Wishing You All a Very Merry Christmas

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Dayphoto

I’m wishing each and every person who stops by a Merry Christmas! I have enjoyed our blog time and getting to know you. Please have a delightful time with your families near and far for after all….that is what the holidays are all about.

This year all the kids will be at our house so everyone is bringing all their gifts by to open with us. We are stacked to the branches, as you can see. Santa will only have to make one stop for several families, which should cut down on his stopping time. 🙂

And for those of you who would like to make a delicious gluten-free cookie for those who are gluten-free on your list I am posting a wonderful and simple cookie recipe here:

Christmas Cookies

Dry Ingredients

¾ c white rice flour

½ c potato starch

¼ c sweet rice flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

½ c granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*…line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
In a small bowl, sift together dry ingredients (do this three times)
In bowl of stand mixer, cream together butter and granulated sugar until well combined
Add egg. Cream until thoroughly incorporated. Be sure to stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl at least once
Add whisked dry ingredients. Turn mixer to medium-low. Mix until a dough forms.
Scoop dough, about two teaspoon each, and roll into balls. Roll dough balls into powdered sugar. Place cookies, about two inches apart, on prepared baking pan.
Chill for ten minutes
Bake cookies for 12-5 minutes or until cookies are firm and edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack. Repeat.

Once more….MERRY CHRISTMAS! I’ll be back on Monday, December, 27th!

Linda

Strange Weather and the Corn is Done!

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Dayphoto

Isn’t this a lovely site? The corn is gone…either already at the dairy or in our granary.

We checked fences and hooked up the electric fence in bitter cold weather, but the cows are now out on the farm. 80 acres of grazing should keep us from having to feed much. Although, we do throw out some hay now and then so they will keep coming in. Wild cows are not much fun to work with.

It is warm here today. Very warm! 51*. weird for this time of year. Although, the weatherman says rain is on its way. There is snow all around us, Paonia has over 2″ and Grand Junction is experiencing rain. We are in the middle of the storm, I guess. Dark, heavy clouds, not a breath of air movement and warm temperatures.

As for me…well I’m not complaining, it feels a little like spring.

Linda

December 17, 2010

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Dayphoto

They said snow and rain and wind were heading our way. The last of corn finally dipped down to 14.7% so Terry is combining right now in hopes of getting done before the weather hits. It’s suppose to come in this evening….that huge storm rocking California right now!

I am so NOT a fan of winter.

At the Paonia EnergyTech(TM) campus yesterday the homeschooling/Creative Compass a children asked if they could decorate the little tree out back with treats for the birds and squirrels. They were having so much fun I couldn’t resist a photo to share with all of you!

Christmas is coming….it won’t be long now. And we are going to have the corn combined before Christmas. Now that is a gift!

Linda

Jasmine

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Dayphoto

My house just smells lovely! No it doesn’t smell like Christmas (unless you count smells from the kitchen) it smells like

Murraya Paniculata or “Orange Jasmine”!

Lovely!

Linda

https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Gluten-Free Scones

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Dayphoto

For those of you who just might like a lovely scone for Christmas breakfast here is one we like:

(Scones in scone pan with the beginning of egg wash)

Gluten-Free Scones

Ingredients:

11/4 cups brown rice flour

31/2 Tablespoons tapioca flour

2 tsp baking powder

4 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp sugar (or more to taste)

½ c salted butter (gluten free flours are rather bland so this butter adds a wee bit more flavor)

½ cup dried cranberries (or raisins or dried cherries)

The zest of one large orange

2 eggs

½ c plain yogurt OR ½ cup sour cream

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475*

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl three times—mix well

Cut in the butter

Add the berries and zest and gently mix together

Lightly whisk the eggs and plain yogurt (or sour cream) together

Turn onto a rice-floured board and knead lightly, just enough to shape into a round. Cut into 8 wedges ( I use a scone pan) Place on a rice-floured baking sheet and brush with a little egg wash.

Bake until golden brown on top. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve split in half with butter and jam.

I got this recipe someplace on the internet about three years ago. It’s been a family favorite ever since.

Linda

Sunday Stills—Pets

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Dayphoto

I could have posted about the dogs, Boomer and Fuzzy and all other other cats and dogs the fill my life, but I couldn’t resist these two little girls’ faces! They just love it when Grammy comes to visit because Grammy ALWAYS has Nilla Vanilla Wafers!

For more fun photos of pets head on over to Sunday Stills.

Linda

The Season of Miracles

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Dayphoto

It is the season of Miracles, you know! And one happened for us….we were able to go ahead and deliver the truck load of high moisture corn…we had to have it at the dairy this morning at 4:30 so it could be ground before the feed trucks rolled in. Not a problem!

Moisture is high still so we will wait, better waiting than to have another situtation…snow is due here this evening.

We sure have lots of cranes or blue herons this year. I can’t really tell what they are, but I enjoy hearing them and watching them land in the corn fields at night.

They’ve sort of run the Canada geese off and taken over the sweet corn fields. That being the way of things the geese flap on over to our corn fields. Both groups are very talkative so for some time the evening air is full of bird chatter.

Then if you get up at night to check on things (ever since the large predator visits I go out to check on our animals) you can hear the birds moving around getting a little more comfortable. I enjoy hearing them.

It might be after Christmas before these stalks are gone. What a unusual year this has been. But it is working out.

See ya on Sunday!

Linda

Start Stop Start Again and Now Stopped ….AGAIN!

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Dayphoto

A storm blew in to the high country bringing high humidity once more. The corn has shot up to 16% and it did it in a hour. So here we sit with a truck full of high moisture corn. And we do not know what to do with it. If Terry were to put it into the granery/silos…brand name Butler Bin…it would mold the whole bin. 16% is too high to dry, it will never dry down enough before it would mold. Seems like it is always something this fall.

Here is how we fill the bins/silos/graneries–Terry loads the combine up…then dumps the corn into the truck

The truck bed is raised so the corn spills and is taken up into the granery.

The corn is tested for moisture in this little black box…a digital moisture meter. Pretty cool, they only cost and arm and half of a leg…up to the knee cap.

Tallen decided she was going to help Grandpa work. Of course, Grandpa thought she would be the best helper so he took her with him.

This corn sure has been a struggle this year…now we have to see if we can sell a truck load of high moisture corn to one of the feed lots. And it needs to happen soon.

If it isn’t one thing…..

Linda

Storing Corn

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Dayphoto

We are at 15.4% so have begun again. This time we will be storing it in the butler bins.

That is a tarp over the loading shoot to keep the moisture out.

We haven’t had to use these bins in a long time, but at least we have them. Put the corn in, run the fans, unload the corn after it has dried enough and take it to the dairy. Lots of work, and much more expense, but better than losing it.

Linda

Fog

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Dayphoto

We woke up to fog this morning…

I rather like fog…makes me think I’m in London, England. (How would I ever know, I’ve never been there except in books-but hey, I can pretend!)

Corn is still wet 16%. This is suppose to leave by 2:00 this afternoon and then a warmer, drier air mass is suppose to come in.

We’ve set up the grain bins and hooked up the driers…might as well give the electric company some more money…the stuff isn’t getting dry out in the field.

Linda