A Good Day on the Farm

7 am. The house is silent and still.  Normally I drink my coffee and do my computer work in bed with Frank at my side in the mornings.  But it is Sunday and we went to Mass last night.  No work, no reason for him to have to awaken, so I snuck out and left him to his dreams.  I hope they are sweet.

The dough for my hamburger buns  is on it's first rise and the birds are serenading me as the sun comes up.  When Spence awakens we will make the custard for our chocolate banana ice cream that we will be serving for dessert tonight.  Then we will go into town to the Farmer's Market and see what else we can have with our venison burgers.  It is supposed to be a beautiful day.  Our friends, the Benda's, are joining us to lounge in the pool and have a casual dinner.  There is a hummingbird enjoying the flowers on my Hostas.

My daisies and day lilies are in full bloom and calling for me to make a bouquet. I will answer them after I go out and water and feed the chickens.  But for right now, I am going to enjoy my coffee and the quiet.

The meat chickens are nearly full grown.

They go through a sack of feed every two days.

And off they go on the hunt for some bugs.

My flowers are growing like weeds.

10 am. The chickens are watered but we are out of feeder/grower crumbles so after the farmer's market we will be stopping at the feed store.  The laying hens are roaming the yard and the hamburger buns are formed and on their second rise. The flowers look lovely in the vase.  Spence is choosing to stay home and study his SCUBA guide and Frank and I are off to start our day.

The hamburger buns shaped and ready for the second rise.

12:45 pm. While we were out we stopped in and saw Mom.  She was sleeping in a chair and her neck was all scrunched.  I rubbed her neck while we visited and then left when it was time for the morning activity.  We got home, fed the chickens. locked the laying hens back in their pen so the dogs could go out.  The pups haven't yet learned to leave them alone so I keep them locked up unless we are outside with them.  I cleaned the goodies from the Farmer's Market and cleaned out the refrigerator to make room.  The hamburger buns were ready to go into the oven and Spence made the custard for his ice cream.  I made up the condiment tray for our burgers and peeled some hard boiled eggs.  I was going to devil them but changed my mind and just cut them in halves to be served with dinner.  I decided to make a Beet and Tomato Salad, so the beets are on the grill roasting.  The ice cream is churning for dessert and will be served with some sugar cookies I bought at the Farmer's Market. While cleaning the refrigerator, I came across some honey simple syrup and decided to create a new cocktail.  I am enjoying it now, while I take a break and write this section of my blog.  Spence and Frank went to the hardware store.

Tomatoes and Onions for the condiment tray.

Carrots for later in the week.

Cookies to enjoy with dinner tonight.

The pickles are made by Frank's niece, Brandy, who makes a living by selling them at market.

The condiments for the burgers so each can make theirs to their liking.

I have decided to call this cocktail Sp-Iced Tea.

Pretty delicious!!

2:50 pm.  The buns are baked, the pool is clean, the ice cream is in the freezer, the potato chips are fried, the beet and tomato salad are prepared and the venison patties are ready for the grill.  Spence blew off the deck, I washed the outdoor tables down and Frank sprayed to keep the mosquitoes away. I am on my second drink now as I finish up this post.  You will have to wait until tomorrow for the photos and recipe for the ice cream we are serving.

This is one of my favorite summer salads.

I forgot to brush my buns with the butter before and after baking.

I hope they are as good as usual.

You know the difference between venison burgers and any other kind of burgers?

The meat used, everything else is the same.

Chips are ready to go.

The hard part is keeping them until dinner time.

Usually they are long gone before then.

My company arrives in an hour.  I am going to put on my suit and hop into the pool with the remainder of my drink and my book but first I will share my drink recipe with you.  Have a great Sunday everyone.

SpIced Tea

This recipe makes 1 gallon of SpIced Tea.

1 c. honey simple syrup (combine equal parts of honey and boiling water, stir until dissolved)

8 c. brewed tea

2 c. Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

Spearmint Leaves

Combine all ingredients except for Spearmint.  Chill until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, fill a glass with ice, bruise a spearmint leave and put it in the glass, pour SpIced Tea over the ice and garnish with additional spearmint leaves.  Print Recipe