tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49699840021251587492024-03-06T01:51:58.873-06:00Rambling AnneAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-55304440453831213132014-03-13T20:20:00.000-05:002014-03-13T20:20:02.173-05:00 <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week the chicks should be ready at the hatchery! It's a "straight run", meaning they are not sexed. Knowing my luck I'll pick out mostly roos... again, so we're getting 26, That's the plan anyways. In the mix this time, we will be adding 10 Ameraucanas, 10 Buff Orpingtons and 6 Golden Lace Wyandottes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Waiting for Spring has triggered a cooking/baking mania in me. (That always seems to happen right after cleaning out and organizing a space.) The abundance of eggs has me making a lot of baked goods and pastas at the moment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I'm keeping on top of the butternut squash from last summer, a little over 20 are left. <a href="http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2010/10/14/100-ways-to-cook-a-pumpkin/">If you are looking for ideas on how to use squash in different ways</a>, and right now <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Downeast-Maine-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=pumpkin%20bread&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i3">this is our favorite pumpkin bread</a> (the kids love it plain or with cream cheese frosting.) In the pumpkin bread recipe, I've been swapping out my homemade unsweetened cinnamon applesauce for the oil. It works really well and helps cut down the calories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We go through food phases pretty hard. Not too much of a problem when it is something coming out of the garden.. but the pantry is another deal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I'm trying to get some things done now, so that I have more time later. I've been making stock and reducing it down so it is pretty rich. I then am able to can it in smaller jars, or freeze in smaller containers. Quick breads, loaves of garlic bread, pastas, cookie (dough), potstickers, calzones, pastys, hamburger buns, rolls.. these are some of the things I make ahead and freeze. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> This town doesn't have fast food joints, or a grocery store. It has made me really have to stay on track with planning meals, keeping track, and cooking. I love it and hate it at the same time. The concept of going out to eat is lovely.. the reality is I don't know everything they are putting in my food, and to stay off meds, that's a problem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I've started flats of seeds. We haven't fully set in place exactly what we are planting and where, but that's ok. I'm starting a bunch of pretty much everything anyways! I'm hoping that by this weekend enough has thawed out for me to see if the seed crop of leek survived, and if there was any ground heaving issues in the garlic and perennial onion patch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Possibly.. a few twigs from some favorite apple trees may just disappear and find their way into my fridge..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-46878643277239760382014-02-19T17:57:00.001-06:002014-02-19T17:57:04.721-06:00waiting for spring <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Yesterday and today we actually got into the low 40's! After so many sub-zero days, it's like a heat wave. Just warm enough to make me stir crazy and not warm enough to get going. A big sloppy mess outside, but the monster snowdrifts are going to need a lot more to melt away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red hens started laying back in January. My blue egg layers just started last week. So far so good and I've been able to keep up with using them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I made lemon curd and a pound cake the other day. That was the first time my husband had lemon curd, and he's hooked. I mean he's really hooked. He had a taste and then had dessert before dinner.. and then had dessert again. It took only 3 days and he's basically polished it off almost entirely by himself. I'm getting ready to make a double batch so we can take some in to the neighbor (and the nurses) at the hospital, and he can take some in to work. Curd freezes really well, so I will be making several different flavors they can have it later. (I'm diabetic, so while I love making all these things... I can't actually have any of it!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Next month we will be getting 26 more chicks. Keep your fingers crossed I don't pick out 80% roos again. We are going for 10 Ameraucanas, 10 Buff Orpingtons, and 6 Golden Lace Wyandottes... or that's the plan. I've been known to set limits and then completely blow them off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The 2 bunnies are now fryer size. Like I thought, my husband and daughter caved. They are claiming they are holding out just to make sure neither is a doe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> My husband built me a potting bench out of reclaimed wood and some scrap countertop. I've already put it to use starting peppers, asparagus, apple pips.. and if I can find my seeds- leek is another that needs an early start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Very soon it will be time to start the cold season transplants. It will go so much faster and easier with this new bench!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> This year we are scaling back to just our backyard garden. The nextdoor neighbor is in the hospital and he's in rough shape. We'll be helping the Church group with getting their gardens going, but I don't want to extend too far until I know the neighbor is ok. I may be cooking and cleaning for him if he does get out. He's been falling a lot. If he can't keep his balance, he's going to need a lot of help or assisted living arrangements. I'm selfish.. I'd like to keep this neighbor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> This year we need to tackle the ancient rhubarb bed. Last year I separated out one of the groups of rhubarb. The one clump divided out into 18 plants+, all of which took. These are the backups. The old bed is incredibly overcrowded, the soil is compacted, bad drainage and the result is severely reduced production, thin stems, fungus, and crown rot. The whole area will be reworked. The other neighbor would like some, so just as soon as he picks where he wants it.. we'll dig up and put in a rhubarb bed for him. Juuuust waiting for him to show us where... still.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> By doing it in sections like this, I can still have some plants I can harvest while the others recover from being transplanted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I'm so ready for spring to come.. </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-63224340344136335762013-12-29T22:30:00.003-06:002013-12-29T22:30:58.968-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Busy year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> 2013 we added rabbits to the mix. Above is our doe. She was a little tweaky (like her Mom) when we first got her. Actually the 3 we got looked like this when we first got them..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hutches are outside in a sheltered location, but my husband still made them all bunny huts. They had been seperated for a little while by that point. The broken bunny (black & white) is mellow but attention crazy. (He is the first to run up when the door is opened and ready to get out. They're spoiled rotten.) My husband wasn't thinking and put him in the doe's cage for a quick moment so he could get the box in without worring about squishing or the buck escaping. Less than 30 seconds and Quick Draw was done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> He thought they were too young yet, but still marked that calendar just in case. Sure enough- sub zero weather set in when she was due. He felt around in the box and found.... nothing. Breathed a sigh of relief and then confessed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Then there was the ice storm almost 2 weeks later. The hutch was covered so they were dry and tons of straw in their cage. All 3 snuggled into their bunny huts at night. When morning came.. he found 3 tiny dead bunnies in front of her nestbox. We moved the doe and her box inside asap. It seems she had them buried so far under the straw they were really hard to find. 1 passed shortly after bring them in. Now there are just 2. They grow so fast that these little goobers doubled in size in a week. They are really chubby bunnies that are eating hay and bouncing around all night long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ears fully deployed.. this goober is wider than it is long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think you can guess "who's it's Daddy..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chubby brown (agouti?) bunny has Dad's personality. Loving to be petted until it falls asleep. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The doe has calmed down too and now also demands to be petted. Put your hand in her cage and she runs up, then shoves her head into your hand. While she lost most of her litter, she still did amazing considering the weather. Many around here lost all of their litters. In the meantime we have a full house. These 2 may go to a local breeder who got us our original 3 and join his breeding stock. (Or we may just end up building a ton more hutches.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Before the bunny surprise.. Roy got injured. Doing the head count we realized one was missing. We searched for an hour before my husband found him... limp. He bundled him up and home we raced. Honestly didn't think he would make it through the night, he was a bloody mess. He did. It was hard to judge what was wrong at first.. he was moving so oddly- or rather not moving. He wouldn't eat pellets.. he wouldn't drink water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The week before we had helped out a local farmer with harvesting their vineyard. We did it just for fun. After picking the wine grapes, they offered up as many Concord grapes as anyone wanted. We loaded up several 5 gallon buckets and barely made a dent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> It seems Roy... goes absolutely insane for Concord grapes. As his injury went right down to the bone on his leg, and within hours of getting him home we realized it was infected.. We dosed his grapes with antibiotics. Easiest way ever to medicate that bird. Just getting him to eat anything was a challenge- so I pulled out all of his favorites that he just couldn't resist (melons, grapes, tomatoes, applesauce).. anything juicy just to make sure he was hydrated and got some nutrients.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> 3 months he was in our HOUSE. The first few weeks he couldn't move- so I would carry him to the yard and herd cricket at him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> 40 years old- I'm on my hands and knees crawling across the lawn herding crickets at a disabled rooster. When you are living in rural nowhere- that right there is how you know you are having a mid-life crisis. The neighbors don't say much- just look at you sad and send over a casserole.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> He slowly... slowly...became more and more mobile. Then at some point he was mobile enough to start stalking me in the house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ear plugs are the greatest thing ever if you have a housebound rooster stalker. He learned to crow to demand treats. We under-estimated how many Concords he would eat- or rather how long it would take him to heal and had to buy him grapes. (Please excuse the dirty floor! Even though I had to wash all the floors every day- he took to squishing grapes and making a huge sticky mess in just seconds.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> When he started hopping on to my nightstand so he could crow as close as possible to my face at 5am.. it was time to get this gimp back to the coop. You can see a little part of his injury in the picture above. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> He's used to foraging so I put a few things out for him to discover. His radish seed stash.. cranberries nearby. He hopped into my seed bin and had a field day- I about had an aneurysm with that catastrophe. Next year will be interesting as most of the tomato seeds are now jumbled as all are the Brassicas (kale, broccoli, mustard, cabbage, kohlrabi, turnip, etc.) They all look the fricken same. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I made big salads and a roast one night. My husband had a rough day and was exhausted. He fell asleep sitting on the couch with the salad in his lap. He woke up to Roy on the couch next to him.. completely wound up and happy making a racket. He was eating my husband's salad- in particular he was sooo excited over the shredded cheese on it. It's really hard to be irritated when something funny is happening at the same time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Sanity eluding our sleep deprived selves- it got to the point where Roy would sit on the couch next to my husband watching tv and eating dinner. Yeah.. Roy got his own bowl of people food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> He's back in the coop. Back to running around with the girls. He crows a lot less now, and is very content. He still has a bit of a limp, but can run, scratch, jump pretty well. Well enough that the girls think he is hot stuff. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Hope everyone is doing well. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!</span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-75098643168581110682012-11-10T11:12:00.000-06:002012-11-10T11:12:01.593-06:00Strawberries, garlics, and walking onions <span style="font-family: Arial;">Couldn't ask for better weather!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We're about to take off to put in a strawberry patch in at one of the other gardens we work. The area has already been prepped. Lots of compost turned in to fluff up the soil and add nutrients, stones that have surfaced have been removed.. all set and ready to go!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We're relocating some everbearing strawberries. Dug up so that we could retain as much of the root system as possible.. even keeping the runners attached. Keeping a rootball on it makes it easier for me to transplant. Strawberries do best when planted at the proper depth. They also just love a surge in nutrients that well made compost provides, which results in larger more robust plants producing larger more robust berries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Also going in is garlic and some perennial onion sets. I was hoping to get several heads of some locally grown hardneck strains, but I didn't get there in time and it was sold out. So softnecks and the few hardnecks I have from the farmer's market are going in. No doubt I'll wish we planted more! (Isn't that always the case every year?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The bed that is getting garlic is also heavily amended with compost but will get a little extra by way of bone meal. Cold temperatures triggers garlic to break dormancy. The first thing it does is start laying down the root structure. In areas with really wet, really cold winters.. heaving is an issue. Waterlogged soil that freezes hard can break the roots and basically eject the garlic. Putting in a lot of well aged compost helps provide drainage but some areas may need to go a step further and mulch. We're not mulching. We're about as rebellious as Captain Kangaroo. Oh yeah. Gardening on the wild side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> What I am also excited about (and it's making me wish spring was already here!!) is that I get to do some guerilla grafting. The apples we gleaned this fall we kept track of to figure out what we liked about them, early/mid/late production, size, storage qualities, uses. The owners of several exceptional apple trees have said I can collect some scions (cuttings) this coming spring so I can do some grafting. I'll be spreading it out quite a bit (with luck).. by grafting them on to some wild apple and crabapple trees. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Well, time is flying by and days are so short. Good luck to you all!</span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-83828948147569435112012-11-07T15:36:00.002-06:002012-11-07T15:36:47.546-06:00Murphy's law and the tasty cableboy <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not long after the last post.. Murphy's law activated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The sewer line is old terra cotta pipe that tree roots have been invading. A problem we have been having to deal with repeatedly. Add to that water weeping in after a decent rain. YAY! So the house settled just enough that the sewer line was utterly kaput in several locations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Hundreds of pounds of produce in my house..... and no plumbing!!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Our neighbors came to the rescue and for the next 2 weeks they opened their homes to us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Luck is that during this time our one elderly neighbor threw out his back and my husband found him not long after he was incapacitated. My husband carried our neighbor down the stairs and all the way to the car... then off to the doctor. I cooked for him and as well other neighbors would check in to make sure he was ok. A week of rest, several more trips to the doctor, and some industrial strength pain meds he was good to go. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The concrete guys who came to redo the line were wonderful. I sent them off with tomatoes, eggs, melons, peppers, squash, apples, and an assortment of my jars. It was better to give away what I could than let it spoil. They accidently hit the water main and flooded the yard.. which created a massive mudslide that covered the neighbor's driveway as he is downhill from us. Then nailed the cable line which was barely 2 inches underground when they refilled the 8 foot deep trench. They kept the work site clean, even cleaning up the sidewalk and our neighbor's driveway. They also neatly piled the old copper pipes and solid lead pipe in the basement. This was particularly lovely of them. Often if you don't specify you want that metal.. it has a way of magically disappearing from a site. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The cable <strike>life</strike> line snapped and I rather enjoyed it. I ended up meeting yet another neighbor (Julie) while I was raking leaves. She's also into gardening (flowers).. but is working 3 jobs so she can't get to it like she wants. Even better.. she is as well a seed thief.. with connections! She needed a hand moving, so I helped her. She's just outside of town at a place that she can garden as much as she wants. The hitch.. cattle. There is no fence keeping the bovine away from the house. The house is in a pasture. Come this spring.. we'll be helping her put in some fencing. Until then, we get to hear tales about the cow that was on the patio.. and calling in late to work as 3 young bulls were between her and getting to her car. Clanging pots & pans no longer scary enough to convince them to move.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The cable line was finally replaced... yesterday. They've dinked around in my house trying everything, except fixing the obvious cable wires sticking out from the middle of the lawn like a pulled thread. (The cute cable guy is in his early 20's.. and many years ago when I was single.. I'd be inviting a few girl friends over and breaking the cable darn near daily. Although back in those days.. it was a fireman in his boxers.. but that is another tale.) The dog loves Cableboy. As he busily swaps equipment and types on his laptop.. our dog stares adoringly and randomly licks. The first time.. the guy was wedged behind the entertainment center as he was stretching to get at the cords. The dog licked his arm..the flailing was just 1 indicator that he was caught off guard. I don't know what it is about this kid.. but my dog finds him tasty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Things are finally in working order. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Some of the construction guys are friends with Buddy across the street. They were wondering if I have a farmstand and hoping to get more jarred goods. Next year... hopefully.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Next year is going to be insanely busy. Right now is still super busy. I'm actually looking forward to when things slow down... Just not yet. Not until I finish planting more garlic, moving these strawberry plants and dividing the hostas. </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-40046274806756328232012-10-09T13:27:00.003-05:002012-10-09T13:39:53.206-05:00Apples & Organization <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New shelves of the first section are up and getting filled. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have 2 binders that I am using to try and keep my recipes organized. The lids are labeled with batch numbers, content, and date. I'm doing this because I have a lot of different variations and I'm trying to hone it down to the ones we like best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The binders will let me rearrange the recipes later so that I can have them divided up by the primary ingredient. One I will keep in the kitchen, and the other will stay by the jars. The one downstairs has additional pages so I can keep track of how much I have made, so I know how much I have used. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Having an idea of what we consume will help me gauge my garden plantings. I'll know what types we like best and how much I need to plant. It will also help me with some things like jam combinations. I know that next year I need to have at least 4 pounds of raspberries and black raspberries frozen to make my daughter's favorite jam combo later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> All of these butternut squash, came off of 2 hills that combined had a total of 5 plants. We'll be eating it at least once a week for a year. By "we" I mean my family and my birds. The lowest level is a bench that spans the wall which is roughly 18 feet and it's almost completely full.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I finally cried "Uncle" and said we have enough apples. We're using king size pillow cases for them. Each holds over 50 pounds of apples. Just as I tackle 1 bag, my husband would wander home with more. That void in the shelf of quarts will be filled just as soon as the latest jars of applesauce have cooled. I will finally be under 400 pounds of apples today. We've been snacking on apples constantly.. the birds get some every day.. even the dog gets a cored apple. (One of the apples is everyone's favorite.. it's yellow with a red blush at the stem end. Crisp wonderful texture and tastes like a really sweet pear! An old lost tree that no one knows what kind it is. I HAVE to get scions!!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> This is my apple crumb cake..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">To those that let us glean apples from their trees, I made them one of these, fresh warm rolls, a pint of applebutter, and also some quarts of applesauce as a thank you. They've all offered up an open invite so we can pick next year too. The assortment is nice because I have different kinds that can be used different ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> None of these trees are sprayed, pruned, or bothered with in any way. The spring flowers are nice, but the apples are seen more of as a nuisance that have to pick up each fall before they mow the lawn. It makes me smile when they say "Oh wow! You made this from my apples?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I did... now appreciate that damn tree ya lucky bastard! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We have more apple trees planted, but they need a few years yet to produce. The old orchard at the big farm seems to be nailed by a blight. It's hard to tell as it has been swallowed up by the encroaching forest and now is almost impossible to get to on foot. All the more reason to plant more.. and more varieties!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Maybe I should gather a few more just in case.. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-28950801808461642062012-09-28T13:56:00.001-05:002012-09-28T13:56:47.051-05:00When frost leaves you in a pickle.. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If frost is forecasted and you're stuck having to put the garden to bed earlier than expected, it's time to buckle down an maximize your harvest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> If I have a few days warning, I start pulling tomatoes that have a decent blush on them to finish ripening on the counter. When tomatoes have a blush of color, it is called the breaker stage. Many of the "vine ripe" tomatoes at the store are actually harvested at this stage. Picking these gives the plants a chance to reroute their energy towards the younger fruit and the breaker tomatoes will still taste fine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I pick all of the really immature winter squash. When they are very small they can be used like a summer squash. They are very delicate at this stage, so a fast wash and into the fridge. I use these up in the next few days. Care must be taken that they don't get dinged up as they are so fragile, and damage will make them spoil more quickly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I also pick all of the squash flowers over the next few days. I have 2 containers that I keep in the fridge. One that is a filling for stuffed squash blossoms and another that is the batter that I dip them into. This way I can quickly wash the blossoms, stuff and fry them. Then off to the freezer they go on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Once frozen, I transfer them into a freezer container. They'll keep for 6 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Very immature melons are also picked. These fuzzy darlings I pickle. I've pickled quite a few of them this year already as the deer liked to play in the melon patch and obliterated many vines. When they are really young you don't need to peel them or do anything like that as the skins are tender. I make refrigerator pickles with them. The immature melons are very bland and not sweet, so they pick up the flavor of the pickling liquid very well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> If left to their own devices, my husband and daughter would eat pickles constantly. This year, they did. The entire middle shelf in my fridge is just pickles and I am constantly reloading the jars. Assorted veggies can be tossed into this like carrots cut into sticks, onions, radishes, peppers (needs at least 2 small slits so the liquid penetrates them), sugar snap peas (ends cut off.. also so liquid goes through), purslane stems, tiny green beans, kohlrabi.. pretty much anything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> More than a few zucchini were the size of my arm this year. These huge ones I process rather fast as the longer they sit, the tougher the seeds inside become. If the seeds are tender, I make zucchini parmesan and freeze them. Thick round are sliced, put into seasoned flour, then dipped into egg, and coated in seasoned breadcrumbs. A quick fry in a little olive oil to make them golden, on to a rack to cool, then on to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in a single row and into the freezer. Once frozen, they get put into freezer containers. I do the same with eggplant. It's a fast dinner later. Just pull out how many you need, lay them in a dish, top with tomato sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella, then bake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Itty bitty green tomatoes are yet another thing I will pick. There's no hope for them to get of size, but they do have their uses! I've swapped these out in recipes that call for green tomatillos. I just made a green tomato relish (which is like a rather tasty sour salsa), <a href="http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2005/09/saving-harvest-green-tomato-relish.html">the recipe I got from Farmgirl Fare</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left it chunky. (The flash is making it look rather pale too. This works out well for us as in my sauce making frenzy, I didn't jar up enough salsa. The recipe is super mild for our taste, so the next batches I will be using more jalapenos.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We have yet to try them, but I also put up 28 quarts of 4 different pickled green tomatoes. <a href="http://www.gardenbetty.com/2011/08/four-ways-to-pickled-green-tomatoes/">The recipes for them are from Garden Betty</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> For now fridge pickles remain the favorite. They are this simple to make.. (per quart)</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"> load up a clean jar with spices and an assortment of veggies to your liking (skip leafy greens. Cut slits in any small whole veggies -like peppers, beans, snap peas,etc. Cut the veggies so they are easy to handle, but also so the pickling liquid can permeate it well.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in a saucepot heat up to boiling 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon pickling salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">pour pickling liquid over veggies and close up the jar. Once cooled, <em><strong>store in the fridge</strong></em> for 2-3 weeks. (VERY helpful to write the date on them!) </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The favorite here is garlic dill. I just pop in 6 whole black pepper corns, 4 cloves of peeled halved garlic and dill seeds or fronds. My husband likes them a little spicy, so I add 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes to his. To go the sweet route.. you can add sugar to the saucepot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Ideally you want to use whole spices, or slightly crushed ones. If you use powdered ones it looks like sediment (see pickled 1/2 tomatoes above. I ran out of garlic heads!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> DV doesn't much care for pickles, so his 1/2 gallon jar lasts him several months. We got as far as 4 weeks before they found the jar I hid in the back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> If you like it more sour.. use more vinegar. Roughly each quart jar you are looking to add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of spices. What kind is up to what you like. I suggest experimenting with different ones in jelly jars. Just make sure you tape the recipe to each jar (otherwise.. you'll have my mess!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Best of luck to you all. I'm headed back to the kitchen! </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-44273247545810019262012-09-25T13:55:00.000-05:002012-09-25T13:55:03.617-05:00Hunting Black Walnuts, Wild Apples, and Barbie's approval <span style="font-family: Arial;"> In the forests, the trees have a thick layer of duff. Duff is decaying plant matter. Essentially the forest self mulches every fall. Despite the drought, it offered a bounty for the wildlife and for those that know where to look. The forests just happen to be really close to good disc golfing areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> My husband and Buddy (my husband's clone across the street) have used "going out to get a look" as an excuse often. Amazing how their sight is dependent on how much disc golfing gear they bring with them. We "disc golf widows" tolerate it so long as they bring something back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Buddy's interest in foraging has increased in direct relation to his carb crazed 4 year old daughter's (aka Pip) love of playing Barbies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> One of the boys' finds is a crisp, sweet and tart wild crabapple/ apple with pink flesh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is a smaller apple that cooks down to make a wonderful applesauce that needs no sweetening. As it is small, and a shade of pink her Barbie approves, Pip will eat it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Yeah, you heard me. Barbie approved. Thankfully, Pip's Barbie is easily duped. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Some crazy lady may have told this youngster that fairies come out at night and look through the garden for flowers and leaves. (Barbie Fairytopia = fairies are cool. If You've not experience Fairytopia, consider yourself blessed.) Fairies are in Pip's garden. Flowers that they like get turned into dresses, put in their hair, and used in their houses.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> That when she finds a flower or a leaf she likes, she takes it and gives the plant a little magic so it can grow more. The magic can even be tasted as it makes things a little sweeter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> That one tale has spinned off into a lot more. She also thinks the wild fruit is coming from the fairy forest.The little pink fleshed apple is proof of fairy magic as no apple she's ever seen before was pink inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> It gets worse. The kid is going to hate me when she grows up and figures it out. For now she thinks she has magic apples because the fairies are proud she's potty trained and didn't have any accidents at nursery school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Bad Anne. Bad. (Although is it really any worse than Santa or the Easter bunny? At least my fairies pimp produce.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Meanwhile.. black walnuts are dropping. I had gotten some from DV's stash and added them to zucchini bread and apple crisp. My husband loves them. So he's gathering them everyday on his way home from work. He stops off at the big farm and gets what he can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Hulling them is difficult when they are green. Some run over them with their cars. If you find ones that have dark spots where the husk is soft.. get ready for maggots. There is a fly that lays it's eggs on the husk. The maggots eat the husk, but do not get past the shell of the nut. Totally disgusting if you have to hull a bunch that has this pest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Gloves, dark towels, and crappy dark clothes are needed when dealing with these suckers. They stain the bejeebus out of whatever they touch. Good thick rubber gloves required! Go for those flimsy latex ones and you'll find out it takes weeks for it to all come off your hands. Even scrubbing your hands like crazy.. wiping them dry is a death sentence for any light colored towels you have. My husband has managed to ruin <strong><em>every</em></strong> single one of my light colored towels. (No surprise they used it as hair dye long ago!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Once hulled, we toss them into a big plastic bucket with water and use a drill with a paddle attachment to finish cleaning them up. You want to get as much of the fleshy bits off as you can.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhNc5TV_th4DMJiRhtgxIy3fEG1ucVy4hJtkOcbHldjKf91EsotI5qBsVy3qHSrYtcOLkg0IHIJZEzyWJSxDatx5i7e7d4fEyLTYrhe6E6S6n1fXQoleeoBlxH-wZvTMl_56im3oxGvO6/s1600/PICT0765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhNc5TV_th4DMJiRhtgxIy3fEG1ucVy4hJtkOcbHldjKf91EsotI5qBsVy3qHSrYtcOLkg0IHIJZEzyWJSxDatx5i7e7d4fEyLTYrhe6E6S6n1fXQoleeoBlxH-wZvTMl_56im3oxGvO6/s320/PICT0765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We toss ours into a milk crate and the next day they are out in the sun to dry. The drying process is otherwise known as "how to make squirrels really fricken happy." They will steal you blind if you don't keep an eye on the walnuts. Ours are set out for just one day and then placed into onion bags. We hang the bags so they can continue to cure for a few weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> If you're lucky to have black walnuts around and want to give them a try, <a href="http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h404blkwal.html" rel="nofollow">this is a good link for more information.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We'll get some sleep at some point. Hopefully. Until then, the sound of power tools can be heard eminating from our basement at 2am. </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-27059700295614958082012-09-24T12:41:00.003-05:002012-09-24T12:41:48.888-05:00Harvesting- a ton of fun <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The garden this year was a ton of fun. Hard work made even more challenging with the drought, but we still managed to grow a lot. We also managed to forage a lot of wonderful things. We managed to harvest over 2,000 pounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> With a forecast of frost (which they then said would be a freeze), we scrambled on Friday and Saturday to pick as much as we could of the warm season crops. Every bowl, bin, bucket, bag, tote, and pot was filled. In desperation, folded laundry was dumped to use those baskets and total panic... a dozen pillowcases repurposed. (Lemme tell ya... I was really irked when it didn't really frost!! It was more of a glancing blow. Just enough to barely tinge a few super sensitive plants, but not enough to stop them.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> All surface areas are claimed save a 2 foot section in the kitchen where I prepare meals and do my canning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even the couch was not safe from the overflow. I'm amazed we got any zucchini and squash as the squash vine borers blew out the stems of <em>everything</em> except the butternuts. Squash bugs, and cucumber beetles in particular, were covering all the plants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We still got some squash, melons, and cucumbers. Enough to share with neighbors, make pickles, and feed my almost featherless diva poultry (bad roosters!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbPdDEjGTo3syETJnOqoymsGHoEjALRxbkO6gMMjazg2hVpL0n0hULMFbcaxPZzvIQJkM6QxnrXyBJZCKYWNDafdjgsDXGqMqywDggpO6sLx5NoO4DR_8a3Y8pFq2iHScOjn0F90jobC8/s1600/PICT0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbPdDEjGTo3syETJnOqoymsGHoEjALRxbkO6gMMjazg2hVpL0n0hULMFbcaxPZzvIQJkM6QxnrXyBJZCKYWNDafdjgsDXGqMqywDggpO6sLx5NoO4DR_8a3Y8pFq2iHScOjn0F90jobC8/s320/PICT0801.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Due to the drought, we had to drag water in 5 gallon buckets to irrigate the plants every other day. The water source is a spring fed pond, so we had to perch on a stone to fill the buckets and then haul them all the way to the garden. I'd grab handfuls of Japanese beetles on the return trip to the pond to feed the fish. Feeding the fish was the fun part.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The water from the pond is like a mild fertilizer due to the nitrates from the fish. With a late start, it meant many of the plants went into <strike>happy fun over obnoxious</strike> primarily foliar growth. Yellow pear tomatoes get overwhelming when exposed to this. They grew up and over the tomato cages, back down to the ground (where they set more roots), and did their best Kudzu impersonation. Rows vanished. The deer snacked away and barely made a dent. The chickens got 3 pounds everyday.. and I set out bowls for the chipmunks on the patio. One day, DV picked from just 1 yellow pear plant and had enough to make 8 quarts of venison chili.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> He's now requested a limit on the yellow pears for next year's planting. lol I'll do a few less, but I like making sauce out of them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Today I'm trying to reclaim surface space. Tomatoes are roasting to make sauce, the second batch of applebutter is cooking away, some chili peppers are in the dehydrator, and I'm waiting to hear the pings of the just pickled green tomatoes.</span><br />
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Part of an average day's harvest once the gardens got going.</div>
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Just out of the waterbath canner. Spicy garlic & dill pickled green tomatoes.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We yanked these pepper plants and hung them in the basement (ran out of time picking.) It'll buy me a little more time to process the other ripe veggies that can't wait. The same can be done to tomatoes and the fruit will get a little more time to ripen on the vine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Suggestions of good canning recipes would be <em>very</em> appreciated. Especially for hot peppers (of which I have 100 pounds), green tomatoes, and apples!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-72049879680033707042012-07-21T10:14:00.002-05:002012-07-21T10:14:44.751-05:00A gadget to getThis is something I'd like to get.. the homestove version, but so far I only see the camp stove available. Thought <a href="http://smallhold-pioneerpreppy.blogspot.com/">Pioneer Preppy</a> would be interested in it too..<br />
<br />
It is a<a href="http://shop.biolitestove.com/BioLite-CampStove_p_15.html"> BioLite (camp/home) stove</a>. Small, light, portable.. Frankly I'd love the homestove version as canning in this weather.. or just cooking anything is horrible with this heat and no AC.<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/KnfV_3LM5l8/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KnfV_3LM5l8&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KnfV_3LM5l8&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-56027279254719916332012-05-31T19:22:00.000-05:002012-05-31T19:22:17.023-05:00Amquel kool-aid You know what they say when you assume..<br />
<br />
More than a few times I encounter situations, posts, concepts where the misguided thought seems to be that products produced for animals and pets are also automatically safe for people. <br />
<br />
It's not.<br />
<br />
They are not tested the same, there is less regard to quality, safety, allergic reaction, etc. An example is dog food, where cancerous and diseased meat not fit for human consumption is deemed just fine for Rover's dinner. <br />
<br />
If the FDA declares something as "non-toxic" to people and as well says it is "not under their jurisdiction" when it comes to that compound's use on animals meant for consumption, that's not a declaration of support. That's saying a bit won't kill you, but no info on additional effects when misused.<br />
<br />
The less subtle translation: Put down the farking water conditioner meant for use on fish.<br />
<br />
It seems ridiculous to be all worried about chlorine and chloramine in your water.. and then add drops of Amquel into your soon to be fermenting batch of homemade fizzy fruit soda while touting how healthy it is.<br />
<br />
Boil the water.. surprise, that will also get rid of chloramine. Vitamin C will also do the same trick. Option 3 is use distilled water. Need a multi-tasker just in case you also have to deal with a tear gas assault while you try to control quality of your brew? Grab some Campden tablets. (Why.. with all of those options.. would someone look for a solution in the pet aisle?)<br />
<br />
Products on the market that are sold for use on non-humans are tested differently. Species react differently to the same substance. So while 1 product may not cause issues for Fido, it may be toxic to fish, amphibians, birds. Many companies may hide their formulas under proprietary laws. So while some ingredients are listed, rarely are all ingredients declared. Artistic licence in animal goods goes as far as announcing that cancerous mass derived from Bessie to be listed as a beef product. <br />
<br />
If a product is not marketed for human use, and one uses/ consumes it with ill effects, the company producing this item is not liable. The FDA does <em>not</em> have your back as it is "out of their jurisdiction." The FDA can't keep up with lofty goals of inspecting major processing plants ONCE every FIVE years just for food intended for human consumption. <br />
<br />
Roughly 2 months ago.. representatives for the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers recently spoke at a local meeting on water quality... and they declared the Atrazine in the underground water to be at safe levels. Less than 1/2 of "safe" dosages of Atrazine have been known to cause birth defects and act as endocrine disruptors. Yay. Although this kool-aid is within "safe" Atrazine range, please limit yourself to 1 as higher doses are linked to prostate and breast cancer. By the way.. if you live in a location where they send you annual water quality reports..... Atrazine, among several other contaminants, is something they don't even check to see if it is present. Our water, deemed "safe" for for drinking.. yet Europe's standards forced Atrazine to be banned from use and considered the water as contaminated several years ago.<br />
<br />
Still think the regulations are the same? Only a week ago Maryland became the first state to ban arsenic in chicken feed. It is marketed as 3-Nitro (Roxarsone) and one of the first FDA approved arsenic based animal feeds (aka.. medicated feed. The arsenic is to help prevent coccidiosis, improve weight gain, feed efficiency, etc. Except this is the INorganic arsenic.. which IS the carcinogenic and more toxic form of arsenic.)<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h4>
"How does FDA regulate carcinogenic compounds used in food-producing
animals?</h4>
Under the Delaney Clause for new animal drugs of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, FDA cannot approve any compound for use in food-producing animals
where the drug or its metabolites has been found to induce cancer. There is an
exception, commonly referred to as the DES proviso. The DES proviso carves out
an exception to the Delaney Clause allowing cancer-causing compounds (or
compounds with cancer-causing metabolites) to be used in food-producing animals
if 1) the drug does not harm the animal and 2) tests approved by FDA do not
detect residues of the drug in any food from the animal. The Federal Food Drug
and Cosmetic Act governs the withdrawal of approval of a new animal drug
application, after due notice and an opportunity for hearing, where new evidence
shows that the Delaney Clause applies."<br />
</blockquote>
Whew! Well thank the lucky stars that the FDA finally completed testing in Dec. 2010 of something they have allowed to be used routinely since 1940, on an animal the average American consumes almost 60 pounds worth annually! The FDA has our back (sarcasm).. which is why they allowed the maker, AlPharma (subsidiary of Pfizer), to volunteer their assistance on hammering out a compromise. A reward for big AlPharma came not only in FDA praise, but as they opted to suspended sales of 3-Nitro all by themselves, the FDA let them continue selling other arsenic based medications meant for animals to be consumed by people. (<a href="http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm258313.htm">feel free to wander the FDA site</a>.) <br />
<br />
<br />
Blind faith in an under-funded agency that panders to the mega-buck companies might not be the best idea (especially since they somehow find the funding to launch what amounts to repeated swat team style assaults on super small scale operations. I mean really.. I wonder what the price comparison is to set up safety protocol and means of pathogen testing raw milk vs the cost of these over the top raids.)<br />
<br />
I don't think an individual has the time to research and vet out all the sources of health hazards we are now commonly exposed to even if they dedicate their entire life to it, but still, a bit of caution can go a long way.<br />
<br />
<br />
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If <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer">Pfizer</a> seems a bit shady to you... it may just be because you know it's agricultural division.. Monsanto.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-81140083894963845902012-05-31T11:16:00.000-05:002012-05-31T11:16:30.229-05:00Caped crusadersMy birds are nekked. I had to sew them some clothes. I'm not kidding. I can honestly say that my hens are equipped with a cloaking device (aka.. chicken saddles/ aprons.) <br />
<br />
Too many boys makes for so much trouble and the last straw was when one of the little Ava's (the smallest Barred Rock hen... that's kinda like saying "the slender hippo") had her side completely ripped open by Dave (aka Tank.) With a lot of care, Ava amazingly healed up completely. It was a bad gash and there was not much hope she would survive at first.<br />
<br />
We tried finding the boys homes, but had no luck. So, 4 more roosters were sent to freezer camp. It is a horrible thing, but we are not vegetarians. The process from start to finish, went as I wished it would go for the animals that are raised for meat. <br />
<br />
Right now, we only have 2 guineas. We had sent 2 guinea cocks to freezer camp last fall. Earl Gray passed a few weeks ago. Frankly not something I can relay at the moment. Keep in mind my Mom is in her mid 70's and it was an accident. <br />
<br />
Josette (guinea hen)... she got broody. The first night she was gone it was raining and we tromped through the fields and the woods for hours looking. She showed up in the morning to our relief. Dine and dash, she would eat really fast and disappear. I marked it on the calendar. It took almost 3 weeks of trying to follow them to see where she was hidden.. along a barbedwire fence in the neighbor's field. We set up the brooder for her, ran out and bought a cat carrier, grabbed egg cartons (hot water bottle in a cooler for the move).. and raced to the nest. We found Grace on the nest. Josette was nowhere to be found. The area was untrampled save for the little path the birds had carved to the nest (with the grass being so tall.. it was more of a tunnel.) Grace rejected the new nest that night. 40 eggs lost. They were so close. (The neighbor had adopted several new barn cats. His old one stayed close to home but these new ones wander over.. right up to the house! It is possible one of them may have gotten Josette. It is hard to tell as there was no mess at all.) <br />
<br />
Zippy, the Rhode Island Red hen, thought the nest was amazing. She wants to be broody.. but then promptly forgets the moment she hears one of the roosters announce he has found a treat. All gluttony and no glory. She moves the eggs constantly. The clutch migrates around the brooder like little nomads. We just removed most of the guinea eggs a few days ago. Most.. as some seem to have rolled off into the sunset.<br />
<br />
With the brooder open the girls have ditched the nestboxes completely. 5 of them at a time will occupy the brooder and have a laying party. I suppose this could be a good thing should any of them want to give Mommy-hood a go. Collecting the eggs is a little more difficult, but they are really enjoying the brooder.<br />
<br />
To some this endeavor may seem silly, but even my birds' worst day is better than a typical broiler's best day. (Except maybe for Roy.. who still keeps trying to shag Keet. Keet liberated Roy of his tail as a result.)<br />
<br />
So as I make my way out to the coop on sunny mornings.. and slather bullfrog sunblock on my rooster's butt so it doesn't get sunburned.. I am in awe at just how ridiculous life got while trying to regain control of what we eat.<br />
****************************************************************************<br />
Do the guineas help with ticks? Well, so far I have had only 1 tick this year. While mine are constantly bickering with the chickens, another farm (mainly raising grass fed beef) closer to our house in town has dozens of them that live peacefully with chickens, ducks, and turkey. It is mostly just Roy causing instigating trouble. (Hoping he figures this out at some point. More hens would keep him busy enough to leave the guineas alone.)<br />
<br />
There is always feed available to them, which they nibble on, but all of the birds prefer to forage. Plain yogurt is one of their favorite treats. It is the one treat at the moment that the guineas go nuts about. We get little bowls.. my husband holds 2 and my daughter holds 2. I dispense the yogurt as the birds start literally jump at the bowls and loudly make their demand that we hurry. Stop.. drop.. and run. Delay for just a second and you'll be covered in yogurt. Hold the bowls too long... Izzy will hop on to your arm to help herself while unabashedly using you as a napkin to wipe off her beak. <br />
<br />
I like their quirks. I like that my daughter has goofy childhood memories because of it. (While running away from a wasp.. the birds thought she had to have hit the big bug score. I looked up from my weeding and smiled.. at my daughter running around like a lunatic waving her arms and yelling.. a dozen birds chasing her in curiosity.) <br />
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Rain has thwarted by plans of planting today. So I'm digging around for light colored fabric to sew summer frocks for my hens. I really will be happy when they molt and get their feathers back.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-41842335560999003762012-05-30T14:01:00.002-05:002012-05-30T16:03:30.963-05:00I'm not MarthaSorry for the silence! With a loud *POP* my computer declared it's decision to move on to the land of giant paperweights. <br />
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We've kept busy and there never seems to be enough time, but there always seems to be just 1 more thing to add to the list. I'm STILL potting up tomatoes for transplanting. Clearly there is such a thing as "too many", but not a concept I was embracing a few months ago as I was starting seeds in March. I have a lovely large addition of mystery tomatoes & peppers this year as our crazed canine tested the aerodynamics of tomato seeds. I was attempting to channel Martha Stewart's organizational prowess while watching TV. Last year's crazy weather weighing heavily on my mind, it seemed only logical to plant just a few extra of each.. just in case. I set out a cookie sheet with little ramikins that held the labels for the pots and the seeds ready to be dispensed. I remember looking at the tray and thinking "Finally! A use for these ramikins!" So orderly, so neat, so precise and measured! My folly to be realized minutes later.. <br />
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Martha does not watch tv while planting. <br />
Martha would never consider the coffee table in the living room a good stand-in for a potting shed. <br />
Martha... is not a moron. <br />
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Our dog has been getting a lot of eggs in his diet, the result is this old man is acting like he's 2 years old again. (The membrane in eggs is a source of glucosamine, which seems to have helped his hips A LOT.) Across the street lives the most recent object of his adoration, a 3 year old girl ( I'll call her Pip) who loves to throw things. She calls for him, he lets out a loud AAAAAARRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOO, and then madly bounces around to be let out. The glorious tray didn't stand a chance. <br />
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2 hours of tweezing seeds out of the carpet, my daughter casually commented "Too bad they aren't different colors so you could tell the difference." *Blink Dye the seeds!!!!!! That's brilliant!! It would be only 1 additional step when I process seeds! After fermenting and rinsing the seeds, a quick dip in food coloring before setting out to dry would put a potential end to my disorganizational gardening Anne-tics! 2013 already is looking even better! <br />
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We've planted some tomatoes and peppers, but not enough to make decent dent in my transplant stock. 36 eggplants that looked absolutely amazing this year. Seriously, the best I have ever grown, so robust and beautiful! They are currently lacy skeletons of what could have been. Flea beetles suck. Without floating row covers, this is one crop I have to give up. I gave half of them away and everyone is having the same troubles. Coffee grounds, diatomaceous earth, hot pepper wax, mild soapy spray.. nothing has stopped them or even slowed them down. I may just use eggplant as a trap crop. <br />
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Currently what is flowering and setting seed is parsley, kohlrabi, and turnips. Winter was very mild. These are biennial crops, so they flower and go to seed the second year. We didn't dig them up, but over-wintered them by mulching them heavily with shredded leaves. The trick is you have to get the leaves off as soon as possible in the spring and hope moles aren't an issue. <br />
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Pip's dad (I'll call him Buddy) and DV (small farm neighbor with the underground house) have doubled their garden size this year! Fantastic timing as we happily have been helping to fill them, the crop swapping continues! It was a bad year for morels, but we got a pound from DV. Our hens have been laying a lot more than we can ever consume. So far they are supplying not just us but DV and 4 other families. We've also been sharing bags of our lettuce, scallions, spinach, snow peas, and herbs (chives, oregano, basil, parsley.) We'll be picking shelling peas this week. Pip, much to her parents' joy, discovered that while she hates cooked peas, she loves them raw. Mulberries are almost ready! <br />
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Strawberries are doing great.... as chicken treats. We expanded the patch last fall into an area we amended well with compost made from weeds and coop contributions (the plants are huge and lush.. obviously appreciating the new area.) 4 of the girls will go into the garden with us.. braving my Mom's 2 wack-a-doodle dogs' terrifying excitement through the fence. They make working in the garden challenging. Bug crazy grub gluttons.. grabbing the tools creates an instant parade as they follow us. We spent loooooong days turning the soil by hand mixing in compost and pulling weeds. The girls constantly inspecting disturbed soil for treats. Planting the transplants took ages. Dig a hole and 4 hens are trying to get into it, dirt starts flying. Often they can refill the hole faster than you can dig it with a trowel. I put down newspaper weighed down with clumps of clay as a weed barrier. My husband.. bless that man... wanted to make it look nicer and put down mulch. I have no doubt it looked lovely, just he used straw and essentially created a chicken Disneyland. The big "ta-da" reveal looked less like garden paradise and a lot more like the crater pocked moon. That's when the strawberries, or rather the enjoyment of eating strawberries, was discovered by the girls. It is impossible to get mad about it.. even when they are doing their Godzilla impression while stomping through the snow peas. The transplants (so far) are unharmed, just the garden bears a similar post-apocalyptic flare as my daughter's room.<br />
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I'm a lot less stressed about the gardens this year. We've tabled the farmer's market idea for now which lets me focus more on building the soil. Some locals are in the process of trying to get a co-op going!<br />
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Many around here have gardens and it is for a reason.. Even though this is an agricultural driven location, we have quite possibly the worst quality produce ever offered in the grocery stores. The farmer's market and your own garden is really the only good sources of produce around. Out of need, pride, stubbornness we grew or traded for most of what we ate last summer and fall. My husband found work, so now we can continue because we WANT to and that change in perspective is a relief. This year is shaping up so far to be quite a bit more productive than last. Friends help lighten the load. DV declared he needs to can "more tomatoes than you can shake a stick at".. I'll be there to help! (Especially as I'm planting cukes, beans, squashes, 4 dozen tomatoes and 2 dozen peppers at his place tomorrow for the first of a couple planting sessions!) <br />
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Back to work. I need to get these plants separated and out of my light unit. I'm hoping I have enough planted to make regular contributions to the local food pantry this year. I hope everyone else has a good bounty as well!Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-18432783625362919352011-12-04T18:33:00.000-06:002011-12-04T18:33:36.055-06:00Know your zoneI found <a href="http://www.plantmaps.com/index.php">this helpful link </a>if you are curious to find out a little more information about your neck of the woods. Average first and last frost dates, plant hardiness zone, soil properties, plants and tree ranges, interactive maps, etc. <br />
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Just an interesting thing to check out.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-69019003425302323292011-12-01T17:37:00.000-06:002011-12-01T17:39:15.063-06:00Silvopasture <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Silvopasture is essentially multi-purposing land for both raising livestock and tree crops. It was and in some areas around here still is a technique used in this hilly locale. It is a method that some of the 80 acre farm's first farmers utilized. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9C-HAyo6EnGw0jNRGn0DAWQ-VkLevaxk1YubGEE3ECTmEOYCHj1CzUIkNM6hgyTADFcXRvFGeD3s6SpUDsX7nQeoDkegW-OpitSuRTIP-47UhNzAycqlvwxZTTYG08AiWE1iVfMesPE7/s1600/Farm+Map.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9C-HAyo6EnGw0jNRGn0DAWQ-VkLevaxk1YubGEE3ECTmEOYCHj1CzUIkNM6hgyTADFcXRvFGeD3s6SpUDsX7nQeoDkegW-OpitSuRTIP-47UhNzAycqlvwxZTTYG08AiWE1iVfMesPE7/s640/Farm+Map.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The layout was determined by them, and it is quite logical. The "top" of the hills were cleared and somewhat flattened over time. These were the tilled plots for crops. The steep hill sides and valleys were pasture/orchard/ wildlife.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tucked into the various wooded sections near the barn are also old overgrown ruins of what once were chicken coops and what looks like an area for pigs (just a guess. Either it was meant for pigs, or someone went a little crazy with the fencing.) Some of these wooded pastures are being swallowed up by nature as the landscape hasn't been grazed in many years. A lot of junk has been hidden in the woods by previous residents. In the U shaped pasture.. at the bottom of the "U" is a massive junkyard. Everything from glass bottles to an old dishwasher, and old furnace, right on to a burned out car. That is a clean up project we will tackle later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The farm was primarily dairy cattle and black walnut lumber. The pastured areas were mainly cleared of black walnut (toxic to several livestock, but as well to fruit trees) and that is where the apple, pear, plum orchard was planted. Back in the day the fields were alternated of various crops. After a field was harvested or cut, the cattle were rotated to that field for grazing, which then gave the primary pastures time to recover. I don't know the accuracy of this as I do not have any dairy cattle experience, but the farmers around here move cattle out of pastures that have apples. I asked about this and was told that they believe cows will dry up if allowed to feast on fallen apples. Instead they leave it to lure yet another prize.. whitetailed deer and turkey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was just an example I wanted to show of old style silvopasturing. The concept can be scaled down significantly and altered to suit different needs. It is combining trees for various uses (lumber, fuel, fruit/nut crops, bee forage, wood working, fencing, etc.) with an understory crop and as well able to be used as a sheltered location for animals, a windbreak, and a means to help energy efficiency of a home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Which trees to use? Several considerations need to be taken into account when selecting trees. Speed of growth, utilization properties, toxicity (if you are working with livestock), maturity size, compatability with surroundings, canopy spread/ density, invasive potential, soil condition, etc. Shade is also a big thing to take into consideration. Taking note of how much shade is cast and the effect on the surroundings. Some with a thinner canopy may let you get away with berries planted underneath, while others block out so much light that many plants could not produce a crop (unless you consider mushrooms!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> An example of this would be my ponderings of planting a black walnut grove. If I have the proper spacing I can also plant Black Locust. Black Locust grows rather fast, it is a very good rot resistant wood which makes it a good candidate for fence posts or even for constructing raised beds. It has a highly invasive property with the ability to send out many seed pods as well as suckers. However it is not resistant to juglone. So while it would encourage the black walnuts to grow upwards more quickly and more straight by competition, it would not be a long standing companion as the black walnut will essentially kill them off in about 2 decades. Black Locust is an excellent wood for fuel with a high BTU and good burn time. It is a nitrogen fixing tree and also produces a potential bee forage crop. It is toxic to many livestock however, so the placement would not be in a pasture (even though it has wicked thorns that would deter nibbling.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Right now my Mom is getting some estimates on a few of her black walnuts. Value of the tree is determined by quality and size. To give a ballpark range on the value of these trees.. it can be a few hundred per tree on up to $2,000+. That is when someone else is coming in to cut and carry them away. Nut crop vs wood crop in this case. The methods for achieving the best lumber isn't the most ideal for nut harvest (shorter trees for harvesting and more spacing for heavier yields.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The black walnut grove is only a concept right now. Reality is that it is a VERY long term crop and one that I quite frankly will doubtfully be alive to benefit. Unless I somehow live well into my 100's..lol. It would produce nuts well before that, but still well over 20 years from planting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> For now I am identifying what species I do have, what qualities they offer, and how they would fit best into overall land management.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I mean.. it was no small coincidence that the old timers situated the pig pen where the oak trees grow. (Acorns a bountiful and well loved crop that fattened up the pigs in the fall.)</span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-17936949743734930962011-11-23T13:10:00.000-06:002011-11-23T13:10:35.737-06:00The Cuckoo's Nest <span style="font-family: Arial;">At some point in time many stop denying the insanity and just own it. In the case of my Mom.. she digs deep and gets in tune with her inner raging German and proclaims everyone else is out of their gourd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Hast du einen vogel?!?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> translation: Do you have a bird?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> meaning: Are you nucking futz?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> It asks if you have a bird (in your head).. the phrase is accompanied by a gesture pointing to the head. The American equivelent is asking one if they have a screw loose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I am a master of miscommunication. Without the use of an outline, puppets, a cinematic trailer, and an interpreter.. conversations are dangerous with those to which they claim I am genetically linked. There is no room for forgiveness even with a language barrier. The language barrier.. oh the joy. Finding yourself so far up a creek without a paddle, that soon you discover you also have no floatation device to pilot in any case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> A prime example is this.. many years ago my Grandmother came for a visit. After several months of expected kowtowing from the younger generation, one snowy afternoon I made a catastrophic error. My lackluster grip of the German language sent me hurdling to the lowest peg of the family pecking order.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I had the heat cranked in the car and in 3 little words I managed to cement my familial ranking not just at the bottom of the barrel.. but under it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I asked...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> "Bist du warm?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The simplistic translation in my mind I was asking "Are you warm?" As in.. the inside of the car is hotter than Vegas in July can I shut the farking heat off yet? But oh no... that was not what I had asked. It seems certain key slang phrases take many many many many years until they make they way to the Chicago suburban German weekender speaking handbook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> I had just asked the UMU (Uber Maternal Unit) if she was gay. (Takes a bow.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Truly it is a gift. It's like the compulsion I develop in other countries to ressurect hand gestures I felt no need to do after 3rd grade.. only to my sisters' horror as it turns out I am giving the masses the bird.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Timing is everything. Leave it to me to have a moment of inspiration at the most inopportune time and announce my amusement without the tact of a verbal filter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> With the arrival of the Maternal Unit back to "home" came yet another flurry of work. A lot to do, little time to do it, none of it makes sense... and almost none of it is in any way productive. I mean we are getting a lot of things done, just almost nothing is being tackled on our "To Do" list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> When one door closes, sometimes it automatically locks. Her current battle is with doors. Frankly.. they are winning. No less than a half dozen times a week she is locked out, or locked in somewhere. Anyone and anything is also subject to finding themselves unwittingly imprisoned. I can now say my Mother has locked me in the basement for hours. She's also locked herself in the basement for hours. Did I mention there is no way out/in the basement except for the door? No phone either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The furniture apparently is on a pilgrimage to destinations yet to be determined. I know I can't be the only person who is related to a chronic redecorator. Not long after her return, 9 very large solid wood bookcases were compelled to take residence in her living room. A flight of fancy as not long after they whispered to her their need to be moved yet again... and then again.. and then again. The only thing worse than indecisive bookcases may be the wanderlust found in couches, desks, buffet tables, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The window to ideally work the soil has long passed, but the prospect of quickly turning in some compost into the heavy clay soil so it can breakdown over winter was so tempting. Double digging clay is back breaking work. My husband and his mechanical brilliance revived the old beast and got it roaring once more. Flea beetles and several other pests will overwinter in the debris, so getting the garden turned is a serious need just to help control their population next year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The plan was to till the next day. The beast not only tills the soil, but as well puts you through the wringer as you try to control it. You essentially get twice the amount of work done for the same amount of physical discomfort. Compost in various stages was unloaded onto the garden and sorted. (My Mom tosses her compostable materials onto the pile.. still in whatever container it was collected.) Any movement near the compost pile instantly triggers a poultry party. The scramble is on to beat the birds to tidbits that should have never been in the pile.. like milk jug rings, rubber bands, twist ties. The inevitable chase as one snags such a treasure and runs off with the prize... and me right behind them attempting to reclaim the loot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> As if I didn't have enough action going on while chasing chickens all over the yard.. my Mom decides while someone is outside, it is a good time to let her dog run free for some fresh air and exercise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Her dog is young, tall, untrained, able to CLIMB fences, and loves to chase anything. All hell broke loose. Now my husband and I are both running like a-holes saving chickens while trying to catch the dog. McGinty the Rhode Island Red rooster hopped the fence to hang in the backyard patio now that it was dog free. He pecked my Mom who was hanging ever menacing laundry on the line while wearing offending footwear. She promptly went inside and called a neighbor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> We caught the dog (he had roughed up a few chickens, but none were hurt.. just terrified), brought him back inside, got McGinty back to the coop, dealt with the compost, got the birds tucked in for the night... and then put the tiller away in the garage it was already dark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The next day a panicked call from my Mom at 9am. Something about the dishwasher.. yelling... yelling... come quick.. then a click. Her kitchen was a bubbling mess. Seems she accidently put Palmolive dish soap in where the Jet Dry was supposed to go. Back to the house, get the shop vac and tools... back to the farm.. mop the mess. Mom decided now was a good time to go to the store.. on her way down the street she sees her dog tied up to a tree in the front yard of a farm several doors down. As she is getting him, animal control comes up. Fiasco follows. We still are working in the kitchen tackling the bubble trouble. When she finally returns she informs us..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> "Oh the neighbor will be here in an hour to take the roosters."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Wait.. What?!?!? One of the larger farms was processing their birds as well as others that day. We already had arrangements set in place. I'll spare you that drama. My husband managed to fix her dishwasher the next day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The garden is still untilled. Oh.. maybe now I should mention that she broke the tiller the same evening my husband finally got it working.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> With our freezer now currently holding roosters, she kindly offered to hold the organically raised turkey in hers. She pulled it out yesterday to start thawing. Her dog got at the turkey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> So today I have to see about getting another turkey. I went over to the farm this morning to let out the birds, feed and water them. I brought in some eggs as the girls are offering 6+ now every day. My Mom was on the phone with my younger sister and said..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> "Can you believe that they still don't have the garden tilled? They still haven't put in any garlic. I don't know what they do with their time."</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can still get a frozen turkey ready in time for tomorrow. I don't know why I am rather unphased by any of this right now. It does get to me sometimes... then my daughter asks me how our day was with unabashed glee. The worse it is the funnier she finds it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Some families occasionally fly over the cuckoo's nest. My family owns it.</span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-5783431745922136742011-11-18T18:50:00.000-06:002011-11-18T18:50:29.082-06:00Big Agri-quagmire<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Russell at</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://reflexionesfinales.blogspot.com/">his blog reflexiones finales</a> posted <a href="http://gmcropsfarmertofarmer.com/film.html">an interesting video</a>. It is regarding the farmer's perspective of what some are seeing in their fields and a little of the dilemma they face with the current availability and methods. The last farmer interviewed quickly gives a simplified insight as to how the markets were manipulated. That tactic is just one of the arsenal being employed globally. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The timing of it rather made me smile as yesterday my daughter got into a slightly heated debate with a small group of friends and the librarian about GMO crops and how safe are the chemicals. The librarian's main job is farming.. conventionally.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Frankly, I doubt much of this will even be glanced at by the general public until their plates are empty and are forced to look around. Hunger has a way to motivate people into making change, but frighteningly the opposite is true as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Big Pharma is Big Ag. The lovely way these corporations are subdivided is in such a way that one may think there is several Goliaths. Take <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=DD">DuPont</a> as an example..</span><br />
<div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> </blockquote> E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), incorporated in 1915, offers a range of products and services for markets, including agriculture and food, building and construction, electronics and communications, general industrial and transportation. The Company consists of 13 businesses, which consists of its segments. DuPont operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Company includes certain embryonic businesses, such as Applied BioSciences and non-aligned businesses in Other. As of December 31, 2010, DuPont had operations in more than 90 countries worldwide and about 65% of net sales were made to customers outside the United States. In January 2011, DuPont and its wholly owned subsidiary, DuPont Denmark Holding ApS, entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Danisco A/S (Danisco). In 2010, the Company’s Safety & Protection's business completed the acquisition of MECS, Inc. In July 2011, the Company acquired Innovalight, Inc.</div><div></div><div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> They are Pioneer brand seeds.. do you see the range that they cover? Like Corporate bindweed, you see 1 plant and don't realize the network unless you dig further. How often do they make the news? Well, when is the last time you realized the same company that creates your fire extinguisher and carpeting also makes the corn in your soda, cereal and ethanol enhanced gas in your tank?</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> You'd think they would be rivals with the other companies. Competition is not as profitable as cooperation. The push for yields, the myopic vision of agriculture being run like a factory withhout the realization that it is in essence an ecosystem. The funding of the wave of the future by those with little practice in the field... ahem... Bill Gates. Irony in that often those on the board of directors for agriculture colleges...... are not farmers or even gardeners.</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> If you listened.. you heard them say they patented the <em>process of mixing</em> in the tanks. The current approach is modifying genetics to resist more than 1 herbicide. Farmers now are under the gun of overwhelming overhead just to work. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> There again is the lure, the siren call that is the normal mode of operation for most.. the cheap way out, the easy road, the shortcut. Farmers are in an occupation that is always a gamble. Weather, insects, disease, weeds... and the most fickle beast of them all... the market. The market pricing fluctuations can determine if you keep the farm or are forced to sell. The market prices determine how much or what crop is planted each year. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Yet another farmer rolling his eyes at the "buffer" zone. He's referring to cross pollination but it as well applies to the bugs. It is like releasing the helium from a balloon into a room</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. Contained in theory but not in reality with no way to be sure where or how much escaped.</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> In a short amount of time, crop diversity suffered. Control over what selections are available was quickly and expertly taken from our grasp. </span></div><div></div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is unfolding in front of us, a scenario much like the Irish potato famine. Diversity was the old school crop insurance policy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-climate-ipcc-idUSTRE7AH19X20111118">The rat race in food production has more than one motivator beyond feeding the population.. the weather and the effects of industry.</a> Weather predictions for the future show many variations and until it happens all of it is theory, but a major concern is drought occurring globally on a much more frequent basis. Increase in the intensity of storms are expected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The GMO focus on the future is aimed at mitigating drought situations. I think we have all seen how the effect of a bad wheat harvest in Russia impacts us just at the change in the grocery store prices. <a href="http://agwaterconservation.colostate.edu/FAQs_WATER%20SUPPLYSOURCESAGRICULTURALUSE.aspx">How much water is used for producing crops is often overlooked</a>. </span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq"> In general, about 70% of the water withdrawn from freshwater sources globally supports agriculture, while about 20% supports industrial activities and 10% is used for municipal supplies. Water withdrawal and consumption are not the same metric and a much greater percentage of the water withdrawn for agriculture is actually consumed as irrigation water while a much smaller percentage of water withdrawn to support industrial and municipal supply is actually consumed and rendered unavailable for other uses. Worldwide, about 93% of the water consumed by humans goes to irrigated agriculture, while about 4% and 3%, respectively, are consumed by industry and municipal uses.</blockquote><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Change is inevitable. The natural state is one of fluctuation. That which fails to adapt fails to survive. Diversity is the means by which nature ensures survival. Even if the human element was completely removed from the equation... the climate, the environment, the ecology would still continue to change. We are just speeding it up but not wanting it to be changing this rapidly as currently this environment is more suitable for our exisitance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The flaw I see in banking on GMO crops is beyond just the unkown potential health impacts. You can not sustain something indefinately that relies entirely on applications based from limited resources. For as advanced as science may be, it is child's play compared to the scope in which nature typically operates. Corporate ethics is one that wants you to have to need them.... always. The less options you have, the more it benefits them. Cleverly what looks like many different seed companies are actually the same entity or from the same source.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Like the meat in the store, where our seeds for our gardens come from is just as much of a mystery... even to many conventional farmers. Who grew them? When were they harvested? Were they treated? If you are intending to store the seeds for later use, these are crucial questions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> The disconnect is that we don't know anything more about what we grow, how long that strain is offered for sale and it's quality than what is printed on the package. Unless we save our own seeds and make the effort to support the ethical seed vendors.. the option of choice is nothing more than an advertising illusion. </span><br />
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<div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span> </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-66040235356202850642011-11-06T12:21:00.000-06:002011-11-06T12:21:01.661-06:00waiting as I put the pig before the cart <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A pig? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Someone in town needs help putting a dome on a greenhouse and is paying with a live, young, being naturally raised, pastured porcine. They need 2 or 3 guys.. and I am pretty sure we know 2 other great guys who probably can help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Oh the temptation. The thing is.. we have no shelter to keep the little darling. Processing runs about $200 (roughly 250+ pound pig = approx. 130+ pounds of meat.) We sent them an email. If it is the farm I think it is... and I am hoping it is... I really, <i>really</i>, <i><b>really</b></i> hope it is... I wonder if they take interns? Adult adoptions? Human powered greenhouse heat generators? All terrain drink holder/ palm frond waiver? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Let me explain this farm.. they naturally pasture raise a rather large assortment of animals (turkey, chicken, pigs, beef, sheep...) No antibiotics, no hormones, no GMO, etc. They even grow ALL the animal feed. They are established and already have it set where they market their meats to key restaurants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I dread winter. I'm one of those people that needs green all year round, and I need to keep busy. The thought of cleaning out barns in the winter... is overwhelmingly appealing to me. Something to do while being surrounded by critters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Oh.. there I go again. Always putting the cart before the horse.. I can't help but wonder if the sell compost or manure... or would ... Wow that was all of 2 seconds before I was day dreaming again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Time to go completely clean out and scrub down all of the kitchen cabinets. Staring at the phone pleading for it to ring doesn't seem to be working.. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-91874181910310630032011-11-03T22:31:00.000-05:002011-11-03T22:31:38.823-05:00First eggs we found <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wooden eggs at hobby lobby... $1 each</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No longer needing to crawl through the hedges looking... priceless.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The chickens have been hanging out in the coop during these chilly days. It is so well insulated that just a few of the birds can make it nice and toasty inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> On Halloween we got our first treat!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcC_-AQxjTLmmBeqzpAaG_bfpcvOZrLAwsxEbsWY-aOiz0OPw1UK8GcwEwfY2eroVV6BvxtDHG5jQ0ZnjjtZvs6cjM_DSqgb9KlQlw_PVgxcX_u_6i1q1gSRJQDdPvdJcX9z_8MulhEVd/s1600/first+eggs+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcC_-AQxjTLmmBeqzpAaG_bfpcvOZrLAwsxEbsWY-aOiz0OPw1UK8GcwEwfY2eroVV6BvxtDHG5jQ0ZnjjtZvs6cjM_DSqgb9KlQlw_PVgxcX_u_6i1q1gSRJQDdPvdJcX9z_8MulhEVd/s320/first+eggs+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One egg from each breed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The brown egg on top is the first one we found and the coloring suggests Zippy (the lone Rhode Island Red hen.) Barred Rock eggs, according to a family friend who is a chicken enthusiast, have more of a pinkish coloring. The faded sage colored egg is from one of the Americaunas (Easter egger).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The eggs are a good size, and I just LOVE the colors!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2L_CmIMy3jddNlOUnX5SGaIKEmKTbWLMb2uQQvtsybTaTqFf573Kl_Hgl3AAkLCw-KV5_p4lGtKHpHLtrUHmhhlsF8nCL5ajMdOrkHqemDu2xmr4s2fMPzWqCVZBU-9Hnp5p6spztIfZS/s1600/first+eggs+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2L_CmIMy3jddNlOUnX5SGaIKEmKTbWLMb2uQQvtsybTaTqFf573Kl_Hgl3AAkLCw-KV5_p4lGtKHpHLtrUHmhhlsF8nCL5ajMdOrkHqemDu2xmr4s2fMPzWqCVZBU-9Hnp5p6spztIfZS/s320/first+eggs+009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I honestly didn't think they would lay anything until January. My Mom's coon hound keeps sneaking out and terrifying the birds. Thankfully he hasn't caught any yet. Her dog is going to take a LOT of training. My Mom is not adept at training dogs. Her dog, like every other creature my husband has encountered, is smitten with my husband. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> With everything going on, we haven't gotten to planting the garlic. Still hunting for more employment, still trying to do what we can with what we have. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> As the weather is too cold for crocs and clogs... my next younger sister sent me something fun... obnoxious converse! The Dr. Suess ones in particular seem to offend McGinty to no end. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We haven't gotten to the roosters yet. My husband will be making killing cones soon. For now they are ever excitedly devouring pumpkins donated by quite a few neighbors. They had the first one raw (and just LOVED the seeds).. the second one I may bake 1/2 of it so it is nice and soft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A few roosters figured out how to crack open dried radish pods and eat the seeds. I didn't even think about them getting into that when I pulled them down from where they hung to dry in the polebarn. It keeps them busy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Keeping an eye out for guinea eggs, and should we have any luck next spring we'll be potentially hatching some keets. We have someone who is interested in a few for their table. That would work out well for us even if we buy more keets. I seem to have the knack for selecting mostly male birds!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Off I go... I am currently trying to keep busy twisting 14 gauge wire by hand to make a curtain panel for the front door. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Wishing you all the best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-15286133321105874142011-11-03T19:24:00.000-05:002011-11-03T19:24:09.257-05:00(Un)natural food <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I found<a href="http://www.brucebradley.com/tag/all-natural/"> this blog </a>and it was too interesting not to share.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is regarding "natural" foods and it seems to be a young blog. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> My ex-brother-in-law was in advertising with a company that coined phrases many still use (come fly the friendly skies...) and struck up iconic images (Marlboro man). I had gotten a rather unique glimpse at how far the truth could be stretched.. or how precisely orchestrated it is to deliberately mislead. The impact of color choices, locations, smells, emotions deliberately invoked.. Advertising is essentially the art of psychologically preying on the populace in the attempt to fill the corporate wallet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-12441069782791325052011-10-29T11:08:00.000-05:002011-10-29T11:08:59.007-05:00 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My sister passed yesterday morning at 4am.</span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-67194731839098826572011-10-23T17:16:00.000-05:002011-10-23T17:16:23.705-05:00Skunked... again <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just a few feet from the front door.. our dog got nailed by Pepe Le Pew... again. I thought I would share this recipe that we've tried (and it works pretty decent) to remove skunk stench. Do not get it into their eyes, mouth, ears!!!!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This mixture does not keep, and do not put it into a closed container (it will fizz a little... and blow up a sealed container.) Mix it in a bowl and (with rubber gloves on) apply it to the dog. It may cause the fur to lighten in color where it is used. Apply and let it sit for 5 minutes and then rinse off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1 quart hydrogen peroxide</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1/4 cup baking soda</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Should you attempt tomato juice (which does not work as well.. it helps, but even after several applications and 1/2 a bottle of dog shampoo he still stank.. and then so did I).. I found that a watering can with the nozzle taken off makes it easier to hold the leash and direct the juice better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Currently I am making a list of detergents that do not seem to be able to de-stink clothes. Tide, Era, oxyclean, Purex, Arm & Hammer...... don't work. I had better luck with baking soda and then another wash with distilled vinegar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Thankfully I was wearing my husband's fleece... </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-12652881305626439202011-10-23T14:51:00.000-05:002011-10-23T14:51:20.684-05:00my sister's cancer<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> My sister's cancer has spread very far.. now it is up into her lungs and as well is pressing the bottom of her stomach closed. Unable to eat or even drink water as the tumor keeps her stomach from emptying. A several day delay for getting the part.. a shunt to keep open her stomach.. and then the emergency surgery to put it in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> None of the pain medications work.. at all. She won't take them any more as she wants to be able to be coherent during those few moments she is awake. After surgery she went to a hospice in Madison, WI.. almost 3 hours away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We picked up our daughter last weekend when my sister went into the hospital. Our daughter went to spend a week at my sister's over the summer, my sister asked her to stay longer. Our daughter took over preparing the juices and making the foods for her (Gerson diet). Our daughter insisted on doing this.. and it is no small task to prepare specific juices on a timed schedule ALL day long. It involved countless hours of scrubbing produce, chopping, setting up the hydraulic press juicer, then cleaning it after each use. Each juice had to be made right before being consumed and could not be made ahead of time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> While the juicing helped, my sister's cancer was too far spread to do anything but try to slow it down and buy what ever little time possible. Our daughter started the school season out there. She tried to keep up as best as she could, but my sister at this time was being worn down quickly and often slept at irregular intervals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The pain is overwhelming her. She had a procedure done that kills off nerve bundles, a last ditch effort for at least a minimal amount of relief.. and not an option for anyone with even a remote chance at survival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> While we didn't exactly consent to her staying at my sister's longer than a week.. you find yourself unable to say No. Family dynamics alone make the whole interaction thing among us.. strained. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Meanwhile.. we (my husband, my daughter, and I) are only getting updates 2nd hand. Before that we would get updates from our daughter, as my brother-in-law also rarely contacted any of us. I sent vegetables to her just picked from the garden, but she was too busy to ever find the time to schedule me in for a visit or even return a call. That would be the whole family dynamic thing kicking in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I just find it very sad but there is nothing I can do about it even though I still try. In the next few days I will be going with my Mom to go see my sister. My car is not currently trustworthy enough to venture out very far, especially without a cell phone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> My BIL's ex-wife has managed to add a heaping load of Jerry Springer like insanity ever since she popped in.. uninvited.. <i>to their wedding</i>. Oh.. she's a piece of work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Steve Jobs had the same cancer as my sister. Even with all of his resources he couldn't deny it's progression. When he passed, my sister was devastated.. because to her, he represented hope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I don't think my sister will make it to Halloween, but still we try to hope and admittedly cling to denial. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-903034895935882432011-10-23T13:15:00.000-05:002011-10-23T13:15:16.781-05:00Juglone.. leaf me alone! and Black walnut harvest <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fall clean up and the endless bounty of leaves is making for nonstop raking. Two of the properties seem to be in the leaf collecting vortex burying the houses in a 3 foot drift. The small house in town we are able to shred and compost those leaves as they are mainly elm, maple, mulberry and oak. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The larger farm is more of a challenge as those are black walnut. The juglone in the black walnut materials does break down with proper composting. It has to be <i>completely</i> broken down.. so the smaller the particles, the faster it can compost. Leaves break down the most quickly. Several weeks (2 months roughly) for hot composting, roughly 6 months+ if buried to give a rough timeline. The smaller the bits, the faster. You can test the compost on a tomato seedling.. if it isn't finished the seedling will die. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The nuts have mostly all dropped. Not as big of a year as previous, but still a lot to clean up. Every few years the bigger farm has a particularly bountiful black walnut crop that buries almost the whole driveway in several inches. The husks have sort of a lemon smell and shortly they oxidize, turn black and start decomposing releasing the walnut inside. Critters galore just love the driveway as the tires dehusk the walnuts revealing a favorite wildlife food. Rain coming down mixes with the husks and creates a coffee colored deluge with an amazing ability to stain what it splashes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I have about 3 garbage bags full of black walnuts I have to husk today. Black clothes and rubber gloves needed to tackle these. After removing the husks, the nuts will get a quick wash, the on to racks and in mesh bags to cure for a couple of weeks. Black walnuts, unlike English walnuts, have 4 chambers and an extremely hard shell. They take a lot of work to process but offer a prized flavor in return. Longer storage of the shelled nuts is best in the freezer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Black walnuts are one of those prime foraging finds. The tree offers not only a nut crop in the fall, but can be tapped for sap to make syrup in the spring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3137/2">Black walnuts nutritional data</a> if you are interested in what these treats have to offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I would have collected more if I could, but this pile alone is a lot of work in what limited time I have. The bigger farm had to be rented out again for hunting season.. which means I can't do anything on it until next summer. If you listen carefully... you can hear the sound of me banging my head against the wall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4969984002125158749.post-43330049023484582502011-10-06T19:26:00.000-05:002011-10-06T19:36:54.806-05:00getting back to the land.. part 1<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> For whatever reason, and there are many, some people are feeling drawn to get land and do what they can to live from it. Good fortune would be the timing of the purchase and the finances to do so in this current economic environment. While large farms are being snapped up.. there are deals to be had on other land holdings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Many towns are catching up on collecting back taxes by way of auctions. Around here.. that would be silent auctions set by the town, some decent sized lots of a few acres starting at $1000.. and have quite the lovely luxury vacation home to boot. Even though there was parcels of 10 acres, I wouldn't have touched them with a 10 foot pole.. and that would be because of local restrictions. Wile a gorgeous home, and ample land on very fertile soil.. you can't do a darn thing with it beyond mowing grass. There are other offerings in different locales that are not so restrictive. It pays to know if you can do what you want to do ahead of time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> When you are looking for land, and moving on to land.. you need to have some things set in order. First thing is making sure it is the right property for your needs. It is easy to dream, and in that dream the acreage expands ever further.. the list of things to accomplish gets incredibly long. If finances are no option, then there is no issues with accomplishing that dream. If money is tight, a reality check is in order if you truly want to do this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Building a farm, or living off the land is a work in progress. Before you can even build that imaginary barn.. you need to know what to look for, or look out for in a site. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Location, so important that realtors can't seem to say it once, and your intended uses. Check services in the area and their distance. How far is it from a town with stores, doctors, grain mills, hospitals, lumberyards, emergency services, Department of Human Services, grocery stores, etc. What is next to the property.. undeveloped land, farms, forest preserve? Are there any industries that effect the location? How is it zoned? Is there electric, gas, cell phone reception, internet, propane? If you are considering alternate housing styles.. make sure you check ordinances. Check for animal restrictions, water rights, mineral rights. You get the idea. While getting away from it all seems like a wonderful thing, there is something to be said for not having to drive 40 miles one way to get Immodium.. especially when you are the one needing it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Then look at the territory.. what grow zone is it in? What is the annual rainfall? What water sources are there? Is flooding an issue? Fires? Land erosion? What kind of grading/ sloping? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Observations of what is growing on the land also gives input. Original homesteaders would use trees as a guide to selecting sites. Out here.. black walnuts were a sign of fertile land. Great it is fertile, but that's another thing to look for is toxicity. If you intend on keeping livestock, make note of the kinds of trees around and the types of vegetation. Example would be my in-laws.. they have 2 pastures for the horses. They can't use the back pasture because of all the red maples. Red maple leaves can be toxic to horses. Keep an eye out for natural resources of the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/index.html">If you intent to keep livestock, you may want to look here at a list of toxic plants.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Size matters. The more arid the location, the more land needed to support you. As well if the area has a short growing season, you need to take that into account. Old homesteads employed cisterns frequently, as well wind powered pumps to bring up water from underground. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If you are gardening an area under an acre, you can do it by hand. It'll be a lot of very hard work. A decent rear tine rototiller will be able to handle the job, you can even do it with hand tools and a lot of sweat. Cultivating bigger plots up to a few acres is then moving on into larger tractors or animal power. Animal power (horses/ oxen) is not for everyone. It was a nearly lost art that is slowly making an unusual comeback of sorts. While you don't feed a tractor, or have to take care of it everyday.. animal teams don't compact the soil like tractors do. That's a whole separate tangent..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The placement of livestock and gardens in regards to the water source is another key component. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Find the local USDA office.. and use it. You can find out about pests and diseases in the area, what strains of plants work well, planting times, harvesting times, general soil information of the surroundings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Another thing to consider is getting soil and water tested before purchasing. Some geographical areas can have naturally occurring heavy metal deposits. Some water in these rural locations.. are not suitable for consumption and filtration becomes a concern.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a> I am currently working on a gardening on the cheap entry. A lot of this is scattered due to having to jot things down in a notebook while on the farm.. then attempting to decipher it when I get back to town.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I'm aware my writing skills are lacking. lol I can however build up a garden from next to nothing after having to do it so many times over the years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17159095601570766616noreply@blogger.com18