May and June Catch-Up

It’s been a crazy spring.  Cold and wet.  We’re closing in on the middle of June, and  the fields are not fully planted yet.  Lee has been planting as the fields dry out, but he still has to plant around the wet spots.  It’s raining again today so no planting for a few days.  We just haven’t been getting enough time between the rains to let the ground dry off.  We just have to be patient and wait and see how it all works out.  Lee’s definitely feeling the pressure.

The good news is that the rains have brought lush growth to the pastures.  Too lush for the minis, but the sheep are benefiting from all the lovely grass.  Of course we went from seldom  mowing the dry, brown grass last summer to frequent mowing this spring.

It’s been fun watching my bird feeders this spring.  So many colorful birds.  I had two indigo buntings coming to the feeders for a few days.  They must have been just passing through because I haven’t been seeing them lately.  I saw at least half a dozen orioles in a tree just in front of the house.   It was before the tree had fully leafed out so it was a gorgeous riot of color in the tree.  The orioles have been using the nectar feeder I set up for them.  Lee’s favorite birds are the cardinals and he also likes blue jays.  I think because he can easily identify them.  We’ve had lots of turkeys, our sandhill couple is back to nest here again, and we’ve been seeing deer come out of the woods every day.  We can sit at the kitchen table and enjoy seeing the wildlife while we eat a meal.

Charlie has a new collar, which has a QR Code tag.  It can be read by any smart phone that has a QR Code reader app.  It also will send you to a website if you don’t have a reader.  On the website is Charlie’s ID page, which has contact information and health history.  It was very inexpensive.  The collar with tag was $10.99, I think, and you can get just a tag for less.   Just go to FurCode.com, or they also have a Facebook page.

Charlie is 10 years old now and he’s begun to have some health problems as he ages.  Recently he injured his back, but healed quickly, thank goodness.

We are going to Oklahoma in July, and we’ll have to board Charlie at a kennel.  He’s only been boarded a couple of times and the last time was a bad experience so I’m  nervous about doing it again.  We’ll be taking him to a different kennel this time and I got references from the vet, so I’m really hoping it will be okay.

The family are all doing well.  We’re so excited to be going to OKC for Leah and Craig’s wedding.  It’s turning out to be a wonderful family reunion too.  I just can’t wait to see everyone, and this will be the first time in years that I’ll be together with all 3 of my kids at once.  It’s going to be fun to have Lee coming along.  It’s so hard to get him to leave the farm.

Here are fairly recent pictures of Carys (at her archery lesson), Payten at 3 years old, and Noah.

May I Help You?

Younger generations prefer to learn their own lessons in life.  It’s always been that way.  They don’t often take the advice of their elders.  Do I, as an elder, have a responsibility to share the wisdom of my experience with my children and grandchildren if I know it can make their lives better?  Yes, of course.
I started on this train of thought this morning.  The TV was on, and there was a cooking and lifestyle program on.  The host of the show is a popular local personality.  I admire her and enjoy her program, and some of her recipes.  This morning she made a chicken dish that contained several processed foods….Velveeta, Nacho Cheese Doritos, and a can of some kind of cream soup.  This is wrong, wrong, wrong!  I feel that this much loved and admired local celebrity has a perfect platform for educating the public on clean eating, whole foods, the evils of processed foods.  I’d love to see her advocating for home cooked real food, and teaching young moms how to feed their children healthy and nutritional meals.  I feel so strongly about this that I wrote to her this morning.
Back in the day, when I was a young mom , I cooked and prepared nearly everything that my little ones ate.  Over the years, as times changed, more processed and prepared foods found their way into my kitchen.  We ate out often.  Healthy eating was a thing of the past.  Along with the convenience came health problems including obesity and diabetes.  I’d love to spare my younger family members the consequences of poor nutrition choices.  I’d love to help them learn how to shop wisely and cook good meals even when they’re busy and working.  I’d love to clean all the junk food out of their lives.  I have a lot of experience to share and I hope that my grands will remember that I am a resource for them and always happy to help them.
If you want to get started on feeding your family real food, please visit this website.  It was an eye opener for me, and will also point you to other good resources.  http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

The graphic on this page is from the government’s My Plate webpage.  You can enlarge it by clicking on the picture.   If you’re a fan of Pinterest there are many My Plate boards with lots of good recipes.

April 2013 Newsletter

Shirley and I made our annual trek to Las Vegas.  Fun and relaxation were had by all.  Our only disappointment was that the Donny and Marie show was cancelled and we had been looking forward to it.  We did go to Blue Man Group and that was a fun and very loud show.  We had good seats, and we enjoyed the show.  Weather was a bit chilly on the first couple of days but it made for very comfortable walking.  We had some excellent meals, including the Cravings buffet at the Mirage.  We visited the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.  It’s an aquarium.  We got free tickets through the MLife Players Club rewards game , My Vegas.
I have an album of photos from our trip on Facebook.  Here’s the link. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200307594110975.1073741826.1187642981&type=1&l=44bed9c791
Weather has been the topic of conversation all month.  Wet and cold!  I don’t know when the fields will be dried out enough to begin spring field work.
Lambing began mid month, and there are still 2 ewes left to lamb.Again this year there are triplets and twins.  We had one poor ewe who had toxemia and lost her twins, but Lee was able to save the ewe.  It seems like lambing season is never trouble free.  I’m not sure how many lambs there are, but I’m guessing 22.  Mostly boys!  The little guy in the picture was born with the huge black spot on his hip.  It will fade with time.

 
Collin is back on American soil, back from Afghanistan.  It’s a huge relief.  We’ll see him in July, along with the rest of the family, when we go to OKC for a wedding.

 
The horses are shedding!   They’re itchy and need to be bathed and brushed, but it’s too cold.

I’m enjoying the return of the migratory birds.  I’ll bet the birds aren’t all that happy to be back.  Kildeer are nesting on the cold ground.  Robins are finding worms now but I wonder what they ate while the ground was still frozen.  The barn swallows are here, but we don’t have any bugs yet!

Not Made in China

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that all pet owners are pretty fed up with the China Connection as it relates to dog food and treats.  When I’m looking for treats for Charlie I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading the labels.  I’ve found a couple that I feel are safe to give him, but  I could probably make treats for him in the same amount of time I spend  reading labels and researching recall lists.
Here are some treat recipes you might like to try.  I’m also giving you horse treat recipes, just because I love my minis and they do get  treats sometimes as well.  They love bran muffins!

ROVER’S REWARDS
3/4 cup hot water or meat broth/stock
1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour
Pour the hot water/broth over the margarine and mix to melt it.  Stir in the powdered milk and egg.  Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Knead 3 to 4 minutes, adding more flour as needed, to make a very stiff dough.  Roll to 1/2 inch thickness and cut out with cookie cutters or cut into rectangles sized for your dog.  Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 325 for 50 minutes/  Cool and let dry until hard.  Yields about 1/4 pound of treats.
PUMPKIN AND PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.     Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
3.     Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.
Makes about 25 treats.
HORSE TREATS
PARTY CONES
Wafer ice cream cones
Mix together:
1 shredded apple
1 shredded carrot
1/4 cup horse feed (pellets or whatever you feed)
1 1/2 cups bran
Enough molasses to hold it all together.
Stuff the mixture into the cones.
Or, you can stuff it into cored apples.  These treats are sized for full size horses.  For minis, they only need about 1/4 of a treat.  They’ll tell you they want more, but don’t listen.
You can also modify the dog biscuit recipes for horses.  Experiment!

Garlic Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts

Photo from Eating Well.com

 

 

 

This recipe is from Eating Well.com.  I made it last night and we loved it.  Brussels sprouts are a favorite vegetable around here, and we love salmon.  The garlic, wine, and oregano really flavor the fish and veg perfectly.  The bonus is that it was fast and easy to make.  I had frozen brussels sprouts on hand so that’s what I used.  I thawed them in advance in a colander, to make sure they were nice and dry before I roasted them.  I also halved the recipe because I only had 1 lb of salmon and there are just 2 of us.

 

 

GARLIC ROASTED SALMON AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Ingredients

14 large cloves garlic, divided
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
6 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
3/4 cup white wine, preferably Chardonnay
2 pounds wild-caught salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 6 portions
Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Mince 2 garlic cloves and combine in a small bowl with oil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Halve the remaining garlic and toss with Brussels sprouts and 3 tablespoons of the seasoned oil in a large roasting pan. Roast, stirring once, for 15 minutes.
Add wine to the remaining oil mixture. Remove the pan from oven, stir the vegetables and place salmon on top. Drizzle with the wine mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition

Per serving: 334 calories; 15 g fat ( 3 g sat , 9 g mono ); 71 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 33 g protein; 3 g fiber; 485 mg sodium; 921 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (107% daily value), Potassium (27% dv), Vitamin A (20% dv), Folate (19% dv), Magnesium (17% dv)

Carbohydrate Servings: 1/2

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat, 2 fat