Hi there! Welcome to the Dogtrot Cabin!
My name is Mother Duck, and I’ll be your docent through my busy and often strange world of history, homeschooling, and homesteading with possibly a little theology and miscellaneous topics on the side.
So who am I and how did I end up on a goat farm (you must realize that I passed the title “Crazy Goat Lady” about 40 goats ago) in Texas? Well, I believe in Divine Providence, even if it sometimes leads us on a rather convoluted path. I grew up on our family’s beef farm in Louisiana, and very early in life learned a lot about the old tools lying around. Later, through a school project, I became interested in historic costume and even was encouraged to make an authentic dress. Still, at that time, I didn’t know much about museum work. In college I worked in the archives at my college while majoring in history, and then went on to get my master’s degree in museum science. I worked for about 10 years in small museums and history centers and for the most part loved it. Then I came home to care for and home-school our adopted daughter, and I loved that even more. Our family now has a small farm where we can grow some of our own food and where we raise all kinds of critters. I also curate a private collection of artifacts, from which I’ll share photos of cool old stuff, and I'm currently writing some lessons on 19th century fashion for an on-line site.
And, no, we don’t really live in a dogtrot house. (A dogtrot or dogrun house is a traditional Southern vernacular style of house with an open central hall going down the middle.) Our house is more of an eclectic late 1960s ranch style with an interior brick wall and too few electrical sockets. It's rather the worse for wear in places and not fashionable at ALL, but it suits us and our pack of canine companions.
In lieu of a photo of myself, which I may share at some point, here IS a real dogtrot c. 1910s. If you look through the dogtrot, you can see the family horse..and you can also see the post-box on the tree. (If you'd like to use this photo for something in print, contact me for citation information.)
Thanks for visiting! We just took some biscuits out of the oven, by the way, and I didn't even think to offer you one. Remind me next time. Here is the easy recipe if you want to try them yourself:
2 cups flour
1 pinch salt
shortening about the size of a small egg
"Cut" the shortening into the flour/salt mixture with a fork.
Add 2 tsp. baking soda
Mix well.
Add enough milk or buttermilk to make a stiff dough. It may still be a little sticky, but if too sticky add more flour.
Roll out thick on a floured surface. If you roll them too thin they will be like hockey pucks.
Cut out with a cup or with a canning-jar lid. This will make about 5-7 biscuits.
Put (with sides touching) on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 12 minutes or a little more.
God bless you. Goodbye for now.