Friday, December 18, 2009

mmmMMMMmmmm

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The house is sure smelling very Christmasy right now!
Cameron and I made Cinnamon Bears last night-- these are fast and easy, make great gifts and smell fantastic!





***1 cup cinnamon plus one cup water--mix well, roll out and cut with desired shapes. If dough is too wet, add more cinnamon, if too dry, add more water. I also dust the area with a little more cinnamon to help keep the dough from sticking to counter. using a toothpick, poke a hole in each shape to allow for hanging the ornament***


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In the oven I have drying apple and orange slices.. the apples are spiced with cinnamon, cloves and allspice-- YUM. and with the oranges adding a nice citrus-ey tang to the air. I hope to make little garlands with these....




***Slice apples, toss in lemon juice, pat dry. In a ziplock (I used a gallon size) toss in 6 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons cloves, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon arrowroot. Coat apple slices with mixture, dry in a low oven (150-200) for 6 hours. Remove from oven and allow to dry. For the oranges, slice in about 1/4" rings..they need to dry in the oven for 3-4 hours. I also used a straw to poke a hole in each ring for hanging later.***

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We also made these ornaments.. We haven't perfected them at all yet, but it was still fun!

Holiday Brisk 2009

Cameron attended his 2nd "real" show over the weekend of December 12th and 13th. We drove to Centralia early Saturday morning to show our peeps at the Holiday Brisk. But FIRST you must make your chickens beautiful (well, okay, they are already beautiful, but they most for sure need to be cleaned up! lol). As you can see they don't mind much-- Potter actually fell asleep while Cameron was blow drying him.




Hedwig having a Peep Pedicure--she is soaking her cochin feathers in bluing--to make them whiter, and not dirt colored...

Juliette is Camerons Fit and Show hen--she is a Serama, and is always very relaxed.



Cameron thinking hard about something the judge has just asked him...

Susan got Best in Variety--she is a Silver Duckwing Aracauna-- she also lays blue eggs for us.


Here is CocoPuff--a Partridge Silkie

A row of beautiful white Cochin Hens


and here is Potter--all white and fluffy and awake!


So, all in all, Cameron didn't bring home any big rewards or ribbons this go around, but every time he comes away with knowing "just a little more..." and gains more confidence each show...
(plus it's relaxing for mom!)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Silly me!

I thought 25 degrees was cold! It's been much colder the past few days--10 and 12 degrees..

Hauling water out to everyone a couple times a day, heat lamp in the henhouse.... Their water has STILL been freezing overnight in there. Next project: insulate that baby! So far everyone seems to be staying pretty healthy. Got LOTS of shavings and straw in there so they can nestle down in it... Although, I noticed Sir and Potter might have small frost-bite injuries on their combs, which (I think) has actually occurred during the day! I have been putting bag balm on them, hope that helps. The only ones who don't seem to really mind the cold are the ducks--they don't really seem to mind about much. Just want water to dunk their heads in and food. They huddle down onto their feet to keep them warm--looks cute. Will head to the Feed Store later this morning to get some nice alfalfa for the goaties too-- must maintain that fluffy physique!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Brrr!

It is a chilly 25 degrees out--cold cold cold for here! Having to put lots of extra bedding in the henhouse and extra feed for everyone to help keep them all warm. The goats are looking very Fluffy, with their thick winter coats on.. very soft and nice to put your fingers into! :)

Well, I was doing a head count last night as I was closing up the henhouse, and couldn't find one of the hens. Started lookin' around the yard, in the branches (a couple of them try to roost in the lower branches of a tree in the yard), and no luck.. Decided to check UNDER the henhouse, and lo and behold, there sat the missing hen.. on a Very Large Clutch. I reached in to take her out of there--kinda made me laugh, she sounded so much like a small dinosaur as she protested the affront..


And here is a Christmas Tiger:

Thursday, December 3, 2009

gah! Molting chickens everywhere!

And a show in a week--what to do what to do.. pin some tail feathers on those hens! They sure look funny -- little manx chickens.

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Ducks have landed!

They got here yesterday late morning....
Will put up some pictures shortly. They are so pretty! :)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Can't Wait!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of two new Butterscotch Call ducks! These are a nice pair coming in from WapsipiniconWaterfowl in Iowa.. Should help get our foundation flock off to a nice start I think. Will post pictures as soon as I can! In the mean time you can visit Dennis's website here.. He has some beautiful birds, and I am super excited to be able to add these guys to the farm!

Monday, November 16, 2009

You might be wondering...


how I decided on our farm name..so let me tell you the little story that goes with it.. ;)

When we first moved here years ago, our "funny" neighbors used to tell us we lived 'down there in that hole'... well, that's not really a very positive connotation, is it? So, in my mind I have always called our spot a Hollow... now isn't that much nicer? In the summer, I hardly ever ever wear shoes at home and in honor of my momma who loved bears so much... came up with Bearfoot Hollow..
Picking out a farm name is such a fun and personal experience. For your goaties to be registered with any sort of Association or Society--you have to provide a herd name. And Bearfoot Hollow is it for us!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

It's been a rainy morning


but with the cracklin' fire, snorin' dawg, and moody candles--it's all very cozy. I am peeking out the window, watching the ducks enjoy the gentle sprinkle of rain... the chickens are huddled under the hen house. I am sure the goats are also in their shelter--away from rain. Goats hate wet, they melt you know!

They have all been enjoying their snack of punkin' seeds, carrots and apples sprinkled with a little garlic.. it's all good natural dewormer this time of year. I cut a large pumpkin in half, slice up some carrots and apples and press garlic over the whole mess, then stir it around with my hands--viola!- peep and goat treats on the half shell.



One of our favorite breakfast treats this time of year would most definitely be a recipe from my friend Tina... My kids enjoy these with maple syrup
or the cider syrup.. I like them with whip cream and cinnamon apple jam! :)

~Punkin Pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup~
2 C flour
3 TB brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk
1 C pumpkin puree
1 large egg (or if you have my chickens-- 2-3 smallish eggs *wink*)
2 TB veggie oil
2 TB vinegar
Combine flour, sugar, spices.. add wet ingredients and mix. Cook on your hot griddle, enjoy!

Hot Cider Syrup
3/4 C cider (or apple juice)
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C corn syrup
2 TB butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
*Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until slightly thickened. Let stand 30 minutes before serving. ...on a personal note-this syrup is a little on the thin side, you may choose to thicken it slightly with cornstarch...


Monday, October 26, 2009

Very sadly, Jiffy needed to find a home with another goose. We are brokenhearted about this.. but in our small area, he was just too loud and we didn't want to be a nuisance to our neighbors. We have to remain on good terms with them! Jiffy needed to be with other geese.. All geese need to have at least one other goose for them to be friends with. So, because we were unprepared for Jiffy to live with us by having another goose for him~he was a lonely boy! He has a home now with a lot of other ducks and another goose. We miss him!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Here we are ..

My absolute favorite time of year! It's fall here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I would like to welcome you to our "accidental farm"~ Bearfoot Hollow, were our Guard Goose Jiffy watches over our little flock of Bearded Partridge Silkies, Seramas, Cochins and a couple pet Polish and our new little blue egg layer Susan. She is an Araucana hen. We also are working on developing our flock of Butterscotch Call ducks. Okay, so we only have two and they are brother and sister, so we are looking for a nice small drake for Daisy and her sister who lives with our friend Cindy.
We also have two twin sister Nigerian Dwarf goaties~Wren and Raven, with whom we will eventually try our hand at goat's milk cheese and soaps.. we are not set up yet for cute little goat babies though! So, welcome and please
be patient as this blog builds, but I hope you enjoy your visit to our little farm.

Here is Juliette, one of our Serama's.