When in Doubt – Bake Bread
Yesterday was stormy and cold. So I had a wee word to Daisy, who was looking restless, and told her Not Today darling, wait until the weather warms up.. Not Today. Then went inside to warm the kitchen by baking bread.
I inadvertently published this post, completely unfinished, yesterday afternoon when I was loading a few shots on my break. So I deleted it immediately… but many of you will have received a notice of its existence that would have taken you to another notice of its lack of existence. Man the internet is fast; and terminal. There is no turning back! 
I am so sorry to have caused a kerfuffle.
Daisy does not aspire to the nickname Daisy the Happy. Poor Paisley Daisy. It was a rotton day yesterday. Rain. Snow. Frozen Rain. Snow.Wind. Snow. After pacing about and deeming all my hay to be sub standard and not worth Spit she took to her bed in disgust.
So did the Big Dog. If anyone deserves a warm spring after this winter of deep dreadful cold it is this very old trooper of a dog. By the way, he now spends his nights in the Glass Room. No stairs to negotiate when he goes out to answer the call of nature and warm as toast in there.
I shall put the sheep back out today. Last night we were back down to way, way below freezing so they reluctantly agreed to stay in just ONE more night. Then back they go to the rat house and the Salad Bar Field which is going to be sacrificed to a very muddy spring then resown.
Now this is a difficult shot. I don’t mean to be insensitive taking a shot of my pigs bottom but I have been stalking Sheila for days now to try and get a shot of her lengthening tail without being rude. And her tail is, as you can imagine, never still. But as she gets older it is getting fluffier and longer! I know this is a wee bit out of focus but we don’t care. Look. I adore my big fat pigs Tail. By the way her calenders are in the mail (to me they say). So, soon I will take orders. And I am working on the image for her T shirts, 80 odd of you want a Tshirt which warrants a proper run. (I will gather a little team when it comes time to posting them). But this all takes time. For the moment I wish I had studied graphic design somewhere along the way. The T shirts will be a simple black line image of a photograph of Sheila on a white T shirt. (I am going for many sizes as opposed to many colours). 
Back to Sheila the calender girl. Don’t look at her bottom. Sheila would be horrified. But she is rather proud of her tail and flicks it about like a feather duster. I will try to get a better shot soon. She also loves pub scraps day. On Friday her bucket was full. Yesterday morning for breakfast she had the last of the fish and chips, jelly (jello), radishes and two eggs. This morning she is having lettuce and two eggs! She eats no meat, all the meat scraps go to the dogs. But still she is approaching about 400 pounds (181k). Yikes. Today we are starting our walks again. It will be a proper circus. TonTon and Sheila the Sassy Pig taking the lead, Boo ON a lead with miss c on the other end of that lead (Boo cannot run free when we are walking the pig and the lamb out of the boundaries, his herding instinct is still somewhat unfettered), Marcel the Happy trotting along behind with the Big Dog bringing up the droopy rear. Followed, furtively of course, by at least one or two cats racing from bush to grass clump, from tree to post to ankles.
Don’t you wish you had a camera and we were walking in silhouette along the top of the bank.
Good morning, while we are waiting for the weather to warm up and the cow to have her calf and the ground to thaw out and the grass to even think about growing, here is something for all you skiiers and snow lovers. My Eldest son Logan, who you may remember brought his rescue dog Cai out to visit the farmy a while back, has a new website for their rescue dog association. There are some great photos of the dogs and their people who make up this volunteer group. Isn’t it interesting how many of these incredibly essential services are often run by volunteers. Pop over if you have a minute. (Nothing like a little nepotism.)
Alberta Avalanche Rescue Dog Association
Have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy
celi
58 Comments on “When in Doubt – Bake Bread”
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Wondered what happened… don’t you wish cattle could be like impala that can hold off giving birth till the rains fall knowing the grass will be right for their offspring, and this they can do for up to two months… now if cattle could do it they could hold out till the warmer times…
How incredible the impala are. What an amazing lesson in evolution that is. Imagine the flurry in the dairy farms if cows did that!! c
Yep, I was wondering why you were baking bread when/if Daisy was in labour. I was only half way through my first cup of coffee 🙂 Have you gone into daylight savings – this post is an hour early too? Hope spring really does come today for you all. Laura
Yes we have saved daylight, but the posts should still go out at dawn as clocks mean nothing to animals, this one was a little early! c
Nice bread; but the real praise may come when you slice one open and show me the crumb 😉
Click on baking bread link above – the crumb is there 🙂
Plus.. I would not know a good crumb if I choked on it. I just bake my two loaves twice a week, give one away, try not to eat ALL of the other one and then start a new batch. The kefir instead of yeast means it take a while to make but it tasty whichever way. I never measure anything – which gives me lots of variations.. c
I call that kind of walk a parade and I’d love to see it! Nice to know you have a Canadian connection. 🙂
I would pay good money for that silhouette! You should have someone capture it in panorama, I bet there would be others willing to buy it 🙂
The ET moment! c
Wouldn’t that make an awesome t-shirt?
I too would pay good money for a photo of the Menagerie out for walkies together. Your bread looks delicious; I can almost smell it. Can I borrow Sheila’s rear end to help with the dusting?
I wish someone would make a feature film of a year in the life of the farmy! Poor Sheila – she must be squirming with embarrassment.
OK: let’s make a deal. I’ll buy a T shirt if you buy a copy of my book, En Garde, My Battle With Breast Cancer” on amazon.It shows how the mind/body connection is so helpful in fighting stress and fear.
what en excellent deal.. and you are absolutely right.. your mind is very powerful .. there is no end to what we can accomplish when we Set our Minds to It! c
It won’t be long, Daisy! Not long now!
Can’t resist a lovely loaf…or two
I laughed at you description of your walk! It sounds so much like my day in the garden yesterday (yes it got to 60 so was able to go out and potter, all be it in loads of mud!). I have two dogs, four cats and six chickens that follow me everywhere and can’t turn around without tripping over one or the other!
I have pinched your bread recipe – now my Kefir is behaving (warmer kitchen helps) I will certainly give this a go.
Hang in there Daisy – I am sending big hugs to you!
It s the easiest recipe on the world, just be patient, kefir likes tons to time to get to work, mine usually takes 24 hours from start to finish and though it is a no knead recipe, John convinced me to knead it and it is even better! Let me know how it goes.. c
Well thanks a lot… since going Paleo (caveman diet) three months ago, I’ve given up all grains – so the bread photo had me salivating even before breakfast this morning. I do miss having warm slices of bread with lots of blissful butter atop. I will have to go in and whip up some naan bread (made with nut flour) and get my bread fix that way! I love the chook photo… it looks as if they were caught clucking a bit about your blog post faux pas from yesterday! And the photo of Sheila’s tail is lovely. I have many photos of Daisy deer’s tail. So much personality and expression in those whapping, flippity floppy, swishing tails!
I have never been able to adopt diets with rules that make me long for something else. I am not that tough. You must be very strong. I had to give up breads for such a long time until i realised that it was the store bought bread that was making me sick, same for pasteurised milk. So now that I make my own bread twice a week with organic flours and the kefir to raise it and only drink raw milk with piles of coleslaw once a day. I am heaving with energy. There is something to getting to the stage where you devise a diet that suits you. Hope you enjoy your naan bread. Are you still allowed butter? I could not live without butter. c
I, too, am grain free, and have just discovered the most delicious recipe for scones that I swear tastes like the ‘real thing’. Maybe that is because it has been so long since I’ve tasted the real thing!! Lol. Here is the link, hope you like them… http://marmaladeandmileposts.com/archives/21674
I am in a bit of a fug at the moment – silly me! Your blog is a godsend ceci!
Go on and make a loaf of bread, and knead it HARD!. Kneading is very good for Fugs.. c
Okay!!!!
Your description immediately conjured up an image of all the Winnie-the-Pooh characters marching single file behind Christopher Robin. That would make a good T shirt! Do you have a name picked out for Daisy’s calf?
I have a few in mind if it is a Heifer. All the bull calfs are called Bobby. We will see though. Often animals name themselves in a way .. c
Sheila’s tail is just lovely! I can just picture her swishing it about. I’m surprised it was so cold by you yesterday. It was gray here yesterday with a bit of snow in the a.m., but then it stopped and I officially put my winter coat away. I went out with a sweater and scarf and was just fine. The coat is not coming back out again. 😉
I was picturing in my head what you all must look like out for a walk. Perhaps you could persuade your man to tag along and get a shot or two from behind ? It would be fun to see the little lamb alongside Sheila
I would love to see a video of you all walking along on your journey!!!! I have such a visual, but would so love to see the real procession! LOL
You made me laugh this morning!!!!! Loved the photos! Big dog sure deserves some nice warm sunny days!!! We all do! Today it is supposed to be in the 40s and sunny! Yay! And I hope it continues!!! After -35 and -45 temps we are sooooo ready!
The bread looks yummy!!!! Fresh baked bread!!!! Oh the smell of it is a luxury and a blessing! Looks wonderful!!!!
Lovely tail feathers too! Please pass that along to the owner of the beautiful tail! 😀
Have a great day today!
Mere 😀 And Summer 😀
p.s. Are you having corned beef this Saint Paddy’s Day????? Would love to know your menu if so!!!!
Spring will come! I think it might be headed your way. Here in Montana we are thawing at a great rate and dealing with too much water in some places. The warm will get to you soon.
I LOVE that Pig! She has a lovely tail!
I just checked the link you posted. Your son is most remarkable. What an outstanding organization!
Cinders, I have an idea for the Farmy Fellowship, when we all get our Sheila T’s and that is, have everyone send in a photo of themselves wearing it and you post them on a blog like you did with our yards and gardens! Wouldn’t that be grand…then we would have a name with a face with a T! 🙂
That was so amazing reading about your son’s avalanche rescue dog association! The bond between the handler and dog must be incredible! BTW, how are the newlyweds doing up there in the Rockies? What a handsome son you have! 🙂
They are having a great time, not a lot of snow this year though evidently, not up their way anyway..just deep deep cold.. c
Of course off I go to visit eldest son’s site. It is of particular interest to Lar. He has been a mountaineer for more years than he cares to remember. It takes a very special person to become involved in any type of mountain rescue work. We are impressed!!
A lot of work in training the dogs too, i wish i could go through their programme with my dogs.. c
Well now I have to learn to bake bread! Those loaves in your banner look heavenly and I can just imagine the smell. My stomach is grumbly from it. I went through the AARDA website. Logan does very important work, you have a right to your nepotism.
Sounds like a wonderful parade! (we are are silently marching along, too!)
What a gorgeous rescue dog – you do have good reason to be proud of Logan.
Yes I remember Cai, a very handsome dog. He visited you some time ago. I printed a picture of him then.Quite extraordinary work he and your son do. Plenty scary, in fact.
Haven’t made bread in at least 35 years. Lazy gal. It was Hoska bread w/ almonds.
Oh I am sure are not lazy! c
I read your blog daily although I don’t always comment. I can only imagine the parade of happy animals following their beloved Farm Mama on a walk. Such joy! I used to have an Australian cattle dog who preferred herding toddlers instead of cattle. He was a handy dog to have when raising babies!
I really want spring to come to your neck of the woods.
The bread header is fantastic, and I enjoyed revisiting the link to the recipe, and remembered also my intention to make use of it… one day.
There is a time and place for a solitary walk but most are better in company, such as yours which conjures a most entertaining visual image.
Enjoyed to link also to Logan and Cai et al.
Your bread looks lovely! I can almost smell it from here. Little girls wear pigtails…mmmm suppose Sheila would not like hers braided…with a nice bow at the bottom, though. A picture of you leading the farmy animals would be wonderful to see. Can’t wait for the calendar or the T-shirts. That is a beautiful picture of Miss Daisy, too. What a great thing your son is doing. Handsome man and dog. I will be baking regular bread today…..well, actually nice big rolls. With just the two of us, a loaf tends to get stale but a roll from the freezer thaws out in no time and it is just the right size…with lots of butter, too. I can tell the difference between organic and regular flour. Luckily the co-op we belong to has organic everything. Yesterday I made egg noodles… Rainy, dismal days are for baking.
Daisy’s a good girl to listen to you, cross her legs and wait. Does Boo walk nicely on lead or is he still learning? Mirrhi is good now, but we spent a long time taking two steps forward then stopping or going backwards because she wanted to gallop along and pull. And speaking of Mirrhi. I have at last updated my blog and there are pics of her….you’re all kindly invited to visit.
Yes Boo is fine on the lead, very biddable.. and when he is off he runs like a crazy thing.. c
I cannot eat butter, but the sight of that bread had me drooling for a thick shell piece with home made jam/jelly!
Thank you for the link to Canada – shall return later but ’tis a lovely photo of Logan! When will he get a new pup? And will Cai remain with him? [That’s all probably on the link, but Monday mornings tend to be busy here too 🙂 !] And I DO wish you would find someone to photograph your parade with the animals as you describe it . . . what a picture . . .
Logan has already got his new dog and they are both with him.. he is a busy fellow.. have a lovely monday.. c
I LOVE learning what makes the world turn around. Took a half-hour ‘off’ after lunch and now know quite a bit more about this wonderful volunteer assocation . . . besides all else that son of yours grows a mean beard 🙂 ! Somehow ‘missed’ Cai when he was in Illinois: lovely, lovely photos of that half of that family!!!
I’m with Mere Frost! I’d love to see a video of the gang on the farmy going for a walk! Maybe Our John could be talked into filming a short clip??? That would be fabulous!!! 🙂
small world, Faye from Ontario originated from Alberta where your darling son is….. 🙂
You bake bread and I made jam. Whatever works. You must make quite the parade going for a walk. With a little luck, we’ll all be walking every day once again — and without snow or slush or mud to deal with. I can actually see some grass along the walk in the yard. The rest is still buried in deep snow but a little bit of grass is better than I’ve seen in months. Have a great night and a better morning, Celi!
Love the aroma of freshly baked bread. Can I get on the list of needing to use that tail that dusts? We won’t tell Sheila you posted that photo.
How do you weigh a pig….I know how one weighs a pig….but how do you do it? Do you have a weighbridge or something? 181kg is outside the range of bathroom scales.. 🙂
It is an equation, length, breadth etc. With Sheila i have had experienced ‘pug people’ guess between 350 and 450 so i average that out to 400. However today i must go out with my tape measure and do the equation again. I think she has been slimming down on her new diet.. c
I can’t believe how cold it still is over there. It got up to about 18º here yesterday, though as you know, that’s warmer than normal for England in March 🙂
There is talk of a long hot summer.. i am not complaining!. c