You Cannot Reap, If You Do Not Sow

You cannot reap if you do not sow. Autumn in Georgia. Harvest time. Thanksgiving. So thankful for the life we have, the earth, the river, the warm sun, the pine trees, and blue skies as far as the eye can see. Peace, love, laughter and contentment. There is nothing better that we can reap while we're here on this planet.

Desperately Seeking Rain

Remember the post about Childhood Creeks? Go check it out to remind yourselves of the creek filled to capacity with flowing waters that our son enjoyed playing and splashing in. Go on, look!

Now this is what that very same creek looks like right now:

Drought is taking its toll all over the US. We haven't had rain since early October. The North Carolina and the north Georgia mountains have more than 15,000 acres in flames. We are praying for those people, homes, animals, even the trees. Some hundred+ years of vegetation burned to ash. I pray for the lives and safety of the firefighters attempting to battle these blazes.

Staring at the dry, empty creekbed brought to mind times in my life in which I experienced a drought. No maybe not a personal lack of rain, but a dry spell of life.

Life is meant to be lived abundantly with great relish, celebration, and thanksgiving. It's so easy to live so fast, in such a rush and give so much of ourselves away to work / career, education, church, organizations, friends, family, even to our own children that we find that we have nothing left for ourselves. Where did that other me go? You know the fun, spirited, creative girl with dreams of grandeur and a wild side?

We get so busy with the routine, to–do list, and errands and what we think we should be doing, that we can easily lose track of those little things that bring fulfillment to our lives. Sometimes we must make the time to nurture our inner child, our internal dreamer, and remember all those things that ignite our spirit and soul. 

What was the name of your imaginary friend as a child? When was the last time you lost hours of time doing something you enjoy? When is the last time you played? When is the last time you laughed so hard you fell out of your chair?

Don't let the world dictate what's important to you. Avoid the traps that throw you off track or make you forget those old dreams. It’s difficult to put these things into action. If you aren't intentional about doing these things for yourself, no one else is going to remind you. The kids aren't going to say "hey mom, take some time off of doing all those fantastic things for me...you go on and do something nice for yourself." Nope they will not say that (ever).

Purposefully set aside some time for yourself. Go on a picnic, run wild with your dogs, go find secret gardens or mysterious caves in your backyard, build a treehouse, climb a tree, seek solitude among rocks and trees in a wilderness or state park, go camping, wish on a star, eat cake, watch the leaves glisten in the sunlight, read in your favorite spot, get to know yourself, revive your inner dreams, wishes, and childhood ambitions. Remember who you were, who you wanted to be, and bring that back into who you are and have become. Harness the dreams you may have set aside or forgotten to inspire a life less busy, a life less empty, a life less dry. 

Invest in yourself to find your life's balance. The rains will fall again on the earth, in the mountains, into the creek just like your cup of life can be refilled with love, laughter, light and harmony. We can't be our best to those little kids, bosses, spouses, friends, PTA...unless we balance our lives to live with abundance and joy and remember the wishes and dreams of our authentic selves.

I'm thankful for the balance, the peace, the contentment in my life and the people in it who inspire me to be the best me I can be and that includes knowing who I am, what I need, and what my life means in my terms so that I can be the best in all my roles. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Cheers,

Ramsey

Like this one? Here's some other posts I think you might enjoy too:

• Childhood Creeks (yeah, read it again! It's good!) 😊
• Slow Pace of Life
• Teamwork
• Farm Heart
• Take Time to Smell the Basil

Georgia Butter Pecan Cookies

It's Georgia. There are a bazillion pecan trees around here and most everyone has tons of shelled nuts in the freezer. (Stop. Nuts in freezer. Hahahaha! Back to our regularly schedule programming.) So what better way to use some of the delicious pecans I had riding out in my freezer?! These are a perfectly delectable autumn treat (or winter, spring, summer! ha!) I bet these would be awesome with a big ol' bowl of butter pecan ice cream?!

Georgia Butter Pecan Cookies

Yield: About 5 dozen | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Bake Time: 15-18 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups finely chopped pecans
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix flour and salt; set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add molasses; mix until well blended.
3. Gradually add flour / salt mixture into butter mixture; mix well. Stir chopped pecans into dough.
   
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet(s). *I love my silicon baking mats!
5. Press a half a pecan into some or all of the cookies if you like. (See photo.)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.
7. Dust or roll warm cookies in powdered sugar.

This recipe adapted from the Southern Living cookbook (1982 annual edition) from Varniece R. Warren from Hermitage, Arkansas.

Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

What is Temporary Will Fade Away

Y'all the sun rose this morning just as it did yesterday and a billion days before that. I am no different than I was yesterday; are you? The world isn't even any different. The sky is still blue, the grass is still green, the chickens are still laying eggs, and God is still in charge of this motley little planet. 

The world needs less fear, anger, and hate and more love, kindness, friendship, and compliments. Forget the election. Be sure you smile, laugh with your friends, hug your children, bring lunch to someone at your office, give out a McDonald's card to a homeless person, call or visit someone who may be lonely, sit on a river bank and breathe in fresh air.

Nothing is different; nothing has changed. Tomorrow the sun will rise again just like it will (hopefully) another few billion times.

-I've read the end of the book! Good triumphs over evil every time! Be good to others & be nice to yourself, Ramsey

If you enjoyed this post, check out a few of my favorites:  Childhood Creeks, Teamwork, Shelling Peas, Success, Refocus & Reprioritize

Take Time to Stop & Smell the Basil

Stop & Smell the Basil

Life is terribly fast and short. We live in a society that pushes us to rush through the days. I read humorous posts about friends running themselves ragged to work, hauling kids from lessons to practices to games to parties and appointments and activities or school, running errands, handling life, feeding the dogs, shopping. A life in which we spend two or three or more precious hours of our lives sitting in traffic on an interstate going nowhere - just to get home from work. Every. Day. (Include that time in your salary per hour and see what that does to your calculations!)

It seems we don't value our quiet time, our personal time, down time, and relaxation time anymore. It appears that we must go, do, conquer, and post it on Facebook for the world to applaud our busy hamster wheel accomplishments. How does all this rushing and running and being pulled in multiple directions all at one time help us?

If you’re feeling stressed, busy, harried, anxious, frazzled, exhausted, rundown or just plain ol’ tired. Stop for a minute. Take a deep breath. We usually feel those things when our life is out of balance. If you aren’t taking time to nurture yourself, care for yourself, rest, relax, rejuvenate or simply enjoy yourself and laugh for a little bit. Then stop what you’re doing, whatever else you have to do today – do you really HAVE to do it? (Yes? Okay well continue on, but come back when you’re done with that.)

As women, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends – as women we tend to care take for everyone else. All the time. The thing is if you never take care of your own self then you won’t be able to take care of those other people who count on you – the kids, spouses, clients, bosses, family, friends in our lives. What does the flight attendant tell us on the plane (do you pay attention to that boring lifesaving stuff?!) You have to put the oxygen mask on your face before you can help those around you.

Set an appointment with yourself. Take a time out or schedule a day or an hour later this week to just sit and smell some metaphorical flowers, go for a walk, dig in a garden, stroll through a cornfield or a nature trail, sit under a tree, perch in your backyard, lay back at gaze at the clouds or cuddle up and watch the stars, go for a bike ride or walk the dog. Write a poem, sing a song, do a dance, hum a little tune. Whatever. Put down your phone, turn it off, and spend an hour with you, yourself, and you! Take some me, myself, and I time to reconnect with the person you’ll spend your entire eternity with: You.

Be your best YOU & be nice to yourself,
Ramsey

Big Chickens Lay Big Eggs

We are so blessed with eggs here at the farm! Not only do we have plenty for ourselves, we get to give or sell some to our neighbors too. 

The picture with three eggs shows (from left to right) a white store-bought egg, a Big Bird egg, and another of one of our girls' eggs - very typical of the normal medium-sized brown egg we get daily. Except from Big Bird.


This big girl weighs in at more than 13 pounds of chicken meat. Her feet are huge! She towers over most of the black birds and seems to eat non-stop. 

And she's our only hen to have laid the mythical double-yoker! In fact, she's given us a few of them. Our seven-year-old son thinks it's incredible and declared that he only wants to eat Big Bird eggs from now on. Yeah. Okay. Sure. 


Every hen has a fairly distinct egg shell pattern and egg shape. They are quirky in that they like to lay their egg in the same place day after day. Loner Bird still lays her eggs in a little nest she remakes each day on the floor inside the coop. The other girls all have their favorite nest box. 

Each egg is facinating and unique - a tiny organic work of art. They are beautiful. And delicious! It's so exciting to grow your own food and raise animals that provide more food for our family!

Get on out there & find what excites you, ignites your spirit, awakens your passion! Live life as though it may end soon - because it might! Live your own life, don't worry with what other people say or think you should do. Live your best life. Be your best YOU! 

Love, 
Ramsey

Living. Learning.

Today as I celebrate a milestone birthday, I reflect on a few of the things I've learned that I think are important. (This is my original work.)

Never listen to or worry about what other people say about you. Just be you and live your life in the way you know you should. Always use good manners, be kind, smile, say hello. Be bold. Don’t rush or be in a hurry. Always be nice, especially and most importantly be nice to yourself. Work hard. Laugh out loud. Smile. Laugh lines are golden. You are valuable. Dance like a fool. Sing a silly song. Walk in the woods. Play. Pray. Eat the cake and buy the shoes. Save and invest. Laugh loudly. Realize it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from every one of them. Time will go by super fast. Forgive. Forgive yourself. Avoid people who don’t make you feel good about you. Go on hikes and picnics. Go fishin’. Splash in a creek. Build a tree stand. Disconnect. Go outside. Star gaze. The world is way bigger than just little ol’ you.

Keep on Shining,

Ramsey

October Popsicles

I realize it's autumn and that most of the civilized world has broken out their furry boots, sweaters, and scarves to rush out for pumpkin spice coffees, pumpkin patching, and romantic walks through a falling rainbow of leaves. Meanwhile, in south Georgia, there are some brown leaves falling off the trees and I do smell a hint of campfire in the air. AND it's a crisp 90 to 100 degrees outside during the day! Too hot for lattê, too chilly for the pool. What's a girl to do? Make popsicles of course! I recommend that you do try this at home!

BANANA POPSICLES

yield: 6 to 8 popsicles

prep time: 5 minutes

total time: 5 hours

Banana Popsicles recipe made with fresh bananas and only four ingredients!

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups milk
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and puree on medium speed until completely smooth.

2. Divide the mixture evenly between popsicle molds and insert popsicle sticks. Freeze for 4 to 5 hours before serving.

Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

Pears!

 My sweet friend and neighbor, Teresa and I ventured over to the next county to pick pears at her mother-in-law's house in late August. We picked about 55 or 60 pounds of pears, which doesn't sound like much, but wound up giving me a fulltime project for the next week or two.

Gorgeous homegrown pears

Makes me think of marble or granite. Edible artwork!

Pears peeled and ready for slicing & coring

Pear peels used for pear vinegar and feeding to the chickens as treats

Canned Pears in light syrup!

We made about sixteen 8-ounce jelly jars of pear butter

Put up about 18 pints & 7 quarts of canned pears

The pear butter has been a huge hit. My son will even eat it directly from the jar if you don't watch out! The canned pears look absolutely perfect. I cannot wait to have "fresh" pears this fall and winter and into next year for making pear-cheddar cobbler, poached or braised pears, pears flambèed in rum, pear salad, pear cinnamon oatmeal, pear pan cake, pear butter spice cake, or just plain ol' pears warmed and buttered or just cold, straight from the jar!

Do you have a favorite pear recipe?! Please share in the comments below.

“Don’t shake the tree when the pears fall off themselves.” ~ Slovakian proverb

Eggs! Glorious Eggs!

So you know I was super duper nerdy excited when my hens finally started laying eggs! And of course I took a ton of pictures of the first dozen! :) We found the first eggs on August 27. Loner Bird must have started laying on August 25, on the floor in the coop, so we didn't find them until that third day. Happened to be sitting by the coop, drinking coffee, watching the chickens do...well do chickeny things. We heard a bunch of weird noises in the corner of the coop including a scratching or tapping noise. Loner was the only bird in the coop. Upon opening the coop this is what we found...

And every day since then...

The girls produce an egg a day! 

A hen will take a day off every now & then, but we usually get 5 or 6 a day.

 Including huge double-yokers like this one from Big Bird! 

 Our eggs are way healthier than store-bought eggs. Our chickens eat a healthy diet - no chemicals, no hormones, no junk food! 

 White egg (from the grocery store) shown for size comparison.

 As you can well imagine, we've been eating lots of eggs lately! Quiche, frittata, breakfast casserole, cakes, breads, and my son's favorite, eggs in a basket! Where you cut out a hole from a thick slice of homemade bread, toast your bread a little on both sides in a buttered pan, then crack an egg into the cutout. Fry until set, flip, cook for a minute until your preferred taste. Voila! 

Pretty Bird and Baby Bird take a little stroll. These two girls are solid layers - rarely taking a day off since they started laying at the end of August.

We love our chickens and it's just so awesome that these beautiful sweet creatures also give us food daily! Best animals in the world! Everybody should consider owning chickens!

Check out all the photos of our chickens here and see the fantastic, super deluxe chicken cottage that my Farmer Chris designed and built right here!

Enjoy your day and remember that if you're in a storm right now, there are always blue skies & sunshine just beyond the clouds!! ~Ramsey

The Finished Deluxe Chicken Cottage

Finally I have gotten to the photos of the coop! 

Construction / groundbreaking began on May 18. 


The girls moved into the run around June 18 and got moved into the coop side of the Deluxe Chicken Cottage about a month after that. 


We put all the finishing touches on the coop and it was officially complete on August 14! 

So here are the first released photos of the completed Ramsey Farms Deluxe Chicken Cottage! 

Remember you can see all the coop pics right here and also pics of our chicks and other fun stuff at the Facebook page.

 Thanks for dropping by the blog!

The Ramsey Farms Deluxe Chicken Cottage!

Pumpkin Time!

Happy October! It's that time of year again...Pumpkin Time! Alas, we did not grow pumpkins this year (sad face) but will try again next year. BUT for those of you with some pumpkin puree (sure go ahead and buy some in a can at the store, I won't tell!) I thought I'd re-share my delicious pumpkin muffin recipe with you!

Read the original article here. Other pumpkiny posts: Pumpkin Pie & Pumpkin Processing. More posts I think you'll enjoy reading: Childhood Creeks, Muscadine Jelly, & Slow Pace / Hard Work.

Printable recipe card:

"There are three things that I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." ~ Linus from The Peanuts Gang

Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

Ramsey Farms Potato Salad

Potato salad, the phrase evokes images of summer picnics, pot lucks, family reunions, and church gatherings. We harvested more than 400 pounds of Ramsey Farms Reds and Ruby Lane Whites this year. I never have a problem finding ways to prepare potatoes (do we need a book on 101 recipes for potatoes? I'll write one! Don't make me!)

Potato salad is so easy, versatile, and is most welcomed at any meal or anyone's table. Try varying the type or flavor of mayo or mustard (or omit the mustard) and test out a various variety of vinegars too and always sprinkle in your own favorite or preferred herbs and spices.

I'll share this soon on the Facebook page if it's better to download from there.
Be sure to check out all the posted recipes here. Leave comments in the box below!

"What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow." ~A.A. Milne

Bruce or Caitlyn?

Big Bird July 13 @ 14.5 Weeks Old

You all remember the pretty yellow chick? The only one we weren't sure on its gender? Originally that chicken's name was simply "yellow bird" that morphed into Big Bird. But for awhile, Farmer Chris contemplated calling her Bruce / Caitlyn since we were not sure of the gender (reference: Bruce Jenner). My friend, Caroline (the woman, not the dog) refers to this bird as Gertrude.

The Red Ranger breed of chicken was selected by my son. Because he wanted a yellow chicken, not the black ones Mom was picking out! The Black Stars are genetically modified (is that the right word?) so that at hatch, the female chicks are solid and the male birds have a black dot / star on their head. Saves those chicken sexers some extra work and saves those that do not want roosters from getting cockerels.

5 days old, she didn't have a name yet!

So for nearly 23 weeks, we watched. We wondered. We waited. Was Big Bird a boy or a girl? (What about on Sesame Street, I'm not sure that Big Bird was gender specific either, was he / she / it? Hm. Anyway!) So now whatever name you want to call this big, beautiful, size of turkey, can-imagine-it-fried, docile friendly bird...you can call her "ma'am" as I literally saw an egg coming out of her body!

Big Bird at 16 weeks, July 15

And let me tell y'all, about every third egg she lays is HUGE. The egg from yesterday barely fit in the egg carton with the lid closed. My seven-year-old must hold this super egg in two hands! She's given us one double-yoker already and I have a feeling that jumbo egg from yesterday has more than one yolk in it too. I'll find out this afternoon. My son (the junior farmhand / chief ditch digger around here) declared that he wants to eat that egg for snack after school. It's his chicken, he said, he is gonna be the one to eat her eggs. How's that for a pretty awesome pet?!

Big Bird starred in her own little show that depicted this chick's faster growth from week old baby to a teenage pullet. You can check out that fun little minute-long clip here. I know, I'm personally a little obsessed with these awesome little cute feathery food producers but if you wanna see all the chickens in all their glory, be sure to visit our Facebook page for all the fun photo albums. I even have an album just for the chicken cottage construction photos too. :) Enjoy!

My personal note for today:

You can either curse the rain or search for rainbows! ~Ramsey Penegar

Make the most of what you have & love with all your heart!

Cheers,
Ramsey