Momma Cows Make A Lot of Noise!

Momma cows make a lot of noise when we work their babies.

"Susie? Susie, where are you?"

"Susie, come here! What are you doing in there?"

"Susie, what are you doing in that contraption?"

"What are you doing to my little girl?"

"Susie, I thought I told you not to get your ear pierced!"

"What are you still doing in there? Get out here this instance!"

"Yes, I'm FREE!!"

"I'm out of here! I wonder where all my friends went to? See ya later Mom."

"Susie you get back here! Don't you run away from me when I'm talkin' to you! Did you hear me?!?! Susie you come back here!"

Workin' Cattle

In the midst of harvesting beans, workin' ground, and planting wheat we have also been weaning and working all the calves on the farm.

We were gone over the past two weekends, so today I am playin' a little catch up and I'm tryin' to get some laundry done and the house picked up. I will share some stories and more pictures about weaning calves hopefully tomorrow or the next day....

Until then...

Janet

And the Answer Is...

 Chicken Litter it is!

And just like a few of you said it sure doesn't smell like roses! If you haven't ever smelled litter before than go open a bottle of rubbing alchol and stick your nose in it and you'd just about have it!

We use litter as a fertilizer for our fields.  Unfourtently all the chicken houses are in Oklahoma, which means a long drive to get it here. So we don't get near as much of it as we would like.

It was suspose to be spread last weeks, but the guys who were gonna do the spreading wasn't able to get to it until Friday, and by then it had rained and was too wet.

I would have gotten a picture of the spreader, but it's yucky and nasty outside and I didn't want to go out there.

Aside from getting chicken litter spread, we have also been doin' a little field work too.

This is just one of the pieces of equiptment that we have been running. It's our 4-wheel drive pullin' a chisel.

All the ground that we are using the chisel on right now will be going to corn next spring.

We also did some disking toget the ground ready for some wheat planting.

Now I am not a huge fan of wheat, mainly because when harvest comes around in the spring we are busyer than elves on Christmas eve. 

But the one good things about planting it is I will hopefully get some pretty wheat pictures in the spring time.

JP

Who Can Guess?

Do you know what  these large piles on the edge of the field are?

Here's a closer look.

Now do you know?

Here's some hints...

My fiend Steph produces a product like this on her farm in Alabama.

Also we use this as a fertilizer.

Do you know yet? Well I'm not gonna tell you right now. So you will have to wait till tomorrow to find out the answer.

Latters,

JP

Workin' on Christmas Cards

I am not one of those people who get overly excited about about Christmas at this time of the year. I love Thanksgiving and the history behind the holiday, and lets be serious all that yummy food is just GREAT!!

But once Thanksgiving is over I am all about Christmas. It is the time when we celebrate the best gift this world was ever given.

Now one bit of Christmas that I do start workin' with before Thanksgiving is my Christmas cards.

I do them online and boy are they easy! I fist did them at Wal-Mart but then they lost them and caused me all sorts of headaches, so last year I decided to do them through Shutterfly. Shutterfly had a lot of different layouts and they were a lot cuter too! They also didn't lose my pictures and I got them super fast.  Plus I already have all my pictures on there and I use them all the time.

The cool thing is that Shutterfly is offering a great deal for all you bloggers out there. All ya got to do is write something about them and their cards and link to their website and they will give you 50 FREE cards. How awesome is that!!!

What's even better is that this year Shutterfly has released some new designs for their Christmas cards and boy are they fun!! Here are a few designs that I just love.
 

(Initially Chic Green)

(Pictures In Red) 

(Many Memories Snowflake)

(Peppermint Ice Snowflake)

(Oh What Fun)

So many choices, I don't know how I'm gonna choose.

Well I guess I better start by getting a picture of Caleb and I for the card.

Do you do Christmas Cards?

Janet

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple-Walnut Cream Cheese Icing

So it's been a really long time since I last posted something I've been cookin' in my kitchen. 

recently I went to a baby shower for one of my dearest friends where we had these delicious Pumpkin cupcakes with maple-walnut frosting and I have been craving them ever since. 

Well I didn't have a the store that made them close to me so I decided to make them for myself and thanks to the internet I found some recipes that helped me achieve that same wonderful taste!

Now before we get started I first want to say sorry for some blurry pictures. I was in a huge hurry when I was making these and didn't check my picture quality when I took the pictures. They aren't terrible but they sure aren't what they should be so sorry.

Ok, lets get started!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

The Line-up: Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Coarse Salt, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Ground Allspice, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Unsalted Butter (melted and cooled), Eggs (it says to use 4 large eggs, but I two large one small and one XL cause that's what I had in my fridge), and 15 Ounce Can Pumpkin Puree

First preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Put 2 cups of all purpose flour, now add in a tsp of baking soda, a tsp of baking power, a tsp of salt, a tsp of ground cinnamon and a tsp of ground ginger.

You will also add in a 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg, but if you are like me and don't have any nutmeg cloves to grate, then you can use the already ground stuff.

You also need to add a 1/4 tsp of ground allspice.

I don't have any of the ground allspice, so here's what I do instead...

I take about a dozen of the little allspice balls and...

...I place them in a ziploc bag. Then I take my meat pounder and start smashing them.

I probably don't get them ground as small as I should, but its a whole lot easier than driving to the store to get a bottle of ground allspice, cause I live out in the middle of nowhere and it takes a while to get to the store. One of these days I will remember to put it on my shopping list. Until then this works for me.

Now in a large bowl break in all four eggs and whisk them together.

You need two sticks of unsalted butter, melted and cooled.

Now to the eggs add 1 cup of white sugar, 1 packed cup of brown sugar and the melted butter.

Now whisk them all together, and then...

...add in the dry ingredients.

Whisk them until smooth.

Now add in the pumpkin puree and...

...whisk it in.

Now spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake tin liners. Fill them 1/2 to 3/4 the way full.

Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, so for about 20 to 25 minutes. You might need to rotate pans depending on your oven. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely before adding the frosting.

Ok now lets make the icing or frosting (whichever you call it)

Maple - Walnut Cream Cheese Icing

Icing Line-up: Cream Cheese, Unsalted Butter, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, Maple Flavoring, and Chopped Walnuts

Your butter should be at room temperature. As you can see mine was a little melted, but it still worked.

Now using an eclectic mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended.

Now beat in two packages of cream cheese.

Add in 1/4 tsp maple flavoring and...

...one cup of maple syrup and beat them in.

Now you need about one cup of chopped walnuts.

Now using a spatula fold in the chopped walnuts.

Chill for about 20 minutes so it can firm up.

Once the icing is ready and the cupcakes have cooled, ice them and enjoy.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Makes 18 – 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed.

Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.


Maple-Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
2 cups walnuts, toasted, chopped

Directions

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in cream cheese, then maple syrup and flavoring. Fold in the chopped walnuts. Chill until beginning to firm, about 20 minutes.



They are so yummy, I just know ya'll will love them!

JP