Farm Photo 2/19/08: Eco Art Or Washed Up Junk?

Depends On How You Look At It

I rarely get out to museums or galleries anymore, but I still love to see art. Fortunately it's everywhere you look around here - even in a piece of old wood that washed up from the creekbed one year during a particularly bad storm.

Want to see more farm art?
8/28/05: Discard On Display
9/26/05: Well Seasoned
9/29/05: Heart Of Vine
11/27/05: More Found Art
12/15/05: The Weathered Look Is Very In Around Here
1/29/06: Bird Nests Are Definitely Works Of Art
3/30/06: More Old Stuff Just Hanging Around
8/9/06: Feather Wait
8/29/06: Seeing Things
9/16/06: The Farm Is My Canvas
9/29/06: Perfect Landing
11/19/06: Farmyard Still Life
1/6/07: Precious Farm Jewels
12/15/07: Still Life With Barbed Wire & Buck Brush
1/27/08: Fence As Farm Art

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you just might find a masterpiece in a mud puddle - and we're not snowed in anymore!

Farm Photo 2/16/08: Snowed In, Day Six

Just Chillin'

Nobody gets in, and nobody gets out. The half-mile-long, steeply curved part of the driveway is still covered with an impassable layer of snow and ice from Monday's crazy storm, and the rest of the farm hasn't defrosted much either. Yesterday I rescheduled the sheep shearer for the third time.

The sheep are restless, the donkeys are bored, and the chickens are threatening to fly south until spring. Topaz, who had become quite the little outdoorscat, ventured onto the front step this morning and hightailed it right back into The Shack. Robin The Mostly Retired Beagle Dog has been camped out by the woodstove all week and must be forced to go outside and pee.

But the temperature has warmed up slightly, the builders are hoping they'll be able to make it down the driveway on Monday, and we were only without electricity for a couple of hours. There's plenty of firewood, plenty of food, and that pesky little plumbing problem has successfully been fixed.

Thursday I sowed a patch of Swiss chard seeds in the greenhouse. This morning I watched a bright red cardinal bopping around in the snow. The scenery is beautiful, and the animals and farm chores keep us plenty busy. Winter is good.

Want to see more?
Snow Photos & Snowstorm Stuff
Farm Life Tidbits
Sheep Photos
Farm Landscape Photos

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where 240 acres of snow and ice is fun for a while, but it's starting to feel like we live in Minnesota.

Farm Photo 2/14/08: Happy Valentine's Day

Hearts To You

Want more love?
Farm Photo 2/14/06: Happy Valentine's Day To You
February 14th, 5:00pm: Looking For Love
Pictures of my heart rock collection
Other hearts found around the farm

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where life on 240 remote Missouri acres is crazy but we love it.

Farm Photo 2/12/08:Frozen Water Everywhere & Not A Drop To Drink

,

Farm Boss Patchy Cat Knows How To Get His Point Across

So that crazy weather forecast I wrote about the other day? We got it. All of it. And then some. I don't think I've ever seen so much weather happen in one day. We had freezing rain, we had sleet, we had ice, we had ice pellets (which I'd never even heard of before moving to Missouri). We had huge bursts of echoing thunder while it was snowing huge, soppy flakes. And then we got several inches of what I can only figure was 'no accumulation.' Which then froze solid last night.

This morning Joe was watching through the living room window as Bear walked around on the no accumulation. "The ground is so hard Bear isn't making any footprints," he reported. Then we suited up and he walked out the front door ahead of me. "The ground is so hard I'm not making any footprints!"

Every single thing outside is totally encased in ice. We've gone into a sort of hibernation mode. I made a batch of Chocolate Babycakes With Mocha Buttercream. Joe calculated how many feet of oak door casing we'll need in the new building (a lot!). We bottled a bunch of beer.

During times like this, things around the farm are reduced to the bare minimum: making sure everybody has food, water, warmth - and that we say upright while we're slipping around out there on the ice.

It feels very isolated, but in a good way. It's doubtful anyone could get down here unless they hiked - and even that treacherous undertaking probably wouldn't be possible. Meanwhile we have no desire to see if we can get out.

We're thankful that the only damage so far appears to be several broken trees, and we're very glad we still have power, especially after hearing on the radio down at the barn (the only place we can get reception) that thousands of people around us are without it.

A big ice storm like this happens at least once a year here but I usually forget about it - or else I mentally block it out. The landscape actually looks really cool. I took all kinds of photos, but I think this picture of Patchy Cat standing in his water dish pretty much sums things up.

Want to see more?
Snow Photos & Snowstorms
Farm Landscape Photos
Patchy Cat Photos
Cat Photos

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Joe is in the kitchen frying up a big cast iron skillet of wild venison in homemade lard for dinner, and we're really glad we cut all that firewood on Sunday.

Valentine's Day Treats: Lots Of Sweet Recipes On My Latest Recipe Roundup For FoodieView

Chocolate Babycakes With Mocha Buttercream

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and while the traditional card and box of candy or bouquet of flowers definitely lets that special someone know you care, a homemade treat from the kitchen truly says I love you. You'll find a wide variety of romantic recipes from around the web - including Chocolate Mousse Tartlettes, Coconut Orange Cake, Homemade Berry Marshmallows, and these Chocolate Babycakes (made using my super easy Emergency Chocolate Cake recipe I wrote about back in 2005) - in my Valentine's Day Treats Recipe Roundup at FoodieView.

FoodieView is a neat site run by some really nice foodies that makes "good food easy to find, whether you're dining in or dining out." Check out the restaurant guides for nine major cities (more will be added) or search through over 1 million recipes from places like Cooking Light, Eating Well, Gourmet/Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking, Food Network, Sunset, and Saveur. The neatest part about the FoodieView search engine is that you can narrow down your search criteria by ingredient, dish, cuisine, special considerations (gluten free, low carb, vegetarian, etc.), sources, and more, including famous chefs.

My last FoodieView Recipe Roundup covered Cozy Breads For Cold Winter Days, and my next one will be all about potatoes. You'll find all of the FoodieView Recipe Roundups here, and you can subscribe to them via e-mail here.

So what's your favorite Valentine's Day treat? If you've written about it on your blog, you're welcome to leave a link to it in the comments section.

Sweet tooth still not satisfied? You might also enjoy some of my other recipes:
Decidedly Different Chocolate Chip Cookies (And How To Correctly Hug A Sheep)
Chocolate Biscotti For Beginners
Toasted Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Crazy Cookies (with chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, nuts, & oats)
Molasses Ginger Spice Snaps
Spicy Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Mexican Monkey Cake
Blueberry Breakfast Bars
Apple Blueberry Crumble Bars
Really Raspberry Tartlets
Cranberry Christmas Scones (tasty any time of year)
Lazy Susan's Whole Wheat Scones With Currants & Oats

Don't worry - we eat more than dessert here on the farm. We enjoy lots of homemade bread, too. And you'll find plenty of my Less Fuss, More Flavor savory recipes (let's hear it for vegetables!) in the sidebar of the Farmgirl Fare homepage under Previous Posts: Food Stuff W/ Recipes. May you always eat well.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where dessert often comes first, and it's never hard to rationalize eating chocolate cake for breakfast.

Farm Photo 2/10/08:Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies (For Now)

Yesterday's Sky Looked Fake

Which was especially nice to see since tomorrow the forecast says rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, thunderstorms, and ice pellets. How can that much weather be squeezed into one little day? Today it was sunny but windy and cold, and we spent much of it enjoying the brisk, fresh air while cutting a big load of firewood to keep us warm.

Some of you will recognize this photo of part of the hayfield as my favorite view on the farm. It also happens to be some of the view I'll see when I'm standing at the big stainless steel triple sink in the little artisan bread bakery we're slowly building (the sheetrock finishers will be here in a week!) - or looking out the window from the bedroom in the new living quarters above the bakery. I can't wait.

You know I love hearing about the weather in other places. What's it like in your neck of the woods?

Want to see more?
Other Photos Of My Favorite View
Same Scene, New View Photos
Hayfield Photos
Farm Landscape Photos

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where a day spent cutting firewood brings aching muscles but toasty toes, and we never need to Photoshop the sky.

Farm Photo 2/9/08: Donkey Update

We Call Them The Greys

Dinky (who is Dolores' son) has fluffed up for winter and is now definitely two different colors. At just over 7 months old, he's also officially taller than Dan (who's taking this news very well).

Daphne has her winter coat on, too, but all that bulk isn't just fluff. Yep, that's right. If all goes well, around the middle of April Daphne will have a baby - and Dan will become a Donkey Doodle Daddy. I wonder what color it will be.

Want to see more?
Donkey Photos
Daphne Photos
Dinky Photos
Dolores Photos

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Donkey Doodle Dandy is looking small but walking tall.

Farm Photo 2/8/08: Handful Of Heart Rocks

Today's Additions To My Collection

This afternoon I finished up an article about Valentine's Day treats for FoodieView (more about that on Monday when it's published) and headed outside to stretch my legs, enjoy some fresh air, and check on the sheep.

A quick lap around the front field and back up through the creek bed yielded all of these heart shaped rocks (though I realize the one on the right is a bit of a stretch). I figure it must be a sign of some sort. Either that or we just have a whole lot of heart shaped rocks on the farm.

Want to see more?
Pictures of my heart rock collection

A year of Farm Photos ago:
2/3/07: Stock Dog Extraordinaire
2/5/07: Hay Checkpoint
2/7/07: Cary Coming At You!

And two years ago:
2/1/06: Reflecting
2/2/06: New Purpose - Visual Pleasure
2/3/06: New Digs
2/4/06: Lucky 13 Likes To Be First Through Any Gate
2/5/06: And You Thought He Just Herded & Protected Them
2/7/06: My Seed Starting Headquarters (and seed starting tips)
2/8/06: There's Something About A Sunrise

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we love good food and rocks.

Farm Photo 2/4/08: Saturday Was A Snow Day

And Doris Was Thrilled

Not.

Want to see more?
Sheep Photos
Snow Photos
Farm Landscape Photos

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the sheep always let you know what they're thinking and all the animals believe Farmgirl Susan is directly responsible for the weather.

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 2/2/08: The Return Of Chucky

Happy Groundhog Day!

This is our resident woodchuck. Woodchucks are also called groundhogs, and when I woke up this morning for some reason I happened to remember that ,"It's Groundhog Day! And I have groundhog photos!"

We didn't see any sign of our woodchuck today which was perfectly fine with Joe, as he despises them with a passion that borders on obsessive—and hysterical. He has a valid reason for his hatred, which has to do with them building burrows out in the fields and cows falling into the burrow holes and breaking legs, but still.

When a forty-something, mostly sane man is standing at the living room window drinking his morning espresso and yelling, "CHUCKY! I SEE YOU OUT THERE WATCHING ME, YOU FURRY LITTLE BASTARD!" there's nothing you can do but try not to hurt yourself laughing.

There used to be a woodchuck living out in the hayfield. He could often be seen brazenly sunning himself in the grass in full view of The Shack, but never within a clear shot. He did this, according to Joe, for no other reason than to torment him. These staredowns between the two of them went on for years.

Then, thankfully, Chucky disappeared—until last November, which is when I took these photos. We were headed down to the barn to tuck in the sheep one afternoon and both spotted something moving in the small grassy pen adjacent to the barn.

"What the—"

"What was—"

And at the same moment we each realized who it was.

"IT'S CHUCKY!"


Home of the happy groundhog

And boy did Chucky have it good. He'd taken up residence under the stump of a fallen tree at the edge of the south facing hillside, building himself a burrow that included a downstairs residence, a covered porch, and an attached sun deck. It overlooked a beautiful, green, freshly seeded, high dollar expanse of what Joe soon started referring to as "his lawn."

Between his house and the lawn was a conveniently located fence which, while not entirely dog proof, did afford him an extra few seconds to dash into his burrow and escape any oncoming jaws of death. This had to be groundhog heaven on earth.

Chucky would spend each morning on his sunny lawn, rooting around with the squirrels and ignoring us unless I came too close with the camera. Then he would give us an evil stare and scurry into his house. Joe stayed remarkably calm during all this; he didn't even start toting a gun to the barn.

But when the donkey peddling cowboy and his dad were driving through one day and stopped their truck next to the pen then yelled, "Hey, Joe! Do you want us to shoot this woodchuck for you?" I quickly called out "NO! Thank you!" just in case.


Oh, Chucky! Where are you?

The morning sightings went on for about a week, and then Chucky again disappeared, though this time I think it was only into his burrow for winter. As I said, we didn't see any sign of him today, but if he did pop out in honor of Groundhog Day he most likely dashed right back into hiding.

Not only was the sun shining brightly, but there was snow all over his lawn. So I think we should all be safe (and sane) for at least another six weeks.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the furry foodie farm blog where woodland creatures sometimes run our lives and hunky farmguys always crack me up.

Farm Photo 1/31/08: Breakfast Blend

Winter Colored Sheep

But this is all about to be wiped out by white. It just started to snow, and they're predicting 7 or 8 inches of accumulation by tomorrow. Unfortunately we have a lot of driving to do today. Yikes.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where former California girls still get a little freaked out during snowstorms.

Farm Photo 1/29/08: Farmyard Kitty

Topaz Reminds Me Of A Teddy Bear

Want to see more?
Topaz Photos
Farm Cat Photos
Farm Cat Stories
Haybarn Photos
Haying Season Photos
Farm Landscape Photos

Update: A Place To Bark & The America's Giving Challenge $50,000 Grant
A huge thank you to all of you animal lovers who have so kindly donated to Bernie Berline's A Place To Bark non-profit animal rescue during this exciting and important fund drive. Bernie is absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity from around the world, and the Zoline Foundation is so thrilled by the tremendous response that they've upped their $25,000 matching donation (which has already been matched!) to $35,000.

Right now A Place To Bark is in second place in the Giving Challenge, but the competition is quickly gaining on us, and only the four charities with the largest number of donations (not the highest amount of money donated) will win the $50,000 grant. These last two days will be crucial. All it takes to help Bernie realize her dream of constructing a shelter building for the hundreds of animals she rescues each year is a $10 tax-deductible donation made through A Place To Bark's Six Degrees badge, which you can find at the A Place To Bark blog or on my previous post: A Place To Meow, A Place To Bark, Another Phone Call From A Foodie Farmgirl, More Prizes, & How To Turn Ten Dollars Into Fifty Thousand. 100% of all donations go directly to the animals.

Everyone who donates will automatically be entered in a drawing for all sorts of wonderful prizes, including signed copies of books and beautiful original works of art created by Bernie and other talented artists.

In addition, I'll be holding two separate drawings: one for a half hour phone call from this foodie farmgirl (we'll chat about whatever you like) and one for a signed copy of the fun new cookbook, The Cornbread Gospels, by Crescent Dragonwagon. Simply leave me a comment or send me an e-mail (farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com) letting me know you made a donation to A Place To Bark and if would like to be entered in one or both of the drawings. Again, thank you!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the dogs bark whenever they like and life is the cat's meow.

How To Contact Me

There's Nothing Better Than A Big Donkey Hello

Welcome to the farm!

I always love hearing from readers, and your feedback is always greatly appreciated. You're welcome to e-mail me at farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com, but please bear in mind that it can sometimes take me four to six weeks to reply.

If you have a question or comment about one of my recipes, please consider leaving it in a comment on the specific recipe post so others can read and benefit from what you have to say. I receive all blog comments via e-mail, so even if you leave a comment on a very old post I'll receive it and will do my best to reply.

I regret that I am no longer able to answer e-mail messages that are full of general questions about moving to the country or living on a farm. After spending countless hours over the past few years answering these types of messages and then never hearing back from 99% of the senders, I've realized that my limited time is better spent sharing more stories about my crazy country life, posting more recipes and photos, and of course maintaining the farm. However, I'm working on a page of Frequently Asked Farmgirl Questions that I hope to have ready one of these days.

Thanks so much for visiting Farmgirl Fare. I know there are a zillion places you can go online, and I'm thrilled that you've chosen so spend some of your time here with us.

All the best to you,

Farmgirl Susan
FarmgirlFare.com
InMyKitchenGarden.com

Farm Photo 1/27/08: Fence As Farm Art

Form And Function (And Unfortunately Falling Down!)

Want to see more?
Handmade Fence Photos
Farm Landscape Photos
Found Art & Farm Junk Photos

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we find beauty in the everyday and prefer to use terms like seasoned and weathered rather than broken down and falling apart.

Farm Photo 1/26/08: Donkey On Duty?

Faithful Chicken Guard. . .

Or Donkey Naptime?



I'll Let You Decide

But don't be fooled by the open eyes. Remember, Dan can even sleep standing up.

Want to see more?
Donkey Doodle Dandy Photos
Donkey Photos
Chicken Photos

A year of Farm Photos ago:
1/19/07: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life Is But A Dream
1/21/07: Nothing Slows Farm Boss Patchy Cat Down
1/25/07: It's Just Not The Same Without Her

Two years ago:
1/22/06: Not Stuck, Just Resting
1/23/06: Watered Down Handmade Fence
1/24/06: Slash
1/25/06: Dusk From A Different View
1/26/06: Can't Look Over Something? Try Looking Through It

And out of the kitchen came:
Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you grab forty winks whenever you can, and the donkeys are even cuter when they're sitting down.

A Place To Meow: Rescued Pets are the Best

A new furry face on the farm

Many of you know that last June our magnificent New Cat died suddenly, most likely from a snake bite. And then a week later we lost Gretel, a sweetheart of a tabby cat who was my beloved companion for 20 years. What you don't know is that early last November we lost yet another cat, one you'd never met (she was very private). Twin was a beautiful Siamese mix who was Molly Doodlebug's half sister.

Their mother, an incredibly smart calico cat named Ollie, was one of the seven semi-feral felines that came with Windridge Farm. There were several litters of kittens born before I was finally able to get everyone caught up and spayed and neutered.

Twin was an outdoor cat who came to live in the house after she'd had her leg badly torn apart, probably by a coyote. I didn't think she would ever walk again, but with the help of Dr. Susan's Cat Repair Kit, I nursed her back to health (hydrogen peroxide is an amazing thing!), her leg healed up just fine, and she spent ten happy years amusing us in her own quiet way.

She didn't meow, she couldn't purr, and she pretty much stopped moving around once she realized that inaction was the best way to lose The Doodle Monster's constant interest in attacking her.

With both Twin and Gretel gone, only 12-year-old Molly was left in The Shack. The thought of being the 4-1/2 pound Doodle Monster's only potential indoor victim terrified Joe so much that, despite the fact that he happens to be extremely allergic to cats, he suggested we rescue a couple of cats from the always struggling, always overcrowded, and always underfunded no-kill shelter that we've been donating money to for years. Then he let me go there alone.

On December 1st, I visited the shelter and adopted the three adult cats who had been there the longest—because really, three cats is only one more than two. (My dear friend Beth kindly pointed out that three is actually a full 50% more than two, but I told her we weren't doing the math that way and to please keep that fact to herself.)

Topaz, who is pictured above, had been living at the shelter for 15 months. There was a big 'QUARANTINE' stamped on her paperwork because she had bitten a small boy and a teenage girl, and nobody wanted to risk adopting her.

She was curled up on the bed within an hour, and when I crawled in next to her later that night she ever-so-subtly shifted her body so that it was pressed against mine, gave my hand a lick, and began to purr. I started to cry. She's a total foodie, and her favorite place to be is on Joe's lap.

Panther-like Whiskers (who now goes by Mr. Midnight) and frisky little Sarah Kate had both been at the shelter for 8 months. These two are the best of friends, and if they ever stop chasing each other around the house I'll snap some pictures of them and introduce you.

It's been a long time since I've lived with young cats, and adopting this instant family has been way too much fun. I forgot how much energy two-year-old cats have! It's been quite a change going from animals that lay still for so long you have to check to make sure they're still breathing to crazy critters who start their day by doing top-speed laps around the bedroom and bouncing across the bed to wake you up.


Settling Into Life On The Farm

Adopting a pet from a shelter is a win-win situation for everyone. As shelters go, ours is very nice and the animals are treated well. But it isn't home. I'm so glad we could finally give these wonderful, loving cats a real one.

February 2011 update: Topaz is doing great and (for three seasons a year) has turned into quite the farm cat. You'll find lots more photos of her here. You can meet Mr. Midnight here and Sarah Kit Kat Kate here. They're both doing really well, too.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the fur covered foodie farm blog where life is full of laughs and there's always plenty of fresh cream for the cats.

Farm Photo 1/16/08:Menu For Hope A Tremendous Success!

Yo! Do I look like I belong on a menu? I don't think so. And get your mitts off my mizuna!

As you can see, Whitey's foray into motherhood (which is so over, by the way) didn't soften her up one bit. At nearly eight years old, she's as feisty as ever - and having a grand time bossing everybody around. The other day she even laid an egg.

But this post isn't about Whitey The Chicken (though she would like it to be, and I do realize that an update about her and her chicks is long overdue); it's about the Menu For Hope food bloggers' fundraiser which raised a whopping $91,188.00 this year! Through the UN World Food Programme, over 86% of this money will go directly to an innovative school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa which helps not only hungry children but local family farms as well.

Thanks for all of your generous donations, to the dozens of prize donors and the regional hosts, and to Pim for creating this powerful event. Every year it just gets bigger and better. We had a stunning array of prizes raffled off this year, including some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. You'll find the complete list of prizes and winners here.

As for who won the phone call from a foodie farmgirl? A big congratulations goes to longtime Farmgirl Fare reader (and huge fan of my Oatmeal Toasting Bread recipe) Jane Gardner. I'm looking forward to chatting with her and am curious to see what questions she has for me.

And if you were one of the other bidders on my prize (thank you!), you're in luck. I'm going to be offering another phone call from this foodie farmgirl as an incentive for you to donate $10 during a very special January fund drive for one of my favorite charities, A Place To Bark, which is run by one of the most amazing people in the world, artist and animal lover extraordinaire Bernie Berlin.

More details will be posted here in a day or two, but if you hate waiting and want to find out right this minute how your $10, 100% straight to the animals, tax-deductible donation to A Place To Bark will be automatically doubled, then possibly turned into $50,000, which would then be turned into a much needed shelter building for the hundreds of unwanted dogs and cats Bernie rescues each year, you can pop over to A Place To Bark and read this post. Oh yeah, and you might even win one of several great prizes, too.

Thanks again to all of you who helped make this year's Menu For Hope such a tremendous success. We couldn't have done it without you!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog that's sometimes taken over by a small chicken with a big attitude.

100% Whole Grain Ginger Pear Bran Muffin Recipe Made with Honey (and Baking With Your Mom)

Moist and healthy bran muffins made without bran cereal and sweetened with honey. Going whole grain never tasted so good. Overripe pears are the secret!

November 2012 update: Click here to read rave reviews about these muffins from Farmgirl Fare readers, along with some great sounding recipe variations. And you'll find the original version of my wildly popular 100% Whole Grain Bran Muffins here (recipe includes four different flavors, plus all sorts of other ideas in the comments section).

"I'm getting tired of trying take pictures of bran muffins," I complained to my mother. "I love them, but they're just not photogenic."

"Why don't you take a picture of a perfect—oh wait, we don't have any perfect pears. I know! You can take a picture of that last overripe pear sitting next to a muffin!"

I pulled the pear in question out of the crisper drawer of the fridge and examined it.

"I can't put a picture of a bruised and battered piece of fruit on my blog. Nobody wants to see that."

"Why not? It's the secret to the muffins."

Farm Photo 1/12/08: Winter Wash & Dry

You've Heard Of Slow Food? This Is Slow Dry

I love my clothesline and use it all year round. There's nothing like the smell of sheets and towels that have been air-dried on a fresh breeze. Because I'm a certified shrinkmaster, even in winter I shy away from our dryer. (Okay, okay, the crazy thing terrifies me, especially now that it seems to have only one temperature: Flame. Thank god the air-only setting still works so I can fluff up bath sheets without too much fear of turning them into washcloths.)

January weather in Missouri isn't real conducive to line drying, though, so the dirty laundry has really started piling up. You know it's bad when you can do an entire load of only reds and pinks--and it's a king size load. I'm just grateful the sheep don't wear clothes.

Click here to see the R-rated version of today's photo.

Want to see more?
I've aired my clean laundry a couple of times before. You'll find it hanging here and here.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you never know what you're gonna find.

Farm Photo 1/10/08: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Feline Friend Or Furry Heat Detector?

Actually, the old tin roof on The Shack probably isn't real hot, but the woodstove chimney must put out some heat because cozied up next to it is one of J2's favorite winter places to be. Plus the view is great.

As for the big cracks in the top piece of the chimney, they happened when the whole thing flew onto the lawn during that bad storm back in July 2006 (the one where the greenhouse blew apart and Lindy The Chicken went missing). I figured we could just patch it back together with duct tape (I love that stuff), but Joe used some sort of special high-temp glue instead. So far so good.

Want to see more?
You'll find other pictures of J2 here, lots more farm cat photos here, and various farm life stories and tidbits here.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo 1/9/08:I've Been Adding To My Heart Rock Collection

In A Big Way

At 5-1/2 inches high, this behemoth is now the second biggest heart rock in my collection. (The ladybug that crawled into the photo shoot helps to give you an idea of its size.) I found it while we were out enjoying a walk around a neglected section of our property on Christmas Day. I can't think of a more perfect gift from the farm.

Want to see more?
You find several other photos of my collection of found heart rocks here, along with a few stories that help explain why a bunch of old rocks holds such a special place in my heart. One of the very first photos I posted on Farmgirl Fare back in June 2005 was of my heart rocks. I think it's an interesting sign that since then, nearly 200 more have joined them on the little stone ledge that hangs on the front of The Shack.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com

Farm Photo 1/7/08:Cute Things Come In Little Packages

Molly Doodlebug, Twelve Years Old & Still Only 4-1/2 Pounds

Want to see more?
You'll find plenty more pictures of Molly Doodlebug (aka The Doodle Monster) here. There are farm cat tales here and all kinds of cat photos here.

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com

Farm Photo 1/6/08: Stock Dog Inspection

Daphne Is Very Curious - And Bear Is Very Tolerant

Welcome New York Post readers!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

Want to see more?
--There are all sorts of Lucky Buddy Bear photos here
--You're find even more dog photos here
--There are other photos of Daphne here
--And more donkey photos are here

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo 1/1/08:A Donkey With A Sense Of Humor

That Daphne!

Wishing you a fun filled New Year!

A year of Farm Photos ago:
12/26/06: Reflecting On The Bigger Picture & The Little Things
12/27/06: New Cat All Fluffed Up For Winter
12/28/06: Warning Guard Donkey On Duty
12/30/06: Hot Crusty Bread Is Definitely The Stuff Of My Life
12/31/06: Farm Life Is Exhausting (Baby Cary Age Three Weeks)
1/1/07: Two Trees Dancing Under The Morning Mist

And two years ago:
12/26/05: In Loving Memory Of My Brother
12/31/05: Final Sunrise Of The Year
1/1/06: Best Wishes For The New Year
© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com