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We finally had a couple of days where the temperature rose above freezing, and we did not hesitate to take advantage of one of them and send nine cockerels to Freezer Camp. We are now officially extra-rooster-free for the first time since last spring. And it feels great. For everyone left on the homestead, anyway!

My poor hens have spent the past few weeks running and hiding from those extra cockerels. The girls would gobble their food as quickly as possible in the morning, if they ate at all, and then run/fly out into the woods to get into the trees. Sometimes they hung out on top of buildings.

It wasn’t the cockerels fault. They were victims of nature - specifically an over abundance of teenage testosterone. But they wreaked havoc around here. From the second they woke up until the second they went to sleep, the yard was filled with the sound of hens screaming and screeching as they attempted to escape from these cockerels, and the sound of the cockerels screeching as they fought over the hens. These cockerels were never tame and, although I never laid a hand on any of them, they would scream and run anytime I walked close by them. They also crowed non-stop. I do love to hear a rooster crow - but listening to 12 crow all day and night really pushes my enjoyment level.

And even though we were aware of the chaos surrounding these nine cockerels, we really had no idea how awful it was until they were gone! The resulting calm in the yard and the flock was immediately palatable. The quietness was a blessed relief, and by late afternoon, there were no hens in trees. For the first time in weeks, the hens were out wandering in the yard with Bobby Lee and Pico. I honestly think I saw those girls smiling……

Poor old Duke is hanging in there. He spends most of his day off to himself, with one or two hens. If I live to be 100, I will never understand why he gave up being Alpha Roo, and then withdrew from the flock for the most part. It really is heartbreaking. But even though Duke has lost his place in the pecking order of the flock, he will always have a special place in my heart.

Bobby Lee’s tail feathers came back beautifully after his molt. They seem to still be growing, and he’s got a couple that now drag the ground behind him.

Pico is a sweet rooster, and I think he’s a pretty boy.

And even though the older girls aren’t laying very well right now, the pullets are providing us with enough eggs that I used 4 1/2 dozen to put up 5 quarts of pickled eggs the other day.

Pickled eggs are great. A calm flock is even better. All living things on the homestead are very happy right now.

A big shout out to Molly, at Doing It Naturally, for giving me the Premium Dardos Award. Thanks, Molly. I am truly honored.

“With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words. ”

What a really nice way to let a blogger know that their musings and writings are of interest. The rules in accepting this award are:

1. Accept the award and post it on your blog along with a link to the person who has awarded you.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

My list of 15 blogs is comprised of those I’ve learned a lot from, share a mutual interest with, and/or just plain love reading. Each has its own special way of demonstrating creativity with words, if not actions. They are listed in no particular order because I’d have trouble “ranking” them. I hope you’ll take some time to check each of them out:

Sparrow Haven
Sugar Mountain Farm
Delaware Curmudgeon
Justice Desserts
Life on a Southern Farm
Making it Our Home
Mainely Ewes Farm
Brambleberry Blog
The Inky Spinnery
Losing Our Shirts, Keeping the Farm
This Old Crackhouse
Fancyin’ the Farm Life
The Beginning Farmer
Northwoods Ramblings
Me the Mama

Thanks again, Molly. You made my day!

We’ve been getting rain. Lots of rain. And now it’s getting cold. And windy. This morning we’re getting a little sleet. Oh boy, here we go again.

I’m sure you know by now that I’m not much of a cold weather person. Last year I had to make myself commit to venturing outside at least one time daily during the winter. I think I was successful in meeting that commitment, but I honestly can’t remember. I tend to block out bad memories.

This winter, whether I like it or not, I am committed to venturing outside at least twice daily, regardless of the temperature or anything else Mother Nature tosses my way - because this year I have chickens. And, at the very least, I have to let them out of their coop in the morning, and tuck them in at night. And certainly I’ll have to collect eggs during the day. And then there are the countless number of times each day that a Hamburg will start screaming bloody murder and send me flying out of the house prepared to see a bear eating chickens like popcorn, only to find that the Hamburg simply wandered too far and was a little “stressed” to find herself alone in the yard…… This is going to be a long, cold winter on the homestead.

Bernie rented the Ditch Witch and got the trenches dug to start running electric wire to the outbuildings and coop. The Ditch Witch was an experience unto itself and I wish I had gotten pictures of that monster. It was a huge and scary piece of equipment. My hiney was tingling the entire time Bernie was using that thing. It’s basically a gargantuan chain saw looking thing that you stand behind and try to control as it lurches about and eats a trench in the yard. Bernie handled it beautifully and made short work of the 150 feet of trenching he put in. The chickens and I stood around trembling and fretting, and when it was finished we all ran over to check out the new trenches. The chickens found a lot of nice, juicy earth worms, and I found comfort in the fact that we all lived through it. Bernie laid the PVC pipes on Friday, and as soon as it dries up a little, he’ll start running the electric wire.

I’ve been pickling eggs - LOTS of eggs. 51 of them, to be egg-xact. If you are one of my Christmas Victims, I hope you like pickled eggs.

With all the rainy weather, Bernie spent some time inside, refinishing a Hercules 12-gauge double barrel shotgun that was his grandfathers, and handed down to Bernie. It was made in the early 1900’s, and looked every day of it’s age. When Bernie received it, the stock was broken in a few places and held together with black electrical tape. He fixed the stock with some wood glue, sanded down the stock and forearm, and then re - stained them. It looks wonderful and Bernie is pretty darn proud of it. As you can see:

Is he not the cutest thing? And the gun looks really nice, too. OH - and you can also see the “free” wood stove my father gave us. Don’t let it’s size fool you - that bad boy can pump out some heat. And it has certainly allowed us to keep with our vow of only heating with wood this year.

I guess I should bundle up and go check for some eggs and tend to the chickens. I told them about my Blog Award, but they are not nearly as impressed with it as I am. I explained to them that I am now famous, and mentioned they could at least reward me with a few extra eggs. Judging by the massive amount of eye rolls I got, I’m guessing that’s just not going to happen.

Bee Free,
Penny

Other than crowing about being The Fish Whisperer, I’ve been busy catching up around here. Tabasco peppers come in just as the weather gets cool around here, and although it’s been cool for a while, I managed to harvest mine before it was too late. I made some hot sauce out of them, and thought you may be interested in the recipe.

Let me explain that true “Tabasco Sauce” (like you buy in the store) is aged in oak barrels for three years. Unless you have three years and all the accoutrements, you may appreciate using a recipe similar to this one instead:

Penny’s Piping Hot Pepper Sauce

2 dozen tabasco fresh peppers (more or less)
1 cup white vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Pour the entire thing into the blender and blend well. Strain through a seive, or something similar. Pour liquid into a bottle.

And there you have it. Some of the best-tasting-kick-your-hiney-hot-sauce you’ve ever tasted.

The hens have been blessing us with about a half dozen eggs a day, so while I was in the kitchen I decided to make some pickled eggs. The number of eggs you use will depend on the size of your eggs. Basically, this recipe is for as many eggs as you can fit in a quart size canning jar. If you are making more, adjust the recipe accordingly:

Penny’s Pickled Eggs with Jalapenos

peeled hard boiled eggs (you may want to enlist your spouse’s help in the “peeling” part of this)
2 cups white vinegar
1/2 to 1 jar pickled jalapenos with juice (depending on how much heat you want)
1 onion, sliced into chunks
1 heaping teaspoon garlic
1 to 2 tablespoon salt (optional)

Combine vinegar, jalapenos, onion, garlic, salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Fill quart sized canning jar with eggs, leaving 1 inch headspace. Pour hot contents of saucepan over top of eggs, being sure to include the jalapenos, onion, and garlic. Seal the jar with the lid and store in the refrigerator for at least six weeks. Then sit back and try to wait six weeks before opening the jar to taste…..

OK, we’ve spent enough time in the kitchen. Let’s get outside.

Bernie is still chopping and splitting wood for our wood burner. Poor guy - our challenge to only heat with wood this year is certainly harder on him than it is on me. But I am proud to report that it is working, and our home is cozy warm each day because of it. Not that he gets to enjoy much of it….

As I mentioned, these worthless hens are finally giving us some eggs. I’d like to think that’s the result of the countless “pep talks” I’ve had with them these past few weeks. In truth, it’s the result of these hens doing exactly what they want to do. I’m so darn happy to have eggs that I don’t even care why they’re doing it at this point.

With the exception of one, all the hens are laying in the nest boxes Bernie and I labored to make for them. I was worried that allowing them to free range would mean I’d be searching 65 acres looking for eggs each day. But they all lay in their nest box, except one. One little Phoenix prefers to lay on the floor of the coop, regardless of the amount of time I’ve spent begging her to do otherwise. I finally decided to just clean her “laying” area up and that really seemed to make her happy. She leaves us an egg in that spot nearly every day. There’s more than one way to pluck a chicken…….

I do believe we’ll have electricity in our out buildings within the next couple of weeks. I think Bernie is getting desperate for a break in chopping and splitting wood. He mentioned renting a tool to dig trenches so he can lay the wire for the electric to the buildings. Woo hoo! I can be fully illuminated when I tuck the chickens in at night - night gown, house coat, cammo jacket, rubber boots, and all. Now that’s a sight worth lighting up.

We’re doing well on the homestead. This journey continues to take twists and turns, but we don’t mind. We’re just along for the ride.

Bee free,
Penny