Enjoying the simple life

We so greatly enjoy our simple life here on our little farm and also get a lot of pleasure from sharing these things with you here on our blog. Today, I had the camera with me all day as we went about our chores.


Here are some of our hens enjoying the soft dirt under our cedar tree. They are loving this sun and reasonably warm temperatures (high 40's) so they can both dust- and sun-bathe. There aren't many bugs for them to chase and eat, but there is still quite a bit of vegetation for them to enjoy.


Here is my favorite hen. Her name is either Bean or Deana. There are actually two of these that I can't tell apart. Whichever one I'm looking at of the two is my favorite! The breed is Barred Rock, or some call it Plymouth Rock. They are big hens, calm, hardy, and reliable layers. They also do not show aggression towards the other chickens like some do. Just very sweet hens.


This is our worthless rooster. I just wanted to show you how pretty he is, because that's all he has going for him! He's too small to make the connection to fertilize any eggs (not that we'd hatch any anyway!) and the hens don't really give him the time of day either. He thinks he's tough though, and quite entertaining, so I guess he's not worthless after all.


The chickens weren't the only ones enjoying the sun today! Here is baby (not a baby any more at 2 1/2 years old!) Daisy and of course her mom Lily is dozing nearby. A couple of years ago we had some sand delivered on that spot where Daisy is laying, and although we moved most of it, I guess it warms up in the sun and makes a nice nap spot. This farm would not be the same without the loving, sweet spirits of these donkeys.


Frank continued pruning all the storm damage off the trees in the mini's paddock. Of course Yak had to be in the middle of things as you can see here. He nibbled on them some, but he was more interested in using them to scratch his nether regions as usually there aren't too many pokey things at just the right height like this!


Of course Frank couldn't resist giving little Yak some love. Yak is a very huggable little horse and is definitely hard to resist. He's a great little nursing-home visitor, too!


Before I went outside to do chores, I started a batch of bread. Maria (our friend and former exchange student from Germany) got me started on this recipe and now I make it fairly often. It's got lots of different whole grains in it, and is not as sweet as most american-style breads. This pile of risen dough is what I found when I got back inside! Better deal with that fast!


It's hard to believe that I punched that dough down and got all that into these two loaf pans. I used to do these loaves free-form (boule's) but it was hard to cut evenly and get into the toaster, so I switched to these pans which make slices that are the right size to fit into our toaster.


YUM!! This is the finished product! I wish you all could smell how good this smells. Nothing makes a house smell like home more than homemade bread (OK, maybe apple pie, but you get the idea).

We truly do lead a very simple life here and wouldn't have it any other way: enjoying each day's gifts that God bestows on us. We love company and sharing all our blessings, so feel free to come visit! Just give us a call!!