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Farm Happenings
I like this year's version of winter so far. It is like winter with no snow. Nothing is getting buried out there. If you need to drive out in the fields, it isn't any trouble. The roads are clear and any of the cattle sheds take less bedding because the lack of snow.
As much as I am enjoying it, at some point we will need snow because it is very important to the alfalfa fields. A snow cover will insulate the roots of the alfalfa plants so that when we get the extreme cold temperatures later on, the plants will beable to survive through those low temperatures.
Things really start to quiet down on the farm this time of year. We are down to doing the last little jobs one can do out in the fields. Jobs like putting fertilizer on to get ahead for the spring and doing soil testing to see what nutrients are need is about all one can do anymore now. Shortly though the ground will be frozen and soil testing will no longer be an option either.
I believe the cows have settled in pretty good for the winter too. With the bare ground out there, some of the heifers and young stock are still going out to see what trouble they can find, but none of them are making a habit of staying out all the time. This year has been a pretty good year for cattle number growth so we have a lot of calves and youngstock to be caring for.
Actually as December comes to a close, the year in whole has been a good one. The biggest factor was a little better milk price for the year so that our farm was able to get caught up on some of the bills that were more difficult to pay at the beginning of the year. What that means is that going into next year one won't have to be playing catch up from the year before. Milk prices are a lot like the weather though in that they never can be predicted with real accuracy. By next spring, the pricing could look entirely different. Time will tell.
It is soon to be Christmas though so serious thoughts about the farm will have to take a backseat for awhile. The kids are all at an age where they don't care about prices and bills and uncertainty and everything else. They mostly are concerned about making sure there is a Christmas tree up by now and what may end up under there. That is totally understandable. When I was that age, as long as I got a new toy tractor or implement on that day, nothing else in the world mattered. When my brother and I were little, we were so knowledgeable about every toy tractor and farm equipment available that we would know what we were getting by the shape and size and other characteristics of the box that our parents had to resort to putting the toy tractor boxes in other boxes just to throw us off.
All of us wish you the best holiday season and Happy New Year.
James Baerwolf
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Eggnog Snowman Cookies
50 min. prep time
2:15total time
14 cookies
Ingredients
Cookie
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup egg nog
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup egg nog
1 to 2 food colors
Mini real semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Combine sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add 1/3 cup eggnog, egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Beat until well mixed.
Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour).
Heat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 3 to 4-inch snowman cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely.
Combine powdered sugar and 1/4 cup eggnog in small bowl; mix well. Remove one-third of frosting; divide into 2 small bowls. Tint each bowl of frosting with food color as desired.
Frost snowmen with white frosting. Use tinted frosting to decorate cookies, as desired. Add miniature chocolate chips for eyes and buttons.
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