Tag: pumpkins

Mid Week Roundup

Posted on by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

I’m writing you a little early because I have simply so much news and I knew if I waited Thanksgiving would probably warrant some space in a post and honestly? These can get a little all over the place as it is haha. Also, let’s be real here, I’ll be in a food coma and totally forget to post if I wait. You know me, I know me, there no need to pretend.

So, to start, I’m sitting here, looking out a window that looks out over my neighbors field. It’s my office/bedroom window, it gets a lot of use, I see a decent number of deer, snow, and tractors out this window. A couple mornings ago, out this window, I saw a bobcat. 

And I lost my mind briefly. 

It was just sauntering along, in the bright of the morning, acting as though he isn’t a pretty major threat to several of the beings on my farm. Funnily enough, I didn’t actually believe my eyes at first, as they are generally pretty stealthy, but the more I looked at it, the more I couldn’t reconcile it with a barn cat. Then it clicked.

I went running (well, quick waddling, I was wearing fuzzy socks on hardwoods, I was not going anywhere fast unless I wanted to eat floor) to my parents room shouting at my dad to come verify, but he just missed him. He believed me though, and we are being extra cautious for a while, since we have visual confirmation of them in the area.

To be honest, I’m very aware they are around, I’m under no delusions they just moved in, but I sure like when I can be ignorant about it. Just like I’m aware wolves, moose, and occasional mountain lion stray down here, but if I don’t see them, I don’t have to consider it ya know? Although admittedly the moose usually make the newspaper. 

We had one shortly before I moved home permanently that took up residence in the school yard and the neighbors felt so bad for it, they started feeding it. I’m sure you can imagine why it decided to stay. So, they had to carefully relocate it for everyone’s safety. 

Speaking of the dogs and keeping them safe, (yes, it’s a loose transition but let me have it) we made pumpkin dog treats and the dogs have lost their minds over it.

It took forever to gather ingredients because little Watson has a yet-to-be-pinned-down-but-were-pretty-sure-its-eggs allergy, and a weird amount of dog treat recipes are adamant you can’t swap eggs. You can, for what it’s worth, most of the time swap eggs with applesauce. For the dogs I created dog treats from applesauce, oat flour, pumpkin, and peanut butter. I really wanted pumpkin in the treats because this time of year, when the dogs spend more time lounging inside than running around in the sun, they could use a little gut health help, if you catch my drift. They live in the freezer for preservation, but I pull a couple out for each dog, warm them a little in the convection oven and they get just soft enough to be nice for my toothless wonder, Scooby Doo. I tried them, for science, they were basically an unsweetened oat cookie, relatively meh. But the dogs loved them. Funnily enough, the horses? Not so much.

My guys have begging down to a very exacting science, and it’s pretty effective on the grandparents
But they aren’t supposed to be in the kitchen when mom cooks, because it’s too dangerous
So they all congregate on the rug just outside the boundary line, waiting patiently to clock any spills for later when they think I’m not looking
Yes, I made them heart shaped, I’m a totally ridiculous dog mom. I thought they’d be a good size for Watts, but they grew a little and I have to break them in half for him

In absolute amazing news of the week, Nellie wore a horse blanket for the first time ever! For a little context, I got the girls coolers for Christmas, basically for warm up and cool out so they can still have their fluffy winter coats and i can control body temp a little easier. I got one for Nellie because she can work up quite the sweat being terrified of whatever were learning about, but I didn’t expect her to actually wear it right away. My sweet girl has some sensory issues, touching things can be quite the meltdown, but she loves the cooler. I couldn’t believe it. I kept pushing it just a little more and more, planning to back off as soon as a couple cookies stopped fixing the scary, but she was happily wearing it, all cozy and warm, snacking on cookies, in no time. She’s definitely her mama’s baby, there’s nothing like a warm blanket and some cookies on a cold afternoon. I prefer chocolate chip though personally.

Badly framed horses, but the point was to prove blanket wearing!

Welp, I think that’s about it for us here, I have about a million little things to accomplish before Turkey Day, so I’ll leave it here. Happy early Thanksgiving! I hope your holiday is magical!

Until we chat again my friends! 

Punkins’

Posted on by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Pumpkins! Look at these pumpkins! Aren’t they cute? We took a couple to my uncle’s so they could decorate too, as well as some other produce. I don’t know if they will make it to Halloween, but I do think they brighten up the porch for the fall! They also prompted me to take a few minutes to myself with my camera, which hasn’t happened in a little while due to the craziness of the harvest season. Unfortunately, my editing software isn’t playing nice so those photos will have to wait for the next post, these were taken with my smartphone.

  • This photo won’t keep it’s intended aspect ratio… why?

I gotta say, while they don’t hold up as well overall, in most cases I am pretty impressed with the photos that come out of my phone’s camera. I’ve heard the newer phones are even better at that. Not as fun as exploring with a DSLR though, and no one can call or text my camera, so it still wins.

Watson was helping
“Mom, worry about the pumpkins later, let’s go play!!!!”

Speaking of craziness and cameras, I had a rapidly growing list of photoshoots my cousins wanted, namely two pregnancy shoots and a mother daughter shoot, and I thought “Why not pack them all into one day, since they are all sisters, we can make it a family event”. Good news, it was so much fun, and a lot of the photos turned out cute, the only downside was it was about a 4-hour nonstop process, and I was thoroughly exhausted by the time we were done. I had taken about 3000 photos? (The kiddos were all five and under so, much like with animals, sometimes you just have to furiously snap and hope you got something). I also picked up a little bit of a sunburn, because I wasn’t paying attention while roaming my aunt’s gardens in hunt for “the perfect backdrop”.

As I get those edited, if I get permission from the girls, I might be able to share those photos, or at least some of them. I don’t like to post other’s faces without permission, although that seems to be a dying sentiment as I often have to track down family members and explain why I really would prefer that picture of me taken down. Why are they never flattering? Maybe that’s a sentiment I don’t want to chase.

Honestly, I still maintain that photographing people is really stressful. I definitely think I’m getting better, and Lord knows I have enough family members that there’s never a lack of practice options, but I always worry that someone will be offended. I always make a point to return the candids with the fancy posed shots, so hopefully people are too busy laughing to notice that my editing skills need some work. I have super beautiful cousins too, so that definitely helps, instantly makes the photo better when the subject naturally lends itself to looking good.

My aunt gave me some pears this weekend as well, and I think I might make some pear bread with them. They are a different variety than I am used to but I’m sure it’ll probably be fine, right? Or it’ll be not fine, and we shall never speak of it again. So, ya know, the stakes are fairly low. I think I’ll make some pumpkin bread too, if I have all the ingredients. I hope so, as pumpkin bread is my all-time favorite bread. Either way, if they turn out, I’ll share the photos, if you never see it mentioned again, you can safely assume it went the way of that doomed cobbler and we can pretend it was never a thought.

Nellie Belle had her Gotcha Day this 26th! She got the day off, and lots of pats, apples, and carrots! She’s been my good girl for three years now, and I honestly can’t hardly believe how far she’s come. From the scared, underfed, little critter who shied away from everyone, would barge into me if I got too close, and called mournfully after every train that went by, to the bold, sassy little mare with a little bit of a tummy and a penchant for pickpocketing, she’s blossomed into an absolute riot to have around. She calls after us each time someone comes home, chases the lawnmower (from behind the fence, she’s safe, promise), and gently bullies her Uncle Christopher. To be fair, he dishes it just as much. He will walk out on the porch, stretch, and then absolutely bellow “NELLIE BELLE” at the top of his lungs. Which is usually followed by Nellie whinnying back and running toward the fence because she knows he will sneak her some cookies. They make quite the pair.

I seem to be having a hard time getting most of my photos to post this week, so there will be more Nellie Belle to come in the next few posts, but please enjoy this lovely one of my mom and Ro giving Nellie gotcha day hugs

This coming weekend I’m planning on hanging out and getting some winterizing done. It’s getting cold enough that I need to hook up the heat lamps and the water trough heater. Stay tuned for barn cleaning and prep antics.

Literally the only tree turning colors on the farm. I’m hoping to update the banner soon, but for now we stay summer themed

Until we chat again, my friends!