Shelley Gray's Blog

Goldfinches turned brilliant gold overnight!

Ok, so I admit I am a magazine addict. It is bad. I stand in the supermarket line and promise myself I am not going to buy one. But each calls my name. Lose 10 lbs in 3 days, Easy crockpot dinner classics, declutter forever. Hi my name is Shelley, I am a magazine addict. You should see the pile next to my bed! The worst is when I buy the same one twice. I look at the headlines and they suck me in until I read the articles and they look familiar. But, let me tell you my favorite is Backyard Poultry.

You cannot even imagine how incredible egg whites whip up with our beautiful fresh eggs. It is amazing! Here’s the problem. As seasoned a baker as I am, it is near impossible to separate a “double yolker” to just have whites. Requires mad skill.

Despite the dreary, muddy look outside you can hear the sounds spring. Two nights ago I could hear the Spring peepers peeping up a storm! Those tiny little frogs make sound that carries quite a distance. They definitely herald the change in the weather.
This morning as I have my coffee, I can hear the birds singing and it is such a different sound then a few weeks ago. A Spring sound, not a “I’m going to sing a tune even though I am freezing to death” song. Listen, you can hear the joyful sound of the end of Winter.

This is the best kind of day for syrup! Cold at night and warm during the day. Roger will have all the burners going tonight! Too bad we don’t have any wallpaper to take off. I am planning on a nice bowl of Bryer’s vanilla with hot fresh syrup drizzled on top after my corned beef and cabbage. All of this and net flicks to watch Darby O’Gill and the Little people. Perfect St. Patrick’s evening.

We named the babies yin and yang.  They are so cute. Very healthy.

We had baby lambs this morning! One black and one white. So cute. The only problem is that twins are weak. I am so worried that one won’t make it. They seem very strong and Mom is very attentive. They both seem to be nursing. I checked this morning and Jenn stopped by at 5 and they seem to be latching on. It is so hard to tell. You think they are drinking but sometimes they are weak and just lick and not latch on and get the nutrition. Let’s hope. Of all the animal babies there is nothing as sweet as a baby lamb. So innocent and sweet. Can’t wait to see them out on grass. They jump like they are on springs when they are let out in the field.

Okay, so all day yesterday we were cooking down the maple syrup collected from the trees. I know most people do it outside but on the small scale it works to do some in the house on the stove. It smells soooo good. It is just that you have to be very careful with the last 5 minutes. Look away for a second and you have carbon. I can attest to this as I am still trying to figure out how to scrape the black off my hotel pan. Of course we had to go out and get some ice cream to have with the finished syrup. Yum! Let’s hope for cold nights and warm days to increase the production!