Broiler BBQ comp.

Last month was our County Broiler BBQ. Both girls competed and Emily took first place! I wish I could have got a photo of her when they announced her name. Those pretty blue eyes were dancing. She was so thrilled that she pulled me in front of her and tried to hide.

Spring

You know spring has finally arrived when you start finding the wild flowers popping up. After all of this years snow, I'm more than ready for green things.

Calendar Op

Rachel loves trying to pose her chicks. These are the new 4-H birds at 3 days old. She wants to train one to do tricks and has settled on teaching one how to beat a drum.

Here we go again

It's that time of year again. Our chicks have arrived for this year's 4-H Poultry Chain. Twenty Five one day old fluff balls. This batch seems to be much more aggresive than past years, but they are going to fit into our schedule just fine. It's kinda funny to have birds that want to stay up all night though.

Holy Snowflake Frosty!

Ok...I was just feeling fine until I read the forecast for tomorrow.

http://www.4029tv.com/weatherblog/index.html

 

I don't need 4-8 inches of snow...I've still got leftovers from last week.

 

snow for my princess

So, guess who's not going any where? LOL Yep, that would be me. Snow in Arkansas is usually limited to a dozen flakes or so. This year, I think we're making up for all those years of no snow.

I'm not sure who likes it more....the Huskey's or the twins. You should have seen Bob. He tried so hard to find his ball buried under all of it. He still hasn't...and both he and the girls have dug all over the circle yard trying to locate it.

I love how this old cedar trees weighed down with snow always shelters the rabbits. It makes such a great wind break that they're nice and warm....as much so as if i had a heater in there.

Wally and his ladies were not as fortunate this storm. The wind direction must have changed during the night and caused the drifts. In any case, he's not letting his girls far from his sight. They are still laying...ten eggs today from 7 layers. I got 6 yesterday.

The poor guineas and wyandottes...They're my free range birds. Guineas, for those of you that don't know; are an African bird. They do not know what to think of this snow. They wouldn't walk out of thier coop....more to follow.

Mr. Wyandotte. It's a good thing he doesn't weigh much and can pratically stand on top of the snow. Otherwise, it would be past his belly.

Mrs. Wyandotte...and the Guinea is "Miss Ginny". I laugh when I see these two. The only thing missing in the photo is a fence that they can gossip over.

Looking out at the woods from the back yard.

more back yard...

Camalinda rode around on Rachel's arm until I made her put him down. The snow is deeper than he is and he does not wish to try and tunnel through it.

From the edge of the woods looking out over the house towards Uncle Tim's mountain. If the sun were shining, it would be blinding. The twins wanted to know if this was a blizzard. They were both sure that it had to be. Nope. just a heavy snow......The stinkers had to get confirmation from grandma that it was not a blizzard. They've come to the conclusion that this is more snow in one day than they've had in their entire lives.

The road to the pond....

and the pond...completely frozon over, but not thick enough for skating. No animal tracks either so the bear and deer are not moving out of their dens yet.

They're ready for snow ice cream. Good thing about country snow is it's pretty clean.

Rach, trying to get even, caught in the act of shaking the tree so that it would dump snow on Emily.

How come grown up's don't appreciate snow the way kids do?

I guess I'm more of a chicken.....I'd just as soon not be in the snow.

Miss Ginny has decided to roost in a tree. Mrs. Wyandotte was under her on the ground and not at all happy that she couldn't quite get high enough to join her.

All of the schools are closed, a good number of the businesses, church has been cancelled, some of the towns are even keeping their officers home unless called out for an emergency. We ended up with a total of one inch ice buried under 6 inches of very wet heavy snow. The kind that is perfect for making snow forts and snow balls and snow angels.... It seems like much more trying to walk through it. I do wish I had a 400 mm lens for my camera. I'd love to photograph some of the song birds. They are most lovely against all the white.

QT Posters

Here's one for ya! Every year in Scouts, I have 'my' girls make body posters. This year the twins helped and made some too. After they finished them, we cut them out and taped them to their bedroom doors. Just another fun thing to keep us busy.

Snow!

The new year brought snow. Anyone care to have it? I've seen enough of the white stuff to last me the rest of my life. Chickies weren't to excited about it either. They wouldn't come out of thier coop for days. They acted like they were afraid to step on it. As you can see in the photo, the girls tried to 'encourage' them by putting Carmalinda outside.......first chance he got, he flew straight back into the coop.

I should also mention that the bantams started laying. Surprised all of us because of the extreme cold and lack of sunlight.

no news is good news?

Just in case any one is looking for me...I thought I'd let you know that I can't get my home computer to go online. It makes for difficult communication...such is life.
I've got some neat photos to post when I get it figured out.
We woke up to snow..about 2 inches...on Christmas morn. No big deal if we didn't live in a southern state. The girls, of course, are thrilled. It took them all of 3 seconds I think to start throwing snowballs. After the second one hit grandma's window..if figured we might best put a halt to their exerberance.
The poor chickens and guineas!!! They are afraid of the white stuff and will NOT come out of their coops. Rachel tried to put her banty rooster out and oh how beautiful his red feathers look again the pure white...but the little guy just stood there trying to find a way back in to the nesting boxes. Today, a few patches have melted here and there and when we opened the doors to the coops, they all flew out in one big cloud of feathers. Straight into the trees and what ever clear ground they could find. They are not happy.
I leave you with prayers and best wishes. Ya'll stay warm and safe.

12 Days to Christmas

I don't see how we're going to shop for any gifts this year, but that doesn't mean we can't still celebrate Christmas. What are we celebrating anyway. Surely, it's not financial viability.

We started out by attending a 4-H Knitting workshop. I think we all learned a bit. I still can't knit, but I did pick up some information that helps. The girls got it and that's what counts most.

At home, we made a Pineapple Upside Down cake for the pot luck that evening. I'm including the recipe here. It's from my grandmother's cookbook...can't tell you which one, cause it's so old that it's fallen apart and the title/cover is missing. I think it might have been one of the first Betty Crocker's---but I'm really not sure. All I know is this is the one I use. It's quick, easy, and always good.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 

1 8 1/2 ounce can sliced pineapple

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 maraschino cherries, halved

***

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Drain Pineapple, reserving syrup. Halve Pineapple slices.

Melt butter in 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Add brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the reserved pineapple syrup.

Add water to the remaining syrup to make 1/2 cup.

Arrange Pineapple in bottom of pan. Place a cherry half in center of each slice.

 

Cream together shortening and granulated sugar till light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla: beat till fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt: add to creamed mixture alternately with the 1/2 cup reserved pineapple syrup, beating after each addition. Spread over pineapple.

Bake in moderate oven (350 F) for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; invert on plate. Serve warm.

 

Later, we attended a "Girls Night Out" with Girl Scouts. Especially for mom's and thier daughters. The food was great! There wasn't even a single crumb left from our cake. The twins and I did a couple crafts together, and they both loved being able to play the Wii. That's something they seldom have the opportunity to do since we don't own one.