The Vet Comes for Farm Checkups

Nothing starts my day better than looking out the window and seeing my grumpy Melina tenderly playing with one of the babies.

I had my vet scheduled to come to the farm today for checkups on all of the goats. Wanting to make a good first impression, I spent some time this morning cleaning up the “human” part of the goat house and finally assembling my milking stand that I never ended up needing this spring.

Two young female vets came that I had never met before, and they were very nice. Everyone was due for their vaccines and rabies shots, and while they were here we trimmed hooves and wormed them all.

Do you have any food?

While all of them loved having one-on-one attention from me, none liked any of the uncomfortable things very much. Kiki was very upset about the shots, and Melina was pretty much upset about everything being done to her. Surprisingly, Princess Kate, who is normally the most shy one, was the calmest through the whole procedure. She would have happily stayed slung over my legs, as she was for the hoof trimming, longer.

Afterwards, Kiki was clearly exhausted from the trauma of her shots. She didn’t do a whole lot of moving this afternoon, but seemed to be feeling perkier by dinnertime.

Kiki sound asleep in the bushes.

This chicken, who has been broody in the doghouse for a few weeks (often not even on an egg), has finally given up. Every night I would have to drag her out of the doghouse and stick her in a coop for the night so she wouldn't get eaten by a fox. In the morning she's go right back into the doghouse.

Look at how beautiful this Welsummer adolescent hen is turning out.

Princess Kate is enjoying all of the fall leaves coming down. Look at the peanut gallery in the background.

I bought this yellow treat ball that you fill up with special chicken delights. As they roll it around the treats fall out of little holes on the sides. Of course I threw it too hard and it popped open and spilled most of it on the ground.

Which brought everyone running for some special snacks.

For a moment I thought Grace was having a seizure from her shots here.

But then I realized she was just trying to awkwardly scratch her back.

And finally I’ll show you the current condition of the chicken coops and goat house. I had them change the color scheme on the door. I like it better, but I’m still not sure I’m going to keep the grey. Now I’m thinking classic white trim on the red might be best. My painter is going to love me.

The Chicken Coop

The Goat House

Even my 20-year old coop is getting a facelift. Doesn't the classic red with white trim look better?

Old Faithful

I know everyone's seen a photo of the Old Faithful geyser going off in Yellowstone, but I took this one myself. Statistics show that the average tourist in Yellowstone doesn't go more than something like 50 yards from their car. If you ever are up at Old Faithful, do take the long trail around all of the geyser's and you will see the most amazing things.

Sunset in Alma Center, Wisconsin

Going through my photos yesterday I came across this one of an incredible sunset in Alma Center, Wisconsin when I was driving from Connecticut to Wyoming with two of my girls. Just lovely.

Painting Has Begun on the Coop & Goat House

Well, my new chicken coop and goat house, which were supposed to be done, start-to-finish, in about two months, are now, 5 months later, almost finished. Painting began today, and after that there is just some finish work to be done like enclosing the cement posts with wood.

My piggies got put in the grass while the goat house is being painted.


I had long ago chosen a color scheme of barn red and grey for the buildings. I’m not sure if I’m loving the grey with it right now though, but I’m sure it will grown on me. Or maybe there’s just too much grey? Maybe the doors should stay red? The live-edge siding along the bottom of the structures will stay a natural color and just be sealed with a wood preservative.

Entrance side of the chicken coop.


Front of the chicken coop.


Entrance to the Goat House.


Front of the Goat House.


Far side of the goat house. I do think I like it better with the natural brown and red...


She found it all rather interesting.


I suspect the reason they didn't touch the back of either building yet is they're not quite sure what to think of the goats and chicken. I can just see Gracie now in a nice shade of barn red stain.


I'm sure Kate will faint for them a few times. They'll probably think they killed her when she keels over!


Kiki played a supervisory role from the vantage point of the ramp.


If anybody that wants to weigh in with their opinion on the colors with a comment, I would appreciate it.

Vintage Ruler & Tape Measure Jewelry

There was an article in the Autumn 2011 issue of GreenCraft Magazine about making jewelry from vintage rulers. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to try making my own. I don’t make jewelry very much; I figure I’ve got enough crafts to do already, but I do own the basic equipment needed, and do it on rare occasions.

This jewelry brought me right back to my childhood. My dad was a carpenter his entire working life, and as a child I remember he almost always carried around a folding, accordion-style wooden rulers. I vaguely recall that his back pants pocket even wore out around the shape of the ruler, just as a cowboy’s jeans might wear out around his can of chewing tobacco in his back pocket.

I hopped on eBay and quickly found a cheap wooden ruler just like my dad’s, and also an old fabric wind-up tape measure. I think I paid $5 for each of them. I looked through my box of jewelry making supplies, and while I was waiting for the packages to come, I stocked up on a few more things I thought I might need.

Once everything arrived I gathered all my supplies, including my portable vice. Since I don’t have a workbench, I secured my vice to a big piece of plywood. this works well for me because it’s portable . I stick it down on a dishtowel so it doesn’t scratch any surfaces. I also gathered my dremel drill with my attachment box.





Now I’m not here to teach you how to make jewelry. I just wanted to show you what’s possible with an old ruler and a few beads. Are those age spots on my face? 


And we’re just going to completely ignore the fact that in my ever-increasing age the skin on my neck is now starting to resemble a plucked chicken.

Vintage Ruler Necklace

The Finished Vintage Ruler Earrings

Then, since I loved the way this set came out I made some more.This time I added some cool brass components’s with a yellow patina I got on an Etsy shop and some brass hearts I found at my local bead store along with pearls.


And to finish either set off I made a bracelet to go with them.


And then for kicks I made a bangle bracelet with some of the fabric tape measure. First I took a page out of a carpentry book I had to use for covering the bracelet. It’s something most people probably wouldn’t notice, but I thought it was cool to try and tie the tape measure back to construction with something like that. I wrapped one of the large wooden bangle bracelets I had leftover from my Sweater Covered Bangle Bracelet project with strips of the book page I’d cut up, using matte medium to adhere the pieces. (you can use Modge Podge or anything similar to that.). When that was dry I used a high-tack, quick-drying, clear craft glue to adhere a strip of the fabric tape measure around the middle of the bracelet. When that was dry I first used a matte varnish on the bracelet to seal it, but didn’t find that looked right so I applied a gloss varnish and loved the way it came out.



My vintage ruler & tape measure bracelets.


That’s a pretty “green” jewelry project. You can make lots of jewelry from a single vintage folding ruler or cloth tape measure.

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Iowa Barn

I adore barns. One day, if my world turns out to be perfect, I will live in a restored barn happily ever after. That, or I'll just have to move out with the goats and try to be happy there. It always makes me sad to see a big, beautiful barn that is no longer used and falling into disrepair. This barn was between Iowa City and the Amana Colonies in Ipwa.

Waterfall

A waterfall in Kent, CT

Curried Lentil Soup with Mango & Apples


Many years ago we were eating a winter dinner at The Snake River Grill in Jackson, WY. I had a curried lentil soup that was outstanding. It was so great, that after I returned I wrote a letter to the chef there and asked if he might share the recipe with me. I didn’t hear back for a few months, so assumed I would not get my wish. Long after I’d forgotten about it, one day in the mail came the hand-written recipe from the chef for the soup. I still have his original recipe, and it’s one of my favorite soups.


This recipe can be completely vegetarian if you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and you can substitute all vegetable oil for the butter and oil. I often make it this way and my kids are none the wiser. The french green lentils called for in this recipe are getting easier to find than they used to be. They hold their shape unlike the more typical lentil does. An important part of cooking them though is the quick saute they have before you add the stock to the soup. This helps to seal the outside shell of the lentil I was told. This recipe makes a lot, so there’s plenty to have for a meal and freeze some for another day.

Curried Lentil Soup with Mango & Apple

2 pounds French Green Lentils DuPuy (rinsed, but not soaked)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, peeled & finely diced
4 stalks celery, finely diced
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
4 tablespoons good curry powder (I used 2 tbsp. hot curry powder & 2 tbsp. sweet pineapple curry powder)
1 to 3 teaspoons red Thai curry paste*
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2-1/2 to 3 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

* Red Thai curry paste can add a lot of heat, quickly. Start with 1 teaspoon and adjust up, slowly, if you find you’d like a little more heat to the soup.


Sweat all ingredients in butter and olive oil except for lentils for 10-12 minutes on medium heat in a heavy-bottomed stockpot.


Add lentils, stir for 2-3 minutes.


Add 2-1/2 quarts stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to a very low simmer.


Simmer for 40-45 minutes, season with salt & pepper and add additional stock if the soup needs thinning.


This makes a great meal. Serve with a good, crusty bread.




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Crafty Farm Sister’s Southern Road Trip

I love a good road trip. I’ll happily hop into the car and drive for hours with no particular destination in mind. Always with my camera. Always with good music. When my kids are grown and gone I may not be home much at all — you’ll just find me driving around taking photographs.

Last year I restored a 1957 Kenskill Travel Trailer (that I named Eleanor) back to her original glory — and then some. My sister and I drove her from Wyoming to Connecticut in May, and in June I drive back to Wyoming with India, Maia and my dog, Bullet. They were both amazing trips.

My sister and I spent the night in the Badlands National Park in my vintage travel trailer, Eleanor.

India and Maia when we arrived in Jackson, Wyoming.

Even with all of the travel I did this summer, I ended up not feeling like I’d had much of a vacation. My sister and I had planned on going back to the John C. Campbell School of Folk Art in North Carolina, but when we compared calendars there wasn’t a class that interested us both at a good time for both of us. I suggested a road trip; a photography-taking, weird-spot-hunting, foodie-finding road trip. She happily agreed.

We decided it made the most sense to start in Austin, rent a minivan one-way, and drive back. We’ll need the minivan to pack all the cool things we’re going to find in. Hell, we might even need a roof rack to tie stuff down! It’s a lot of driving, but we travel really well together, have similar tastes, and love an adventure. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself.

Below you can see the tentative route we’ve worked out so far.


View Larger Map

I’ll just show you a few planned stops along the way.

In Austin we have quite a few places to go, but one is the Cathedral of Junk. Enormous towers of junk that has become yard art. It’s invisible from the street and apparently something to behold. I’ll be there, camera in hand.

The Cathedral of Junk in Austin, Texas

Heading out of Austin on our way up to Fredericksburg, Texas, we’ll stop at the Hamilton Pool Preserve. A natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed thousands of years ago. It looks so beautiful.


We’re heading to Fredericksburg not only because it’s a beautiful drive that my sister should see, but to go shopping at Red. Just a cool, funky store where, since we’ll have a rental car I’m hoping I’ll find something fabulous to bring home.

In Mississippi you can bet you’ll find us spending a night at The Shack Up Inn. I am SO excited to see this place.


And this whole trip really started because of this antiques store in a Atlanta neighborhood we stumbled across in May, Highland Row Antiques. They had so many awesome things for sale, but with no car and carry-on suitcases, the only things I was able to leave with were a vintage cowboy shirt for Evan and a finely woven wicker goat that now lives in the goat house. We plan on making that right this time around, hence the minivan.


And just outside Atlanta is a Serenbe, a 900-acre sustainable community that is a national model for the future of balanced development in the U.S. I have known of this community for a few years now, and am very excited to finally be able to go and see it first-hand. There are lots of options for us to spend the night in there, from a lovely hotel to different rental units available around the town. Heck, I may just sleep in the barn it’s so pretty.



So that’s the trip in a nutshell. It’s less than two months away!

If you want to read more about my Kenskill Travel Trailer or the road trips I’ve taken in her, you can click the links below.

Eleanor, my 1957 Kenskill Travel Trailer, Before & After

Crafty Farm Sister’s Great Plains Road Trip Day One – Jackson, WY to Worland, WY
Crafty Farm Sister’s Great Plains Road Trip Day Two – Worland, WY to Badlands National Park, SD
Crafty Farm Sister’s Great Plains Road Trip Day Three & Four – Badlands, SD to Rockford, IL
Crafty Farm Sister’s Great Plains Road Trip Day Five & Six – Rockford, IL to Darien, CT

Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day One – The Worst Day EVER
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Two – A Better Day
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Three – Spencer, OH to Muskegon, MI
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Four – Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Five & Six – Milwaukee, WI to Fargo, ND
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Seven – Fargo, ND to Kennebec, SD
Crafty Farm Girl’s Summer Road Trip 2010 Day Eight & Nine – Kennebec, SD to Teton Village, WY

Bull’s Bridge

We took my daughter, India, up to Kent, Connecticut today. I took this picture inside a covered bridge just outside of town. india had never seen a covered bridge before, so I was glad this one had survived the hurricane in September, when so many tragically didn't.