Little Farm

Downstairs bathroom converted to greenhouse (and turkey nursery)

Sorry, sideways. I replaced the normal vanity bulbs with alternating white and yellow CFLs. Plants love florescent light and CO2, (just the opposite of humans).

This is thanksgiving in it's early form. Four turkey poults (poults=turkey chicks). Two bronze and two whites, here four days old. These are commercial breed broad-breasted, so they can't reproduce due to the awkward physical size they will eventually have. Also, they can have leg problems if allowed to live too long--they've been selected for meat. Next year I am going to get the old fashioned kind that are a little less busty but can reproduce.

The poults look a little like the chicks, but they have more prominent wings, longer necks and a little knobby on their forehead/beak area. They are less flighty and skittish than the chicks and let me hold and pet them. The are very wobbly and awkward when they walk as opposed to the chicks, and tend to just walk right over each other rather than walking around. They are cute and very, very stupid. They are also very fragile, so it's recommended you get 1/2 as much more to double the poults as the number of turkeys you want to end up with because they die easily. Mine are very pampered, so I'm hoping for better odds.

white poult

bronze poult

They are friendly, but love to nip at my fingernails and wedding ring. They'll eat out of my hand.

Here are the layer chicks, 3.5 weeks old, 14 different breeds. Five of the tan ones are buff orpington cockerels (roosters under a year). When I make a weird noise or do something strange like hold a camera at them they all freeze and stare at me out of one eye like this. Notice "skinny-head," as the kids call her, in the back center, with the 'Nilla Ice crew cut.

The lovely hen in the middle is the one we call "red," for obvious reasons. She's beautiful. The Buff behind her I believe must be a cockerel, from the long legs and larger size. The water bottle on top of the waterer is to keep them from roosting up there and pooping in their water, because they are that way.

Another photo of the, "What the "%&*@" is food-lady pointing at us?" freeze-and-stare pose.

I keep the greenhouse/turkey nursery/bathroom locked and let myself in with a hairpin because I'm the only one in the house that can figure that out. This is spike, our gorgeous boy-kitty, saying, "Please, please let me in here just for a minute. I just want to look at the turkeys, that's all."

Girl-cat Bella smiles for the camera. She doesn't even bother trying to get in to the chick or poult rooms anymore. You're asking if my house stinks, aren't you? No, not really. Not any more than the barf fest we had over Easter weekend and the daily diapers. And as any good book will tell you, proper litter management means little to no smell.

Because there is no way I could properly manage all the litter these gargatuan 3.5 week old fryers are putting out these days, I had to move them outside, even though it is a little early. David built an 8x8 pen. At this age, they need about 1 sq ft of space each, moving up to 3 (min) -5 (cushy) sq feet each as they grow (on soapbox: commercial chicken batteries give them a space smaller than a piece of paper--six hens in a file-drawer sized cage--they can't even sit down most of the time. This creates disease and pecking, so they often have to debeak. It is not uncommon for one of the six chickens to be dead and trampled long before anyone gets to it. They live that way for two years. off soapbox). I have 21 fryers now, as some died, which chicks sometimes do. So 64 square feet gives them a very comfortable 3 feet each. They will need a heat lamp until they are harvested at 8-12 weeks. Chickens eat grass, and having chickens on grass reduces feed costs.

The Easter bunnies came to our house this year! Here are our four bunnies. The white ones are Goosey (named on behalf of Lucy, aka, the Goose) and Susan (named by Sophie). The black one was named by Noah: Blacky Taffy. The grey stripped one you can't see on the right is Ben's, Hoppity. These are all New Zealands which are a good pet or meat breed, the white ones are a good fur breed also. Theoretically we have one white buck (Goosey) but in all honesty it is too early to tell. If we do, it is possible that 150 rabbits a year can come from just these four innocent little things. A rabbit ovulates upon intercourse, the latter causes the former. They can start to reproduce at 8 weeks, have around 8 per litter, and can start over 8 weeks later (and so can their babies).

They can eat pellets, which are expensive, but are very happy on 70% alfalfa and 30% mixed grain, which is way cheaper. We got a starter bag of pellets and (my first!) bale of alfalfa hay. Alfalfa is a legume, which means the hay is high in protein for them (also Alfalfa feeds nitrogen to the soil and is a good crop to rotate before or after you plant your garden).

These guys are in cages, but we give them outside play time (when it isn't raining) and will build them an A-frame outside hutch for the summer so they can eat grass and save us even more on feed. These cages are old and free, given back from a family in the ward, whom my cousin lent them to a while back. This is in our shed/mini barn.

I can't show off my cute hair because it has been rainy and this picture was taken after doing chores in the rain--I had to clip my new bangs back because water turns them back into a fro--all the straightening-iron magic is gone. But here are me (tired, as you can see from the circles, and cold, as you can see from the red nose) and Goosey.

Will we eat the rabbits? We won't eat these, our breeders, which is why we can name them. We'll raise a few and try it and see how it goes. They are higher in protein and almost fat free in comparison to any other meat, and many say they are very good. Is it okay to eat cute things? Well, I think my chickens are very cute, and cows are just beautiful, with those big brown cow-eyes. This whole experience has definitely led me to be more mindful of the meat I eat, and we eat less. Rabbits are great food storage, as they convert feed to meat more efficiently than any other animal and breed fast and easily. Plus, I'd rather eat a cute rabbit that I gave a happy life than a miserable and factory-farmed chicken that is 10% fecal soup (sorry, off the soapbox really now). We can always keep the buck separate from the does to slow things down. And we can put the extras on ksl.com or craigslist and get rid of them.

We now have about 66 animals. I'm finding I really, really take a lot of joy from these animals, in a very satisfying way, not just like with pets, but another way I can't verbalize very well. I appreciate them and love them, and it doesn't wig me out that they are food animals, because I know that I really have a lot more gratitude and respect for food animals than I ever have.

So, our Easter was fun, with new animals and a big egg hunt in the yard with lots of our friends, including the Hunters from Pasadena, whom we miss terribly. It was so great to see you guys.

Work is fine, life is fine. I'm trying to walk that fine balance between striving hard and praying hard for the things we need but being accepting, thankful and satisfied with what we have. There are issues, some big, that aren't really blog fodder, but overall, we are very blessed.

I have to go because I promised Sophie we could watch "her video." Yet again. Ever since she saw Emilie Simon on my blog (my hair picture) she has been obsessed with this video. It is actually very cool and visually interesting. Don't wig out that it shows her back for a second at the beginning--it represents the beginning of spring, but it doesn't get all nudie. Watch--it's a fun song.

From Invalid to Athlete in 9 Weeks

I’m back at work, getting back into the swing of things, and starting some very challenging personal goals.  Conference was an important time for me and helped me refocus on service, discipleship and self-mastery rather than where I was (that would be the four Ds:  Discouragement, Despair, Lack of Diligence, at whatever the other one was). 

 

I keep thinking about the words to “Lead Kindly Light.”  “Lead thou me on, the night is dark and I am far from home . . . Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see the distant scene . . .  One step enough for me . . . I was not ever thus nor prayed that thou should lead me on.  I loved to choose and see my path but now, lead Thou me on.  I loved the garish day and spite of fears, pride ruled my will, remember not past years.  So long thy power has led me, sure it still will lead me on . . .”  I think about Elder Eyring’s talk a while ago about not always asking for our own agendas when we pray but asking what He wants us to do.  I have found some peace just asking for what He wants me to do (rather than telling him what I want) and saying simpler prayers.

 

Anyway, I’m starting to realize how important self-mastery is when trying to feel the Spirit and receive revelation  Part of my self-mastery goal includes not getting diabetes.  My coworker is the chairman for this ride and my company has a team.  Please click above and show your support in my efforts to help myself to fight off diabetes and others to fight the diabetes they have.  If you live in Utah, I would love it if you would ride with me.  Give me an email and I’ll send you a code so you can join for just $15.  There is also a family ride that is only 7 miles. 

 

From invalid to athlete in 9 weeks: Will you support me?

 

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=5629&px=4686649

 

 

Love to all,

 

Valerie

My new look

Here is me wearing a custom instrument designed by Emilie Simon. Or, it's Emilie Simon. It's so hard to tell these days.

I go back to work tomorrow and since I had completely let myself go from an inch and a half of grey to a kick-A unibrow, I've been slowly putting myself back together. I had this picture from a New Yorker from last October and took it into the salon today. I said I knew she had a few inches of length on me still, but my hair does this on it's own I just didn't have the way-cute bangs. But now I do.

So, just a few pounds of difference, and she has brown eyes, but it's uncanny, don't you think?

When I came home from the hair place, Sophie said, "Mom, you look like a teenager!"

Ben in the paper

http://www.clippertoday.com/pages/full_story?article-Community%20gardening%20=&page_label=results_content&id=2126842-Community+gardening&widget=push&open=&

 

Picture 3 – with MeLisa Oaks

Eggs

This past year has taught me a lot about eggs. First of all, I've learned that you don't need a farm to have hens and fresh eggs. Even if I live in a tiny place, I'm going have hens. I'm not really even a bird person, but I'm becoming a hen person.

My 10 hens are now about a year old, which means they are no longer "pullets," and they lay about 6-12 eggs a day. Hens in their good laying years (some say age 1-2, others say their prime up to 3, although many can lay into their teens) can lay 280-300+ a year (half a dozen a week, usually one every day or so). When all my new layers are producing, we'll be getting 12 dozen a week in season (which is spring: summer heat lowers production and winter lack of daylight and cold lowers production). Enough for the extended family to get all the eggs they need.

I was reading in the Salatin book about how he sells his eggs to chefs by showing them how different his eggs are than factory-farmed eggs. The chefs get really excited and always switch, even though they cost more than bulk factory eggs. He shows them how you can put the egg in a bowl and pick up the egg yolk and the white tries to come with it. The yolks do not break easily and are easy to separate. If you break his egg into almost-boiling water it will poach all together and be easily taken out with a slotted spoon at once instead of falling into many pieces. The eggs sits up high in the pan (see my breakfast, above).

They are also higher in protein, with higher vitamin/mineral content (seen in the bright orange yolk) and you can taste the difference--they are very rich. They make way better cakes and pastries. Salatin has made a killing in the chef market in his area of VA.

So this week when making my breakfast I tried the same tests on my eggs and was really excited to see the same results. Salatin pasture-raises his eggs, which means they are on a large pen that is moved over fresh (chemical-free) grass on a daily basis, but they are still safe from predators (racoons, opossums, eagles/hawks, rats) and kept out of nasty things they shouldn't eat. We do a combination of free range and coop time, but David just finished the moveable pasturing box so we can start with Salatin's method and keep them on grass all the time. It really saves on feed costs.

Even if a person doesn't have room to move the chickens around, they can save $ on feed by giving them all the table scraps, dry bread and (non-sprayed) grass clippings. All chickens need feed in addition, and you can use scratch grains or layer feed from the store. We use a combination. They need 3-5 sq feet of space per hen, so you can have 3 hens in a 3x4 big dog house, and maybe a little fenced yard of the same size they can go into (covered with chicken wire to keep them safe). It can be just 2 feet high.

Free-range or pastured chicken eggs are NOT vegetarian eggs. Chickens on their God-given diet will eat grass, weeds, weed seeds and LOTS of worms and bugs. They will happily eat most kitchen scraps, including meat, although at our house we don't feed them chicken, because that's just weird. They love milk, and families with a goat/sheep/cow often feed extra milk to the chickens. Also if your milk goes bad they will gobble sour milk up. If they acquire a taste for raw eggs they will start breaking their eggs to eat them, so we never feed them raw eggs, although theoretically you can feed them cooked eggs and it is all unrelated in their (tiny) minds. If you're grossed out by eating eggs made by chickens that eat bugs (at first I was a little weirded by that) just learn a little about what concentration-camp raised commercial factories feed their chickens and you will start craving bug-fed chicken eggs.

Raising chicks takes about 30 minutes a day. At 4 weeks it takes about 15 minutes a day. A regular laying flock of juveniles or adults takes about 7-10 minutes a day. All these minutes are fun, even in snow, at least for me. Once a year you clean the coop, and that takes a few hours. They don't stink unless they are not managed well, in fact it doesn't even smell much inside our coop itself. We use a deep litter system where you just keep adding carbon matter (dried leaves, wood shavings, dried grass clippings, etc.) and stirring up the litter every week or so. It slowly works up until it is 18 inches or more of litter in winter, which helps keep them warm. The droppings compost with the litter, so in spring, you open up the coop, compost everything (if needed, sometimes it comes out fully composted) and put it on the garden. Having animals makes organic gardening so much more affordable.

The kids love going out to get the eggs every day, and are learning responsibility by feeding and watering them. The result is more nutritious, more humane, more connected to the land, so not super stinky to the neighbors like factory farms, family friendly, environmentally friendly, chemical free and very, very local. Even in towns with strict animal codes a few hens can be kept as pets, and yes, hens lay eggs even without roosters just like we ovulate even if there are no men around. Keeping hens to have your own eggs seems like a big deal, but I have been surprised by how NOT a big deal it is. It is way easier than having a dog, and about the same as having a cat if you have a box to scoop.

I'm not trying to preach or guilt people for buying factory eggs. I'm going to have to buy some for Easter because I don't want to waste my good eggs on boiling and don't yet have enough hens to spare eggs. Although mechanistic, industrial egg production is horrific and even more so the more you learn about it, it is hard to pull away from it. But I'm trying to get there and move into clean, humane food that focuses on stewardship.

What I am saying is, get a hen or two if you can. It is so great in so many ways, not the least of which is breakfast.

Chicks

Not much to report

I haven’t posted since there has been little news, but now I’m realizing that people are starting to assume the worst since I was having troubles and then stopped blogging.  So, be it known that I’m just walking the slow path to recovery.  I have only 2 Lortabs left and think I’m not going to ask for a refill and just stick with OTC stuff.  David says that the cut seems to be slowly coming together at the bottom and he can fit less gauze in there.  I feel like an old person (atrophy is not just something you get by bowling well, but also by lying in bed for 5 weeks).  I get tired easily.  Pain is just a dull ache most of the time except when David changes the stuffing, then it’s a good 30 minutes of feeling like someone just poured Clorox in an open wound (mainly because that is exactly what happens at stuffing-changing time).  It’s all good times, though.  David is the greatest.

 

He’s been having all sorts of successes and wins at the Federal Defender and they just love him down there and keep lamenting openly that they can’t find the budget to put him somewhere in a paid position.  Despite my Utah prejudices, my kids are in great schools/care, we have lots of family support, we love the place we’re renting, I love having four seasons, and moving is a pain.  And my job is here.  Sophie is becoming great friends with a girl her age that just moved in behind us, Elaine and Kim are wonderful to us.  So, my prayers have now changed for someone at the UT FD to die, be fired or quit, or alternately, that the government will take some of the money it’s printing and giving away wantonly to give more to the UT FD—won’t you PLEASE join me in my prayer?  He absolutely LOVES that job.

 

Can I just say that Ben is turning out wonderfully at this point?  I’ve been so impressed with him lately.  He takes good care of me when we’re home alone together, always bringing me snacks and drinks and pills –always on a plate covered in a napkin.  He is sweet and happy and loves being hugged (when not in public).  All his grades went up this last semester, so he has tons of As and two Bs and his teacher says his organization is great.  He loves going snowboarding with his dad, which they did this last week.  He reads like crazy, spends a lot of time working and playing outside and his screen time (TV/computer) is down to almost nil, yet he hardly ever asks for it.  He is really learning to work hard, does chores willingly and well and especially loves outdoor work.  He’s bagging leaves like a madman (it’s an endless job on this lot and he gets paid $.50 a bag).  David took him to clean the church on Saturday and the deacons’ advisor was there and was wondering if Ben was about to join his quorum.  He was shocked that he was only 9.5 (Ben really does look like he’s 12).  The advisor said he works harder than the deacons.  I know that doesn’t mean much, but I was proud still.

 

Sophie is seven, which my development book tells me (as does her behavior) is an emotionally turbulent time.  She also is making some great progress in character and academics, although it is interrupted by amazingly entitled, spoiled tantrums.  Noah is sweet as ever, although also with the tantrums (and the crazy wall coloring and potty accidents at dang four and a half!)—still, such a cutie.  Lucy—also the tantrums, but hilarious, funny when she talks and so coy and smart.  Her favorite joke is to tell me she’s poopy, bring me a diaper and the wipes, and as soon as I take off the diaper (unsoiled), she yells, “NO POOPY!  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!”  I can’t believe she’ll be three in June.  She’s started potty training.  I’m in that uncomfortable position where my day care person tells me that potty training will now start and explains how I can support the process as an ancillary contributor.  Sigh.  Don’t get me started.  I’m grateful she’s with Kari—she does a great job, but I’m really, really struggling with all this going back to work stuff right now (even though my kids are in daycare still anyway because I’m not up to caring for them).

 

The most exciting thing of the day was that our chicks came in the mail this morning.  We got 25 jumbo rocks (fryer/roasters), 24 layers and 5 roosters (because you are supposed to have no more than 8 hens per rooster and I want to have my pick).  Since I do very little besides sit around (except when every so often I jump up and do a bunch of things or go somewhere because “it’s time to be better” and then collapse in exhaustion and pain for the next 25 hours), today was an active day of making sure no more layers died (2 layers died in transit—we were supposed to have 26).  They are all two days old. 

 

The fryers are slightly bigger and very easy to teach how to eat, as that is their primary purpose in life.  They are all lemony yellow.  If we harvest at 8 weeks, they will be 3-5 lb fryers, but we will harvest at 12, when they will be 5-8 lb roasters.  David has gotten very good at that.  I don’t think I told you when he finally killed the fryers that I let live 11 months that one half of a breast weighed 1.25 pounds!  They were huge.  I didn’t even bother to clean them out, he skinned them, I cut off the thigh/drumsticks and bagged them for the freezer to crock-pot later, then just cut the breast meat off the bones just as you would if it were cooked and bagged that, so there were no guts involved. 

 

Anyway, the fryers are cute, but the layers are the cutest, all different colors and patterns—yellow, gold/buff, red, black, grey, striped and spotted variations on all these colors.  They are gorgeous.  I’ll try to take pictures before they grow.

 

I just finished this book, “You Can Farm” by Joel Salatin, the increasingly-famous sustainable agriculture farmer in Virginia.  It really changed my outlook on lots of things.  It is designed for people who harbor secret desires to farm but don’t really know why, how, or if they should.  He does things completely different from the standard USDA/county extension advice, and unlike most farmers who follow that advice, makes great money, has no debt, provides clean food and is an amazing steward of the land and the animals.  I learned from this book that I don’t really want to farm food for other people outside of my own circle of family and friends, but that I do want to follow his practices for what I do on my own small scale. 

 

I loved his old-school, curmudgeony advice. He feels strongly that a person should lease or rent before buying land and that success on rented land should pay for the land you do eventually buy—not debt.  He feels that until you have positive cash flow in your family, nothing should be bought that doesn’t contribute to your ability to get positive cash flow.  He rails against television and time wasters and complainers.  He talks about all the “I’ll be happy when . . . “ or “I can accomplish this or that when . . . “ syndrome, and basically says, if you can’t be happy where you are, you won’t ever be happy, and if you can’t make money off a one-acre farm, you won’t be able to make money off a 100 acre farm. 

 

I didn’t adopt his views hook, line and sinker, but I came away more convinced than ever to avoid concentration-camp, factory-farmed meat and eggs (there’s more manure in that food than you care to know about, and the hidden costs to health, land and humanity belie the fact that it is not, in fact, “cheaper”).

 

But more importantly, I came away more dedicated to be happy where I am, to enjoy renting this land, to make home and hearth a top priority, enjoy mothering more and to quit complaining and make something of myself.  I highly recommend the book whether a person is interested in farming or not.  I needed a father-like figure to slap me upside the head and tell me what my great-grandmother would if she were alive to do it.

 

So, as I said, not much to report.

Lortab

My new best friend. The doctor reopened the incision today, so I went from less than an inch open to over 4 inches open. Dave needs to clean and pack it 2-3 times a day and it should heal from the inside out over about three weeks. The Novocain didn’t work as well as one would hope during the procedure. It hurt quite a bit. It was really freaky feeling myself get cut open. Even David had to turn away in the middle of it, even though he had watched my c-section with rapt attention. When David turned around the doctor said, “Would you do me a favor and sit down? I’ve had to pick up too many men off this floor.”

The other night David was waxing unusually thoughtful about life and set aside his usual, stoic take on life (i.e., “Life is lame so just suck it up, shut up and deal with it.” This is not him speaking to me personally, but to himself—oh, and everyone else.) He said something like, “You know, sometimes people have to have to swab out their wife’s wounds. Sometimes people need to have their insides surgically removed. Sometimes work is overwhelming, sometimes there’s not enough of it. And then there are the good things—like Noah’s fat cheeks. Life isn’t so much about the big swings of good times and bad times, but it’s made up almost entirely out of the in-between times.”

He seemed to be saying that just living and having all these in-between experiences had value. We spend life holding our breath for the “good” times—yet those moments make up such a small portion of our lives. Life just is. We can boohoo about it or get excited about it, but it rolls on nonetheless.

It may sound like I’m mixing a little Buddhism into my Mormonism but you can’t argue with it: It is what is. Maybe that sounds like David’s “suck it up” philosophy, but to me it’s more just an “observe, learn and try to give thanks and trust in Jesus” philosophy.

Lost Tooth

Sophie has lost a tooth or two already, but here is that picture-perfect first-grader tooth loss that officially marks her progression into dental adulthood. Also, here is Noah's natural reaction to the statement, "Hey, Noah, I'm going to take your picture!"

I went to the doctor

at St. Marks yesterday at 9:30 and left at 4.  I met with my doctor, had a CT scan, had a blood test, and met with another surgeon, who apparently will be working with my doctor now, since it has expanded from the gynecology realm into a surgeon issue.  He gave David a very gruesome job to do 3x a day (I’ll spare you the details), said to stay on the antibiotic horse pills, and on Monday he will look one more time and decide whether things are improving to his satisfaction.  If not, he will open up the entire incision again (9”) , clear it out, and let it stay open while it closes from the inside out.  This sounds like a horror film, but apparently is the normal way to handle infections of this kind.

 

I still have all the flu symptoms and have been commanded to completely rest so the infection doesn’t advance.  With infections like this, they explained that the brain just draws in and takes all resources for the healing project, which is why I feel too tired to do things like eat or even watch TV.  I feel slightly more coherent this morning, but instead of taking that as a sign that I need to work for 6 hours so I don’t run out of PTO (as I am tempted to do),  I’m going to go to bed.  After my appointment Monday morning, I will update again.  Thanks for your support and nice words, they mean a lot.

 

The antibiotics

aren't working. Feel like warmed over death, as mom used to say. Lump bigger. Doctor running more tests at hospital tomorrow. PTO at work running out. It's been four weeks today since the surgery. I'm remembering the words of the blessing David gave me right before I had the surgery, that I would be able to "endure" what would happen. Odd at the time, but not so much now, looking back. Thanks for your nice words, just giving an update.

Removing grumpy self from blogosphere,
Valerie

Complications II

So I was doing a little better and starting to get up and around, just tired. I was taking massive doses of Vitamin C because they said it would speed healing, and that appears to be true, the incision opening has been healing from the inside out nicely. So when I started feeling flu-like symptoms on Thursday I thought there is no way I could be getting sick with all this Vit. C. But it just got worse, with headaches and backaches and then whole body aches and chills and sweats and then this lump on my stomach above the incision started growing quickly and by last night was big and hard and red and hot to the touch. So apparently I had an infection and had to go back to the hospital. My mom is a chemist/microbiologist at Lakeview Hospital here in Bountiful and she was concerned because infections, especially around your guts (vs. a hand or leg, etc.) can spread very quickly and get scary, so she made me go to the ER. I'm glad I did, because they told me it was a good thing I came in. I had to get some crazy nuclear-bomb style IV antibiotics and they had to cut me open a little bit (1/2" cut, 3" deep) to let whatever was in there drain out. They filled it with packing and now I have yet a new hole in my body that needs to close up before I can return to normal ife. Gross, I know. My mom took me home to her house at 2 a.m. after we left the hospital so I could have some undisturbed sleep (something that doesn't exist at my house), and I slept until 11 when David finished teaching Sunday School and came and got me. We've made arrangements to have everyone shuffled around for the next couple of days, because before all this happened David had committed to go to WA state for a quick business trip, so he left this afternoon and is returning Monday night. He feels guilty, but we couldn't have anticipated this.

Anyway, I am assuming this eventually will end and I'll feel/be better, but until then, it's back a few steps.

I did order chicks (they come in two weeks) and got all my seeds in the mail. David tilled the gardens Friday and my mom planted peas yesterday (my mom is so great.) The neighbors who moved in just behind us are going to work with us on our animals and garden, which is a huge help since I can't do anything but place orders with people right now. A sad thing, because we got all commercial chickens last year (these new ones are heritage breeds) I'm having problems with my fryers that I didn't kill. I kept 4 fryer hens alive to see if they'd lay, and although they eat too much, they lay gorgeous, huge brown eggs. Well, I'd neglected to think about how fryers are bred to be killed before 12 weeks. Like the huge-breasted thanksgiving turkeys, who literally can't stand up if they are allowed to live after a certain time and are completely unable to mate and be bred naturally--these commercial meat animals can't live healthy past a young age because of our greedy selection of unhealthy animal strains for maximum meat. So our tremendously fat, waddling fryers are getting red, raw stomachs from their dragging on the ground. I knew it wasn't cost-effective to keep them, but loved how funny they look when they run and the gorgeous brown eggs, but now it just seems mean--they aren't designed to live this long (they are 10-11 mos old). A healthy, normal chicken breed can live 12-15 years. although generally laying hen flocks are replenished each year with new chicks and older hens are taken out of commission after their prime laying years (age 3-4). Anyway, that's just sad. So, David's going to have to take them out next week with the help of neighbor Dan, who, although we are novices ourselves, wants to work along side us to learn what we've been doing.

All that farmy stuff cheers me up, as I am generally anti-social, depressed and under-estrogened these days, the first two probably being due to the last one.

Anyway, consider yourself updated. Back to bed for me.

Did I give you my Moby Wrap?

I loaned it to someone or gave it to someone who probably is done using it and now Doris needs it. Who was it? Was it you? Have you seen someone using a blue Moby Wrap in the last year who knows me? I use the word "my" loosely, because it's really Lisa's (AKA Anonymous in the comments :) Just putting it out there--my willingness to give away my stuff and my forgetfulness are an unhelpful combination. Congrats to Doris who finally named her two-week-old baby! Love you!

Sigh

I watched a clip from "The Crash" from PBS this morning and have been ruminating about where things are going with this crazy world. I couldn't agree more with Megan's post today (and LOVED the videos). There's no point in worrying about it, we just need to do what we can to take care of ourselves, our own friends and families.

The bailout news everyday makes me sick to my stomach, "The Crash" explains it perfectly, although he takes 30 minutes to do what he could in 5 and is self-important about it, but the bailouts are just so wrong. We are trying to prop up a way of life that was unsustainable on so many levels.

I don't regret my support of Obama, I guess I felt like if the plane's going down I wanted the pilot to be calm, a good communicator, intellectually engaged, well-read and open to many options. But in the face of what we're dealing with, the policies of the left are just as destructive in different ways as the policies of the right, and I get almost as angry and frustrated reading the paper as I did before, but I guess my vote helped pay for that "almost." I guess we just got to choose which brand of bad choices would lead us down the toilet.

Sorry to be so negative about it--if you are still looking on the sunny side and seeing stocks as nothing but bargains right now, please go read another blog with my blessing. :)

Well, at least we can still have our sense of humor about it. I stole this relevant video (also from Megan's blog), laughed myself silly every time I watched it.

Step aside, Dave Ramsey!

Creativity--Part of Divine Nature

Thanks, Jocelyn, for this great pass-along…

Sorry to be on the gross-out brigade, but this is freaky stuff

I’m going to show this to my son to scare him into washing his hands more often.  I’m also less inclined than ever to eat pork.

 

---

From: Dede Burton (my aunt)

Subject: Fw: Scary stuff - WASH your hands....

If nothing else will make you wash your hands, this will.

 http://media2.foxnews.com/112008/worm_tumor_700.wmv

 

Campaign 2012 Begins . . .

Finally, a conservative who remembers that small government was a key part of the platform. After so many big-spend, big-government conservatives (McCain and Obama were all hand in hand about these stimulus/bailouts) it's nice to hear some good rhetoric on the other side. I'm glad Obama won for lots of reasons and hope he is effective, but I'm very open to real fiscal conservatism if it actually exists anymore outside of speeches.

Even so, it is very, very clear from Jindal's response tonight that you just may have heard the first stump speech of the 2012 election. He'll be 41. That would be a truly interesting race, and from a strategic standpoint, possibly the only way to even try to contest Obama if his support doesn't crash.

Down with the parties. Up with good ideas. There is my random, anti/pro-everyone thought tonight.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/24/sotn.jindal.transcript/


PS I'm fine. The bed thing is getting old.

Birthday

I woke up under-medicated, under-estrogened and feeling like a train wreck. I took a handful of pills and slept another couple hours and tried again. Then I had a nice day. --French Toast
and Pot Roast . I worked on getting my recipes online so I could find them easier all in one place like Shauna, but it won't be done for a few more Sundays.

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet Birthday Buddy Michele , I'm thinking happy thoughts for you today.

Since I'm in the camp who believes our national crisis is only beginning and the natural and unavoidable consequences of our collective behavior for many decades (and not in the camp who thinks it is a creation of that evil media that is too happy to report on all those scary economic reports, and really everything would be hunky-dory if we all stopped believing the news)–I found this article a sobering and good read, thought I'd pass it along.

Rich: America in Denial

Seed order

I tried to stick to heirloom varieties and hope to save some seed, some of these are rare/extinct

Items of interest noted.

MELON AML110 $3.00 1 - Ananas D' Amerique A Chair Verte (Green Fleshed Pineapple)

This historic heirloom was grown by Thomas Jefferson in 1794. It was offered commercially in the USA in 1824, and it was illustrated in color in France in 1854 in the Vilmorin Album. This wonderful variety has become very rare. The fruit have netted skin and light green flesh that is firm, sweet and highly perfumed. Productive plants can be trained up a trellis.

MELON AML113 $2.00 1 - Banana

90 days. Banana-shaped fruit, smooth yellow skin and sweet, spicy salmon flesh. 16”-24" long, 5-8 lbs. It was listed in 1885 by J. H. Gregory’s Catalogue, which said “When ripe it reminds one of a large, overgrown banana... It smells like one, having a remarkably powerful and delicious fragrance.” This is one of my all- time favorites, being very sweet and great for specialty markets.

MELON AML123 $3.00 1 - Kansas

A very rare heirloom from Kansas; the vines are vigorous and the yield is great, oval-shaped ridged and netted fruit, the flesh is orange and has exceptional flavor, very delicious! A very dependable variety, fruit weigh around 4 lbs. One of our most endangered varieties and also one of the best. Perfect for farmers’ markets.

MELON AML155 $3.00 1 - Million Dollar
In 1886, the steamship "Cambridge" was slowly traversing through the thick fog, traveling north to Bangor from Boston, along the rocky coasts of Maine, when it ran aground on Old Man Ledge and began to slowly sink in the cold Atlantic ocean. In the days that followed, many of the hardy souls took small boats out to collect the sinking cargo, which included this great melon that was so good that it has been grown in Maine for the last 124 years. Now it is almost extinct, and almost never offered commercially. The flesh is soft, creamy and so fragrant that ripe fruit can perfume the whole garden. A delicious-tasting melon that is medium sized, elongated and faintly netted.

GREEN BEAN BN108 $2.00 1 - McCaslan 42 Pole

GREEN BEANS BN111 $2.50 1 - Mayflower

This is the bean that is said to have come to America with the Pilgrims in 1620. This old cutshort green bean has great flavor and the red/white beans are quite tasty. A long-time staple in the Carolinas. [so it's a green bean and then a soup bean - VC]

BROCCOLI BR105 $1.75 1 - Waltham 29

BEET BT102 $2.50 1 - Golden Beet

CELERY CE101 $2.00 1 - Tendercrisp

CORN CN105 $3.00 1 - Country Gentleman Sweet Corn

90 days. Introduced in 1890 by S.D. Woodruff & Sons. Sweet, delicious and milky; tender white kernels on 8" ears. The ears have no rows, as this is a shoepeg type, and kernels are packed in a zigzag pattern. One of the best heirloom sweet corns.

CORN CN135 $4.00 1 - Rainbow Sweet Inca Corn

A beautiful multicolored corn that was developed by Dr. Alan Kapuler. This sweet corn is wonderful cooked fresh, when the colors are still very pale; delicious real corn flavor. Mature ears are great for grinding into flavorful flour, and are perfect for fall decorations. The kids will love this one.

CARROT CR101 $2.00 1 - St. Valery [yes, I got this because of it's name]

70 days. The Vilmorins of France mentioned this variety in 1885 and said it had been grown a "long time" then. A large handsome variety with bright red-orange roots; smooth, 10"-12" long & 2"-3" in diameter. Sweet & tender. Rare. Our favorite!

CARROT CR102 $1.25 1 - Danvers 126 Half Long 70 days.

CUCUMBER CU109 $2.00 1 - Delikatesse (for pickling, comes from Germany)

EGGPLANT EG155 $2.00 1 - Blush

Pretty, banana-shaped fruit are creamy white with a lavender blush that graces each fruit. Stunning to look at and even better to eat; delicious, tender-fleshed fruit are ideal for frying and are easy to slice.

PEAS GP104 $2.25 1 - Lincoln

GARDEN FRUIT GR102 $2.25 1 - Chichiquelite Huckleberry

GREEN MANURE GS105 $4.50 1 - Hairy Vetch [you till this under right as it flowers as a nitrogen fixer and for organic matter. ]

HERB HB175 $2.75 1 - Stevia [a fabulous no-calorie sweetner with no impact on blood sugar--Japanese and Brazilians have used it for centuries, but of course our FDA has pandered to the sugar and chemical industries (big, long, scandalous story) and keeps it labeled as a "dietary supplement" so it won't compete directly with neurotoxins (asparatame) carcinogens (saccharine) and digestive irritants (sucralose). Get some at Trader Joes if you live in such a lucky place.]

HOT PEPPER HPP103 $5.00 1 - Anaheim - 1 oz. [ I accidentally bought a ton of these seeds, I think we'll start them all and have Ben sell the small plants this summer instead of a lemonade stand (along with all our extra melon plants and acorn squash, which I also overordered accidentally]

MELON ML102 $2.75 1 - Prescott Fond Blanc

70 days. The most unique and beautiful French melon we sell! The fruit is 4-9 lbs., very flattened and ribbed, with warts and bumps. Melons have grey/green skin turning straw color; flesh is salmon-orange. Once one of the best known melons, it was mentioned in the 1860's, but it likely is much older. The flavor is very rich if picked at perfection and the fragrance is heavenly. This is a favorite melon of mine, almost unheard of in this country.

ASIAN MELON OML107 $3.50 1 - Tigger

The most amazing melon we have grown. The fruit are vibrant yellow with brilliant fire-red, zigzag stripes, (a few fruit may be solid yellow), simply beautiful! They are also the most fragrant melons we have tried, with a rich, sweet intoxicating aroma that will fill a room. The white flesh gets sweeter in dry climates. Small in size the fruits weigh up to 1 lb. - perfect for a single serving. The vigorous plants yield heavily, even in dry conditions. This heirloom came from an Armenian market located in a mountain valley. It was the most popular melon at our Garden Show last August and makes a unique specialty market variety. Pkt. (25 seeds).

ONION ON113 $2.50 1 - Gold Princess

SWEET PEPPER PP143 $2.50 1 - Jimmy Nardello Italian

This fine Italian pepper was grown each year by Giuseppe and Angella Nardiello, at their garden in the village of Ruoti, in Southern Italy. In 1887 they set sail with their one-year-old daughter Anna for a new life in the USA. When they reached these shores, they settled and gardened in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and grew this same pepper that was named for their fourth son Jimmy. This long, thin-skinned frying pepper dries easily and has such a rich flavor that this variety has been placed in "The Ark of Taste" by the Slow Food organization. Ripens a deep red, is very prolific, and does well in most areas.

LETTUCE BLEND SB103 $3.00 1 - Rocky Top Lettuce Salad

SUGAR PEA SN106 $2.50 1 - Sugar Snap

SPINACH SP101 $1.50 1 - Bloomsdale Long Standing

WINTER SQUASH SQ113 $2.00 1 - Sweet Meat [my friend tells me this big grey monstrosity is the sweetest squash and is better for pumpkin pies than pumpkin]

WINTER SQUASH SQ136 $7.50 1 - Table Gold Acorn - 1/4 lb. [accidentally bought WAY too much--that roadside plant stand is now a must, as orders can't be changed.]

SUMMER SQUASH SSQ107 $2.00 1 - White Scallop

50 days. A very ancient native American heirloom squash, grown by the Northern Indians for hundreds of years, this type was depicted by Europeans back to 1591, and one of the best tasting and yielding varieties still around today! Great fried and baked. Flat fruit with scalloped edges, beautiful!

SUMMER SQUASH SSQ110 $2.00 1 - Striata d'Italia [a yummy basic zucchini-striped, we did this last year]

TOMATO TM126 $2.00 1 - Amish Paste [a fabulous roma type, for canning]

TOMATO TM132 $2.00 1 - Riesentraube [cherry--supposed to have amazing flavor]

TOMATO TM181 $2.00 1 - Bonny Best [for canning and slicing]

Next step is mapping it all out! I'm excited for my Sophomore year of gardening--sure hope I am up to the physical work of it by the time I need to be.

Even if you're just doing pots this year, check out http://rareseeds.com/seeds/ for some fun experiments--you may save an endangered species while you're at it.

This was definitely a task that cheered me up, although with naps and kids, etc. it took me most of the day.