New neighbors!

For the past couple months I've been feeding Bluebirds with Zick Dough, never dreaming we'd actually have a pair nest right in our own yard! What a thrill!

The Mrs. is a very busy and dedicated lady! Mostly he just watches and guards the next site while she flies back and forth on a serious mission. 


Already a pair of House Sparrows thought they might be moving in. I don't think so! My husband and I will do everything in our power to keep that from happening. House Sparrows will actually trap the female in the house and kill her, or destroy the eggs. Or worse yet, kill the babies and throw them on the ground. Horrid birds they are.

My biggest concern right now is that they are nesting early. About 2 weeks early. We still have cold nights on the way so I'm hoping if she lays eggs they won't freeze.

I took this picture 2 days ago with my cell phone. This afternoon she was still bringing pine needles in and had the nest built all the way up to the hinge on the door. I didn't see any eggs yet but I'll keep a watchful eye out for them.

These are some of the best kind of neighbors you can have : )

Lemon-Blueberry Scones

I found this scone recipe on Country Living. Since they were so yummy, and so very easy to make, I thought I'd share the recipe with my readers!

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into several chunks and add to flour mixture. You may want to use a fork or your fingers to distributed the butter evenly through the flower mixture.
Add milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir until dough comes together. If dough seems too wet, add a little extra flour, about a Tablespoon or so.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for almost a minute. Add blueberries and gently mix in. Divide dough in half, roll into balls and press each one into a disc on the baking sheet. Cut disc's into 4 equal quarters and sprinkle with sugar for extra sweetness if you so desire.

Bake for 17-22 minutes, until scones are golden brown.

* I did not use the Lemon Glaze this time, instead opting out for Blueberry jam. Yum!

Blueberry morning

This morning my husband and I went Blueberry picking for the first time this year. We usually go our separate ways once we arrive because he tends to go from bush to bush while I find one bush and stick with it. Especially if the berries taste good!

As I was picking he sent me a text … ‘Turkeys up by the trees’. I snuck down through the bushes and caught them just as they were heading back towards the woods. My husband said they had wandered out of the woods about 6’ from him. Dang those Turkeys weren’t shy! They must have been hungry!

To get to the Blueberry bushes we had to walk around a little pond. Frogs were everywhere poking their heads up out of the water, giving me the eye.

 

All washed up and ready to eat! My girls already ate about a third of the berries right out of the colander!

 

Since we’re talking ‘blue’ here I thought I’d throw in this blue dragonfly, an Eastern Pondhawk. It might look blue like a blueberry but I wouldn’t recommend eating it ; )

 

I’m joining Mary and her Little Red House blog this week for Mosaic Monday. I hope you will stop by.

More Picking!

The day before we picked the girls up from Camp, Brent and I took the opportunity to go pick Blueberries one more time (we picked the week before also). This time we went to another local Blueberry farm called the Saltbox Farm. Located along on the main road of Route 33 in Stratham it's an easy find.

One of the first flowers I saw when we arrived were these pretty little pink Sweet Peas growing amid the tall grass. They appear to have spread on their own, mixing in with other varieties of flowers.

You can't tell by the pictures but the Saltbox Farm is quite large! The rows of Blueberry Bushes go on and on. Bob and Irma Goodrich have owned Saltbox Farm as long as I can remember and are the nicest people! Mr. Goodrich was telling me how I missed a good picture that morning of a Heron being attacked by a flock of Turkeys. Quite frankly I'm glad I didn't see that one! He was sorting out Blueberries and putting them in boxes to sell, while Mrs. Goodrich worked in the building weighing up berries customers had picked themselves. Both of them are always willing to chat for pretty much as long as you would like : )

Below are the buckets used for picking. Brent and I made sure to buy some fresh peaches also! Doesn't a Peach - Blueberry pie sound good? Well I didn't make one.

Man he's skinny! Look at his shoulder bones sticking out! Lift some weights will you Brent?

Good thing for Crocs! It was wet and muddy from all the rain we've had.

And here I am, holding all our berries after we combined our buckets. You want to know what all those Blueberries cost? About $7. You can't beat it!

These gorgeous Sunflowers were growing up near the back of the building. You can see how tall they are since I had to look up at them! Of course I'm only 5'2" so I guess that's not saying much.



I don't know what this used to be but it's kind of interesting! The cone is about 3" high so it's not a small flower by any means.


A close up of our delicious Blueberries! I hope to get out to pick at least one or two more times as the bushes are still loaded with berries. With all the rain we've had it's been a great year for fruit. My older daughter wants me to make a Blueberry Pie so she'll have to get her little self out there and pick with me!

Thanks for coming along!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Tis the season for Blueberries and since they are quite plentiful right now, we shall make many recipe's that call for all things BLUE! That is of course when there are enough Blueberries left over after everyone eats them out of the bowl ... the best way of course. And the most healthy I might add.

I found this recipe in a magazine several years ago and although I don't usually copy them down, since most aren't that good, this one looked particularly yummy and has proven it's worth many times.

The only thing that could make it any better would be a dollop of whipped cream and a cup of coffee! 

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

2 cups Flour
3/4 cups Sugar
2 t. Baking Powder
Dash of Salt
1/3 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Milk

Mix all dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients one at a time, and stir until moist. Mixture will be rather thin. Pour into a greased 7x11 or 8x11 baking pan. I actually used an 8x8 in this post for a thicker cake but you'll need to cook it longer and test every few minutes to make sure it's baked all the way through.

Top with:

2 cups Fresh Blueberries
1/3 cup Sugar, mixed with 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

* A link to my Blueberry Muffin recipe : )

Blueberry Bay Farm

Blueberry picking . . . such a great New England experience. And Blueberry Bay Farm a local Farm of Distinction, wholeheartedly encompasses the experience with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers.

I hope you enjoy the photos from yesterday. There are plenty of them!

For Nancy: because I know how much you love the Granite rock walls of NH. Can you believe in some parts of the state people have been stealing the stones? This wall is on the left side of the road just before we arrived at the farm.

The entrance to Blueberry Bay farm. Quaint as can be!

After parking, or in our case, walking, this the the archway to go through to head towards the berries. I would guess the wild roses have recently finished blooming but what a sight it must have been.




Today's choice. And a good one it is!


The quintessential blueberry, before it turns blue. Unfortunately most berries are still green but within the next couple weeks there will be an incredible harvest. We had no problems filling our baskets even with the slim pickins.


As you can see the bushes were laden with berries ready to ripen. They were also sagging because they were wet with rain. As were Elise and I. We tried to shake off the bushes as we walked up the aisles to keep from getting any wetter.


A light rain started coming down after Elise and I had been picking for about 15 minutes, so we held an umbrella with one hand and picked with the other! Elise stopped to rest a moment on a bench as we were heading out to pay. Phew, BB picking is exhausting!


~A bed of flowers~


The shed to pick up your basket, purchase soda, blueberry lemondade, blueberry cake, jellies, recipe books, etc. And pay when you've finished picking and eating ; ) Good thing they don't weigh the kids before and after they pick!

A cute little bird house. Though it would take a very

small bird to fit in those holes!

Below is the farm itself. The Thomas Wiggin house, built in 1726. Naturally the shutters are blue.

I hope you enjoyed a morning of picking!

You Know You're A Mom When . . .

If you are up at 5:30 am, with Blueberry muffins in the oven by 5:45, then chances are you are a mom. Or you could be Martha Stewart, but more than likely you're a mom. If you enlarge the lower picture you can see what time I took the picture. *yawn* And why? Because there is nothing else in the house to eat and I don't want the girls to go to school hungry. Then I would feel like the Bad Mom Of The Year Award would be all mine until they come home and fill up on junk food, and the guilt starts all over again.

By 6:50 am both girls have left school for the last Friday of this school year. Next Thursday, the 19th, will be the final day. Today I plan on squeezing in a little shopping time at the mall just for me, then it's off to the grocery store to try to avert some of the guilt.

And so the day begins.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Blueberry Muffins 

1 3/4 cups Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Dash of Salt

A couple Tablespoons Wheat Germ (optional, but it's good for you!)

Mix all dry, then add:

1/4 cup Shortening (I use 3 large spoonfuls)

Mix again with a fork.

Then add:

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup Milk

1 cup Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, or a combination of berries

Mix until all ingredients are moist, then spoon into a sprayed or greased muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 10-12 muffins.

* For extra sweetness and a little bit of crispiness sprinkle sugar on top of each muffin before they bake. My mom always did and my girls like it too!