what the cluck is going on here?

Man oh man, what a week it's been. I have been farm-sitting for the last few days, and every moment of it has been quite the adventure. From cow-nest making to egg hunting, I've been busy and content with managing a small farm. I go to bed so tired at the end of the day, but with a smile on my face. This is the way I want to live...watering seedlings, gathering eggs, mucking out the nests of my cows to make new fresh sweet-smelling beds of hay for them, mainly for the same reason I love teaching: cultivating and nourishing things to watch them grow.

An adventure of note that bears mentioning is the escape of Maybe, the big bull Scottish Highlander, from his enclosure on Saturday morning. I'd gone in to muck out the shelter and neglected, much to my dismay, to completely lock the gate. He pushed his way through in order to munch on the remainder of the alfalfa I'd brought down, and once he was out, he got that look on his face that said "I'm free!....now what?" He took off down to the front yard of the house, where I was able to snag more alfalfa and coax him back to the pen. Once back inside, I gave him a good brushing and a nice butt-scratch, which by his mannerisms I'm sure he appreciated.

Today I babysat Aila and Keenan while Lori was at a meeting in Palmer. It was so nice to have the extra "help", if not company, during my routine of chores in the late afternoon. Keezer's 2 and a 1/2, and Aila is 5 or 6...both of them just plain joys to have along.
The Bucket Brigade

All cooped up...Aila and Keenan were finding eggs like crazy! I love that treasure hunt!

How now, brown cow? [this one's Maybe, the one that got away]



Farm School has been going really well, having developed with my colleagues some fantastic lessons for the kids. Boyfriend Charlie also helped me put together a cartography lesson involving burrows, animal signs and their interactions, which was rated by Ethan as being "his favorite ever." The kids love the snow, and they've gotten to ski, snowshoe, dog mush and ice skate frequently on our ventures into the cold.
Mesmerized by the burrow puppet show!


Another adventure that goes along with running a farm (momentarily) is the finding of eggs, both chicken and duck. The eggs are wonderful, so tasty and pretty when cooked up. The best part is knowing who layed them, and what conditions they were in, and that the only gas involved with getting them from the chicken to the stomach was my own.
See all the pretty colors? They're Easter Egg Chickens...I think they're called Americanas.

I've been enjoying the benefits of having fresh eggs everyday out here for the past few days, since I have been living on the farm in my adviser's home in order to better attend to the needs of the elderly pups. However, in my adventures with cooking and fresh food, I'd never tried a duck egg, and I don't think I actually have yet. I thought I did, but it ended up being a huge, double yolked chicken egg. All of my bravado for trying a duck egg went into that moment last night, so I'm not sure if I could work up enough courage to actually seek out and try a duck egg. Anyone out there ever had one? Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Anyway, pictures of my dinner last night: peas from the garden, beet/spinach/egg noodle pasta, olive oil, a double yolked egg, sea salt, black pepper and balsamic vinegar. Yum.
To duck or not to duck?

Oh, what the cluck. I'll give it a shot.

Back up chicken eggs...just in case.

The big egg ended up being a double-yolker...but I still didn't know if it was chicken or duck.

Additional yummies...


Success! Tasted delicious, came out great...and definitely tasted like chicken. :)



Now I'm savoring a mug of Bellagio Holiday Spice cocoa and scotch [it's not good scotch, good enough to throw in to make cocoa yummy, so don't get your panties in a bundle], and working on getting to bed. Sleeping well lately...working hard definitely makes sleep come faster. I have to get up with the dogs a lot to let them out, but the sleep in between is so hard, and so good. The mornings are absolutely breathtaking out here in the mountain valley, and watching the farm wake up around me leaves me at a lack of words to describe my heart-felt love for this place. I do love this.