Dang Rocks

Remember when I said to just roll up your sleeves and get to work? There was something in there about hitting some rocks along the way, but not all of them?

I wrote that in the morning and by that afternoon I had hit more rocks than I care to count. And by rocks I do mean children being disrespectful, throwing fits and causing all sorts of trouble. Especially the oldest one. My word, where did that girl get her attitude from? She looks just like her dad so I am pretty sure it all comes from him. We got all the kids in bed a little early just to save ourselves. They all went to bed well and we patted ourselves on the back. Clearly the kids were all just tired and tomorrow would be a fresh start. We were so naive. So innocent in our thinking, because they had all decided that the next shift of "Break Mom" would be the littlest ones responsibility. At 5:30 am he started in on us. Screaming, crying and cussing us out in the way only 17 month olds know how to do. Was he hungry? Nope. Did he want to snuggle? Was he too hot? Too cold? Nope. Nada. Zilch. He just wanted to be miserable and make the rest of us miserable too. Did I mention that this child also looks just like his father? He finally settled down in his bed just as the middle child ran as fast as she could past his bedroom because she was 'about to pee my pants'. I heard the trickle. There was no urgency for that. She was just doing her part to bring mama down.

Kids. Not only can they smell weakness, but the can also smell when you are feeling a little bit accomplished. And they take their job of bringing you back to reality very seriously.

How can parenting be the hardest thing in the world to do and a half second later be the absolute best thing in the world. I would not trade this for anything in the world most days, but sometimes I would totally trade it just for an uninterrupted date with a cup of hot coffee. How is that even possible? To be so unexplainably good and bad at the exact same time. So, here I sit in my bathrobe next to a cup of very cold coffee wondering how in the world any mother has survived to be a grandmother. But in a few minutes it will be time to go do the morning animal chores. I am sure the fresh air will clear my head and I will come back in a new mama. And they will most likely been hard at work doing exactly what they aren't suppose to. But I have my cow, so at least there is that.

Fencing

                           

I didn't actually think we would get a fence at this house. After a few fencing bids for a very basic perimeter fence coming in around $3000 I really tried to let go of my farm dreams for this property. Because $3000 could go a long way towards the projects going on in the inside of our house. Which is what we are suppose to really be working on anyways.

Fast forward a year as we were driving through one of our favorite ranching communities. We had a lightbulb moment. You know the kind. We started talking and daydreaming and finally realized we should just do it ourselves. I really think one of the main reasons we hadn't considered it before was all the stories people will tell you about how hard it is. I am starting to think that all those stories are not always a firsthand experience and maybe people are just repeating what they have been told. Because it really was not that bad. It was actually very fun and rewarding. And addicting. We started on just one little section and then just couldn't help ourselves and kept going. Now our entire perimeter is fenced, plus our pasture. When we moved in just two sides had fencing. It is a huge relief to finally have something between us and the road. Plus, you can't have a cow without a fence. And if you don't have a cow you may as well just stay in bed and cry.

Seriously though! Hard work and being out in the fresh air with my favorite person will make any day a good day. Moral of the story; roll up your sleeves and do whatever it is you dream of doing. Even if everyone tells you it will be hard and you will hit rock after rock. You might hit some rocks, but you won't hit all of them.

Ellie Mae

Have I told you all about this sweet girl? Her name is Ellie Mae. She just turned 13 and I have had her since she was 6 weeks old. As most of you probably know my most recent birthday gift was pretty awesome. But this girl was my birthday gift years ago. I also got a pony for Christmas one year, but that is another story. Animals are clearly my love language. I joke that I have had Ellie longer than I have had Timothy, but it's true! She is aging gracefully don't you think? Aside from loss of most of her hearing and a bit of gray on her face you hardly know that she is a grandma dog. She can't get around quite as fast as one of her nicknames ' The Black Bullet' would imply, but in her younger years there was nothing that could catch her. She has chased off black bears. Stood between me and a mountain lion on a wilderness trail. While backpacking she will wake us up in the middle of the night to show us elk and moose. She loves my children. And has finally accepted that Timothy is part of the family. I just might have more memories that include this dog than anyone else and we all look forward to many more!

A Big, Big Announcement

Did you know that today is my birthday? And what else should a girl get for her birthday than her very own milk cow? Meet Penny. It might seem a bit odd, but I have dreamt of having my own milk cow since I was a little girl. I read and loved a lot of historical fiction books when I was young and think they influenced me a bit. But more than that, I think this lifestyle is in my blood. Not literally since no one else for many generations has been a farmer/rancher in my family, but I have it. And I have it bad. So on this post election day when many people are uncertain, I get to go outside and take pictures of my girl. I scratch her favorite spot and she sticks her big ol' nose in my face. Do you have any idea how good she smells? I am more content than I have ever been. And in all honesty this cow is going to give my family more security than any politician ever could. No matter what is going on outside of our farm we will have milk, butter and cheese. Not to mention the beef from her offspring. And let's not forget about the bacon! You may be thinking that I am crazy because cows don't make bacon, but you are wrong. Pigs thrive off of extra milk and whey. So if you are not sure how to proceed on this day after the election, consider going out and getting yourself a cow and making your community a better place. Or find yourself a husband who makes all your dreams come true. First, he got me geese and now a cow! And you know what? He loves her just as much as I do. Gosh, I love that man.

Roller Coaster Week

The big news around here is obviously the new sheep. We have never had sheep before and purchased three young ewes last week. They are all 5 months old. The two spotted face girls are twins. They are a cross between Suffolk (wool sheep) and Katahdin (hair sheep). If you care to know, their names are Willow and Daisy. Willow is the leader of the group and thankfully is very friendly and enjoys getting her belly scratched. If I can get Willow to do what I want then I can get the other two to do it to. But lets be honest, all I really need to get them to do right now is to come over and snuggle me. The third sheep is that cute little white one. Her name is Radish and she is as cute as a button and sounds like she has a frog in her throat when she goes Baaaaaa. Radish is a Barbados Katahdin cross. Those are both hair sheep. And in case you couldn't figure it out for yourselves hair sheep have hair and wool sheep have wool. Your welcome for that very scientific answer.

Along with the sheep there have been the usual projects going on. Start painting this or that and then stop half way through and work on something else.

I guess we did get our entire pasture fenced within the last few weeks. Neither of us have ever built a fence. We feel pretty good after accomplishing that. I will try to remember to get a picture of it for next time.

Saturday was our first big butcher day. And let it be known I hate butcher day. Really hate it. For two days I wasn't able to eat meat. We butchered 16 ducks and 4 chickens of our own. Plus, 2 chickens that a cousin brought over. He helped with all of them and we were very grateful. My job was catching all the birds. It was probably the most emotional job I could have had except for the actual killing. It really brought it home that I was the deciding factor of wether they live our die. We decided the catching would be my job since the animals are calmest with me since I am the person they see the most. There is a saying that farmers only want their animals to have one bad day, but we like to try and take it a little farther. We don't want our animals to know that it is going to be a bad day and we try to keep everything as calm and clean as possible. Which means, me doing the catching and Timothy doing the killing here in our backyard. As much as I hate butcher day I hate factory farming more. So at the expense of me crying over our chickens and ducks my family is fed and my animals had a great life.

All in all this past week has certainly had its ups and downs. But so it goes with this life.

Happy Monday friends.

A Day Late and A Dollar Short.

I can't decide. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I have accepted this saying as my theme lately?

A day late and a dollar short...

It doesn't matter what I do each day there are at least 20 other things that I didn't do. And this is coming from someone who tries as hard as they can to keep things simple. How do other people do it? How do you busy, productive people stay sane? I have a busy week and it takes me two weeks just to recover. I would ask for all of your specific tips and tricks, but let's be honest, I am not the type of person to follow someone else's routine. Heck, I can hardly follow my own routine. Which is actually no routine. Can a person even do that? Have your daily routine actually be no routine?

And before you all start picturing me watching TV and eating bon bons all day.... I did get garlic planted, harvested some herbs for drying and fluffed up the nesting boxes with other herbs to make the ladies egg laying experience a bit better today. But I did not do the dishes or put away the giant pile of laundry. Plus, we don't have a TV. I also completely forgot to go grocery shopping while I was in town. I must have gotten distracted by my latte....

Annnnyhhooo. Maybe, my mind will clear up once this danged election is over. Are there actually people out there who are actually enjoying this? I mean, beside the celebrity politicians and their bands of groupie's? Have you looked at Facebook lately? It is all out war. Normal people. Where are all the normal people? How did all these crazy people become my friends on Facebook anyways? But, if I start deleting all the crazies I think I would be left with 2.5 friends. And then who would read my blogs? If you happen to be a normal person, stay strong out there. We only have a few more weeks to go until #NoVoteNovember. And if you happen to be one of the crazies... Go take a cold shower and promise yourself that you will not say anything political today. You will thank me later for saving you the embarrassment for at least this one day.

Huckleberry Pie

I made a goal at the beginning of the month to start my little blog back up. I even wrote it down in my bullet journal. It was official. I had a new vision for us and a new style all pictured in my head. I had plans of doing some sort of Flash Back Friday thing using these Huckleberry Pie pictures that I took last Spring. I sat down last Thursday while the kids were napping and began typing. And all of a sudden the 347 blog post that I have swimming around in my head at any given time decided to take a nap along with my children. I'd type a sentence and delete a sentence. Type another sentence and delete that one as well. This was definitely a good start. Well. 

Good morning friends! Welcome back to Havenrock. After a summer of craziness on the farm I am back and enjoying the prospect of writing a bit more. I'm not going to lie, I need to get those 347 blogs out of my head. So I can focus on the more important things.... Like getting a milk cow. 

Have a wonderful Monday!

Hike Night

In the craziness that is Spring on a farm we have had to push the stop button. One night, once a week, we pack up our dinner and leave.

Sometimes we eat in the car, sometimes on the trail, but no matter what, we go hiking.

We have to. We need to recharge. Even when you forget that your family will indeed need to actually "eat".

You mean to tell me that these people want dinner every single night??? But they already had breakfast! Aaaannnndd lunch! Here children and hard working husband, drink some water for dinner.

Obviously, I would never actually only offer water for dinner, unless someone gave me an attitude, but that is a whole other post. I'd offer them all a banana and milk smoothie..... That'll fill 'em up.

So what is a mama to do when she needs to feed her family the day before grocery day, and she forgot to pull any meat out of the freezer? Not to mention it needs to be pack-able.

Well, I did what I always do when I need direction for my life. I headed on over to my favorite blog. Thank goodness for Shaye and her Irish Farls!

And thank goodness for hike night.

And family time.

And being unplugged from our to do list.

And getting to watch a male Grouse do his thing to try and impress the ladies. He was pretty awesome. He was strutting and dancing and making his Grouse noise just a few feet from us.

And thank you Lord for food.

Pastry Dough

Oh this dough. I really can't say enough about it. It has made its way onto our plates many times these last couple weeks. I use it with both savory and sweet fillings. Each time thinking this new filling is my favorite. Making dough is by far my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. Pies, breads, pasta, pizza dough and now pastry. I enjoy the process.

This recipe is for two Gallettes, because one is never enough. Heck, two is barely enough. Especially when feeding the 5 mouths in this family.

You will need:

- 2 1/2 C. White Flour (Do yourself a favor and please use non-GMO)

- 1/2 tsp. Salt

- 16 Tbs (2 sticks) Butter

- 1/3 C Plain Whole Milk Yogurt

- 1/2 Cold Water 

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 400.

Step 2. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix together.

Step 3. Cut the butter up into small chunks. Add the butter into your flour and salt and mix with your hands. Smash and pinch the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs. Use both hands and really get into it. 

Step 4. Add the yogurt. It should look about like this.

Step 5. Slowly add in the water. It does not take much and this can vary from cook to cook and even batch to batch. You want it to feel somewhere between biscuit dough and pie crust. 

Step 6. Now flour your work surface and knead, gently. We don't want to over do it. So probably 3-5 actual kneads would be good. Now cut your dough in half. See the layers forming and the pieces of butter? That is what we want.

Step 7. Roll it out and fill with whatever goodness your heart desires. If it will take awhile to prepare your filling go ahead and place the dough in the refrigerator. We don't want the butter pieces to melt.

Step 8. Fold the edges up over the filling and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. 

And enjoy! Happy eating friends!

What are you going to put in yours?