I slept with Bernice the cow last night.
How do you know when your pies are done?
A timer? You keep your oven light on and peek in every so often?
Maybe you're a seasoned pie-professional and just take glance at the clock and wait until the sweet aroma fills the house. Even before you open the oven door you instinctively grab the potholders and ready yourself to pull that baby out.
Well, I would like to consider myself that person. So when the clock was about to strike midnight the night before market, I was standing ready to open the door to reveal a perfectly prepared pie. However, to my dismay, I didn't just find a pie! A fire!
Yes, I had a fire in my oven from all of my blasted butter oozing everywhere. But, just as any calm, and half-asleep responsible person would do, I had Mr. Pell grab the goods, turn off the oven, close the door, open the windows to let out the smoke, and crawled into bed next to Bernice the cow, to dream about market while getting a few hours of beauty sleep.
Yes, I slept with Bernice the cow last night. I probably sleep with Bernice every night.
You see, I have this cuddly, little snuggly, all stuffed with fluff (wait, that’s Winnie the Pooh, sorry) baby named “Harry.” And Harry likes to be wrapped up in my nifty lambswool wrap on my back while I do various jobs around the farm: pies, breads, sheeps, chickens, garden, you name it. This also includes milking Bernice the cow. He’s right there with Bernice and I twice a day when we walk out to the pasture and I sit down on our stool. He takes his fat baby hand and lovingly slaps her around and talks his special Baby-to-Bernice lingo while I squirt into the pail and swat mosquitoes. I am under the impression that Harry actually believes that Bernice is HIS cow, and HE is doing all of the hard work. I can already see him years from now telling every stranger that he meets that he has been “milking for years.” And, with all of that milking comes the close contact that results in that unique Bernice aroma. Harry loves to rub all over his cow and come to bed still basking in that special scent. And there I am. Sleeping with Bernice the cow.
It has been a little hectic here at Pell’s Pie Patch, and we are scrambling to get everything done. The garden is not even halfway in, and I still have fencing that needs erected. But, we have been thinking “sheeps” and have some exciting plans for this year’s breeding season. Looking at beautiful Icelandic sheep is one of my favorite things to do, and I have been doing a lot of it! So, keep your eyes peeled for a new hunk of a ram coming to your local Pell’s Pie Patch & Family Farm.
But in the meantime, as always, come see us at the Manistique Farmers’ Market tomorrow between four and six for some excellent pies and breads, made with real ingredients for authentic old world flavor!
We hope to see you all there!