thefemfarmer

Swarming Swallows

I am beginning to wonder if my barn swallows are going to be with me year round. If so, that would be unusual. Barn swallows in North America are migratory. They arrive in Mississippi in the spring, set up their mud-like nests, have one or two sets of babies, and then jet off to warmer,Continue reading “Swarming Swallows”

Sunraven’s Baby Chicks

On Sunday night, August 22nd, right before I made another trip to Seattle, I had a Welsummer hen go broody. She was still on her nest on Monday night and Tuesday night, and I was scheduled to fly out to Seattle on Wednesday. After it was clear that she was sitting on two eggs, IContinue reading “Sunraven’s Baby Chicks”

Marbled Bundt Cake

I tend to collect 6-8 eggs a day, so I am actively looking for yummy recipes that are egg-heavy. My first foray into eggs-cellent cooking was the Crustless Spinach Quiche. Rather than cook another savory dish, I thought that something sweet was in order. The following bundt cake is essentially a pound cake with bothContinue reading “Marbled Bundt Cake”

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Now that the chickens are laying 6-8 eggs every day, I have been searching for yummy recipes that use a LOT of eggs. My first experiment was making a Crustless Spinach Quiche. I found the recipe here, and I took lots of photos while cooking, which I share below. It was delicious, and it reheatsContinue reading “Crustless Spinach Quiche”

Mourning Doves

The former owner of the farm loved to tell the story of how the coos of mourning doves would awaken him in the morning and put him to sleep at night. His stories left out the detail of where their nests were located, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered a mourning dove nestingContinue reading “Mourning Doves”

The Chickens Are Laying!

It feels like another lifetime, the time when the chickens were tiny, incredibly stressed and thus loud chicks, who had traveled by US Postal Service and my dad’s old pickup to arrive in the upstairs bathroom of the farmhouse. In truth, that was only 6 months ago, in March of 2021. It was so muchContinue reading “The Chickens Are Laying!”

Rainbow on Hay Day

It was an extremely wet spring in Mississippi. Extremely wet. Due to the constant rain in May, it was mid-June before my neighbor could get into the pasture for the first hay cutting of the year. And if you have never watched a large hillside pasture transform from a beautiful but dull yellow-brown, almost fuzzyContinue reading “Rainbow on Hay Day”

Sunsets

One of many things I love about the farm are the gorgeous sunsets. The property is positioned to perfectly frame the evening sunsets, as the property’s longest borders stretch east to west; and the house, barn and outbuildings are in the eastern part, looking west across the pasture and the pond. There is something magicalContinue reading “Sunsets”

The Honeybee Trap Out

I love that life at the farm immerses me in a constant stream of natural encounters sans humans. Although the farm is by no means remote, living on 50+ acres, outside the city limits, even if on a reasonably trafficked road, still offers a rich bounty of flora and fauna to observe and be immersedContinue reading “The Honeybee Trap Out”

Chickens Gone Wild

I started letting the chickens out of their coop every day starting the end of March when they were still itty bitty and housed in the north annex of the milking barn (what is now officially the chicken brooder room). The first day I let them out, I was quite nervous. As a completely brandContinue reading “Chickens Gone Wild”