How To Prep Your Garden For Winter

The greens, includes anything that is still alive-green leaves, kitchen scraps, fresh grass clippings, etc.
The browns, are dry dead material like straw, bean pods, etc. I use good old chicken manure. It is free and works magic. Whether you tend to your compost pile through the winter or not, you are going to get something from it in the Spring.

 My Yoga pose Friday!

 A Hobby Lobby Find

Zinnias' Picked Before The Frost Predicted Tonight 

Problem In The Hen House

When we first got chickens so many years ago, my husband was not especially enthusiastic. And now in 2014 he still isn't. At least he is consistent. But David still helps me when I need a strong hand. Feather me impressed. I have a situation where 4 hens and 1 rooster  are spending the night up on a home built cage. Chickens instinctively come home to roost on their own. But there are some situations where refusing to roost is what makes sense to your chickens. Maybe they haven't learned where "home" is, yet. Not likely. Your coop needs to be cleaned. Not mine. I keep mine up to snuff. There is tension in the flock. Now that could be. We are having pecking order disputes. If they can range on pasture every day,(that could be a problem)  and have things to occupy their thought (like what things) then maybe they will leave Bessie alone while she wears that silly unusual plumage!

My Chickens

I spend my days doing the things I love-in between cleaning, and the chores that you can't seem to get around. Which take up most of my time. I do love my leisure time though, and I have earned it. When I hear the sound of the roosters crowing and the hens cackling, like today, with temps in the low 80's and my French doors open to the beautiful sounds, it is good to be alive. I have just finished cleaning out my chicken house. The hens love it when the new straw is put down,  and they delight on the tidbits in the straw. Despite their many merits, backyard chickens are still relatively uncommon. Chickens are, after all, the most "chic" pet you could possibly have. We all love our dogs, cats and fish, but do they actually produce something edible? or pay their own Way? Chickens do, and once you've dined on their eggs you'll never reach for a dozen in the supermarket again!

Halloweens Ghost

I love this idea. Paint a canvas orange. Let it dry, and paint the bottom of the kids' feet with white paint. Once the foot paints are dry, then add eyes and a nose. Add some black dots for dimension. This Halloween, we are all going over to my daughters house and having eats, treats and a fire in the backyard. Should be fun!

Almond Chicken Soup With Sweet Potatoes, And Collards.

4 cups chicken stock
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 minced garlic clove
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
8 oz. boneless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup almond butter
1 cup collard greens chopped
course salt and pepper to taste

Combine the stock, onion, garlic and sweet potato in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the almond butter and 1/2 cup of the soup mixture. Add the collard leaves to the soup and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the almond paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Season your food well with prayer during preparation. 

Winter Is Coming

Hopefully everyone has 9 full frames of honey in their top box. Entrance reducers in with the wide opening facing up. The hives have to be protected from the North and South winds.
"Well," said Pooh, "What I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.
So by now you have probably heard it's going to be an epic winter here in the U.S. Even more severe than last winter! HMMM? We will see.

 

Egg Storage

Once upon a time eggs were sold in cartons stacked on tables in the middle of the grocery store aisle. Now eggs are always displayed in the refrigerated section. Why? Because of Salmonella bacteria. Accordingly, a lot of people are going back to the practice of not refrigerating their homegrown eggs. That's not necessarily A BAD IDEA. If the eggs are clean when collected and remain unwashed to preserve their protective bloom. I personally keep all my eggs unrefrigerated. I know where my eggs come from and I know the shelf life of an egg.

Stockdale's

I had an interesting evening last night. First of all, I received this email from a research co. that does independent market research. The focus group consisted of myself and 11 others. The discussion was based on question and answer sessions, and a open discussion on Stockdale's  farmer owned by friends and neighbors. Stockdale's is my favorite place to purchase chicken feed and all my fencing supply's. They are friendly, and have good prices. Our discussion was mainly about how the store was run, items in the store, inventory, and customer service. I vote to keep Stockdale's in BG. All in favor say yes! 

Preparing Winter Squash

 

All winter squashes bake well. Steaming works for cut pieces. Most varieties have a sweet, buttery, firm flesh and can be substituted for one another in recipes, with the exception of spaghetti squash. Acorn squash is good for baking and goes well with sweet, nutty or spicy stuffing. I cook my Spaghetti squash in a pan of water about 45 minutes. I take the seeds out and fill with sausage, cheese and black beans. This year I grew pumpkins. The chickens ate all but one, That one pumpkin I baked in the oven and then seeded and skinned to prepare pulp. I then followed my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. The pie was absolutely delicious. With hardly any work.

Honey Hives

Did you know that honey is a great way to soothe a sore throat? It is also used as a cough suppressant. According to some studies, honey works better than over-the-counter cough medicine. My daughter loves pinterest, and so do I. So she sent me a pin which involved honey. As you know, I have hives and collect honey during Spring and Fall. The title of the pin was Honey Pops. Wow! I thought to myself, this is good. Well, silly old bear, with reading further I find out that the honey has  to be cooked to 300 degrees. Never process your honey. How can you improve a great thing? You can't !
"O Bear! said Christopher Robin. "How I do love you."
"So do I ," said Pooh."

Washing

We all know how important it is to wash our hands, and when to do it. But do we know we need to wash our food? Especially food that is ready to eat and won't be cooked. Produce needs to be washed before it is eaten. Residue from fertilizers, chemicals and just simple handling produce to make it ready for transport needs to be washed away before produce is safe to eat. All too often I see on the news e-coli outbreaks from lettuce, spinach and other greens. Be sate and WASH EVERYTHING! 

Happy Fall Everyone!

The leaves are certainly beginning to fall. Temperatures are mild in South Central Ky. It is hard to believe that in a blink of an eye, the baby chicks are starting to fend for themselves. The young pullets are starting to lay small eggs, and the hens are business as usual. The three roosters are getting along somewhat. We are still having rivalry in the chicken yard. But in time all will be well. Happy hump day to all.

How To Ripen, Or Save Green Tomatoes

If you are fortunate to still have green tomatoes, there are a couple of options that you can choose. Cover them with sheets, and then top them with quilts. They will be happy and frost free underneath. Box them! Yup. Pick all your green ones.  Place them in a cardboard box. Put newspapers between the layers. Check boxes several times per week and remove any red or orangeish ones.  Remember, the cooler the temp the longer they take to ripen. Last, but not least, hang them. Pull the entire plant out of the ground and hang it upside down. The green tomatoes will ripen, but not any better or faster than the ones in a cardboard box. Bummer! Or you can make classic fried tomatoes, tomato green salsa, green tomato chutney, green tomato jam or pickled green tomatoes. Plenty of options here. 

 My daughter and her family went to the beach for Fall break. She said it was sunny, with temperatures in the 80's. Here in South Central Ky. we are going to have a high of 68 today with rain showers.

 We visited our son and his wife this past weekend in Cincinnati. The picture above shows their new son born 3 weeks ago. Isn't he a cutie?

While we were away I had a friend of ours water and feed my brood. I really appreciate Jerry. Without him, I don't know what I would do. He takes pride in his job. Thanks Jerry. Looks like everyone is content.

 Alex at work at home school

 Landen at work at home school

Lost River Halloween Scarecrow

I took the boys to Lost River yesterday for a little fun. We walked the trails, and then stopped to get an ice cream. Yum!