Snow Drops & Amish Friendship Bread

A former resident of the farm house at some point in time planted some galanthus elwesii bulbs.


These small flower stalks began appearing a few weeks ago peering out of the snow. I discovered them somewhat by accident a couple of years ago after I cleaned out what looked like a small flower bed bordered by old now displaced bricks. Here they are again, and are commonly known as Turkish or Giant Snow Drops. This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. Research shows the flowers bloom in the Winter before the vernal equinox 20-21 of March and are not necessarily an early sign of Spring. They are a cheerful sight and though not the true heralds of Spring, they inspire it's anticipation none the less.

Two years ago I was given some Amish Friendship Bread starter. Since then there have been several batches made and shared. I would typically freeze at least one of the extra starters. One of them was discovered yesterday afternoon. So this is day one of a total of ten before the batter will become bread. It is a sweet treat to have on a chilly night. Until then there will be the aroma of the activity of fermentation.

The Recipe

How about a Little Bull!

Here's the new addition to the farm. He is a little bull calf. (Verified)




He was born during the warm break in the Winter weather in the middle of January just before it turned into single digits.

Nemo, the Snow Storm, missed us and this weekend will be on the sunny warmer side. The snow and ice has been thawing and freezing. Since the ground hog saw his shadow, it is hopeful thinking Spring will show earlier signs of its arrival. Until then it is going to be a muddy mess.




This Red Bellied Woodpecker was out front, picking around on the big old maple tree. It was a delight to see with its brilliant color against the dormant palette of Winter.




Here's the indoor round pen, with the ride-in gate. Until it gets warmer and drier, this is the training round pen. It is a take off of the Amish round pen where Reina was trained. The panels are interlocking and movable which offers flexibility as to where it can be placed.

Summer 2012 was very dry and affected the yield of hay baled required to take care of the horses and cattle during the colder months. Thankfully the alfalfa field did well enough to provide feed for the horses which should last through the remainder of the Winter, leaving all the hay for the cattle.

Thoughts advance to Spring!



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Winter Chickens and Horses

No pictures to post with this entry.  It has been a good while since I have posted something to this blog of mine.  The chickens continue to lay eggs during these darker months, some days 7-9 and then on others up to 12.  No artificial lighting is being used.  Pearly- one of the Buffs  continues to run and greet me whenever I open the coop door or when the gang is allowed to free range, she will always come running and let me pick her up. 

These chickens sure do eat  the feed.  They love the horse feed that has oats and molasses in it as well as some ground corn.  That's their treat in the evening when they come back to the coop.  I have noticed some of the Barreds are now roosting up in the rafters and not on the roosting perches provided.  It makes for more clean up since the roosting perches have a 'landing pad' making clean up a breeze.  These gals sure can mess up a coop pretty quick.  2 Weeks is about all it can go before a deep clean is in order for the coop and the dormant garden gets some fertilizer.

Reina the Saddlebred has been home and has presented challenges once she got back with the 'herd'.  I continue to work with her and hope to have her in 'shape' in the Spring.  The Winter weather here has been mild and very wet.  The immediate pasture is a mud-hole.  We have had VERY warm weather for the Winter.

The Spring Red-Golden Pheasants whose hatching I documented here earlier are all doing well.  There are more males to females.  Looks like I have another Yellow Golden and a couple of Splash (mix of Red and Yellow Golden)  males to one hen.   They will be separated in the early Spring and more than likely sold since that many male roosters can't co-exist together.