Monday Dose of Cute: Ready to Jump into a New Week?

It's gonna be great.

More Jasper? Here.

More chickens? Here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where somebody promised you Jasper's story ages ago and then totally forgot to deliver. It's actually a fairly short story, so hopefully I'll get around to telling it soon. Meanwhile he's pretty much taken over the farm.

Friday Farm Color: Pretty in Purple Coneflower Pink

Have a lovely weekend.

Echinacea is one of my favorite plants. It's an easy to grow, no maintenance, heat loving, cold tolerant, drought tolerant, long blooming, self seeding, pollinator attracting, poor soil loving, insect resistant perennial that's pretty much impossible to kill. It also happens to be one of the most popular medicinal herbs in America.

But most importantly, it's beautiful, especially since the flowers look different at every stage. More about growing echinacea here and more echinacea photos here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where less time tending flowers means more time snuggling cute critters (and baking bread).

Wordless Wednesday Dose of Chicken Cute

11 more photos below. . .

Tuesday Baker's Dozen Dose of Seven Donkey Cute

Let's roll.

Much to their delight (not), our herd of donkeys has been living out in the (well-fenced) front field with the sheep. This command decision was made, without consulting the donkeys, for two reasons: to give Donkeyland a rest and allow it to hopefully reseed itself, and because the seed stems on the grass in the front field grew up so high this year (yes!) that the sheep were afraid to venture very far out in it. This meant that a lot of good food was going to waste.

Enter seven tall and fearless longears.

In retaliation for being wrenched from their homeland and imprisoned with a bunch of woolly beasts, the donkeys have been spending much of their time hiding out in their secret donkey clubhouse, a darkly shaded area of cool bare dirt at the edge of a small ravine and under a giant cedar tree, away from the riffraff and gnats.

If you try and sneak a peek into the clubhouse to make sure all seven donkeys are still alive and well, they give you dirty looks and then gallop haughtily off into the brush.

When we first moved the donkeys out front, they would spend a lot of time standing at the gate that leads out of the field and up to the barn and the house, like they were waiting to be rescued or released, though Joe said it might have been because the nearby fly trap kept the gnats away. (We've been using these regular size and big bag non-toxic Rescue fly traps around the farm for years; they stink but they work great).

As we were leaving the farm yesterday to run some errands, the donkeys were once again lined up at the gate, staring us down as we approached. Joe said, "When I came out earlier I told the donkeys to stay up here so you'd be able to see them." Three and a half hours later we returned home to the rear view of the exact same scene.

"How long did you tell them to stay there?"

I don't know what was going on this morning, but when I hiked out front to check on everybody, the donkeys all piled out of the clubhouse and came over for scratches and pets. They tanked up on water, licked some salt, nibbled some minerals and diatomaceous earth (you can read about the many ways we use this wonderful, all natural stuff around the farm here), took turns taking dust baths, checked out the grass, and totally ignored the sheep. I snapped more pictures of them than I've taken in the past month.

12 more photos below. . .

Monday Dose of Farm Color: Double Delight

Double rainbow over the hayfield (it was brighter in real life, but you can just make out the second one above the first).

Did you have a good weekend? We were thrilled to get over two inches of much needed rain in the past 48 hours, with a chance for more in the next few days. Woohoo!

I'm loving the break from my daily sweat-drenched watering sessions in the kitchen garden, though they're much more enjoyable since I bought some of these awesome, ultra light (made in the USA!) Water Right hoses two years ago. What a difference. I used to dread watering.

We're slowly getting back into the swing of things after a whirlwind 10 days of plane travel and cross-country road tripping (Joe), stocking up on a ton of groceries in the big city and getting 10 inches of hair lopped off (me), enjoying the company of a hard working houseguest (Joe's older brother, who hasn't been here in 6 years and who managed to squeeze in two fun bread baking lessons in between helping Joe with the enormous job of cleaning out the spring boxes), and stuffing ourselves with lots of wonderful homemade food (everybody). It's been crazy hot and humid, but that's sum, sum, summertime.

Wishing you a wonderful start to your week!

Want to see more of this place?

Farm landscape photos 2011

Farm landscape photos 2012

Farm landscape photos 2013

© FarmgirlFare.com, the eyes to the sky foodie farm blog where we're hoping that tonight's supermoon won't be obscured by cloud cover like June's was, but if the clouds mean we're getting more rain, then so be it. We'll just raise a champagne toast to the ceiling and use our imaginations.

Recipe: Not Too Sweet Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread

A moist zucchini bread made with less sugar; lemon zest and fresh rosemary add a flavorful twist (recipe here).

Got zucchini yet? I know some of you do, because How To Freeze Zucchini and Summer Squash & My One Claim to Fame is the most popular post on Farmgirl Fare right now.

It's easy to freeze zucchini for winter, but you could also make an extra loaf or two of this scrumptious Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread and freeze it instead.

If you're up to your ears in zucchini and bored with the same old cinnamon zucchini bread, you're going to love this favorite recipe from last year. It's not a savory quick bread, but with less sugar than many zucchini bread recipes, plus some whole wheat flour and olive oil, it doesn't feel like you're eating cake for breakfast. (Not that there's anything wrong with eating cake for breakfast.) It also makes a delicious afternoon snack.

The flavors of the rosemary and lemon are pleasantly subtle, but you can bump them up if you like. This bread tastes even better the next day, will stay moist for several days, and freezes well. I like it best sliced, toasted, and slathered with butter. Enjoy!

P.S. 100% Whole Wheat Coconut Zucchini Bread (made with unsweetened coconut) and moist and healthy 100% Whole Grain Carrot, Raisin, and Zucchini Bran Muffins (made without bran cereal).

© FarmgirlFare.com, wishing we were up to our ears in homegrown zucchini!

Monday Dose of Random Critter Cute

The only thing sweeter than a bird hitching a ride on the back of a sheep? Three birds on one sheep.

I didn't get around to putting together a Friday Farm Fix last week, but it wasn't for a lack of cute. Here are nine favorite four-footer shots taken around the farm during the past week (sorry, no chickens). Hover your cursor over each image for a description.

More photos below. . .

Thursday Dose of All-American Cute

Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing you a wonderful day surrounded by good food and those you love.

More Jasper? Here.

More farm cats? Here.

More about growing those gorgeous Dragon Langerie beans? Here.

P.S. The wild turkeys are out strolling around the hayfield today, celebrating the fact that it isn't that other American holiday.

© FarmgirlFare.com, made in the USA, available around the world.

Recipe: Confetti Crunch Coleslaw with Creamy Lemon Caper Dressing

A healthy, crunchy slaw that's made with green and purple cabbage, green onions, carrots, and sweet peppers and tossed with a tangy lemon caper dressing.

Love coleslaw but tired of the same old mayo-heavy recipes? Liven—and lighten—things up with this colorful, flavor-packed version of an all-American classic.

This tasty, low fat slaw is made with yogurt and a lot less mayonnaise than many traditional coleslaw recipes. It goes well with all sorts of summer meals and is perfect for bringing to potlucks, picnics, backyard barbecues, and buffet parties. I love having a bowl in the fridge for a healthy snack or the fastest dinner salad ever.

Recipe below. . .

Recipe: Big Bite of Fresh Basil Herb Dip & Salad Dressing

This simple, healthy dip is packed with fresh basil, parsley, chives, and garlic (recipe here).

The basil plants in my kitchen garden are growing like mad, the chive patch is still thick and lush, and I just picked five pounds of gorgeous green beans. It's time to mix up some Big Bite of Fresh Basil Dip.

Having a batch of this flavorful, herb-packed dip on hand in the fridge makes it easy to bypass the sweets and grab a healthy snack of fresh summer veggies instead, although it also tastes great with pretzels and potato chips.

You can thin it out with a little milk or buttermilk to make a flavorful salad dressing, or you can pack it in a pita (homemade perhaps?) with some greens and chopped vegetables. If you let the dip chill for at least a few hours before serving (or overnight) it'll taste even better.

Any way you serve it, it's a celebration of the season. Enjoy!

Love dip? More Farmgirl Fare fresh recipes:

Easy Homemade Low Fat Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip

Low Fat, Full Flavor Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip (and going on factory tours)

Really Easy White Bean Pesto Dip/Spread (and my favorite pesto recipe)

Refreshing Radish Cream Cheese Dip with Parsley, Scallions, and Feta

Quick Refried Black Bean Dip with Tomatoes, Onions, and Cilantro

White Bean Artichoke Dip with Rosemary, Pecorino, and Kalamata Olives

P.S. Growing (and Using!) Your Own Fresh Herbs: My Six Favorite Varieties (chives, basil, Greek oregano, lemon thyme, Italian parsley, and lemon balm), plus all my basil growing posts.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where we dip it, dip it good (and Devo and I will now be spending the day together).

Tail End of the Week: Get Your Friday Farm Fix #32

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week (sometimes actually on Friday). Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here.

Marta and Daisy snoozing in the creek bed shade during the heat of the day.

Wondering what was happening on the farm this time last year? Check out the Friday Farm Fix #16. (It's so nice to still have grass in the fields this year!)

Hot, hot, hot. That pretty much sums up the first week of summer on the farm, with each day hotter and more humid than the next. We all spent the week just trying to beat the heat.

Thursday night a huge thunderstorm crashed and boomed around us for most of the early morning hours, bringing high winds and a much needed 1½ inches of rain. Thankfully it's a little cooler today, and there's a gorgeous breeze blowing. We may even get some more rain tonight.

After 18½ years in Missouri, this San Francisco Bay Area girl still isn't used to the noise and ferocity of thunderstorms, especially at night. A few years ago I learned that the Pacific coast is one of the few places that doesn't regularly experience thunderstorms. The rare appearance of thunder and lighting was always a big deal when I was a kid. Now I just whimper and snuggle up to my hunky farmguy Joe, then lie awake worrying about things like big trees falling over and how badly (and in how many places) it's raining inside The Shack.

The best part of the week was the daily sightings of a young doe and her spotted twin fawns in the hayfield. This graceful trio has been coming out of the woods near the house each evening, but now we're seeing them in the afternoons too. Mama strolls through the grass, alert at all times, while the babies scamper and play around her.

All week we've been calling each other on the radio announcing "Doe and twins alert! Doe and twins alert!" (These handy little two-way radios are one of our best farm purchases ever; we've been using them every day for years.)

In other (much less cute) wildlife news. . .

18 more farm photos and the rest of the weekly recap below (hover your cursor over each image for a description). . .

Wednesday Dose of Cute: The Next 30 Days of Yoga Session Starts July 8th!

Get happy, do yoga (no mat required).

Have you been wanting to try yoga, or wishing you could establish (or restablish) a regular yoga practice at home? Marianne Elliott's 30 Days of Yoga: A Lifetime of Well-Being brings the benefits of a yoga class into your own home, and it works. I've taken the course twice, and it really did change my life.

The next session begins July 8th, and registration is open now.

Marianne is an author (her book, Zen Under Fire: How I Found Peace in the Midst of War, was just released in the U.S.), yoga teacher, courage cultivator, and human rights advocate and consultant, as well as a former human rights lawyer in New Zealand and a United Nations peacekeeper in Afghanistan. She created 30 Days of Yoga for herself because she struggled with her own home yoga practice, and her approach is grounded in a radical form of self-kindness.

30 Days of Yoga is a lovingly crafted online course to help you develop and sustain a home yoga practice that adds self-care, kindness, and a greater sense of well-being to your daily life.

There are three different 30 Days of Yoga courses to choose from: the standard version (which I did), one for total beginners, and one for people who think they're too busy to do yoga. The standard version lets you choose from several different yoga practices to suit your needs and goals.

Each course includes daily e-mails and weekly podcasts from Marianne, plus additional special practices, access to a special course site, and an e-book containing all the written materials from the course.

You'll find plenty of support and encouragement (and meet some really neat people from around the world) in the private 30 Days of Yoga Facebook group, which you can remain a part of after you finish the course. You can also request a personal yoga buddy for the 30 days (I'm still good friends with mine).

All the details, including a link to three free sample videos (the yoga for bloggers is wonderful!) are here.

Marianne says that a little bit of yoga every day will not only keep you well, it will also help you stay clear, connected, and courageous—all qualities you need to do your great work in the world. I totally agree. 30 Days of Yoga might be exactly what you need. I know it was for me.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where, as demonstrated here and here, yoga is for everybody.

Monday Dose of Cute: Monday?

Might as well face it.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

More donkeys? Here and here and here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where seven longeared somebodies think they haven't been getting nearly enough treats while living in the summer front field location of Donkeyland, but their rounded bellies say otherwise. (Plus the treat-crazed sheep living out there with them launch a full-blown donkey treat attack whenever they see the bucket—and it's 21 against 7.)

A No Mayo Tuna Sandwich Recipe with Artichokes, Lemon, and Fresh Basil

Lemony Tuna and Artichoke Cooler-Pressed Picnic Sandwiches with Fresh Basil (recipe here)

These Lemony Tuna and Artichoke Cooler-Pressed Sandwiches are perfect for summer—and they aren't just for picnics. Tuna packed in olive oil is combined with marinated artichoke hearts, lemon, and fresh basil on crusty baguettes (homemade perhaps?) for a scrumptious tuna sandwich made without mayonnaise.

They travel well, taste delicious, and can be made several hours ahead. I even like them the next day, when the lemon flavor is more pronounced. They're perfect for toting on picnics or hikes, to work, or just out to the backyard.

They're also the perfect way to celebrate the first homegrown basil of the season, especially if it's just a little harvest. Enjoy!

Love fresh basil?

It tastes great in herbed yogurt cheese.

Or try this Big Bite of Basil Herb Dip or Salad Dressing.

All my basil growing posts are here.

What to do with purple basil and my favorite basil pesto recipe here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where sandwiches are a way of life.

Tail End of the Week: Get Your Friday Farm Fix #31

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week (sometimes actually on Friday). Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here.

Beagle Bert still likes his chicken TV.

Wondering what was happening on the farm this time last year? Check out the Friday Farm Fix #15. (I miss not having all those baby chicks around this year!)

Happy first day of summer! We spent it recovering from cutting the third—and final—section of the hayfield. It's been sweltering this week, which is great for the hay but rough on the hayers.

It felt ironically appropriate to be lugging 148 square bales of hay from the field into the barn on the longest day of the year, since that itchy, exhausting, sweat-drenched job always makes you think that the day is never going to end, especially if you aren't as young as you used to be (which is why we broke down last year and bought a 25-year-old round baler to help out).

But it also feels really good to be done with haying for the year, and to have a nice crop of hay in the barn. The 330 square bales—which we're figuring as 300 since some of them are really light—along with the 26½ big round bales from the second cutting, plus 43 high-dollar square bales of alfalfa leftover from last year, should (knock on wool) be plenty enough for the coming winter and next spring, no matter what might happen.

In comparison, two years ago we put up just under 900 square bales (and had plenty of hay and more sheep), and last year we didn't put up any hay because of the horrendous drought.

This year's hay all looks pretty good, and it's such a relief to know that even if the fields burn up in a summer drought, or the cool season autumn grass doesn't grow, or we get extended periods of early snow on the ground, or there isn't enough rain and the grass gets a late start in spring, the donkeys and sheep will still have plenty to eat. You never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at us.

20 more farm photos and the rest of the weekly recap below (hover your cursor over each image for a description). . .

Wednesday Dose of Cat Cute: Growing and Harvesting Heat Tolerant Lettuce (and The Whole Picture)

Lots more below. . .

Tail End of the Week: Get Your Friday Farm Fix #30

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week (sometimes actually on Friday). Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here.

Haying round two: cutting the far end of the hayfield.

Wondering what was happening on the farm this time last year? Check out the Friday Farm Fix #14.

I was going to just blow off this week's Friday Farm Fix—seeing as how it's already Sunday afternoon—but while sorting through the past week's photos (so many!) I realized there were some things I wanted to capture and remember, like all that really tall and thick hop clover in the front field. It feels like something out of The Wizard of Oz out there. Picking the first spring green garlic (so good chopped up in tuna salad). Fearless Jasper working on his junior stock dog badge.

And, most importantly, that we put up 26 big round bales of hay. Or, more correctly, that my hunky farmguy Joe put up 26 big round bales of hay. All I did was make lunch, deliver gallons of ice cold fresh mint sun tea and snacks, and drive the truck with the flatbed trailer back and forth when we brought the bales into the haybarn.

The only time I even touched any hay was to help move a bale that had rolled down a slope and onto one of the windrows of raked hay. Compared to the hot and sweaty effort required to bring in square bales, I practically felt guilty.

Putting up round bales is a whole new thing for us, and I'm hoping to write a separate post with more about it, but since I was also planning to put up a separate post about our first 2013 cutting of hay (in square bales) a few weeks ago and still haven't, I figured it might be now or never.

Something I did finally get around to posting this past week is an update on my garden blog about everything that's growing in my organic kitchen garden right now. We've been savoring the last of the beautiful lettuce, lots of green onions, and the first of the spring onions. Also on the menu this week:

29 more photos and the rest of the weekly recap below (hover your cursor over each image for a description). . .

Friday Dose of Cute: Have a Happy Weekend.

More photos below. . .

Thursday Dose of Cute: Down at the Sheep Barn

Four more photos and a Jasper report below. . .

Monday Dose of Big Dog Cute

Happy Marta

Happier Marta

Wishing you a wonderful week.

More Marta? Here and here and here.

More farm dog photos? Here and here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where the joyful urge to fall over and roll around on the ground is reaching epidemic proportions.

Tail End of the Week: Get Your Friday Farm Fix #29

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week (mostly on Fridays). Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here.

Lucky Buddy Bear cooling off in the creek.

Welcome to the Saturday evening edition of the Friday Farm Fix! The best news of the week is that last Thursday and Friday's five inches of rain started the wet weather creek running again on Saturday. A week later it's still gently flowing, thanks to another half inch of rain we got on Wednesday, most of which slammed down during a five minute period while I was out in the kitchen garden. I was afraid that if I went inside it would stop, and sure enough it did.

The biggest news of the week is that an enormous black walnut tree fell over in the barnyard during last Friday night's thunderstorm. Sometimes you don't realize just how tall these trees really are until they're horizontal.  Miraculously, nothing was smashed or hurt.

I laid awake half of Friday night worrying about the sheep while the storm raged outside, because we'd locked them in a section of the driveway adjacent to the barn without much protection from the elements. The next morning when I saw the fallen tree, I was so thankful I hadn't sloshed down there through the downpour at two a.m. to let the sheep into the barn and barnyard like I'd contemplated. And, like my hunky farmguy Joe assured me, they weathered the storm just fine where they were.

What else has been going on? Joe brewed a double batch of beer, and I made a double batch of these classic beef Cornish pasties (only this time I added an egg yolk to the crust); they're great to have on hand in the freezer for quick meals. I also bought and froze another four quarts of Amish strawberries to sweeten up our so-healthy-you-feel-virtuous-for-the-rest-of-the-day morning smoothies.

The weather has been hot and sticky (hello June!), so we've been drinking lots of fresh mint sun tea. So refreshing, so easy to make: just stuff a handful or two of fresh mint leaves in a glass jar, fill with water, set in the sun for a few hours, then strain and chill—or serve over lots of ice if you want some right away.

Lemon balm sun tea is wonderful too (you can read more about growing lemon balm along with my five other favorite herbs here). I love these half-gallon wide mouth canning jars and plastic screw-on caps for sun tea and so many other things.

26 more photos and the rest of the weekly recap below (hover your cursor over each image for a description). . .

Wordless Wednesday Dose of Cute: Jasper Meets Rooster Andy

Six more photos below. . .

Recipe: Easy Orange Yogurt Loaf Cake

A simple, classic orange cake that tastes great with strawberries (recipe here).

How about a sweet treat from the archives? This Easy Orange Yogurt Loaf Cake, which I originally shared back in 2008, is one of the most popular recipes on Farmgirl Fare and still one of my personal favorites.

It's an old-fashioned, not overly-sweet cake that mixes up quickly, can be eaten plain or gussied up, and stays moist for several days. It tastes even better the second day (so you can bake it ahead), transports well, freezes beautifully, and can be easily sliced when frozen.

It's heavenly with fresh strawberries or blueberries, especially if you add some whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.

This is the kind of simple cake recipe that everyone should have in their collection (try a lemon or other citrus version instead of orange), and the comments at the end of the recipe are full of rave reviews. Enjoy!

More favorite cake and quick bread recipes:
100% Whole Wheat Coconut Zucchini Bread
Heavenly Lemon Coconut Quick Bread
Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread
Quick Chocolate Emergency Loaf Cake

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet & savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

P.S. Sadly, strawberries are #2 on the Environmental Working Group's list of most contaminated produce. Search for locally grown, organic strawberries (which will be so much more flavorful than store bought) on Local Harvest, or find a U-Pick farm in your area on PickYourOwn.org.

© FarmgirlFare.com, always up for cake.

Monday Dose of Cute: It's Monday?

More photos below. . .

Tail End of the Week: Get Your Friday Farm Fix #28

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week (mostly on Fridays). Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here.

Tiny fawn hidden in the hayfield.

Whew, what a week. In five days we managed to accomplish three big tasks that had been looming over us: clipping poor matted Marta Beast, putting up the first batch of hay, and getting the sheep sheared. I just realized they all have to do with cutting.

Tuesday morning we were so wiped out that we both slept in until 10:30, and that was before the hardest work even started. Then the power was out all Tuesday afternoon (which also means no water pumped from the well), making us even more discombobulated.

Saturday we spent an unplanned four hours wallowing on the ground in the sheep/bunny barn with our new animal clippers and a (thankfully) drugged Marta, who is a 100+ pound mix of three thick-coated livestock guardian dog breeds: Great Pyrenees, Komondor, and Anatolian Shepherd. She's also a big mess. Marta could find a mud puddle in a desert, and unlike her Great Pyrenees partner, Daisy, she wasn't blessed with that amazing self-cleaning gene. She also hadn't been clipped in two years, so this was a real challenge.

The last time we had Marta professionally cut it took them five hours and cost a small fortune. The 80-mile round trip drive wasn't much fun either. So we decided to invest in a good electric clipper—which actually cost less than the last grooming session—and try tackling her ourselves.

I wasn't sure it (and we) would be up to the job, but this little Andis professional clipper outdid itself. If it can handle Marta, it can probably handle anything. She won't be winning any beauty contests (which is our fault, not the clipper's), but she looks much better than she did, and I'm sure she feels a lot better too. (Note for home dog groomers: blowing off the blade every several minutes with compressed air to clean and cool it and then oiling it made a huge difference. We're also going to buy a second blade that doesn't cut as close; parts of Marta are very pink!)

34 more photos and the rest of the weekly recap below (hover over each image with your cursor for a description). . .