Saturday Dose of Cute: Donkey Training

Cute but Clueless

Wednesday Dose of Cute: Jealous Little Guy?

Monday Farm Photos: Bringing in the First Hay

Surveying the hot job ahead of us. . .

Saturday Farm Photos: In the Circle of Hay

This is all that's left of last year's hay.

And this is the hayfield. . .

Wednesday Dose of Cute: Man at Work

The Girls Just Love Him

It's the heart of hay feeding season!
First You Have to Put Up the Hay
3/11/06: Oh, Just Take A Seat Anywhere
3/14/06: A Whole New Way to Start the Day
3/26/06: I Told You They Have No Manners

3/2/08: How Do Donkeys Order Lunch?
3/7/08: Waiting for Lunch (on Top of Breakfast)

3/26/08: Donkey Dietary Habits
4/18/08: Cary is Too Hungry to Say Hi
5/7/08: Daily Dose of Cute: All Day Hay Buffet
5/28/08: Daily Dose of Cute: Back in the Hay Day
9/27/08: Sheep Gone Wild!

1/23/09: Feeding Frenzy
1/24/09: Keeping the Food Supply Safe
1/31/09: A Cold Breakfast Will Be Served in the South Pen
3/4/09: Food as Furniture
12/9/09: Eat Up, Kids!

1/12/10: You Shouldn't Take Chances with the Food Supply
1/22/10: Everybody's Safe

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the eating for two (all those sheep in the pictures, silly—not me!) foodie farm blog where I don't know about you, but it sure looks to me like my hunky farmguy Joe is petting a ewe or two in that last photo—which is something he'd definitely never be caught dead doing.

Farm Photos 7/1/09: A Day in the Hay

After two very long days, the first cutting of hay has finally been mowed, teddered (aka fluffed up), raked into windrows, and is ready to be baled.

Lots more photos below. . .

Saturday Farm Photos: One Hot Guy

In hay cutting hell.








© FarmgirlFare.com, the still feels like August foodie farm blog (this is Day 11 of unrelenting temps in the upper 90s and heat indexes up to 108) where it just took three people, three tractors, and ten hot and sweaty hours to do a one person, one tractor, two hour hay mowing job—and we've only just begun all this.

But despite the heat, we've still got to eat, and a fabulous farm dinner of homegrown grilled lamb leg steaks, the first green beans from the garden, just dug new red potatoes (which were unbelievably good), a hunk of homemade baguette from the freezer, and freshly baked chocolate chip raisin cookies (a bribe for the cookie loving neighbor who lent us the antique tractor above—which bears a striking resemblance to our own big tractor, except that his isn't dead) almost makes it all worthwhile.

And as Joe's mom said to him a few minutes ago on the phone as he was recounting the day, "Oh, but you love what you do, and you love who you're doing it with." "Guilty on both counts, Mom," he replied. How cute is that? But we'll still both be extremely glad when haying season is once again over!

Sunday Farm Photo: Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Keep Those Hay Bales Comin'

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the most important thing we learned during haying season this year is that you always need to double check the shear bolts (and anything else) the kid at the local hardware store picks out for you, because returning the ones that are the wrong size makes for an hour of driving, a lot of frustration, and some very expensive bolts considering the price of gas these days. But thanks to my hunky farmguy's masterful skills with duct tape, at least baling operations didn't have to shut down during the mad dash back to town.

Saturday Farm Photos: A Slight Haying Delay

Old Tractors Don't Always Start on the First Try



But the 20th Time's a Charm!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where sometimes we fix our well worn tractors and haying equipment with duct tape and baling twine — then hold our breaths and repeat our soothing mantra while waiting to see if they'll make it through one more year: They may be old, but they're paid for. They may be old, but they're paid for.

Thursday Farm Photo:Back in the Hay Days (Already?)

It Feels Like We Were Just Doing This

Want to see more haying photos?
6/28/05: Last of the Bales - We Start Cutting Today
6/29/05: It's Best to Cut Hay on a Hot Sunny Day
8/29/05: Raked Hay Ready to be Baled Today
8:30/05: From Here to the Barn Seems to Take an Eternity
8/31/05: Each Bale is Handled Four or Five Times
6/9/06: Cary at the Start of Hay Pick Up Day #1
6/10/06: Cary Guards a Hay Bale
6/11/06: Hay Inspector Samples the Harvest
6/11/06: Farm Boss Patchy Cat Has the Final Hay Say
6/11/06: Cary & the Nanny Bear Take a Haying Break
6/12/06: Baby Cary in the Hay Truck
6/13/06: Not a Hay Bale in Sight - It's a Beautiful Thing
6/15/06: How to Ensure a Happy Haying Crew
7/14/07: In the Hay, Be Back Soon
7/17/07: Haying Supervisor
6/27/08: Antique Haying Equipment
6/28/08: A Slight Haying Delay
6/29/08: Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
6/30/08: View From A Hay Bale
6/30/08: Meet Our New Hay Inspector

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where as soon as the Four Hour Parisian Daily Baguettes are finished baking (they smell so good!) I'm headed back out to help pick up bales - then we'll be out of the hay and hopefully I'll have time to share a bunch of tasty new recipes that have been piling up, including three simple and refreshing vegetable salads, my new favorite orange loaf cake, and the easiest white bean appetizer spread ever.

Broccoli Onion Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe & Recharging Your Dead Batteries (Because Setting Them On Fire Isn't An Option)

Donkey Doodle Dandy On Fire Watch Duty

There are many things to love about living on a very remote farm. You can, for instance, go outside and howl at the top of your lungs at the coyotes at midnight, blast the stereo until the speakers threaten to blow, or run around the yard naked because there's no one around to care. (Not that I ever do the naked yard thing.) You also don't have to worry that the neighbors are going to complain about the dogs barking or the donkeys braying or the sheep baaing or the rooster crowing.

On the other hand, there are certain luxuries that I completely took for granted before moving to the middle of nowhere. Like mail delivery. And Chinese food delivery. And garbage pick up. Yes, you might want to take a few seconds to contemplate the enormity of that last one; I'll wait.

We're very fortunate, however, to have a wonderful recycling center only 35 miles away, which is practically down the street by rural Missouri standards. They happily take the feed sacks we've refilled with glass, metal, plastic containers labeled #1 and #2, cardboard, newspaper, and even glossy junk mail.

When you add in the food waste that we toss to the chickens and in the compost bins, plus the bag of stuff earmarked for the thrift store, the magazines headed for the library 'free' box, the empty wine and champagne bottles we leave at the natural foods store for people who make their own wine and beer (we put our homebrewed beer in 12-ounce bottles that we reuse over and over), plus the pile of newspapers we keep for starting fires in the woodstove, we have no fewer than 13 different garbage receptacles. Houseguests are terrified to throw anything away and ask things like, "Do chickens eat avocado skins?" "Can you compost dryer lint?" and "What should I do with this band-aid?"

We also reuse as much stuff as we can around the farm. Styrofoam mushroom containers and plastic food containers become seed starting pots that are labeled with strips I cut from unrecyclable #5 plastic sour cream tubs. Rows of large, clear plastic jugs that once held peanuts now neatly organize metal nuts and bolts and nails in Joe's shop. Plastic seltzer bottles are refilled with water and turned into long lasting ice packs for coolers. And #5 cottage cheese containers hold the homemade dog/cat/chicken food I make up in big batches and freeze.

Paper that's wet or dirty is burned, and anything else is put in what we call the 'trash trash' bag. It usually takes us at least a week to fill up one small plastic grocery sack with trash trash, which I think is pretty neat. You can pay a per-bag fee to dump trash trash at the recycling center, but because we generate so little they usually take ours for free. Plus I bring them cookies.

Burning all of your trash is very common around here, and before I moved in with Joe he routinely burned a little more than he does now, using what he called 'accelerants' to 'help the fire get started.' His motto was Everything burns eventually. He did recycle large glass beer bottles, but I suspect that was only because he couldn't get them to ignite. One day about ten years ago, noticing that some dead batteries had something like 'please call for proper disposal information' printed on them, he decided to call the toll-free number.

As Joe tells it, the guy who answered the phone said that yes, batteries did indeed need to be disposed of properly, "but he wouldn't actually tell me what the proper way to dispose of them was." So they went round and round until finally Joe said, "Well then I'm just going to burn these dead batteries."

"You can't burn batteries!" the guy said.

"Why not?"

"You just can't!"

"Oh yes I can, I just toss them in the burn barrel. I've done it before."

"YOU CAN'T BURN BATTERIES!"

I think this was about the point where Joe hung up the phone. Or maybe it was the battery guy who hung up on him. "He was getting really worked up."

Fortunately even borderline pyromaniacs can be converted into good little recyclers, and we all breathe easier now that my reformed hunky farmguy burns much smaller, more easily ignitable piles of trash. While we do still have the occasional discussion as to whether something is flammable or not (usually as I'm plucking it out of the garbage can saying, "You can't burn this!"), the battery issue was solved several years ago by the purchase of a couple of battery chargers and a bunch of rechargeable batteries.

I highly recommend this Sony Quick Batter Charger, which is the bestselling charger on Amazon.com for good reason. I've been using mine for over two years and love it. It comes with four Sony 2500 mAh AA Rechargeable Ni-MH Batteries and is an absolute steal at around 20 bucks, especially considering the price of disposable batteries these days. I'm still using the original batteries that came with the charger, along with a few four-packs of extra batteries I bought so that I always have four spares charged and ready to go in my digital camera, as well as enough for other things like flashlights. I use my camera several times a day, pretty much every day, and these batteries will last for several weeks. You can also charge AAA Ni-MH batteries with the Sony charger.

So the next time your batteries run out of power, I urge you to consider investing in some rechargeable ones. You'll be easing the strain on your wallet, the environment, and that poor guy answering the battery help hotline. Plus no accelerants required.

And if your own batteries could use a little recharging, I suggest a warm bowl of this deliciously simple broccoli soup. It tastes so good it's easy to forget how good it is for you.

Now if only you could plug in the empty pot and have it automatically refill itself.


Soup's On!

Easy Broccoli Onion Garbanzo Bean Soup

Loaded with onions, garlic, broccoli, and garbanzo beans - which are some of the World's Healthiest Foods - this cozy soup packs a powerhouse of nutrients. It's broccoli season right now, so you should have no trouble finding bunches that are both flavorful and inexpensive. In cooler climates, start looking for freshly harvested, organically grown broccoli at farmers' markets in the coming weeks.

I used to thicken my broccoli soup with a few tablespoons of uncooked rice, but one day I tossed a can of organic garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas, and one of my favorite foods) into the pot instead. I got the thickness I wanted along with more flavor, more fiber, and more protein.

Cans of organic beans are versatile pantry staples and can often be found for the bargain price of about a dollar apiece, or even less when they're on sale. Some stores such as Whole Foods will give you a case discount if you stock up and buy 12 cans at a time.

I like my soups thick and almost sludgy; simply add more chicken stock if you prefer yours thinner. If you're feeling decadent or in need of a calcium boost, you can stir in a cup or two of some nice cream after blending. It'll make your soup taste positively dreamy, but it really isn't necessary.

As with most soups, this one tastes even better after lounging around for a day or two in the fridge. As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients whenever possible. They really do make a difference - in so many ways.

2 to 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds onions, coarsely chopped
6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large bunch broccoli (about 1-1/2 pounds), stems (peeled if tough) and florets, coarsely chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, preferably organic, drained and rinsed
4 to 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat, then add the onions. Stir to coat with oil, cover, and cook until onions are soft and starting to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Make a space in the center of the pot and add the garlic, stirring so it all touches the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring, two minutes.

Add the broccoli, garbanzo beans, and chicken stock. The soup will look too thick; it is not. It's okay if the broccoli isn't all submerged in the chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer with the lid barely cracked until broccoli is tender, about 25 minutes.

Purée with an immersion blender (I can't say enough good things about - or imagine life without - my KitchenAid Hand Blender; it's probably the best $50 I've ever spent in the kitchen) or very carefully purée in batches in a countertop blender, then return to the pot and cook a few more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with whatever you like: chopped fresh chives, a drizzle of olive oil, some coarsely grated Pecorino Romano, a dollop of sour cream, a slice or two of sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack, some nice blue cheese crumbles, or absolutely nothing at all. Curl up in a cozy spot and devour, making sure to spend a few moments between slurps feeling grateful for the existence of something as wonderful and warming as a bowl of homemade soup.

How about some bread to go with your soup?
Beyond Easy Beer Bread (my most popular recipe)
Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Onion Rye Beer Bread
Savory Feta Cheese & Scallion Scones
Parisian Four Hour Baguettes
No-Knead Crusty Freeform Bread
Oatmeal Toasting Bread (makes great rolls, too)
Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Italian Black Olive Cheeks
Carrot Herb Rolls (And A Bargain Bread Book For Beginners)
Three Onion & Three Cheese Pizza

You might also enjoy my other Less Fuss, More Flavor soup recipes:
Susan's Super Spinach Soup
Garlic Lover's White Bean Soup
Hearty Lentil Soup With Smoked Sausage
Use It Or Lose It Lentil & Escarole Soup
Spur Of The Moment Summer Squash Soup
Simple Summer Harvest Soup
Simple Summer Harvest Soup (The Autumn Version)

Still Hungry?
You'll find links to all my sweet & savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the sidebar of the Farmgirl Fare homepage under PREVIOUS POSTS: FOOD STUFF WITH RECIPES. Enjoy!

© 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 "Come on baby light my fire" isn't just part of a song.

Farm Photo 2/3/08: Handyman Special

A Man & His Supervisor

"Um, honey? The bathtub just puked up the dishwater I poured down the kitchen sink."

So yesterday Joe dug into what we thought was a small plumbing problem.


Way More Exciting Than Watching The Superbowl

Turns out it's more like a medium plumbing problem. But at least it stopped snowing. And hasn't started raining yet. And the ground isn't frozen. Well, not solid anyway.

Want to see more?
Hunky Farmguy Photos
Lucky Buddy Bear Photos
Dog Photos
Snow Photos
Farm Life Tidbits

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares more than you probably want to know about life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and the dirty dishes are starting to pile up.

Farm Photo 12/4/07:Just Another Day At The Office

Actually It's More Like An Office-Slash-Gym

There's nothing that takes the chill off like the warmth from wood heat--except maybe watching a hunky farmguy whack a giant tree into pieces. This photo was taken early on Thanksgiving Day while we were out working up an appetite in the freezing cold. I was very thankful that it was Wear Your Chaps To Work Day.

Copyright © 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Wednesday Farm Photo: Ram Lamb Transport

All in a Day's Work

A year of Farm Photos ago:
11/1/06: Frozen Breakfast On The Run
11/2/06: Autumn Sunflower
11/3/06: Autumn Color One Week To The Next
11/4/06: Grace & Beauty Are Everywhere (one of my favorite photos)
11/5/06: Self-Portrait In A Puddle
11/6/06: Little Cary Is Six Months Old Today!
11/7/06: Walk In The Woods
11/8/06: Donkey Doodle Dandy Is Quite The Dainty Eater
11/9/06: Big Sky
11/10/06: 240 Acres & He Wants To Be On Your Foot
11/11/06: It's The Little Things
11/12/06: Beyond This Door There Be Treats
11/13/06: Petite Rouge Heirloom Lettuce In The Garden
11/14/06: Did You Say Snow? (I'm so glad we don't have snow predicted yet this year!)

And two years ago out of the kitchen came:
Simple Summer Harvest Soup (The Autumn Version)
Mexican Monkey Cake (made it last week for my mom & she loved it)
Beyond Easy Beer Bread Recipe (my most popular recipe)

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com the heavy lifting foodie farm blog where sometimes it's just easier to pick them up and carry them where you want them to go.

Farm Photo: 7/14/07

In the hay. Be back soon.

A year of Farm Photos ago:
7/10/06: BB & Tana Are Always Together
7/11/06: Donkey Daycare For Cary Today
7/12/06: Donkey Daycare?!
7/13/06: Looking Up While Tucking In The Sheep
WCB#56: Cary & Doodle Snacking In The Living Room

Welcome new visitors!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo: 8/7/06

Sweeping Off The Truck--Or Dancing With The Broom?

A year of Daily Photos ago:
Red Russian Kale Is Wonderful In Salads

Daily Farm Photo 7/21/06: And Sheeeeeeee's SAFE!

It's not exactly dignified, but it works.

There's still a lot of storm damage to deal with around the farm, but we definitely made some progress yesterday. The large chunk of barn roof that blew off has been nailed back down, the top of the chimney is no longer laying on the lawn, a fair amount of the 2006 onion crop that had been drying out in the greenhouse was re-dried and salvaged, and, most importantly, Lindy The Chicken is back at home with Whitey.

Yesterday morning I crouched down on the ground in the yard, aimed a giant spotlight under The Shack, and spotted Lindy—about 15 feet in, totally unreachable, but blinking her beady little eyes. Alive!

I checked on her throughout the day, and the only thing she appeared to move was her head, but she looked okay, and I didn't think the dogs could fit under that particular section of the house. I racked my brain to figure out a way to rescue her, but Joe (who has much more chicken catching experience than I do) said we would just have to wait until she came out on her own. I was doubtful.

But around 8 o'clock last night, I got back down on the ground, aimed my spotlight under The Shack, and didn't see a chicken. I circled around The Shack, crouching and looking in various spots, and still I couldn't find her. I walked back into the house, announced that she was gone, and then practically scared Joe to death as I glanced out the window and shrieked, "THERE SHE IS! SHE'S ON THE DRIVEWAY!"

He grabbed the fishing/chicken-catching net, I grabbed my camera, and we quietly sneaked outside so as not to alert the dogs. There she was, ambling down the road as only a chicken can amble, paying no attention to all of the sheep milling about her.

Our view was mainly blocked by the giant fallen tree in front of the yard, so Joe went one way, and I went the other, tiptoeing gingerly through the tall grass in totally inappropriate shoes and not nearly enough protective clothing.

A few scuffles, some muffled laughter later (there is nothing quite as amusing to me as the sight of a chicken who is jogging), and then whap! she was in the net. Joe scooped her up while I fumbled with the camera and tried not to trip over the rocks in the creekbed. I slip-slided after the two of them, Joe hurrying as fast as he could toward the coop, Lindy swinging in the net beside him, and me yelling "Stop! Stop! I can't get a good picture!"

But they didn't slow down. Not until Joe had Lindy safely back in her henhouse did he turn to me and calmly explain, "I've had them escape from the net before. No way was I going to stop."


Lindy the Chicken, back where she belongs.

Phew. What a relief. As we walked back to the house I said, "I'm sure Whitey is happier now, too. Poor thing, when I caught her up this morning she looked so pitiful, soaking wet and muddy and missing all those feathers. She wouldn't even come out of the coop when I checked on her later. It was awful."

"Oh no," said Joe. "She came out. Dan went over to see how she was doing. He munched on some weeds around her run so they'd have better airflow, and she popped out and said 'hello.'"

"Are you making this up?"

"No! It was a Kodak moment. You missed it."

I can only imagine what else I miss around here—because half of the stuff I do see is pretty unbelievable.

Thanks so much for all of your kind words and bolstering comments. I'm just happy that Lindy and Whitey are safe. It's bad enough if a dog gets any chicken. It's something else entirely when that chicken has friends and fans around the world.

So now that you've been updated, baby Cary and I need to leave the comfort of our tiny air-conditioned office and head out into the oppressive heat (looks like it's going to be another record breaker like yesterday) to help restore my poor blown apart greenhouse to its previous splendor, supervise some serious chainsawing work, and prepare for tonight's storm that's supposed to hit.

Meanwhile, 470,000 homes in the greater St. Louis area are still without power from the same storm that hit our farm Wednesday night. I knew it could have been a lot worse.

Want to read a little more about life on the farm?

Farm Life Tidbits Part 1

Farm Life Tidbits Part 2

Farm Life Tidbits Part 3

Farm Life Tidbits Part 4

Farm Life Tidbits 2010

Farm Life Tidbits 2011

A year of Daily Photos ago:
Wild Mullein In The Creekbed Is Taller Than I Am

© FarmgirlFare.com

Daily Farm Photo: 3/26/06

I Told You They Have No Manners

Daily Farm Photo: 6/29/05

It's Best To Cut Hay On A Hot, Sunny Day

6/7/11: The Daily Donkey 121

November in Donkeyland: treats and a tank top! (11/11/10)

© FarmgirlFare.com