how did I miss it...National Hug-a-Goat Day?

Okay friends, this goat-wrangler has missed a new (to me, anyway)
national holiday...forgive me! 

Here's wishing you a belated (September 7)
and happy...

Hug-a-Goat Day!

farmgirl photo...

I have a feeling, that this isn't far away...

The sun is shining, but it's not fooling me...the wind from the north is icy. It's downright winter coat, fuzzy mittens, wooly scarf-wearing weather!

The Farmer's Almanac says to expect a "bitter cold" winter...
friends, I do believe it's on the way.

a fall-time tour...

Although the temperature was frosty 26 degrees this morning, once the day warmed up, it was looking like autumn around the farm. The leaves are falling, the nights are crisp, and homemade cocoa has become a daily must-have.

Time to pull out some of my very favorite fall snapshots...

 

 

I just love, Love, LOVE fall...for me, this is the best time of year!

so funny...vintage goat notice!

I have no idea if this notice, dated 1854, is authentic or not...
but, as a new goat-wrangler, 

it made me laugh out loud!

bringing home the goats!

On my last post, you met the newest faces on the farm, but I had to share with you
these two faces...the kids bringing the goats home!

This is Tardis...he's definitely soaking in the scenery outside the window.

I have pictures of the other three goats on their journey home, but let's just say they're a bit, well, chaotic. Yes, I think that's a good word to describe it.

Yep, 

     4  goat kids
                               
+   2  kiddos in the back of an Expedition (traveling at a snail's pace)

=       something we'll always remember!

good things come in 3's...

Yes, good things do come in 3's!

...three, 4-leaf clovers

Remember this this post, when I found a 4-leaf clover? The chances of finding one are slim...
it's said for every 10,000 3-leaf clovers you find, you may find only one, 4-leaf clover.

That same day, I found 2 more...I was stunned, and thought, "Wow, something good must be about to happen!"

...three new hens

A friend of ours decided that 6 of her hens needed a new home...she had already found a home for 3 of them, and wondered if we'd mind taking the remaining ones.

And so that's how Eulalie, Alma, and Ethel came to Windy Meadows Farm. Sweet Girl had just been in The Music Man, and for those of you familiar with the musical, those are
the Pick-a-Little Ladies...and because those new gals chatter non-stop, the names are perfect!

...three new goats!

Here's another post from mid-summer...do you remember the sweet little face of G. B. the bottle-fed kid from our 4-H advisor's farm? We all fell in love with him when we had the chance to goat-sit for a weekend! Not long afterward, my hubby sent a text from a 4-H meeting, it read: "So, do you want THREE wethers?"

Did I? He already knew the answer!

Back in March, this was one of my birthday presents...a gift certificate that said:

And so, it's been a month now, it's time you met the newest members of the family
(almost 4 months old):

Oh, and yes, this pixie-eared fella, too...



I know, that's 4, not 3...but he needed a home, too. And Sweet Girl had fallen in love with those little ears!

A new adventure begins on the farm...and we couldn't be more excited. Actually, Little Man has become quite the goat-herder. (Listen, do you hear Julie Andrews singing this from The Sound of Music?

    "High on a hill sat a lonely goat-herder, Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo..."

                                    (I can't get it out of my mind!)

And so you may wonder, what's on my nightstand for some pleasant, bed-time reading these autumn nights?

Why, Raising Goats for Dummies, of course!

visiting a neighbor's farm...

Kitties....

and bunnies...

and newborn alpacas...oh my!

These little faces should start your week off right...

Happy Monday, friends!

farmgirl photo...

A neighbor's horse farm on a hazy morning.

time flies...

The late September air seems to urge us to get busy. Only a couple of days ago, we awoke to a temperature of 38 degrees...it felt as if the chill of winter was approaching. On went the flannel sheets, a hard look was taken at the stack of wood in the barn, and plans were discussed on how to best keep the chickens and bees warm this winter.

Some mornings have been hazy, veiling the roads and landscape on our early-morning drive to school. The farm fields surrounding us have grown shaggy as corn and beans dry out, and yesterday, the first combines appeared to gather the harvest. 

Last week our own garden was put to bed for a long winter's rest. Well, all of it except for the pepper plants (Why are they more prolific now than they have been all summer?) and the kids' garden patches, which are still blooming with cosmos, zinnias, 8-foot sunflowers, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Apples have been turned into applesauce, peaches are now peach jam, and pears were eaten right away! Our first fruit tree harvest was small, but what a joy to pick fruit from our own trees.

 

The pace of summer is winding down, and we've found ourselves "putting by" as our grandmothers would say. Roasting tomatoes into spaghetti sauce, transforming apples into apple butter, digging potatoes, and preparing to make grape jam. The pace of summer has slackened some, but harvest time has a busyness all its own.

It seems we're not the only ones preparing ourselves for the cold...bees are bringing in the last of the pollen from asters and goldenrod flowers, there are fewer eggs to be found on our trips to the hen house, and even our yellow tabby, Azreal, can be found sunning himself late into the day, as if he too, feels the warm days of soaking up the sun are numbered.

And truly, these changes are just fine with me. Autumn is my favorite season, and as the woodsmoke-tinged air becomes cooler, we'll enjoy mugs of chocolaty cocoa and s'mores around the bonfire as we savor the changing of seasons.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Here's a recipe that just couldn't be easier. We used Yellow Transparent apples from our tree, but any good cooking apple will be just fine.


10 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 c. water
1/2 to 1 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients; stir well to blend. Place in a slow cooker. Cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

 

the colors of summer...

A snapshot of the garden's variety of peppers...the colors seemed oh-so pretty together, especially that pop from the purple bell pepper.

The garden bounty is winding down...it's a bittersweet time. And while I love the crispness of fall and all the color it brings, I'll certainly miss the savory taste of sun-warmed tomatoes, sweet, juicy peaches, and the vivid colors found in the pepper patch.

Just wanted to share...

"It is a glorious privilege to live, to know, to act,
to listen, to behold, to love. 
To look up at the blue summer sky;
to see the sun sink slowly
beyond the line of the horizon;
to watch the worlds come twinkling into view,
first one by one, and the myriads that no man can count, and lo!
the universe is white with them;
and you and I are here."

-  Marco Morrow  

oven-roasted tomato sauce...

Having found our farmhouse kitchen filled with tomatoes (translation: tomatoes on windowsills, overflowing from baskets, and rolling off counter tops) I decided yesterday it was really time I did something with them. 

After all, how could anyone not LOVE a garden-fresh tomato on a hearty BLT sandwich, in homemade salsa, or our recipe with French bread and homemade ricotta!

However; back to our tomato dilemma...we were getting overrun. So here's what I did...inspired by this terrific blog, From Beyond my Kitchen Window, I roasted them in the oven. (check out her site...she has some of the best recipes!)

Trust me, the aroma of the roasting tomatoes was wonderful, and really, there's no way to mess up the recipe...I'd say it's practically impossible!

Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

-Quarter as many tomatoes as will fill a 13"x9" pan. There's no need to core or peel the tomatoes. (although I did slice off the stem end)

-Add pressed garlic to taste.

-Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper; stir to coat tomatoes.

-Pop baking pan into a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

-After the tomatoes have roasted, spoon them into a blender and puree. Add 3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and additional salt to taste; blend to combine.

-Add a quartered onion, and blend once again.

That's it...you're done!  

The recipe can easily be changed to suit your tastes. I skipped the Italian seasoning because I had fresh herbs...I added snips of oregano, garlic chives, rosemary, basil, and French tarragon, then let the blender chop them up into the sauce.  I also added a pinch of sugar...just because I always think homemade tomato sauce needs a bit of sweetness.

And there you are...pour the sauce into freezer jars, leaving 1/2-inch head-space, and place in the freezer. 

Now this winter, when we're snowed in and Little Man asks for his favorite dinner of spaghetti, I'll be able to pull out a taste of summertime.

when the garden gives you zucchini galore...make cake!

I'm a true-blue chocoholic...so trust me when I say that this cake is sure to fill any chocolate cravings you may have. 

It's so moist and so delicious, and here's the best part...don't worry what the family will say, ("Ewww, zucchini!") because they'll never know if you don't tell them! Truly, if the kids hadn't seen me adding zucchini to the batter, they wouldn't have believed it.

So, if your garden is overflowing with zucchini, and you're looking for a change from traditional zucchini bread, bake up this scrumptious cake. Topped with a thick layer of fudge frosting...you won't be sorry!

Chocolate-Zucchini Cake 

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon 
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 c. oil
3 c. grated zucchini

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Whisk together eggs and oil; fold in zucchini. Combine zucchini mixture with flour mixture; stir to blend. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake tests done in the center. Cool completely before frosting.

Fudge Frosting 

2 c. sugar
1 c. unsweetened baking cocoa
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla extract
2-1/2 to 3 c. powdered sugar

Combine sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan; stir in milk. Add butter, corn syrup, and salt. Stir mixture and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside to cool 45 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then add enough powdered sugar to make mixture a spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cake. Any leftover frosting can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for one month.


 

the summer has flown by...

Time flies, as the old saying goes, and boy did this summer fly by. The kids are back in school in just a couple short weeks, and now is the time for gathering school supplies and shopping with Grandma for new clothes. Grandma loves to shop...good thing, I'm not a big shopper (unless it's a flea market, nursery, or antique store!)

Here's a few snapshots of what the kids did all summer...

Speaking of Grandma, here she is with both kids after a performance at the school for mime theatre...a fun 3-week class they also took last summer. Don't let the name fool you, these mimes are nothing like the ones from the past...what they do is amazing!

Below is Sweet Girl preparing for a ballet recital. The picture was blurry, but somehow, I still loved it. (Oh my, adding makeup for the performance makes her look much more grown-up than her 12 years!)

Little Man had his first piano recital...we were so proud of him!

From where we were sitting, I could see his reflection in the piano...


 
Guess who was a featured dancer in one of our very favorite musicals The Music Man?  Community theatre in a small town is such fun!

Soon, it was county fair time...oh, the food, the rides, the animals! Little Man did terrific his first official year in 4-H! He was first for this age in the Skill-a-thon, first in Showmanship, and first in Halter. Does he look surprised?!

Sweet Girl did a super job, too...first place for her age in the Skill-a-thon, 2nd in halter, and she brought home a first place ribbon and Best of Show for her mixed-media artwork! Both of them snagged first for their famous chocolate chip cookies in the culinary judging...what a fun fair!

 

And so now what do we do to top all this? Well, definitely a little breather is in order...it's been a face-paced, and fun-filled summer. Time for a little R& R.

Oh, our next project?

Here's a little clue...

remember this fella?

a lucky find...

I can't remember the last time I found one of these...

 I'm sure I was just a kid...

I have one pressed between the pages

of a favorite book from "way back when"  titled,
"All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot.

Did you ever read it? I was in love with the stories 
of the English countryside...it made me want to move 
to the Yorkshire Dales and become a vet.

I had simply glanced down, and amid a patch of green, 
this single clover seemed to stand out.

I've read they're quite rare...

in fact, it's said for every 10,000, 3-leaf clovers you see, 

you will find only one, 4-leaf clover.

I wonder what good luck it could be bringing?

We'll have to wait and see...for now, it's tucked between sheets

of an aging text, waiting to join the one saved from long ago.