Wind Farm in Sunflower Field
Tractor with Bird's Nest (see yellow arrow)
Bird Nest with Egg and Hatched Chick
Boys & their Toys: replacing cutting blades ready for Murray to slash the hay
Taylor & Hayley feed the steers/heifers
Peach Kuchen with cinnamon on top
North Dakota Tan Lines
Adult LemonadeYou may recall we had a 2 day stop over with Clint & Amanda on a ranch in North Dakota last year. If you missed that blog entry, see the link at the bottom of this entry. It gave us such a unique experience that we returned to spend another 3 nights there. On the back roads to the ranch we passed a wind farm. My sister had sent photos of a wind farm they recently visited in Adelaide, South Australia, so I figured I should take a photo of those here in North Dakota - showing a foreground of sunflowers. It was 8.30pm when we were nearing the ranch, and the setting sun was hidden by clouds. We noticed a field of sunflowers had all their faces pointing to the east instead of facing the sun setting in the west. It turns out that most single-headed sunflowers face east ALL DAY. Other types move facing the sun but stop at a certain point then return to face the east. In one field we noticed all the heads facing one way except for one recalcitrant flower - a real non-conformist. You find one in every group!
Anyway, moving right along, we made it to the ranch and settled into our old spot and connected up to the power. We wandered up to the house and chatted with the family. For the next two days Murray rode a hay cutter tractor - in 36 C (95 F) heat - and enjoyed the experience once again. I stayed in the airconditioning either in our RV or the main house. I learnt a new recipe - Kuchen (pronounced cougan) - which is german for 'cake'. It has a pastry base and a baked custard filling dotted with fruit of your choice. The first one I had used rhubarb, the next used blueberry and the one I made used tinned sliced peaches. When I get home I will make one using black cherries. Nice to serve with morning tea or after dinner as a dessert with cream or icecream.
Many of you may have heard of the nasty winter experienced across the USA, but especially in the north. North Dakota was no different. The ranch got a whopping 110" of snow all up - the animals had to be housed in the barn or in close to the barn and hand fed. Two bulls that were alive when they fed them one night were both frozen dead in the morning. Now it is summer and they are out working long hours in the blazing sun. What a contrast. North Dakotan farmers have 2 tan lines: wrists (always wear long shirts in summer) and neck.
Lamb doesn't feature much in an American's diet, so Amanda (being an Aussie) appreciates being able to eat the sheep the ranch provides. Clint buys 4 sheep each year, the kids groom them for a few months, enter them in the annual state fair in July, then they are butchered for their freezer. We had our first feed of lamb since leaving Oz 5 months ago. Roast lamb - hard to beat! The twice baked potatoes were a great side dish to accompany the corn on the cob - fresh & sweet. Both nights we had freshly squeezed 'adult lemonade'. Half a dozen fresh lemons squeezed and pulped into a one gallon jug half filled with ice. Add sugar and 3/4 litre of vodka. Fill to the top with ice. Screw lid on the jug, wrap in a towel and shake lengthways for 15 - 20 mins (luckily they have 4 daughters to take a turn shaking) and serve. Just like fresh lemonade only with a punch!
Anyway, moving right along, we made it to the ranch and settled into our old spot and connected up to the power. We wandered up to the house and chatted with the family. For the next two days Murray rode a hay cutter tractor - in 36 C (95 F) heat - and enjoyed the experience once again. I stayed in the airconditioning either in our RV or the main house. I learnt a new recipe - Kuchen (pronounced cougan) - which is german for 'cake'. It has a pastry base and a baked custard filling dotted with fruit of your choice. The first one I had used rhubarb, the next used blueberry and the one I made used tinned sliced peaches. When I get home I will make one using black cherries. Nice to serve with morning tea or after dinner as a dessert with cream or icecream.
Many of you may have heard of the nasty winter experienced across the USA, but especially in the north. North Dakota was no different. The ranch got a whopping 110" of snow all up - the animals had to be housed in the barn or in close to the barn and hand fed. Two bulls that were alive when they fed them one night were both frozen dead in the morning. Now it is summer and they are out working long hours in the blazing sun. What a contrast. North Dakotan farmers have 2 tan lines: wrists (always wear long shirts in summer) and neck.
Lamb doesn't feature much in an American's diet, so Amanda (being an Aussie) appreciates being able to eat the sheep the ranch provides. Clint buys 4 sheep each year, the kids groom them for a few months, enter them in the annual state fair in July, then they are butchered for their freezer. We had our first feed of lamb since leaving Oz 5 months ago. Roast lamb - hard to beat! The twice baked potatoes were a great side dish to accompany the corn on the cob - fresh & sweet. Both nights we had freshly squeezed 'adult lemonade'. Half a dozen fresh lemons squeezed and pulped into a one gallon jug half filled with ice. Add sugar and 3/4 litre of vodka. Fill to the top with ice. Screw lid on the jug, wrap in a towel and shake lengthways for 15 - 20 mins (luckily they have 4 daughters to take a turn shaking) and serve. Just like fresh lemonade only with a punch!
Ranch Experience 2008: you can use your back arrow to get back to this blog
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