My Profile

I am Sandra - faithful steward. listener. shepherd. dream believer. hard worker. collects brass bells, boots. Jesus follower. contented. star gazer. homemaker. farmer. prayer warrior. country woman. reader. traveler. writer. homebody. living life large.

Saturday, August 02, 2014

Farm Life Scenes

~ Queen Anne's Lace bud ~
Daucus Carota is a biennial belonging to the carrot family, is also known as Queen Anne's Lace and, along with Protea, my favorite flowers. Legend has it Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricked her finger and a blood drop fell on the white lace she was making.
~ Queen Anne's Lace flower ~
Queen Anne's Lace, the flower, was eaten by the Romans as a vegetable and the early Colonists boiled the root with water as a drinkable treat. That might sound bitter except Queen Anne's Lace sugar content is second only to the beet in root vegetables. Other folks such as Irish, Jews and Hindus have been known to use it to sweeten their food and the open flower heads may be tempura fried or, raw, tossed in a salad.
~ millet ~
The area around the bird feeder has grown up into a mare's nest but I like it that way. Once winter has arrived, the weeds will be pulled or cut, but the millet will be left to re-seed and provide cover for the birds. Most folks think of millet as only bird seed but it's also a delicious grain that can be prepared roasted, creamy like mashed potatoes or like rice. It's heart healthy and has goodly amounts of copper, manganese, phosphorus and magnesium. This site says magnesium is known to reduce the severity of asthma attacks, lower blood pressure, reduce frequency of migraine attacks and reduce risks of heart attack. Not bad for "bird seed"!
~ chickory ~
My mother-in-law called these little blue flowers "blue bonnets" or "blue bells" but they're also known as chickory plants. The roots are roasted and added to coffee while the above ground portion may be eaten in salads or as a veg. Mrs. B. also said the reason Bluefield, WV was called Bluefield was due to the early Anglo settlers. When they arrived to the area, they could see hundreds of thousands of these flowers and exclaimed at the blue fields; thus the name.

Days begin early around here, sometimes before 5:00 a.m. but it's, usually, lights out by 9 or 10 at night. From one day to the next, I make sure the horses are on their feet with food, water and shelter so if I do sleep in until 6 or 7, everyone should be all right. I gave up sat t.v. in January and thought I'd miss it dreadfully but I don't, there's simply too much that fills that time.
~ Sadie and Tom ~
Sadie has no clue how big huge she is and can hardly ever understand why the smaller animals don't want to play with her. The cats, when they see her coming, will simply lie on the ground and wait for Sadie to lose interest. I've often wondered at the courage and faith it takes for such a small animal not to panic when they see their natural enemy, weighing ten times more, rushing at them.
Sam weighs a little less than half Sadie's weight so is more evenly matched...at least more evenly matched than the cats!
~ sunny and cloudy ~
Today, it's really cloudy and the keeps playing peek-a-boo. Some of the animals and I have already been to the pasture to chop thistles and one water tank to clean. I took photos of the hay bales John and Daniel bales and rejoiced there are 22.5 of them.
~ hay pasture with house on hill ~
Sadie and I took a break and I sat on the ground and she sat on my lap...she prefers my lap when I'm available...and you can see how the wind was blowing because her ear is lifted.

When I'd return from a trip to the grocery, Dave would ask, "Did you get the dogs their seegars?" The dogs take their chews and carry them around the farm as we do chores. When hanging out of their mouths, they resemble cigars...yes, small humor but clean humor...counts for a lot, doncha know?

I finished a boatload of paperwork this week...that's the good news and the bad news is...there's a boatload of paperwork left to finish. I also have to go across the mountains to buy cream to churn for the county fair on Thursday. Faith and her sister are helping me and then they're going to wander the fair for a bit...it should be a good day...please God! Right now, I'm going to close out this post, go get the mail and then...attack paperwork...charge!

Blessings ~ dogs ~ cats ~ hay ~ flowers ~ birds ~ farm life scenes ~

14 comments:

  1. hugs and blessings!
    I enjoyed this post and the photos so much! hope all goes well with the fair!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gotta try me some millet! Great info on some useful plants.

    Looks like your animal friends provide a lot of entertainment. :)

    Paperwork...here's praying there's an end to it someday.

    Enjoy that fair!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another informative post with wonderful photos.

    I woke up a little before 5 and was ready to start the day.

    I would love to be at the fair with you, watching and maybe helping you churn butter and seeing the exhibits, etc. I could learn a LOT from you.

    Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  4. good morning really enjoyed all the photos and post

    ReplyDelete
  5. A wonderful post...so full of the pioneer spirit. Loved the 'seegar' memory and photo. I would love to churn cream for the country fair. I hope it's a good day!
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness I could just hang out on your blog all day long! So many charming sentiments and giggles. And your photos! Wow, heaven on earth!

    Now that I'm back in my home state of West Virginia, I'm seeing fields and fields of those Queen Anne's Lace and blue bonnets, although I've always called them bachelor's buttons. Did not know that is how Bluefield got its name!

    As a kid I used to put the stems of Queen Anne's Lace in a water/food coloring mixture to color the flowers. Don't remember if that really worked though.

    Wonderful to read and learn so much about all of these wonderful gifts from heaven - so many things we take for granted.

    Thank you for such a lovely start to my Sunday morning! I have an idea that may help you advertise your farm. Will email soon!

    Cindy from TheCranesNest.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the photos . . . Queen Anne Lace being one of my favorites . . .
    The favorite though was "seegars" and the memory humor too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10:23 AM EDT

    As I recall, Queen Anne's Lace has a rather pungent smell. I enjoyed seeing the chicory blooms since we recently bought chicory coffee.
    I notice Tom's ears are back! Don't you know the dogs look BIG to him.
    I wish you a very nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is very interesting about the cats and how much courage they must have to do that in front of Sadie, you would think they would run the other direction. How awesome to be churning butter and going the the fair. Have a great time. The Queen Anne's Lace is so pretty and I am a huge fan of the Protea. Always buy the when I see them! Have a wonderful week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love queen annes lace.. one of our hayfields has it in abundance and I'm always sad to see it mowed down.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'd much rather do the paperwork then churn cream. Sounds exhausting. :)
    My paws are somewhat better but I'm moving slow across the keyboard. Ordered the crafter's gloves yesterday. None of the local merchants had any. I really appreciate the advice there.
    Still praying for your place to sell. Don't give up! You and Dave made it a show place. Someone out there wants it and it'll happen.
    Luv ~:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It is probably hard work to churn cream, but I'd sure like to taste it that way instead of from a supermarket carton, to be able to know the difference in taste!

    The cat is very smart. I wonder if she will eve relay with the dogs though? My parents cat doesn't play with them, but she tolerates them, so maybe that is one and the same:)

    I didn't know that queen anne's lace had sugar in it!
    Nature is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  13. My grandmother loved Queen Anne's Lace, and I think I love it because of her. Didn't know it was edible and sweet. thanks for sharing part of your days with us; sounds busy but rewarding.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for taking us around the farm a bit and letting me enjoy Sadie's company again. Love your pooches. The hay looks good. Wish I could be there for the churning and the fair.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Thistle Cove Farm; may God bless you, yours and the work of your hands and heart. My goal is to respond, here, to your comments although it may take a while.
Anonymous comments negative, rude or detrimental in nature will be removed.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...