We Have Eggs Again

Last July we ordered chicks, and we have waited a long time for fresh eggs.  All it took was a big blizzard to get our hens to start laying. 

I can definitely taste the difference.  Pierce isn't as thrilled as the rest of us - he is the one person in the family that isn't an egg fan (which is weird, as he used to eat them).  Hopefully his tastes will change, because we're going to be eating a lot more eggs in the future!

Readers, how do you like your eggs?

He Said, She Said

Kind of looks like they're in a tiff...

This picture reminds me a lot of this poem I used to read for my Intro to Psychology class.  I know you're probably thinking....why was she reading poetry in psychology?  Well, I was reading this poem because it is an excellent illustration of using projection as a way of coping.  Projection is a defense mechanism where you project your feelings onto someone else.  If you'd like to read it, the poem is by Denise Duhamel, titled How It Will End.  My students always seemed to enjoy hearing it read. 

 

Thank you so much to those of you who have emailed me to see how the job search is going.  I have been so touched!  I heard back from the company I liked so well, and the only thing they are still waiting on now is the CPS background check.  So hopefully I will hear something in the very near future. 

Oh, Henrietta! Rural Thursday

The first year I blogged, I used to do regular chicken updates.  It's been ages since I've done one, so I think I'm overdue.

After the big raccoon slaughter last summer, we have had 5 layers and one rooster.  But we just got in an order of chicks.  They are meat birds, and we'll be keeping half of them and a friend has claim on the other half.

This is our mystery chick.  We are hoping for someone that will be a good layer.  We could use another layer.

This is Black Betty.  She is one that we raised under a broody hen last summer, from our own eggs.  She's a mean little thing.  Just look at her staring down the camera.  Waiting for a chance to get in a good peck I suspect.

And this is one of our sweetest hens.  She's one of the original batch of chicks we got 2 1/2 years ago. Her name is Henrietta.  Oh dear.  Henrietta appears to have found a pot that is too small.  I think she needs me to go buy the next size up...

 
I will not make muffin top comments.  I will not make muffin top comments.  I will not make muffin top comments.

It's Rural Thursday!  Time to link up your stories and pictures from the rural life with Nancy from A Rural Journal and myself.  Just grab the code below the button, and paste it into your blog post.  Then come back and add your link to the linky.  Please be sure to visit the blogs of 5 other participants, and leave them some comment love.  I can't wait to see what you write!

Chicken. It's What's for Dinner. Rural Thursday Blog Hop

I think I've cooked chicken in just about every manner these past few weeks.  Except frying.  I don't do fried chicken.  Anyhow, the other day I (in desperation for something new and different) emailed my mom for her dumpling recipe. She makes seriously awesome chicken and dumplings.  She emailed me back something along the lines of take a few handfuls of flour and a few spoonfuls of crisco and some buttermilk and mix it up until it looks like oatmeal.  Uh huh.  So google it was.  I found a dumpling recipe and decided to see if I could use it to accompany my chicken that had been in the crockpot all day.  I turned the crockpot on high while I mixed up the dumplings, then as quickly as possible removed the chicken from the crockpot and dropped in the dumplings.  I covered it up and let it cook for 20 minutes (instead of the 10 minutes on the recipe).  It turned out perfectly and even made a nice gravy style broth too.

Another day, another chicken in the crockpot.  This time after it was done, I shredded it and tossed it with barbecue sauce.  Served up with homemade cole slaw, corn, and mashed cauliflower. 

Mashed cauliflower, you say?  Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it!  You boil the cauliflower just like you would potatoes, and then mash it the way you would potatoes (I like to add a little butter, light sour cream, light cream cheese, salt and pepper to mine).  It is so good! 

I finally told Paul I had to take a break from chickens.  I just can't cook another one for a good while.  Thankfully, our portion of grass fed beef is here, so bring on the beef recipes!

This is a blog hop hosted by A Rural Journal and myself.  Grab the code below the button and paste it into your blog post about anything relevant to the rural life.  Then add your direct link to the linky.  Nature pictures, crafts, recipes, animals and small-town events would all be perfect!  Please try to visit at least 5 other blogs that link up and leave them some comment love.  This is a fun way to meet other rural bloggers, so I hope you'll join in!

Getting My Chickens All in a Row - Rural Thursday Blog Hop

It's Rural Thursday again!  I'm happy to report that my ducks chickens were all in a row for this week's photo shoot.

Our 5 hens haven't been laying much lately, but I did discover a sneaky hiding spot in the barn/shed this week -

After having to buy eggs the previous week at the grocery store, I was happy to discover their stash.  Now if only I could figure out where/if our Americauna, Natasha, is laying.  We haven't found a blue egg since last summer :-(  She's only 2 years old, so she should still be laying.  Any suggestions?

We had a brief moment of heavy snow flurries last weekend.  The boys got all sorts of excited about it, but alas, it didn't stick. 

And finally, earlier this week I had some onions, garlic, and celery in butter to saute.  As it began to cook, I realized it was one of my favorite smells on earth.  Probably even better than homemade baked bread.  Or even brownies.  What's your favorite smell in the kitchen, readers?

I hope you'll jump in to the Rural Thursday blog hop, hosted by Nancy at A Rural Journal and myself.  Everyone is invited, and any topic about the country life, recipes, crafts, nature photos, or pretty much anything that fits in with a rural mindset is perfect!  Just grab our button, and add the url to your post in the linky.  After that, be sure to hop around visiting and commenting on at least 5 posts.  Happy visiting!

Make Way for Chickens errr....Beef! Rural Thursday

Welcome to the very first Rural Thursday hosted by A Rural Journal and myself - I hope you'll link up and go visiting today to meet many other like-minded folks who enjoy living a simple life.  Today I'm going to show you (with dismay) that I'm a bit disorganized by sharing pictures of my deep freezer.

You know we raised a bulk batch of free range organic chickens at the end of last summer to provide for our family through the winter.  We still have a lot of chickens left.  A lot.  Over 20 for certain. The problem is that we have 1/8th of a grass fed cow on the way, in about 2 weeks.  And somehow we have to make room in the freezers.  We have 3 freezers in the house (ridiculous, isn't it?) and they are all fairly full.  In case you're thinking that 1/8th of a cow couldn't be that much - well - it's SIXTY pounds of beef that we need to find room for!

Here's the current state of our deep freezer.  There is some room, but not 60 pounds worth of room.  Yes, it needs a defrosting.  My husband just piled all the chickens on top - which makes it difficult to know exactly what all is on the bottom. When I suggested that next year we put chickens on the bottom, he said, "Well you should just eat the chickens faster."  Wow, helpful, dear husband! 

We've got more chickens in this little top freezer.  Also quite a few salsas from the garden last summer.  I know there are frozen cooked veggies in the deep freezer too, but they are all buried in the bottom where I can't get to them. 

We've certainly been eating a lot of chicken lately!  I've also dug out zucchini bread, tomato pies, and pumpkin cookies all from last summer.  So fun to get to eat the spoils from the garden.  Wish us luck as we try to make our way through much of this in the next 2 weeks!  Chicken again, anyone?

What's in your freezer?

Got a post from this week that fits in with the rural or simple lifestyle theme?  Come link up with us!  To get the most out of participating in a blog hop, be sure to visit and comment on at least 3 other links (and more if you have time).  It's a great way to find new bloggers.  Be sure to enter the url (link) to the actual webpage of your post (not your general blog).  It would be wonderful if you shared the beautiful button that Nancy made in your blog post as well. 

I can't wait to go visiting those who link up to see through your eyes the rural life.  And Happy Groundhog Day!

Country Living - Varmints 101

In addition to being infested by stinkbugs, in addition to having a mouse deconstruct part of my minivan, in addition to having raccoons in the chicken coop....well....the drama just never ends.  It's varmint central here!  Where should I start?

I'm on my fourth - that's right fourth - mouse caught in the minivan since this past fall.  I get rid of one and another moves on in.  I catch them in glue traps, and then feel guilty all day since I can't bear to put them out of their misery myself.  My husband has to do the duty when he gets home.   They're soooo cute (sob).

We have a possum stealing our chicken food.  He's still on the loose.

Our rooster Gilbert continues to play the part of a varmint by crowing on our deck every morning long before daylight has arrived.

And we set out a trap, for that possum.  Well look what we caught instead:

 This was one angry cat, folks.  My husband said, "Maybe you should go let it out, you're better with cats." So I started to head downstairs and heard him yell after me, "Don't get bit!"  That's when I knew I had been suckered.  The cat was very feral and growling and hissing.  I aimed him downhill as I opened the cage, hoping he'd make a mad dash and not into me!  Luck was with me that day, and we haven't seen him around since.

Have you had any varmints wreaking havoc this winter?

Dear Obnoxious Rooster With No Name

Dear Obnoxious Rooster with No Name,

I do realize it's your job to crow.  And I admire your devotion and tenacity in doing your job.  However, just a few things. 

 Sunrise currently starts at 7:00 am.  Not at 3 am.  Not at 4 am.  Definitely not at 5 am.  Also, I know you like to get up high to crow.  But jumping on the porch railing just outside the twins' bedroom to crow at 5 am is NOT in the list of your job description.  Trust me on this.  And don't flap your wings at me young man!

I can still see you, even hiding behind that post!  You need to move on and find a new place to crow.

Showing your backside is bad manners you know.

That's right, move on.  Note the ineffective chicken wire put up on the porch in an attempt to curtail his ambitious porch crowing sessions....

Kinda reminds me of someone else that has a loud mouth and is very annoying....

Thinking that henceforth rooster with no name may be called Gilbert....

The Mysterious Mystery Chick, Frida

You may remember that we received a complimentary mystery chick when we ordered our chickens.  Thanks to my blogging friend, Crow, we have named her Frida.  Here is an updated picture:

 She really has a long neck, doesn't she?  When I posted her 'newborn' picture, several people commented that they thought she might be an Americauna.  We actually have one Americauna hen, named Natasha, so I've posted a picture of her for comparison:

 What do you think?  Yes?  No?  Maybe we accidentally got sent a turkey?  (ha ha)

I guess time will tell.

Meanwhile, the Cornish Roc Xs and Freedom Rangers got separated into their new homes.

Here are the selected Cornish Rocs in their 'transportation box' - ready to be dragged across the yard to their new coop.

Yes, we let our children outside in pjs.  All the time, folks, all the time.  Can you stand it?

How's the Flock Hanging?

Well, we have chickens everywhere we look lately.  The new chicks are growing and thriving.  They are already taking over the chicken tractor -

So Paul is hard at work on building a second chicken tractor.  Even though these chicks are destined for the dinner table, we want them to be comfortable and happy during the short time they are with us.  As they get larger, we don't want them to feel overcrowded.  We also move the chicken tractor daily, so that they always have fresh grass and bugs for munching.

Our teenagers are growing up.  We did get a rooster out of the bunch.  This is good since we...uh...ate our last rooster.  He had gotten aggressive (he was always coming after me anytime I walked anywhere in the yard) and one day he charged Pierce.  So that was the end of the rooster.  Hopefully our new guy on the block won't be coming after any people - 

What's this?  This, is Reid chasing chickens around the bush.  Our four teenagers love this bush for cover.  

Foiled again, Reid.  The chicken you seek is already on the other side!

Right now we have our meat bird chicks (74 - we lost one - and we will be splitting those up with 2 friends) plus our mystery chick (which should be a layer and we will keep - thanks to Crow for the wonderful name suggestion of Frida for mystery chick!).  We also have 5 original laying hens that we have had for about a year and a half (we raised them from chicks) plus our 4 teenagers.  So that, for now, is our total flock.

Now I have some shocking news.  I'll be taking this weekend off from blogging.  I haven't taken a day off since I started blogging over a year and a half ago (other than the day Blogger was down this past spring).  Now that Pierce is in school and I don't see him quite as much, I want to make sure I spend as much time with him as possible on the weekends.  Plus, with the hurricane coming through, my internet connection (which is through a MIFI card) is likely to be spotty at best.  I'll still blog on the weekends at times, and I hope to at least pop in on some of my favorite blogs, but I'm going to tone it down and I'll look forward to seeing you all on Mondays!   Have a great weekend!

They Came in the Mail (peep peep peep)

I got a call from the post office to go pick up this:

50 Cornish Roc X chicks, and one mystery chick - can you spot him (her?) -

Oh mystery chick with your curmudgeonly eye brows.  How cute you are!

Name suggestions, anyone?  

Any guesses as to breed?

Temporary housing - they have a heat lamp under the wooden piece.  Once they are bigger and stronger, they'll move into a chicken tractor.  

Pierce holds a Cornish Roc X.  Don't get too attached now, these guys are meat birds.

The very next day, the Freedom Rangers arrived - 25 of them.

Freedom Rangers are a more natural meat bird, a la old school chickens that people used to eat before all the meat bird crosses were created.  This is our first attempt at raising them.

We're actually going in threesies with the 75 chicks with some friends - so we'll each be keeping 25.

 There isn't much cuter than baby chicks in my book!

Once Upon a Farm

 Figured it was time for a farm update.  All is going well here.  The watermelons have grown even bigger since I took this picture!  We cut into one, but we were just a few days too early - it was nice and pink, but only in the very center.  We ate that part and gave the rest to the horses.  Horses just LOVE watermelon rind!

A word to the wise - watermelon takes over your rows, your plants, your garden, the world outside your garden....well, you get the point.  Selfish little vine. 

Tomatoes have been slow, but it does look like we are going to have some, finally!

I also tried a tomatillo, but it wasn't quite ripe yet either, so we're waiting a bit more on those.  Paul and I are have dreams of salsa verde.

Our teenagers are still thriving.  They have toned down the mohawks - just a tiny bit.

See.  Rebellious chicken pictured on the right brushed down his mohawk for the picture.  He didn't want ya'll to think badly of him (her?).

Canned pickles for the first time!

See that big jar in the middle?

Alas, it didn't make it.  But all the others did.

Letting the pickles cool on the deck outside.  I use the word "cool" lightly, as it was 97.5 degrees outside, so they weren't exactly doing much cooling.

I was worried the pickles would not taste right or would be too squishy, but they turned out crisp and tart and delicious!

And finally, my favorite veggie recipe of the week - zucchini casserole!  

This was a HUGE hit w/ the family - I found it on Amish Stories Blog.

I used ground turkey instead of beef and red pepper instead of green pepper, and I halved the amount of cheese suggested.  It has a wonderful taco flavor and I'll definitely make it again.

This post is linked to WV Treasures Tuesday Show and Tail. 

How does your garden grow this week?  Is it surviving the heat?

Farm Update - Eats from the Garden!

Time has gotten away from me - I've been meaning to do a garden update for a while now.  Each week I take new pics and each week time slips away from me.  So here is a post with the results of a few weeks of good home garden cooking!

WV Treasure's yellow squash casserole with German green beans - both from the garden.

The most gorgeous pie I'd ever seen.  Took me forever to make it but I couldn't believe when I took this green bean and mushroom pie from the oven.  It's so pretty.  Unfortunately, the boys didn't like it.  But I love green beans and got to eat it mostly myself.

Sweet yellow squash pickles.  The type you marinate in the fridge for four days then dig into.  So good!

In the garden we've got teeny baby watermelon.  I hope these little guys keep growing!

Tomatillos on the vine.  Inside the husks they are still small, so they also have lots of growing to do.

Hello turnip!

This fellow was ready to eat.  I made scalloped turnips - just adapted a recipe for scalloped potatoes.  

And I've been putting many zucchini in the dehydrator.  They make wonderful chips if you lightly salt them before dehydrating.

Marinated veggie kabobs for the grill.

Zucchini dill relish (thanks to the Texan for the recipe!) which is incredible on hot dogs, sandwiches, and burgers.  Even the boys adore it.

Love how drastically my grocery bill was cut this month, thanks to all this garden goodness!

And since I'm talking about the farm, I'll just quickly update you on the chicks too.  

We have 5 chicks now (one got eaten by a black snake when it was small).  The chicks are in the awkward teen stage.  Two of them have these rebellious mohawks going on.  What next?  I'll go out to find them in leather jackets with wallets on chains, won't I?

I hope your animals are behaving themselves today!