The hard part about making plans is, they get disrupted so quickly! :-D Even scheduled appointments and the like often get changed at the last minute. Even the medical appointment we had for my husband this morning was one that had been rescheduled twice before – and that turned out unusual. Continue reading
photo of the day
A difficult post
I admit to substantial hesitation before writing this post. But since I’ve already posted about the vandalism to our locks, I suppose it doesn’t make much difference. Plus, this blog was intended to be about all of the things we are discovering and dealing with as we take care of the farm for my mother, and… well, this is part of it.
This is the latest vandalism we have found.
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You WILL pay attention to me, says the cat
Walking around the yard in the mornings, it’s not usual for me to have a cat or two, following me along. This morning was no exception.
Butterscotch, however, was much more demanding of attention than usual! Especially when I stopped to try and get some photos.
I did manage to get a couple photos of lichen on some trees that were worth posting.
I just love those textures.
Even when I was a kid, I was fascinated by the look of lichen!
When I started walking around, Butterscotch was her usual self. Dashing around my feet, trying to trip me, then running ahead.
When I paused for a few moments, she started rolling in the dirt, being thoroughly entertaining.
The Outsider followed along for a bit, though when he got close to Butterscotch, she started to hiss and bat at him.
Even Rosencrantz or Guildenstern started to follow along, though he hid behind a crab apple tree, when I tried to get a picture.
As I continued along between the spruce grove and the apple trees by the garden, Butterscotch got more insistent.
Yeah. She started climbing the back of my leg, too.
I ended up picking her up and carrying her for a while.
Her little feet were damp and cold. Maybe that’s why she wanted up?
While I stopped to get photos of tree bark, this happened.
That is a very trusting cat. If I so much as leaned backwards, down she would have went!
Look at her twisting and turning!
Look at that expression on her face. :-D
Then she decided to eat the bottom of my zipper.
Silly kitty!
The Re-Farmer
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Let’s see if this works.
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Nutty Seedy Brittle
I decided to try something new tonight; making a brittle. While I’ve certainly had brittle before, I’ve never made it until now.
When I started looking up recipes, I thought I might not be able to, since they all included corn syrup. This is something I don’t normally have in the pantry. However, I did find some without corn syrup, so it worked out in the end.
Before I share the photos and recipe, here are some important notes.
First, make sure you premeasure all your ingredients, first. Once the sugar starts to caramelize, you will have to work quickly, so have them all ready and on hand.
Second, make sure you have a baking sheet or pan oiled/buttered and ready before you start. If it’s not well oiled first, it will be next to impossible to get the brittle off once it hardens.
It would also be preferable to use a heavy bottomed saucepan, if you have one, for even heating, as sugar can burn easily.
And finally, have a trivet or pot holder near the pan. When the sugar caramelizes, you will need to work quickly to remove it from the heat and add the final ingredients, so make sure to have a safe place where you can put your hot pot, stir things in, then immediately pour it onto your prepared pan.
For this brittle, I used a mix of pecan pieces and roasted, salted sunflower seeds, because that’s what I had on hand. Since the sunflower seeds and butter were both salted, I was lighter on the added salt. I also used kosher salt; being a coarse salt, there’s a bit less in the measuring spoon than when using table salt. If I were using table salt, I would reduce the amount by about half, unless I were using unsalted butter and none of the nuts/seeds were salted.
Nutty Seedy Brittle Ingredients (makes about 2 – 2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups nuts and seeds (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp baking soda
1. Combine sugar, water and salt into a saucepan over medium/medium-high heat.
2. Bring the syrup mixture to a gentle boil, then set timer for 10 minutes.
3 . Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, watching for the colour to change.
This is after 10 minutes.
4. Continue to boil until the colour changes from clear to a light amber colour. This may take another 10 minutes, depending on your stove.
5. As soon as the colour changes (or the temperature reaches 300F on a candy thermometer), remove from heat.
6. Quickly add the butter, vanilla and baking soda, while stirring constantly. The mixture will foam up. Continue stirring until the foam subsides and the mixture begins to look glossy.
7. Quickly stir in the nuts and seeds, then pour the mixture onto the prepared pan.
8. Flatten the mixture, as needed, and allow to cool for about 20 minutes, or until brittle.
That’s it!
It’s a simple recipe, using some pretty basic ingredients. It’s just a bit finicky on technique. Well worth it!
Enjoy!
The Re-Farmer
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Gone to pot
Getting feisty!
Part of my morning routine, weather willing, is to walk around the yard and check on things, such as looking for fallen branches, or seeing if anything broke or blew over during the night.
Having been able to clear as much of the spruce grove perimeter as I have, I now include that as well.
So I finally got a photo this morning, of the lonely little cedar tree, cleared of the poplars that were starting to crowd it.
.
I will have to do some research to find out the best way to care for this little guy. :-)
Beep Beep has taken to following me, as I walk around. Sometimes, Butterscotch as well.
This morning, I had both of them.
Beep Beep, we’ve noticed, has been getting feistier and more aggressive to the other cats. This morning, she went after Butterscotch!
It’s one thing to be growling at the other cats, and maybe batting at them a bit. Rolando Moon has always been like that.
But this morning, she was ready to start a fight with Butterscotch!
And Butterscotch is definitely the more passive of the two.
I broke them up and ended up carrying Butterscotch for a while.
Poor thing. :-(
The Re-Farmer
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Vehicular Milestone
You know, the outside cats make going outside quite entertaining! Check out Beep Beep!
Earlier, when I was walking around the yard, she followed me, insisting on attention, until I finally picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.
Later, as I brought the van into the yard, cats and kits scattered all over the place. Beep Beep went up the tree. When I came near, she started rolling around so much, she almost fell off!
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Kitten Rescue!
Doom Guy and Beep Beep kept me company while I was cleaning up around the garage and fence line this afternoon. When I got to where I had to figure out some way to lift the post hole pounder, to free up the bikes under it, I went into the lean to on this side of the garage, to find something to help.
Since I was going in and out of it, I left the door open.
Of course, the cats went in to check it out. This is the only part of the garage they can’t squeeze their way into, so it was all new to them!
While working on the junk pile, I could hear meowing from the garage. I went in to see, and from the direction of the sound, figured Doom Guy was exploring under the counter. After a while, though, the meowing started to sound decidedly distressed.
So I went back to look again.
Which is when I discovered Doom Guy was trapped behind the counter.
The counter has open space under it, but it also had a back to it. Above the counter are boards covering the wall joists; likely to prevent things from falling off the back of the counter, where they could not be retrieved.
Doom Guy was somewhere in the wall joists!
Now, while we’ve been using this lean to for storing the riding mower, and a few other things, we were not going to start sorting and cleaning up the garage any time soon. So stuff that’s in there have been there for years.
Lots of stuff.
I ended up getting one of my daughters to come and help me. She came into the garage, just in time to see the top of Doom Guy’s head, before he fell back down again. He could climb to the top, but couldn’t get over the edge of the board.
So we cleared the end of the counter, my daughter climbed on top of it, and ripped the board that was there off completely.
The blue on the left is another section of board, blocking the space.
This is some of the stuff that was on the counter.
The shadow is Beep Beep’s tail. :-D
The wooden things on the ground are shelves, filled with nuts, bolts and other small items. All metal.
I’m glad the two parts were separate, because it took two of us lift each of them off!
The noise and bustle we made spooked Doom Guy into squeezing over to another space. I could only see him by using my phone!
We even put some cat treats at the top, to tempt him to climb up again.
At one point, I could hear him purring!
I even managed to move the counter away from the wall by a couple of inches. It couldn’t be moved too far, as that end is resting on a bit of concrete foundation. It would fall right off, if moved too far.
We left the garage to give Doom Guy some quiet, so he would try and climb again. After a while, my daughter came back. We could hear some scrambling, so she hopped onto the counter. As soon as he was close enough, she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him the rest of the way out!
He was just covered in dirt and cobwebs!
He does not look happy. :-D
When he got down to the ground, she tried to give him treats there, but he was more interested in attention.
So his mom ate them.
My daughter took the treat container and, shaking it to make some noise, tried to tempt him away from the garage. Instead, he kept sniffing the spot where the treats his mother ate had been. So I picked him up and took him to my daughter, who got him over to the house.
I’m glad we were able to get him out of there. For a while, I was seriously considering cutting a hole in the wall, from the outside!
I haven’t put anything back on the counter, yet. A lot of what’s there might just get thrown out (why are there so many empty tool and tool accessory cases?). At the very least, I want to clean the end of the counter before putting the shelves back – and getting rid of all the dead Asian Lady Beetles that fell out when the board got pulled off!
I supposed the board should be put back. Maybe not nailed and glued in place again, though!
While fussing with things on the counter later on, though, something caught my eye, in between some pieces and parts, boxes and cases.
Was that a glass?
With liquid in it?
What on earth?
Oil.
Dirty oil.
Why is that there?
How long has it been there?
We’re going to have our work cut out for us, when we finally get to cleaning the garage.
Hopefully, no more kittens will need to be rescued!
The Re-Farmer
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Clean up: spruce grove perimeter – the junk pile!
Okay.
So, I knew there was a fair bit of junk piled on and around a piece of equipment next to the garage.
I didn’t realize just how bad it was.
Wow.
The Re-Farmer 