Bake Day 2021

Bake Day 2021 is a wrap! Goodies galore and fun times had by all! 

I wouldn't trade these days for anything! 

The goodies were nice and of course they are yummy, but the love and friendship of our family is the best of all! 

Chicken Processing Day

Several months back we processed our meat chickens with some friends! It was a great day and I'm so grateful for our friend Starla! She showed everyone the ropes (it had been over 10 years since the last time we had processed)! 

Eli had to work, so he was able to only help for just a little while before having to leave to go get cleaned up. In true Chas form though, I had to get at least one picture of us all together! 

Sourdough Bread Baking

I pulled out my sourdough starter several months back after a long vacation in the fridge. I call his Paul Hollywood by the way. He sprang back into action and was ready to bake. 

I have been baking basic bread for a while, but I have been seeing these interesting shaped boules through the web and thought I would give them a try myself. 

They turned out so well and were so easy! 

If you are interested in a "how to" I have a tutorial on my instagram page. And I'll post my TRIED AND TRUE basic sourdough boule recipe at the end of this post!

Sourdough Boule 

1/2 cup active starter 
3 1/2 cups flour (you can use up to 50% whole wheat if you would like)
1 1/2 cups filtered water 
1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix flour/flours and salt in large mixing bowl. 
Measure water and add sourdough starter to your water. An active sourdough will float. Mix well
Add wet mixture to dry mixture until combined. 
Cover and allow to rest. After about an hour you can briefly stretch and fold the dough. Meaning take one side stretch it up (don’t allow to break) and fold it over the dough. Rotate the bowl and do it again on all four sides. 
You can do this again in another 15-30 minutes. 
Cover again and allow to ferment and bulk up for at least 12 hours. 
After your fermenting gently take your dough from the bowl, flatten dough with the palm of your hand and fold dough into itself from four sides and flip over and smooth and tighten dough tension. You want the ball of dough to have a nice, smooth top. Turn upside down into a proofing banneton. Allow dough to raise for 1-2 hours until doubled or close. Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and lay dough carefully onto paper. You do not want to knock the air out of your dough. Score with lame. 
In the meantime heat your oven to 500*. Add your Dutch oven with lid to your oven and allow it to preheat. This will make the cooking vessel nice and hot and ready for your bread. 
After heating lower your heat to 475*. 
Lay your parchment paper with bread dough into vessel. Cover and bake for 30 min. 
After 30 min, remove lid and lower oven temp to 450* and bake uncovered for another 15-30 min (depending on oven ). You want a deep rich brown color to your bread. Remove from oven and transfer carefully to wire rack to cool. 
Enjoy!

For the love of blogging

I know it has been ages and ages since I have posted anything here, but it isn't because I haven't wanted to, I have! It's just life has been full force forward and I think, "I'm going to blog that" but I wanted to catch up on all that has been missed and then I don't do it. 

So, I guess all that has been missed will either stay missed or I will come back as time allows and reminisce and post. That seems ok to me!

Life right now is pretty great, our family is growing (not in number, haha... but in stature) All my "babies" are babies no longer. Cameo is 24, Eli will turn 19 in a week, Carlie is 17, Abe is 16 and sweet baby Denz will be 9 months old in a couple of days!

Can you even stand it? My gosh he just makes me weak in the knees. I love him SO much! 

The farm is growing too! Guess what happened almost two weeks ago!

Loretta gave us 3 piglets! From closest to farthest is Reba (the runt), Dolly, and Wynonna! 

I was SO excited to see these three little bacon bits running around one morning when I checked. If you follow me on instagram, you may remember me posting about wondering if Loretta may farrow soon because she was swollen in her lady parts and her teats were really protruding. The next morning I found the babes! Squeal! Literally!

The goats are growing as well. They are SUCH a joy to me... I really enjoy my goats. Right now Maximus (formerly known as Spot) is in with the ladies right now. Spring babies! 

The yard is plentiful with chickens, ducks, and geese. I REALLY enjoy the geese. Their honks make me happy when I hear them. Yes, they are noisy and messy, but they are so animated and they talk and they do alert when something is not right and because they are so much louder than the chickens and ducks, it's nice! 

These are our lavender orphingtons. They are SO beautiful in my opinion, but they will NOT stay in the 'yard' with the rest of the fowl. I've got to figure out how they keep getting out because we have lost a few for their persistence in escaping. 

Those black ducks you see in the back of this photo are two of our cayuga ducks. When they start laying their eggs will be grey to black in color. I simply can not wait to get our first eggs from them! We now have Cayuga, Muscovy, and Pekin ducks. 

Speaking of Pekin... I love to watch these two walk. Their waddles are so cute. 

There's lots more I could talk about, but let's save some for the time being. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of blogging more frequently. 

So long for now! 

Chas💛

Eli, the graduate

Eli has graduated high school now, and this past Sunday was a recognition day for all the graduates. We usually have their pictures up on a slideshow and as of last week, we had ZERO senior pictures. So we looked at his work schedule and my schedule and found a day when we both were free and he agreed to let his ole mom take some pictures.

When they were kids, we had several spots we would like to go for treats. When we would school outside for a while or when we had a really good day of lessons and would get to go somewhere fun. The creek was THE MOST favorite and requested place every time. The cold clear water and most everyone was in class somewhere else, so it was usually just us out and about. They loved it. Sometimes we would even pack a picnic... such precious memories. So when we decided where, the creek had to be one of our choices. 

Another favorite spot was the hangliders jumping point. It was actually going through some construction while we were there, but we found some spots that were still really nice picture places. 

Y'all... seriously I am so blown away by how FAST these years have flown by. I would do them all over in a second and I would do them better. So if I have any advice to you young mothers. Don't let a bad day become a bad week. Or a bad moment become a bad day... just work through the moment the best you can, with love and prayer and then move forward. Tell your family you love them so often it almost seems like too much... it isn't. Hug them. Be silly with them. Spend time with them. Talk with them. Don't waste it. These years pass so quickly and then they are off with jobs, marriage, babies of their own, careers, college... and you are aching for any little bit of time you can get. 

Eli is a voracious reader. Naturally, one of his prized possessions are his books. I love that he has started buying his own copies of some of his favorites. He is working on his own library now. But, Moma and Daddy's library is always here! 

Sunday during the church service he was presented with a Bible from the church, I remember when I was presented mine too. Such a sweet time. 

I had to gather the family for a quick picture to mark the occasion. 

Look at this baby.... in a snap, he's all grown up now. 

Another special thing was these two fellas have grown up side by side. Just 18 days apart in age and now they are graduating. I hope they will always remain pals. I'm so proud of both of you! 

Cherish the moments. 

Bees are Buzzing!

Yesterday was the culmination of something that has been a LONG time in the making! We are NOW, for real and for true, beekeepers. 

We placed a. hold on two nucs at the first of the year and have been eagerly waiting for the bees to come in. Shannon even took part in a class to learn more hands on than we had been reading! I have been reading about bees for years, but he has just now started in earnest since I got him a book for Christmas. He had told me a long time ago, "Chas... if we get into this homesteading lifestyle like you want, I want bees." I was wholeheartedly in agreement, because not only is honey amazing, but I want bees for our garden! Pollination is so important! And hopefully we can do a good job and grow good hives around these parts. 

Being a brand new keeper of bees, I had NO idea how they would be transported, so I asked the guy if I could drive my little SUV and he told me as long as I didn't mind riding with them. I'm not scared of bees... but I'm not all that fond of pain either, so I didn't want to be stung if I could help it. HA

They rode just fine in the back of my "farm truck" (I jokingly call my little car that because I haul everything in it and it's never clean).  There was also a beautiful little fig tree at the farm store and I grabbed me one of them. I really wish I had gotten the other... Figs are some of my favorite fruits! YUM! 

And fig and goat cheese... and HONEY? All we are doing coming together in a beautiful bite eventually! WORTH IT!!!!  ;) 

DAANNNNGGGGGGG..... 

Shannon was at work when I went to get them, so I set the hives up myself and got the boxes of bees set beside the hives. The first step is to pull that strip of black tape off the front and allow the bees to acclimate to the environment and find their new hive home. 

I opened the first one slightly slowly... and those bees flew out like lightening. I just knew I was going to get stung because I didn't suit up. I ran and opened the other and then took off. HA. I don't run a lot... but I ran then!

They poured out of the boxes! 

Shannon came home after work and suited up to get the frames transferred. 

Bees. are. amazing... 

I mean, seriously. amazing! 

I wanted to get pictures of him doing the transferring, but again, I wasn't suited up. I needed to milk, but I was so interested I couldn't hardly stay away.

I kept inching closer and closer.

I think he really enjoyed the process and I loved watching him work. 

So hey... now we have bees!!!

I'll keep you updated on how it goes! 

New Faces on the Farm

It's funny how things work out sometimes... 

We believed that Hazel was bred and would be due to kid for her first time in April, Easter weekend actually. As time neared, we recognized there were no changes in her udder and that in fact she was not bred after all. It totally bummed me out because I was kinda counting on  being able to be "in milk"....

So after talking to a friend, she had a goat that had recently kidded and was needing a twice a day milking family. Shannon was game because he wanted us to have milk and so a deal was struck and our Laverne came home! She is SUCH a pretty girl.... and just as sweet as honey! I'm already very smitten with our new girl. She is a first freshener, which in dairy talk means that this is her first time kidding, having milk, etc. And she is doing beautifully! 

I will admit, my Hazel is a bit jealous of the attention of the new milkers... 

I said milkerS... yes, I did! Not long after Laverne came home with us, another friend messaged me about a doe in milk. Her life was not permitting her to milk like she wanted to, and asked if she could come live with us for a while and we tend to her and have her milk while she is producing. So through another happy situation, Elise is here with us for a while as well! 

And I am telling you... I am thoroughly enjoying my daily milkings.  I love hearing the family enjoy the milk. I love being able to make things with our milk... I love the goats, plain and true. They are a delight in my life. 

Speaking of making things from the milk... Goat milk caramel has to be one of the best things on God's green earth! It's absolutely phenomenal. 

Mornings and evenings... you will find me here!

Sometimes, I even have help!! And that is a treat too!

Even my little Moma, she came over last night and asked to help milk. 

I count myself very blessed. Blessed with good, healthy animals. Blessed with wonderful family. Blessed with the ability to raise some of our own food. Blessed with the life we live. 

Blessings upon blessings... too numerous to count them all, but I am exceedingly grateful!