I Got My Package Today! As it turns out.

I am very very excited about this development!

We've been planning this advancement in our mini-ecosystem for a long time, but it has just now begun to come to fruition.

Today, we got our package.  The seed.

Crickets!!!!!!!

Aren't they cool?!

I know what you're thinking.  No, i really do.  You want to know WHY i would be happy about 1000 quarter inch insects in my home.  That's a good question.

 Lemme splain.

You've seen me toss around the term, "food sovereignty," right?  My husband is in love with that term, by the way.

Ideal food sovereignty is when we don't ever purchase any food product for us or our animals.  We produce everything we need right here.  That's the ideal.  Every little thing is another step toward that ideal.

You've also seen me mention our chickens.....once or twice......

***Rabbit trail***  recently, at a family get-together, we were playing a board game.  At a particular point in the game, the other players were supposed to get a piece of paper and write about something "i have," "i" being me, not them.  Four out of five wrote about my chickens.   

 There's more to me than chickens, people!***Original trail resumed***

Well, chickens require certain nutrients, which they can normally get just by foraging in the yard and the woods.  And sometimes, they require additional calcium and protein, which we don't want to have to purchase.  It turns out, that in the insect world, crickets have the highest amounts of calcium and protein.  And chickens love them.  (Edited to explain:  i do not know whether crickets have more calcium and protein than anyone else in the whole insect kingdom.  They simply have more calcium and protein percentage when compared to the other readily-available-to-be-raised-at-my-house insects and worms that chickens like to eat.  As it turns out, from what i've read, which i cannot verify without spending a lot of money on some sort of college degree and i'm guessing some scientific equipment, so i'm going to take someone else's word for it.)

It also turns out that it is very simple and uncomplicated to raise crickets.  These thousand little crickets can feed our chickens and reproduce and make many many more crickets with little effort from us and almost no food or water.  Basically, if we can eat, they can live on our crumbs.  

Are our chickens really going to eat that many crickets?  Probably not.  Not millions.  But it is always good to be a producer of something that other people want and are willing to trade goods or money to obtain.  It turns out that we live near a lake - where people fish - and fish like crickets too.  See how that works?

So, in conclusion, this creepy little box is the seed for our new cricket farm.  We're becoming cricket wranglers.  And it turns out we're moving one step closer to our goals.  Yay!

First things First!

I have a few things to tell you today.

But first things first.

It's Daddy's birthday!!!!!!!!!!

A big kiss for your birthday, Daddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DADDY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Today, my dearly loved father turns 65 years young.  He looks great, doesn't he?

He didn't answer the phone when i called to tell him that i LOVE him and that i'm happy he was born.

So i had to do on-line, in front of everyone.  Haha!

I'm guessing he's off doing something ministerial.  Daddy has never been one to let something like his own birthday get in the way of being where he's needed for others.  What a wonderful trait.

Daddy, i love you more than i can tell you, and if you're not doing it right now, i really hope you take the time to celebrate your life today.  It's definitely worth celebrating.  You are a blessing to many many more people than just me.  And you are a great great great blessing to me also.  There's no other daddy for me.

I love you, Daddy!

Happy Birthday!

P.S. I'm sorry i put the over-the-hill sign out on the road when you turned 40.  I now understand that 40 isn't very old and that 40 year-old people don't like being called over-the-hill.  Sorry it took so long for me to figure that out.

Many hugs and love from Texas!

James the Gardener, and his exploits in vegetables

Over time, people within a plan start to learn wherever everyone best fits in.  And gardening is not my specialty.  But thanks be to God, my husband has four green thumbs, which are quite a conversation starter at parties - but i digress.

I showed you our outdoor garden, the first one to produce any fruit, that James started this year in the spring.  Well, one of the wonderful things about living where we live, is that if you plan it right, you can produce something, all year round.  My darling has been studying what can be produced when - and all the exact times to do what.  

And now he has started an indoor seedling garden in my living room.

Tomatoes

Lettuce

I like this one. It looks like a Dr. Seuss land in miniature.

Okra.

My darling gets especially excited about OKRA.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though.  Our spring garden, though humble, is producing some yummy fruit.  Mostly cucumbers and cayenne peppers.  So last evening, my victorious gardener used our collection of pickles to make several jars of bread-n-butter pickles.  YUM.  

Here they are!

You can't see it, but he also did one jar of bread-n-butter okra, green pepper, and other peppers.  That should be interesting.

I'm very proud and excited about my husband's gardening exploits.  It's very very exciting to get nourishment from your own hard work.  And vegetables are one of the coolest ways to do that.  It's very exciting to add something we grew to our dinner - or in this case, pantry.  These are refrigerator pickles - meaning we didn't actually can them.  We just jar them and put them in the refrigerator to give the cucumbers time to soak up the yummy favors.  They'll be ready in two weeks or so.  Though i don't expect them to last very long after that.  In fact.   I would say all five pints will probably be gone in less than a week after we open the first one.  I'll try to remember to let you know.

Teaser for tomorrow:  i'm looking forward to what might be coming in the mail.  Hint:  it involves more live creatures to wrangle!  Woohoo!!!!!

Oh Monday

Sometime last week, i told you that this week would be filled with mowing.

Well, Monday arrived (that was yesterday), and i knew the mowing needed to be done.

But i was conflicted.

While the yard needed very much to be mowed, multiple gallons of free produce, stashed in various parts of my kitchen and living room, threatened to rot and be wasted if they did not receive my immediate attention.

I was still conflicted.

Then i heard the weather report.

It turns out there's a wanna be hurricane in the gulf, named Alex.  Alex is set on sending storms our way for the foreseeable future, meaning rain every day.....for a while.

Thank You, Lord, for making my decision for me.

I had prayed for focus.  Then i had it.  

Forget the grass (and weeds and whatnot).  Get this food put away!

So yesterday, i finished shelling and freezing the peas; i finished blanching and pitting and freezing the peaches; and i got back to the original business of these poor, never-dying pears.  The pears are still a work in progress, but i feel a lot closer to being caught up.  I now have a pot of pear/plum butter cooking on one burner, a pot of raw pears boiling on another burner, and a smaller pot of peas for my husband's lunch, cooking on another burner.  This is nice.

I was going to blog last night.  It was getting late, and it turned out that rebooting my computer was going to be completely necessary for success at any online transaction, but while i was rebooting my computer, i found myself way too sleepy to wait for it.  I went to sleep.

This morning, i went to my computer first thing, to blog, and as i sat down, the power went out.

So there you go.

The power is back on, and this is yesterday's entry.

Later today, James the Gardener, and his fantastic exploits in vegetables.

I mean, as long as the power stays on and i don't fall asleep.

A Piece of Toast

Earlier today, i ate a piece of toast.  On that piece of toast, i smeared a thick layer of spicy pear butter.  Spicy pear butter made from pears that i, personally, harvested, boiled, peeled, cored, sliced, cooked, chopped, spiced, cooked some more, and canned.

That's nice.

It's a particular satisfaction.  And it tastes really good too.

It would have been a great satisfaction if i had eaten it on bread that i had baked with butter i had churned from milk i had milked from goats i had raised.  But still, it was pretty nice.  One day, i'll get to do the goats and milk thing. But for now....

For dinner, we had purple hull peas that we picked, shelled, froze, and i cooked on the stove.  That's pretty nice too.

After dinner, i packaged the chickens that we raised, fed, and butchered.  

One day soon, we'll have some of those, probably with some purple hull peas.  

That will be one more step toward a really nice kind of satisfaction.

I will probably bake some bread to go with it.  Just because that adds to the awesomeness.  

And if we're smart, we'll have a salad with our chicken and peas and bread, and we'll put some of our own freshly grown cucumbers and peppers on it, and maybe a boiled egg laid by one of our hens.

Yeah.

Summer Slaughter

I've been talking about it all this time.

It was a little anticlimactic.

The alarm went off at 5:00 this morning.  Some of us got up at that time.  Others didn't.

After a busy week of VBS and making cobbler for belated Father's Day and getting in late and sleepy last night and staying up to order various items online, my kitchen was quite a mess.  Besides that it needed to be clean because it's bad to cut up chicken on top of cobbler makings, we were also expecting possible company/help with slaughter.

All that to say, i got to work early.

It didn't take too long to get things spic and span in the kitchen while my favorite slaughterer got ready outside.

Here he is threatening the unsuspecting subjects of today's event.

In case anyone is about to call some animal rights authority, please note that these chickens were only confined to that small space for their final confinement and for ease of access for slaughter.  Up until then, they roamed and jumped and flew like chickens should.

First kill was at 7:10 a.m., and all the slaughtered chickens were processed and resting on ice before lunch.  It went very well.  I did leave the gizzards and feet until later, but i did that on purpose and could have finished them at the same time had that been my goal.  The whole day was surprisingly easy for me.  I'm thankful.

I had so much down time that i was taking pictures of my clean kitchen.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, i should tell you that i retouched the floor (which desperately needs to be mopped) with random images from around the kitchen.

The victorious slaughterer's brother arrived with his beautiful non-slaughtering children about half way through the process.  The kids got to witness was was called "the miracle of where food comes from," and then they came inside and were put to work shucking peas while i dismantled chicken carcasses.

I'm not sure they were enjoying themselves.

We didn't really make them shuck peas the whole time, but they did do a respectable amount of peas and were sent home with a bag of them, so mama could use their hard work to cook dinner.

They also played and watched t.v. and magnetized my name on the couch.

Very sweet.

We started with nine chickens slated for slaughter.  Somehow (i was not a witness) one of the carcasses was mangled during the plucking process and then fed to the dogs as a very special treat.  So i got to process 8 young chickens, and i had a very easy time of it.  I seem to have my process pretty well down.

Getting artistic with chicken feet.

I saved the feet, gizzards, and necks to make chicken stock, which i will can in my All American Pressure Canner when it arrives; i saved the hearts and livers for fishing bait; and i saved the other random innards to be fed to my dogs.  The heads were also fed to the dogs (i'm sorry if this grosses you out, but dogs love that sort of thing) during the slaughtering process.  It feels really good to use all the parts to benefit the farm in some way.  

I am very thankful to be able to be so close to the food process.  As my niece discovered today, chicken fingers don't come from the grocery store; they come from actual chickens.  And it feels really good to take responsibility for part of that process.

Sadly a very successful day ended bitterly when i found a very sick hen in the chicken coop, who died in my arms minutes later.  I think she was having some egg-laying trouble, but i'm still trying to sort out what it was. After that sad experience, i joined my husband who was already napping.  Neither of us slept much last night, and we got up early this morning and worked hard.  Then we napped.  

Not too bad for our biggest slaughter yet.

The Very Big Deal

Just now, we ordered this All American Pressure Canner made by Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry

and this Hova-Bator Incubator

There's so much excitement!

And tomorrow's our Summer Slaughter.

Woohoo!!

And now i have to go to bed because Summer Slaughter starts early in the morning.

Stay tuned!

winding down and winding up

Today was my last day at Vacation Bible School for this year.

I had a great time.

The event is set up like so:

All the kids meet in the auditorium every morning, where they are kept busy with skits, films, Bible stories, praise and worship, and ridiculous games.  After they've nearly been worn out, the children older than five get to choose between several different elective classes.  Each child can choose a different elective each day.

My job was to teach the elective cooking class.

What a hoot!

I had quite a blast!  Ironically, there were lots of boys in my class and very few girls.  That ratio fluctuated day by day, but 3 out of four days i had 10-12 students, mostly boys.

On Monday, we made fruit and yogurt smoothies; Tuesday was Caterpillar Biscuits; Wednesday, Banana Pops; and today, Granola on a Stick.  As much as was possible, the kids got to create their own dishes, with choices of toppings and ingredients and plenty of opportunity to make a big mess and get your hands covered in ingredients.  What fun!

I had a great time, and i'm glad i'm done.  There's no cooking class scheduled for tomorrow, so i asked the day off so i could try to catch up at home before we start another busy weekend, at the end of which we'll be even more exhausted.

Which brings me to this:  i better stop writing and go get something done around here.

Our belated Father's Day shindig tomorrow, requires the presentation of a requested fresh peach cobbler.  I guess i better get to slicing some peaches.

Mormor

Today, my mom sent me a recent picture of my Mormor.  I think she looks so beautiful with her white hair.  Mormor will be 92 years old next month.  This smile lights me up.  She's one of the most kind-hearted women you could ever meet.  I love her so much!

That's all i have to say today.

Oh, and this picture wasn't really taken January 3 2008.  That camera is confused.  

Me and My PEA PICKIN' Hat!

Incidentally, it is also my pear pickin' hat, my blueberry pickin' hat, my fishin' hat, my campin' hat, and my when-in-doubt-and-it's-going-to-be-sunny-and-sweaty hat.

I think it's very funny looking, but it does the job wonderfully, and when i realized today that i have a pea-pickin' hat, it made me laugh, so i made James take this picture.  Honestly, i just asked him, and he kindly obliged.  Semantics. 

I know i'm silly.  Isn't that why you read?

Oh, and here are the peas.

This an 18-gallon tote.  You might remember it from the pear-pickin' day.

Hubby and i had the grand wisdom to pick these peas in possibly the hottest part of the day.

About the time we were leaving was probably the time when we should've been coming.  It was crazy hot and sweaty, and my pea-pickin' hat did its job in a big way.

Thankfully, i am being refreshed by a wonderful drink.  After i canned a couple quarts of peaches today, i had some peachy juice left over, and i used it to sweeten my tea.  Yes, that's amazingly wonderful.

As soon as we got home from pea-pickin', we were called away to get more free stuff, which we did gratefully and with much leftover stinky sweat.  Dinner was being cooked at 8:30, and now in a minute, i will go put away the leftovers.  I'm afraid i haven't the energy to actually clean the kitchen this evening.  That will  have to be what i do when i get home from VBS tomorrow.  That's all there is to it.

It's already 9:30, and this girl needs her beauty sleep......and a shower.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures that are fairly old but that i just managed to load to my computer.

Enjoy.

This is our first "big" harvest.  Haha!  That's basil in the vase.

A close-up of cucumbers and peppers.

Getting artistic with the cucumber.

And to all a good night!

because Daddy likes to read about my day.

Yesterday's Father's Day phone call to my beloved daddy was interrupted, so we continued it today, during which my daddy sweet talked me into writing more often....well, at least that's why i'm writing right now.........i'm exhausted.  I don't think i would normally be writing if my dad hadn't told me how much he loves to read what i write.  I'm so easy.

After getting home from day-long family festivities at 10-something last evening, i did my evening chores and then got up extra early this morning to do my morning chores before leaving for VBS at 7:15.  Thankfully, VBS only lasts until noon.  It was a blast, and i had a lot to do when i got home.

First, more chores.  Hot animals need water...not a difficult chore, but necessary.

Then it was to the mile of peaches lying splayed on my counter.  I don't really think peaches can technically be splayed, but you get the idea.

I blanched and peeled and pitted and finished with those peaches a few minutes after hubby came home from work...at which point, we put the peaches in the fridge with some sugar and left to go pick just as many more peaches.  Whew.

Tomorrow, i'm told we're going to pick bushels of purple-hull peas.  I have to be honest.  I don't even know what those are.  But my husband has been earnestly desiring to acquire some.  Now that they were offered, here we go!

Lemme tell you something.  Harvest is hard work.  And there is no end in sight.

Tomorrow, after VBS, i am to peel and slice more pears to be added to my currently cooking batch of pear plum butter, and that's before going to get those peas.

In a couple of days, the newest peaches will need attention, along with the peas and the pears.  Peaches, pears, and purple peas.  Hehe!

As the Lord gives me strength, i will get those things done, figure out how to make a trip to the washateria this week in the midst of VBS and harvest, then go celebrate a belated Father's Day on Friday evening with one more deserving dad.  Then we'll get up early Saturday morning for (are you tired of hearing about it yet?) Summer Slaughter.

Meanwhile, my yard is completely out of control, demanding my attention which i cannot not give, and will absolutely have to be tended to beginning Monday morning at the latest.  To add insult to injury, the neighbors across the street mowed their grass today, and now mine looks even taller.  Thanks!

I don't have a formal job, and my days are planned out more than one week in advance.

Whew!

If anyone thinks i'm complaining, stop thinking that.  I'm not.  I can think of few things more fun or better for spending my time and energy.  I'm extremely thankful for work worth doing.  I spend my mornings having fun with children and other members of the body of Christ, and i spend my afternoons and evenings gathering food for my family.

Totally diggable.

in which i get giddy about food in jars

This morning i prayed that the Lord would make today a productive day, which includes giving me drive and energy to complete the tasks in front of me.  He answered my prayer (with a yes), and i feel like i got a lot done today.  Leastwise (that's the funniest expression) i worked all day, from 5:45 this morning until just now (which is 10 pm) with short breaks for things like eating.

I still have most of those pears from last weekend sitting in my living room - many of them still ripening - others just waiting for me.  These particular pears - keiffer pears - take much longer to peel and slice, etc., than you might expect.  On Friday, i did a batch that resulted in about one quart of pear butter.  Oh, and it's delicious!

Today, i did another batch.  I cut about half of today's batch (about a quart and a half) and put it in a syrup to use for pie filling in the future.  The other half i saved in the fridge to be mixed with plums to make a pear/plum butter.  Ooh yum!  I can't wait!

But i have to because tomorrow is the great Rogers-June-Birthdays/Father's-Day-Combination-Shindig, and Monday starts Vacation Bible School at my church.  Thankfully, VBS is only half days this year, so i will have the afternoons to process pears.

Back to today.

I also took that quart of pear butter and canned it!  Weehee!

I'm very excited about this because i haven't canned in years and years, and i am really excited about canning food and storing it up and having lots of beautiful jars on shelves like my friend, Kris.  That's one of the most beautiful things to me - not to mention it's quite handy to have lots of grub-with-a-shelf-life on hand that tastes good.  Anyway, these three little jars i canned - that i'm sorry i don't have pictures of just yet - are the beginning of many many jars of good grub on our shelves.

And that tickles me.

Oh wait.

There's more.  Don't go anywhere.

Earlier - maybe last month - when we got all those plums and just a few peaches, the peach harvest we came home with was pretty disappointing and is already gone.  They were very yummy; there just weren't enough of them.

Well today, my darling went to his dad's and came home with a solid scad of peaches (that i also need to process next week), and i am so excited.  Reportedly there is more where those came from, so i hope i can put a bunch of them back.

James got some things done today too.  He dug more of a trench - more of the water routing plan in our creeky yard - and he started an indoor garden for our fall outdoor garden.  This is also very exciting because it means we're getting more and more food sovereign.

Don't forget next Saturday is our first summer slaughter, and that will be even more food that we produced put back in the freezer or......wait for it..........canned!  Because there are plans in place to get a real live PRESSURE CANNER from AllAmericanCanner.com!  Their canners are a little pricey if you compare them to the Wal-mart version, but they're also virtually indestructible and don't require rubber seals, so we're going for it.

Canning makes me giddy.

I don't care if you think i'm weird.  I love it!

And now i think it's time for me to go to bed.

Where i will dream about quart jars filled with canned peaches.........and beautiful brown pear butter............and home raised home canned chicken in a jar....................and pear plum butter with a beautiful red color and lots of cinnamon.....................and canned rabbit like Aunt Clara used to make...........

Sweet dreams!

Genesis

In May, i started a new Bible-reading plan that takes you through the Bible in chronological order.  Pretty cool.

I found this plan at www.biblestudytools.com.  The site lets you set up your own account, and it has lots of great study tools to use.  One of those tools is an online Bible reading plan where you can check off your progress as you go.  Also, you can pick pretty much any translation of the Bible right there on the screen and read it in a different one to get more understanding.  And if that doesn't do it, you can switch over to the "study" tab and study all the Strong's Concordance references.  It has a lot more tools than that, that i haven't learned to use yet, but i'm enjoying it.  And it makes it very easy for me to be faithful to daily Bible study, sitting right here in my favorite chair, in front of my computer, and i get access to tons of giant books that i don't have to lift.

But this wasn't meant to be a plug for biblestudytools.com.

I have a point.

As i said, i started this chronological Bible reading plan.

So, as you might imagine, it starts with Genesis.  "In the beginning" is a good tip off.

Then it switches to Job for a little while, and then back to the rest of Genesis.

I love Genesis.

I think i have always loved Genesis.

It's so beautiful, and i can spend hours charting interesting time lines and family trees and understanding who was who to whom and how old they were when who else was how old.

For instance, did you ever know that Methuselah (the oldest recorded man to ever live), who was Noah's grandfather, didn't die until the year of the great flood.  I assume he died in the flood.  Doesn't that bring up elements of Noah's task that you never thought about before?

Did you also know that when Noah was born, all of his ancestral line except for Adam, Seth, and Enoch (who walked with God and was no more) were all still alive on the Earth.  Noah could very well have been able to talk to Adam's grandson, Enosh.  That's amazing to think about to me.  Old Enosh, 1000 years old, sits down with all the descendants (from ages 10-900) and tells them the stories about God that he heard straight from Adam.  And they all can imagine what it was like to get to walk with God in the cool of the evening - and how shameful it was to learn about evil and nakedness - and how painful it was to leave Eden and God's presence.

There was no wonder for these people about whether God was real.

This stuff is amazing and wonderful to me!

But that's still not my point.

Yesterday, i finished Genesis.

Exodus is next.

And i'm so disappointed.  I was enjoying Genesis so much, and i know that when i read Exodus, this beautiful family that i just fell in love with (again) is going to wander around in the wilderness for 40 years and make all sorts of mistakes, and i'm just not in the mood for the wilderness right now.

I know it's silly, but i'll feel like i did something wrong if i skip Exodus.

It's not like i made a commitment to anyone that i was going to read the Bible in this order.

But still, i feel obligated.

AND, i know that when i read it, i will learn all sorts of stuff i never saw the other times that i read it.

But still i have to prepare myself.

It would be easier if i didn't know what was coming.  More suspenseful and surprising and edge of your seat.

So, yes, in case you're disappointed, i said all that to tell you that i'm disappointed about finishing Genesis.

What a let down!

Sorry.

That's what i've got today.

I used to tell jokes like that when i was a little kid.  Jokes with tons of details and a ridiculous punchline that had nothing to do with the details.  I loved that.

But i didn't do this on purpose.

Though i love having a blog where i can write whatever ridiculous thing that comes to mind - and y'all love me enough to be interested enough to read it!

Ha!

And i love y'all too.

i know. i know.

What's with all the not-writing?  Right?

I'm not sure.  Having a little brain bog, i guess.

I thought i had something very clever to say several days ago, and after i read it, i couldn't publish it.  It wasn't clever.  It was a little stupid.

What's bogging up my brain?

Good things, really.

On the weekend, we collected 20 gallons of free pears, one gallon of free blueberries, two free chickens to add to our June 26th slaughter, and a shopping basket full of hurricane/random emergency supplies that weren't so free.

These are all really great things, and i'm very thankful.

But i got bogged down on getting everything put away (we have a pretty small house, you know), and while i'm working out those kinks, i'm having a hard time with creative thought.

In addition, i just sent 42 fertilized eggs to work with my hubby - which are to be traded to our customer for a large amount of fresh catfish (more stuff to put away).

Abundance is wonderful.  I am so thankful!  And now i need to get better at keeping up with the blessings.

Chickens and pears in the back of our truck.

Chickens and pears and supplies (see the Ramen noodles?).

Blueberries.  Yum.

Hurricane/random emergency supplies.  There's also a couple of other things in this picture that aren't necessarily emergency related.  But we bought them at the same time, and i like to take pictures of groups of stuff.

Of all this stuff, i have successfully stored only the blueberries.  I should get most of the supplies put away today, now that a couple of kinks have been worked out, and i have a place to put them.  But Saturday is being saved for a very hard working pear-processing day.

Some time ago, when i was having some physical problems in my body that the Lord has since healed, i was praying for myself.  I told the Lord that i want to get up early in the morning and work hard all day, and sleep thoroughly, and get up early the next morning and do it again.  I love working on my farm, and the Lord is answering my prayers.

I truly am thankful......and in a learning process.

Because i need to write, even if i don't have anything to say

There i go again, looking for other people's blogs to read, finding nothing, and then realizing i haven't written anything lately either.  So here i am.

I think i have a about a hundred blog posts in my head every week, about every little tiny weird little happening, and then i think a little further and realize that my every moment and thought is probably not good reading.

Oh well.

I guess it must be time for farm updates, and maybe i'll think of something interesting to say.

Rhodie, my red broody hen, hatched 9 beautiful little chicks yesterday, all of which will go to live elsewhere tomorrow.  Poor Rhodie.

I have two more broodies warming pine shavings (as though it weren't hot enough around here), and i have no place to put them to let them brood.  This is because my meat-destined chickens need to use the brooder to get fat so we can bring them to their destiny on the 26th.

I'm feeling kind of special about having a set and calendared date for doing something farm-oriented.  It makes me feel like we're getting somewhere, like we're official.  I mean, this is actually the kind of date that fills the calendar day.  If a family member or friend wants to get together on that date, we have to say, "no, sorry, we're slaughtering chickens that day."  And it's enough chickens that i feel somewhat justified that it will take a large portion of the day.  Honestly, 7 chickens shouldn't normally take that long for two people to process, but we're beginners, so we're taking the day.

My bunnies are getting less boring to me.  I'm learning about holding them and examining them and checking and treating for ear mites.  I'm also learning how to recognize when the boys are ready to be daddies (not yet, but soon).  I cannot wait to start breeding rabbits!  But i have to.  It's too bad.

What's left?  Dogs.

The other day i told you that Punkin was up for adoption.  That was, ironically, my darling punkin-lover's idea (to give her away).  But i noticed her benefit to the pack, made a plea on her behalf, and it is agreed that she will stay here until further notice.

I think that's about it for today's farm update.

I'll leave you with a good laugh.  My husband came across a funny post here, and according to this post, the following states still have the following (among many) out-dated, funny, or possibly misprinted, laws on the books.  I'll just share a few with you.  And yes, this is me, borrowing someone else's material to entertain you.  I'll try to be more original next time.

I'll start with Texas:

In Texas, it is illegal to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.

I'm sure glad about that.  Can you imagine?

In South Dakota, you're not allowed to lie down and go to sleep in a cheese factory.

I think there might be a problem with drooling on the cheese.  I'm not sure.

In Rhode Island, it is not permissible to bite off another person's leg.

I'm pretty sure that's out no matter where you live.

In Minnesota, you can get yourself in trouble if you paint a sparrow in order to pass it off as a parakeet and sell it.

Whew!  I'm glad they nipped that in the bud!

In Massachusetts, Gorillas are never allowed in the back seat of any car.

Personally, i think this is an excellent law!  I would never allow one in mine.

In Pennsylvania, it's illegal to sleep outdoors on top of a refrigerator.

That has to be uncomfortable anyway.

In Florida, if you tie your elephant to a parking meter, you still have to pay the same parking fee.

It's only fair.

In Indiana, (this one made my science-loving husband most incredulous), they've legislated math and decided that pi is equal to 4, instead of 3.14.

I had no idea they could do that.

Last, but not least (you'll have to read the actual article yourself for more good laughs), in California, you may not eat an orange while in the bathtub.

Remember that please!

About the Conversation Gene

You know how they say that women have some astronomical number of words they need to use in one day,while men have some tiny fraction of that number that they will use before they shut off for the day?

I don't know the numbers.  What i do know is that there is a common conception that women talk a lot, and men don't.

I know you've heard this.

Preachers and comedians, alike, make jokes about it.

It's on sitcoms.  They write books about it.  Whatever.

I know this concept is out there, but i simply don't relate.

I don't have the conversation gene.

I think that maybe, a few generations ago, the women in my family tree might have had the conversation gene.

But when my mother was born, my grandfather's anti-conversation gene was so strong that it all but collapsed the any hint of talkativeness among women in my family.  O.k., just me and my mom.

It's not that we don't like people.

It's not even so much that we don't want to talk to people.

It's more that we often just don't have anything to say.

We may feel that we are entirely involved in a group conversation because we're listening and considering everything being said.  We just don't find the need to talk about it.  I don't know why.

Now, i will admit that my father's conversation gene was pretty strong (also in contradiction to the words-per-day business).  It was just strong enough to allow me to have a slightly stronger inclination toward talking to people than my mother.  But i still have to work at it.

O.k.  let me tell you why i'm telling you this.

This past Sunday, i arrived at church fairly early because i thought i was expected to help with the children's ministry.  Turns out, i wasn't needed at all, so i got myself a cup of coffee and sat down in the lobby.

While i was sitting against the wall in a chair, sipping my coffee and looking very busy doing it, a friendly-looking young couple walked in 30 minutes or so early for church.  I don't think they had ever been to our church before - or at least i didn't recognize them.  There was a greeter at the door who i'm sure shook their hands and told them when church started, etc., but once they got past the greeter, they were kind of on their own.

There were regular church people there.  There was the coffee lady and the children's church lady and the sound booth guy and the nursery lady and all those people's kids - and couple more people.  And all of us, including me, were a little self-absorbed.  I'm just being honest here.

This nice couple stood in the foyer of our church quietly talking to each other and looking a little lost, while not one person managed to greet them.  I did, at one point, manage to catch the eye of the lady and squeak out a very weak, "hi," but that was it.

A few minutes passed.  Probably 15 minutes or so.  Still no one attempted to strike up conversation with these two.  And they grew weary of standing around feeling lost, and they left.

When i put it all together in my head and realized what had happened, i was ashamed and mournful.

My bashful meter had been turned way up, and i had allowed these two nice people to walk away from my church feeling snubbed, while i busily sipped my coffee.

Bashful's not from God, by the way.  Quiet can be from God.  Bashful, not so much.

I asked the Lord to forgive me, and a few minutes later when a different new couple walked in, i made sure to introduce myself and make them feel welcome.

And that got me thinking.  Maybe i could do more.  More to make sure that doesn't happen anymore.  My wheels are still turning on that, but my spirit is open to God about it.  I don't want anyone to ever feel snubbed in the house of God.  God's not a snubber.

One thing i need is practice.  I'm not feeling snubby.  I just have to work at conveying that.

Today, i was at the washateria, you know, washing teria, and i got a chance to practice.

I made eye contact with a wandering co-teria washer and said, "hi, how are you today?"

That was pretty simple, right?

Well, thankfully, this nice lady has inherited the conversation gene full tilt, and she carried the conversation from there.  We had a lovely conversation in fact.  I even remembered to introduce myself (first and last name) and remember her name as well.  I even know where she works and where i can possibly send some business that will benefit her family.

It's pretty important to be nice to people outside of church, not just inside, and i was pleased that the Lord showed His grace to me when i opened up my heart-- and my non-conversationalist mouth -- to HIM.

Grace for Goose, New Life, and Snake Bites

Goose has found a new home!  I am so pleased!  I know i told you this yesterday, but it really happened, and i am so very pleased.  Especially because for a moment, i thought it would not happen.

After i was contacted by a lovely woman who wanted my Goose, i isolated him for easy collection.  I told you that too.

What i didn't tell you is that this morning, i wanted him out of the brooder. This is because my darling Little Mama is hatching today, and i didn't want Goose mucking up the beauty.

So i collected him from the brooder and put him in a bird cage that was, frankly, a little too small.  Nevertheless, i put some food in there, surrounded it by random boards to darken it a little, and he sat down and was relatively calm.  Then, when i got the all important phone call that Goose's new mistress was arriving imminently, i decided to make sure Goose got a good drink before his ride to greener pastures.  The drinking went fine, but then, i thought i would take him out of the cage and hold him.  I don't know why.  I just thought i would do that.

Well, Goose didn't think so at all.  Somehow, Goose slipped, like a fish, right out of my fingers and took off.

Oh dread!  No, please.  Jesus, please help.  Help!

After a couple of failed attempts and a handful of well-earned tail feathers, i went inside and hurriedly asked my darling hero of a husband for his assistance.  He was cooking at the time, but dropped everything and came to my rescue.

In case you've never been in this predicament, it is much easier to catch a scared chicken with two people than with one.  That's just a little fyi.

Anyway, the Lord provided that Goose ran away from us - into the run - so we closed the door.  Hallelujah!

Then we were able to go inside and catch him, and Goose was still saved from the boiling pot in spite of himself.  Honestly, it was just as i was walking out of the run with a terrified Goose wrapped in my arms, that his new mistress drove up to our house.

Just in time!  Praise the Lord!

Meanwhile Little Mama, pictured here, and looking very serious, was hatching chicks.

I really never get tired of this.  It's so beautiful.  Everything about it is beautiful.  Little mama had hatched 6 chicks at 8 p.m. today.  I took a lot of these pictures just a few minutes ago in the dark, and it looks like she may have as many as 8 by now.  I'm very excited for morning.  I have to soak up all my chick cuddling tomorrow because all the new babies go to live at their new home on Monday.

Meanwhile also, Punkin, pictured here, got what appeared to be a snake bite!

Lucky for you, i didn't take this picture earlier.  You can still see a little swelling over there on your left, but earlier today, it was really really bad.  James went to the store to get her children's benadryl, and as some of you parents probably already know, it has been stripped from the shelves.  So Punkin had to wait it out, and she seems to be doing just fine.  Also, i took this picture at night.  Punkin's eyes aren't really those colors.

Poor girl.

Incidentally, Punkin is also now officially up for adoption (not because of the snake bite).  She's a beautiful, sweet, and smart dog, and we've decided that she would be happier with a different mix of dogs or with a family that could give her more one on one attention.  Here are some of her baby pictures.  Isn't she adorable?

This is how i can prove she was raised with chickens.  Just look at those cute little ears!  So cute!

She's a very smart dog, as i said, and would be easy to train and a great family dog for anyone who wanted to give her a home and put in a little time with her.

How Goose is Saved

A couple of days ago, when i was writing this post over on Chicken Chat, i realized it.

I realized that 3 weeks have finally almost already passed, and it's time to have a hatch!

Hatches are great!

And with this particular hatch, i'm going to make a little money, get my broody hens back to laying eggs more quickly, and prepare for our big summer slaughter (i'm sorry; that's just the way it is).

Also, i'm very pleased that my lowest-on-the-rooster-pole rooster, Goose, is not (provided and Lord willing these people come tomorrow) going to have to be part of the slaughtering party.

This is Goose.  He has been saved from the dumpling pot several times now.

First, he was scheduled to be butchered about 4 months ago, when he should have been looking about like he is now.  But, alas, Goose was very slow to mature and was still too small and gangly, and we didn't think he'd be worth it.  This, incidentally, is also when he got his name.  He was all neck, so i started calling him Goose.

Next, he finally started gaining a little size - though it still seemed that he would never actually grow up - and we knew it was time to butcher him if we were going to.  But frankly, i wasn't in the mood.  I had a lot going on...puppies, broodies, baby chicks.....  So, i called on my good friend Eva Joy, who was coming for a visit and agreed to transport Goose back to the home he originally came from, where he would be butchered by that family.  The plan was that i would do as i had done before when needing to catch a rooster - i would wait until he was in the coop for the night and use the opportunity to corner him and then isolate him someplace where he could easily be transported.  Well, Goose must've had a sense about the whole thing because that night, he refused to go in the coop, and when Eva came the next day, he was not to be caught.  Believe me.  We tried.

Now, this time.  As i said, it's coming time for a big (for us, anyway) slaughter of young roosters we've been raising for just that destiny.  And we knew that it was time to either go ahead and slaughter Goose or find him a home.  Thing is, he's getting old, AND my husband has some kind of a bad impression of Goose that makes him not even want to eat Goose.  So Goose would be slaughtered and fed to the dogs.

So today, while i was thinking about schedules and sales and slaughters and whatnot, i put ads on 5 different  online venues where i could advertise a FREE ROOSTER.

I can't tell you how excited i am that i got a response to ad number 4, from a lady who has one lonely pet hen who needs a companion.  Goose is going to be such a fat happy pet rooster!  He has grown to be such a beautiful and gentle guy, and i am absolutely pleased!  For the first time in his life, he'll be the only dude around.  He's going to be in rooster heaven.  Yay!

As soon as i got the email, i went outside and was able to walk directly up to Goose and pick him up.  No problems.  It's like he knew.  So he's hangin' out with my broodies for the night - and getting a nice meal - so that i can easily retrieve him in the morning when this wonderful person comes to take him to his new home. Yippeee!!

So, in conclusion, this weekend, Little Mama's chicks are hatching, and this week, Rhodie's chicks are hatching.  As soon as that's over, my little butcherees are going into the brooder to get fattened up so they'll be in shape for freezer camp.  And (for those of you who expressed an interest in watching the chaos) we'll plan to have a freezer camp party on probably (only pencils, for now) the 19th or the 26th of this month.

Maybe by then the bunnies will start doing what rabbits do best, and we'll be off and running with meat sovereignty.  But that's probably a different post.

It was a dark and stormy night...no really

Sometimes, when it storms like that, and it really did storm, i tend to lie in bed, periodically look out the window into the dark, and nervously beg God keep the forest from falling down on our house.

But last night, i didn't do that.  I looked outside (i have no idea what good it does to look out into the darkness, but i do it anyway), but i was never nervous.  I had the most perfect, restful peace.  God is so good.  Sometimes i strive for peace when my nervous flesh gets in the way, but this time, it was just there.  Perfectly still and beyond understanding.

I am thankful for all the rain.  We really needed it.  Though i am disappointed that i won't get to mow today, i'll get over it.  I am sure our garden is loving all the moisture.

I really enjoy mowing.  I don't know if this is a disorder of some kind, but i really like it.  And God has blessed me with a yard that is just the right size to make so that i could mow every single day, if i were able.  Eventually, i'll get to the end of it, and the beginning will desperately need to be mowed again.  What fun!

See, it's not that i don't like exercise, it's that i don't like pointless exercise.  I love getting something done!  So mowing and raking and picking up sticks.....that's for me.  And God knows it.

I got lots of mowing and stick burning done yesterday, and i had intended to do more today, but even if it were dry enough (and i wanted to mow badly enough) to go out there now, i still couldn't because the weather predictors seem to feel it's going to rain most of the day - after ten anyway.  So there you go.  I guess i'll just have to finish those plums and clean my house.  Then i might see if i can think of a way to de-stain my hands, though i'm not holding out much hope for that one.

Later folks...hope you enjoyed this morning's rambling thoughts about dark and stormy nights and happy mowing.

Bounty

Bounty.  I love bounty.  I love the look of bounty.  Isn't it nice!

Last week, one evening, my fruit picker went to spend time with friends and came home with bags and buckets of fruit!  Woohoo!  One of his friends has fruit trees bearing fruit that he is apparently not interested in.  Lucky me.  

We got all these plums.

And this little pile of peaches.

Delicious!

Today, i spent most of the day skinning and pitting these fruits and putting them in the freezer.  The plum juice is super dark red, and it stained every little imperfection, scar, scratch, or anything that it touched on my hands - a really dark purple.  This particular color of dark purple, incidentally, looks a lot like dirt.  Haha.  Oh well.  I'm about 2/3 of the way finished, so there's no point in getting hysterical about making my hands look clean at this point.

I tried to take a picture of my filthy looking hands for you, but the picture didn't come out very good.  Sorry.

It's a wonderful blessing to earn food by working for it (picking and preparing and getting your hands dirty).  And it feels more rewarding too.  This evening, i am much smarter than i was this morning in terms of how to blanch and skin these fruits.  My brain is more active, and i have a new skill.  And i got it all for free....not to mention the wonderful treats that await us in the freezer.  I will have to make something delectable out of them at some point, but for now they are safely freezing until i am ready for them.