WHEN NOTHING GOES RIGHT...

WHEN NOTHING GOES RIGHT, TURN LEFT... author unknown... lets just say...for the past few weeks the sun has remained hidden ...the weather has been rainy... wet and cold...certainly not the summer weather we have been anticipating....okay...dreaming of...I dare not put my MUCK boots away...the hens door yard has become nothing but mud...a dust bath remains a distant memory for them...there are insects living the good life in the vegetable garden...weeds have grown as tall as sunflowers....ants have invaded my kitchen...and now... to top it all off... the days are becoming shorter...Feeling the need to raise my spirits...I walk...Fives days a week... rain...snow...or sleet... a remedy to maintain my sanity....I walk...seven miles and climbing... an hour and a half...it is pure enjoyment with a little entertainment thrown in... Accompanying me is my friend "Becky" also known as my "partner in crime." We laugh and laugh... till we cry...I do realize it is just a matter of time before this soon to be middle aged women has to invest in Depends... if you get my drift....but laughing is so good for the soul...and such a good way to start the day. Becky and I have decided to branch out...see the new wheels...a bike rack went on my Outback and we were good to go...We made our first grand attempt on a fourteen mile ride....the wind was blowing in our hair...well...not really as we did don "brain buckets" everything was going along smoothly... that was... until back in the distance I heard "my pedal fell off"....needless to say we ended up walking that morning... along with me making a mental note to "always check over and tighten up any screws or bolts on a newly purchased bicycle..and to definitely invest in Depends... So there you have it...my cup over flows... flowers will grow.. weeds pulled... the sun will return...

and the chore list will get tackled...

there will be peas for the fourth!

and I will get caught up with everyone soon...have a great week and don't forget to laugh!!

AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT...

It is with sadness that I announce the time has come for Fern and Phoebe to be relocated... their malicious behavior can no longer be tolerated. Every course of action has been attempted and failed miserably... Iris remains their main target...Fern and Phoebe are a bonded pair and as such will go together to live on a dairy farm down the road. Their pampered life... as they know it is OVER... Since this fiasco began I have discovered what a special hen Iris is...during the day she cautiously roams the yard along side the other hens...life remains normal until one or both of the Wynadottes decide it's time to jump on her back...pull her feathers...with this type of behavior Iris has become reluctant to enter the coop...hence laying has become a problem...Iris realizes the odds of being chased out of the coop and nest box are great...but my girl will not be held back and has become quite resourceful...she has learned to come to the back door...knock with her beak...I inturn open the back door...Iris walks in and enters her cage...

I believe she realizes this is a safe and secure environment in which to lay... I open the cage door...

out she hops...
proudly leaving her treasure behind...

I have learned to never under estimate the intelligence of a hen...

Now...it is true my house is beginning to smell like a barn...not only is it time for Iris to move back to the coop with her sisters...it is time for my little "peeps" to move out too. My once tiny five "peeps" have grown into four rowdy teenagers. Yes...four...more on that tomorrow... The gardens are beginning to flourish...there are days of summer like weather and days of cold wet weather...the wood stove is still in use...taking the chill off in the evenings...

such is the weather in Maine...I do hope summer has come to your neck of the woods!!

KEEPER OF THE HOME

I am a housewife...a keeper of the home...a job that I enjoy and am proud of...I have worked outside the home and have also owned a childcare and preschool business. After falling ill a few years ago I was forced to give up my business and concentrate on becoming well...(viral meningitis and encephalitis) The role I now hold is housewife...yes... I am a mother too... but my sons are now grown ...So... while recently filling out a medical questionnaire the question before me was "occupation"... I was hesitant to write the word HOUSEWIFE. Then I recalled reading a quote by the late Tasha Tudor... a women whom I greatly admire. " I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dish washing. Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife when you're stirring the jam you can always read Shakespeare." Amen... Thank you dear Tasha for your words of wisdom...

A PERFECT DAY AND A PERFECT RECIPE

Today...the sun is shining ...a gentle breeze is in the air...the fragrant scent of flowers surround me as I work in the garden...it is a perfect day...the sky is blue and the yard has now come alive with birdsong and color...the Hawthorne trees are in bloom...one in magenta... and another in white...both of which are favored by the birds... the Clematis is making it's late spring appearance...

as is the Columbine...

the rhododendrons are in full bloom...filled with bumblebees busily going about their business...tomorrow the heat and humidity arrive...summer is on our doorstep...in a few weeks it will be berry picking season...strawberries sweet and tender...so with that in mind I offer you Martha Stewart's recipe for Strawberry Cake...it's flavor...like a big old sugar cookie...enhanced by sweet strawberries...a perfect springtime recipe...

Martha's Strawberry Cake-Makes One 10-Inch Cake

6Tablespoons Butter Softened, Plus More For Pie Plate

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Large Egg

1/2 Cup Milk

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Pound Strawberries, Hulled and Halved

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 10 inch pie plate or cake pan, sift four, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl.

Blend softened butter and one cup sugar in a bowl, blend about three minutes, then mix egg, milk, and vanilla.

Gradually mix in the flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie or cake pan. Arrange strawberries on the top of batter, with cut sides facing down, sprinkle remaining sugar over top.

Bake cake for ten minutes at 350, then reduce temperature to 325. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to touch, about one hour. Let cool on a wire rack. Cake can be stored at room temperature loosely covered for up to two days.

Enjoy!!!!

THE "TO DO" LIST...

Summertime and the living is easy.... for Winslow Homer that is...our summertime to do list here at Dog Trot Farm is quite lengthy...there is a chimney to clean and wood to stack...carpets to steam...a pine floor to be laid... and a new kitchen window to install... there is trim to paint and a porch too...let alone vegetable and flower gardens to tend...sometimes the days just don't seem long enough... and now there are issues with my girls. Since the death of Pip the hierarchy in the coop has changed... changed for the worse that is...this lovely lady...

and her twin sister....who were once meek and mild...

have become down right evil...

the target of this behavior is Iris...my sweet... lovable buff...whether it be in the coop or in the yard it makes no difference Iris is their target. I removed Iris from the coop thinking she could possibly be ill...but after two weeks of living apart... there is no evidence of illness... she is accepted by the other hens...her appetite is fine as is her laying...so with reluctance...I have no choice but to give Fern and Phoebe away. It is either a new home or off with their heads and into the stew pot!
Below is my treasure... an old zinc tub. My husband was my walking campion on the day I happened to spy it...well off the trail and in the bushes..."I suppose you want me to go get it" "why yes" I said. DH pulled it out and I said "oh... look it has drainage holes...I already had a vision for it's purpose..."no...those are not drainage holes...those are bullet holes." Needless to say my husband carried the old zinc tub two miles back to the car... with no complaints... and by evening I had found the perfect location...... one person's trash is another person's treasure...

and to show my thanks...I made his favorite summertime cake...Martha Stewart's Strawberry Sugar Cake.

topped off with a "dopple" of whipped cream....thanks honey, you're the best...!