whats cookin in my kitchen

MmHmm.
My sister came over and we made some Bismarck's. We always have a great time cooking and laughing over silly things. We try to make something new and exciting. And a supper meal too. But always save room for dessert!
 They were really good too. These were a bit like a Boston Cream doughnut. So we looked up a couple more recipes of them, and most were like this. I guess you can call it what you like. I like to call it more! haha

Have a great day ya'll

spoiled

I think our little pooch may be just a little bit spoiled. Just a bit.

It was cold out. So the kiddos decided to warm Belle up in their jackets,  sweater and a pillow to rest her weary head on. Poor little doggie. LOL

Belle is a great croquet player too. She won every round we played.

This dog of ours is very much a part of our family. Her personality is bigger then her, along with her heart for her family.

Yup. We love our Belle.

Have a great day ya'll

best buddies

I turned the two girls loose in the barn the other day so they could be free. I was going to be gone and it was a chilly day. I figured the two could snuggle together and keep each other warm. Well I took a peek out to see them before I left and ran to the house and grabbed the camera. This is what I found when I went to check on them.
Goldie is the one facing me. Callie has her back to me.

Isn't that the sweetest?! Babies all snuggled up together?!
 Don't be alarmed by the red spots on Callie's back. When we went to pick her up we had to put her in a crate of sorts to keep her safe and secure in the back of the truck. Well, when my husband built the box it was a little short and she rubbed her back on it when she moved around. She was taller then we had anticipated her being. The spots are all but healed up now.
Have a great day ya'll!!

thankful

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I look forward to it every year. The family, the food, and the memories that we make together.



                                                  HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL

handy man

I've said it many times. My husband is very handy, and I'm so thankful for it!  He built this...

 A hay feeder for the cows! Now we can put the hay in this and not have the cows poop, and sleep all through their hay.

Side view. He saw one like it for $2500. Then decided to build his own. We love it. And I think the cows do too!
We put up our winter fence this morning. It snowed last night, the 22, as you can see. Just a dusting. Our first snow of the winter. We made the fence so that we can open it up and scrape the manure off the gravel pad, to help keep where they eat drier. Seeing how cows poop where they eat. This was just another winter project we needed to get done.
Now that is done and we can breath a little easier. Feels good to know that the cows won't waste as much hay now that it's in the feeder!

part 2 calla lily

Well the day after we had agreed to buy Goldie and sent out a down payment on her to the owner to show we were wanting her we got a phone call. This call was from the owner of the farm where we bought our first cow! They have an amazing herd of Jerseys. We had called them, but they didn't have any heifers. But they had a few more cows that were due in a month or so, and if they had a heifer they would sell they would call and let us know. Well, turns out they did have a heifer. Oh my!This farm is very particular about who they will sell cows/calves to, these cows are their family. I can appreciate that. We were particular who we sold our bull calves too as well. So after chatting with the farmers and then we chatted we decided to buy this calf. We are building our herd and want to keep a good line of Jerseys. We told our youngest only that we were getting a heifer in November and to keep it a secret. She did well to keep it too.
So on the day we went to get our newest little calf I was excited. She's my calf. I picked out her name, one that I had picked out a long time ago and was waiting my turn to name one. Calla Lily. Now I'm not the most sentimental person, but I do love lilies, and I had them in my wedding bouquet. So there you have it. I do have a little sentiment in me. lol.

So here she is, Callie. And we found out that her father is the same father that we bred one of our cows to! So we can make sure we don't breed her to him in the future.
Have a great day ya'll

part 1 goldenrod

OK. So about the remodel job on the horse barn.
We had 3 bull calves this year. Ya. 3. So we decided to keep the Jersey Red Angus cross for our freezer and we sold the two other calves. That we were happy about.
As we have been blessed with heifer calves we have given them to our kiddos. They take on the responsibility of it. Well this year our cow Maggie had a bull calf, and if it had been a heifer it was to go to our youngest daughter. Well she was in tears when I told her it was a bull. So after getting her calmed down and all she was ok with it. We told her that maybe next year she would get her calf. Maggie is still healthy and all to have more calves. Well my husband and I talked and decided that we would see about buying her a heifer calf. But we didn't tell her in case it didn't work out. Well look we did. All over! We called every Jersey cow farmer we could think of. Turns out a lot of farmers we spoke with had mostly bull calves and what heifers they did have they didn't want to sell. Can't say I blame em either. We thought we had exhausted every avenue. So we resigned ourselves to not finding one. But our daughter had no idea, so she wasn't disappointed. Then one evening my husband found some Jersey cows for sale online. Upon further looking he found a 5 month old Jersey heifer in another state. So we investigated about her. Turns out the man had to move and was selling everything. So we decided to take a chance and buy her.
Well the night the calf was to come, our youngest still had no idea we had bought her. The man brought the calf to the door and we brought our daughter out. She was speechless, and looked at her daddy. I was crouched down nearby holding the camera and got a picture of her as she wrapped her little arms around her fathers neck when she realized that the calf was hers! We got the calf settled in the barn for the night, it was well past 8pm when she arrived to her new home.
 She had her name for her calf all picked out as soon as she knew Maggie had settled last year. Goldenrod, in keeping with the flower names for the cows.

"Goldie"

 Here is Goldie out on the lawn enjoying the sun. She is a real sweetheart and a nice addition to the farm. And our daughter just loves her!
Part 2 is coming tomorrow.
Have a great day ya'll!