You Might Be A Farmer's Wife If:

You Might Be a Farmer's Wife:

• If you have a "mailing address"
• If your driveway is longer than a stone’s throw
• If you have a yard, but not a lawn
• If your car’s color is two-toned and one color is gravel road brown
• If the neighbor’s house is best viewed with binoculars
• If you buy antiques because they match the rest of your furniture
• If that pail with a hole in it is a flowerpot in the making
• If your rock garden was hand-picked
• If you consider "hot dish" a food group
• If the "fresh ingredients" your recipe calls for reminds you to do the chores
• If "wild game" reminds you of dinner and not the bedroom
• If you can make a meal that can be ready in six minutes and will still be ready in two hours
• If you’ve ever said, "Oh, it’s only a little mud."
• If grass stains are the least of your laundry problems
• If you can find a use for that old pair of jeans
• If your husband says, "Can you help me for a few minutes?" and you know that might be anywhere from a few minutes to six hours
• If Zaa Zaa Gabor is on your list of "Most Admired Persons"
• If your husband gave you flowers, but you had to plant the seeds yourself
• If family "pets" include farm animals
• If your job in town is considered a farm subsidy

In less than a year; we have raised over a hundred birds here on the farm. We learned early about loss, and yet it doesn't get any easier. This past Sunday we lost 5 animals on the farm.

First thing Sunday morning Robert found Kumi, our Maremma Sheep Dog, lying beside one of our Rescued Isa Brown Hens watching the trees. We have been having a problem with raccoons and Kumi has fought and won many epic battles against raccoons.

Robert went on to take care of the "Meat Birds" and found one of the 2 week old chicks dead. It was a natural death and you expect that you might lose a couple.

Tanya, our mama duck, has lost 5 ducklings, we don't know what happened to all of them. It was sad to lose them. We have confined them and hope to prevent any further losses. Tanya is a young mother and we are inexperienced farmers so I hope that now we know better we can do better.

It was a sad day on the farm and I was thankful to be a farmer's wife, because it was the farmer who took care of all of the chore of what was called "D Day on the Farm". When life give you lemons...this farmer's wife says make a few lemon loaves.

Lemon Loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine (We prefer butter)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk, 2% is fine

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lemon, rind of

Glaze

lemon, juice of

1/4 cup sugarCombine lemon juice and sugar in saucepan. Stir and heat till sugar is dissolved.

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until creamy.Blend in milk. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind. Pour into batter. Stir to moisten. Scrape into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake in 350f degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes.Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove to rack and while still hot, with a toothpick poke holes all over the top of the loaf, and spoon glaze evenly over.