Candy from the Hunt

I have been searching for quail recipes and dreaming of another bird hunt lately.  

So I decided to share some more photos about our hunt a couple of weeks ago as I try wind down from a busy week.

If  you ever come across an interesting recipe for these quail, let me know!

These birds are from our first day of hunting in Arkansas.

Memories were made, for sure.

Here we are after our second hunt that weekend.

We were a little more successful on day two......

So after you hunt and kill the birds, you have to clean them.  

I'm not quite there yet.  And we had Gerald.  

He had a wonderful, dry sense of humor and instinct for hunting the quail.

By the end of the weekend, he had learned how to push my buttons.

Here he is cleaning the birds--removing the feathers and saving as much meat as he could.  

Then he would put them into the water to soak before freezing it.

Gerald says quail are "the candy of all the birds".

I asked him why, and he replied, "that's just what they say.  They just are."

"I believe you, Gerald."

And he went about his ways, ignoring me and cleaning the birds.
Doesn't this just look like a chicken breast?

While Gerald went on with his work, I got distracted and looked around the shed.

I stumbled across this old bag of corn.

It always seems to come comes back to corn and soybeans for me, no matter where I am.

Always a farm girl.  

Always fancy and country.

And classic me, I took 5 magazines I needed to catch-up on.  As Gerald finished cleaning the birds and I enjoyed the quiet of the country, I opened one of my favorite magazines Garden & Gun.

And lucky me, I found this fried quail recipe in the magazine which I was really excited about because we now had 20 quail, or pieces of candy, to eat.  

On Super Bowl Sunday instead of buffalo chicken wings, we had fried quail with homemade hot sauce and homemade ranch dressing.  Big step for me to fry and make homemade dressings.  

Next step, clean the birds like Gerald and continue to enjoy the candy from the hunt 

and the memories made along the way.

A Hike in the Woods, It's Good for the Soul

My Sunday started with church like many Sundays.  

Then I wanted to go check the cattle and walk fence with my farmer to take pictures.

The next thing I knew, we were in the barn with 5 kids, our nieces and nephews, and my husband was talking to them about taking a hike in the woods.

Now when I hear "the woods" all of these memories from my childhood flood my mind. 

As children on the farm, we lived on a small piece of land 

which was surrounded by pasture full of cattle and "the woods".

I think of the time when I fell 3 times in the creek and soaked my pants with mossy creek water.  After trekking to the house after the third time to change my pants, my mother opened up the door and said, "I'm sorry, go back into 'the woods'".  Then slammed the door in my face.  

My sister and I had 3 forts in our woods, and a valley called "The Sound of Music Valley".  To this day, I could walk you to each fort and sing you those songs in that valley.

So....while I had 8 things on my "to do" list on Sunday, I thought maybe it might be good to take a walk into "the woods" for old times sake.

Before we left though, they had to jump around on the hay bales....and pose for Aunt Katie.

We left the farm and headed for our adventure in "the woods" together.  The kids talked and talked about what they would find, where Uncle Brett was taking them and how excited they were.

Their wonder and excitement made my heart melt.

And they had no idea that someday these memories will be so special.

Come to find out, Uncle Brett really wanted to check his game cameras for his hunting purposes.

But it worked, the kids love to look at pictures and the fact that they 

came from a camera on the tree was even cooler.

The girls quickly found an ice patch to skate around on, but I soon pointed out Uncle Brett's tree stand.  They said, "wait....can we climb that?!"  I said, "no, that's Uncle Brett's private tree house.  No kids allowed."  And then they were back to skating and acting out scenes from Frozen.

We walked through the woods, with arms spread out in front of us to avoid the twigs and brush.  When we approached the creek I heard, "Water!  More Ice!  Oh my gosh, how cool!"  So we stopped and played some games in the creek, watched the minnows swim under the ice and made Uncle Brett get chunks of ice for us to throw.

Little Eli wanted a chunk of ice to throw, but first, he had to taste it.  Nothing like some good creek water to make you a stronger young farmer.

 Of course I noticed the girls' bright and fancy outerwear before our adventure began.  But I was truly proud when I saw them getting their hands and boots dirty wearing that pink and leopard print.  

My little Fancy in the Country girls. 

When we turned away from the creek, they were on to their next adventure.  

"I found more ice!  Come on!"  

So they ran to the next ice patch....this happened about 4 times until we reached the end of the adventure.

The girls skated on each patch and the boys jumped up and down to try to break them and create a disaster.  

Pretty typical with this crew. 

 At one point, Brett found some deer tracks and pointed them out to the kids.  As we continued to walk through the woods we heard little Eli mumbling something.

"I am going to go deer hunting with you Uncky Brett," he said as he made his way through the rugged corn field with the stalks left from last fall taller than his little knees.  

He said it in a way that was as if they were going to do it tomorrow.

But then he got tired and Uncky Brett had to carry him.  Eli then became the binoculars that could spot the pink jackets from afar.  "I found them!  I found them!" he proclaimed.  

We had such a great time with the kids.  We got home and I said, "that was good for my soul, I needed that."

And as we continued to talk about our adventures the farmer said, "I wish I could be purely excited about the small things like them."  

Each section of the woods and at each turn there was a new adventure.  

We should probably remember that life is kind of like that too--new adventures at every turn.  And we should try to be purely excited about them because it's good for the soul.  

Now go take a hike!

Unspoken Lesson from the Farmer: Roots & Wings

Dad used to shake his head at me a lot.  I mean.....a lot.  

It was like he didn't get me or something (which is what some people say about me).  

But looking back now, I realize that he didn't always get me because we were so different and that was okay.  He raised me to be different, but to appreciate where I came from and where I was going.  

Unspoken Lesson from the Farmer:  Have roots and wings.

I pretty much grew up tall and grew up right with that Indiana corn on those Indiana nights.

And  I have always appreciated it.

But these days I see a lot of this, our nation's capitol. And a lot of cities which I also appreciate.

It was my parents that taught me to appreciate both; the roots and wings of my life.

They kept us grounded and let us run around barefoot to feel the dirt between our toes.

Remember "Heaven is Under Our Feet as well as Over Our Heads."

But it was my parents that let us spread our wings and fly. 

It wasn't just their words but their actions that supported our roots and gave us wings. 

And for that, I shall always be grateful.

Secretly, mom would have kept us all around forever and ever.  

Making us her famous homemade meals and sugar cookies while dad, Sarah and I sat around and watched "The Last of the Mohicans" was perfection to her.

Dad on the other hand, well dad tried to ship my friend Leslie and I off to mining country up in Canada when we were in college.  "There are lots of boys up there, you guys could have your pick!  Katie, there are no malls but they have money so there you go!  I can hire someone to take you guys up there."  

Oh thanks, Tim.  Some special wings you want to give us.  I think he wanted to ship us off because he wanted us to stop spending his money and to go and spend someone else's.

But he didn't get rid of us.  

Instead, we stayed and danced many nights away with him at weddings and drank beer with him around the fire.  Secretly, I think he wanted it that way instead of us in a random mining town with a bunch of boys! 

Dad used to always say, "there are too many cars around here anymore.   Too many people.  I am moving out west."  And I used to always tell mom, "when I am rich someday, I am going to buy dad a small ranch out west, in Montana."

Well, dad never got his wings to move west.  But he did get his wings to fly up to heaven 5 years ago this month.  

My friend Lindsay, over on Jeans Boots Blog, and I took one of our grounded gypsy trips west one fall.  

We went to Montana.  

And for my next birthday I received this.

Dad rode along on our wings during that trip.  Believe me, he was there because we ran into some pretty interesting characters and still made it back to our roots here in Indiana. 

So while he was always country and the center of my roots, I was his fancy and the wings that flew him west.  

And tomorrow I leave for Paris.  

And I guarantee you he is shaking his head at me.

A Harvest Festival

Harvest.  

According to Wikipedia, 

"Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields.

The harvest marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular crop,

and social importance of this event makes it the focus of seasonal celebrations such as a harvest festival."

We don't get to go to many festivals during the harvest.  

So this weekend I created my own festival.  

I decided to visit the farm and see what I could get into.  

And this guy picked me up and said, "get in, we have to check those beets I planted for you in the garden."

So I hopped in the old, beat-up gator and we visited the garden.  

And then......

....this guy hopped in the gator.  He needed a ride from one semi to the other.

Two generations of farmers in one vehicle together with the farmer's daughter and wife.  

Always interesting......

Harvest is kind of like a festival of teamwork.

One guy drives the combine, the other drives alongside him with the grain cart.  

Another drives the semi to and from the field to get the load from the grain cart.

And the other guy plants wheat behind the combine to begin a new growing season.

This beautiful, golden corn.

A festival of its own.

And I am blessed they let be a part of harvest on the farm.  

Making a lot of their lunches and dinners this harvest has made me appreciate their hard work even more. 

 After delivering dinner that night, I took one last look at the tall corn with its season ending and a new one beginning.

  Then I stood in the field between the harvest gold and had my own little festival, giving thanks for the Harvest.

We Don't Want to Eat with Utensils......

Harvest.

A time for beautiful sunsets.

A time for farmers to rise before the sun and hit the hay long after it sets.

And a time when I volunteer myself to make lunches and dinners for the guys on the farm.

I hate packing my own lunch, so what was I thinking?!?

Maybe it was so I could see my husband more and get out of the house and talk to a 

live person in the evenings instead of being a harvest widow?  Maybe that's it.  

But I still hate packing them up!  I just want to cook and then enjoy my dinner with my wine.

But nope, I volunteered.  

And when my husband informed me, 

"We don't want to eat with utensils.....it slows us down."

Well, I kind of panicked.  I don't really make sandwiches. 

And how do you make sandwiches so different each day and night that still taste good?

So I racked my brain, visited two different groceries, made sure I had my handy Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle and cleared half of my bench to hold the goodies so I could get organized.

Sunday night I made my first round of lunch sandwiches.  

Then last night it was three lunches (one with arugula lettuce--his favorite, remember?).

And four dinners ready to eat in the field.

And then there was the pie crust I had to make for my monthly Pie Adventure!

All within 45 minutes! 

I have a very small kitchen in our little bungalow house on the farm, and I think that's why I can get so much accomplished so quickly when I cook.  I don't have to move from my little work station. 

For this month's pie, I decided to make apple pie turnovers.  

One because apples are a big part of my love for the fall season.

And I kept hearing something in the back of my mind, 

"We don't want to eat with utensils". 

They aren't pretty (need to practice more) but the boys don't really care what my turnovers or sandwiches really look like anyway and they won't have to use utensils!

(P.S. That's cinnamon on top, not burnt crust!)

So as the guys were harvesting last night, I was at home dreaming of the corn, praying for a safe harvest, more beautiful sunsets and how the heck I am going to make those sandwiches more tasty! 

Below Heaven & Between the Corn

This past Sunday I was shopping for a few wedding gifts for brides-to-be.  

I logged into my Bed, Bath and Beyond account and it said, 

"Day 365 of Happily Ever After". 

I was slightly confused and then it hit me, our Wedding Celebration was one year ago that day!

We got married in Colorado in July  but celebrated on our family farm in September.

I got a little giddy as Brett was busy mowing the yard and decided to peruse through 

some photos of that day on our farm with family and dear friends.  

It was a perfect day with big, white clouds above the barns.

It was nice to take photos with family that weren't with us at the wedding and next to a 

hitching rail that Brett's dad had built many years ago.  

The homegrown wheat from our fields that Brett and I picked earlier that 

summer made for some nice decor. 

And I always wanted to have a party with long tables filled with people I know and love 

while listening to their conversations with each other.

A fall party isn't complete without some apple cider....

....and some apple pie.

Our photographers from Honey & Salt really understood how important our  work and lifestyle 

was very much a part of our wedding celebration and made sure to capture it all.

They even captureed one of me when I was totally in my element and 

had no idea I was being watched........

When it comes to events, I believe in adding character and different aspects for people to enjoy.  Hence, Brett's cigar lounge with an old barber chair that was found in an old haymow.

And if the boys got to enjoy a cigar lounge, you better believe there was a ladies lounge.

This might be one of my all time favorite photos.  

My husband surrounded by my:

Full of Life Irish Gal, Grounded Gypsy, Left Arm, 

Sister who is the the other half of my soul and my Blessed Jewel.  

He's pretty good at just letting us be while enjoying his beer.

I am blessed to have a husband who understands that he didn't just get me when he said "I do" but he got these 5 plus 50 or so more.  

And yes, someone was returning our old Farmall tractor during the party.  It had been getting worked on and some of our guests were neighbors of the Farmall experts so they just brought it to the party.  Why not? 

Our celebration was during my favorite time of the year, fall, and just before one of our busiest on the farm, harvest.  So we took a little time that night to celebrate the harvest and to give thanks to all the farmers, especially our farmer dads who were watching from up in the clouds. 

It was pretty Fancy in the Country.

And it was pretty perfect.

As we danced Below Heaven & Between the Corn 

we gave thanks and then celebrated for 367 days and counting......