Life at Homeland Farm

     That would be "Thank God It's Friday" of course, and also, My Birthday Weekend. I believe in making my birthday a full three day event. Of course, this year, pretty much the ENTIRE United States will be celebrating on my birthday. No, I'm not famous (yet!), however my birthday happens to fall on SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! So, when I walk into a bar for lunch with Cliffy on Sunday and hear a loud cheer, I will pretend it is me they are cheering for, not Tom Brady and Co.      We ordered Pizza for supper tonight, as, well, I am a firm believer that no one should cook on their birthday weekend. It just isn't right, slaving over a stove wearing the latest in birthday hats. So, we had takeout, and my nephew Nolan joined us as well. When I asked him what kind of pizza he wanted, he said at first 'pepperoni', then quickly said.."Auntie Carmen, make it a cheese pizza. Im trying to cut back on pepperoni." He is 8 years old and so c...

      My cousin Zenya lived next door to us growing up, and often came over for cookouts, sleepovers, homemade root beer, and especially horse back riding. Like most teenage girls in the 1970's, we loved Donny Osmond and horses, spending equal time perusing "Teenbeat" magazine and riding. She would come over and we would saddle up, sometimes riding way down in the woods, and other times just taking a quick ride around the pasture and field.       One fine spring day, Zenya and I knew it was a little too early to be taking the horses out in the big field for a ride. The ground was still soft and hadn't dried up yet from all the winter snow. But it was such a nice day, and no one was home, so what better time to do something you know you aren't supposed to do. At least that is what Zenya and I thought  as we saddled up the horses and lead them out on the spongy lawn. We thought that if we just took them out f...

       A couple blogs ago, I wrote about the wild animals that surround Homeland Farm with an appetite for my chickens. Tonight, I move on to the "not so aggressive" animals. However, they can still cause some excitement when you find them around the house. Especially at night. When you are wearing a granny nightgown. I'll explain.        One night several years ago, in my "pre-cliffy" days, I was sitting at my computer in a nook off the living room, where Cameron and Brogan were watching TV. Liam was just a young fella, and was in bed asleep. I suddenly heard a THUMP from the living room area, followed by a weird scratching, scraping sound. I looked out at Brogan, who had apparently heard it at the same time.       "What was that?" she asked me.        I walked out into the living room, and listened. Nothing.       "I don't know what it was..wh...

      I will admit I am a pretty good cook. Growing up, I spent long hours at Nanny's side, learning how to make good, old fashioned farm food. Nothing fancy, just plain, wholesome food, much of it raised right here on the farm. So tonight I thought I would try a new dessert. It is a "S'more Pie", and has a rich chocolate layer on a graham cracker crust, with broiled marshmallows on top. The filling came out perfectly, so I spread the layer of marshmallows on it and popped it into the oven to lightly brown the top and melt the marshmallows.        It wasn't long at all when I heard the stove start a continual beep. I thought, " Huh, I must have hit the timer when I set it to broil." As I got up from the table to go check and see if it was done yet,  I noticed the stove's panel read "F1" and it kept blinking. "Huh," I said again. "What do you think that means, Cliffy?" I asked as I opened the door. Well, apparently it...

     I have always loved living in the country, and was outside playing, riding horses, and fishing all my life. I really can't imagine growing up anywhere else but here. I am quite thankful I never had "Gameboys" or "Xboxs" to waste endless hours playing. I love nature, with all it's flora and fauna. Here in Maine, we have always had a vast array of wildlife, and still do to this day.       Which brings me to a problem I have had to handle for years, and frankly, I have not done a very good job. As a "gentle-woman" farmer, I have always owned chickens. We have never NOT had hens actually. I have eaten farm fresh eggs for so many years I think I would probably have an allergic reaction to store bought eggs. I love my biddies, and even though we  have had as many as 120 at once, we still have favorites and names for some of them. We like to let our hens "free range", meaning they are loose to roam and eat delicious grass, worms...

Baking (and sampling) can also be done in a granny..      I love my granny nightgowns. I am sure there are lots of people that do. Mine are a lot more then nightwear however. They serve several purposes for me. They are casual wear, lounge wear, even business wear. They are mostly plaid, and when they are all clean and stacked up on my shelf where I keep them, they look like a "Gathering of the Clans" in Scotland. I do have a few flowered models, as well . I also have a wide variety to choose from. I have some that are floor length, mid calf, and some knee length. All, very sexy.       I can usually be found in a granny nightie from 7pm until 10-11 am, and perhaps on a Sunday, all day. I think I inherited my love of flannel from my Aunt Dorothea. She could often be found running the vacuum around in the afternoon, still granny clad. I know I didn't inherit it from my mother, who, A) doesn't wear granny nighties, and B) cringes every time she...

       Howdy from Homeland Farm. Tonight, I thought I would share a few photos from us here on the farm. I thought it would be a good way to introduce you to the animals and people that call this place home. We have 5 horses, 4 cats, 2 dogs, and approximately 50 laying hens. Plus, Mr and Mrs Guinea, our pair of guinea fowl. We love Mr and Mrs Guinea. They answer me when I call them and come running for food. They actually listen better then my children, come to think of it.        This is a picture of some of the turkeys we raised last year, in their new Turkey Hotel. The animals live pretty well here at Homeland Farm. We raised Giant White and Bourbon Red turkeys. This is a giant black turkey...no, no..wait..This is actually my oldest son Cameron, chilling with the birds after we moved them into their new grassy pen. This is our Thoroughbred Amira, and a pal last winter. We got way too many "free...