Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

If you didn't   have a watch or a cell phone to give you the time, you

could still   estimate  time down on the dairy farm  by

 watching the cows standing in the pasture. It's obvious that like us,

the cows are creatures of habit.  

The feed wagon with silage rolls into the dry cow pasture  every

morning  around 8:30.  Today was no different and you can

see the cows are eagerly watching and  waiting  to get 

their first bite.

Dry cows receive a pellet feed that is formulated for their

metabolic needs during this time of resting and preparing to

give birth. The silage on the wagon is like dessert to the cows.

It's no wonder that there is a lot of mooing if the wagon is late!

                                     I'm thankful for  the simple daily reminders to 

                                   appreciate the predictable  and the unpredictable

                                            like an iris blooming in  November!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

There's nothing unusual about experiencing hot and humid

 weather in Northwest Arkansas during  July.

When we start the early morning at 81 degrees, 

I am thankful for the cloudy, overcast sky that offers a little relief 

for the dairy  cows while they are eating from the feed wagons

and

 the weed pullers in the garden!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

When you look at our tall corn crop and the green pastures,

 it's hard to believe August is just around the corner. 

I'm thankful for the blessing of rain we have received in July 

for our crop  fields and pastures

and

for our crop of sunflowers.

down on the dairy farm.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It's never too hot in the garden when you are thinking about

 eating corn on the cob  with a lot of sweet butter!

I'm thankful that the corn is picked and in the freezer!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that...

At 5 days old, August is doing great

we've enjoyed a little cooler weather,

had  rain in August,

and  

                                                                the garden corn is picked!

Dairy Rounds Up Zucchini

In spite of the rainy spring weather and  the priorities of silage chopping and hay baling coming before any garden planting, we did manage to plant  a small garden that is now growing by leaps and bounds. You can almost see it growing every day with our hot,steamy summer days. Everyone in the family is keeping their eye on the corn, beans,okra and tomatoes but you don't see too many of them pulling any weeds!

Although I didn't plant any squash in our garden this year, I'm lucky to have a generous neighbor that is delivering squash to my back door!  Midwest Dairy created Zucchini Parmesan Rounds  for zucchini squash but I found that yellow crook-neck squash works great,too. Whether it's from my garden or the neighbors, there is nothing better than fresh, home grown vegetables!

Zucchini Parmesan Rounds

Ingredients:

Non-stick cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Paprika to taste



Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds, leaving green skin on. Place rounds in a resealable plastic bag with olive oil; shake to coat all sides. Combine Parmesan cheese,bread crumbs, salt,pepper and paprika in a small bowl. Press each zucchini round into the Parmesan mixture, coating on both sides. Place in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve warm.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

With everything else in the garden winding down and drying up, I was surprised to receive the biggest sweet potato I've ever seen   from my friend Joe's garden. It appeared that all the potatoes he planted in the same hill had joined forces to produce one massive  heart shaped  sweet potato. There just wasn't any choice but to   bake it ,slice it and bake a little longer in   a combination of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and topped with marshmallows for all the 'big' kids in the family.

 

 

 

I'm thankful that Joe is so generous with his produce and for the fact that he gardens just down the road in my in-laws old garden spot that has produced a garden of memories for my family down on the dairy  farm.

Tale of an Arkansas Woman Blogger

Just a little more than a week ago, I traveled to Mountain View to attend my first Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference. From the Foodie Friday afternoon session, where I was given my very own Spotted Cow Review apron, till we departed for home on Sunday morning, it was jam-packed with useful information about sharing our passion through blogging and providing tools to improve that sharing ability--whatever the subject.  Nestled in north central Arkansas into the hills and around the curves, the Ozark Folk Center gives you a view of life about the heart of Arkansas--it's people. It was the perfect setting for the gathering of women from across our state and beyond  the state borders.

One of my favorite sessions on the Friday afternoon schedule was the tour of the herbal garden located in front of the Center. Herbalist Tina Marie Wilcox gave us a quick overview of the herbs growing in the garden and descriptions of how each can be used and grown for a variety of culinary and medicinal purposes (http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com/herbs/yarb_tales.aspx).

 Even though it was a steamy afternoon, Tina moved through the garden with the speed of a jack rabbit  sharing her enthusiasm and passion for herbs. Her knowledge about herbs was amazing but what really caught my attention was her ability and desire to share her passion and knowledge with others.

Now that I'm back on the dairy  farm with my apron hanging  proudly in the kitchen, my mind  is full of lessons learned and I've been   inspired by these  Arkansas women I met that are  sharing their passion with others.

 Most of all, I'm thankful for the fact that you stop by Spotted Cow Review to let me share my passion about life on and off the farm!

Friend in Drought

During this drought and triple digit weather, I'm watering the plants on the porch and around the house to keep a little color and enjoyment in the yard.   A couple of weeks ago when I found my beautiful caladium plants  shredded and the impatien plants riddled, I thought a terrible disease had struck. I sprayed for bugs, put snail bait around the pots and went to the garden center for advice about what I should do to save my plants if all those methods didn't work. The pot looked so bad that I decided to add a couple of drought tolerant  vinca plants to fill in the holes. In two days after being planted, the plants were mutiliated and one was pulled out of the pot.

Last week when I looked out the window in the heat of the afternoon, this is the "disease" I found resting in the pot with his paws hanging over the edge.  He was so hot, I could see him panting. When I realized that he was just preparing a nice cool place for himself, I felt guilty for all my bad thoughts about what or who had destroyed my pretty flowers. 

 

  Every afternoon around three o'clock in the heat of the afternoon, you can find my friend lying in his pot.  Just seeing him stretched out in the cool dirt and enjoying his spot brings a smile.   I wonder if he realizes that I keep watering the  pot  everyday  just for him !!

Drought's Oasis

Even though our vegetable garden is weedy,has been attacked by Japanese beetles and grasshoppers and far from perfect, it has been our oasis in the desert of drought.   Being  able to provide the water and watch the garden  grow has truly been a blessing while we   have been experiencing extreme and devastating drought on our dairy farm crops and pastures.

 So far we've enjoyed a few ears of corn, a small mess of green beans,tasty tomatoes, a skillet full of okra and plenty of yellow crookneck squash. Since I didn't raise any zucchini squash but have plenty of yellow squash, I decided to modify the tasty Zucchini Parmesan Rounds recipe (http://www.midwestdairy.com).

Crookneck Italian Rounds

Ingredients:
2 medium yellow crookneck squash
1/3 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Slice squash into 1/4-inch thick rounds,leaving skin on. Place rounds in a resealable plastic bag with olive oil; shake to coat all sides. Combine parmesan cheese, bread crumbs,salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Press each squash round into the Parmesan mixture,coating on both sides. Place in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve warm. Serves: 4.

                                          This one goes into the recipe file with a thumbs up!
  
                                                      

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

As a volunteer for Benton County Farm Bureau,I presented a $250 garden grant check from Arkansas Farm Bureau to this Russell Jones Elementary School second grade teacher and her students. I was treated to a tour of their awesome school garden and they shared with me what they were learning about the garden and growing their own plants. I am thankful for enthusiastic teachers who invest their time and energy to teach students how food is produced using a practical hands on,get dirty approach! Who knows,there just might be a farmer in this garden of students!