The Post Hundreds

Do you smell it?

Can you close your eyes and foresee it?

Can you feel it on your skin?

I think.

I hope.

I'm ready just to whisper it.

There might be an autumn at the end of this summer.

It must be.

It hasn't been 100 degrees outside for like a week.

Is this the post-hundreds?

I thought it might never come.

The Week That Went "POOF" and Was Gone!

This is the weirdest week.  It's like it didn't even happen.

On Saturday morning, i helped with childcare for a special meeting at my church.
On Sunday morning, i helped with childcare for a regular meeting at my church.
On Monday morning, i had jury duty, which took up about as much of my time as if i had gone to church.

By Monday evening, i was feeling funny and sniffling a little, after which i went into a fog of head-achey, sniffly, coughing, fevery, sleepy discomfort, from which i awoke this morning.

I also missed church on Wednesday - and thus, choir practice.

About an hour ago, i realized that tomorrow is Friday.

Can i get my week back anyone?  I think i missed it.



Updates from before and during the fog:

Jury Duty:  I was not picked to serve on this case, and i was thankful for God's mercy because this was a case the details of which i would have very much wished to forget.  I was doubly thankful when i got sick - that i was not sick and in jury service.

Chicks:  Did you know i was hatching chicks this week?  Well, they didn't hatch early like they normally do, so for a moment, i thought i had somehow killed all 24 eggs.  It turned out that this batch was right on time, and i successfully hatched (by God's great miracle of heat applied to egg makes chicken; how weird is that?) 23 chicks out of 24 eggs.  This is an outstanding hatch rate, and i am super pleased!  I also plan to start 24 more eggs in the incubator tomorrow.

Outside chicks:  Through a series of mishaps and predator attacks, some known and some unknown, the population of my broody's hatch has shrunk from 8 to 3.  I am displeased, but happy about the remaining three.

Edgar:  You know, the young rooster who so sweetly protected his hatchmate, Lily and then miraculously escaped his date with the butcher's hatchet?  Well, i'm thinking and considering that i just might keep him!  I'm practical, don't forget, so i have a reason.  Edgar is a cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster (featured in this post after the tacos) and a Buff Orpington hen (like the one telling Rocky secrets in that same post, after the tacos).  This cross gave him (and a female in my flock) the most beautiful terra cotta color with flashes of bright, metallic orange.  If you know me - like in person - you might also know that these colors are irresistibly beautiful to me, so i'm considering giving a try to breeding that color on purpose - in my chickens.  I have no idea what i'm doing, but i'm just curious enough - and delighted with this color enough - to give it a shot.

Pictures:  Where are the pictures that should go with all these updates?  Well, they're in my camera, and besides, update posts like this rarely get pictures that relate to the content.  For example, here is a picture of Rocky or one of his brothers, when he was very awkward and teenagery looking.

Adorable!

Happy Honey Bee Day!

 

You didn't even know today was a holiday, did you?

Well, it is.  It's National Honey Bee Awareness Day.  Are you aware of Honey Bees?  Hmm?  Hmm?

No seriously, are you?

Honey bees are one of the absolutely most important creatures on this earth.  As in, if they went extinct, we probably would too, important.

Now, i'll tell you something else you probably didn't know.  Honey Bee Day has it's own website.  nhbad.com

How 'bout that!

And if you'd like to help support honey bees and not inadvertently kill them off and cause the extinction of mankind, you can check out this page about what non-beekeepers can do to support the healthy population of honey bees in our world.

Seriously, please support the honey bees and the beekeepers.  They're very important!

Jury Duty

Back in the days when my daily occupation involved dressing up nice, interacting with people, and getting bi-monthly checks for my trouble, i did so at the local courthouse where i used to live.  During my 7 years working for the county, i learned a lot about the legal system, from the inside.  I was one of those clerkish types at a counter or on the phone for several years.  Then i was one of the clerkish types sitting next to one of several judges during court.  And then for the last year and half or so, i was one of the clerkish types working in a specific judge's office, appearing in court to deal with criminal defendants and lawyers, scheduling court dates, making important phone calls, and generally doing the judge's bidding.

But never, in all those years of watching proceedings and shuffling papers and typing information, did i get to serve on a jury.  I've gotten an inside view of many different aspects of legal proceedings - but never this one.  I talked to, instructed, and fed lots of jurors, but never was one.

On Monday, i have jury duty in my current county.

I'm pretty excited.

I really hope i get to serve on a jury - just hopefully not a capital murder.  I'm not up for deciding if someone lives or dies this week.

Now, i have told a couple people that i have jury duty, and i have received in response, a look of sympathetic disappointment and near-pity.

And this is where i must take a small step up to my soap box, so you can hear me clearly.  Christians should be eager to contribute integrity to our legal system.  How silly of us to leave the demise of our peers in the hands of people who may or may not believe in any level of integrity and then complain that the justice system is corrupted.  Stepping down now.  Just sayin'.

So i'm excited.

I'm also nervous.

I can't decide what to wear, and i'm hoping that my chicks will be o.k. while i'm not able to check on them every five minutes.

Oh, i'll be so disappointed if they cancel it.

 I hope i get picked (as long as it's not a capital murder).
 I hope i get picked (as long as it's not a capital murder).
 I hope i get picked (as long as it's not a capital murder).

The New Thirty-Five

Today is my mama's birthday!

I'm not going to reveal her calendar age, but whatever it is, it's the new 35.

Next week, i turn calendar 35, so i'm probably like 15 or something.  I'll let you know.

In honor of my mama's birthday, and because it was calling my name, i used some leftover scrumptuous yard bird to make myself a chicken salad sandwich.  So yummy!

This is a pretty rare occasion in my world because my darling dislikes almost every mayonnaise-based food.  I LOVE mayonnaise-based food, and i have missed chicken salad sandwiches.

When i was a younger girl, my mama would cook a whole chicken and then used the breast meat, which no one (to my memory) at our house ever ate, to make chicken salad.  There would be a big bowl of it in the fridge, and we could have some with crackers, or on toast, or sometimes secretly by the oh so yummy spoonful.

Sadly, i'm not sure i've made chicken salad at all since i left home.  So this is a truly momentous event in my home. I used home-grown chicken and home-grown eggs.  And it is scrumptuous!  And there's enough left for another sandwich!  Maybe tomorrow.  The nice thing about having a mayo-hating spouse, is that i get to have all the chicken salad to myself!

Happy 35th birthday, Mom!  Thank you for chicken salad and fried egg sandwiches and a host of good feelings of being loved and cared for by a spectacular show-piece of a mom!

Muah!

Because the cuteness is just too much!

And here's a group shot.  Aren't they adorable!  I never get tired of baby chicks.

My relaxing, three day long Saturday

I have a few extra minutes this morning, so i can post before church.

Yesterday felt like three days.  Three good days.  It was so lovely.

The alarm went off at 6am - on SATURDAY - so you're not expecting a relaxing day, right?  Well, we got up early to get ready for slaughter and all that, and i told you how that went yesterday.  But then we were finished and completely cleaned up by like 10:00.

Unexpectedly, my darling decided to make the most wonderful lunch.  He went to the store and bought corn tortillas and on-sale avocados to make corn chips and guacamole.  Yum!  I combined mine with some hamburger meat and cheese for some unusual nachos, and they were wonderful!

After all that, we were both sleepy and full as ticks, so we took a nap!  It really was the most peaceful day!

That was day two of yesterday.

After i woke up, and my hubby was still sleeping, i got it in my head that i wanted to get some pictures of Rocky.  You know Rocky, my one prize rooster (not that he's won any prizes; he's just a special treasure to me), the one who faithfully watches over the flock, never acts aggressively toward anyone, including small children who walk up and smack him.  And he stands regally and authoritatively, prince and protector of the hen yard, watching for danger, so he can warn his hens.

And i didn't have any really good pictures of him.  I still don't, but i gave it a few good tries.

Here's Rocky, walking away from me.  But look at those beautiful colors!

Here's Rocky being told a secret by a pretty girl.

Here's what might have been a really good picture if my lens hadn't suddenly fogged up.

And here's Rocky, doing his job and watching over his ladies while they eat their dinner, 

without a care in the world.

A good rooster, i have learned, is a priceless commodity to a (or at least this) chicken farmer.  And i got a really excellent one on my first try.  I am truly blessed.

After stalking Rocky for a while, i went back to bothering Mathilde and her chicks in the brooder, but i didn't take any new pictures of anything but their wings.  And that's kind of boring, so i'll spare you.

Well, that's all for now.  Happy Sunday!

Edgar's Great Escape and The Circle of Life

I think you're going to love this.

About a month ago, i told you about the darlings, Lily and Edgar in A Story About Two Little Chicks.  In the comments of that post, some of you protested the upcoming fulfillment of Edgar's destiny (dinner).

Today, as i foretold, was our Second Summer Slaughter 2010 (SSS'10).  And Edgar was on the schedule to join his peers in that great big freezer in my house.

(*Warning, this is the part where i share some slaughter details.*)

I wasn't there, so the details are a little hard for me to describe.  But from what i understand, this is how it happened.  It was Edgar's turn at the hatchet.  The slaughter-master, still perfecting his method and having some trouble with an inferior hatchet, decided to put Edgar in the killing cone, a.k.a. empty bleach bottle nailed to a tree, and use the knife like we used to.  So he put Edgar down in the cone, pulled his head through the hole in the bottom, and prepared to cut the jugular vein.  At that moment, it occurred to the slaughter-master that he wouldn't have to use the jugular method (which we don't like because it doesn't appear to kill instantly).  Why not just go ahead and break his neck?   That would be faster.  So, giving a little too much credit to the stability of the killing cone, the slaughter-master took hold of Edgar's head and gave it one quick yank to break his neck.  But instead, the killing cone gave way.  The slaughter-master, thinking that Edgar's neck was broken in spite of the failing killing cone, let go of Edgar's head, leaving the killing cone and Edgar on the ground, free of restraints.  Then, Edgar, seeing his chance for life and freedom, sucked his head back out of the hole, did a cartwheel inside of the bleach bottle, and escaped out the wide end of the killing cone,  into the woods before the slaughter-master could do anything to stop him.

(*Slaughter details ended.*)

For those of you who didn't read the slaughter details paragraph, the non-gory version is that Edgar, in an unlikely maneuver, narrowly escaped death at the hand of the slaughter-master, and now basks happily in the woods, apparently unharmed.

Ok, in this picture, he isn't exactly basking.  But that's because he's keeping such a close eye on me.  He was basking before i walked up.  And do you notice who's company he's keeping?  Yes, that's right, over on the right hand side of the picture - is Lily.  How entirely sweet!

*******

Thankfully, the other boys were not as crafty and are now cleaned and wrapped in my fridge.

I feel really good about today.  Today, for the first time, we have harvested food from chickens that we produced.  What i mean is, these are chickens that were hatched here, brooded under our own hens, raised with our chickens, free ranging and foraging.  Their feed (other than the range) was paid for by eggs and chicks that we sold.  They're free food!  They're hard work food.  This is a little piece of what we mean by food sovereignty.  And i love seeing and participating in God's design for (for lack of a better term) the "circle of life."

Speaking of the circle of life, Mathilde, my broody hen, now sits beautifully with 8 brand new baby chicks.

This is a really good day.

Short post

For inquiring minds, a quick update.

My broody chicken started hatching sometime today, while i wasn't paying any attention.  And she's still hatching cute little babies as we speak.  She had 11 eggs as of yesterday, one sweet baby hatched, then somehow died, so there are 10 possible hatches to oogle over tomorrow.

And now i'm going to bed so i'll be fresh in the morning for our Second Summer Slaughter (SSS'10).

The Coldspring Celebration Mass Choir

Recently, my church started having choir practice for anyone who wants to be involved.  We meet on Wednesday's an hour before church and practice for 45 minutes or so, usually.

This is one of the highlights of my week.

I don't know exactly why, but i have always loved choir practice.  I don't care if we ever sing in front of anyone or not.  I love the practicing part.  I want it to last longer than it ever does, and i want it to take place more often than it ever does.

Singing praises with other folks who want to sing praises is just grand fun.  I can't help it.

We've been singing for about a month, i think.  I think we started out with 6-10 people.

The music minister who's leading us, one night, called us The Coldspring Celebration Mass Choir.

This past Wednesday, there were three of us.

The other woman, faithful to sing in the choir, besides me, has been singing on stage with the Sunday morning worship leader for as long as i've been going to this church.  I just found out this past week or so, that she was the last remaining member of what a Sunday morning choir that was started and dwindled before i was a part of this church.  But she decided to pray for God to send others and to stand and sing, even if she was the only one.  And there she is every single Sunday, singing on stage behind the worship team - and without a microphone, the one woman choir.

This week, i decided i'm not going to let her stand alone anymore.  The Sunday worship leader has made it known that he would like the Wednesday choir members to join my friend on Sundays too.  So, i'll be part of the two-woman choir.  And i'll pray and believe with my faithful friend, for God to build us into The Coldspring Celebration Mass Choir.

How awesome would that be?

Deep Fried Cayenne Peppers

This is another dish that is made from our fresh homemade ingredients, and it makes my hubby so happy about dinner that he can't stand himself.  It's pretty easy.  Here's what you do.

Start with your collection of fresh, still green, cayenne peppers.

Cut off the tips and slice them in half.

Clean out all the insides and wash.

You can do double duty for your chickens by saving the insides in a bowl.  

But  please, be smarter than me and wear some gloves, unless you want your fingers to feel like this when you're done.

Next is the batter:  In a mixing bowl, pour one cup of milk.

Separate three large eggs.  You only need the whites for this recipe, but if you save the yolks in the fridge (wrapped tightly, of course), you can have extra yolky eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

Add the egg whites.

One tablespoon of vinegar.  Mix that and set aside.

In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup of flour and one teaspoon of salt.

Dip the washed cayenne pepper pieces in the wet

And then the dry.

Be sure to get them completely coated.  You could double dip this (back into the wet mixture and then the dry again) for a thicker batter.  Then remove excess flour with a small strainer.

Then into the oil!

The peppers will rise to the top of the oil when ready.  They cook pretty fast, so don't go anywhere.  Then serve to your favorite deep fried pepper lover!

Again, please, wear gloves.  While not typing, i'm desperately clutching a frozen orange juice container for relief.  That oil is powerful!

Here's your ingredient list:

A couple cups of fresh, green, cayenne peppers.

1/2 cup of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

3 egg whites

1 tablespoon of vinegar

hot oil for frying in skillet or deep fryer

That's all folks!

P.S.  Since i made this with peppers from our garden and eggs from our chickens, i'm entering this post in this months Grown Your Own Round-up.  I will let you know when it's published so you can see all the other recipes that are entered.

Footprints in the Paint and Last Respects

Ironically, after all that drama about the heat and summer hibernation and whatnot, i got a burst of energy (and i think the temperature dropped a tiny bit), and i've been working outside for the past two days.  Hallelujah! I really enjoy working outside, so this has been very refreshing.

I think i am about to have chicks coming out of my ears, and my beautiful outdoor brooder has been unfit for habitation.  So, i really needed to do something about it.  Yesterday, i got it cleaned out and hosed out and left to dry.  Today i sprayed it for bugs, got the floor painted (or more like soaked with globs of paint) and the linoleum cut to size and nailed down (they're chickens; they don't mind the nails).  I don't know why that level of accuracy didn't occur to me when i painted and linoleumed the brooder the first time.  Maybe i was in a hurry.  But i'm very happy to have it done now.

It's a good thing it's a chicken brooder and not something i don't really want footprints in.

Silly girls.  I ought to call them the inspectors.  They really can't stand to leave anything alone.  Haha!

In other news, this Saturday is our second (and i assume final) summer slaughter for 2010.  I am very sad to report that my dearly loved and treasured Magnus will be among those led to the slaughter.

Sadly, Magnus has proven that he is unwilling to be rehabilitated and that he will continue to attack children and adults alike if they happen to look in the wrong direction while he's around.  Thus, i must keep my word and keep my home safe and have Magnus for dinner.  Mean ol' Magnus!

Joining Magnus in his ultimate destiny will be

Little Guy

The Red Guy

Junior

and Edgar

And after we empty the rooster pen of these guys, the circle of life will continue as Mathilde hatches her little babies and gets to spend her days in the pen with her darling little ones.

Mathilde with her potential young

That's all for now.  Stay tuned for Deep Fried Cayenne Peppers!

I think i've kind of decided

Today was the most brutal day.

Well, the weather was brutal.  And its effect on me was brutal.  It was one of those days when i can't seem to get cooled down no matter what i do.  Like someone put a rubber suit on me to keep me hot, even though the air conditioner is blasting its very expensive wind at me.  I just couldn't get cool.

So while i was outside trying to keep my animals from expiring in the heat (a.k.a. filling waterers) and looking around at all the work i need to get done but can't bear to withstand the heat to do, i think i kind of decided that i should (this is probably the most indecisive statement ever) treat our summer like northerners (or other people who experience actual winter) treat the winter.  I haven't really done it; i've just read about it.  But i hear that they get lots of work done during the good weather and then stop for winter.  No one feels bad for not getting their outdoor work done while there are 3 feet of snow on the ground.  They wait for the snow to melt and the temperatures to return to something acceptable, and then they get back to work.

I think i kind of decided that's what i'm going to do about summer.  Clearly i have to go out there and keep my animals alive and that sort of thing.  And my loving gardener (husband) will have to grow things.  And we'll probably need to mow the yard now and then (if we don't get enough goats to take care of that for us).   But other than that, i'm going to stop feeling bad about not getting enough yard work done while the daily temperature is over 100.  When you have to wait for 8pm to get down to 95 degrees, well, that's just ridiculous.

You would think i would be used to this by now, but i've never been a farmer before.  It's different.

See this?  This is Punkin.  She's setting a good example - about taking it easy in the heat - and about what i should do right now, which is going to bed.  Good night!

My VERY Exciting News

I have to start by warning you.

This morning when i told my friend, Meredith, about my "VERY exciting news," i realized that the things that are "VERY Exciting" to me don't necessarily ring home with others.  Thus i must apologize if i unnecessarily got your hopes up about my VERY Exciting News.  You might not be quite as very excited as i am.

Secondly, i need to tell you that this evening was very sultry, that is the weather outside, was very sultry.  So i imagined that i would tell you a story that starts with, "It was a thick and sultry Monday dusk..."  I have to admit that my sultry intro doesn't really go with my VERY exciting news, but i might give it a shot anyway.  Here goes.

*******

My VERY Exciting News on a Sultry Monday Dusk

by Beth Rogers

It was a thick and sultry Monday dusk in Rogers Country.  A thick layer of sweat smothered my brow as i finished my evening chores and returned to the kitchen.  My handsome husband was hauling in animal feed while i stopped to admire the newest welcome addition to the Rogers Country food sovereignty objective.

A Meat Grinder!

Squeals of delight erupted from the Rogers kitchen, dispelling the suffocating atmosphere.  The birds began once again to sing, and the squirrels returned to play, as i dreamed of the home made duck sausage and deer burgers that would  be part of our future at Rogers Country.  We put our new treasure to immediate use, by grinding 11 pounds of discount brisket, into 12 packages of ground beef.  Our dream, beginning slowly, is taking shape.

THE END

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BEGINNING

*Disclaimer:  Some of the details of the preceding story have been modified, twisted, or fabricated for the entertainment of the writer, and possibly also the reader (you be the judge).  The presence of the meat grinder, the sultry night air, the handsome husband, and the ground brisket are all based entirely on fact.

*******

This has been my VERY exciting news.

Who HAS it this good?

Today was pay day/grocery day.

I love that my husband likes to cook.

Yes, those two things are related, along with the next seemingly unrelated statement.

Seemingly unrelated statement #3:  This week, my husband's workplace was cleaning out the shop, and somehow from that, he inherited a perfectly functional and sturdy -- though rusty looking on the outside -- barbecue grill that is probably large enough to hold two briskets (*i misspell this word "briscuit" every time*).

Normally on payday Fridays, my love brings home dinner for me so i don't have to cook.  Today, he decided to buy meat and come home and grill it for me.  Nice.

I'm pretty sure he also wanted to try out his new grill.  Whatever.

He had purchased charcoal at the grocery store but underestimated how much he would need for this grill, so he had to go back to the store for charcoal and then ended up adding some oak from our yard to the fire.  (***Incidentally, this "new" grill solves my quest to save up oak wood ashes for making lye!  Major awesome!***)  Then since we had such a large amount of heat, we decided to go ahead and grill most of the meat he had purchased at the store, i.e., 15 or so porch chops (they were on sale) and two packages of sausage.  After we ate our carnivore dinner and put away the enormous amount of leftovers (so now i don't have to cook for like a week!), we saw that the grill was still hot and burning away and decided to get more meat to cook on it.  (Score!)  So my grocery shopper extraordinaire went back and picked up ground beef for burgers, more on sale pork chops, and ..... oh, i just realized i have to save the other really awesome big thing for Monday. So stay tuned for that.

So at the end of this evening, we (meaning mostly my husband) have also grilled 5 pounds worth of the best burgers you have ever eaten, and we have 5 or 6 more pork chops in the fridge to be grilled in the morning.  We're going to start using oak wood to grill, and then, as i said, i'll have lots of ashes to start making lye.

I love this grill.

Anyway, i'm here to brag about my husband who just essentially cooked dinner for the next three weeks (at least).  Who has it this good?  Me.  Just me.  And it is SO good.  Yum.

We can certainly conquer it!

The book of Numbers chapter 14, in the Old Testament of the Bible, records part of the story of the Israelite's travels in the wilderness, before they came to live in the Promised Land.

At one point, 12 men were sent to see about this promised land and report back to the people.  The twelve men who came back reported giant grapes, milk, honey, and giant men.  Ten of the men were discouraged.  They forgot their God and announced to the people and to Moses that there was no way they could conquer this promised land.

Two men, Caleb and Joshua, believed that if their God was for them, no giant could stand against them.

They told the people, "if God is on our side, those giants are helpless against our attack!"  (my paraphrase)

And they were right.  They had God's vision in their eyes because they looked at the world around them through the filter of God's promises.  They knew their God was bigger than what their eyes could see and their human minds could contrive.

Caleb said, "We can certainly conquer it!"

Because of their faith, Caleb and Joshua were the only two of their generation of all the millions of Israelites who were delivered from Egypt by God's mighty hand, who actually got to enter the Promised Land, including Moses.

I want to be like Caleb.

Even though the people, in their fear, wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua for believing God, they stood strong.

"We can CERTAINLY conquer it!"

How horrible to do all that wandering in the desert just to come up short.

All in all, God asks something very simple of us.  Believe Him.  Thats what pleases Him.

"We can certainly conquer it!"

Our Southern Winter

In the north, there is a sort of time of stillness in areas where it snows a lot in the winter.  The winter, at some point, just gets so deep and cold and unbearable that everyone hides in their homes and waits for spring.

This is Texas.  And we have reached our southern winter.  It has come to the time of the year when it just gets so hot outside that everyone hides in their homes and waits for a cold front - or possibly a hurricane.  We look forward to the evening, when it cools down to ninety degrees or so, so we can go outside and do some chores.

One day last week, it was only 85 at noon, and i thought it was a lovely, cool summer day.

It's kind of the same.

Thankfully, my chickens are troopers and have not let up on the egg-laying.

But our poor garden plants.  The cucumbers couldn't take it anymore, and they were pulled up this evening.  My stevia plant, which was looking quite lovely, has simply shriveled before i knew what was happening.

The okra plants (which are basically okra trees at this point) are still holding out.  But they do sport a few suspicious brown leaves.

The peppers are finally going gangbusters.  Apparently they like the ridiculous heat!  I have no idea what i'm going to do with that many cayenne peppers.

It's summer.  The deathy part of summer.  The part of summer when your electric bill seems to double, but you can't bear to turn off the a/c.  The part of summer when the feel of the air outside brings images of cracked desert ground, and you thank God for trees that bring shade and the vague memory of rain.

In case you've been wondering about our weather.

It's summer.