framing fowl -daily living

[framing fowl]

KC, hope you're feeling better after Christmas! Aren't Dads and 30-06's just great?

Just little snippets of news here since Christmas.

I had 13 moles removed on Monday so was a little under the weather but feeling much better today. Got the u-joint fixed on my car so it's running good again (1991 Subaru with 220k miles). Brought all of our emergency supplies in the house from the garage to inventory later today.

My 2 adult chickens have given me 7 eggs in the last 5 days. They took a rest this fall to molt. My 3 Barney's are getting reddened combs and wattles and are 20 weeks so they will lay any day. Let the 7 babies out for awhile yesterday afternoon in the sunshine and they loved it! Will let them out again later today. They're much smaller at 6 weeks than my last chicks. Probably because of the cold and because I've had to keep them in an enclosed pen rather than the tractor. One's a polish cross and sooo cute as those little head feathers come in!

Went to the library yesterday and got my copy of Nourishing Traditions. No wonder it's been suggested as a reference book. There is no way to absorb all of that info in a 3 week loan period. It's something to refer to on an ongoing basis!

Today is going to be spring cleaning and putting items for sale on craigslist and e-bay. Time to take down the lights and put the tree out...

 

[framing fowl]

Happy New Year! Got some things listed on craigslist yesterday and 2 went out the door for an extra $105 in our pocket! Urban Foraging this past week netted a good condition hose reel on wheels that retails for $60 that hopefully I can get $20 for later this spring. Got the tree out and front room cleaned up.

Went through all of our emergency/camping supplies, inventoried and tested everything. Included in no particular order are 2 Coleman camp stoves, camp shovel, 2 glowlight sticks, matches, can opener, cooking and eating utensils, dishes, whetstone, knives, candles, razor blades, pliers, rasp, fishing line, rope, gloves, hatchet, saw, folding camp shovel, Kerosene lantern, emergency crank radio, 2 LED windup flashlights, 1 large flashlight, 1 regular flashlight & extra batteries, bandages, gauze, antibiotic ointment, bag balm, hydrogen peroxide, and portable water filtration system. I think it will do for us in the event of a power outage/ice storm type situation. I would like to look at getting an LED lantern that runs on batteries for light in the house rather than run the risk of running the kerosene lantern.

Got my seed orders in, everything heirloom varieties. Pole Beans, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, red cabbage, cukes, lettuce mix, melons, sugar snap peas, spaghetti squash, paste tomatoes, carrots, basil, onion sets, cilantro, and oregano. Now I need to inventory all my boards I've been gathering to calculate my beds and figure out how many yards of soil mix I'll need. Then that needs to go into the yearly budget later tonight.

Good day for chickens today! Woke up to Cedric crowing (or croaking was more like it) Then gathered 3 eggs this afternoon which means one of my Barneys is starting to lay!

 

[framing fowl]

I'm having the winter doldrums...

I'm reading Winter Harvest by Eliot Coleman, Self-Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour, and Nourishing traditions, depending on what mood I'm in. I'm focusing more on planning menus and have a weeks worth written on the calendar.

I made my first meal using homegrown chicken the other day and it turned out delicious.

One of my new budget restraints is limiting myself to 1 starbucks coffee/month. Y'all were driving me crazy the other day when you were talking about it! So I had my one for the month on Tuesday when I went back to work. Enjoyed every sip of it. I must be living right because Wednesday my boss treated me to one. Yesterday a client brought me one, and today another client brought me one! It's crazy! How much good luck can a girl have???

Modern Pioneer got me thinking with his reflections. What good is winter? It is a time of cleansing in nature. A time for the ground to lie fallow in preparation to receive the seed. It is a reminder to trust because of the truth that Spring is around the corner. I have a hard time with trust, it is part of my SS journey. Trust and allowing my heart to lie fallow, without striving and worry, cleansing and allowing the truth to sink in before the seeds are planted. To just be rather than do.

 

[Farmfresh]

In tune with that thought what good is snow? Snow is called by the old farmers "poor man's fertilizer"! Snow allows the minerals to seep deep into the earth and actually improve the soil by its freezing and thawing processes.

We got to think positive at this time of the year!

 

[framing fowl]

Farmfresh, yes there is literal goodness in winter and snow isn't there?

I've been contemplating these two sentences by Wendell Berry: "They are like farmers loafing in their own fields on Sunday. Though they have no Sundays, their days are full of Sabbaths." From the Art of the Commonplace.

Hey, speaking of old farmers almanac... I have an old handbook of weatherlore from 1873. It has different quotes and festivals for the days and season. It also references ancient manuscripts and what they have to say about the weather. Well, in 1596 the Digges' "Prognostication Everlasting of ryghte goode Effect" lists the different attributes of the year based on what day of the week is New Year's Day. Apparantly "On Friday, winter stormie: summer scant and pleasnat: harvest indifferent: little store of fruite: plentie of honey: yet flesh shall be deare: cattell in general shall die: great trouble, warres, &c.; with a licencious life of the feminine sexe."

Then there are also the Head or Chief Days where the first twelve days predict the following weather for the months. Fascinating!

 

[framing fowl]

Crunched the numbers on our electric bill. Trying to figure out if it is more economical to upgrade our dryer which is from the 70's and only has an on/off. No temp controls. Realized that in order to buy a used $200 dryer, I would have to save about $10/month every month for 2 years to pay for it. Okay, probably stick with what I've got.

Revisited the "crunchy shorts" incident with MyT Man and realized that he doesn't have to have his clothes dried in a dryer, just not on an indoor clothesline He's going to put up an outdoor clothes line for me this spring when the ground is softer! Apparently clothes dried in this manner do not offend his sensibilities because the breeze blows them soft...

Other thoughts on our electric bill, convert all incandescent to led lights as they burn out, put the tv/vcr/dvd player on power strip. Not sure what else to do on that front. Our average usage is 490 kWh/month.

Tonight and tomorrow night I'm fixing up some meals to stick in the freezer for MyT Man. I'm flying back home to visit my family in Montana for a week!!! And I thought KY was cold! I'm really excited about this visit because I haven't been back for almost 5 years.

 

[framing fowl]

Kinda quiet around here compared to the rest of y'all.

Had a great visit with my folks, brother, and sister! My brother taught us how to play pinochle. We pretty much hung out, played games, and ate, and talked and talked! Helped Dad with the horse and cow chores. Was amazed constantly by the sky. It truely is Big Sky Country. My sister got her first puppy while I was there. A corgi/black lab cross.

Made eggs for breakfast yesterday and had our first fertilized one. Today I'm making a list of this year's projects and putting them in order.

 

[justusnak]

Welcome home! Sounds like you had a great visit with your parents, and family. Sitting around, eating, playing games, talking...Ahhhh....thats my kind of visits.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Not much goin' on here today, either. It's coming a flood, tho, and I have two boys that are sick...so, cleaning up sick kids, vegging out, and listening to the rain. lol

Glad you're back home safe and sound! Glad you had a nice visit, too.

 

[TanksHill]

Glad to hear you had a nice visit.

Welcome Home!!!

gina