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Sometimes Persistance Pays Off

January 29th, 2012

I ordered my original chicken flock from McMurray’s Hatchery. I remember getting the phone call from the post office that they had a peeping box for me as if it were yesterday. I also remember excitedly claiming my box at the post office while everyone in the there ooooooowed and awwwwwwed over the sounds coming from it.

But what I remember most of all was getting to my car, opening the box, and taking my first look at the 27 precious little fuzzy faces that looked up at me. They took my breath away. And they stole my heart.

I do believe it was precisely at that specific moment, when I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I could never have too many chickens.

Unfortunately, it was also, precisely at that specific moment, that Bernie was busily finishing up the chicken coop he was building for them.

I say “unfortunately” because I knew it wasn’t big enough for all the chickens I had planned in our future.

I also knew he would not agree with my plans.

But I am nothing if not persistent……….

Before my pullets were one year old, a few went broody.And I let them hatch out babies. It didn’t take long before it became obvious that the 8 X 8 coop that Bernie built was simply too small.

I approached Bernie with confidence. “Bernie I need a bigger dad gum coop!”

“No, you need fewer dad gum chickens!”

Ugh. He was going to be a tough nut to crack.

Over the course of the following years, I dropped hints about a bigger coop on a regular basis. And Bernie regularly rolled his eyes and then proceeded to completely ignore me.

But I never gave up.

Then, for reasons still completely unknown to me, I one day mentioned a bigger coop and Bernie said “Well, how do you want to add on to it?”

I’m not sure of how I responded, but I think I had the vapors.

And with the additional coop space, I’ve ordered 16 more baby peeps – which are scheduled to arrive here on April 2nd.

I need to pinch myself right about now……..

So, yesterday, this is how our coop and chicken run looked:

And this morning, after the steps were disassembled and the netting was pulled back, this is how it looked:

And this afternoon, after several hours of leveling and building the coop floor, this is how it looked:

And this is how Jake looked all stinkin’ day long:

Turns out Jake doesn’t like change very much…….

And the chickens weren’t too crazy about it at first. But after we finished up, a few brave souls made their way into the chicken run to eat a little supper.

I think I can honestly say that no one on this homestead is happy about the chicken coop addition.

Except me.

I’m happy.

I am pretty danged happy.

Sometimes persistence pays off.

Posted in chicken coop, chickens | 11 Comments »

Homemade Sauerkraut

January 28th, 2012

Bernie and I have really enjoyed the sauerkraut we’ve been making in our crock. Last summer I took some pictures of the process we use and I am just now getting around to posting them. We’ve been using a crock to make our sauerkraut, but you don’t need one. A plastic bucket or glass container will work as well.

We used a mandolin slicer to slice up our cabbage.

We’ve used a knife and cutting board in the past. Either works just fine.

We slice the cabbage and put it into our crock as we go. When we have about two inches or so of cabbage, we sprinkle salt over it. The ratio we use is about two tablespoons of salt to four pounds of cabbage. Just make sure the salt has no iodine. Iodine inhibits the fermentation process.

After we get a couple inches of cabbage, we sprinkle it with a little of the salt and then tamp it down. I have used my fist to tamp it in the past. I’ll be honest – it was a little painful! What we used the last time we made sauerkraut works the best we’ve found so far – the pestle that came with our tomato sieve. It works like a champ!

Whatever you use or do, you need to really bruise up the cabbage and release the juices. We’ve learned this step is the most important step in making great tasting sauerkraut.

Just continue adding sliced cabbage, a little salt, and then tamping. This is what it looked like when we had filled the crock as much as we wanted.

We let it sit about 20 minutes. And then we checked it.

We were just tickled pink that it produced so much brine! In the past we’ve had to add brine that we made, but this time it produced enough of it’s own. Did I mention the pestle did a great job? Well, probably Bernie’s strength using the pestle made all the difference, but still……..

When we’ve had batches that did not produce enough brine, we had to make our own. We use about two tablespoons of salt (without iodine) to 1 quart of water and bring it to a boil. Once it cools, we just pour it over the cabbage. But when we really tamp the snot out of the cabbage we found it produces enough brine of it’s own.

Once we added the weights on top of it, we could see the brine covering the entire batch.

And that’s what you want – brine completely covering the cabbage and the weight that you use. And you want to use a weight – it’s important to keep all the cabbage under the brine. If you don’t have weights, you can use a plate and put a gallon jug filled with water on top of the plate. It doesn’t have to fit side to side, you just want to be sure you’re cabbage stays under your brine so it can properly ferment. If you don’t have a cover for your container, you may need to add a little brine from time to time. Just keep an eye on it.

We let that batch ferment about 6 weeks, and I honestly think it was the best batch of sauerkraut we’ve ever made. It was very tangy and had a wonderful texture. I would say it was the best batch of sauerkraut we’ve ever made.

We’ve made homemade sauerkraut several times in the past 25 years, but we’ve not experimented much with other vegetables. Last year I fermented a batch of green beans with onions, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them!

Do you ferment vegetables? What is your favorite? And would you share your recipe?

Posted in basic living | 10 Comments »

Well, Hello There 2012 – Wanna See My Buns?

January 1st, 2012

Happy New Year, Everyone! May 2012 bring you good health, much laughter, and more happiness than you can handle!

2011 was a blur for us. We had some very happy times. And some very, very sad times. But every year that we live through is a good year, and I hope 2012 will be gentle on us and leave us all with many happy memories.

On this first day of 2012 Bernie and I woke up early and got a boston butt in the smoker. And then I got some black eyed peas with ham, some homemade BBQ sauce, and some collard greens simmering on the stove.

We planned to shred the boston butt when it came out of the smoker, and make some nice BBQ sandwiches for our meal.

And what’s a nice BBQ sandwich without a good bun, right?

I’ve only used one burger bun recipe for the past few years, and we were fairly happy with it. But when I saw the burger buns my friend Mary Ann made, I had to ask her for the recipe. And she told me she used the recipe from King Arthur’s cook book.

I love me some King Arthur, and Mary Ann’s burger buns were looking pretty awesome, so I just had to give the recipe a try on this first day of 2012.

And man, oh man, am I ever glad I did.

Just take a look at my awesome buns!

You want to make these. Trust me, you really want to make these. For burgers, for sandwiches, or just for eating. They are that good!

And I’m gonna tell you how to make them.

Straight from King Arthur himself – adapted a little by me.

You’re gonna be happy you made these. I promise!

Note: For best results, weigh your ingredients. If you use measuring cups, you may need to add a little more flour or water to get a smooth, slight soft dough)

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups (13 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I didn’t use KA flour – don’t tell!)
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast

1) Combine and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s nearly doubled in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3″ across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until noticeably puffy.

4) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns.

These were the best burger buns I’ve ever made. They are quite large, and in the future I will divide the dough to make 10 buns instead of 8.

I was a little nervous putting my buns out there for everyone to see. But now I’m thinking this may become a New Year’s tradition around here

Happy New Year, everyone! Show me your buns!

Tags: 2012, h\amburger rolls
Posted in basic living, recipe | 11 Comments »

A Little Update

December 1st, 2011

We had some nice weather over the Thanksgiving holiday. Nice enough that I opened the kitchen window while I was cooking one afternoon.

Imagine my surprise at seeing this out that kitchen window.

Silly Tanya. She knows she’s not allowed on the deck.

I went outside to discuss her transgression with her.

And I was really glad I did. It seems Sarah was having similar thoughts about visiting with me on the deck.

And when I walked over to discuss it with her, I looked down and found Jake, Turklet, and baby Turklet contemplating the same thing.

Well, this was as good of an opportunity as any for me to take some pictures and give you a little update about what’s been going on around here with the turkeys, and the puppies.

You may have noticed there was only one baby turklet in that last picture. Sadly, I found the other one dead the day after the October snow storm came through. I really don’t know what happened, but it broke my heart.

Also, as you can surely see in that last picture, we discovered a few months ago that Turklet is a jake.

Yes, indeed. A gangly, clumsy, jake. *sigh* Turklet was dangerously close to being invited to the dinner table until Diesel’s surgeon said she would love to add him to her flock. He’s a sweet boy, and I know he’ll make a nice pet for her children.

Sarah has healed from her injury at an amazing rate. As she was healing, she was also molting. Poor girl. But the good news is that her wounds scabbed over very quickly, and are being covered by new feather growth around them – which makes me worry less about others pecking at her wounds. She was put back out with her flock within just a few days of her injury.

In that picture, if you look very closely, you can see the new feather shafts underneath her wing, and on the very top of it, that cover her wounds.

Jake finished molting and is, honestly, one of the most handsome Toms I have ever seen.

Diesel is doing really well after his surgery. He is just beginning to use his leg a little, and he rests a lot, but he’s getting around and his surgeon seems pleased with his progress.

Dolly gets a little annoyed at all the attention showered on Diesel, so we’re sure to spend a little quality time with her every chance we get.

And it’s nice to see the pups relaxing at night and feeling somewhat back to normal.

So, we’re all fine here and enjoying each day that we are blessed with.

I hope to get some posts up soon about some of my Christmas projects, and a few other things I’ve been meaning to post about.

And I hope each of you is enjoying this time of year with the people and critters that mean the most to you!

Posted in dogs, turkeys | 16 Comments »

Three Years Old

November 23rd, 2011

Diesel and Dolly are three years old today! Since we’re on a diet, they didn’t get a birthday cake this year. But they did get a couple of toys they really seemed to like.

Especially the orange one.

It was very popular.

Happy birthday, Diesel and Dolly!

You are both three whole years of total furry awesomeness.

Tags: birthday, Diesel, Dolly
Posted in puppies | 5 Comments »

Healing on the Homestead

November 16th, 2011

We’ve had a whole lot of healing going on around here. Diesel had some surgery, and we had a turkey hen attacked by a predator. I’m going to warn you that the last couple of pictures of the turkey hen may be a little graphic. I’ll give you another warning before they appear so you can click off this post if you want.

As you may remember, Diesel has had hip and knee issues for a good long while. Actually, probably since he was born. Certainly since he came here at six weeks of age.

We’ve known for a good long while that Diesel has hip dysplasia. And we also knew he had knee issues. What we didn’t know is that he has Medial Pateller Luxation (MPL). Which is a great long word that means his knee cap doesn’t fit inside the grove it’s supposed to sit inside. It would slide out to the inside, and Bernie and I would have to manipulate the knee cap and put it back in place so he could walk on that leg. He has MPL in both knees, but the right knee was especially bothersome.

He’s been having this issue for a while, but a couple of months ago it became very painful for him, especially in his right knee. And he got to the point where he was limping badly, and couldn’t even walk down to the mailbox.

We took him to his vet to see Dr. Vick, at Seven Bends Vet Clinic. Diesel and Dolly love Dr. Vick. She took some x-rays, and quickly informed us that he needed to see a specialist. She recommended the Veterinary Surgical Center. And we met with Dr. Anke Langenbach and were very impressed.

Diesel basically needs to have both knees reconstructed, and the first one was done on November the 7th.

We picked him up on November the 8th.

He had an e-collar on his neck, to keep him from licking the incision. He really hated the e-collar, but he sure seemed happy to be going home.

And he seemed very happy to get on his own bed when he got home.

This is a picture of his incision. Please forgive the spots on his bed. The icepack I put on his leg sprung a leak.

Diesel really dislike that e-collar, so to keep him from licking we had a slumber party in the living room each night for a week.

Some nights Dolly slept in the bed with Bernie, but most nights Diesel, Dolly, and I slept in the living room.

And who doesn’t like a nice slumber party?

Diesel has his stitches out now and he’s really doing quite well.

Dr. Langenbach is quite impressed with is progress. In a couple of months he will get his left knee operated on.

Bernie says he’ll be the Six Million Dollar Dog.

***************Graphic pictures follow********************

When I went to put up the turkeys this evening I noticed that Sarah, the turkey hen, had a horrible injury.

We have about 1.5 acres of our property enclosed in fencing, and the turkeys don’t go outside of it.

Apparently something got inside the fencing today and attacked sweet little Sarah. We have been sick about it. Because we were home. And we heard nothing.

But when I went to tuck the turkeys in, I found Sarah with a lot of skin ripped away from her side.

And feathers missing around a puncture wound on the top of her wing.

There wasn’t enough skin to sew back together, so we cleaned it up and applied some Blue Kote. The wound is too raw and too wet to hold much else.

We are so shocked that this occurred with us both at home. We heard and saw nothing unusual today.

We’ve seen so many predators this fall. It may have been a fox. Or perhaps a dog. Or who knows what?

But the thought that something like that happened while we were here and didn’t notice it is very upsetting.

We hope she’ll make it. She’s in a cage and we’ll doctor her each day.

For all my friends with poultry in this area, be on the look out. The predators are thick this year.

Tags: Diesel, Medial Pateller Luxation, predators
Posted in basic living, puppies, turkeys | 20 Comments »

October – Out Like a Lion

October 30th, 2011

I had heard we may get a freak snow storm over the weekend, and to expect 4 – 8 inches of snow, and even though it started snowing at 8PM Friday night, I really refused to believe it.

Until we woke up Saturday morning to this……

I don’t think the goats chose to believe it either…..

And Dolly definitely chose to ignore it…..

The chickens and turkeys totally ignored it and stayed inside their coops all day long.

Bernie got a nice fire going in the wood stove.

Diesel called dibs on his spot right in front of the wood stove.

And then we lost electricity.

*sigh*

I couldn’t let that stop me, though. I had a bunch of peppers to get ready for canning. And I ended up with several bowls of very pretty peppers.

Like these jalapenos.

And these assorted hot peppers.

And these wonderful pepperoncini.

But, with snow steadily falling, and no electricity, canning them had to wait. And this is where the peppers waited it out….

And here…..

And when Bernie shoveled the deck, he left me a little cooler for my wine.

That made me very happy.

When it started to get dark, I got to use my wine bottle lamp, with my nifty rooster wick holder.

And we lit the house with oil lamps.

And enjoyed the pups by candle light.

We heated up leftover hamburgers on the wood burner, and warmed water to wash with, but I didn’t get pictures of that. I must say, those were some of the best hamburgers I think I’ve ever eaten though.

And when we woke up this morning, we had electricity.

Which is nice.

And we celebrated by canning those peppers on the deck.

How odd to be canning with snow in the background.

But the peppers look so pretty.

October is going out like a Lion.

I’m just a little afraid of what November may bring………

Tags: October Snow Storm, pickled peppers
Posted in canning | 16 Comments »

Fall Bounty

October 23rd, 2011

Bernie and I spent yesterday morning cleaning up the garden for winter, and gathering one of our last bounties for this year. After such a drought this summer, the peppers did surprisingly well.

These pepperoncini are the largest we’ve ever grown.

And these are about the size we usually get.

We’ve really enjoyed the bell peppers this year. I saved three of the larger ones to make stuffed peppers for supper tonight. The rest were chopped up and yielded three quart bags for the freezer.