You Can Take the Girl Out Of The Country.. But You Cant Take The Country Out Of The Girl

I have been so busy with my new furbabies that I really havent had  time to do much of anything else.Just keeping up on housework and everyday stuff I have been neglecting my blog a little bit Im afraid :(
I write this blog mostly for myself , to keep me motivated to reach a goal and if someone else happens to read it and can relate or just wants to share a glimpse into their life with me or has a suggestion to help me reach my goal well thats even better. This posting is gonna be more of a personal one just because in the last few weeks I have heard from more than one person how much I have "changed"  referring to the person I was in my mid 20's to be exact. Well that got me thinking that Wow! am I really that much different that people have made it a point to mention it to me? That I am "A Country Girl now". What exactly IS a country girl?
I was born and raised in the country. I have lived in the country for the majority of my life minus about 9 or 10 years when I lived in town. At the time I was in my mid 20's and was really all I could afford.It was nice to be close to friends and the convenience of having everything so close by was great. But if I remember correctly the country girl in me was always there, maybe not as strong as it is now but theres no denying it as much as I tried to hide it there was those little things that were always there. To my friends I was known as the hairband rocker girl who hated country music and wouldnt be caught dead in a country bar lol! I was gonna marry a rockstar and live happily ever after. To my friends I was also that girl who loved late night walks through a town that was sleeping, to be able to share the quiet of the night with someone and to get a peek at those few stars that you were able to see above all those houses. I was also the girl who had an amazing dislike for shoes and socks when the air was finally warm. I have always had a love for animals and can see the beauty in a dandelion.  So that brings me back to the question of what Exactly is a country girl?

If a country girl is someone who prefers worn out jeans and tshirts instead of dresses and heels then thats me. Dont get me wrong I like to think that I " Clean up nice" so they say but I dont wake up every day and try to impress everyone else around me by what I wear.Once the weather is warm enough to dig in the dirt I will have no nails and dirt under what little nails I do have left. I save earthworms if I am digging a hole I will stop what I am doing and move them to a safe spot.I have always been that way even as a little girl, when everyone was making lightning bug rings I just couldnt do it. I didnt want to hurt any living thing even if it was just a bug. Im still that way today with the exception of flies and mosquitoes.I have also been known to save  even the bad bugs from my pond if they are drowning.If I see something suffering I have to try to save it even if its just a bug.I am the girl who gets just as excited at 40 as I did at 5 when I see the first lightning bug of the season.I sleep with all the windows open at night so I can hear the crickets and katydids sing, To me its better than any lullaby. I have watched a monarch butterfly hatch right out in front of my eyes and been blessed to have it try out its wings for the first time from the palm of my hand. Its better than any nature show on television could ever be. I have sat so still that I have felt the air from a dragonflies wings on my face,
I know what hundreds of honeybees sound like as they go about their morning work gathering nectar and pollinating all of those sweet smelling flowers and trees.I have also kissed a frog and a toad literally when I was 3 .
If being a country girl means that I can look up at a star filled sky everytime and see it and all its beauty as  if it was the first one I have ever seen in my life then thats me. To actually be able to have my breath taken away by a sunset or the rise of a full moon than I guess Im country in that way too.

Some country girls drive tractors or ride horses or milk cows. Im not that girl, not that I wouldnt want to be but being country for me is more about my connection with nature, the earth and all the beautiful things around us everyday. As I have gotten older I have learned to listen and learn from wildlife and nature. I can now appreciate it and not take it for granted.
I wanted my children to be able to experience what I got too as a kid. To grow up in the country is really an amazing gift even if when your a kid you dont think that at the time.I realize that there are some people who are just perfectly fine and happy living in town and to them dirt is literally a four letter word and to each their own if thats what makes them happy. But that lifes just not for me.  I am truly blessed to be able to finally own our little piece of earth and I plan on doing all I can to give back to nature for all that its given me.

So you see I have always been a country girl. Just one who can rock out to a Bon Jovi song and know all the lyrics to a Keith Urban song and sing them badly with her windows down in her pick up truck. A girl can be country and not have to wear overalls and a straw hat. I personally listen to country music because they sing about all the things I love about being in the country.I can relate to the way they are feeling because thats exactly how I feel too.
The old saying goes that you always go back to your roots,  you end up where your from, no matter where life takes you, you always end up home. My home has always been in the country. Its a part of me and one that I am proud of and thankful for. It just took me a long time to finally get here.

So to everyone who thinks I have "changed" Im still the same person I always was inside. If you really knew me than you would of known that all along


For the record I did marry that rockstar ;)   now if I could just get him to put down the guitar and pick up a shovel it would be perfect.




Me and the best older brother a sister could ever ask for!
I was a bit of a tomboy :)
And no those arent real guns. We just spent most of our summers playing cops and robbers.
I was 3 years old in this picture and it was also the year I kissed my first frog.
Funny thing is Our new farm is not far from the house this picture was taken at. My parents rented this farm for a few years.So you really do end up back home as this is the first farmhouse I have any memory of. We never planned on buying a farm where we did. It found us. 



I Conguered The Cinnamon Roll!

If you have read any of my previous postings you will know that I am bread challenged. As hard as I tried I never had much luck with homemade breads. Well just recently I am proud to say that I did indeed bake a loaf of bread and it was delightful. Well today I decided to tackle the cinnamon roll. Up until now any cinnamon roll that was baked in our house came from a tube. But today I did it!!! The whole house smelled delicious and my cinnamon rolls turned out perfect. I am so proud!!

The start of the dough!

Rolled out and spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon (one whole stick of butter) yikes!!

 Rolled up and ready for cutting

Good thing I have a dishwasher, Im quite the messy baker :) 


Placed in a warm place to rise

I was worried that they werent going to raise because I kept getting sidetracked by this one

But thankfully they did. All ready to go into the oven! 

I

Frosted and ready to eat!!! Yum! Im not sure what Im going to do with them  because there is no way Im allowing myself to eat them all

It's such a good feeling when you try something you have always been wanting to do and you succeed at it! I even managed to chase after two puppies the whole time I was making them.My next challenge is going to be Hawaiian  Bread.

Heres the recipe I used ! The frosting is so awesome!

A Weed I Would Be Happy To See Right Now!

Its been a long cold winter... Bring on the Dandelions please!

Little Bitty Barn Baby

At our old farm we had baby barn swallows return every year to our porch. They had built a nest right around our porch light. Every year they would return almost on the same exact date. Once they arrived you knew it was going to stay warm and when you woke up one morning and they were gone then you knew it was going to get cold soon. Barn swallows are so graceful in the air and they are so beneficial to your property. They eat a whole lot of bugs everyday. One year one of the babies got to close to the edge of the nest and fell out. We managed to rescue him and before we put em back in the nest we took a few pictures.

He was so content perched on our hands 

He was starting to fall asleep

We climbed the ladder and put him safely back in the nest with his brothers and sisters

Some of the cutest little faces I think Ive ever seen. They always look mad. Safe and sound now!

I think Mom and Dad were grateful.

 Barn swallows are one of my favorite things about summer. They always follow the lawn mower and swoop so close to you for all those bugs you stir up. They are always welcome at our farm. Once they decide they like your home they will return every year and so will their children. I am looking forward to the arrival of my feathered friends this year. Not too much longer I hope.

Amish Meatloaf

This was really good and easy!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 1/2 cups crushed butter-flavored crackers
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 slices bacon
•  
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef, crushed crackers, onion, eggs, 3/4 cup ketchup, and 1/4 cup brown sugar until well blended. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Lay the two slices of bacon over the top.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. While the loaf bakes, mix together the remaining 1 cup ketchup, vinegar, salt, mustard and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Spread over the top of the meat loaf for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Down The Rabbit Hole?

We finally had a nice day today and I got to take a walk out to our orchard. This is what I found.

Im not sure WHO or WHAT is responsible for this but they have made quite a few entrances and exits to their cozy home. 

I got a little closer and I swear I heard "Im late, Im late for a very important date. 

And the laughter of perhaps a Mad Hatter...

Oh wait! I smell skunk!!