Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last week these two calves and I made to a visit

 to the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter.

It was an opportunity to allow children that have never been around animals to be able to pet the calves and share how farmers care for their animals and  produce high-quality milk.

                                                                                 
                              I'm thankful for the invitation to share our dairy farm story
                 in a facility that is working to make a safer and  better life for children.

Dressy Pumpkin Pie Celebrates Fall

If you're looking for a dressed up pumpkin pie for your fall celebrations, you'll love Autumn Pumpkin Pie! I started baking this pie in 1987  when I found the recipe in the October issue of Southern Living. In fact, the first time I baked it was for Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws . It became part of my collection when my (best cook ever)  mother-in-law asked me for the recipe!

Autumn Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

2 eggs,slightly beaten
3 cups cooked,mashed pumpkin
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 unbaked 10 inch  pastry shell

Topping: 
1/4 cup butter,melted
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine first 12 ingredients; blend well. Pour into pastry shell. Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35 minutes.
Combine butter,1/2 cup flour and brown sugar; blend well. Stir in pecans; sprinkle mixture on pie and bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yield: 1 10-inch pie 

                                 ...and of course, it's always served with vanilla ice cream!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Have you met anyone that is 100 years old?

Meet my Great Uncle Dallas Baggett! 

 He's a history maker this week for our family---Happy 100!

My Mother and I recently visited with Uncle Dal in Alabama. He's always had a great sense of humor and still loves to share a good joke. 

                             I'm thankful for my Uncle Dal, for the love and dedication to his family,
                            his lifetime of Christian ministry and the example he is living  for all of us.

Dairy Farmers Nourish the Nation

What's not to love about living on an Arkansas dairy farm!

That  was my thought as I drove past this  mama cow with her   new  baby calf.

Like dairy farmers in all 50 states,  we  are working seven days a week to produce nutritious,affordable milk by caring for our cows and the land while using fewer resources. 

Dairy farmers are working to nourish the nation and  help fight hunger in America by  partnering  with Feeding America, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the National Dairy Council to get milk to hungry families.

You can help to nourish the nation  by donating to The Great American Milk Drive.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It was obvious from the full church pews last Sunday that the Vaughn Presbyterian Church holds a special place in the hearts of many people in our community. We not only celebrated 125 years of ministry but also dedicated a part of the original Vaughn High School sign that  is being

 added to the historical monument in the front yard of the church. From beginning to end, it was a perfect celebration. 

The Vaughn Presbyterian Church and the Vaughn School were a great partnership. If you lived in the Vaughn Community, this is where you went to school. School programs and church programs were often tightly woven together with involved families.

I'm thankful for the ministry of the Vaughn Presbyterian Church,

        the influence the school and church have had on so many in our community for the past 125 years,
                                                                                and

                                                              for the blessings of friendship!

Dairy Farmer's Labor of Love

As the days grow shorter and cooler, the fields of sweet sorghum  (also called sorgo)  are calling the dairy farmer to prepare for  harvesting  this sweet tasting silage crop for the dairy cows to enjoy this fall and through the winter months.  

Growing a crop is a labor of love for my  third generation dairy farmer husband. I love seeing the smile on his face as he looks across the sorghum field.

We drove to several of the fields this afternoon to see how the sorghum  is maturing and make a plan which field we will begin harvesting first.  Most of the sorghum is seven to eight feet tall and the tops are beginning to change from yellow to a reddish brown  color as it matures. 

He thought he was hiding from me, but I could still see his smile!  

Harvest of this labor of love begins next week!

                                                                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It was a perfect first day of Fall  down on the dairy farm!

Babies are always welcome but it seemed fitting that this mama cow gave birth on the very first day of the fall season. We're expecting and looking forward to  a lot more babies in the next few weeks.  

I'm thankful for the cooler temperatures ,the beginning of the fall calving season

and the time we have left with bright summer flowers!

                                                            Happy Fall,Ya'll!