tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65825554668843491992011-09-12T11:53:48.852-04:00Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.comBlogger1911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-57401631489281710252011-02-05T19:28:00.000-05:002011-02-05T19:28:52.819-05:00

The end of January certainly brought us decent snow... And someone was enjoying herself!

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-87238603787758251682010-12-07T17:06:00.000-05:002010-12-07T17:06:00.480-05:00

The apple butter time of the year! Last week we canned 19 pints of apple butter. Here it is cooking down.... ...and after we added the spices... Doesn't it look delicious?

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-36945622528651236982010-12-04T16:05:00.000-05:002010-12-04T16:05:04.575-05:00

Despite my tardiness in posting, we had a nice thanksgiving. Our main course was gumbo & french bread (here's the gumbo cooking) I made delicious bean dip from Foodie Farm Girl's recipe. (It's not terribly photogenic in this picture, but we ate it before I remembered to get a better picture! We also had pecan pie, squash pie, and soybean pie (yum). (I ate squash and soybean for breakfast

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-46965175872237771072010-11-13T15:40:00.000-05:002010-11-13T15:40:10.869-05:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-4554260198682286502010-11-11T18:13:00.000-05:002010-11-11T18:13:00.432-05:00

I haven't been posting too much over the past few weeks. Why? I've been busy. This is Shaylee (she doesn't like cameras much). She's the newest member of the family.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-72281667378266241272010-11-09T19:14:00.001-05:002010-11-09T19:14:00.267-05:00

There are quite a few recipes out there for making your own mozzarella. I don't remember which one we used, but I don't think it's terribly critical, since it was wrong. :-) Basically we added some rennet, (found at grocery store), citric acid (found at health food store), and milk together in a pot, and heated it up. The instructions that I found bookmarked on my phone (best guess as any, but

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-17250052379562438122010-11-07T19:12:00.001-05:002010-11-07T19:12:00.381-05:00

So a few weeks ago, we made our characteristic pizzas (this time one on sunday and one on friday)...but there was something different.... Are those slices of fresh mozzarella? They are. (but that's not the best part...) You want to know the REALLY special part? (I feel like I have to leak it, since I haven't gotten that post written yet........) We made it. :-) Yummy. Home-made. Mozzarella. (

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-31246381314984010632010-11-03T18:41:00.000-04:002010-11-03T18:41:06.565-04:00

Are you looking at me?? Oh. That's ok then. I AM rather proud of my looks.....  :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-68186540215844031452010-10-31T20:16:00.001-04:002010-10-31T20:17:25.742-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-57472220677986984672010-10-27T17:06:00.000-04:002010-10-27T17:06:00.235-04:00

It might be time to get the leaf blower out...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-80015668837261376392010-10-25T17:04:00.000-04:002010-10-25T17:04:00.330-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-30788601945890037742010-10-23T17:48:00.000-04:002010-10-23T17:48:00.424-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-87087389777704101192010-10-21T18:52:00.000-04:002010-10-21T18:52:32.854-04:00

S. has been busy chopping wood for the past month or so (this is only about a third or less of it...the rest is under a tarp). Doesn't it look warm? :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-84054562066247221702010-10-13T18:44:00.000-04:002010-10-13T18:44:03.929-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-1192524220155061572010-10-12T19:37:00.000-04:002010-10-12T19:37:58.839-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-12824455287574228712010-10-08T17:03:00.001-04:002010-10-08T17:03:00.640-04:00

The leaves are starting to change color (partially from cold, partially from drought...), and there's a chill in the air. This can mean only one thing:  it's time to haul out the comfort foods. Venison Chili (inspired by two recipes from a game cookbook that was a gift from my parents)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-9061531369566610452010-10-05T17:06:00.002-04:002010-10-06T18:55:37.302-04:00

Several weeks ago, S. and I had a craving for homemade pizza. We had everything we needed: tomato sauce, toppings, and mozzarella (this is usually the ingredient we forget about...) The only thing we neglected to check....was yeast. So, what about a flatbread pizza? It's flat. It doesn't use yeast, does it?? Um, yeah. Turns out it does. Leafing through a cookbook, it turns out most "flat" breads

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-49457674950805268522010-10-03T19:16:00.000-04:002010-10-03T19:16:00.568-04:00

A few weeks ago, we decided to stray from our regular breakfast options (crumpets, bagels, etc.) Instead, we decided to give the many (many) eggs in our refrigerator a try....egg sandwich style. First we toasted some english muffins, and put a pat of butter on each. Then, we put a fried egg in the middle. See that cool ring the egg is in? S. unbent a cookie cutter to make that. Brilliant! (and

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-27556113594143133102010-10-03T16:46:00.000-04:002010-10-03T16:46:55.729-04:00

I've been doing my best to keep track of how many eggs our hens and ducks have layed in the sidebar of the blog. About half a week ago, S. asked me why the 2010 chicken egg counter said "204". Um. Oops. I'm not sure what it should be, although I know it was up around 1000. I also know that with about 10 eggs a day, we're probably several hundred off whichever way I look at it. So I've made the

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-68811854566793288782010-09-22T17:50:00.002-04:002010-09-26T21:10:54.426-04:00

So, apparently when they're about 18 months old, laying hens have their first molt. According to what I've read, they basically stop laying during the molt, to put energy into feathers, and then ramp back up the spring after their molt. (As counter-intuitive as it seems, most molts apparently take place in fall...you know, when it's starting to get colder...?) Either way, they look awfully

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-64514500063777970982010-09-20T18:50:00.001-04:002010-09-20T19:07:31.129-04:00

Our pet birds love their mixed veggies, so we decided as part of our frugality efforts to make our own. So we have frozen corn left from last year, and frozen green beans. Peas, we decided, are too expensive if we have to buy them to freeze them, so next on the list was carrots. Despite our successes this year, there's no way there were enough from our garden to freeze....so we hiked off to the

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-6598906157021537112010-09-16T16:23:00.001-04:002010-09-16T16:23:00.440-04:00

As of the first weekend in September... We still had tomatoes setting...  Pepper plants still in flower.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-34370201971371405642010-09-14T16:16:00.002-04:002010-09-14T16:16:00.300-04:00

I'm not sure what he's looking at... He let me get really close to him, though!

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-1097906296520228532010-09-12T17:30:00.002-04:002010-09-12T17:30:01.056-04:00

This year we planted two hills of Acorn squash...one of Table Ace and one of...um...something Queen (I know, I know.... I have it written down somewhere). They are doing TONS better than we anticipated. We have at least 3 or 4 lovely green squash set (it's kind of hard to locate them...so the count gets sketchy...), and the plants are still setting. Yes, they're getting a spot of downy mildew

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-20593921480507185102010-09-11T16:42:00.002-04:002010-09-11T16:42:00.287-04:00

A few weeks ago (yes, all of my posts this past week started out this way...) we brought in a surprising number of carrots from the garden (ok, S. did). I think they probably took a bit longer to mature than the seed packets said...but better late than never. We had quite the assortment of sizes and colors... Quite a few (maybe a third of them) had pest issues...I'm not quite sure what they

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-46001526067026239632010-09-10T16:58:00.001-04:002010-09-10T16:58:00.475-04:00

Several weeks ago, found us with pullets up to almost full-size laying, and waaay too many eggs in the fridge. I decided to try my hand at an egg-heavy baking venture. After looking at a few different recipes (and deciding that we probably would never eat that much pound cake if I froze a bunch...) I settled on Challah bread. It's yummy, and uses quite a few eggs....unfortunately, it also looks a

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-30636664484378415092010-09-09T17:30:00.000-04:002010-09-09T17:30:00.361-04:00

bSo, back when I was reading about tomato hornworms at the beginning of July, I discovered that they usually (in our area, at least) have 2 hatchings. Awesome. Fast forward to a week or two ago, when we went down to the veggie garden...I had all but forgotten this news...until..... See those black balls? They're slightly smaller than peppercorns. Tomato Hornworm frass, or droppings. (Not

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-30114639994616544832010-09-08T17:37:00.001-04:002010-09-08T17:37:00.544-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we finally (I think) pulled in the last of our cucumbers...there weren't quite enough for pickles again....(phew). We decided instead to try a half-batch of relish. Why? 'Cause I thought it would be neat---we'd never made relish before. The pickles were on the old and large side too, so we were a bit concerned about pickle texture....Relish seemed perfect! We actually

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-48206617148496872372010-09-07T17:30:00.001-04:002010-09-07T17:30:00.495-04:00

So I know you know that we've been doing nothing but harvesting cucumbers and summer squash for the past few months... And I shared that we made some delicious stuffed squash, and TONS of sauteed squash....but did I mention grilled squash? It's super-easy. Just marinate slices of summer squash in some olive oil and light seasoning, grill until tender, then store them in the refrigerator for

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-36763120318268570242010-09-06T16:52:00.016-04:002010-09-20T18:35:23.858-04:00

Once again, this year, our green beans did not do well (and our soybeans are gangbusters, but the beans aren't developing within the pods :-( which is another story, I suppose). So, we hiked off to our grocery store and bought a bunch in bulk to freeze for the winter, since it worked so well last time! First we washed and snapped 'em. These are the snapped off ends, which we gave to the

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-85465992652530334882010-09-06T16:36:00.000-04:002010-09-06T16:36:40.192-04:00

Today I found a surprise when I went out to get the chicken eggs. I took a quick peek in the duck house to make sure that nobody laid in it...and.... This is a Cayuga egg (they range from grey to light grey blue, according to our catalog --- the Runner duck eggs will be white when they start laying). We weren't expecting any of the ducks to start laying until spring so this is quite a surprise!

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-11837875187752825732010-09-05T17:25:00.000-04:002010-09-05T17:25:57.500-04:00

So, despite my lack of posts in August, we actually were pretty busy. We froze some green beans, made relish, baked Challah bread to use up some eggs,grilled tons more of those scalloped summer squash, and brought in our biggest crop of carrots yet (we've never really been great at growing carrots). So why no word of these things? Ummmm...they're coming. I promise! In the meantime, how about

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-22655865479078978082010-09-05T16:48:00.000-04:002010-09-05T16:48:54.081-04:00

And here they are again (more in focus). I think that's Daria in front. It could be Darcy (hard to tell the difference.....at least with the Runners, Daisy has more freckle-spots and pinker feet than Delilah; With the Cayugas, Daria is a teensy little bit bigger then Darcy...or at least was 2 months ago). Either way, there's one of Cayuga who always looks darned intelligent when I bring out the

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-44175366805496961442010-09-01T18:11:00.000-04:002010-09-01T18:11:00.325-04:00

Our flower garden is rather sad looking.... but here's a little bit of cheer.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-68109536010351767912010-08-28T18:20:00.002-04:002010-09-05T18:51:30.852-04:00

...and here are  the ducklings, all grown up. (I know, I've been reeeeally behind on updated pictures of the new flock, so I'm trying to redeem myself with some cute duck pictures.) The grey one is one of our Blue Indian Runner ducks (either Daisy or Delilah), and the black one is one of our Cayuga ducks (either Daria or Darcy).

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-11042059725465893152010-08-26T19:03:00.002-04:002010-09-05T18:53:14.709-04:00

Remember how we wanted a rooster? Yeah, I know I've been lax with updated chicken and duck pix...which brings me to my question....Have you met our new rooster, Roscoe? Our white straight run chick with the black wing patches sure enough turned out to be a one of these. :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-16808178426853110912010-08-23T19:52:00.001-04:002010-08-23T19:55:02.796-04:00

Two weekends ago we finally bit the bullet and built a chicken run (hens roaming two houses down--and they're not close-together-houses, mind you---was a bit much. The neighbors thought it was funny...but...y'know. "Good fences make good neighbors" and all....) It's pretty roomy, though...we haven't heard too many complaints. The gate is quite temporary, and still needs some work. We have a

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-13766488685156961072010-08-11T19:04:00.001-04:002010-08-11T19:06:05.240-04:00

After our several-weeks-long ordeal of icicle pickles, we decided to try something easier. We'd only ever really made sweet pickles before, and our recipe collection had a nice bread and butter pickle recipe that called for a weight of pickles divisible by our actual weight of pickles (we had another 8 lbs) so we thought we would give it a try. (Note: Turmeric stains a lot and is fact commonly

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-59130024434768723402010-08-05T17:55:00.000-04:002010-08-05T17:55:53.498-04:00

What's that teeny tiny little egg? It's our first pullet egg of the year.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-10191896324494762112010-08-04T18:34:00.001-04:002010-08-04T18:35:26.170-04:00

The squash just keep coming in... Isn't this white one cool? It's the only one we've gotten so far. I'm happy our okra did so well. Hopefully even better next year! (Please excuse the yellow incandescent refrigerator glow)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-1667793380374471072010-08-02T19:12:00.000-04:002010-08-02T19:12:44.718-04:00

Two weeks ago (wow, the days fly by) we embarked on an icicle pickle adventure. I say adventure because S. and I had never made a pickle recipe that required multiple draining and bringing, etc periods. We used the recipe for Sweet Icicle Pickles in the ball blue book. So, basically we had to find containers to house 8 pounds of sliced cucumbers (and associated liquid) over a week-long period)..

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-69504826871121467102010-07-27T17:00:00.001-04:002010-07-27T17:00:02.639-04:00

Just in case you're wondering what we're doing with our multitudes of scalloped sunburst squash....

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-74717385290339401752010-07-25T14:17:00.000-04:002010-07-24T17:18:21.433-04:00

This is a view of the current state of our crisper drawer...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-76811560910081621602010-07-24T15:37:00.001-04:002010-07-24T15:43:50.406-04:00

We've been getting more squashes, cucumbers (more on those later), tomatoes and the occasional okra every few days.... Oh, and lots of black beans (and the occasional navy bean). Here's our first batch of tomatoes, some okra, and even a few tiny carrots. This the second batch of tomatoes that we brought in. We're not doing as well tomato-wise as we had hoped due mostly to hornworms. Last year

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-91858654306006119252010-07-12T13:55:00.006-04:002010-07-12T14:06:48.697-04:00

Much to our surprise when we went down to the garden yesterday, there were tons of squash and cucumbers to bring in! Sunburst patty pans #2-5 and the first zucchini too.Loads more cucumbers......and a fair number of black beans too. We're growing these to dry, so we left the pods on the plants until they got dry, and then de-podded them to let them dry some more.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-88467411519527796712010-07-11T10:24:00.000-04:002010-07-11T10:24:00.529-04:00

A few days ago we pulled this in from the garden. Our squash are doing really well and we have what seem like hundreds of baby cucumbers! Beans are doing ok (soy beans are setting extremely heavily, but our other beans have a little bit of stippling on the leaves). The tomatoes are doing ok (and growing back their leaves)...hopefully we won't have another wave of hornworms...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-70409872346638046652010-07-09T20:01:00.004-04:002010-07-09T20:41:42.549-04:00

So over the past few weeks we've noticed that our laying hens seem to be laying considerably less....until S. spotted this....Hmmm....

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-35466353769835230252010-07-07T19:17:00.002-04:002010-07-07T19:29:19.952-04:00

...so when I spotted this bizarre caterpillar in the garden a few weeks ago, I didn't even realize what it was. I know. Can you believe it? Gardeners everywhere are laughing at me. But I had never actually seen a tomato hornworm before. Little did I know.....

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-79528208746521530462010-07-04T09:00:00.000-04:002010-07-04T09:00:05.362-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-61039396374244876902010-07-02T16:59:00.000-04:002010-07-02T17:02:13.397-04:00

...and peppers...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-29284984387134016742010-06-30T19:47:00.004-04:002010-06-30T20:09:54.906-04:00

It's that time of the year again...time for anticipation.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-74146534041183119782010-06-19T18:34:00.006-04:002010-06-19T18:41:15.326-04:00

I really have no idea what kind of flower this is...I just thought it looked kinda cool.I spotted it while out on a day trip.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-57940947854615947182010-06-15T16:28:00.006-04:002010-06-15T16:40:27.847-04:00

This year the cherry tree on the side yard out-did itself (the two in the back didn't do much, though. We brought in (as I recall....it has been several weeks) over 4 pounds. Naturally, we decided to can some of them. :-)First we pitted them (I discovered a nifty trick using the looped wire end of a tiny whisk). It takes a while to pit that many cherries and leaves stains on everything...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-52106835829731348722010-06-09T19:00:00.003-04:002010-06-09T19:06:09.761-04:00

PeasPeas and broccoli

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-78805289238189266912010-05-29T16:29:00.000-04:002010-05-29T16:29:00.287-04:00

Some weeks ago, we found this little pocket of bluebells while on a day trip...Mertensia virginica

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-39293206311720952622010-05-27T17:24:00.000-04:002010-05-27T17:24:00.257-04:00

The chickens were a little more explorative...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-59225497750933487062010-05-25T17:16:00.002-04:002010-05-25T17:16:00.325-04:00

Last week we let the chicks and ducklings into the yard for the first time. They stayed pretty close to where we put them, with the chicks being much more explorative. (The ducklings, on the other hand, wouldn't stop trying to eat the fallen cherries from the cherry tree we put them under...)To be continued...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-89594740820409363292010-05-24T17:11:00.000-04:002010-05-24T19:22:29.453-04:00

Over the past 3 or so weeks we have lost two chickens (first time in almost a year since we first got them). In both cases, it happened between about 2pm and 6pm---there was a pile of feathers left, and a short trail of feathers back into the woods. For the first instance (two weeks earlier than the second) we were able to find a print.....and it looks an awful lot like a coyote print. Here's

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-51636177406762271232010-04-23T18:19:00.000-04:002010-04-23T18:19:00.208-04:00

Dorian is finally just about finished molting.This was him about 2 weeks ago. (and the pile below has grown exponentially since then)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-64307962309793574152010-04-21T16:53:00.006-04:002010-04-21T17:09:06.176-04:00

Our duckling order arrived today!! We went down to the post office this morning to pick them up.Two female Cayugas, and two female blue Indian Runner ducks. All to keep Dorian company, and hopefully to sell some duck eggs too. Runners and Cayugas are supposedly much more homebodies of the duck world, so cross your fingers that they don"t wander off.Right now they're in a brooder next to the (

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-90700972885441436542010-04-20T18:09:00.001-04:002010-04-20T18:09:00.329-04:00

...from just before Easter...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-59039691453509112082010-04-18T18:00:00.003-04:002010-04-18T18:07:46.649-04:00

From several weeks ago...It's gotten a little bit colder again since then, but our peas are germinating well despite it. There are a few of the drying beans coming up now as well. Nothing yet from the kale, lettuce, carrots and radishes we planted two weekend ago though.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-12578561672824706122010-04-09T18:32:00.000-04:002010-04-09T18:32:00.638-04:00

On Saturday (busy day, right?) we picked up some new chicks...6 pullets (we're guessing Red Stars, as that's what they turned out to be last year)....and 2 straight runs. We're hoping for a rooster, so the chickens will stop ranging quite so far...I don't have a good picture, but there's one white one (straight run---we got all Red Stars for our pullets this time) with dark wing feathers. I'm

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-54349911632722694912010-04-07T18:04:00.000-04:002010-04-07T18:31:57.245-04:00

On Saturday, we cleaned out the chicken coop.Essential equipment:We filled up 4 cart loads, and afterwards the coop was nice and clean:Then we took them down to the veggie garden....Where S. tilled them in. On monday, we planted our beans, peas, and broccoli (more details on what and where later). Yay--we have veggies in the ground :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-89176620199661848622010-04-04T14:49:00.002-04:002010-04-04T14:54:13.799-04:00

Spring has sprung....and Happy Easter!We picked these chicks up from TSC yesterday. 6 pullets and 2 straight runs(are hoping for one rooster so he'll keep the flock from ranging quite so far...)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-50162461621160162562010-04-02T18:56:00.000-04:002010-04-02T18:56:00.648-04:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-22633429924413015652010-03-31T15:58:00.000-04:002010-03-31T15:58:00.539-04:00

So it's been a year of blogging (yes, I scheduled this to post at the exact anniversary minute.) and I thought maybe it was time for some reflection...Parsley drying--it was cheaper than the jarred stuff at the grocery store.We love frugality :-)(ignore the koala....)So, as I said when I started this blog, a year ago, it definitely has been and will continue to be a learning experience...What

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-5387030344722388002010-03-30T18:39:00.000-04:002010-03-30T18:55:47.458-04:00

Granted, we bought it at the grocery store...but why is the one we repotted turning more yellow than the other one?This is the one we haven't repotted...This is the one we repotted (it's looking a bit better now, though...)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-43601137952185747512010-03-23T19:26:00.002-04:002010-03-23T19:36:36.211-04:00

Here's our garden plan...much condensed from last year (see that empty half? That's the lower half, untilled so far -- we tilled the upper half last weekend -- and slated for winter wheat, or clover, or some such.) Those x's are paths -- we're planning on mulching them with empty chicken feed bags, although I'm not sure how well that will work, since some of them are plasticized (and thus

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-8545157663519802692010-03-17T18:24:00.000-04:002010-03-17T18:24:00.647-04:00

...is super easy. We just clipped some of our forsythia branches last week when we started to get spring fever. Several days in a vase indoors and those buds just popped :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-28948792665849398632010-03-13T18:49:00.000-05:002010-03-13T21:08:07.677-05:00

Well, things are finally starting to warm up a bit around here! Almost all of the snow is melted in the yard, and we were able to finally fill up Dorian Duck's pool from the outside spigot (as the hose is no longer completely frozen). Our garden plan is well underway (and much more consolidated than last year -- we have a whole half of our veggie garden left to plant in one or two things...wheat?

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-11773152293972265922010-02-23T18:45:00.004-05:002010-02-23T18:52:47.430-05:00

Don't you?I just haven't felt too much like full-blown posts lately. Something about being completely snowed-out and in that weird period where winter seems endless :-) Well, one of my New Year's resolutions was to take more photos anyhow...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-51951456075236443492010-02-19T19:11:00.000-05:002010-02-19T20:09:57.314-05:00

I called this one "Spooky Blizzard Tree"......(then I had to run inside to dry off my camera.)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-1361486449776783052010-02-15T18:30:00.000-05:002010-02-15T18:37:02.841-05:00

Does the perfect layer of snow on each branch remind anyone else of oreo cookies?No? Just me?

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-7726065939640885552010-02-11T17:45:00.001-05:002010-02-11T17:48:12.691-05:00

First it snowed a little...Then it snowed a LOT.....Wish I had a chicken for scale in this one..that's almost 4 feet folks.......and the sun came out...Just in time for:Yeah. Is it spring yet?Darned groundhog.....More snow pictures to come....these just don't do the sheer quantities justice....(oh...and did I mention the power outages? ...and then picnik wouldn't load for this post, the nerve...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-57369131766889783372010-02-10T18:40:00.000-05:002010-02-10T18:45:09.726-05:00

I took this photo many, many days ago...before the entire region was pummeled with snow..details on that to follow....

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-59753738576736758922010-02-01T18:19:00.001-05:002010-02-01T18:20:24.731-05:00

Wet (circa Jan 25).Really, really wet.(that's the side of our road...)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-17024857911251052562010-01-26T21:45:00.000-05:002010-01-27T07:33:54.720-05:00

What is bokeh? Find here and here.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-16994746956571718402010-01-25T17:00:00.002-05:002010-01-25T18:04:46.211-05:00

So while I was meeting some new friends, I also met my first citrus tree. It was a grapefruit tree.So...naturally we picked some grapefruit ('tis the season for grapefruit, apparently).Now this all happened the week of Christmas...quite some time ago...what to do with with all of this rapidly-becoming-overripe grapefruit? Can it, of course...We made grapefruit marmalade (I haven't opened it yet,

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-53487211470568784262010-01-22T19:40:00.000-05:002010-01-22T19:34:19.913-05:00

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-64530821659328376502010-01-22T19:19:00.002-05:002010-01-22T19:27:50.879-05:00

I've been using photobucket to host images, but recently I've noticed a quality decline.....ie what I upload is not what it looks like on that site or on the blog a week later. In fact, some of the photos have been looking downright bad--pixel-y. So earlier I was using flickr, but I also noticed that some of those images had oddly-declining-quality as well. Bummer.So for the past few posts I've

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-63209977492042761362010-01-17T16:28:00.009-05:002010-01-21T18:09:53.702-05:00

On New Year's eve we made ravioli, stuffed with spinach, tomato, and tofu. I don't really have a recipe, since, well...we didn't really follow a recipe. :-) Good reason, right?I know there are a lot of people lately who have been into the whole making-ravioli-using-pre-made-wonton-wrappers thing (I won't knock it...as I've never had them that way and I'm sure it's faster and easier). But we made

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-63135706849059273722010-01-13T18:12:00.003-05:002010-01-13T18:37:27.166-05:00

This week, the chickens seem to be slowing down in production...we've been down to 5-a-day for the past few days (even 4 on one day). Of course I may be cursing myself by saying so! :-)Usually pullets don't slow down much for their first year (no seasonal molt when they're this young)-- but yikes.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-16146783141224374812010-01-09T16:31:00.005-05:002010-01-13T18:47:19.697-05:00

Just a few pictures...Ham

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-78121998256662042902010-01-06T18:56:00.003-05:002010-01-06T19:03:06.774-05:00

Primrose

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-56190968119440670722010-01-03T14:29:00.001-05:002010-01-03T19:22:02.996-05:00

I couldn't resist just one more post before the holiday season is fully past...One of my favorite parts of this time of year is getting & decorating a Christmas tree. Everyone who celebrates that tradition has a treasured collection of ornaments, from family...friends...and special occasions. I think that's part of the reason I like Christmas trees so much...I like remembering where each ornament

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-67482455795069708302009-12-31T23:58:00.002-05:002010-01-17T16:26:24.291-05:00

We made ravioli tonight....How did you spend your New Year's eve?Happy New Year!

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-14433501402597123842009-12-31T18:34:00.001-05:002009-12-31T18:35:31.695-05:00

I completely overlooked my 100th blog post---but this is post #104...So happy 100th post!

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-8897106299746287722009-12-29T18:55:00.003-05:002009-12-29T19:52:10.590-05:00

He really seemed to like the camera :-)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-49576118016176227092009-12-27T16:59:00.010-05:002009-12-27T21:12:57.164-05:00

So we've been away from home for a few days... ...but I met quite a few new friends!I believe this is an immature Herring Gull.I'm pretty sure this is a female Boat-tailed Grackle......and this is a male Boat-tailed Grackle.I think this might actually be another, younger, Herring Gull. (Note that there's even more brown..)I'm not sure what this cute l'il guy is...some Sandpiper-like-thing?I'm

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-23857053215458061832009-12-25T07:00:00.003-05:002010-01-02T18:38:46.950-05:00

(and happy holidays) :-)(Please ignore those messy stairs...)

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-49319242410946859932009-12-22T19:00:00.002-05:002009-12-23T08:11:26.809-05:00

...what exactly these chickens are doing??? I think maybe this one (above) was trying to fly back up to the chicken coop (note the marks that its wings made in the snow) but landed and realized, much to its chagrin, that its feet didn't reach the ground! This one (above)...I have no idea. Perhaps it liked the view up there? I was worried that they'd get too cold stuck in the snow like

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-50034863424008500922009-12-20T19:10:00.003-05:002009-12-20T19:13:20.787-05:00

34 and three quarter inches of snow fell at our house on Saturday...

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-52800818049223854472009-12-18T18:58:00.000-05:002009-12-18T20:05:31.268-05:00

Last weekend we made this Terribly Terrific Toffee from A Southern Grace. I won't re-post her already well-written instructions....but I'll show you what we did, and what we changed....First we greased the pan really really well (our cookie sheet doesn't have edges, so we used a lasagne pan) and started to lay out saltines (we used store brand) edge to edge on the bottom.It took about 45 to fit

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-7552008711915695552009-12-15T18:50:00.000-05:002009-12-15T18:51:56.378-05:00

Mmm. Chestnuts roasting on the woodstove. One of my favorite ways to stay warm. (no woodstove? While I can't vouch for them, there are plenty of recipes for roasting chestnuts in the oven, too) Especially on a day like this one a few weeks ago:

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-63497224104385119762009-12-09T19:00:00.000-05:002009-12-09T19:08:04.959-05:00

When we opened the chicken door on the coop on Saturday morning, this was the initial reaction."About time you let us out of here...WAAAA.... What's all of this cold white stuff all over everything?!?!"

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-79708115108185108932009-12-07T18:00:00.000-05:002009-12-07T18:00:02.904-05:00

One of the things I really like about snow where we live is all of the animal tracks...The things that you never knew were even around become evident after a snow, as you see their prints criss-crossing the yard and driveway. We've seen house cat tracks (not ours, we don't have a cat), rabbit tracks, deer tracks, raccoon tracks, dozens of types of birds' tracks, and the occasional large mammal (?

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-54359642331108250422009-12-06T11:16:00.000-05:002009-12-06T11:16:00.147-05:00

On Saturday, we had the first snowfall of the season. It was snowing a little when we got up....And here's the same tree, halfway through the day (and definitely still snowing).....I think we got about 10 inches.Did I mention it was slippery, by the way?

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-24601147316563049682009-12-05T21:10:00.002-05:002009-12-05T21:13:45.994-05:00

This was a turkey-and-leftover-mashed-potatoes Shepherd's Pie. Just one of many incarnations of turkey on our table last week. The last of it went into some soft tacos on Thursday Night.

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6582555466884349199.post-37930872311286260572009-12-02T19:41:00.007-05:002009-12-02T19:56:35.810-05:00

Today we sold--really sold--our first dozen eggs...goods to be delivered tomorrow. That's a pretty exciting feeling, I'll tell you. So now we're hoping to be able to come up with an official farm name (perhaps slightly less bare-bones-facts than Five Wooded Acres) for our little homestead-farm-croft. Yes croft. I like the word, and I'm trying to work it into the name (we'll see). :-)Some names

Sparowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04377645722546884263noreply@blogger.com1