Rain | Build Me a Dream

Time to Redefine our Lives in Oregon

Posts tagged ‘Rain’

And the Pond Floweth

After months of the absence of a mist, a “spit”, or even a mere drop of rain the flood gates (literally) have opened. Beyond the sogginess, and slight inconvenience this might prove for our farm chores (more than slight if you poll the goats) there is a real concern of flooding, road closures, sudden gaping sink holes, and landslides. Our prayers are with those in Oregon and Washington who may be affected by these types of events.

So far, with the exception of some low-lying street flooding, our town has fared pretty well. The wonderfulness that the rain brings to our little homestead is the freshness, and running of the pond. The cold weather ducks that stay around for the winter, are enjoying it too.

If you have a couple of minutes, please enjoy the video below….it’s always a welcome sight when the pond starts flowing again.

Thank you for visiting our water-logged homestead today. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami http://haveadanehilldanes.com

Category:

Autumn, Autumn in Oregon, building a new home, Pond

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Goats and Rain

November 2015

The rains have returned.

November 2015

It is suddenly that time of year in which the ever-present dampness of the Pacific Northwest permeates every outdoor surface. Everything just looks like it has gotten a good soaking. It takes….mmmmmm….maybe a day to get used to then it’s, “Oh yeah, I remember how to do this” and you fall right back into the fervent control of …..wet and muddy things.

November 2015

So, although the dampness of later fall is quite familiar, there is a big question lingering….well, actually there are three questions lingering…..

November 2015

Larry, Curly, and Mo …… (Montana, Clark and Lott are their real names…they just act like the Three Stooges sometimes…hahaha.) We have not gone through a rainy season with hoofed livestock before this year. One thing I can tell you is goats do NOT like being rained on. As soon as they detect drops falling, no matter how lightly, they head for their shelter. Their motto… “Don’t be the last guy in” cause the 1st or 2nd guy might be standing in the doorway blocking the way in. When that happens it’s quite the pathetic scene. Picture a sad looking goat standing outside the doorway….naying a sad, “Naaaaaaaaaa”…..

November 2015

……while sprinkles of water accumulate across his fluffy winter coat… all the while looking at you like, “Can’t you do something here?” In the meantime, nice-and-dry brother goat stands smack dab in the doorway….looking out at you….staring at you while chewing, chewing, chewing, and in you’re mind you know he’s saying something profound like, “What?”

November 2015

So, yes, the lazy days of summer have truly passed. The late fall lesson that I have to learn is definitely how to manage goats during the rainy seasons of Oregon. They are spending more time in their enclosure…..I like the guys to have a clean dry covering of straw for the night since we close them in at dusk, and there is a certain timing to that especially when it is raining. The challenge….getting the goats out of their house while cleaning/adding dry straw, clean water, and grain for the night…..while it’s raining on top of these fluffy boys that do NOT like to be out in the rain. Sometimes it is chaotic, and comical. Never a dull moment!!

November 2015

The air is crisp, cold, and fresh….the dry yellows have disappeared, giving way to green once again. I love this time of year…..

November 2015

…..these beauties seem to, as well.

Thank you for visiting the farm on this cool, rainy, November day! I hope your day is completely awesome!!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami

Category:

Goats, Rain

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The Green of Spr, Uhhmm, Autumn

Click “PLAY” if you’d like an added ambiance to this post.

Spring is not the exclusive season for new growth. Turns out, Autumn’s early rains are amazing for springing life back into the lifeless, dry, landscape of late summer. This year, the long, hot, dry summer caused more dryness to the land than we have experienced in our three short years of living upon it, and an additional six of visiting it. Seriously, it’s true … but my heart goes out to California where the long, dryness of summer has lasted through too many seasons. Hopefully, this will be the year that the mountains get a great snow pack, and the reservoirs fill back up. Praying for that!!

Take a look at the magical qualities that just a few days of rain can have on a landscape pleading for a drink of water….a 6.68″ glass of water….

Can you see the rain??

I hope you have a fantastic Monday!! Thanks for walking in the rain with me today!!

Your friend from Oregon,
Tami

Category:

Autumn, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Have you ever seen the rain, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Rain

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Irish Soda Bread

I’m trying to “broaden my horizons,” “tantalize the taste buds,” “teach this (not so old) dog a new trick,” by trying new recipes. I’ve been “stuck in a rut” too long. Little by little over the past 2 years, I have tried this and that…some successful, and some not. Last night I tried my hand at making Irish Soda Bread, and a very hearty vegetable soup…doesn’t that sound like an oxymoron? A hearty vegetable soup? My husband was skeptical, but willing which is not common when it comes to vegetables, especially when I started adding more veggies than what was in the original bagged of dried, milled veggies. The difference here is that HE picked the milled vegetable soup mix…what’s a milled vegetable soup mix?…well…keep reading!!

In March we took a trek up to Milwaukie…that’s Milwaukie, Oregon…to this little place…

This is the home of Bob’s Red Mill

….if you are at all interested in cooking things you have never even dreamed of, this is the place to go!! There are so many milled flours, milled dried beans and vegetables, milled nuts, milled…..everything! All the products are milled, right in Milwaukie, and the cafe / store is just a few blocks away (5000 SE International Way – Milwaukie, OR, 97222.) Your imagination can go CRAZY at Bob’s!! BTW, when I say milled….I’m talking the old way…with a milling stone, using rustic, whole grains!! You can also find their products in some grocery stores. Hey, seriously, I don’t get anything from plugging their great products…I’m just finding a world of wonderfulness…and I’M EXCITED!!

So what we came away with was a couple of flours, dried beans, nuts, and a vegetable soup mix (only includes the milled veggies, and grains – all spices, etc. are yours to add.)

This soup was incredibly hearty, and wonderful on our cold, rainy night.

Tony thought that this kind of vegetable soup looked good, because there was no sign of any fresh cut vegetables…little did he know that I had other plans..heh heh heh. As it cooks, the soup has the consistency of like a good hearty split pea soup. With Tony cringing, I added the fresh carrots, celery, onions, garlic, spinach and green beans, but I promised I would put it all in the blender and serve it in the fashion he was used to in the Spanish / French Basque kitchen of his childhood. My added ingredients also included chicken broth, salt, Creole spices, and thyme. It was really yummy, and the milled whole grains withing the dried contents was a surprisingly happy, chewy surprise!!

The Irish Soda Bread recipe also came in a freshly milled package of whole grain flours, and all necessary dried ingredients. I added water, oil, and egg.

It was so fun to take these grains and make them bread.

I mixed this up using my hands….fun!

Such a pretty little round!

Into the pie dish…

Traditionally, you cut a cross into the bread dough before baking.

Traditionally, cutting the cross into the bread dough was a way of blessing the bread, and then after it cooked….

All warm and crusty!!

Uhhm…Yummmm!

…it gave a means for the symbolic breaking of the bread at the dinner table.

Such a hearty soup, and a very dense bread…this meal will keep you warm all night, and the only meat product is in the chicken broth.

What I can say is that this combo was really, really hearty, warm, and satisfying on our cold, rainy, spring night…even the hubby thought so!! The best thing of all…Tony ate all of his vegetables!!

Love, love, love this place!!

Category:

Bob's Red Mill, Homesteading, Irish Soda Bread, Milled whole grains, moving to Oregon, Rain, Springtime, Vegetable Soup

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Gloria’s Pond

Just a quick post….BREAKING NEWS!!

Previously, I wrote about our resident wild duck, Gloria, on our pond, on Gloria’s Pond.

GLORIA!!! Our little wild duck that migrates back to the pond every spring!!

She comes home to the pond every year ushering in the start of spring. Gloria has lived half the year at the pond since we have been part of this property…8 years now (I know, we just officially moved here 2.5 years ago…long story….we had been visiting the property for 6 years prior.) This beautiful duck has hatched a few clutches of eggs over the years, sadly, none have grown to maturity. There are predators on this land, including this big guy…and he routinely visits the pond.

Beautiful yet dangerous to frogs and baby ducklings.

I have often wondered where Gloria goes in the winter-time. Our family likes to think that maybe she flies south to the Bay Area, landing in a park that we frequented on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay…along with dozens if not hundreds of Canadian Geese. I wonder why Gloria is such a solitary duck, most years spending the spring and summer by herself. I wonder what kind of duck Gloria is, actually, although I think she is a type of Mallard. I wonder if Gloria is a Gloria….or a Gordon?…she is actually kind of dark and green for a Gloria. (She will always be Gloria…no matter.) I wonder why Gloria came back to the pond when there seemed to be so much cold and rain still ahead of us (if she migrates to – from CA she may have been misguided by their drought this year.) I wonder why Gloria died yesterday? 😦

Walking up from the mailbox, I found our little wild friend lying motionless in the seasonal stream that is fed by the runoff of the pond.

A very sad sight!

I didn’t know what happened…I still don’t know what happened. I put on some gloves and checked her over; there were no wounds that I could see. Her eyes were still clear, so if Bear Grylls is right, she had only died an hour or two before I found her. I did, however, find out something really incredible….Gloria was insanely beautiful!!

She was marked so beautifully.

The emerald green of our Gloria.

Maybe the days of continuous rain was too much? Maybe the lack of natural cover due to the delayed blooming of spring caused too much exposure on an old duck? Maybe both of those things, combined with morning temps dropping into the low 30’s weakened our old girl to a point she couldn’t recover? I don’t know…but I miss our little wild friend.