Friday, April 30, 2010

An Afternoon on the Farm

Two weeks ago, on a gorgeous southern Sunday afternoon, our family had the chance to visit our county extension agent at his home in Fruitdale, in Washington County. We enjoyed the trip there, traveling south and then north again to get around the Mobile River delta. The extremely rural South is most definitely beautiful.

Mr. Richard welcomed us with some bags of bread and crackers to feed the poultry. The guinea were amusing to me. I had never seen any before. Their bodies are shaped like tanks, but they have skinny little necks. They were friendly and noisy. We asked about the eggs they lay, and found out that the shells are so hard, they can fall out of a tree and not break.

Tom the turkey was quite impressive. He and his mistress, Ruby, strutted around the property. He would gobble back when we gobbled at him.

We moved along to see the goats next, but stopped to pet the horses and mules on the way there.Along the way, we fed the mama horse with her brand new baby colt. He was still skittish, since he hadn't been around people very much yet. Helen's hand was so little, she had to have help to hold out corn.The pasture was planted in clover. It was just beautiful.We waited while Mr. Richard called the goats. Their charge was like an epic battle scene. We stood our ground. Owen had really warmed up to the animals by now, and held out lots of corn on his own.Helen loved it too.And so did Jack.We tramped onward to see the baby goats.Otis the Billy Goat was a constant, close companion.As was this pretty nanny. Isn't she a looker?! We held some babies. Their squeals at being caught weren't like what I had imagined the polite bleating of a goat to be. I think I will need to adjust my animal sounds when reading to the children.

I never knew goats were so cute!
Jack was in wonderment.So was another kid."High on a hill stood a lonely goatherd..."
This proud rooster strolled by us. After we checked the chickens and gathered the eggs, we went inside to the incubator to welcome some new little chicks to the world.
The kids were amazed and a little confused. Since we don't have a rooster amongst our chickens at home, all the eggs are infertile. One of the kids' theories was that roosters lay the eggs with the baby chicks in them.

I cringed repeatedly and apologized to the baby chicks for all the rough handling, but we learned that for the first 24 hours of their lives, they are extremely resilient. After the first day, they become fragile. At least I had that knowledge to keep me from panicking...too much. The baby chicks held our attention for a great long while.Mr. Richard brought Rudy, the miniature horse, for some quick rides.
We stayed for a very nice supper, then went on our way home with 4 new chickens and a goose egg.

We had such a great time, and hope to go back again to see our new animal friends (and Mr. Richard.)

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Easter Makey-Makey

I started Helen's Easter dress several weeks before Easter. I finished it several days before Easter. And now I'm posting about it nearly a month later.

I used fabric from my stash. The bias tape around the neck and sleeve holes was vintage; the zipper was also truly vintage, all thanks to my sister-in-law Leslie's late grandmother. The zipper even happened to have been used already, but carefully removed and saved by the same grandma. I chose to be slightly amused, but simultaneously grateful that I didn't have to speed to a fabric store to buy one.It needed something else, so I messed around with the leftover bias tape from the hem. I didn't have quite enough to make a rosette, so I ended up adding a few buttons and beads from my stash to make a pin.

We got a few snapshots of the family before the kids dropped food on their clothes from lunch and fell apart from needing naps.That afternoon we got together with family for an egg hunt and Easter dinner. I made Easter Egg Bread, which was more of a novelty recipe than a dying-to-eat-that-one-again recipe. At least it looked pretty! The leftovers made an excellent bread pudding.The bunny ended up as part of an egg, ham and potato casserole.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Seasonal First

I just finished unclogging my camera yesterday; fortunately, it wasn't anything similar to unclogging the kitchen drain, which we also did yesterday. Wow. I still want to scrub the inside of my nose out with a Brillo pad. When the garbage disposal makes the stuff you put down the previous day bubble up into the other sink, you know it's time to get the ol' snake out. Thank goodness for a husband who was sympathetic enough to stop work for an hour and come to my immediate rescue! But all that was an aside, and hopefully not a seasonal first.

Several weeks ago the kids enjoyed the first ice cream cone of the year. They didn't care that it was a cheap-o box of Joy cups and not-so-premium (but totally free) bucket ice cream. They licked and chomped their way through, then of course, begged for more. That's when this Momma was grateful for the "You've had your limit!" phrase. Ice cream tastes so much better when you're surrounded by friends!
And do you think Jack loved his very first ice cream cone ever (in my memory)?