It's a Chicken's Life

Few things are as satisfying to see as chickens making contented trills and wandering around the yard. I have greatly enjoyed watching our chickens free-range. I might be washing dishes and look out the window to see them combing the grass for worms and bugs.


Or walking to the garden and the scatter ahead of me.


Unfortunately, they are currently occupying a movable yard with a fresh spot every morning. You see, not one of my chickens is a morning layer. And apparently once they get away from the wagon for the day, they don't take the time to return to it to lay their eggs. One of the ladies appears to prefer to lay her egg sometime between dinner and dusk.

And that handsome rooster? Well, as much as I liked to see him strut his stuff, it turned out that he ate what the ladies laid. And so we ate him. Sad but true. Valerie may have a rooster I can bring home and we'll try to make sure he doesn't develop that bad habit.


Any suggestions for how one goes about getting chickens on a laying schedule?

Berry Pickin'

This post should probably be made by Michaela, my berry picking, cheese-loving friend. Here's a self-portrait she took that I found on my camera.


Michaela was determined not to let a single ripe berry go unpicked last week when she and Theresa were at our house. The black raspberries are coming on nicely of late. We all went out picking with high hopes. Kent and I picked our way into the heart of the berry tangles. He's just tough, but I have what I call my "Haz-Berry Suit". I start with jeans, boots and a t-shirt. I layer it with a long denim apron that I made out of an old pair of overalls. To that I add a heavy, wool flannel, long-sleeved shirt. I put a hat on and I'm ready to go. The brambles cannot hurt me very badly when I'm dressed in my Haz-Berry suit!


Theresa, on the other hand, had too much exposed skin. So we assigned her to the perimeters. I still heard a good many yelps from her direction.


I may look silly but I'm unstoppable.


That looks like an ouchy-thorny face to me...


And our high hopes were rewarded! We had enough berries for pie! There was much rejoicing.


Michaela wasn't satisfied, though, until we whipped up some cream I had in the fridge and she decorated it with swirls. It was a complete success.

Pizza Again!!!

Introduction: The following is a guest post by my dear friend, Theresa, whom I am introducing to the fun of blogging.

Have you ever been told that you cannot have something again due to an allergy- watching others partake of that which you have been longing to have and wishing to have just one bite? Well, that is what I have been doing for the last year. I have an allergy to yeast and yes-yeast is in all the good things in life- the good things,that is, that one eats.

My wonderful friend, the one who is always there for me no matter what. Yes, the friend that I don't deserve but she doesn't care about that. She heard that I was longing for bread-though...not as much as the longing to eat pizza again. Of course, this awesome friend right away started to try and figure out how to make pizza crust without yeast and...what do you know...she did it. I GOT TO EAT PIZZA AGAIN!!!!


This is my daughter, Michaela. She is holding the crust that Kristine came up with. It is a English Muffiny Cheesy Biscuity type of crust. I sure do hope she can recreate this again. Let us all hope that she will post the recipe.


The crust was baked first. I wondered what she was going to put on it.


She divided it into fourths and then topped each section with what each person wanted. The following were the toppings: onion, olives, spinach, sweet pepper, pepperoni and lots and lots of cheese.


It baked for approximately fifteen or twenty minutes.


This pizza was the best. But...it can not compare to the one who made it. She is a great friend with whom I am so greatful to God for.

Feeding My Inner Cookie Monster

Baking has been fun again since we live closer to sea level. At 9,500 feet, many things just weren't possible to make. I dreamed of creating rich cakes, moist cookies, and gooey desserts. I've finally been able to make Blackberry Jam Cake, loaded with fruit; Amazing super-moist dark chocolate cake with peanut butter fudge frosting; and chocolate chips which set the high water mark for my personal best baking.

The first recipe I tried at this altitude will likely be the last. I found it in the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. These babies are impressive.

They are scooped by the quarter cup and I could only fit eight on each baking sheet. And subsequently, each cooling rack.


Fully 4 inches across and between a half and 3/4 inches thick. You CAN eat just one!

Chicken Tractor

If you've ever seen Fresh, then you'll be familiar with the chicken tractor. Joel Salatin uses them. Lots of folks have jumped on the wagon (pun intended). Kent build our birds a real nice tractor.


It's 8 feet by 4 feet excluding nest boxes, has a built in ramp/door, nice big tires, and can be moved around by one person.


The nest boxes are accessible by flipping up their roof and they are set on the outside of the floorplan, so they don't cramp the hens. Technically, the hens could do with just two boxes, but Kent was building deluxe-style, so there are three.


The whole thing is covered in chicken wire to protect them at night, and then covered with a tarp for shade and rain protection.


For the first week we confined them to a small portable yard when they weren't in the tractor. It was to get them used to their new locale. They can come and go from their house as they please throughout the day. Water and feed are inside so that they are less likely to get pilfered or infested by other creatures.


The ladies did a thorough inspection and they seem pleased with it. I know we are.


Each day we can park it in a new location so that they find fresh bugs, grubs and plants and they put less wear and tear on the land. Unlike my last flocks, which had a small stony yard that never changed, these birds have it good. We quit using the temporary fenced yard and now they free range when not in their house. At night, they find their way back to roost and we close it up securely for their protection. It's a great way to do chickens!

On the Way to the Garden

Since our garden is so far from the house, we get to pass the fruit trees on our way there. And shout out a hello to the cows and chickens. Here are Grady and Joyce lounging in their pasture. Kent moves them every two days to fresh pasture. Of course, their little calf minds can barely handle the concept of moving past where electric fence was just a day before. They still get milk replacer twice a day but they are developing a hearty appetite for grazing. Grady will come up to you, or at least stand still while you walk up to him. Joyce, though, appears to be a really high strung scatterbrain.


The peaches are so pretty. The one that hangs closest to the garden will probably be smooth by the time they are ready to pick. I just can't resist reaching out and touching it each time I walk by.



The cherries started to turn! There was much excitement. They were just blushing but I was already planning what I might do with them.


And the next morning they were all gone. Oh, wait, I exaggerate. There were two left dangling. It was like the Grinch that Stole Cherries has come in the night. I'm getting less and less fond of birds.

A Walk Through My Garden

These are pictures from about 10 days ago. (I said I was behind on my posts.) The garden is coming along. Today we staked up tomatoes, sprayed eggplant, hilled potatoes, and mulched celery, eggplant, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and all peppers. So new pictures will follow soon.


The beans and peas are coming in nicely


The hot peppers are proving to be real producers. I don't know how these plants are going to hold up all the peppers


I can't wait to eat onions from my own garden


The squash seems to me to be coming along slowly. But I suppose it's investing in roots now. Soon I'll probably be complaining that it's taking over the walkways overnight.


I've never grown potatoes before - I'm pretty excited about them


And I can almost taste the Kandy Corn!


I'm keeping an eye on these fellows - they'll likely be the first ones we get to eat


It's a lot of hard work but the rewards far outweigh any pains or sweat.