Finally the sun is shining! I was having some major depression issues.
My MG volunteer project has been approved.
January 2011 - what is on your homestead horizon?
Great news on the project!! I am looking forward to updates on it.
No sun here for a few days. It does get depressing. It hd stopped snowing this morning but started up again this afternoon. Pooh!!!
But I nee to quit complaining so much. We still have power and that is a huge blessing. We can also drive almost up to the barn on the mountain.
This is where we have to walk from.
My shoulder is hurting tonight.
DH cooked a great supper tonight. Sauted green peppers, onions, garlic, sukes, yellow squash, bok choy and carrots in EVOO. Covered it all with Cream of Mushroom soup and let it cook down. Then he added a pack of chicken flavored ramen noodles. Can I tell you it was delish! I had seconds.
Taynors, no, I haven't been. But I did pick up some vitamins today.
Cajun, I hope your snow melts soon. I know it's got to be really hard on you. As beautiful as our hills are, traveling on the backroads in winter can be really rough.
I was so proud of our hens yesterday and I bragged to Al that we got 10 eggs. That was the first time since I bought them October. Well, they showed me not to get so excited...they only laid 5 eggs today.
Our Extension Agent really liked the project idea. The only suggestion or advice he had was to say "with an emphasis on naturally grown", not "organic" on the flyers and ads. He said he loses a lot of people when he mentions organic, maybe because people don't understand it or think it will be too labor intensive. He said his office will supply all of our printed material, do any copying that needs to be done and run the ads in the "community news" section of the newspaper each week. This is a big project, but I felt it was more in line with what the Master Gardeners program was all about, which is going into the community and teaching. Our MG Association members get their hours doing plant sales and field trips to botanical gardens, for the most part. I asked two other MG interns (both are organic gardeners) from my class to join me doing this project. We should each be able to acrue all of our hours (30) during this 6 week workshop and not have to worry about it the rest of the year.
good morning
msrobin sounds like a great plan. I know you will be feeling better once we start seeing some more warm temps and sunshine.
hooray on your eggs
always fun to get eggs
i get about 1-6 a day just don't know when them hens will lay or not ?
not much going on here
deciding if i want to do another co-op with tropicals what is a girl to do ?
Sue, how on earth do you grow tropicals in your neck of the woods this time of year? How is the GH coming?
I got 7 eggs yesterday. Funny thing with Miracle yesterday. I have her inside because she has decided to molt. 3 days ago she layed her normal egg, then no egg, then yesterday she layed an egg the size of a bantam egg. Could be her last egg before the full molt or could be a fluke. I guess time will tell. I have 1 pullet, a golden comet, that layes a honkin big egg. An XL carton will not close over it. If she had started laying before i bought these last chicks I'd have bought more GC instead of the BO and RSL. I don't think the BO are actually BO. They are built like the RSL but are a muted rose color so I actually have no idea what they really are. I just hope they are good layers. One thing about the RSL is that they are all friendly and gentle. The rest of my flock is a motley crew, a couple of this and that and a mixture thereof. But they are good layers. The games are not steady but they are good broodies and the oldest game hen keeps everything running smoothly in the pen.
Robin, your program sounds better and better. So glad you will have help and resources from the extension. That will take a weight off. Will you be doing all the lesson material or will you and the other 2 split up the topics and be on your own for the actual classes? How many hens do you have and what kind are they? Also, where is Al working now?
My shoulder is better this morning. I took a long, hot shower last night and got a good night's rest. Crazy dreams but that is normal. I went to bed about 3 hours early so I got plenty sleep. I think the combination of
carrying full feed buckets up the hills and having a backpack with 2 gallons of hot water on my back is hurting my shoulder. But no help for it right now. What can't be cured must be endured.
I need to get out earlier today so I can get to the PO. I have a few seed trades in the works. I hope we can get up out of our hollow. It's 14* here this morning but looks to be a clear day. Won't know if we'll have sunshine today until later. We never get any sun here in winter until after 10am. We are between 2 mountains.
I don't know if I told you all, but our church will be hosting a seed swap for the community is Spring. We have all been saving seeds from our yards and crops and we will get together at the local park to visit and swap with our neighbors. I don't think there has ever been such a thing here so it will take a few years to catch on but I think it will be fun. May also let the kids from my Wednesday night class sell a few refreshments to make a bit of money for their summer trip. This pic is the shed where we will have the swap.
Cajun, sounds like a lot of fun!
It's 39 here, the sun is shining again and the snow is melting! WhooHoo! I love the sunshine!
CSA update: So far, I have 2 verbal commitments from last year members. I also have 2 people I have been emailing back and forth that seem to be committed. And it's only the middle of January!
MG project update: I got a call from the Ext. office this morning to find out what materials we'll need, so they can start getting them together for us. Sounds like we are going to get a lot of support from the Ext. office.
Well, I'm off to head outside and enjoy some of this bright sunshine! Oh, what a beautiful day!
The sun did shine today and it was a welcome sight indeed. The wind layed and it got up to around 30* so it was a pleasant day. Got the work done with no problem.
Ben, the youngest colt, is trying to colic again. He has been a bit off all day. Perked up a bit after standing in the sun a while. I was thinking he might be cutting teeth but when we got back from feeding across the mountain he was laying down. He was on his chest and had not been rolling but he was starting to look at his belly, a sure sign of collic. I put him back in his stall with hay and water but no grain. Injected him with 6cc of banamine. Will check on him in an hour or so. He is only 21 months old and this is the 4th time he has tried to colic. It's frustrating.
Homestead Horizon
It's good to see some of the Texas gardeners over on this forum.
This looks like a thread where I can share my excitement over my new homestead endeavor - baby chicks from Meyer Hatchery to be delivered March 22; building a hen house; and building a chicken pen fully enclosed with wire.
You can see a couple pictures of the work in progress over here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1149468/
That's something we will all help you crow about! LOL I slay myself. What kind of chicks are you getting?
Cajun, what causes the colic?
The first 3 were stress and if I am right about his cutting teeth, this episode would be stress too. I'm hoping he will grow out of it and relax as he gets older. He was resting easy when DH checked on him.
There's a lot of different causes of colic, Robin. The most common one is intestinal parasite damage. But after that, anything that messes w/the action of the intestines--a horse has 50-70 feet worth of 'em--can result in gas build-up, constipation, blockage. Foreign bodies, enteroliths, congenital defects, toxins in the feed, too much grain (like they got into the whole bag), too much cold water after a hard work out... the list is darn near endless.
Watching a horse die of colic has got to be one of the worst experiences a person can have.
You are right about that. It's an awful thing to waych. We have been blessed that we have never lost one to it but we've stood with friends who have and it hurts. My colt, Tug, is named in memory of a friend's horse who torqued himself a few days after Tug was born. Don't know what caused his initial colic. The same friend lost a big racking mare to colic a few months later. She had bots when he bought her but was told that she had been wormed for bots so he didn't do it. She coliced and bled out when her stomach perferated. She was a big horse. Same cross as our Gypsy but she was much bigger and she picked up her easy gaits. She had a really sweet rack. A guy we know here has lost 3 in the last 2 months. I told him to get the vet to pull blood and see what was going on. Turned out to be poisin. I suspected as much because of the circumstances.
We have been blessed to catch Ben early each time. Nay have to look into some kind of calming suplement for him. His nerves are different that Shaq's. You can see Shaq is nervous by his actions. Not so with Ben. He looks calm but he is stressing inwardly. Then he colics.
Have you ever given Ben probiotics? I wonder if his gut flora is quite up to speed for him; an imbalance might be pre-disposing him to gas, etc. Just an idea. You might ask your vet about it.
No we haven't but it sounds like a good option. We have high hopes for him. He is very layed back and should end up being a good sized horse. He has pretty action and DH is looking forward to riding him in a couple years. But if we can't get a handle on this we'll have to let him go. What form are the probiotics in?
I think they're usually a paste, like wormer.
Is a chicken crossing the road called poultry in motion?
LMAO... soon to be mechanically separated chicken (that has always creeped me out on food labels)
Groan!
When you have chickens you learn the origin of every chicken joke you've ever heard, don't you! Hen pecked, ruling the roost, and on and on . . .
She lives! How're you doin', AZ?
Boy, if we'd known bad jokes would shake you offa your roost... LOL
Chicks I'm getting are "Production Pack Females **SPECIAL** " ordered online. I don't, however, see them listed in the Meyer catalog I received a couple days ago.
Seems a lot of hatcheries have their own line of "sex links".
We buy from Hoover Hatchery in Iowa. They call them Gold Star Layers.
Actually these ones are not "sex Links", although I will have probably been happier with sex links. Being cheap and probably penny wise and pound foolish I opted for this offer.
Here is what is written about the order on the Meyer website: "This all female pack gives you a variety of our very BEST brown egg layers. It will include at least three of these breeds: Golden Buff, Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Black Australorp. Each one of these layers is top rated. A well maintained hen from the Production Pack will yield 5+ large brown eggs per week! Sold in lots of 25".
I just hope I can get at least half of them to egg laying stage.
If you don't mind my asking... how much did you pay per chick?
I have mixed junkie chickens LOLLL
i got 6 eggs today 4 light tan and one green. i love the green egg. its more olive color .
Texas you will learn a lot from our group,
oh i threw away my rum fruit. i tasted it .... not good icky icky.
have to start all over. :(
i give my chickens tea. i make green tea for water twice a week and then they get the tea bags. I make a tea mash with applesauce, flax seed , oatmeal ,sweet potato and dried fruit. or raw seeds.
apple cider vinager always in water
if i see dierreah i give mashed banana and Keffir.
would a horse drink Keffir ?
Quote from Jayryunen :
If you don't mind my asking... how much did you pay per chick?
The lot of 25 cost $58.46 delivered ($2.34 ea.). I was shocked at the $14.21 delivery charge ($.57 ea.). Geeze, where have I been?
Sue I have never heard of keffir. My chickens just get creek water or well water or faucet water. Nothing fancy.
Ben is his old self today. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Thank the good Lord. He worries me to be sure.
ROFLOL @ Darius. Can I use that one?
AZ Where have you been? Fighting wind mills like Don Quiote? Have they started building those hateful things yet? Is your fence keeping the neighbors cows out? I sure hope so. They can do a lot of damage in a short time.
Jay, I'm gonna look into the probiotics. I should be able to get that OTC, huh? He used to crib before we moved him over here and he may well have caused problems in his gut. Come to think of it, all 3 that we are having problems getting weight on are cribbers. I bought some AWFUL tasting stuff called bitter licks to spray on the wood. It works where you spray it but they find another spot pretty quick. And Coffee has a lot of trees in her lot to choose from. At $50 a bottle, I can't spray them all. How often do they need to be treated with the probiotics?
Texas, those are nice breeds. You should get some good layers in that group. Most of my flock are pullets that will be coming into laying in the Spring so I should be getting lots of eggs then.
Yeah, you can get them OTC... I don't know how often you'd give it. You can find 'em for pretty good prices mail order... you might try calling one of those companies & see what they recommend.
Keffir is just drinkable yogurt... probiotics is just basically the yogurt culture w/out the yogurt. LOL
My donkeys fight over the coffee grounds & tea bags. Hannah will leave her hay for coffee. LOL
I'll leave my hay for coffee too. LOL
Cajun read the label on your horse feed. Several feeds I know have probiotics included in them.
LOL donkeys drinking coffee ?? !!! ROFLL what next. that is to cute.
our dog likes marshmellows and drinking liquid fence. ?
well DH decided on getting a goat for our dd 4H. but i told him they need friends, herd animals . sooo
he is looking into fencing
our neighbor had 12 goats kidding this winter. all due last week LOL yikes. i helped him last year. he was at work , his dd was out in the barn late at night , she got scared and called me , i ran over , her mom just had surgery so she was inside.
sooo i guess they all decided to be day babies LOLL
we may go see them today
No, sue, the donks eat the grounds... though they'd probably drink coffee if I'd put it in a bottle & hold it for them. I've got one that drinks beer from the bottle. But somehow, like just seems too short to coffee up my donks on a regular basis. LOL
Still dry & sunny here, gorgeous from a human point of view, an utter disaster from an environmental point of view. If we don't get some hellacious spring storms, it is going to be one heck of a fire season this year. =0(
I can't believe I'm leaving in 4 days, just about when I should be starting seeds! Aargh, I'm going through withdrawal!. I can't stand this. Grr....
Jaye LOL to funny on the donks.
we had a sunny and georgous day. down in he 20 but GH was 61 ! with no heat. Them poly carb panels sure are doing the job !
i can't wait to get more heat in the GH to start some lettuce !
wishing you luck on your journey in 4 days. woo hoo.
not much going on here
did a big brush fire in our feild felt good sitting and hanging around a fire. fun fun. just need some mallows and chocolate and rum LOL
Ordered 100 strawberry plants from "Nourse" asked that they be shipped in April. Received their catalog last week (after I placed the order on-line). On the inside front cover there is mention of "Davesgarden" and "Garden Watchdog". Thought it was cool.
Wow, Dyson, that is cool. Did they mention me? LOL I slay myself. I will be interested to see pics of your extended berry patch.
Jay, I will be having withdrawals for your posts with you being gone so long. Darius is going to have to step in a keep us all straight. You know I am as crooked as a dog's hind leg so I'll be no good for the job. I hope they get some rain while you are gone. Do have problems with fires at your place? You should do some controlled burns when you get home and take away the fires fuel before it happens. Hook a donk to a plow and dig you a fire line too.
Sue, I'd think lettuce would do fine at 61*. What are polycarb panels?
Porkpal, tahnks for that info. I will check it out. I still have a "few" bags of feed.
Of course I'll post what I can while J is away, but I'll never fill anyone's shoes. Got enough to do to fill my own.
My life has recently taken a turn I never expected,,, not do I know what will come of it, if anything but a bit of my own pleasure. I'm always interested in a slew of things, some of which dominate for a bit and then move to the side until I come back to them.
I've been playing around with meat curing off and on for about 2 years now, but it has finally bitten me hard. Part of it may have to do with finally giving myself permission to eat all those things we were told for years were bad for us, but for whatever all the reasons are, I think I am fully committed to learning (and doing) all I can about meat curing. In this country it really is a lost art.
I have an invitation to visit with the manager of the farm that supplies a lot of my grass fed beef and pastured pork, and I suspect he will consider providing meat cuts for some experimental products in exchange of a share of the successful items. No doubt there will be failures along the way since curing is never an exact science, but dependent on many factors including humidity and temperature.
Beyond that, I have many ideas that need to jell, depending on how things play out over the next 2 years or so. Eventually it could be an income producer, which means an available commercial kitchen and walk-in cooler (among other things!).
I've been printing out data for about 3 months, probably have more than a ream of paper printed in notebooks. A lot of it is safety regs (USDA, FDA) plus scads of ethnic recipes and professional tips. I also have several books, and pdf's of OOP books I've downloaded.
I don't expect most folks to be excited by this, but it suits me!
Segue. I just read this:
Food Price Index Reaches Its Highest Recorded Level
http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2011/01/fao-food-price-index-reaches-its-highest-recorded-level/69129/
The new index is higher than in 2008 when people throughout the world rioted in protest. It is also at the highest level recorded since the index began in 1990.
Sugar is the highest, followed by fats and oils. Both are projected to be even higher next year.