Chicken Math

There's a known phenomenon in the chicken world. It's called chicken math. Once you get chickens, it seems you can never have enough of them.  They are smart birds, with individual personalities, and each breed lays a different color egg.  The common white chickens lay white eggs, but MY girls aren't common, in the least. Ahem. (Insert chick mama pride here).  My girls lay eggs in lovely shades of tan and brown, some with speckles and some with occasional ridges or funny points. They are all wonderful, above-average eggs. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Anyway, back to chicken math.  Of course, there are also chickens that lay eggs in shades of blue and green and even light pink. Some are even a dark olive color. There are chicken lovers whose goal it is to have a wide range of color in each carton.  I was going to resist this, but I feel chicken math getting the best of me.  I feel myself being pulled towards the Araucanas, also known as Easter Egger chickens. These are the ones that lay those blue and green eggs. I searched the  Murray McMurray hatchery website and read up on them. They even have little tufts of feathers on their cheeks. Do I hear an "Awwwww"?
Check them out on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYup9EAZi0s

Chicken math. Mostly multiplication, I'm afraid.

I called a chicken meeting with the girls, Major and cats all in attendance:

Major didn't seem to care one way or the other. The cats thought things were looking up. Mmmmm. Dinner. I don't think so. Laverne, however, was not amused.

I assured her there would be enough Egg-a-Day for all, with plenty of raisins and goodies thrown in, too. I'm not sure she was convinced.
Bok, bok and blessings,
Brenda

I saw, it came, I didn't conquer.

This is my third posting today, but I have to get this stuff in writing before I forget I get busy.  Just a short report back on the elephant garlic episode. I saw it in a catalog, bought it, received it, and had planned on using it. I made two small pieces of garlic bread last night and I must say it does smell and taste like garlic, and I guess if "real" garlic had always made me sick, I'd be leery of it, too. I don't think even if I called it elephant doughnuts he'd be very crazy about trying it.  I'm still going to plant it and use it in various ways not associated with family cousine. Oh, well. Whatever.

Needling the hours away

Our DS had to do an overnighter in the hospital one day last week.  It was unexpected, but fortunately I'm usually prepared with handwork projects.  I had taken some small fabric scraps and sewn them together in various ways, sandwiched them with some batting scraps and plain muslin on the backside. I had my trusty thimble and some nice strong quilting thread with me, as well as a few needles.  Over the course of one afternoon and most of the following day, I hand quilted these little mini's and when I get more time, after taxes and such, I will finish them into mailable postcards.  It takes some heavy interfacing and another piece of backing, then either bind the edges or zigzag around the edges to secure them all the layers.  A fine-point sharpie pen or a regular fabric pen works well for writing on them.  I'll get a few .65 cent stamps at the post office and ask them to hand cancel them so they don't get all bent and dirty going through the processing machines.  They can be mailed as they are, or placed inside a glassine envelope.  I've sent out several of these  and the recipients seem to enjoy getting a more personalized "card".  It helps to keep me sane and more relaxed to have something like this to work on when in a situation like that.    Here are the ones I worked on, before trimming, and the backside of one I had already finished. It's ready to be addressed and stamped.

I really enjoy making these and have even made several seasonal ones. There are many websites that show the works of others and it's a wonderful way to get ideas.  There is no right or wrong way to put one together.  I especially enjoy appliqueing various patterns and then embellishing them with free-motion machine quilting.  For me, it's one of the ways I stay busy.
Blessings,
Brenda

Touring the side yard

I love being in the side yard this time of year. The two huge vibernums are blooming, and the perfume they excude is just heavenly.  I smell it when I walk out the door and it just fills the air with a soft, dreamy scent.  After they've finished blooming, which should be one day next week, I'll have to get out there with loppers and cut them back about one third of the way.  That will ensure they have an abundance of blooms for next year, and won't get so huge and scraggly that they won't be attractive.

Continuing in the side yard, there's a small area in the grass that I have dedicated to some of the berries. This might be a mistake, since as sometimes happens, the blackberries and goji berry plant might outgrow the alloted space. If that happens, I'll just find another area for them and do some transplanting.  This is only the second season for the young blackberries, and I'm hoping I get some berries from them.  My sweet Aunt Kathaleen shared some of her plants with me. They are supposed to be those huge, juicy seedless berries. Great for pies and jam.

Opal is hoping for a good crop, too.

This space is also where I planted my goji berry plant. It is so small it fits inside a small tin can and is showing some stress. I can see some yellowing of the leaves. I'm hoping it's rooting down below. I watered it very well, and rain is coming in either tonight or tomorrow, so a good natural drink will be appreciated, too.  I do want this one to make it.

I also have an overwintered pot, with some last-minute onion sets heeled in last fall.  I just put them in, not really expecting any results, but by cracky I'll be pulling these green onions soon, replacing them with some colorful annuals.

The side yard is also where I have a few raised garden beds, and I have radishes, peas, beets, lettuce and maybe some spinach (or swiss chard...I forget what I planted...duh), growing. With the chickens free-ranging, it's going to be challenging to keep them out of it, but we just got some more chicken wire and we'll go free-ranging for some wayward rebar to cut up for stakes. I'll soon have fencing for the plants protection. Chicken wire won't keep anything from getting to chickens. It's purpose is to keep chickens from getting to other things.

There you have it. A short tour around the little side yard. This is the one you see if you come to my house, and drive in the east lane. One goal this summer is to get the old pump replaced. It doesn't actually pump water anymore. I've heard something about it needing new leathers, but a search of Lehman's catalog and website didn't tell me much.   Please pray for the goji plant.  That little darlin' cost too much to die on me now.
Blessings,
Brenda

It's the berries

In an attempt to become even more self-sufficient and add variety to our diet, I took a leap of faith and ordered a couple of unique items from a seed catalog I had received. I've been a big whiney-butt about my husband not being able to eat garlic. Pick a recipe. Any recipe. I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut it has garlic in it, unless it's a desert. DH seems to be allergic to garlic so I haven't been able to cook with it.....UNLESS, this elephant garlic thing works out.  In reading the descriptions of the various botanicals for sale, I spied this:
"Impressive size! Elephant looks like garlic and tastes like a mild hardneck type, but it is actually  a type of leek."  Oh, JOY!!  He can eat leek. Onions and leeks are a piece of cake.  Could it be true that I can have the flavor and not the grief?

I received the box of goodies a couple of days ago, and was so eager to see what they looked like. They are, indeed, huge. Everything I've read says to plant them in the fall, and they will emerge in the spring. So why did they send them now if the timing was wrong? An early spring planting is also acceptable, but I'll have to keep them watered and the flower heads chopped off. I can do that.  I'm going to keep one of the cloves out to experiment with.  MMMMM. Garlic bread anyone?

Then, to ensure good health, (hahaha), I also ordered a goji berry plant.  The little darlin' looks more like a pathetic 6" sprout, but if I tend it properly, it will eventually  become an 8-10 foot shrub, loaded with extremely nutritional berries, high in antioxidants.  It can be dried, made into juices, wine, eaten fresh, etc. It's very versatile and has been used in Chinese cooking for  thousands of years.  I'll report back on this one, some day. Maybe when I turn 100. hehe

So, one of these days I'll never have to leave my backyard. I'll have goji berries, seedless blackberries, grapes, gooseberries, strawberries, blueberries,  and garlic bread. LOL  All I need is a wheat field and a cow.  On second thought, make that goats, since they can mow the grass for me. I'm resourceful, that way.
Blessings,
Brenda

Taxing My Brain

Piles of papers here and there. Checkbooks, registers, everywhere. No time to bake, no time to rake. "How much did you make?  Then that much we'll take."  Just send it in for goodness sake.

Is there an "I Got The IRS Blues" song out there? If so, put it in the queue. Thanks.

Don't cry for me, Argentina. It's my own fault for procrastinating. You'd think after all these years I would learn to be more efficient. Thirty lashes with a wet noodle for me.  Is there a 12-step program for tax prep procrastinators?  Send info, plz. And while I'm in a whiny mood......oh, never mind.

Now, back to the bank statements. This, too, shall pass.

Blessings,
Brenda

Snakes and rakes...or if sweet gum balls were oil, gas would be $1 a gallon.

Today is a day to catch up on yardwork.  I've mentioned before that this is a huge yard, and lots of the hard, stick-y things have been dealt with, but I'm awash in sweet gum balls. I had raked up a few piles one day last week, but never got around to finding the wheelbarrow to haul them away with, so there they sat, with lush green grass creeping up around and in the piles. Come this weekend or before, I have to have this mess cleaned up so I can mow. It's time now, but it will have to wait another two or three days.  There was no other alternative than to just get out there and do it. Just lil old me. Old me. My shoulders are aching now. Pile one went swimmingly. That's a good thing. Pile two was uneventful. With pile three, things got very exciting, indeed. Of course the chickens and dogs and cats were all lounging around nearby, or in various stages of bug/weed pecking, so when I saw THE SNAKE, I let out a little, well maybe a big, "OH', and then it hit me that the chickens might be a bit interested in it, since I've seen them fight over baby toads and such. I did the bok-bok call and they came running from all sides. Laverne took one look at the slithering little snake, cocked her head and took a better look, then must sent an esp signal to the others that it was to be left alone. Bootsie is too lazy to get too excited about anything, and Major just wants to be petted by me. The cats didn't even care about it.  I can't believe I have a yard full of animals and THEY ALL GET ALONG...even the snakes.  All Creatures Great and Small, indeed.
Happy raking, mowing, gardening, etc. to you,
Blessings,
Brenda
p.s.  If you have old iron skillets with gunk built up on them, sweet gum balls are the best way to clean them up.  The balls burn very, very hot.  Come to my house and get a big pile of them (hehe), then light them on fire and immerse your skillets upside down in them once they are red and glowing and with some coals also on top. Leave the skillet until the coals have turned to ash, wipe out the skillet, then season normally. It really, truly works.

Eggcited about their day!

Today is a special day on the farm.  One year ago today, I brought home 10 little fluffballs and promptly proceeded to name them.  Laverne, Lucy, Opal, Minnie Pearl, Millie, Shirley, Cher, Ethel, and two others, which I've forgotten since they don't like me and I never call them by their REAL names. HA! Until about two weeks ago, all ten were alive and well and thriving.  Poor Minnie Pearl met her fate when a hawk took her out.  All that remained were a few feathers.  They are fun pets, and I consider them pets with benefits. In the above picture, the little brown egg is the first one I gathered. It was in early July and I was so thrilled.  The other egg is a storebought one, for size comparison.  Immature chickens are called pullets. Pullet eggs are smaller to begin with, but as the birds grow, the eggs get larger. I spoil my chickens. Today, in honor of this occasion, I cooked up a special treat for them.  Scrambled eggs, with peas and raisins.

I put the dogs on the backporch to eliminate any competition, then took this out for the girls. They came running and the feasting began.

At first, just a few came running to investigate, but as word got out (you should have heard the cute trills and gurgles), others joined in.  In a matter of just a few short minutes, the party was nearly over.

I think it was a successful party. I'm thinking seriously about getting them some sista chicks, too.

Blessings,

Brenda 

Curly willow eggchanges.

I have a good friend who  happens to have a greenhouse. She also happens to live quite close and I make frequent forays to her yard to see what I can get for free  find that's interesting enough to consider bringing back to my own yard/garden.  Last week one day I mosey'd ...mosied....moseyed... went over to her house and she was just walking around to see what was sprouting or budding out.  I have always enjoyed early blooms which I  viewed as winter waving the white flag of surrender.  I have an old forsythia that hardly ever has a bloom on it. I cut it back to the ground last year, but it fought back by sending out long, trailing shoots that STILL don't have any yellow blooms. I'm bummed about that, and I'm thinking a nice chain attached to the tractor might solve that problem.  I don't think you can go wrong with pussywillow though and she not only had that but curly willow, as well. Of course, a quick exchange took place.

Me:  "Hi, Sandy. Whatcha doin'?"
Sandy:  "Just seeing what's starting to bud out."
Me:  "Can I have some of that?" (pointing to the curly willow)
Sandy: "Sure". (I love her).

Of course I had a dozen eggs with me, because you know a girl just doesn't want to appear as if she's begging  all take and no give.

I came home with a nice bouquet for the dining room table, with fat little pussy willow buds intertwined with the unruly wonderfulness of the curly willow.

It's hard to see in the picture how those darling  little branches corkscrew around, but it's a wonderful filler for cut bouquets in the summer and it's such an interesting bush in the winter, when there usually isn't much in the landscape to get excited about.  One week later, I have this:

Roots!

I'll be planting this in the backyard and heading over with another dozen eggs. Bless her generous heart. She knew it would do this. I just love eggchanges.

Blessings,

Brenda

When to say no!

1.  Someone suggests planting sweet gum trees in your yard.

2.  Someone suggests planting mulberry trees in your yard.

3.  Someone suggests planting mint in your yard.

For starters.

Double Trouble and Matt helped again today and we got lots of little volunteer sprouts cut out of the windbreak on the east side, and got some large, very large branches cut up and hauled to Pile C.  Thank goodness I didn't fall out of the trees I climbed into to help dislodge stubborn broken branches. DH even got his chainsaw running and helped out for a while.  It's all good.  Oh. What's this Double Trouble thing you say?

My step-dad goes by the name of Deacon. His mowing partner and our family friend is Ed.  They have also worked together at the Dollar General in Shelbyville, and it was while working there that they were given the nicknames of Deacon Double and Ed Trouble.  They even had that embroidered on their shirts. We usually just shorten it to Double Trouble.  Too cute and they are such great help. .  I don't know what I'd do without them or Matt.  We are beginning to really make a noticeable difference, and that makes me feel really good.  Today's lunch was chicken salad made from a deli chicken on fresh homemade bread, with ham and split pea soup and tropical fruit salad.  The soup wasn't such a big hit with Double Trouble, so I was glad I had leftover soups from Tuesday to offer. Note to self: ditch the split pea soup for company. :)

4.  Someone suggests fixing split pea soup for the work crew.

Blessings,
Brenda

Gatherings

After much brainstorming, picking of brains, and just generally thinking until it hurt my brain, I settled on the title for this blog. It was suggested in various forms by my Facebook friends.  The reason is because I live in a home on the prairie, near the settlement called.....wait for it.....Prairie Home, and I gather many things. I gather eggs, recipes, ripe fruits and veggies in season, building materials for my wood-fired pizza oven, and especially, friends and great family members. It just seemed appropriate. I'm happy with the choice. I hope you're happy with the  ramblings of a prairie home blogger.

Waking Up

Spring is springing. A stroll around the yard shows that the asparagus is peeking through the ground.

The gooseberry bushes are starting to leaf out

The strawberry plants are beginning to grow and green up.

The chickens are enjoying the little bugs that are waking up and the new green shoots on the plants.

This is Boots.  He's our loveable lap dog.  Bring him in, invite him to jump up and he'll gladly take a loud, snoring, upside down nap on your lap.  Becase you love him, you'll let him do this until your legs go to sleep.

And this is Major. He's a Great Pyrenees.  This dog is the size of a small pony.  He's a great watchdog, and I'm convinced is the reason the girls have survived as long as they have.  He barks all night and the coyotes and foxes and raccoons just know to stay away. Along with Boots, they are the security department.

The animals are loving that I'm outside more now. It takes the first ten minutes of stepping out the door before they are satisfied and have been properly played with and loved on for me to begin my chores.
What a life...spring is definitely springing.
Blessings,
Brenda

Sticks and Stones

It was a beautiful spring day. It was a good day to work outside, so I put out an all-points bulletin for the yard crew.

My step-dad, family friend Ed, Matt (who's on spring break), and myself worked for hours and made a lot of progress. This is a large yard, encompassing acres, and there is still a lot of storm damage to clean up from past years. Some of it just gets put off, but finally, pile A and pile B got loaded on the truck and unloaded on pile C.  Pile C is a large brush pile out in the barnlot. We must have hauled 6 truckloads to it.  God bless whoever planted the sycamore trees in my yard. They were here before I arrived and over the years, have been the bane of my lawncare existence. They are right up there with sweet gum balls.  Sick-a-more trees drop twigs and sticks all over with the slightest breeze. Many piles of those were taken to Pile C. Larger logs were cut to firewood size and unloaded on the woodpile.  I. Am. Pooped.  I did have a nice lunch for the crew. Hot ham and cheese sandwiches on homemade bread, stuffed pepper soup and baked potato soup, with red hot applesauce for dessert.  After a hard three hours, it was hard to get motivated to go back out and get busy, but we managed to put in another hard hour. The silver lining is that once we are finished in the back yard, there will be a nice new garden spot.  It's in a big sunny area  that used to be shaded by a giant mulberry tree.  It, too, met it's fate with the storms.  Such plans I have. I can taste those green beans and tomatoes now. MMMMM
Blessings,
Brenda

Do-Overs

I saw Riverdance last night. It was absolutely wonderful. Those performers are so young and agile and talented and THIN. haha  I will never be able to do a proper Irish jig, much less dance with the agility and speed they possessed. It's ovah for me....too late. That ship has sailed. In real life. However.......when I close my eyes and step into my time machine, I can transport myself back to those young, limber days of my youth, and I am skipping and jumping and jigging all over the place. Jigging, not jiggling...that breaks the spell. LOL In my time machine, in that other place, once I've finished dancing, I then sit myself down at a beautiful baby grand piano and proceed to let my fingers dance across the keys. When I've tired of that, I head over to the ice rink, where I whirl and twirl and slide elegantly across the ice.  But alas, those talents were never tapped into. In reality, I probably would have been a clumsy dancer, a pathetic piano player, and would have broken my neck on the ice.  I'm pretty sure the path I've gone down is the one I was destined to take.  I bake a mean loaf of bread.

Blessings,      Brenda

An Exciting Time in Church--or Look Toward the Heavens.

Church started innocently and normal enough today. The usual friendly greetings, the Praise Band selections, a minor glitch in the power point, but then there was a decided turn for the worse. Well, I can't say it was bad, it was just unusual. Apparently it happens in every church on occasion, but this was a first for me.  There was a blackbird flying around in the high heavens of church, flying from sacred window to sacred window, and once even landing on one of the large pipes of the organ. I'll be it's ears are still ringing from that. It made me think about one of my all-time favorites from Ray Stevens:
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I hope this comes up.  I'm still very new at the techinical stuff related to posting blogs.  At the very least, click on the youtube link.  I think you'll enjoy it.

Our patient janitor has a few new spots on the floor to deal with, and it was a near miss for my friend Susie, but at the last minute  she made a prudent decision to scoot over a few inches. :)  I'm sure the bird will eventually find it's way out and I'm just grateful it wasn't bats in the belfry. Winged doves might have been nice, though.
Blessings,
Brenda

Feet of Flames

Tomorrow I'll be off to Peoria with Timi's Tours to see Riverdance. I. Can't. Wait.
Riverdance

It's an amazing show. Great Talent. Great Story.  An all-time favorite, for sure.

Blessings,
Brenda

FYI

When you see the time under the posts, you need to add a couple of hours to that. There is no way I'm getting up at 4:28 a.m.  to post something to this blog. I think the blog hosting site must be on the west coast.

Blog Lingo

Some of you may be reading this blog for the first time and it may be the first time you've ever read anyone's blog.  Blog is short for Web Log...sort of a diary or daily/weekly posting on the "web".  There are some abbreviations that are used by most bloggers that you might not be familiar with.  For instance, in my last post I identified my son as DS.  That simply means dear son.  Hubby is DH, which is dear husband.  Following that pattern, DD would be dear daughter, but for Kellee, my daughter-in-law, she'll become DDL.  If I had a wife (oh, how a sister wife would be appreciated LOL), she would be DW.  You might have seen BFF already.  That stands for best friends forever. There are others and as they appear, I'll try to remember to explain.  For now, I'll leave you with some eye candy.  This is a quilt I started last winter, and hope to be able to call a finish instead of a UFO (unfinished object), by summer. At least it's in the queue (pronounced cue...meaning it's in line.)

This is a log cabin quilt using mostly Kaffe Fasset fabrics, with some Martha Negly and Phillip Jacobs thrown in. I think it will make a great summer quilt, draped across the sofa.

Today is going to be a nice day to be outside, and that's where I'll be. 

Hope you have a wonderful, productive day, too.

Blessings,

Brenda

This is a test.For the next 60 seconds.....

I'm obviously going to be playing around with this blog thing until I get a format that suits me.  I also need to become more familiar with all the possibilities that are available on the template.  There's a lot to be freaked out by   learn, and I think I'll have fun with it.  I have to learn how to post pictures or how will you ever be able to appreciate the girls?

Poor Minnie Pearl. I miss you baby girl. Up top is Millie (alive and well, thank you), and bottom is my beloved Minnie Pearl. Dang hawk.

So....now that I'm starting to get the hang of it, check back every so often. There may be something very exciting to read about from time to time.
Blessings,
Brenda

Hey Mikey, he likes it.

I told Matt about the blog, and other than telling me I should never again say git 'r done, he approved of the blog. He (DS) and his dad (DH), are very private individuals, so unless there is earth-shattering news about them, they won't be making very many appearances.  I guess I'm just going to have to git r' done without 'em. Oops.

And so it begins.

This is the very first of what I hope becomes many posts.  I am eager to share my discoveries with all of you, whether it be in the barnyard, kitchen or sewing room.  I have found that by taking hold of life and deliberately living it, there is so much more out there to enjoy and there is an excitement that's hard to reign in.  I'll try not to bore you or embarrass my family, but there are no guarantees. :)  I still have plenty of life's journey to experience,  God willing, and I hope I'll be able to share some of it with you.  Now, if I can just get used to how this whole blog thing works.  I might need some serious young person help. You know, an old dog, and all that. Woof.