A Farmgirl's Experience Is The Greatest Teacher

 

Sparrows on icy winter branches  Photo by Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm

The temps have been dropping down from 20 to 6 degrees between 4 am and 7 am the past few days. I made my mind up before going to sleep that I would get up early to turn on the heat lamp in the coop.



I got up at 5 am got my warm clothes on and filled the water buckets, with warm water, in the kitchen sink. I stepped out into the new snow. It was so beautiful outside. Everything was enveloped in an icy fog. I made my way to the coop. I had my crampons on. I felt confident in the new snow which was on top of last weeks snow which turned to ice.

Yak Trax
They are awesome !

I took off the blue tarp I had clamped across the front of the coop to stop the wind and snow from entering. I noticed one of the latches were unhitched by the strong winds last night.

I unlatched the door with gloved hands because flesh can stick to freezing metal. The freshly filled water bucket was set inside the coop, the heat lamp was turned on, and the feed was replenished, along with some very desired dried boon worms, and sunflower seeds.



The bucket of water I had in there was frozen solid so I removed it and set it where the sun would help the ice to melt. My ducks and hens have a small insulated room where they roost. There was not so much as a quack or a peep while I was in there except for Fae, our white Plymouth Rock hen who came out and began eating. She looked great, unscathed by the bitter cold.

I shoveled the paths and cleared the corral along the fence so the llamas could eat their hay. The green hay looked so beautiful against the white snow. My hair was frozen and I had white frost where my breath had flowed in and out. 

Overhead I saw the ravens flying from the west. I could see their under wings were frosted with ice. 

Raven's wings were frosted with ice.

I so enjoyed my time out in the snow. As I opened the gate to walk back into the house, I looked back at the at the rising sun and low clouds which hung along the foot of the mountains. 

I looked back as I opened the gate and felt so thankful.
Deborah Moen Little Utah Farm

I can not express enough what living on this little farm has taught me about caring for our animals. It has opened my heart for other living things besides myself. It has made me strong and capable of doing things I did not know I could do.



Changing from a City Girl to a Farm Girl is not easy at first but you learn by doing. All the books about farming and animal care can help but it is the experience that is the greatest teacher.

Deborah Moen 
of Little Utah Farm

I thank you for visiting, Little Utah Farm
Until next time,
Believe in your dreams
They do come true.

Its Spring! Lambing Has Begun !

The Lambing begins in spring when they transport the pregnant ewes from the warmer winter areas to the sheep ranch. Photo by Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm

The Lambing has begun!

I heard the rattling of the big diesel trucks and stock trailers barreling down the dusty lane towards the sheep ranch. It is just a few doors down. I knew the sheep had arrived and I rushed to grab my camera. I ran  as fast as my legs could go to the ranch to see the sheep unload. My was heart beating fast as I whispered an affirmation to myself, “The sheep are here".

The trucks stopped out in the back field and the drivers opened the back doors to let out the pregnant ewes. I ran to the mound of red clay dirt by the old fence to get a better look.

The ewes leaped off the truck to get some spring grass. The man who owned the ranch was there watching them unload and spoke in a John Wayne-like voice, with a hand on his hip and thumb in his right pocket, “Come on ladies” 


The sheep bells that hung from their collars clanged as they ran over to the tall haystack behind the barn.  They were hungry after their journey. Actually sheep are always hungry. I smiled knowing that within weeks the lambs would be born right here in my own backyard. And soon I would hear their young bleating cries. 

I was practically floating on the way home and took I a shortcut, running through the irrigation ditch that runs near our little farm. I 
 got pricked by the wild rose bushes and whacked in the face by long willow branches. No matter, I was so filled with breathless joy it didn't phase me.

 At home I sat with my husband and animals soaking up the warm bright sun. A beautiful hawk circled overhead and we saw a large V of seagulls, of all things, flying north.

What an amazing and memorable day ! 

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm 

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Until Next time here is a quote: 

 “To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm

This is one of the baby lambs just a day or two old. Look at his sweet face. I have photographed him and put the image on a greeting card. Card comes in semi-gloss which we recommend for beauty and sturdiness. The card text inside is Happy Spring ! but you can personalize it with your own message. 

Adorable Lamb Folded Greeting Card
by LittleUtahFarm

Best Oven Cleaner I Ever Made

 

Here is the recipe. 

You can make your own oven cleaner. And you can use it to clean your tub, those slippery greasy silicon baking mats, and more! It is safe because it is only dish soap, vinegar, lemon juice and water. Don't be fooled by it's  simplicity, this stuff works. I am going to give you the recipe. But first take a look at this.

Here is my oven before and after

                                           BEFORE

This is our oven before picture. 

                                          AFTER

Best Oven Cleaner I ever Made

BEST OVEN CLEANER I EVER MADE

RECIPE

Mix together in a spray bottle:

• 1/4 Cup of dish soap ( I used Dawn dish soap)
• 1 Cup of vinegar ( white or apple cider)
• 1 Cup of lemon juice
• 1 1.4 Cup of water. 

1. Spray this concoction on 
2. wait 20 minutes ( I waited over night)
3. If you do an overnighter, before you begin, spray lightly with water to moisten
4. then wipe. Most of the grime and browned area wipes off. 
5. Caked on stubborn spots come off easily with a steel pad.  Just test your oven in a small area to see if it scratches. Mine did not scratch.

That is all. When I went looking for a commercial oven cleaner to buy in town, there were none to be found. I ran across this recipe and tried it out. This will be my general and heavy duty cleaner from now on. 

LITTLE UTAH FARM SHOP

Did you know we had a store on Zazzle. Our images of our garden, animals, the moon, radical weather, and vintage tractors are printed on many products such as greeting cards, mugs, t-shirts, blankets, and more. You can customize these also.

Now take our neighbor, Amanda, for instance. This is a calf with attitude. She comes on a pillow, throw blanket, lunch box and just about anything you want to transfer her onto. She is a favorite. Moo !

Amanda: Jersey Calf Pillow
by LittleUtahFarm

Water For Wild Birds In Winter

 

Water For Wild Birds In Winter
Little Utah Farm
Photo by Deborah Moen


Feeding birds is also a form of prayer Pope Pius Xll

Yesterday it was 6:30 am and the outdoor thermometer reads 20 degrees. 

The little birds are hopping on the ice in the bird bath and some are sipping at the edges hoping to get a drink. 

The  night brought 4 " of snow. 

Water for wild birds in winter.
Deborahslittlegems.blogspot.com
Photo by Deborah Moen

I heat up a pan of water on the stove. While the water is heating I put on my shoes and a coat. When the water is warmed I take it outdoors. The birds see me coming and fly away. I pour the warm water over the ice and it begins to melt. I rather enjoy feeling the cold hard ice under the warm water. 

Water for wild birds in winter.
Photo by Deborah Moen
deborahslittlegems.blogspot.com

I can even slip my fingers under the edge and pull up the whole circle of. I have discovered if I break off a piece, I can use the rounded edge to scoop out the old water and debris. I fill it with the remainder of warm water and make my way back inside. 

The birds come back one by one lining up around the edges. It does my heart good to see them sipping and enjoying a nice drink of clean water. 

We give the birds water and they give us such pleasure watching them drink and take baths. We get lots of different birds. 

• house finches
• doves
• house sparrows
• golden finches
• robins
• northern flickers
• starlings

Soon the orioles and hummingbirds, western king birds, and sometimes a red winged blackbird will come by. In spring we get out the feeders and fill them with homemade sugar water. 

Little Utah Farm is a small oasis for wildlife. It is rewarding to provide fresh clean water for our wild birds in the winter. 

11 Birds on a Bird Bath

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm

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Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

Caring for wild birds feels like a prayer.

Is written inside our 11 Birds Sitting On A Bird Bath greeting Card.

You can customize this card to put your own text in. Card comes in different sizes and we recommend using Semi Gloss Paper.  

 

11 Birds On A Bird Bath Greeting Card
by LittleUtahFarm

Amanda Am Adorable Jersey Calf

 

Amanda is a Jersey calf in our Little Utah Farm Store on Zazzle.

Amanda Little Utah Farm Store. Amanda Jersey Calf is our neighbor. She strikes the cutest poses. 

We made some more goodies with her image on them. The product links are in each image description.

                                                    Amanda's Throw Blanket 

                                                                   Jersey Calf Tote Bag White 

Amanda's Throw Pillow 

                                                          Jersey Calf Tote Bag Brown

                                                            Amanda's Greeting Card  

Black Hawk Finds A Home On Little Utah Farm

Black Hawk minutes after we found him,
Alone in the alfalfa field only 4 weeks old. 

"Walker, Kollie !" my husband, Paul, called out to our dogs. "Get over here !" Those two dogs love the tall grass borders along the alfalfa fields and tend to get caught up exploring, sniffing, eating grass, and peeing on all the wild scents. They ran back to us as we made the turn towards our home.  At that moment I heard high pitched sound, like a hawk, which I thought was coming from the bushes along the fence. My husband even asked, "Is that a hawk?" Probably a hawk hunting we assumed and walked on home. 

The next morning we set out on our walk. Paul confided to me that the thought of the hawk kept him awake all night. He told me he wanted to check that area thoroughly in case the hawk was injured. We entered the field. The alfalfa had grown near 8" high and we picked up our feet to step over each clump. We stopped at the spot where we heard the hawk cry out. I leashed the dogs and stayed back while Paul went ahead and searched along the bushes. 

I thought I heard him say kittens and rushed over to see. A tiny black kitten emerged from the bushes wobbling straight for me. My heart pounded in my chest. There was a bed and a bowl of food and water hidden back against the fence that runs along a very busy country road. "What shall we do?" Paul asked. "I am taking him home with us." I answered.  I felt so sad someone would leave such a helpless creature in an alfalfa field exposed to the freezing nights and predators.  

"Mew ! Mew!" the little baby kitty cried and cried. Then it struck us...it was the kitten crying out yesterday, not a hawk. As we continued our walk we decided we'd name him, Black Hawk. I asked Paul for Kollie's pink bandana. He untied it from her neck and I wrapped it around the kitten to keep it warm. I held her close on my chest. 

When we got home we went and bought him some kitten formula and a bottle. More on that later.  

This is the video below of our dear little Black Hawk on his first day home.

 I realized the best thing had happened. We found Black Hawk and he had found a loving home on Little Utah Farm. 

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm.

Until next time,

We will be posting updates on Black Hawk's life with us. 

Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm

Bunny-The Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Our Wayward Rabbit "Bunny" on Little Utah Farm

When a new face comes to Little Utah Farm, I and my husband have a special practice to instill peace among our animals . For example, when we bring home a few new hens, we place the hens in a large safe kennel and place it in the shade under the apple tree, and sit around it with the resident hens and ducks and the dogs. There is a lot of sniffing and gawking, and then everyone relaxes and begins to enjoy the space together. This practice has worked for us.

Bunny on the other hand has not had the benefit of the family get together in the safety of the kennel. He is getting to know the family in his natural way. One day I saw him in the backyard munching on sweet green grass blades and chomping down chicken scratch. I was concerned what would happen if the dogs rushed out of the back door into the yard. Would they chase him ?

Maven and May go to investigate what Bunny is eating.

Yesterday I let the dogs out and then noticed Bunny in the middle of the yard. Over the next few seconds my mind raced with worry and then I took a breath and regained my peace remembering that peace begins with me. I walked away from the door and allowed things "out there" to unfold.

The Peace that surpasses understanding.
Walker and Bunny are getting along very nicely.

I returned in a few minutes to empty the trash and I saw Bunny communing with the hens, ducks, and the dogs. It was a beautiful pastoral scene with wild birds and warm sun. The dry brown grass had begun to flourish like spring from the recent rains. All looked so peaceful and content.  I was filled with gratitude and a sense of relief. So explains my title for this post, "The Peace That Surpasses Understanding"

Thank you so much for visiting Little Utah Farm,
(18.6 k page views)

Until next time,
I wish us all peace and contentment.

Deborah Moen of
Little Utah Farm 

Are you on Facebook ? We have a Facebook page called Little Utah Farm. Join us daily for more farm life pictures and videos.

And did you hear ? Little Utah Farm has a store on Zazzle. We put our photographs and art on coffee mugs, pillows, blankets, t-shirts, ornaments, greeting cards and more. Here is one of our Collections of Holiday Season Farm Animals. We have goats, llamas, hens, ducks on greeting cards, wrapping paper, ornaments, gifts, and more. We also have a Holiday Season Horse Collection, Vintage Tractors Collection.

Holiday Season Farm Animals
by Deborah Moen

Holiday Season Horses
by Deborah Moen

Vintage Tractors
by Deborah Moen

A Field Of Rainbow Sparkles

A field of Rainbow Sparkles. Notice behind the fence in the long
golden wheat stalks are covered with rainbow sparkles. 

It was a bit below freezing this morning. As I went out to feed the animals, I noticed the field of golden wheat out back was white with frost and sparkled like diamonds.

I took Venus, my hen, out of her indoor kennel set her down in the sun room with water, lot's of scratch and feed, a bit of meal worms, and oatmeal. I give her a head start on breakfast then let out the the rest of the hens and ducks.

I was drawn to the sparkles on the long golden wheat stalks and how the whole field was dotted with rainbow colored sparkles of frost.  The field was entirely lit up like the fairy realm was greeting me. I ran to get my camera to capture it.

See the rainbow sparkles? Looks like jewels.

The screen on my camera is dark and I was unable to see the sparkles but I focused in that area, kept my finger holding the focus while I shifted to the right then back again. Click* I once read that would pick up the sparkles better and I have had some luck with that.

I held my camera and pressed the shutter half way to hold the focus, shifted to the right then back again
 to pick up the sparkle. 

I stood there taking in the scenery so magical and so pretty ! I had seen rainbow drops hanging from the corral bars in the morning sun, and in patches of the pasture like glitter, but today, I was looking at a whole field of rainbow sparkly jewels.  As the world turns, moments like these are short lived. So I snap a photo, for a long lasting memento,  Photographs also provide me with testimony. Would you believe me if I told you I saw a field of rainbow sparkles ?

These look like tiny Christmas lights.

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm !
( 18.6 k page views)

Until next time,

Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm 

Little Utah Farm Store has a special Holiday Collection of Holiday Farm Animals with blankets, wrapping paper, cards, t-shirts, pillows and if you like the design you can transfer to other products.

Holiday Season Farm Animals
by Deborah Moen

We also have a beautiful Collection of Gnomes, Fairies, Angels, Unicorns and more for gift giving to yourself or your dear ones.

Christmas Gnomes Faeries & Angels
by Deborah Moen

The Zen Of Winter On Little Utah Farm

Winter on Little Utah Farm photo by Deborah Moen

WHOOSH!

 It was the second week of December. As the door opens a blast of vaporous swirls came licking into the kitchen. Paul, my husband, was leaving for work. the temperature was -20 degree temperatures. He hunched his shoulders ducking his head deeper into his jacket then reached back to close the door.

There was a moment of silence that followed. His truck lights hit the front windows then disappeared. I could hear the crunching of ice fade as he rounded the corner and drove towards the main road.

I remembered back when we were first dating. I used to watch his tail lights going down the road when he left. That memory always uplifts me.



My thoughts turned to baking cookies. It was baking day ! Paul and my grandson love my homemade chocolate chip cookies and the oven would keep the kitchen nice and warm. I began getting out the flour and the brown sugar, the 3 Pyrex measuring cups, the wooden spoons and mixing bowls. I turned on the oven.

Soon I would be going out into the freezing winter temps and onto the icy paths to feed the llamas and the hens. How they handle these conditions was not for me to know. I laid awake at nights before falling asleep feeling guilty for my nice warm bed. But I got to thinking, Nature has that figured out. For all I know they enjoy it rather than the heat of summer.


We have built the llamas a 3 sided shelter and provided heaters in the water trough and infrared heating lamps for the ducks and hens in the coop. The llama corral is filled with gravel and sand to keep it dry.

I made Arapaho's winter blanket.

In our first year here, Arapaho, our Suri coat llama, (shown above) shivered in the cold. His fiber was thinner than the others and hung down in loose twisted ropes or twine like Rasta braids. Shivering warms a body they tell me but I ended up making him a blanket anyway.

I also made Little Luna a coat for winter. 

The llamas have adjusted to the weather. Not a one of them shivers.. Even Luna Llena (pronouned yena) our surprise Harvest Moon baby ( 1 year and 5 months of age) does fine in the cold. Her first winter we made her a coat also.

In my day dreams I imagine an adjoining barn where I could peek through the kitchen window and see the llamas all lazing about inside earthing ( soaking up the goodness of the earth) on the dirt floor or munching in a big standing bin of premium hay. My hens are roosting on tops of the stalls or pecking though fresh straw for some scratch I laid the night before like the tooth fairy.


B-E-E-P ! The oven was preheated at 375 degrees. It was time to mix the brown and white sugar, crack the eggs and put in the vanilla. I love mushing that all that together. I take down the flour add some baking soda and salt. Mixing in those dry ingredients is not as easy and then comes the chocolate chips. The heavy wooden spoon does the job real good. I scrape it all into a container and snap down the lid for chilling in the fridge while I go out to feed the llamas and hens.


I put the mixing bowl into the sink and turn on the hot water to soak. I promised to only lick the zucchini bread batter and leave all the others alone, well, maybe sometimes I lick the brownie batter bowl also. It is fun for me and tastes so good.



On goes my shirt, my sweater, my coat, my shoes, my scarf  to cover my face. Thank goodness for gloves, the warm insulated kind. Once I am out the door and begin walking towards the shed, I am acclimated. I keep a swift gate and a happy face and smile at my loved ones who live outdoors. They really seem well and good in this cold. I feel satisfied watching them eat. Early in winter, after the first snows, I shovel a snowy labyrinth ( linking paths) in the pasture. I shovel and scrape open connecting feed stations and lay the hay in each one. It is still thrilling for me to open the gate and see them run through the white glistening snow along all the connecting paths and find their hay.

I figured out the best thing to say as I leave the freezing cold and go back into my warm home is... I live in the country, my dream has come true.



I realize, winter is a time to chill out, I mean, to slow down, relax, get more rest, organize recipes and photographs, bake cookies and breads, watch some funny movies, write more stories and letters, meditate and hibernate, like the roots of the grasses and trees.


 Winter may seem like a never ending cycle but really it is the perfect length of time. Winter is just long enough to miss and appreciate the green grass and the balmy breezes and the sounds of crickets in the night.


Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm ( 18,516 page views)

Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

Read my story about my gloves : A Farmgirl's Gloves

Here is our Vintage Tractor Collection which comes on mugs, pillows, cards, magnets, throw blankets, and more.We have Farmall, John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Ferguson, Ford Vintage Tractors.

Vintage Tractor Collection from Little Utah Farm Store