We've Moved To The Country with Pics!

 

Well dear readers I have big news.  We have moved out of town an onto 15 acres of country living! Above is a view from the back porch.  This is a wonderful change as both my husband and I disliked living in town.  We love living far from neighbors where you can hear song birds (and pheasants) sing all day long.  Also this new home has a little stream running by it, a barn for farm animals, and a real chicken coop with a fenced in run already built and ready to go!  Also there are some fruit trees and yesterday we watched a four point buck lazily graze around the back pasture.  Hunting season here we come!

Our chickens are so much happier with more room to roam and I immediately got us a rooster (for free) so that hopefully we can start getting some chicks.  It's funny how our hens went broody every summer but now that we have a rooster NOT ONE will go broody!  Here's a picture of our brave rooster who my 9 year old daughter named Prince because he is so gentlemanly to his harem of hens. Right now I'm getting from 7 to 10 eggs a day as our new chicks we got in spring haven't started laying yet.  I am planning on selling eggs to passing cars as soon as we are getting enough to spare.

Our children love it out here and want to be outside all day long playing in the stream or exploring around.  I can't keep my youngest son who is almost six in the house at all and it's wonderful to see them being country kids.  When I tell them we need to go into town a chorus of "aww's we want to stay and play" are heard.

Our dogs are in doggy heaven.  Our boarder collie mix Bremmer spends all day chasing birds off our property and helping me herd the chickens in at night. Nika our yellow lab is just a goofy puppy still but she loves swimming in the creek.

And Me?  Well I have already arranged my little nest and planted much of the garden in the large pig run.  I have pumpkins and squash coming up and have planted tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and eggplant from starts.  My other planting are beans, corn, cucumbers, chard, kohlrabi, carrots, beets, lettuces, melons, raspberries, and blackberries.  Today I go out to plant more.  I'm in charge of most of the outdoor work around and have been mowing the huge yard (an acre) of grass, as well as weedwacking and such.  I don't mind as I need the exercise although the kids are starting to enjoy mowing.


The previous owners bred pigs and our little farm is well set up for them with feeders, fencing and housing.  Our only trouble is that with the expenses  of the move we cant afford to buy a couple of piglets right now.  Our children desperately want to raise them for fair but by the time we can afford it, it will be too late in the year.  I have set up a donate button and any donations, even a dollar for the piglet fund would be greatly appreciated!

Real American Cooking

I get so tired of people (mostly from other countries) putting American food down.  They really seem to think all we eat is pizza and hamburgers!  On the other hand I can understand why many people think that.  Much of our food heritage has been lost, not from some crises, but from the simple fact of women going to work.  Women are the ones who keep family traditions and recipes alive.  But for the past 3 generations almost all American women have had to work just make ends meet, and when they get home fast food or convenience food is all they can do.  I hear many women bragging, that's right bragging!  That they cant cook!  I just don't understand that!

If you want to experience real American food you have to be asked to a really good country cooks house.  That is really the only place good ol' American cooking can be found anymore on a regular basis.

Yesterday I was feeling in need of some comfort and I wanted to use up some more rhubarb. As I have never had rhubarb pie I decided to make a strawberry rhubarb and a plain rhubarb just to see the difference

Both were very good.  Rhubarb has an interesting taste that's for sure.  I liked it though, and so did everyone else.  The recipe for the crust is from my favorite pie cookbook "Farm Journals Pie Cookbook".  And the pies were from my Old Fashioned Baking cookbook.

OK I love roasting chickens.  They are the ultimate comfort food for me, and today I will be making chicken pot pie with the left over meat, and tomorrow chicken soup with the racks of chicken.  The chickens were on sale so I get three meals for 6 people for less than $10.00.  To go with dinner I made homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and then we had fruit.

I also made more Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  Look at the color!  It is a lovely bright clear strawberry shade.

 Spring flowers from our garden

The Song of the Meadowlark

My favorite songbird is the Western Meadowlark.  They are all over this part of Washington out in the fields and farmlands.  As a girl we lived at the edge of town where the houses met with farm land and sage meadows.  Every morning in the spring and summer while walking to school you could here the meadowlarks singing out.  It's one of the most beautiful calls I have heard.  I used to sit out in the fields waiting for them to sing when I was little, and now that I'm an adult there is nothing more pleasurable than sitting out on a porch after a busy day with a glass of iced tea listening to them sing in the evening.

While we were living on acreage outside of Pasco we again could here the meadowlarks singing in the all the time and my daughter fell in love.  They don't come into towns, even ones as small as where we are living now, for some reason.  That's one of the things I miss by living in town.  But now that we have a cow every morning Eldest Daughter and I go out to feed, water, and check on her and we hear the Meadowlarks singing again.  I know spring is here when they are calling and want to get out and plant something!

A Night At the Grange

Last night we went to what I think epitomizes American rural life.  It was a Christmas party/potluck at the local Grange.  Now for those of you who don't know what a Grange is I'll explain.  It is an interesting look at how Americans formed communities in the farming lands.

The Grange came into being in 1867 because of the vision of Oliver Hudson Kelley, a Minnesota farmer and activist. He had long held that farmers, because of their independent and scattered nature, needed a national organization which would represent them much as unions were beginning to do for industrial workers. Farmers were at the mercy of merchants for both needed farm supplies and for marketing their crops. Railroads and warehouse companies were taking advantage of farmers as well.



Kelley and some of his friends organized the National Grange (officially known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry) as a fraternal group similar to the Masonic lodge. The early leaders were responsible for promoting cooperatives which had the potential of helping farmers economically. Effective lobbying efforts were undertaken early and this activity remains a bulwark of Grange service to rural America. Education of rural residents was championed by the early Grange and, due to Grange agitation, dramatic improvements were made in rural schools. The birth of the Extension Service, Rural Free Delivery, and the Farm Credit System were largely due to Grange lobbying. The Grange at all levels is strictly nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates for public office nor contribute to their campaigns.


At the national level, the Grange actively lobbies for causes which are in accord with organizational policy. All policy within the Grange originates at the local level and the organization remains as one of America's best examples of democratic grass-roots activism. The primary legislative objective of the Grange is to represent the views of rural residents and the agricultural community. These issues include transportation, farm programs, rural economic development, education, health and safety concerns and many others. Each year the policies are summarized and published in booklet form.


Early in its history Grange leaders realized that social interaction was especially important to rural residents. For nearly 130 years Grange halls have existed as community centers where residents gather for educational events, dances, potlucks, town meetings, political rallies and other meetings. Junior Grange, 4-H, FFA, scouting and Camp Fire groups have thrived because of Grange involvement and each year tens of thousands of Grange members participate in numerous community service projects.

If you drive through any small town there will probably a Grange building in it.  Many places in the country have a Grange building seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  But what you don't realize is that at one time that was a bustling farming community, and now all that's left is the Grange building.  The Grange was a meeting place for the community. Auctions, dinner, church services, funerals, and political stumping all happened at the local Grange. It was sometimes the first building put up after the one room school house and was used as the church building until the community could build one.

Now the local Grange is used as a meeting place for community groups, church dinners, small town parties, and family reunions. 

Going to this old fashioned party was so much fun!  There was a delicious potluck where we brought Candied Yams and Green Bean Casserole.  There were countless dishes there and many homemade sausages from the local venison.  Then after dinner we all sat down in front of the stage and watched as different people performed music or read Christmas poems. This was a truly community event because everything was done by US!  The only entertainment was from people getting up on their own.

Eldest daughter preformed some Christmas songs.  Everyone enjoyed her playing so much!

Raffling off door prizes

Singing Christmas Carols

Even Viking Boy liked Santa

Then we all sang Here Comes Santa Clause and the big man himself arrived with a bag of gifts (that parents pre provided) for each child.

My kids were so excited.  They still believe in Santa :]

Different wheat artwork on the walls.  These are made from different varieties of wheat grains.

Awards the Grange Kids have won over the years and WW2 Memorabilia

What a fun night, we are definitely doing this next year.