Sowers

We must not hope to be mowers,

And to gather the ripe and gold ears,

Unless we have first been sowers

And watered the furrows with tears.

It is not just as we take it,

This mystical world of ours,

Life's field will yield as we make it

A harvest of thorns or of flowers.

~JohannWolfgang von Goethe

Enjoying the End of Springtime

We have such beautiful wildflowers 

during the springtime here in Texas.

Just as soon as the early spring flowers 

start to wither and fade,

the blackeyed susans take their turn to be on display.

As we say goodbye until next season to the bluebonnets, 
wine cups, evening primroses, 
indian blankets, indian paintbrushes,
and queen anne's lace,

we say hello to the lovely blackeyed susans along the highway

and all over my yard!

I love to snip a few and bring them indoors for my kitchen table.

We'll be harvesting and curing our onions soon.

And, we have our summer garden started.

We have a few tomato plants.  

A roma.

A better boy.

And a cherry.

Some peppers.

And squash and cucumbers.

The chickens have been enjoying the pretty spring weather,

but not so much all the rain we've been getting!

"Mad as an old wet hen"

Yep!  I've been seeing a lot of that lately.

So I got them some treats at the feed store this week!

I hope you are enjoying spring's end!

Are you ready for summer?  

We are! :-)

~dreams~

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, 

and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, 

he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Blueberry Lemon Tea Cookies

Blueberry Lemon Tea Cookies

makes 2 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 375.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and extract and mix well.  Add milk and flour, a little at time, alternately the milk and the flour.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Roll dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Let cookies cool completely.  Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and drizzle over cookies.  Serve with a cup of tea and enjoy!

Potato Harvest

We harvested the potatoes that we planted in February.

We didn't get as many as we had hoped to this year,

and we will be making some adjustments to yield a better crop next time.

But, oh, the ones we did grow were so good!

If you've never dug a potato out of the ground,

washed it off,

and had it cooked and on your plate a few minutes later...

Well, you just don't know what you're missin'! :-)

“Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. 

If they took some chamomile tea 

and spent more time rocking 
on the porch in the evening 

listening to the liquid song of the hermit thrush, 

they might enjoy life more.” 

~Tasha Tudor

Growing Up

Carrie and Miranda are 1 month old!  

Sugar and Spice...

...and everything nice! :-)

I got to make a baby girl diaper cake this weekend.

Diaper Cake how-tos can be found here.

:::Blueberry Scones:::

If my dream of owning a little farm 
with a bed and breakfast on it 

ever comes true...
these scones WILL be on the breakfast menu. :-)

Blueberry Scones

makes 6 large scones

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup blueberries

extra butter and sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and orange zest.  Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add buttermilk and blueberries all at once and stir gently just until combined.  Dust counter with flour and turn out dough.  Shape dough into a circular disk and cut into six wedges.  Place wedges on baking sheet, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 30 minutes or until scones are lightly browned.  Serve immediately and enjoy! 

linked to
Little House Living's Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange

Carrot Cake

Our Easter dinner dessert this year was carrot cake!

With fresh ingredients and a yummy cream cheese frosting.  

Classic Carrot Cake 
16 servings

for cake
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups grated carrot (approximately 1 lb carrots)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained (reserve one tablespoon of juice)
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
for frosting
1 cup butter, softened
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 pinch of salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate bowl combine carrots, pineapple, and coconut. Add oil, vanilla, eggs one at a time, and reserved pineapple juice. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix about one minute. Pour cake mix into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from pans. For frosting, cream butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add salt, vanilla and almond extracts. Frost cake and enjoy! 

Happy Easter!

Tasha Tudor

“Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!” 

~ Tasha Tudor

photo credit - Mr. H.

a favorite scene on the road to our family's ranch

Adding to the flock!

Introducing "Carrie" 

an Ameraucana.

And "Miranda"

a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

My older girl's egg production will start to taper off
in the next year as they turn two years old.
So I'm adding to the flock now.

The chicks will be indoors for a few weeks
before I move them outside.

My Daisy is curious about this second generation
of baby chicks in the house. :-)

A Girl and Her Pigs

Do you remember Willie and Waylon?

My daughter raised them to show at our county livestock show.

They finished out at 230 and 233 pounds.

She learned a lot about raising swine.

How to check their weight.

How to feed and water them.

How to bathe and clip them.

And how to exercise them.

She also learned how smart they are.

And, that Waylon was as gentle and affectionate as a puppy dog.

She learned how to load them up.

And how to show them in the ring.

And she learned, 

how to say goodbye...