Cider Calf

My Aunt Jackie thought "Cider" would be a good name for the brown calf. I keep thinking of her as "Cider" now, so I suppose this name will stick. Maybe "Mulled Cider" to open up more availability for nicknames.
Here she is, soft and sweet in the morning light.
Little Miss Dee is a fantastic first time mom.

E.P.T.?

I was out in the field photographing the new heifer this morning, but Opal wanted me to take a picture of her picking and carrying her harvest of broom straw to her shelter.
Does this mean that she's announcing her expectation of piglets? Or is it simply going to be a cold winter?

Thanksgiving

It's dreary and chilly on Thanksgiving Day, but all the animals are toasty in their straw beds.
Isn't this new heifer calf the cutest baby ever?

Big Happy Cow Family... Sort of

Little Miss Dee had a heifer calf today, surprising us all. Well, we knew she was expecting, but we didn't know when to expect the blessed event.
Here are what I thought were family portraits of daughter, and mom, and dad.
Until Big Dan pointed out that the real father was obviously Jersey Bull Calf, from a relationship consummated before he went to his new home in the freezer. Just ignore that photo of the proud bull. What he doesn't know won't hurt him.
So even better- a half Jersey heifer calf.
We now have six female dairy breeds cows and calves at Providence Farm.
Got Milk?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... My Daughter is Crafty

Laura wanted a nice big wreath to decorate the door this year. I was seeing them for fifty dollars, and not well-made even at that outlandish price.
Becky got up early, went collecting in the woods with five kitties, and made... this!

Vanilla Extract on the Cheap

Every time I buy vanilla extract, I cringe because of the exorbitant price.
So I bought my own vanilla beans wholesale and poured vodka over them.
I have another bottle like this to fill and then I'll be on the hunt for cheap bottles.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Pudding with Dumplings, or: Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth

I had an abundance of Penny's milk and asked, "Which cheese should I make?" The girls answered without hesitation, "Pudding!"

Laura was at the stove making the world's best chicken with dumplings, and I crowded in next to her with my chocolate pudding pot.
She flung dough from her fingers, and we laughed until we cried when it almost plopped into the boiling pudding. Luckily it hit the side, but now we have a better idea of how new recipes are created.

And yes, we use a blaze orange stocking cap as a pot holder for the hot lid. Don't you?

Guinea Fowl. It's What's for Dinner.

Instead of "hunting," this post should be labeled "hunting light."
The girls are processing three guineas that came to our farm a long while back and have been eating a lot of feed and tormenting our chickens. Becky and Katie decided to kill two birds with one stone, or three birds with three .22 bullets, as the case may be, by eating them for dinner tonight.
I'll try hard to remember to photograph the dinner so you can enjoy tasty skinny African fowl vicariously through us.