This holiday weekend commemorates the economical and social contributions of workers. Salute to the great American work force.

Purple Hull Peas

 

Can't you just taste them now! Purple hull peas with cornbread. My favorite. That is what we are having for dinner tonight. It seems that as an adult, I am making up for lost time, because now I can't get enough of beans. I can't imagine my life without them, dried, canned, fresh, black, white, speckled. They are all good in my book. Not until I became a cook did I have the experience of shelling fresh beans and then cooking them up, learning of their tender and quick cooking nature. Purple Hull Peas will always have a place in my garden. Happy eating!

To The Majority Of People Eggshells Are Simply Trash

But to me they are surprisingly useful. I personally get a big kick out of finding uses for things people normally throw away. Use the shell's membrane as an all natural bandage. I need that for my three incisions I have from my emergency surgery. Good Deal!  The membrane of the shell is reported to help promote healing in cuts and scratches. Boil the eggshells in your coffee. It reduces bitterness in the coffee. Toss them in the compost pile. Sprinkle the shells around your garden to deter pests. Give your tomatoes a calcium boost. Last, but not least EAT THEM. Yes, I know. I never claimed to be normal. There are awesome amounts of calcium in eggshells. 

Deadly Things You Should Not Feed Your Chickens

Okay, okay... So the title is a little dramatic. It's really not a sin to feed your chickens these things, and not all of them are deadly, but I couldn't resist the title. But, I figured I needed to do some research into what is healthy and not so healthy when it comes to feeding chickens, since I LOVE to give my girls table scraps. In fact, it feels absolutely bizarre to me when I am at someone's house and I watch them throw celery tops, broccoli stems, or banana peels in the trash. That's valuable stuff at my house! But never feed your chickens citrus. It makes their shells soft. Avocado's are not suggested, just as chocolate, and tomato foliage. Just a little list for you bloggers out there to follow. Enjoy your chickens. They are precious birds. One of God's creatures.

Friday Surprise

Thursday night was spent in pain the whole night. To wake up to more pain and vomiting. To make a long story short my Appendix were infected and they had to come out. What an experience! I have never ever had an operation before. Needless to say it was an experience. All's well that ends well. I am recouping and looking forward to getting back to work as usual.  

A Chicken Keeping Life

 Roosters in there beginning box

 Hens and roosters getting to know each other

Introducing new hens to an existing flock can be challenging. The most important peace making technique is to allow the birds to see one another, and even be in the same space together, without having physical access to one another. This will allow them to work out the pecking order through subtler cues. Each chicken will have a different response to the newcomer. Some breeds are very easy going. As you can see from the pictures my hens are doing great. I am really pleased with the transition.   

How Great is our God!!! Our Creator and Redeemer . . . and do we THINK about it ??? God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.. . . . . For example: -the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; -those of the canary in 14 days; -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; -The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; -those of the mallard in 35 days; -The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!) God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily. The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains. -Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind. -Each orange has an even number of segments. -Each ear of corn has an even number of rows. -Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains. -Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number. -The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather. -All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold, all even numbers. God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed! The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only the One Who created your brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS FASCINATING AS I DID. May God Bless You In Ways You Never Even dreamed. I didn't think twice about forwarding this one. The Bible When you carry "the Bible", Satan has a headache, when you open it, he collapses, when he sees you reading it, he loses his strength . . . AND when you stand on the Word of God, Satan can't hurt you! And did you also know . . . When you are about to forward this email to others, the devil will probably try to discourage you, but do it anyway.

 

 

 

Shocker

As always, I went out to get the mail the other day, and what did I find? Low and behold, you are cordially invited to attend a Class Reunion. I won't tell you which one, but was I surprised. A girls only event. Not much has changed since those days I attended a parochial school. Built in 1909 Our Lady of Divine Providence Academy was located in Newport Ky. And still stands to this day.  Dressed in  a uniform of blue pinafore cotton with a white blouse and blue or black sweater I was ready to meet the challenge. I have bitter sweet memories of those days. How strict those nuns were. I was always getting slapped on the hand. I'm sure I deserved it. Uniforms had to be 2 inches below the knee, or you were sent home. That is hard to believe today, but this was real. No jewelry, makeup. etc. etc. Those were the days. Unfortunately the school  had to close, because of upkeep. Our tuition back then was 75 dollars per year. The school has been turned into condo's and I hear tell many of which are listed in foreclosures.   

Whitewashing The Chicken House

I whitewashed the chicken house today after I came home from the gym. Using the traditional blend of nothing but hydrated line and water. Two parts water to one part lime. Classic lime whitewash disinfects, repels insects, and preserves by sealing surfaces. Since my new breed will be going in the chicken house shortly, I thought I would spiff it up for the new girls.  I can remember my dad whitewashing the foundation on our house. Isn't it funny the things you remember from childhood? Such fond memories. Lime is also inexpensive: a 50 lb. bag was $7. Now who can't afford that!

 

Drink This First Thing In The Morning

This daily trick can help you detoxify, improve your digestion and boost your metabolism and energy levels. Your bombarded with toxins in todays modern world. Everywhere from the polluted air you breathe, the water you drink, the shampoos and other cosmetics that lather your body with chemicals, and of course, all of the chemical additives, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and other harmful compounds in the food that you eat. All of these toxins can have harmful effects on your body, harming your metabolism and hormones, impairing your digestive system, and zapping your energy levels. Immediately upon waking each day, squeeze about 1/2 to 1 full lemon into an 8oz. glass of warm or room temperature water. It improves your digestion. Boosts your energy for the day and who doesn't need that? Also helps you to lose fat.

The Private Life Of Chickens

Did you know that there are 16 billion chickens on this earth? And there are 200 different breeds of wild chickens which originated in Asia. We as Americans eat 30 million eggs every day. This is very interesting, when a hen lays her egg, the fat end comes out first. Chickens are good for meat, eggs and of course pleasure. I don't think I could live without my chickens. Well, I guess I could live, but just not as happily. I was born a city girl, but I do love the country and all it has to offer.  

The last few mornings I have smelled fall in the air. I know it is coming. It's been a very strange growing year in South Central KY. We had a chilly and wet spring. I did not get my garden in till late. With copious amounts of rain in June and July my garden is finally beginning to bear fruit. I have canned and canned and canned till I am tired of canning. Lots of green beans on the vines with cucumbers still coming on. I can't complain about the garden. It has served us well. 

Did your teenage son leave his gym shoes in the hive? Hopefully not, but it might smell that way. If your blessed to live by goldenrod, this great fall forage is a honeybee favorite, although it does make the hive smell like a locker room to we humans. It sure gets my sinuses going too! The honey still tastes great though, but it may be honey that your leaving on for their winter fuel anyway. Winter. Argh. So hard to have that word on the radar again. Start thinking about fall; Gasp, but yes. When you take the supers off, do you have containers for that honey? I have friends that save their honey jars for me. They don't have to be sealed so any glass jar will do.

Take Care Of The Bees

How is the season shaping up for you? This year the general consensus is that the honey harvest is going to be worse than lest year. I personally haven't noticed it, other than hive 2 has swarmed. I am missing some bees, but apparently the bees left made a new queen and things are going well. But I don't know if the hive is strong enough to make it through the winter. I do not feed my hives and I do not give them medication. I figure they take care of themselves in the wild, why not in my backyard? I am trying to do the best for my girls. But you know "girls" can be nasty when things do not go their WAY!

Saturday Canning

A few posts back, I mentioned canning pickles. I told everyone I would let you know how they turned out. Well it has been several weeks and no fizzing in the pantry. So today I made spicy pickles. I am building up my confidence. They have a kick to them. Quite tasty if I say so myself. The peppers in the last photo are super hot. Waiting for someone to try them. Today it is raining. So what is new. I picked 3 big bags of green beans. I am over flowing with green beans and they are still flowering. Its a good problem though. I guess I will get out the old canner.Have a blessed weekend.   

Chicken Slaughtering

There is a reason why the Conventional Poultry Industry in the U.S. has been fairly successful in recent years at lowering detected levels of salmonella in chickens. But it has nothing to do with factory birds being raised in cleaner and more humane living environments. To the contrary, The Washington Post reveals that many chicken slaughterhouses are merely treating their filthy chickens with an ever expanding volume and variety of toxic chemicals to mask the presence of more virulent salmonella strains from federal regulators. Would you want to eat these chickens? NOT I! 

Back To The Grind

Some people dread August- the heat, the end of summer break, cooler weather around the corner. August may mark the end of summer fun, but it also marks the start of getting back into the groove of life. I will finally be free of canning, freezing etc. But I do like those times of canning etc. I love opening a jar of my own pickles, beans, beets, etc. knowing that I did all of this myself, and feeling pretty good about it too. I like to approach fall as the start of a new year. Even if you don't have school age kids, the idea of a fall new year applies to all. It is a chance for a fresh start and a time to get back to the grind in a good way. It's a time to recreate your routine. Things that I have let go since summer started and the garden came in. Time to add a little structure back into the days and weeks. By the way, I called the grandsons last night and asked them how the first day of school went. They all loved being back. Just a day before they dreaded the event. Teachers how do you do that? Lets just wait and see what a month or two brings. I can hear it now. Do I have to go to school????.     

New School Year Began Today

Starting school is a major milestone for children and parents. School is a place away from home where a child will have some of his or her greatest challenges, successes, failures, and embarrassments, because school is beyond the control of parents. It can be stressful for both child and parents. At school, a child will learn about how the world works, about appropriate social interactions, and about people outside his or her family. He or she will learn about themselves, his or her strengths, weaknesses, interests, and who he or she is socially. He will have to perform in a way that he never has had to at home. He has to separate from parents, cope with social and academic challenges, and friends. Starting school can be both fun and stressful.

 

Staying Cool During Your Summer Workouts

You've been exercising regularly, but now it's summer and hot. Sometimes even dangerously hot, and seemingly too hot to go work out. But don't decide this is the time for a little summer break from fitness, experts say, because you may be hurting yourself in the long run. It's important to continue exercising over the summer because the effects of exercise training are rapidly lost once training stops. Use it or lose it. With summer, my plate is full. And I often think to myself wouldn't it be nice if I just got an extra hour of shut eye. Or maybe skip yoga today. Too much to do. There will always be too much to do for me. I cram too much in too little space, but I love being busy. So to keep your workouts from meltdown; hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Always carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go. Sixty four ounces of water per day. That's right! Got to go now, Yoga is calling me.  

Tummy Tickling

My chickens stand in line to have their tummy's tickled. They love it. Remember when you were little and your sister or brother tickled your tummy. Didn't you love it? I guess these chickens feel the same way. I guess it is comforting and it gives them individual attention.  

 

Making Pickles

I love the sweet and tangy taste of fresh pickles. Making pickles couldn't be easier. All you really need is cucumbers, vinegar, and some spices for flavor. I say that, but the last time I made pickles which was 34 years ago they exploded. Too funny. Don't ask me what I did wrong. I have no idea. I have them sealed and all is well. So far so good!  If I hear a sizzle in the pantry I will let you know.