Video - Night Life on the Farm

A lot of times we aren't able to do chores until night has already fallen. It seems like we have been so busy lately that by the time we get home, it is already dark out.

Last night was one of those times. Growing up I was always afraid of the dark.  I would never have dared stepped foot outside by myself at night time.  But as an adult it doesn't bother me.  And being on our farm and our property, I have always felt safe and secure...that is until last night.

We only have two of the ducks pictured above.  The first one pictured was killed.

Steve and I decided to check on the ducks and look for any duck eggs that the ducks may have laid at the pond.  The ducks have been staying at the pond lately, even though we would rather they be in the chicken coop with the chickens to keep them safe. In fact if we can catch them when they are in the backyard in the evening, we will herd them into the coop.

Last night we had just made it down to the pond when I heard a high-pitched noise. I stopped dead in my tracks and asked Steve what that was. I had no sooner asked him, when the howling started. I can't even begin to tell you how close that howling was. I stood there paralyzed, the hair on the back of my neck raised, not knowing what to do.

It seemed like an eternity as we stood there listening to those blood curdling howls.  At one point I thought they might be after us. Steve told me to get out my camera and start filming to catch their howls. I tried to turn my camera on as fast as I could so I could catch it, but Abby our faithful border collie ran the coyotes off almost immediately.

Abby, our sweet protector.

What was just a matter of seconds, seemed like an eternity.  I kept videoing and we kept searching for the eggs.  The ducks were swimming on the pond and seemed to not be disturbed at all by the sounds that had just happened. Abby stayed by our side until we got back to the house.

Here is the video as we go and search for the ducks and the eggs.

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Leave a Comment coyotes, ducks, eggs, farm, farm life, night time

Throw Back Thursday Recipe: Quick Egg Custard

Growing up, we had dessert almost every night.  It could be something as extravagant as a rich chocolate cake, or something as simple as fruit.  One of the easy desserts that my mom would make would be a quick egg custard.  It was a dessert that my dad loved so she tried to make it for him whenever she could.

When I was little I really didn't care for egg custard.  I think it was more about the texture than the taste.  But as I got older, I grew to love it.

When I was 20 years old, I had my tonsils out.  I remember people saying how I would be able to eat all the ice cream I wanted. After the surgery, I was in more pain than I had ever been in up until that time.  I was looking forward to eating ice cream, but the first time I took a bite, the cold hurt my throat to the point I couldn't eat it at all!  What I realized was that both cold and hot food hurt my throat.  Also I couldn't swallow.  I had to find something that would slide easily down my throat.

I went a couple of days without eating because of the pain, and my mom knew she needed to do something to get some nourishment in me.  She decided to make an egg custard.  Once it had cooled to room temperature, I was able to eat it.  It had protein I needed as well as some nutrients and the best part was that I was able to let it just slide down.

To this day, I love egg custard and enjoy eating it as a special treat.  However I will never forget the time that it was the only thing that I could eat.

So let me share my mom's recipe with  you so that you too can enjoy this special dessert.

Love it when the ingredients are made up of pantry staples!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of milk 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• pinch of salt
• nutmeg

As you can see, there aren't a lot of ingredients needed for the recipe.  And I always have these items on hand in my pantry!  I love recipes that have simple ingredients and nothing fancy!

First you need to preheat the oven to 475°F.  This is important to have a preheated oven!

Next you will need to scald the milk over medium heat.  Scalding is heating the milk till it is almost to the point of boiling.  Just make sure that you don't let it boil!

I used to think that scalded milk meant it was burnt!

While you are heating the milk, beat the eggs and add in the pinch of salt.

Once the milk is scalded, add a little of the milk to the eggs in order to temper them.  Tempering allows the temperature of the eggs to rise to meet the temperature of the milk.  If you didn't do this, then you would end up with scrambled eggs!

My trusty mixing bowl.  It is almost 20 years old!

When you have tempered the eggs, mix together all ingredients.  Pour into an oven safe dish and sprinkle with nutmeg.

All ready for the oven!

Bake at 475°F for 5 minutes.  Turn temperature down to 425°F and bake for 10 minutes.  Then turn temperature back up to 475°F and bake for 10 minutes.  Then turn temperature down to 425°F and bake for the last 10 minutes.

I love the golden color of the custard!

Remove from oven and let cool.  Then enjoy.

All I need is a spoon!

This dessert really does bring back memories for me.  Good memories.  Not only did my mom make this recipe, but my grandmother as well.  In fact when I was making the recipe for this post, just the smell of it brought memories of my childhood back to me.  I was almost transported back to my mom's kitchen as a young girl.  I love it when food can do that!

I hope that you try this out and please let me know in the comments what you think.

Want the printed version of the recipe?  Then click HERE.

Leave a Comment custard, eggs, recipes, tbt

Farm Fresh Eggs!

Normally, I like to stay up to date with what is going on in the world.  As a full-time librarian, it really is my job to know current events.  So how the price of eggs sky-rocketing got past me, I will never know.

How I did find out was during a conversation with a couple of scout parents during a camp-out.  It just so happens that we all own chickens and were talking about how our chickens were laying during the summer as well as who was brooding, etc.  One of them brought up the fact that they were so glad that they were getting eggs and not having to buy them at the store because of the cost.  Of course I had to ask about this, because honestly the last time I noticed the price of eggs, it was just under $2.00/dozen.  That is when I was told that the cost of eggs is now almost $5.00/dozen because of the Avian Flu.  

Ridiculous!

I was completely shocked!  It has been almost a year since we have bought eggs in the store.  So to be honest I really don't pay attention to egg prices.  But to not even read about this or hear this on the news...my summer is just too busy I guess.

So with the news of soaring egg prices and then seeing those prices for myself, I knew that I needed to take even better care of "our girls."  Don't get me wrong, our chickens are well taken care of.  But with those kinds of prices, the eggs they are laying now are like golden eggs!  We currently have 5 hens and we get anywhere from 3-4 eggs a day.

Our Girls (as well as Mr. Rooster)

It is situations like these where I am so thankful that we are growing our sustainable farm.  To be honest, I don't know if we could really afford the $5.00/dozen eggs in the store.  We would just have to try and do without or make substitutions, especially in baking.

Even though having chickens is work, it is well worth it to be able to feed my family something that is a good source of protein.  Also I know where those eggs came from.  I know how the chickens are raised, and what they are fed.  I know how they are treated, and I know that they don't live in poop all day long. ;-) And in times like this I don't have to worry about the fluctuations of the store prices.  For those that can't have chickens either because they don't have room, or because of city ordinances, I would suggest checking out a local farm, or farmer's market.  Usually the prices are a LOT more stable than a regular grocery store.

So what are the egg prices in your neck of the woods? Let me know in the comments below.

Leave a Comment chickens, eggs, farm, farming, sustainable living

What a wonderful Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays!  To me it is a time for renewal.  It is a remembrance of an awakening after death.  Of course I am referring to Jesus being risen from the dead. But I am also referring to the beginning of spring.  After winter's "death" the renewal of spring comes and with it comes life.  I absolutely love springtime.  The beautiful flowers, the start of gardening, the sunshine and warmer days.  

I thought I would share with you just a few pictures of my family's Easter weekend.  We had egg hunts, church services, special meals, and even celebrated my father's 80th birthday!

Here are my beautiful eggs from our chickens getting ready to be boiled for deviled eggs.

And here are the eggs after they are done.  They were gobbled up in no time at our family dinner!  So easy to make and so good!

We went to an egg hunt and the kids had a great time.  Not only were there eggs that the kids searched for, but also there was candy everywhere!  Here is Carly gearing up for the egg hunt.

And here she is picking up eggs and candy.

Drew also had a great time at the egg hunt.  You have to admit Easter candy is some of the best!

And here they are after the hunt.  They are loving the loot they got!  In fact if you look close enough you can even see a little bit of chocolate on Drew's face.  I think he ate as he hunted. :-)

So what are some of the things that you did for Easter?

Leave a Comment chickens, Easter, eggs, family, farm, farming, fun, holidays