Our Life In The Pacific Northwest....

January 2016 blew in with a vengeance here on the Farm... But that never stop Half Pint from accompanying me on morning chores... The walk from the house to the chicken coop every morning was an adventure... With average snow depth of four feet, you went out prepared for anything... The Ducks didn't seem to mind the snow at all... They love to snuggle in... I think their only complaint could be is that their run and house was buried in 4-5 feet snow most of the month... Many a morning was spent digging them out... Watering the animals is always fun when the weather gets so cold that the "Frost Free" faucets freeze,,, Carting five gallon buckets from the house became the norm... Lots of beautiful sunrises were to be had in January... The sun seemed to dance off the blanket of snow... Tempers did flare when barn doors became frozen shut, (I won't be naming names) Or when somebody dare challenge the hierarchy in the barn.... B

, Chores complete.... Wood brought in and I am back inside enjoying the warm fire and a cup of coffee while catching up on emails.... I've been emailing back and forth with a old friend who I grew up with. Catching up on her family and our lives on the farm since our "big move" (as its become to be known as), to Oregon from California back in 2005.... She and her husband have been talking about making a life change, but haven't taken the final step.   I remember her joking with me in 2004 about us moving out to the boonies and becoming hermits... Now, they are looking at their hurried and stressful lives and are asking the same question that we asked ourselves in 2004, "Do we want to spend the rest of our lives living this kind of life".  She confided how much they admire us... How they have been considering moving to the country and buying a place.     She summed up her email with,  "You seem so happy and content".  "Do you have any

Our sign today... One of my New Year’s resolutions is to continue to eat right and exercise…. This morning I decided to walk down our driveway to the main road for the morning paper. As I bundled up in my jackets, (plural) boots, gloves and hat I thought, "what a great way to start off the new year right". Plus I can get my some “Fit Bit” steps in… You gotta love “Fit Bit”. Always on your arm to guilt you into living up to ones exercise regimen. Plus I can take some pics of all this lovely snow… (If you were in my head you could hear the sarcasm.) Here is a pic taken this past summer of our sign to legitimize my whining about the snow…. I did have two of my faithful companions along for the walk… If you are wondering what’s up with Penny face, she chased a rabbit into a hole and it was a one sided battle. Rabbit one, Penny zero…. I did pick up the pace on the way back up the driveway…. A good cold -3 degree north wind will put some pep in

Isn't it funny how food can bring back such wonderful memories... My great grandmother was a wonderful cook. As a child the trip to the barn where the dark scary root cellar was,  is as clear in my memory today as if it happened yesterday. When you'd turned on the light, all the canned peaches, apricots, bread and butter pickles, tomatoes and anything else she canned  from her garden stood neatly on the dusty shelves. Lots of wonderful family dinners and memories were made at their table... Eating home grown and preserved foods made with love for her family... Growing and canning food here on our farm gives me the same wonderful feeling I felt all those years ago...       I love this simple recipe...  Following this recipe I get firm canned peaches....  Nothing more rewarding then filling and sealing the last jar.... DIRECTIONS Wash jars and bands in hot, soapy water. Cover lids with hot water  according to package directions. Place jars

My morning chores started out wonderfully this morning…. I slipped on some ice and fell on my butt on my way to the barn. I'm fine, nothing broken. I was more concerned with my camera then myself at first. I think I will have a nice  bruise on my backside.  Then to top it off, the door to the barn was frozen shut. Needless to say I shared a few choice words with the horses for all the lovely white stuff as I worked on getting it opened.                 Shared by Lori...

It's funny how the simplest of things can bring so much pleasure... Like the reward of the first eggs from pullets that you have protected and cared for from the day you brought them home... The addition of our eight pullets to the main hen house has made it the happening place to be. All the new girls trying to fit in... Kinda like high school the first week. Glenda the Good Chick (a nod to the Wizard of Oz) set up house keeping as soon as we moved her and the other seven from the pullet house to the main hen house. She has given us a egg five out of the seven days since the move. Our lovely  Cochin  Ms Nancy Sinatra has been busy as well... Three little beauties for the week. I have found it's the simplest things in life that make me happy... Finding a stash of eggs hidden in the hay. A hen house full of singing hens, the daily feeding and watering and the reward of checking the nesting boxes and finding the reward they give us. It's simplicity at its best...

  Vintage Finds.... Vintage Lefton Miss Dainty Salt & Pepper Shakers... A mutual hobby that my hubby Pat and I share is Vintage and Antique picking. We both love the hunt of finding that one item that speaks to us...The item that reminds me of something my great grandma had in her home when I was a little girl. Our oldest, Jennafer loves hunting for Vintage items at the best prices. Her husband Marco restores Vintage cars and also enjoys the hunt for Vintage finds. So on their resent visit, we took a day and did some picking. My first find was the above set of  salt and pepper shakers... This was quite a score for me. I already had the below set of Lefton Miss Dainty Face Pockets hanging in my kitchen, that had hung in my mothers kitchen fifty years ago.  Vintage Royal Crown Cola Crate I don't know about you, but I can always use another box or basket for storage in our home... I spotted this wood  soda crate in good condition and knew I had to have i

  Hi, I'm Lori. Glad you stopped by....        I share my life and dreams with my hubby Pat. I'm a wife, mother of our four, a grandma of two, a farm girl and a   follower   of   the road less traveled.  A lover of animals, gardening, cooking and vintage finds... Sharing our adventures (the good, the bad and the ugly) and lessons along the way.                                                                                                                                               Our 20 acre farm   "North by Northwest Farm"   is located in the Oregon Outback. Our plan in 2005 when we bought our land was focused towards retirement. Our goal was to grow as much of our own food as possible  and work towards self - s ufficiency...  Through the years we have built barns and   fences in our pastures, built chicken coops and duck runs, planted fruit trees and have expanded and improved  our   vegetable   gardens each year.  We share our farm with