Here doggie,doggie

Come on! Come on! Mom's going to be here any minute and she will take my gun away!

pumpkin fall decor

The link to this was broken but it said buy the cheap dollar store pumpkins cut them in half decorate any way you like then hang on door or in a frame. So cute! Good project for kids. These would make a great wall gathering too.

Garden sercurity

   Hi my name is Butter cup. I am mom's side  garden security.     I take my job every seriously .

I patrol the area to make sure they all are growing nicely and are undamaged. This is not a dinner for rodents.

Mom and Dad come out every day to check the plants and harvest what is ready. And to refill my water bowl. Mom is worried about me not getting enough water. I think she forgets that I can go thru the doggie door.

You would think as much as they out here,that dad would remember a bowl.

I  lay in the pumpkin patch while the pick the beans. They tend to step on me  other wise. No their not mean. It's just dense  in there. Plus they  can always find me to pet me after words.

Can you find me. I like to hide in the corn. Great place to hide.

How about this one. Believe me I am in there. I am just good at my job.

This has become my favorite spot to sleep. It's right between the corn and the watermelon. I use to sleep between the corn stalks. But after Mom turned the water on me several times because she didn't see me. This seemed safer.
 I was so proud of my last catch. (a very big gopher )That I left it for Mom to see. And  so she could take a picture for me as a keepsake. She wasn't impressed. Ok, maybe if the head wasn't gone. It would have been better. I am a cat we do things like that. Let's  see her catch a gopher! Like that will ever happen.

A little help here!

Homemade Butterfingers

Homemade Butterfingers

When I saw this recipe on Jan's home page and the Taste of Home forums, I knew I had to give it a try.   I couldn't believe they use melted candy corn. My husband loves the stuff. We go thru bags and bags of the stuff over the Fall season.This is a great way to use up any leftover candy corn you may have .  OK, OK, I never have any left over. I'll just keep buying bags and hiding them.

 

 

Candy Corn Butterfingers
Taste of Home forums


1 lb. candy corn
16oz jar peanut butter (I used Peter Pan Honey Roasted peanut butter)
16oz pkg. chocolate candy coating

Melt candy corn in microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking in 15-second intervals til melted, stirring after each interval. Stir in peanut butter. Spread mixture in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment. Cool completely. Cut into squares. Dip in melted chocolate candy coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.
 
These would also be great for Christmas.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I found this while roaming thru the internet.

by Averie @ Averie Cooks on September 14, 2011

Every year around this time the world seems to go crazy for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are lovely…

But you can make them at home

And I’d like to think my make-at-home version wins

And the ones you purchase are generally made with fake, sugary, pumpkin-flavored syrups, not real pumpkin puree

I personally don’t care about fake sugary pumpkin syrup.  And in fact kind of like it.  Oh well, I digress.

But since some people don’t like a daily dose of HFCS, if you make these at home you can control what goes into your latte

Another reason the at-home version wins is because you could go into the poorhouse if you like your coffee as much as I like mine buying these specialty drinks

I bet the cost per cup of the homemade latte is less than a quarter. Probably even less.

Far less than the $4 or so you pay when out and the cheapskate in me wants to make things at home whenever possible

And I actually prefer the taste of my version to the Starbucks version

But I guess I’m biased

So for the recipe, there are many ways to make these and many recipes I’ve seen on the internet, but here’s what I do because I like these ratios the best.

And oh yes, it’s easy.

Get ready to slurp.  I sure do.

Pumpkin Spice Latte (Vegan, Gluten Free)

1. Make coffee (a pot, a cup, in whatever fashion and however you prefer making your coffee.   The stronger the better)

2. Make Pumpkin Milk

1 c milk (I used almond milk but use any kind you want from half and half to rice milk)

1/4 heaping cup pumpkin puree (more if you really love pumpkin)

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend, or to taste

1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

1 tsp vanilla extract

sweetener of choice, to taste (I suggest 2 tbsp agave or 2 tbsp brown sugar or a pinch of stevia to taste; or try honey, maple syrup, etc. to taste)

Optional: pinch of ground nutmeg, ginger, garam masala, cardamom, or other warming spices to taste

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well by hand or blend all ingredients using a Vita or blender

Optional: Warm the finished pumpkin milk mixture in the microwave or on the stovetop (I do a quick nuke of about 1 minute)

3. Pour 1 c of brewed coffee into a mug and pour half the pumpkin milk mixture over the top of the coffee and enjoy.  (Optional: Finish by garnishing with real whipped cream/whipped topping such as CoolWhip or TruWhip; and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon on top)

The other half of the pumpkin milk mixture is for the refill you know you will want.  If you truly don’t want a refill, refrigerate it for up to a few days and use for your next latte, in a smoothie, or drink it as is.  As long as you’re dirtying dishes, I always make a little extra for refills or for later.

Notes:

The spices will not “blend” or entirely dissolve.  This is to be expected and normal.  If this bothers you, this may not the recipe for you and you may want to experiment with other recipes or techniques.

All spices and seasonings are to taste; in this case, mine.  If you want to reduce the spices (or increase them), obviously adjust everything according to your own taste preferences.  Some people may find the amounts I used a bit strong, but I like robust flavors.

After reading this post. I wonder if you can use pumpkin pie filling . That way you don't have to worry about the spices not dissolving.

Chicken Watering System

                     

When we went to pick up our new chickens ,we saw a really neat watering system.  What I liked most about it, was it stopped the water from getting full of debris . I was always having to  change their  water. Plus we can easily add vitamins or meds if we have to.   I was worried my birds wouldn't use it. But they took right to it. As you can see from the picture . It's very inexpensive and easy to make.

What you will need
nipples
Since chickens don't drink at the same time the most you will need for a very large flock is 8 to 10 nipples. They run about 2.00 to 2.50 a piece.

A 5 gallon bucket with lid

pvc pipe with end cap
plastic tubing.
joiner  to attach tubing to bucket and pbc pipe. 

That's it. It's  that easy . I love it . .. About once a month I do clean the bucket since we have very hard water. Once a month is so much better then one to two times a day.

 Here are some pictures to help you if your intersected in making one 

 Make sure your bucket is food safe.

 This is a picture of the joining of the tubing to the bucket. Sorry I don't know the name of the pieces.

 This shows the joining of the tubing to the pvc pipe . The orange piece is the nibble. There is a little metal piece that hangs down from the orange part that holds the water.( It's hard to see in the picture) When their beak touches it the water come out for them

This is the end cap for the pvc pipe. We just strung our pipe thru the corner of the smaller dog run to hold it. It also stop them from roosting on it. They don't have enough room.

Hope the pictures help. This is my husband field of talent, not mine.

I am way to over protective.

I now know I am way to overly protective of my animals ( especially cats.) I may need rehab after what I did the other night. First let me say I am always worried about owls,dogs, or raccoon getting my animals. If they sneeze I want to take them to the vet. Just kidding about the sneeze . But I do worry a lot.  Before I start this story you are not allowed to laugh.
I was a curled up in my bed sleeping so well. Where I was woke up by a very loud cat fight. My heart flew to my throat. The bleed rush to my head. BUTTERCUP  screamed thru my mind. A cat was killing my baby. I jump out of bed  at top speed. Ran  to the bathroom, grabbed my husbands robe . Threw it on as I ran down the stairs and out the door. I barely missed stepping on  my poor dogs gut.
I run down the street  robe and hair flying behind me.  I am yelling buttercup's name like she would just stop and walk up to me. I could see the cats, but just barely. Fear took hold of me as both cats started to take off further down the street. I am imagining my cat all torn up and I can't help her. As I turn the corner of the street I am yelling Buttercup's name at the top of my lungs. Finally I am able to get a look at the cats as they run away from the crazy lady. Neither one was Buttercup. I am almost in tears I am so relieved. As I stand there to catch my breath. I look up to see people on their front porch. I can only imagine what they were thinking of this crazed woman in a green bathrobe chasing cats down the street in the middle of the night. I  politely  apologized  and wished them a good night. With my tail between my legs I returned home. As I walk into my house I look over at my husbands chair. There rolled up into a nice comfortable position is no other than Buttercup. What time does rehab start?

Home grown corn finally.

 I am so happy! My corn did great  this year. Last year it didn't do to well.  We planted them in our raised beds and way to close together. So the corn was never able to get enough sun for the cobs to grow. This year we planted them right into the ground and farther apart. Some were still a little to close together, so the cobs were small. But I had planed to store some for the chickens. So it worked out. But I will be leaving more space next year.

Don't they look good. We had these for dinner and they were so sweet and buttery . I am blanching and freezing my last batch today.  I was able to store enough corn for most of the winter and about 40 small cobs for my chickens.

I am letting the stock turn brown and dry out before pulling them up. They will make great decorations for the front of my porch this fall. I will have one upset cat when I finally pull them up. She loves laying in the corn field. It provides her a cool and safe nap space. In less I forget to check for her before turning on the water. Then I scare the #### out of her.

New chickens

 Now that we have Fort Knoxs  ( our 6x 18 foot coop ) . I felt it was safe to get more chickens.  There is no way a stay dog can get these.  We bought 6 for now. Once we get the new coop we will be getting three more. I wanted to introduce you to my new girls

  The white bird id Kloe.

 This is Bella

 The one on the left is Witchypo. She got her name because when I picked her up ,she tried pecking me.   I may have to change her name . She has gotten a lot nicer. She is missing part of her top beck. It happen when she was a chick.

 .

  My friend Denice named this one. She calls her Henrieta.

 These two still need named. It,s very hard to tell them a part.

If any one has any advice on name please let me know. I am lost for ideas. We are working on  getting them use to us. So we can hold them without stressing them out. A few let me pet them.

Please don't .

History of grandma's Apron

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dress.Plus aprons required less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When compan came, those aprons were  hiding places for shy kids.
When  the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood  stove. Chips and kindling was brought in using a apron to warm the fire.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the autumn, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

I found this courtesy of dolly and face.book.com


I found this courtesy of Dolly's and facebook.

Fort Knoxs

This is the old fence we used for the chickens. It is a portable fence. We were able to move it around and give the chickens plenty of new area to scratch. We have used it for about two years without  any problems. Unfortunately we had two dogs jump the fence and get our chickens.  They had escaped from their own back yard. The owners felt really bad. They reinforced their back fence , so I thought my problems were over. Then, two weeks ago we found the fence pulled out of the ground and two chickens missing. One did come home two days later.  This was the second time and I was going to make sure it was the last.

Welcome to Fort Knox. We put two 6x6 dog runs together and attached it to the smaller dog run. If anything gets thru this, I give up.