New Discoveries

Sunday brought a welcome relief from the bitter cold of the previous week.
You know it's been cold when 32 degrees feels balmy!
(Saturday evening when we were outside, it was 3 degrees.)


This sunrise was the first sign that Sunday would be a warmer day...


What looked like a blazing fire on the horizon was the beginning of a warming trend.
(these photos are not enhanced!)


Breathtakingly beautiful! 


Of course the horses missed the sunrise, with their noses buried in piles of hay.


After several days of being locked in their pen,
(to keep them close to their heat lamp)
the turkeys once again enjoyed a day of freedom.


Feeling a bit freer, ourselves, we took advantage of the warmer weather and hiked with the dogs.


Taking the trail cameras down to the area around the creek...


to see what critters frequent this area.


Do you remember months ago when I caught that 12 point buck on the camera?
We decided to return one of the cameras to that location, also.
And, in front of the camera we put a solid block of deer feed to attract them.
Is that cheating?
Maybe...but it will be fun to see all that are attracted as a result!


I spent a little time on Sunday working on wedding favors.
I printed out these seed packets...
which will be assembled and filled with seeds for the wedding guests.


I found this recipe, which Amanda agreed to make.
It is a Gonzo cake .... or a purple sweet potato cake.

It just so happened that I had purple sweet potatoes in my pantry.
The recipe calls for sweet potato powder that is reconstituted.
To the batter the recipe calls for red and blue food coloring to complete the purple color.
We decided to go the "all natural" route and use our own organic sweet potatoes.


Instead of cake, we decided upon cupcakes and agreed that adding mini chocolate chips
might make them delicious.

What we didn't count on is this...
when you add baking soda to purple sweet potatoes, the batter then turns blue...
and after baking, the cake is green!
So, our Gonzo cupcakes turned into Oscar the Grouch cupcakes!


For those of you who love science:
Purple sweet potatoes get their color from a substance called "anthocyanin."
When anthocyanin is exposed to acidic conditions, it turns red.
Alkaline conditions turn it blue or green.

So....when she added the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate...an alkali)...
the batter turned blue, then green.

So, the substance that is responsible for making purple sweet potatoes purple
is, in essence, a litmus test!
(Many thanks to our resident dietician, Amanda, for sharing this trivia with us!)

You've got to admit... this world is a fascinating place!

Yesterday we washed eggs and packaged them for customers.
Every week there are one or two surprises amongst the eggs.


I pity the hen that laid this one!

More wintry mix is predicted for today...with temperatures remaining in the low 30's.
It sounds like a heat wave!


Comments

jaz@octoberfarm said…
that egg looks painful! that's funny about the outcome of the sweet potatoes! i love the wedding invitations. we are ice bound. ugh...another horrible ice storm.
Junebug said…
OMGosh! That poor hen! I'm glad you were able to get out and about and the doggie didn't have to wear their coats. I'm sure they felt free to run and run.

I sure hope those cupcakes taste better then they look, ha-ha!! Have a great week, hugs!!
This N That said…
Gorgeous sunrise..I miss them..Why is that little Finch so yellow?? Super picture ! I'll bet the Turkeys were happy to get out of their pens..I could never warm up to green baked goods..kinda looks like mold?? They probably tasted good though..Cute favors.Will the seeds be used instead of rice?? If so, you'll have veggies coming up all over the place :) Happy Monday..
Grandma Zee said…
Love the pictures of the sunrise, gorgeous. so enjoy your blog, especially all your critters....you spoil them like we do our chickens....would you be able to share the website where you printed the seed packets. Thanks
Bee Haven Bev said…
I created the seed packets in PowerPoint. However, I did find a template for the outside shape of the packet. Just do a google search on "seed packet template"....there are lots to choose from.
Laura Sudderth said…
Before reading what the egg was, I thought it was a picture of silly putty. Poor chicken. Your sunrises are very beautiful! How can you NOT have a great morning looking at those? Wow. I have sunrise envy.
Poor chicken! Wow, Bev, the photos are just beautiful... The sky is just like a painting...
Thanks for sharing.
blessings,
Penny
daisy g said…
Wow, really breathtaking photos! Isn't Mother Nature amazing?
After the eggs have been washed, do you have to refrigerate them? I like to leave mine out on the counter for a week in case I want to bake something and have them room temperature.
Lynne said…
Absolutely magical sunrise pictures . . .
Did I say BEAUTIFUL!