Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Life on the Farm 12.23.09

Last evening after writing on my blog I was cold so I sat down in front of the fire with a glass of wine and was reading a folksy publication put out by Massey Ferguson call "Farmlife". This little booklet had the usual stuff in it advertising, articles about invasive weeds and fencing but what caught my eye was the article that featured "Maple Farmers" in Quebec, which is the sugar making capital of the world. I read with fascination about how this family taps the trees, how they process the sap and make it into yummy maple syrup. I thought, even though we farm, this is completely different than what we do and very interesting. I enjoyed reading about what maple farmers do and hope the readers of this blog enjoy the items about our farm life too. That is why I added the survey feature on my blog as I want to tailor this to what is of interest to those that read it.

As for the farm activity, Joe was working some in the shop today and changed the oil in his combine. . Joe was explaining that having clean oil in the combine over the winter is better for it and the clean oil doesn't have the bad acids that can corrode bearings. So it's sort of like putting your baby to bed, you want it safe, clean and dry. We also have a special oil burning furnace for heat in the shop that uses the old oil. So it is one more way to be a good steward of the earth.

As for me I decided to give myself permission to stay home and putter in the kitchen. With Christmas music playing I made 3 pies, a French Chocolate Breakfast Cake, a batch of cinnamon rolls and homemade doggie biscuits. When I bake I use every available spot in my kitchen and I'm really messy! I like to think of myself as an enthusiastic baker. So in the midst of my mess, my mom stopped over to visit. I was on the phone when she popped in so as she was waiting for me to conclude my business call, she was looking at all the stuff I had made. When I saw her grab a dog biscuit off the cookie sheet and pop it into her mouth, of course I started giggling. I managed to finish my call before I nearly died laughing. My poor mom who has a sweet tooth a mile wide, was wiping her tongue on her sleeve and gagging. She thought I had made gingerbread squares, only it turned out to be doggie biscuits for our spoiled pooch. I had to assure her nothing yucky was in them in the way of ingredients. She will now forever be wary of what I'm cooking. Things like this always seem to happen to my mom and of course we tease her about it. So this will be one of the latest funny things to add to her list.

Tomorrow the rest of my family will join us for dinner and we will open our gifts, so I still need to get some stuff done- so better finish. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.