Saturday, September 27, 2025

The Barnyard Buffet

   Evening had settled over the barn, and the animals gathered for supper as if answering an unspoken invitation. At the far end, the old milk cow dipped her head into the blue makeshift feeder, the scrape of grain against plastic echoing softly in the wooden stall. She chewed slowly, patiently, her large frame steady and calm as the dim light caught the curve of her neck. 
   Closer to the ground, a small black pig rooted happily in a heavy metal dish, its back dusted with flecks of feed like golden confetti. The pig’s curly tail wagged with satisfaction as though every bite was a small celebration.
   But the pig was not alone in its feast. Two barn cats, striped and sleek, pressed in on either side. Their whiskers twitched as they lapped at the shared bowls, undeterred by the pig’s snuffling. It was a strange trio to see—cats and pig dining shoulder to shoulder—but in the barn, mealtime was a shared affair, not a competition. 
   From the shadows, a chicken shuffled in, feathers pale against the dusty floor. It pecked here and there, gathering what the larger eaters overlooked, adding to the sense of quiet harmony that hung in the air. 
   The barn smelled of hay, earth, and warm bodies, a mixture as old as farming itself. Each creature seemed content, caught up in the simple rhythm of feeding. For a moment, it was easy to believe the whole barnyard was a single family—different shapes, different sounds, yet bound together by the ritual of supper.

Wednesday, January 01, 2025

First Litter of Rabbits of 2025


It always amazes me just how quickly rabbits prepare and give birth to their babies. This vidwo was taken at 11:43 a.m. this morning, she had just started pulling hair a few minutes before the video started. By 11:56 a.m. she had finished giving birth to 11 kits and was out of the nestbox.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Sourdough and Random Thoughts

   I came here to look for a recipe I used to use all of the time, only to find that it's been four years since I've posted anything. I was looking for my bread recipe to try to convert it from a commercial yeast dough into a sourdough recipe. I've been maintaining a sourdough starter now for couple of years now and only baking with it occasionally. I mostly us the discard in recipes but haven't really perfected making a straight sourdough loaf.
   

May 06, 2021

One of the first things I made with sourdough was Bagels. They turned out okay but not as soft as we would have liked. I think with more practice they will get better.

May 11, 2021

The best bread I made so far was from Kate's Soft Sourdough Recipe. Here are pictures of the first time I made this recipe. 

February 15, 2022

February 15, 2022

After making sourdough consistently for a few months, I drifted back to buying bread as my family isn't really found of the taste and texture of my sourdough. I'm starting to experiment with recipes again to find a milder tasting loaf that will be kinder to my family's taste buds.


Friday, February 14, 2020

Life Goals...

   Two weeks shy of a year and I finally achieved what I set out to do with those little fuzzy chicks we brought home last March. This is the first time ever I've gotten this variation of colors all at one time. I love it!
   We all have different life goals. I realize mine are not normal, but they are goals. And I can check this off the list.


Saturday, March 02, 2019

   I took some time off and now I'm going to attempt to get back to this. To say many things have changed in the last 3 years would be an understatement!
   I got married, took my older boys out of the public school they were in and started them in an online cyber school, downsized our 'livestock' to just a few animals and had another baby boy. Of course there has been a lot of other thing, good and bad, that have happened but I'll stick to the basics for now.
   After a hiatus it's time to start again. I'm sure I've lost most of my followers during the time I've been gone but maybe there are a few of you who are still around and interested in what is going on here at Seldom Seen Acres.
   Last fall and early into the winter we lost all but one hen and one rooster to predators. We decided to restock and get 30 new hens. We had decided to buy the chicks through our local Tractor Supply instead of ordering them through the mail for because the weather is still so unpredictable and I didn't want babies in the mail during freezing temperatures. When we called to see when TSC would be getting their first shipment of chicks they said they would be getting them starting the last week of February. I'd already decided that I wanted to get breeds of chickens that will lay a variety of egg colors. Not sure why but I love when I get a mix of browns, white, and blue or green eggs. Thinking we were only getting 15 chicks this week and 15 next week - depending on the breeds the store had available, I spent Thursday afternoon setting up my little makeshift brooder. When we got to TSC, much to my surprise,  there were nine different breeds of chicks there, including Ameraucana and Leghorns. So I could get all three colors of egg laying chicks TODAY!!! What?? that is not what were had in mind when we left the house, Hubby and I agreed to just get all of them today instead of splitting up the orders. Okay that's settled. Now which breeds besides the Ameraucana and Leghorns do I want? The options were Amber-link, Black sex-linked, Black Jersey Giant, and Isa Brown (all pullets) and there were also Buff Orpington, Barred Rock and Cornish Rock straight run chicks. Oh my! If you know me you know I have a hard time with snap decisions, I need time to think. While I was thinking Hubby wandered off to find some other things that we needed. When he came back I told him that I had decided to get 5 of each of the pullets. That would be the 30 we agreed on. But.... they have Orpington and I know we love that breed. Since we only have one rooster we decided it wouldn't be a bad thing if we ended up with at least a couple more so we got 5 of each of the Orpington and Barred Rock as well as the others... Yes, that is 40 baby chicks! When we left the house we had agree on 15 for today... oops. Needless to say, I had to revise the brooder when I got home. Instead of the little brooder box I had set up we had to use the small stock tank.
   The store also had ducklings and I didn't bring any of them home so I think I'm did good.







   

Thursday, September 01, 2016

So it begins...

The days of school work getting sent home to be finished, because someone was to distracted during the lesson to get his work done. When we sat down to do his home work he refused to do this page. His reasoning was that he already corrected the mistakes, so He feels he did it and the changes he made are correct so no need to rewrite the whole thing.
    No amount of incentives are getting him to change his mind either.... I'm about to lose my mind!!!
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate homework, especially if it was something he was supposed to have done in school?? He brings home more work that he didn't finish in school than actual homework.


Friday, July 01, 2016

That time of year again...

  The Potter County Fair entry forms are due today! Yes, my boys' rabbit and goat form are in, just barely but they are there....lol.... I mailed the rabbit papers yesterday so they could be postmarked by today and hand delivered the goat papers last evening too. Talk about last minute, but if you know me you know that is the way I am.
    Now the challenge is to get the boys to not change their minds about which rabbits and goats they want to show between now and fair week. In the last weeks they have changed their minds so many times. I guess that is one of the problems of having so many animals and telling you kids that they have to pick only a few to take to the fair. Trust me folks, the struggle is real. :)