Farm Pictures

DH did his picture tour before brush hogging yesterday morning.  He wanted  me to see the pastures since I no longer do walks on the farm.

I was amazed; he  kept telling me  we could do a second cutting of hay.  I still think it is more economical to just let the cows harvest it.  We shouldn't have to feed hay unless it is covered  with ice or snow.




The girls are looking for shade:



Cooking

This was pasta making morning,  I made the entire batch  into fettucini and froze three bags.



Today is bread-making day.  I have a recipe from my Sis for a pull-apart pumpkin bread loaf that I want to make also.

Outside work

I had an inside day yesterday so plan to do an hour of trimming while the bread is rising this morning.  We were hoping for rain to settle the dust and wash the pollen off things but got nary a drop!   Slight possibility today.

Speaking of pollen,

See that yellow on the tractor hood?


No wonder DH has been coughing so much lately.  He wears a mask but it isn't foolproof. 

Pasta and Puppies

It is a very cool and wet day here on the farm.  We got a lovely l.25 inches of rain yesterday.  Today will be a high 50's day.

New events:  The Beagle had her puppies!  3 little butterballs

I treated myself to the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid Mixer.  I know it is silly for just us but I have always wanted a  pasta machine.  I did economize and bought it from Amazon  Warehouse at about $60 discount.

First the puppies.

She had them about4-5 days ago.  It took me two days to find them.....she kept coming out of the big barn so I followed her in and  found them in the far north stall snuggled down in a nest of straw.

I didn't  touch them the first time but took a few pictures.  She seems to be a very good mother.



I took these this morning.  I enlisted my grumbling mate to hold them for me....he wanted me to do it but I was afraid I might list sideways and drop one (uneven footing isn't good for me with the knee and dizziness) so I played my poor me card and he did it.

I see he picked up the same white faced brown one twice.  The second brown one has no spots and you can see it (don't know sex yet) in the group shot.  They wiggled and sounded like little kittens the whole time we were fooling with them.  The mama was not overly concerned which was good.



Puppy No. 1:


Puppy No. 2


Puppy NO. 3 is the solid brown with no white on its face.



and now the kitchen fun: 

I got the flat roller, the fettucini and the spaghetti cutters.

I used the recipe in the Kitchen Aid book that came with the set....made a lot of pasta.  I probably won't do that again, but the entire process didn't  take long from start to finish.



I kept one long flat sheet out and cut it with my pizza cutter for large egg noodles.  I sprinkled it with flour and folded it in thirds and cut it very quickly.  I cooked them for lunch and was really satisfied with the taste and texture.  It seemed that every time I made them by hand, I could never roll them thin enough.



I also (as  you can see) bought the cheap version of a pasta rack.  It works fine  for me.

This is one of those things that you do not need in the kitchen, but it was a lot of fun.  DH even came in and watched me.

Now what I need to find out is the best way to preserve the extra pasta.  I dried it and they broke a lot when I slipped them off the rack to bag....If any of you do this, please let me know how you manage it......or am I the only nut in the kitchen!