Way to Go, Timbitts!! Whoot, Whoot!

For the last week or so, Timbitts has been acting curiously like a laying hen. Which is odd considering that she is A) in a molt and molting chickens generally go off laying for a bit and B) she's never laid an egg in her life and considering she's almost a year old I wasn't thinking she would. Be that as it may, I have found her in a nesting box several times lately. I kind of thought she was just staying quiet and wanting to be away from everyone else as she molts. (Chickens seem to get a little self-conscious when they molt, I guess it's their equivalent to me having a bad hair day.) But I thought I'd keep a closer eye or her just in case something was up. Sure enough, something was.

Yesterday, I was in the coop and noticed Timbitts scurry into an empty nest box. I puttered around for a while and then left after checking under her. No egg. About an hour later I headed out again. She was still sitting in the nest box. So I checked under her and lo and behold, I found a little egg. She then started the typical "LOOK, LOOK, WHAT I DID, I LAID AN EGG!!!" clucking. A few chickens congratulated her and she decided all that effort had made her hungry and headed for a food dish. The egg is considerably smaller than the norm but that's not unusual for a hen just starting to lay eggs so all the evidence points to her being the owner of this egg. That's her egg on the right.

Good for you, little hen, good for you.

Old Dusk

Dusk is going to be eight years old this spring. That's considered to be senior for a dog his size, 130 pounds. Actually, his breed mix usually doesn't get much older than five, I have heard, and most don't even make it to three. But Dusk trundles along. He's a little stiff in the hindquarters some mornings but he does have hip dysplasia. Happily, with a natural diet and a couple of supplements, the H.D. doesn't bother him. Or hasn't until now. Dusk still enjoys his romps in the snow and sniffing all the smells. He's still interested in all the goings on here. He's always ready with picked-up ears, a wagging tail and a goofy smile for whoever visits.

It's all about the quality of life, the one he has and the one he gives. Both are going strong :).

Beltsville Small White Turkeys

I think this whole raising my own small livestock is getting addicting. Started with rabbits and then with chickens. I pretty much thought that would be that. Granted, I kept keeping more and more of them so the original number of both have doubled at least. (Isn't that a sign of addiction, needing more and more?) Then came the Guineas. Then the worms. And now it looks like turkeys are on the horizon. Turkeys, how on earth did ever get to the point where I'd be considering turkeys? I think I need a 12 step program here.

Not just any old turkeys, of course, that wouldn't do. (Oh, lookit, I'm a snobby addict.) These little turkeys are heritage Beltsville Turkeys. I saw a local ad for the fertilized eggs. The name intrigued me, I'd never heard of them, so I googled them. Beltsville Turkeys are smaller than normal turkeys and they are reputed to be the perfect homestead bird, as far as turkeys go, anyhow. One of the advantages of the Beltsville is that they can breed naturally. I was absolutely amazed to learn that now a days, most turkeys need to be artificially inseminated. I don't know, that just seems wrong. Turkeys that can breed all on their own are the only kind that would work around here, thank you very much.

Then I did some research on the general care of turkeys and what it entailed. I think raising turkeys would fit right in here. I found out that turkeys are seasonal layers, I never knew that. I guess the geniuses-that-be haven't yet figured out how to breed/genetically modify that out of the poor things yet.

Yesterday I contacted the lady with the eggs and it looks like in mid-March or so, I'm going to be getting some Beltsville Turkey eggs to incubate. I'm hoping to get a dozen but it all depends on how many she can collect in a given time. Originally, I thought I'd raise these Beltsville turkeys mostly for our table but now I'm thinking may-be keeping a trio over winter. That way I could have the two females hatch their own eggs the next spring. So I can feed both the family and my own livestock addiction at the same time!

A Time of Waiting

The days are pretty much filled with the usual chores and general mucking about. Yet as I go about my day, I realize I am in 'waiting' mode. It's like having an old fashioned alarm clock, you know, the round ones with two bells on top with a striker in between them, following me around. I'm mentally waiting for it to sound off.

As I do my chicken chores, talking to the birds and making sure everybody is healthy and happy, I look for signs of a hen or two going broody. I'm waiting for the day to start putting eggs under hens for hatching. It's almost time.

As I work with my rabbits, feeding the last of the dried herbs and weeds to them, I look for signs of does building nests. I'm waiting for the kindlings to start. It's almost time.

Going about the house, taming dust bunnies and fighting a losing war against two shedding dogs, I keep peeking into my reserve of saved seeds. I gather my collected seed starter items and check out sunny window sills. I'm waiting to start my seedlings. It's almost time.

They say the waiting is the hardest part. Well, in this case I would have to disagree. The waiting brings a sense of excitement ~ It's almost here!!!!~ . The waiting hurries poky old February along, prod, prod, push, push. The February mantra of "Winter is never going to end" is unheeded. It's not even heard this year, the little old fashioned clock has silenced it with its subtle ticking. So while it's all still in the planning stage, preparation for Spring will be starting soon. The first hen on a clutch of eggs, the first bunnies in a furred nest, the first seedlings pushing through the earth. Then that little, old fashioned clock will go off. And I will hear its sound in the call of the returning Canadian Geese and the splash of the water over the DaM, freed from an icy grip. I'm waiting, it's almost time.

Taking Stock

I decided to take a peek around the pantry, freezer and cold room to see how the old "planting enough from one season to the next" is working out. I don't think I'll quite get there but this will be the closest I've come so far. Things are on the right track.

Frozen Stuff: Still have carrots and snow peas; it looks like they'll last another couple - three months. They taste great and are superb on their own as a side dish and make stews and soups delish. Lots of frozen pumpkin and zucchini. They're the staples in my muffins and loafs. I also throw a bit in the dogs' dish every now and then. They're going to last until the next harvest, for sure. There's still a little bit or corn-on-the-cob left, a few bags. Probably could have planted a bit more of that. Ran out of yellow & green beans. Well, I can't have everything... I will plant more next year because everybody likes them here and I like having extras to pickle.

Stored Stuff: I harvested about 1 1/2 feedbags of yellow onions. Still have about 1/2 a feed bag left. Boy are those suckers STRONG! They taste good, just a little goes a long way. They're hold up well, I might have had three that went bad on me so far. They'll probably last till June or so. About 20 pumpkins left. I do lose one or two every couple of weeks or so. They're just baked up and given to the chickens. I totally grew too many pumpkins.

Canned Stuff: Still have about 30 jars of tomatoes of various sizes left. They should go till next season. We have about 10 jars of salsa left, wouldn't kill me to put up another 12 or so next year. Tomato juice was a by-product of the salsa making, I'd drain the cut up peeled tomatoes before making salsa, it's all gone. So is the tomato sauce.

Pickles: Well, they're all gone except for the dills. I don't think there is a way that I could make enough to last one season to the next. They get eaten a lot here and make great gifts so I make what I can and then we just do without when they're gone.

Dried Stuff: Just about ran out of all the herbs and weeds I dried for the rabbits. Still have a bit of cornstalks, lemon balm and dandelion left but it will be gone this week, for sure. I still have a wee bit of herbs for us left.

So that's about it. I'd like to say all that hard work last summer was worth it but when I open a jar of my own salt free, organic tomatoes or bake up a scrumptious pumpkin bread , it's not the work I remember, it's the delightful, long summer days.

Aromatherapy for Hair

Today I made some more stuff for my hair. I make my own shampoo, rinse and oil treatment. Hair care was one of the first things I tried when I began my incredible journey into the world of Aromatherapy. Shampoo is the easiest thing to make, I start with castille liquid soap, cut it with distilled water and add the essential oils for my hair type (old and dry). I did have to get over the whole mis-guided idea that shampoo lather has to billow like clouds to clean. That was easy once I saw how clean my hair was. I don't use cream rinse because I don't need it now that I use my own shampoo. I think cream rinse is one of the biggest scams out there, actually. I do use a vinegar rinse with essentials oils in it. It does the job and make my hair smell really nice.

Now I think my hair looks pretty good but I was amazed the last time I had my hair cut. The hairdresser cutting my hair said she had never felt hair as soft as mine before, especially she said considering how grey it was (ok, I'll ignore that part). She asked me what brand I used and could not believe I made it myself. She had no idea how easy it was to do. To be fair, neither did I ten years ago.

Soup

I've always made soup from scratch. When I had lots of leftovers and lots of time. I'm making it more and more lately. I call it my Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink-Soup. What I lack is a recipe so I just use my imagination. If I don't have noodles, I'll use pasta, if I don't have pasta, I'll use rice, no rice then I'll use barley. Vegetables and herbs are first and foremost whatever is getting tired in the fridge then I'll go to frozen from our own garden.

E.B.T.K.S. is a big hit around here. It always was pretty popular but I've noticed a lot more requests for it. I think one of the reasons is the broth, especially when I use rabbit as the base. Rabbit stock or broth is the best I've ever had. It is mild but so flavourful! It tends to be less greasy and and more nutritious. The greatest thing about it is that it is so easy to make.

But soup is just soup, no biggie. I have to admit though, there is a satisfaction to putting together a soup and know everything but the noodles (and a couple of spices) has been grown on The DaM Farm. It's probably psychosomatic, but it seems to make a world of difference in taste. Who knew that satisfaction was a flavour?