I have some of the best neighbors out here in our little corner of Western Nebraska. Peggy & Calvin Hill live just to the east of us and invited us to their 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party & Contest which was held on Sunday at their farm.
Unfortunately Dan the Man had three semis to load with hay so he wasn't able to go and Skyler had youth group and better things to do so he didn't go either. I ended up going as the lone ranger from our family. I wasn't going to miss it, besides Peggy said there was money involved with the pumpkin carving contest AND that she was making chili and everyone else would bring a side dish. You know what that means... can you say POT LUCK DINNER! You say POT LUCK... I say DINNER... POT LUCK... DINNER!! I love pot luck dinners! Where else can you eat your self silly and have 20 different kinds of dessert? Well I suppose you could at a buffet restaurant, like "Country Buffet" but we don't have one of those around these here parts and besides, that's restaurant food where 90% of it is pre-made, frozen, processed bad-for-you food. At a pot luck here in good ole' Western Nebraska, we are talking HOMEMADE folks! From people who actually know how to cook.
I had to deliver some chickens to Morrill before I could go to the party so I was a little late. Peggy and Calvin had the party in their immaculately clean three car garage/shop. When I opened the door an enormous cloud of pumpkin smell came gushing out along with the sound of a thousand kids and adults all busy carving away at their pumpkins. Well, there really wasn't a thousand, but Peggy said that 52 people came. Now that's a party! Some came as far away as WYOMING! (Actually Wyoming is only 4 miles away, hee, hee, but it adds drama to the story.)
This being the first time I had attended one of these shin-digs, I wasn't prepared for the seriousness of the matter at hand. Peggy said the rules were that you could use anything you want to to carve your pumpkin, patterns were allowed and you had 3 hours to get the job done. THREE HOURS I was thinking... that's plenty of time. It was so full of people and pumpkin guts in there that I had a hard time finding a place to set-up, but Peggy, the great hostess that she is, gather me and my pumpkin under her motherly wings and shuffled me over to a spot where she was working. Everyone was so intent on their carving, that I figured I better get straight to work, no time for visiting now.
There were three divisions: The 5 and under class had 4 entries and everyone in that class got a prize. Then there was the kid's class which had two winners who each received $16 and the Adult Class received 60 smack-a-roos each ($60). One moment I found cute was when the money was passed out, one of the kids from the 5 and under class felt "jipped" because they only got prizes, he wanted the cold hard cash baby! Hee, hee! I heard someone consoling him that NEXT year he could compete for the loot!
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, I took my knife in hand and got busy carving. Guess there wouldn't be any pumpkin carving pictures, there just wasn't time, especially since I had shown up late and had to leave around 5 pm to go home to feed the chickens and cows. Well, 5 pm came and I still was not done with my "sure to win in my mind" masterpiece. I worked for 30 more minutes until I was satisfied with my pumpkin and then ran home to do the chores. As soon as I was done with with my chores I ran back over to the party. I got there just in time for the good eats! Peggy's chili was delicious and so was all the other yummies!
After eating, the voting began. We each were allowed to vote for two pumpkins and we could not vote for our own. Man what a hard decision. There were so many good ones. The pumpkins were all lined up in a row and the lights were dimmed. What a sight. We all walked back and forth in front of the pumpkins trying to decide who was worthy of the title of "winner." People were committing "this is so hard", "they all are good" and "I love that one!"
Finally the votes were cast and collected. It was a tense wait while all the votes were counted and then the winners were announced.
Winners of the Kids Division were LeAnne Sherrod and Keaton Robb. Congratulations guys!!
LeAnne Sherrod's Winning Pumpkin
Keaton Robb's Winning Pumkin
Winners of the Adult Division were Kim Robb and Terry Hill! Congratulations!
Kim Robb's Winning Pumpkin
Terry Hill's Winning Pumpkin
I'm not positive that I got pictures of all the pumpkins so if I missed yours, I am truly sorry and you can throw pumpkin guts at me next year! Here is a video of the pumpkins.
Here is my pumpkin at the party. I was sure I had a winner, but when the lights were dimmed, my pumpkin did not perform like the rest.
Too bad, so sad for me.
Here are some more shots of my pumpkin that I took later at home. Looks much better here! (PS, I did not use a pattern except for the lettering.)
Some of you know this already, because we are friends on Facebook, but some of you aren't on Facebook and may not be "in the know." So for those of you who don't know this exciting news, I am please to announce that I have been busy organizing an indoor farmers market!!
YAY!! Yipee!! Indoors so we won't freeze!
Yep, I'm pretty excited about it.
Here are the details.
Who:Scottsbluff Winter Farmers Market
What:An INDOOR Farmers Market (duh)
When:Select Saturdays (see schedule below) November through April
1 pm - 4 pm
Where:Scottsbluff Hampton Inn Conference Center
Hwy 26 & Avenue B, Scottsbluff, NE
Why:Because there are lots of us who have stuff for sale year round!
And I need anotherproject... yea right, like I need a hole in the head! hee, hee
Here's the dates, make sure to circle these Saturdays on your calendar in red and plan to attend!
November 6th & 27th
December 4th & 18th
January 8th & 22nd
February 5th & 19th
March 5th & 19th
April 2nd & 16th
One goal I have for the Winter Market is for the Market to give back to the community. We (meaning the market vendors) intend on doing that by collecting donations for various charitable organizations at each Winter Market. For example, at the first market to be held November 6th, we will be holding a food drive for the CAPWN (Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska) Food Pantry. CAPWN is a non-profit community based health and human services organization that serves low-income, disadvantaged, and those unable to meet their needs through other sources. We are asking market-goers to bring nonperishable food items or to donate a dollar to the food drive. If you donate, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift basket compiled of products and goodies from the vendors!!
The following Winter Markets will also have a specific designated charitable organizations in which the community can donate to by bringing their donations to the Winter Market. You can keep yourself informed about each Market's designated charitable organization on the ScottsbluffWinter FarmersMarket page on Facebook. Non-profit organizations holding fund-raisers will also be allowed to and are encouraged to participate in the Winter Market. A special fee will be determined for each organization. If you are involved with such an organization and would like to participate or have questions feel free to contact me. The Winter Market will be full of fun for all ages. We plan on having cooking demonstrations, door prizes and giveaways. Special events will be planned for children such as face painting. I am also working on having area musical groups perform at various markets. Wouldn't it be nice to have some carolers during the holiday markets? Vendors will be selling late-season produce, all-natural meats, eggs, goat cheese, honey, salsas and sauces, jams and jellies, artisan breads, baked goods, sweets, handmade jewelry, handmade soaps and locally made handcrafts, just to name a few. I are very excited and hope that you will plan to attend.
I'll start to introduce you to some of the vendors in later posts.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me @ 308-787-1111.
Some of you who are on Facebook already know that Dan the Man and the Country Chicken Girl have been having trouble with an unknown predator at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch. On two separate mornings they have been greeted with a horrific sight upon awaking and checking on the chickens. Something has been getting in with the meat birds and killing them. This predator is ruthless and cunning... it would appear as if it is killing the poor chickens in their sleep, since there is no warning from the chickens that danger is amongst them.
The predator has ripped the heads off of 4 chickens, leaving the rest of the body untouched, had injured one severely enough that Dan the Man had to put the chicken out of it's misery, and has partially eaten one that it tried to drag away, but couldn't get it out of the fence surrounding the chickens. One of the headless chickens was found right inside the chickens' shelter.
Since Dan the Man and the Country Chicken Girl are no longer crazy, wild and party-all-night kind of people, they decided that an all-night stake-out was out of the question. And being poor-as-dirt, they couldn't afford to hire someone to hunt down this cold-blooded chicken killer, so into effect went...
Project Predator!
Watch the story unfold in this riveting award-worthy video...
I've been following Karl and the crew via the Red Bull Human Express website and am happy to announce that he made it to St. Joseph, MO, his final destination. What an incredible individual you are Karl Meltzer. Your physical endurance blows me away.
Karl finished his journey with a 100 mile run into St. Joseph. He ran for 20 hours and 23 minutes. Karl started on September 15th in Sacramento, California and finished on October 25th in St. Joseph, Missouri, 40 days later and 2064.29 miles later. Incredible.
Karl Meltzer at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch on October 12, 2010 Day 28 of his 40 day journey
I wonder what he has up his sleeve or should I say in his running shoe for his next challenge? Let us know Karl, we want to be a part of it and cheer you on from our little corner of the world.
Fantastic job Karl and you are an inspiration to many.
Tuesday, October 12th was my 45th birthday. Wow, that is only 5 years away from the big 5-0! How did that happen? How did I go from 29 to 45 in what seems to be only a couple of years?
Anyway...
Not much happened on my birthday. It wasn't a very eventful day and for the first time in several years, we didn't even process chickens on my birthday! Dan the Man and I just kind of took it easy.
I did make a wonderfully delicious pecan pumpkin roll cake for my birthday and I will share that recipe with you in another post.
Like I said, the day was pretty non-eventful until around 5 pm. Dan the Man had gone outside to feed the cattle and do his chores while I sat inside and procrastinated about going out to feed the chickens and doing my chores. Besides, it was my birthday, shouldn't I have the day off from doing chores? I think so, but I guess Dan the Man didn't think so.
So when I finally drug my sorry self outside I noticed that Dan the Man was talking to some guy on a mountain bike in the drive way. Who was this guy? Definitely not from around here, that was for sure! I could tell, because I know you can't buy those particular mountain bikes at Wal-Mart and the majority of country folk who have mtn. bikes in Western Nebraska, which isn't very many, buy theirs at Wally World! You know I once lived in Winter Park, up in the mountains, where they actually have a reason to own mountain bikes. I even did a little biking while I was there. Miss that stuff, that's for sure...
Anyway...
As I approached them, the bicycle guy introduced himself as Ted and said he was with a group that had a guy who was running the Pony Express Trail and they were looking for a place to stop for the night and set up camp with a couple of RVs and a few vehicles.
Really? How cool is that? These kind of things don't happen around here...
Of course we told Ted that they were more than welcome to stop here for the night. Dan the Man and I took Ted down to where we stack hay and told them they could set up down there. Ted was very appreciative and said he would ride his bike back to where the runner and team was and let them know he had found a place for them to bed down. I mentioned that I had a blog and asked if I could possibly interview the runner for my blog and maybe for an article for the paper. Ted said that probably wouldn't be a problem and he would let me know when the runner was going to be here and I could come down.
So, as Ted drove off on his bike to catch back up with his group, Dan the Man and I finished up our chores. A little while later the wagon train started coming into our yard. Ted said the runner would gladly talk to me between his two dinners. Two dinners?!?
I had just enough time to grab my camera and a notebook when Ted came back down to the house and said that they were ready for us to come over. I also grabbed a dozen farm fresh eggs for our guests. Then Dan the Man and I saddled up our pony, the 4 wheeler, and trotted off to the stack yard.
The Red Bull Human Express RV
Here is a picture of one of the RV's that they had. The cows were very curious as to what was going on! Such excitement on the Open A Bar 2 Ranch for a Tuesday night, let alone any night of the week!
The girls wondering what all the excitement was about!
Ted took us in and introduced us to Karl, the runner, and the rest of the crew. Karl was lounging on the couch with his feet up and icing his ankles. You really need to click on the links below to read the whole story about Karl and what he is doing.
Karl is a world class endurance runner. He is running the Pony Express Trail to commemorate the 150th anniversary of "those crazy mailmen on horses, running mail and messages from Sacramento, California to St. Joseph, Missouri." Uh... does that sound crazy to you? Well, it certainly did to Dan the Man and this little Country Chicken Girl.
Some facts I learned from Karl during our conversation. He runs anywhere from 50 to 60 miles a day. I told him I try to walk 4 miles a day. "Big whoop," I am sure he was thinking! LOL I asked him how often did he go through a pair of shoes? He said about every 300 miles or close to a pair every week. As for the "two dinner" thing I mentioned earlier, Karl eats two dinners because he is burning soooo many calories each day running that he needs that much or a caloric intake each evening.
Karl Meltzer and the Country Chicken Girl
Karl's Feet!
I have to tell you I was mesmerized by Karl's feet. I hope he didn't think I had a foot fetish or something! LOL But golly gee, I still can't wrap my little pee-brained country chicken girl mind around what it must feel like to run from Sacramento, California to St. Joseph, Missouri. What about even traveling 50 to 60 miles a day, on foot. Jeez, I don't think I could do it, but wouldn't it be fun to at least try. Oh the things you would see.
So you think this guy might be a nutcase? Well, this isn't the first "crazy" stunt he's pulled. In 2008 he ran the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail. Check it out here:
Where's Karl: 1 man. 2,174 miles. 47 days I should have asked him what was next on his "to do list." Hey Karl, if you read this, why don't you leave a comment and let us know!
After our brief talk, Dan the Man and I saddled up the four-wheeler and headed back to the house. On our way out the door, Ted asked us if we wanted some Red Bull. We had to admit to them that neither Dan the Man or I had ever even tried Red Bull. Just isn't something that goes hand-in-hand with our line of work, but hey, anything with the word Bull in the name should be included in our work so we took them up on their offer. Besides it might compliment my awaiting birthday pecan pumpkin cake roll. Which, by the way, we invited the crew to come join us in having, but they never came up to join us. I guess they were probably too tired. Too bad for them, because it was awesome! Even with the cola flavored Red Bull. But I have to be honest, I think that the sugar free Red Bull tastes a little like cough syrup!
Red Bull and Pecan Pumpkin Cake Roll Doesn't get much better than this...
Well, a cup of coffee would have gone better, that's for sure!
Ummmmmm.... Hey Red Bull, feel free to use this picture in your next ad campaign...
Country Chicken Girl LOVES Red Bull and so will you!
Click on the videos for October 12th and & 13th to see our place! How exciting!!
Check out this site to track Karl's progress. If you click on the video clips for October 12th & 13th, you can see our place. How exciting! Red Bull Human Express Website
Good Luck and Good Job Karl! We'll be following you and rooting for you until the end!
Well, we just got done drawing the name of the winner for my most recent giveaway for this way cool apple peeler.
A BIG thank you goes out to all of you who entered!
A BIGGER thank you goes out to our sponsor, CSN Stores. Without them, this giveaway would not have taken place. They have everything you need for your home, from kitchen wares to furniture, home improvement stuff to shoes, baby things to pet supplies and much, much more. Check out this link and take a gander at some of the console tables they offer.
But before I announce the winner I have to tell you about the drawing.
Dan the Man, Bob & Penny (Dan's parents) and myself just got done eating dinner and were sitting around the table discussing that we should do the drawing before The Amazing Race starts.
We were joking about how since Penny had entered the drawing, Dan the Man would probably end up drawing her name.
Well guess whose name Dan the Man drew.
You guessed it...
Dan the Man drew his mother's name!
LOL
Wouldn't you know it!
Penny graciously threw her name back in the hat and said we should draw again.
So....
the second name drawn was...
PAT M. wholikes apple dumplings with caramel sauce.
Congratulations Pat.
We will all be over to your house for some apple dumplings with caramel sauce so you can try out your new peeler. Just be sure to let us know when the apple dumpling party is!
So if you are Pat M. you can email me your mailing address and I will get that apple peeler sent to you right away.
Two nights ago I was working, yes working, not playing on the computer, when all the sudden I smelled a foul smell coming in through the window.
"Peee-yew! What is that stench?" I said to anyone who was listening. No one answered me since no one ever listens to me. Tay-tee, my man, didn't even answer me. He was sound asleep on the ledge by the window next to the computer.
My man, Tay-tee, fast asleep.
Sometimes I sleep with my tongue hanging out and slobber on my pillow!
The stench was getting stronger and I was almost certain that a skunk was outside. I got Dan the Man's attention and told him he'd better get his gun and make sure the skunk was not getting into the egg layers chicken coop stealing eggs.
Dan the Man reluctantly got off the couch and went to get his gun. Meanwhile I got the big flashlight. Dan the Man told me just to go outside and see if it was a skunk. I told him I didn't want to go outside without him because I didn't want to scare the skunk away before he was ready to go outside with the gun. Good thing it wasn't a burglary with some crazy prison escapee with a gun, because Dan the Man was as fast as molasses getting his gun, finding the key to the lock, trying to locate the ammunition, putting on his shoes, getting a drink of water....
So needless to say, but the time we made it outside, Dan the Man saw a big old possum going around the side of the house.
Man did that guy stink!
Hey dude... take a shower next time you decide to come around!
I was disappointed that Dan the Man didn't take care of him with his gun, but he didn't.
This morning I had the Farmers' Market in Scottsbluff. I leave the house before the sun even comes up so Dan the Man is in charge of feeding the meat birds (chickens) in the morning when I have the Farmers' Market. He found two of the chickens inside their pen with their heads torn off and one chicken injured so badly that he had to go ahead and put it out of it's misery.
I'm thinking it was the doings of the big ole' stinky possum that was here the other night.
This is only the second time in 5 years that we have ever lost a chicken to a predator.
This means war!
Tonight we are sleeping with all the windows open so I can hear any distress calls from my sweet little chickens.
Dan the Man has the gun loaded and ready.
I am tempted to set up a night watch and to make it mandatory for everyone in the house to take a shift. We even discussed locking the chickens up in their shelters, but that would be a pain.
So right now it is raining lightly and hopefully that will deter Mr. Big Ole' Stinky Possum from coming around tonight.
I only like one kind of Possum.
Guess what kind...
the dead kind.
So wish us luck tonight with our war that we have declared upon the possum.
Here is only kind of possum I like...
Gross old possum I found rotting in the field last winter.
Guess What? It's time for another giveaway on the Country Chicken Girl Blog!! Yay, yippy-skippy! I love giving away free stuff! I hope that you will all enter.
But first and foremost I must give a big THANK YOU to our sponsor, CSN Stores. They have everything you need for your home, from kitchen wares to furniture, home improvement stuff to shoes, baby things to pet supplies and much, much more. Check out this link and take a gander at some of the console tables they offer. (If you click on the link and it takes you to a different page, click on your browser's back button to return to my blog.)
Fine print: PLEASE READ THIS! I don't know for sure, but I think that I might be offered more giveaways or bigger items to giveaway based on how many people click on the link "console tables" above. So please, please, please click on the link, I promise it is a valid website and look around for a few minutes, even if you have no plans in buying a console table in the next 20 years! Please click on the link even if you are not going to enter the contest! Thank you so much. I think these giveaways are fun and really like doing them and would like to continue to do them. Thank you and that is all I have to say about that.
So without further ado...
... and because apple season is upon us
... and because I have one and love it and think that everyone should have one... ... this contest is for an... wait for it... I bet you can hardly wait to see what it is... it's an... ... an apple peeler! Whoo-hoo!!
Oooh, ahhh...
But seriously folks, these really are cool! I have one and absolutely love it.
Here is the link to the peeler you will receive if you are the lucky winner!
So, what do you need to do to enter the contest???
First just tell me what your favorite apple thing is in the comment section (on the blog, NOT, I repeat NOT on facebook.)
Is it apple muffins, apple cobbler, apple pie, caramel apples...
You get the idea.
and Second, but only if you want to, and don't forget that I would really like you to... is click on the "console table" link above.
Make sure to leave your first name and your last initial in your comment.You don't need to "sign-in" to leave a comment. You can do it by commenting as "Anonymous" but you'll need to include your first name and last initial in your comment!
Got it?
Hope it isn't too confusing. If you just can't figure it out, you can email me at kathi@openabar2ranch.com and I'll see if I can walk you through it.
You can only enter once and that rule will be strictly enforced.
Anyone caught entering more than once will receive a big bag of chicken guts as their "prize!"
You have until midnight on October 16th to enter, so a little over a whole week. The winner will be determined by a "draw of the hat." I will announce the winner on the evening of October 17th.
You will need to check the "Winner" post on OCTOBER 17th and contact me if you are the winner so I can get your information so the prize can be sent to you. If I don't hear from you within a couple of days, another name will be drawn. Let's hope that doesn't happen.
Let's see, what have I missed? Can't think of anything...Please tell all your friends and tell them to enter! Men you can enter too, these would make wonderful gifts for that special lady in your life. Christmas is coming up, really it is! Enter and see if you can't win this for yo' mama!
The other day I had to make dessert for the football team dinner. This is a tradition at Morrill High School that I really like. The night before each game, the football mothers prepare a meal and serve it to the team. The parents all take turns, for example one week the Senior and Junior mothers will do it and then the next week the Sophomore and Freshman mothers do it. I think it's a great idea and enjoy being a part of it. The team gets to eat together and fellowship while the mothers get to spend some time visiting and getting to know each other.
Mighty Morrill Lions during a timeout with coach Libsack. Skyler is in there somewhere!
I love making desserts! I also love eating dessert. Do you know the trick that helps you remember how to spell dessert? I use to always have to think twice as to whether dessert had one or two "s". Then one of my teachers explained it to me in my language. She said you can always tell the difference between desert (the dry landscape) and dessert (the last course of a meal, never to be missed) was that dessert (the sweet stuff, my kind of stuff) had two "s" because you always want to have two servings of it! I don't think I have ever misspelled that word since.
Anyway, so for the football dinner dessert I made Mini Cheesecakes and Cheesecake Brownies. Here's the recipes for ya!
Mini Cheesecakes topped with cherries and chocolate almond cream cheese frosting!
Mini Cheesecakes
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup melted butter 3 (8 oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, softened 1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk 3 eggs (farm fresh, of course) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Cherry pie filling
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press equal portions into bottoms of 24 paper-lined muffin cups. 2. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Spoon equal amounts of mixture into prepared cups. Bake 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool. 3. Spoon cherry pie filling on top. Chill.
The day before I made these, I had made my niece a birthday cake in which I frosted with chocolate almond cream cheese frosting. I had some leftover frosting and used that on the cheesecakes along with the cherries, so I had two different kinds.
For the Cheesecake Brownies I made a batch of brownies from a box mix. I think it was Duncan Hines. I had leftover cheesecake filling from the mini cheesecakes so after I mixed up the brownies, as per the instructions on the box, I added spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling on top of the brownies and lightly swirled the filling into the brownie mix with a knife. Then I baked it as the directions instructed on the box. So easy and yummy!! I also made a batch of "plain" brownies which I drizzled cream cheese frosting on.
Treat your family or yourself to some of these goodies this week! Share some love.
I grew up in a small Western Nebraska town, Mitchell. My stepfather was a piano tuner and my mother was a legal secretary. I feel like I grew up under normal circumstances, what ever normal is!
I have lived several places and have held many different occupations from my first job, working at a doggie grooming salon, to fast food joints, waitressing at a country club to family diners, ski lift operator, administrative assistant, restaurant manager, piano tuner, bank teller, para for SPED kids in junior high school, construction worker, to my husband's hired hand.
My husband and I married in 1996 and have four boys. Nick who is currently stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, serving our country in the United States Airforce, Colton who is currently attending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Chris who lives in Kearney and works for Charter Communications and finally Skyler who is a senior at Morrill High School. We own and operate our own family run business, Open A Bar 2 Ranch, LLC which is an all natural beef operation and a pastured poultry operation.
Bob Sharp and his Outrageous Spice Rub
Judy Meter & Heidi Robertus
Christina Armstrong Beeloved Jam
Mary & Mike Armstrong
Jane Sedman
Posts
