Rum Cake

Today was my hubby's birthday. He wanted a rum cake made from his grandmothers recipe. 

His sister was kind enough to send me the original recipe and I followed it to the letter. 

After it comes out the oven you add the rum butter glaze. I let him do that as I had dishes to clean.

You can see the rich buttery glaze in the cast iron pot.

The cake sat overnight in a cake pan and turned out exactly as he remembered it from his childhood. 

It was a great sharing it with friends after dinner.

Piggy Surprise

Today, we were invited out to dinner with friends from our church. Millie had a surprise waiting for me in her car. She gave me her handmade set of ceramic pigs she painted herself. I had admired them in her home and she gave them to me. They are so happy looking and I needed to see some happy pigs smiling at me.  I will add them to my farm kitchen. They can sit and smile at me while I cook.

So cute, detailed and well painted. Each one has it's own cute face. I can tell they were painted with care.

Beefalo me now

Last Sunday we were invited to a friends farm to meet his Beefalo. He has a real buffalo that has been bred to an Angus bull creating buffalo hybrids called Beefalo. His livestock is tame and likes to be pet and given snacks. We got to pet a real live buffalo and her offspring.

The buffalo was extremely fast moving for such a large animal. We were quick to get out of her way when she decided it was time to move.

She is chasing the horses away from snack time.The upright tail means she is mad.

Ready for more petting and treats.

Coming around fast for more attention.

The gravy train arrives and they all get a snack.

These hybrids are very hardy and survived the drought last summer and winter with no problems. The Angus the farmer had did not come out of winter as well as these Beefalo. They were ribby and thin. The hybrid meat is very lean and full of flavor. It was very exciting seeing what other farmers raise. Buffalo can never be moved from where they are raised. They will destroy any fence to get back home again by walking in ever widening circles. This buffalo was saved as a baby and raised on this farm. This is her home and she is the queen of the herd.

Let There be Shelby

After much talk about the pros and cons, we decided we needed another equine around our farm. Since we have 3 horses one will always be left behind. Our younger horses really go nuts when left behind. We heard that a jenny was needing a new home. Her price was the trade of our two adult turkeys. They needed a new home and we needed them out of our coop. The donkey is hard to catch and needs more handling, but she is healthy and our filly needs her. This was the first time all week my filly was calm for a change. Our other two horses are at the trainers. The jenny's name is Shelby. Since she is very fast the name works.

Maple and Shelby

Looking out for Maple and her new pasture.

Learning about the lead rope and its limits.