Ouchy!

Ross was being a trooper today and mowed most of the lawn.  He hit a stopping point in the orchard.  We located our bee hive in this area, and when I mow I try to go as fast around the hive as possible.  I've held on to the theory that the mower agitates the bees, and I guess I was right.  Ross was mowing around it and he got stung twice.  What made it worse was that the first bee stung him around his mouth and just as he was reacting to that sting (hence opening his mouth to gasp in pain) another stung him right on the fleshy part right next to his lip inside his mouth.  Talk about a boo-boo lip!

On the plus side, we got a good batch of cucumbers from the garden so Ross is working on canning me some dill pickles while he is also working on supper.  He made foil dinners to go on the grill, filled with squash, carrots, beans and potatoes from the garden.  I just love foil dinners.  They remind me of camping.

A Beautiful Weekend

Well the weekend is almost over and no more cougar sightings thank the Lord.  We had a very productive weekend.  Ross was able to can a batch of his homemade tomato soup and made a terrific Mexican dinner for us Saturday night.  He made everything from scratch including the nacho chips for the cheese dip.  Mmm, mmm tasty.  They were even better today as a snack!

On Saturday, we finally got the roof completed on the chicken run.  I had placed wire mesh over the top to keep our little cluckers in but it was not secured.  This weekend we connected each of the posts with 2x4s and nailed the chicken wire in place.  We started to weave each of the sections together with galvanized wire, but still have some weaving left to do.  I'll leave that to Ross to finish this week.  I am feeling much better about the safety of my little girls.

Ross noticed that one of the hens was limping as she walked.  We checked her foot and all seems in order.  We are hoping that she just strained it and that in time it will get better.  We'll keep an eye on that.

Today I finished up a job that I have put off for two summers now.  When we first bought the property the woods came right up to the house.  The house sits on a hill (hence Looking Glass Hill) with the area that the house sits on leveled out.  On one side of the house the property slopes upward and on the other the property slopes downward.  Several months after we closed the septic system was replaced.  To do this the contractor had to cut down a lot of trees to place the tank and leaching field as well as to gain access to those sites.  He created a quasi road on our property and opened up a lot of what is now green space for us to enjoy.  That summer I placed some stone steps on the downward sloping side of the house that led to the quasi road.  I always intended to build a hand rail as the grade is somewhat steep but have put it off until this weekend.  As fate would have it Ross and I came across discounted, end of season hostas and decided to place these in this small swatch of land right next to the stairs.  The area was overrun with weeds and was the last remaining section of the area between the driveway and the quasi road that we still had left to reclaim from the woods; probably half of Ross' poison ivy outbreaks have come from reclaiming this area of our property.  I decided before planting the hostas that I should place the handrail  so that I wouldn't have to disturb the plants later.  So as Ross cooked brunch, and a tasty bread pudding that we had for dessert tonight, I went out and started digging the post holes.  Thankfully there were no major rock obstacles so hole digging went quickly.  For the posts I used a maple tree trunk from a tree we cut down earlier this summer.  The handrail is a maple sapling that I cut down today.  I had the posts in place and the sapling cut all before Ross called me to the table.  After a quick trip to the local hardware store for some quick drying cement to hold the poles in place, I was close to being done.  I'm really happy with the railing and was done so quickly that I was able to get all the hostas planted too.  Progress makes me happy.  What makes me really happy is crossing a two year old project off my to do list!

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Let me start by saying that I miss all the cool things!  Late this morning I get an email from Ross sent from his iPod touch that read, "omg. just saw a bobcat."  Now a bobcat would not be an abnormal sight here in Connecticut, but it would be a first for both of us.

Making sure all was okay, I gave Ross a call and learned that he had been out herding the chickens while they free ranged for a bit when he saw the big cat.  He was a bit nervous because it was no more than 100 feet away from him.  I included this picture because the big cat was just on the other side of the hammock while Ross was standing about where the picture was taken.  Our phone call was short and sweet as I got back to work.

I got the whole story when Ross came to bring me lunch.  He told me that he was watching the chickens and then looked over and saw what he thought was a dog is in our backyard.  This is a concern when you have unprotected chickens because dogs can easily kill them.  The creature then looked at him and his first thought was "kitty."  His next thought was "BIG kitty."  His final thought was "BIG KITTY!"  It was at this point that he started flailing around the gett'n stick and telling the big cat to go away.  Thank God it did.  Now anyone who knows Ross knows that he loves cats, so I can only imagine that he must have cracked a momentary grin between his "kitty" and "BIG kitty" thoughts.

The next thing Ross told me is what really makes this story interesting.  He said that he was mistaken, and it wasn't a bobcat that he saw but a cougar (aka mountain lion, panther or puma).  Now this is a bit of a problem here in Connecticut because the official stance of the State's Department of Environmental Protection has been that cougars are not found in Connecticut and haven't been for over a century.  Cougar sightings in the state have been classified as either a mistaken identity of some other animal or someone's pet cougar gone astray.  Essentially, as my Internet research has led me to believe, the difference between Ross seeing a bobcat and a cougar in Connecticut is the same difference between someone seeing an airplane and a UFO.  I was even able to find a conspiracy theory online; the person said the state introduced the cougars back into the wild to control the deer population but did not want to notify the public because of the danger cougar's pose.  Going forward we will refer to this as the cougar on the grassy knoll theory.

Now what makes Ross' sighting even more interesting is that our elderly neighbor, who had the bear in her apple trees, has on several occasions told our next door neighbor that she has spotted a cougar in her yard.  He thought she was just being crazy.  Guess not.  Now I'm on a quest to get a picture of the cougar so that I can prove the big cats are back!  As an aside, when I got home from work Ross' big, bowie knife was sitting on the kitchen counter.  He had been wearing it this afternoon when he let the chickens out for some more free time.  I guess he thought he'd get all Grizzly Adams on the cougar if it decided to come back for a tasty chicken treat. Grrrrrr!

Here is another person's blog about cougars here in the Litchfield Hills. http://www.damnedct.com/mountain-lions-litchfield-hills/

Red Cabbage, Sore Knuckles

So Ross and I worked on the red cabbage kraut as he had hoped yesterday evening.  Ross had grown several heads of red cabbage in the garden and had been looking forward to mashing the cabbage this time- or so he says.  Unfortunately poor Ross has gotten poison ivy all over his fingers; he just has to look at a poison ivy plant to get it.  He looks like a mini-mummy right now with his fingers wrapped up in Band-Aids.  Of course this made it impossible for him to mash the cabbage so he was left to weighing and shredding.  This left the job of mashing to me-oh joy!

Mashing is a simple process.  You just keep pushing down on the cabbage with your knuckles to get the cells of the cabbage to release its moisture.  I am amazed at how much fluid gets released.  I used a mixture of knuckle mashing and squeezing in my fist as I worked the shredded cabbage.  The squeezing helped a bunch, but my knuckles are still so sore today from all the mashing.  Cabbage is a really tough vegetable!  This batch was red cabbage so the released fluid was a deep purple.  The fluid lent my hand a wonderful hue (not to mention smell) as you can see in the picture.  All I can say is that doing this gives me a great appreciation for our ancestors.  Food preserving and processing was a tough chore, and they did it in much greater quantity than us.

City Chicken Weekend

The weekend is almost over, and it has been a full one!  We started it off with City Chicken for Friday supper. This is a new dish to our table.  I personally never heard of it before, but it is something that Ross grew up eating and thought only his grandmother made (until he did some research and realized that many others had grown up with it too).  Although the name states chicken it is actually not.  Ross' recipe calls for a mixture of beef and pork.  I guess in the old days beef and pork were cheaper than chicken so City Chicken was the poor man's dish.  All I can say is that it was quite tasty, and as you can tell by the picture we had plenty enough for leftovers.

Speaking of chicken,  all four of ours are now laying eggs pretty consistently.  On Saturday I took the camera with me when I went to let them out and collect the eggs.  I took this picture of these three brown beauties waiting for me.  We are now getting more eggs than we are using so either Ross is going to need to bake more, or we are going to have to start giving them away.  I am amazed, and feel somewhat bad, that these little hens push out something relatively so big on such a consistent basis.  I guess there is no rest for the little cluckers.

The ladies are also getting accustomed to their new run.  The first couple of days they tried to escape via their not so great flying, but realized very quickly that their was no escape from Chicken-traz (think Alcatraz-my other name for it is Fort Clux like Fort Knox).  They also went from wall to wall looking for a way out to no avail.  Now they go about their business like it's old hat.  They even found a little space to have their dirt baths.  They are so adorable as they roll themselves around in the dirt.  They get it all up in their feathers.  When they are done, they give a grand shake and release a plume of dust.  It reminds me of Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoon.  They are my little dirty birds.

Ross and I also spent part of Saturday replanting his largest fig tree and changing out some of our spent annuals with mums and asters.  I have a thing for mums.  I just love their smell and the bright colors.  It is one of the things that I love about the late summer/early autumn period.  I will definitely post some pictures later once they start to bloom.  So far I picked up a couple of smaller pinks called Gigi and for the front planters I got a couple of oranges named Hannah.  Ross also picked out one that has a yellow center that radiates out to white; it is quite pretty.  In the evening we ran into town and got some more chicken bedding and food from the Tractor Supply store and then grabbed some supper.  When we got back it was dark, but it was still nice out so we took our kitty Daisy out to the rock garden with us.  I used this time to cut the flower stems off the lavender so that they could be bunched together and dried.  It was nice to just sit, talk and share a moment with our little girl who is quickly winding down (damn cancer).

We awoke today to rain.  Now I normally would be a bit down about a rainy day on my weekend, but we are in such need of water that I found it refreshing.  The rain caused a bit of trouble to my rain barrel though.  Those in the know know that I have had fits with this barrel since I got it.  It was sent to me as long wood slats with these small metal bands to hold them together.  Inside the barrel is a plastic bladder to hold the rain water.  The problem with it is that these metal bands cannot withstand the outward pressure pushed on them by the water.  I have now had three of the bands break so I went to Home Depot to see if I could find a solution.  Now my rain barrel is being held together by nylon tie downs attached to tensioning ratchets.  If it works...

I have included this picture of peaches I took Saturday because peaches permeated the whole weekend.  Our peach trees are young but have given us several tasty treats to snack on.  All I can say is that I cannot wait for these trees to mature so that I can stuff my face with peach after peach.  So, so tasty.  

So now I must go as I hear Ross in the kitchen working on his salsa (he finds so many ways to preserve all the tomatoes).  I also promised him I'd do the dishes, and then I think he wants to make a batch a red cabbage kraut this evening.  With all this still pending I'm really hoping to get to bed before the day's over.  Wish me luck!

Garden Variety

So we are hitting that point with our garden where everything is starting to ripen at once.  Ross goes out daily to pick tomatoes.  So far he has made a batch of his wonderful tomato sauce and some ketchup which is a first for him.  I am so thrilled about the ketchup.  Earlier this summer we were having some burgers for lunch and I happened to pick up the ketchup bottle and looked at the ingredients.  For the most part it was what I had expected, but there was one thing on there that I did not expect or like.  I would say more, but I won't here, given the fact that it is a big industry doing a lot of spin marketing lately.  All I need is a libel suit filed against me.  All said, I can't wait to crack open a jar of Ross' homemade garden tomato ketchup.

Ross also has made a couple of batches of pickles.  He prefers bread and butter pickles; I like dill so he makes a batch specifically for me.  He really is quite industrious.  So now we have ketchup and pickles.  I keep joking that he needs to make some mustard.  Of course now that we have farm fresh eggs, I bet he could whip up some great mayo (to make mayo you need your eggs at room temperature which is easy to do when you get fresh ones every day).  Now I'm getting hungry for a burger!  Oh well.  On a side note, I hope you like the labels on the lids.  I did this once before for Ross several years ago when he gave away his preserves as Christmas presents.  I thought 2010 was a good time to revive the practice.

Promises, Promises

Earlier this morning I was outside watching the chickens as they had some free range time.  All of a sudden Ross came tearing out of the house with the phone in his hand to tell me that our neighbor had called and the black bear had been in his back yard again; I guess he has a thing for his bird feeder.  Our neighbor, upset with the bear for beating on the feeder, yelled at him from his back door.  I guess he hurt the bear's feelings because the scolding made it go and climb up a tree (the bear climbed up an oak and was actually trying to get apples from the tree right next to it).  By the time I got there the bear was quite hidden in the tree.  I could barely see the thing for all the leaves, but I could hear him as he rustled and broke the tree's branches.  I thought he might fall, but he ended up climbing down.  He then headed into the apple orchard on the neighboring property (two houses away from ours).  We followed him from the other side of the stone wall keeping our distance, taking pictures as we could, and trying not to be noticed.  The bear ended up climbing another tree for apples and after a bit headed off behind the house where we lost track of him.  The experience was quite nerve-wracking to say the least.  There was always a little voice in the back of my head saying what will you do if the thing turns and starts running towards you.  What one will do for a photo-op!

I see you.

About the same time as the bear headed off a pickup truck pulled into the driveway of this property.  The couple inside had come to pick plums from the owner's orchard.  My neighbor went over to tell them to be careful because of the circumstances.  The man behind the wheel said that there was no reason to worry and that a bear won't bother you if you don't bother it.  I thought to myself what a nice promise to make; it's definitely one no man can keep, but nice none the less.  I guess he was right this time though because I never saw or heard an ambulance come.

The Talented Mrs. Hull

When I got home from work today there was a little package waiting for me.  Inside I found the most adorable chicken that my sister had made for myself and Ross.  Our little hen pumpkin makes a great companion for the original pumpkin that my sister gifted us last year.  I can't quite remember, but I believe they are made out of paper mache or a material of similar quality.  My sister then paints them.  They are simply adorable and beautifully crafted.  My sis is definitely talented!

It's always nice to receive an unexpected gift.  Especially one that is as unique and thoughtful as the chick-o-lantern.  It will be a wonderful reminder of all the highs and lows we have experienced in our first year with chickens.  Thanks sis!

Chicken Run. Try Chicken Fly.

So last week we got the poles for the chicken run in place.  It was nice to go out out every night after work and see our little, poultry Stonehenge.  What made it extra special was the subtle reminder it gave of all the work that was necessary for the run to get completed.  The plan was to build three walls with a door.  After thinking this through a bit more I realized that it would be nothing for a fox or coyote to jump on the roof of the coop and just hop in the run so a fourth wall on the coop side became necessary.  There was no plan for a roof.  I should state that again-no plan for a roof.  I really did not think that a roof was necessary.  Really, six foot high walls should keep everything out.  Right?

So I was up working on the coop side wall, and Ross was over with the chickens while they were taking their nap/dirt bath (I think they do this about midday every day).  The next thing I know Ross is swinging the get'n stick (a hiking stick that we use to herd the chickens) in the air and ranting.  I see two hawks move out of a dive straight toward the chickens for fear of being hit by the crazy man and his stick.  They ended up roosting in a nearby tree.  Ross did not take his eye off them. Talk about the evil eye!  So this little escapade gave me a quick, second thought about the roof.  I looked at the area, saw the trees overhead, and then thought there is no way a hawk will get them in here.  Back to work I went.

The next thing I know the beautiful, sunny weather turns overcast an muggy.  And this happened just in time for me to start digging the first of three ditches needed to bury some of the chicken wire in hopes of keeping the wild things from digging under the fence.  It was sweaty work.  Ross finally was able to corral the chickens back into the coop and came to my rescue.  Together we worked on the remaining ditches and got the chicken wire in place all the time being serenaded by the clucks and squawks of our little hens.  They were not happy about being cooped up; I now know where that colloquialism came from.  After we got the wire in place (no door yet as I still have to build it) Ross started cleaning up the tools and I decided to let the little girls try out their new yard.  They were not happy to say the least.  Ever since we first took them out they have been free range birds.  These girls did not like the idea of a fence.  They went from wall to wall looking for an escape as I sat in the doorway blocking the only route out.  Blackie, our Black Australorps, tried to fly right over my head, but I caught her.  She was not happy about that!  And then, Curley (so named for her funny, curly tail feathers), took flight right to the top of the beam over the door space.  I could only laugh.  I have spent so much time wondering if the walls were tall enough to keep all the critters out and if the trees would keep the hawks at bay that I neglected to think if they were tall enough to keep my little cluckers in!  Guess not.  So, now on next weeks agenda is a roof.

By the way, our other two remaining hens are named Flopsie and Maddie;  Flopsie got her name because her comb flops over to one side and Maddie got hers from Ross as an homage to my niece-our Golden Comets' ginger feathers are a close resemblance to my niece's hair.  During a conversation with my sister, post informing them of our hen's name, she told me that my nephew wanted to know why we didn't name one of the chicken's after him.  My reply, "We don't have a rooster!"  Situation averted...

On another side note, the whole time I have been writing this Ross has been in the kitchen canning green beans.  The boy just doesn't stop.  I think I got him riled up by mentioning that this year they are having a canning contest at the Bethlehem County Fair.  Maybe Ross will be the blue ribbon winner!

Das Sauerkraut

Last year Ross tried making sauerkraut with the cabbage from the garden.  He used our pickling crock, weighed the cabbage down with a plate, and then covered the top with some plastic wrap.  There was a lot of growth on the surface that he had to keep skimming off.  In the end he wasn't happy and began looking online for other crocks.  He ended up settling on a Polish fermentation crock that I got for him as a gift.  This crock has a water trough seal that is supposed to do away with the need for skimming the top.

So here we are a year later and Ross picked some cabbage from the garden that needs processed.  I was not quite sure how cabbage gets to kraut so I was quite interested in finding out.  I didn't realize that this was going to be a hand's on lesson.  Come to find out it's quite easy.  You shred cabbage, place a layer in the crock with a bit of salt, and then mash it to get it to release its natural moisture.  I was amazed at how much water came out.  Once you finish mashing the cabbage-and in the process giving your hand the wonderful scent of eau de ca'bauge-you place a weight on top (our crock came with its own stoneware weights) and let mother nature do its job.  In four to six weeks, and minimal upkeep, we should have some sauerkraut.  Now I just need to talk Ross into making his homemade German potato salad and applesauce again.   Add to that some knockwurst cooked in the kraut and we will have ourselves a really great Autumn supper.  My mouth is watering at just the thought!

It's Good For You. I Promise!

Last October when my mom and Bob visited we went to the annual Garlic Festival held at the Bethlehem fairgrounds.  While there we had some good garlic eats, bought some fancy garlic oil, and Ross got a quarter bag of seed garlic which probably cost the same as buying three garlic bulbs from the grocery store.  He planted many a clove.  Almost a year later our harvest is in, and I am amazed at how much garlic we have.  I spent several hours trimming the stalks, dusting the cloves off with a soft bristle brush, and grouping them together in several bunches so that they may hang and dry.  The herb hook we got earlier this year is really paying off!  For all visitors still to come this year please note that at least one of your meals will be garlic inspired, and I am not make any promises on our breath.

Ross the Chicken Herder

On another note, we made progress on building the chickens a run to help keep them safe from the wild beasts.  We got some 4x4 poles in the ground which was somewhat of a chore.  As my mother explained so eloquently as she was digging in one of our gardens, we "sure do grow great rocks here."  My hands are sore from digging out small rock after small rock.  I'm not quite sure if the 4x4s are a bit of overkill, but I'm trying to keep our poor, little birds safe.  During one of my breaks I asked Ross if he remembered that earlier this year I declared 2010 the year of the bird, and he did.  We laughed over how true my proclamation became.  What makes it funny is that I never expected to get chickens; one day in April Ross went to run errands and when he returned he surprised me with baby chicks.  I then stated that I never knew how much work the year of the bird would be with building the coop and the run, and then I said that 2011 WILL NOT be the year of the goat (Ross has wanted goats ever so badly since we picked up our bees from a farm where their goats had and were giving birth and Ross and I got to hold the babies).  I just don't think I have it in me to build a barn next year.

All in all we had a great weekend.  Ross spent much of it chicken herding while I worked on my projects.  He really is a great man.  I hope to get the run completed soon so that he can stop worrying so much about the remaining chickens and get on to other things.