The Country Life is the Sweet Life

Sorry for the lack of posts last week, I was out of town.  But Yay!  I'm back.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the ole' farm homestead and spent a day with my Momma.

Fun Fact:  My Momma is a bee-keeper!  
You heard me like a person who has bees in a hive and fills jars in the shape of a bear with honey.  A bee-keeper.  She's in an association.  It's legit.  And I got to be an apprentice for the day.

First we got suited up.

Beekeeping isn't exactly glamorous, but I was VERY happy to have every bit of my skinned covered when those little sweet makers started swarming my body.  And boy did they!  I was slightly nervous...Okay a lot nervous!  1000 bees buzzing in my ear.  Resting on my the mesh 2 inches from my face.  Yeah, my heart was racing, but I lived.  And it was all very exciting!

Fun Fact:  Honeybees can fly up to 15 mph!  Aaaahhhh!

This is one of my mom's hives.

Fun Fact:  Did you know that honeybees are responsible for pollenating approximately 80% of all fruit, vegetables, and seed crops in the U.S.  Those little buzzers are super important!There are so many of them.  Always working, working.  

Opening up the hive.  Here come the bees.

Holding one of the hive's frame.  Yes.  Covered in bees.

Next, we take a box of completed combs back to the lab.

Okay...Its just my parents' basement, but there is lots of equipment required for honey extraction.

First things first.  The surface of the comb must be removed with a hot knife to allow the honey to flow.

Next the frames are placed in an extractor and spun to remove all the honey.

Then the honey is drained into a bucket and poured through a strainer.

Then the honey is ready for bottling!

...And eating!  YUM!

Fun Fact:  You can chew honey comb like gum!

A tablespoon a day is also used as a natural remedy for people who struggle with asthma and allergies.  However, for those of you considering giving honey a shot as a natural remedy, it is important to use local honey because it will be made from the pollen and plants that cause you so much grief.  Honey from Montana may taste great but if you are using it for your allergies it may be less than effective.  I love honey on biscuits, on pizza crusts... basically any form of bread.  However, its also great for baking as a natural sugar in cookies, mixed into your favorite smoothie, or as my dad would do...as the sweetner in your coffee.  

Fun Fact:  Honey never spoils!  So its great for those end of the world junkies you know.

Harvesting honey is HARD work.  You should thank your local beekeeper.  But more important you should be nice to your local honeybees.  

Last fun fact:  To make 1 pound of honey, the honeybee colony must visit approximately 2 million flowers, fly over 55,000 miles, and will be the lifetime work of approximately 300 bees.  Aww.  

Isn't it amazing how God created bees to make honey just for us!  I love it!

Return To My Country Girl Roots

This week I returned to my country girl roots.  I went blackberry pickin' on the farm.  Although I went all by my lonesome I had a lot of fun.

First things first...Turn off the electric fence.  Especially important for me, because I've always been a little afraid of it and it had been raining A LOT.  I didn't want to test the relationship between electricity and water.  I hear they are really close.

 Second, put on some boots.  Clay mud is nasty.  So I wore Momma Jackie's boots.  I don't have any farm boots anymore.  I need some.  I can remember as a child going to The Tractor Supply Company and getting to pick between the red and yellow rubber boots to wear on the farm.

Isn't the queen anne's lace beautiful!  I love it.  We used to pick it all the time while we played on farm while my Dad worked.

My mom's domestic blackberries weren't as ripe as I thought they were, so I went on the search for our wild berries.

I used to love swinging on these as a kid.

Found them falling into the pond.

The problem with wild blackberries are the THORNS!  Ouch!

And let's not even talk about the chigger possibilities.  I immediately showered after my pickin' to avoid those little boogers.

Blackberry picking is fun but painful work, but the pay-off is well worth it...Blackberry Cobbler!  Yum!

Photo found here.  Sorry forgot to take my own picture.  I was busy eating.

Here is my recipe:

 2 cups blackberries   

(Or whatever you have.  I don't measure.)

1 cup sugar

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

I cook the blackberries on the stove in a small pot with a little bit of sugar and a little bit of water just to make it a little saucy.  Bring it to a boil then turn it back and let it simmer just a bit.  Maybe 5-10 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix equal parts sugar, flour and milk.  Melt stick of butter in oven in the pan.  Pour mixture into the butter greased pan.  Pour blackberry mixture into the center of the pan.  

(Confession:  Last night I forgot the butter.  I know what a terrible cook and blogger.  And honestly, It tasted delicious.  Better than usual.  Take that for what it's worth.)

Bake on 350 degrees approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with Purity vanilla ice cream.

Delicious summer treat!  Enjoy!


(Sorry guys and gals.  I can't get the fonts etc. to work correctly.)