task Force (& Other Pollinator Pics)
9/11/07: Cavorting Around On A Zinnia
9/27/07: Squash Blossom Butterfly
3/22/08: Leaves On The Lilacs (And Lots Of Lilac Stories)
4/7/08: The Definition Of Cheerful? See Daffodils
Bright Blooms In My Kitchen Garden

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where after 13 years of clomping around in dirty overalls and rubber boots we're probably pretty lacking when it comes to fashion sense, but we do know that Mother Nature always gets her colors right.

Tuesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Tired

Current Lamb Count: 13, including three sets of twins. Number of sleep-deprived farmgirls ready for a nap: 1.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where twin lambs love to stick together - but they don't always share the best spot.

Monday Daily Dose Of Cute

Legs Up To There

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we never imagined baby barnyard animals would have anything in common with runway models, but there you have it. Too bad they don't wear clothes.

Monday Farm Photo: Scuffle In The Barnyard

Chick Fight



Chick Fight Referee

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you're encouraged to make friends with everyone and talk out your differences - but some of us are more hard-headed than others.

Sunday Daily Dose Of Cute

Entwinned

Want to see more woolies?
Other Daily Doses Of Cute
Lambing Season 2006 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2007 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2008 Photos & Reports
More Sheep Stories & Photos
Farm Stories & Farm Life Tidbits

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where where we like seeing double this time of year - and right now there are three sets of twins bouncing around the barnyard. So does that mean we're seeing sextuple - or just a whole lot of cute?

Friday Dose Of Newborn Cute (and the Whole Picture)

A Tender Scene

More below. . .

Thursday Farm Photo: Surf's Up!

The No Crossing Zone Is Back

This is where everybody usually crosses when our usually meandering little wet weather creek is running. Not today. It isn't quite the raging river it turned into last month, though there is supposed to be another storm hitting tonight. We definitely won't be driving through this anytime soon.

Fortunately earlier today I was able to ford the creek further upstream on foot, but only after taking all sorts of safety precautions as demanded by my visiting and very concerned mother. I was decked out in ratty sneakers (so my rubber boots didn't fill with water and drag me down), thin summer pajama pants (so my heavy denim overalls didn't fill with water and drag me down) rolled up above my knees, and my old glasses (so my new ones didn't wash downstream).

I was holding an enormous stick to keep me from losing my balance and washing downstream and had two syringes full of penicillin for the ewe battling mastitis poking out of one shirt pocket and a bottle of milk for her lamb in the other. I was quite the vision.

My mother also gave me instructions on how I should position myself when the water did start carrying me away - on my back with my feet out in front of me - which is apparently what you they tell you to do if you fall overboard when you're on a white water river rafting adventure. She goes on those sorts of adventures; I don't.

The good news is I survived - and barely got my knees wet. The better news is that all the animals are okay, and none of our very pregnant ewes decided to have a baby (or two) during the seven hours I wasn't able to get down to the barn today. Just cross your fingers that they cross their legs until tomorrow, because my mother says I'm not allowed to cross the creek for my nightly 3 a.m. lamb check, even though I told her she could come along and hold the spotlight so she'd be able to see if I was in the correct position when I started to wash downstream.*

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the soaking wet foodie farm blog where the action and adventures never stop when you're living the so-called quiet, peaceful, simple country life.

* All lightheartedness aside, venturing into moving water can be extremely dangerous, and I know this from firsthand experience. The reason my mother was extra concerned today is because several years ago while she was visiting, the creek got up about 70 feet wide, and it rose so fast during the short time I was down at the barn that on my way back I was knocked down, pulled underwater, and seriously thought I was going to drown - and that was while holding onto a guide rope tied to two posts. It was only because she and a friend were holding onto either end of the rope and were able to lift my head up out of the water that I survived.

It only takes a foot of fast moving water to wash away a car. When you come to a flooded area, the rule of thumb is this: If you have to stop and ask yourself if it's okay to cross, then it's not okay to cross. Stay safe.

Wednesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Chocolate Chip Biscotti's Twin Boy In The Barnyard

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where there's just something about a little pink nose - or even a big pink nose for that matter.

Wednesday Farm Photo #2: Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

This is the one rooster we did keep - isn't he a beaut?

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the crowing at all hours foodie farm blog with some of the best looking tail feathers around - and a rooster who definitely needs a name.

Wednesday Farm Photo: Rooster Two-Step

More Chicken Dancing

Last June seven-year-old Whitey The Chicken decided that instead of dying of old age she wanted to try her foot at motherhood. Thanks to a kind friend who donated a dozen fertilized eggs to the cause, we soon had seven darling baby chicks hopping around. Unfortunately four of them turned out to be roosters, including this debonair dude. Four roosters on one farm is a lot of roosters, and since we never got around to eating any of them, back in January all but one went to live with the Donkey Peddling Cowboy.

Of course the roosters left with a story, but since it looks like I'm never going to get around to telling it, I figured I'd just go ahead and share this photo I took at their new farm since I still really like it.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we just might have another batch of baby chicks in the works. Apparently the hens have decided to try and snatch back some the attention that's currently being lavished on all the adorable baby lambs.

Tuesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Charlotte's Baby Girl

Now I realize I posted a very similar photo of this spotted sweetheart for last Saturday's Daily Dose Of Cute, but it didn't let you see those ears.

Need A Bigger Dose Of Cute?
More Daily Dose Of Cute Photos
Lambing Season 2006 Photos
Lambing Season 2007 Photos
Lambing Season 2008 Photos
More Sheep Stories & Photos
Farm Stories & Farm Life Tidbits

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where I need to go count and cuddle check on sheep so I can get some sleep.

Tuesday Farm Photo: A Fresh New Day

Our Morning Mist Is Back

Want to see more hazy photos?
8/3/05: Breakfast Under The Mist
8/10/05: View Through The Dew
8/26/05: These Misty Summer Mornings Feel So Peaceful
9/25/05: I Can't Resist These Pink Sunrises
10/11/05: Sheep Into The Mist
11/22/05: From Out Of The Fog, A Little Beagle Dog
11/26/05: October & November Same Scene, New View
3/12/06: Misty Morning Rose Lamb
5/25/06: Donkey In The Mist
8/16/06: Misty Morning Peace - Stop & Breathe It In
11/23/06: Thankful To Call This Place Home
1/1/07: Two Trees Dancing Under The Morning Mist
12/13/07: Slow Traffic Ahead
12/14/07: Good Next Door Neighbors

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where spring green-up has definitely begun - but the grass on the other side of the barnyard fence isn't growing nearly fast enough for our several dozen 'we're so sick of being on The All Hay Diet' sheep. (But keep those nightly grain treats coming!)

Monday Dose Of Cute

Surprise Inspection

© FarmgirlFare.com, the tip toeing (hoofing?) foodie farm blog where you never know who's gonna come sneaking up on you.

Monday Farm Photo #2: Who's A-fraid Of The Big Bad Creek? The Big Bad Creek?

That Would Be Our Donkeys

Back in February when the wet weather creek started flowing during all those snow and ice storms (this was before it flooded over), the donkeys literally camped out for three days up by The Shack (complaining loudly the entire time) rather than get their precious hooves wet crossing over to the barn. Begging, pleading, coaxing, and even a bucket full of treats dangled temptingly from the other side of the water didn't work. Fortunately they've gotten a little better since then. A little.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where our motto is If you need more laughs in your life, just go out and get yourself a little donkey.

Monday Farm Photo: The Definition Of Cheerful?

See Daffodils - Or Even Just One

A year of Farm Photos ago:
3/29/07: Late Supper Picked By The Light Of The Moon
3/30/07: A Year In Bread Has Begun! (And it will continue!)
4/1/07: Making Mischief In The Morning Light
4/2/07: These Two Are On Top Of Breakfast
4/3/07: The Grass Looks Fake This Time Of Year
4/5/07: Lilacs! (Wow, we're way behind this year)

Two years ago:
3/28/06: It Seems Like They Never Stop Moving
3/29/06: They Certainly Do Learn Early
3/30/06: More Old Stuff Just Hanging Around
3/31/06: Doll Face & Her Baby Boy
4/1/06: Spring Has Sprung
4/2/06: Same Scene New View Of The Haybarn
4/3/06: Big World, Small Donkey
4/4/06: Babies Chew On Everything
4/5/06: The Lilacs Are Coming! The Lilacs Are Coming!
4/5/06: A Sweeter Sheep You Will Not Meet - Farewell
4/7/06: Purple Beet 'Greens' In The Greenhouse
Weekend Dog Blogging: Dogfoot
Weekend Cat Blogging: Molly Doodlebug & The Cat Cabin

And out of the kitchen came:
Garlic Lover's White Bean Soup

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we love flowers like daffodils and echinacea that come up year after year despite being totally neglected - and a fenceline full of daffodils never fails to delight.

4/6/08 Daily Dose Of Cute

Chocolate Chip Biscotti & Her Two Day Old Twins (taken 4/4/08)

Need more than this double dose of cute?
More Daily Dose Of Cute Photos
Lambing Season 2006 Photos
Lambing Season 2007 Photos
Lambing Season 2008 Photos
More Sheep Stories & Photos
Farm Stories & Farm Life Tidbits

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and lambing season is finally in full swing.