As I look out my big windows from my living room, I am blessed and a bit in awe at times at the worlds within worlds that I can watch and see out of them..
There is the big flock, a big flock ranging and sharing the same big space but really its bird worlds within bird worlds, the chickens circle around the puddles and seek the high spots, or the dry spots, they scratch and dig, they move small mountains of matter in search for that worm or bug.. the ducks waddle in and are edge dabblers, they like to sit on higher spots and hunker down in the sun for their naps and they nap alot more then the chickens do, who will spend the whole day, being busy, busy, busy!
The geese wad right in and head for the deepest spot of the water, they spend a amazing amount time bathing, cleaning and conditioning their feathers, and with their heads seeking out water but also grazing, they are and will be grazers in every sense of the word..
The turkeyes are the lazy ones of the bunch, they pick out their grits, they sip their waters and eat a bit of fresh green here and there and then they will head back into the big birds pen and park themselves in the nice bedding and snooze in the sun..
Just past them is the pasture and its filled with the herd, which is both again a group and yet not.. Brandy is the queen of the herd and all bow to her iron hoof of a will and yet, the wee babe of the lambs walk all over her and I mean that. They walk under her, and over her when she is laying down.. They will bounce off of her, and if it was anyone else doing that, she would give them what for.. but cuz they are babe’s, they get away with murder LOL
Girl is not near as sweet, she is the bull in the china shop, she is not mean but she does not give her space in the same way, she is offically second and still not truly happy about that, she was boss of her little herd of two(when we had marty) but I can’t say that she seems lonely either, she is always with either the sheep or the horse during the day..
Its only at graze time or at bed time that you see the splitting start, the sheep go to bed as a group in the back of the barn, girl goes to her sleeping stall and unless its deep winter or pouring rain, Brandy will be out sleeping by the side of the small barn in the tree’s, she sometimes going into the lean to that is to be her stall but more often then not if the weather is truly bad, she will be found standing in the main doorway to the big barn, with her head out and her butt in, with a sour look on her face..
It took me a while to figure out why she move around, you know the answer right, it was so simple, I was kinda ashamed that it took so long.. the wind.. she moves where she needs to go to not be in the direct wind.. smart girl she is..
When the piglet herd is out, she spends her time trying to herd the pigs, and they spend their time running around, kicking their heels and rooting around..
O yes, even without looking at the wild nature on the farm and that is of course a whole another world that lives and thrives in the same world as those above, and then there is our world.. webs and thread that pull and touch and pull through out it all and yet it would be foolish to say that it is linked or tied to us as the anchor..
It is all tied to the land, to the water, to the air itself..
Honestly the easiest soup you will ever make, roast off your sweet potato if possable as it will increase a depth of flavour an sweetness but if you can’t do that, simmer it peeled and cut up into cubes, drain, set aside the water for use in something else at a later date.. mash the sweet potato.. measure it out, add equal amount of a white bone broth to it, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a bit of nutmeg or all spice, a walnut size pat of butter and heat it though, serve as is or with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt or a swirl of heavy cream.
You could blend it if you wanted it really smooth but its good as it is with just the well mashed sweet potato..
Sign up for the Double Dare Ya Weed Challange, its so simple, and for all your gardeners ad cooks, you should love this one! for the rest of us, o boy are we all going to get to ideally learn something new!!
Starting in spring in your area once a month, I want you to find something growing in your yard, flowerbed, lawn, ditch or garden or park that you “think is a weed or non-useful” be it tiny plants, big plants, bushes or tree’s! and I want you to research it, report on its extra uses, (get creative here girls, can it be used as a color dye, can it be used to make cordage, can you use it for medical, herbal, compost, in a salve) and then pick on thing that can be done with it, and do and report back with a link to your site and or put it all in the comment section and I will put it up on this blog for you.
Lets go with the end of the month but I am not going to put a set date, sometimes in the last week of the month is the time to share your Double Dare You Weed Challange..
Share the love, put the challange up on your site now, and our first offical month is march, its going to start with a bang depending where you live.. put your thinking caps on girls and guys, there are things out there that can be used even in march!
I can’t wait to see all the creative things you folks are going to come up with!? So who’s up to it with me.. if we get enough folks interested in the challange, I will make a matching facebook page for the plant challange folks!
March’s Plant Challange is Chaga!
Photo Credit on this comes from Wikipeda
Chaga is a growth (its a type of fungal but its not a mushroom in the normal sense) It can be found locally in most of canada if you are living somewhere where you can find birch, you more likely to find them, they are ideally taken off, Ground into a powder for storage and used for making tea’s for drinking..
Have you ever found or used Chaga? If so, what is your favorite proportions, I find it goes down best as a sweeten with honey shot, not a sipping tea..
Well, both my double dare ya challange and my odd-bits in march is a bit late but its been crazy and the weather has not been helping..
None the less Pork Jowl is my March odd bit.. now last year I made Pork Jowls into a form of bacon..
Now that was a cured jowl and not one of my own homeraised piggies, but this was a big old jowl from Angelo (and of course I have second one yet in the freezer) and o it looked so different just at first blush, tons more meat on this one, less fat for sure..
I didn’t cure it, I decided that I would raise spice rub it on both sides, and slow roast it on a bed and with a covering of onions.
This is the pulled meat with the fat removed, the mashed onions and the wonderful rich and full bodied broth that was created.. Delightful! Now comes the really interesting part, check out the two differnet colors on this jowl..
When was the last time say pork be so dark as the meat on the left, what was very interesting to me, is that some ws typical on the right..hmm I pulled the meat apart and used some as fresh eating for my lunch with the rest put aside to me pulled and mixed into filling.. some pickles, some lovely mayo, some chopped fresh peppers, served up with some greens on freshly made flat breads.. Going to be so yum!
Mel, the Jersey Giant..
Wash – My French Gentleman..
Jackie and JR..
Honk and Hiss (Honk in front, Hiss in back)
Adele
Tippie Toes
After waiting for six weeks for this soap to cure, I finally got to try my soap this morning.. love it.. a truly pure soap, no scent, no color, no extra’s, just Sheep Milk, Fats and lye.. and six weeks curing time.. I like my colored soaps, I like my pretty soaps but there is something just wonderful about such a pure soap!
Wishing you all a wonderful Easter, may it be filled with love, laughs, family and friends!
This morning in the bird pen, o the delights that awaited me.. Lots of Brown eggs, pretty green egg, lovely big speckled turkey egg and my first big goose egg!
This is Mel, he is a blue Spash Jersey Giant Rooster, he is eight months old at this time, and I think he will add lots of meat to my next generation for the table, as well as carrying the genes for extra large brown eggs.
Pretty Girl..
Do you run a mixed flock or do you keep all your birds apart based on breeds, by this I mean do you allow your geese to mix with your chickens etc.. I have to admit that I don’t allow mixing of babies, they are always raised on their own, and my grow out spring/summer/fall pens are ducks, chickens, turkey’s etc but after the big fall butcher out, in winter, the keepers, the lucky overwinter birds all become one big flock in the big pen and the big indoor winter pen..
We are soon getting to the time of year where the grow out summer pens will melt out and birds in breeding sets will be moved into their own area’s and allowed to start that wonderful spring dance of mating and then laying/setting and ideally hatching out some lovely babies for me!
Well, the morning started way to early but it was off and up and out the door to the best bird sale in a three hour drive around us, and thankfully its only half an hour away!
As always a awesome sale.. I had gone with a list of things I wanted and I came home with my list and a few more..all under budget!
So on the list was.. One big dual purpose brown egg laying rooster around the eight month to a year in age, one new doe rabbit, and one new drake to match up with Jackie..
What I came home with was ..
TWO new does (unrelated) for Blue the Buck, one is called Tippy Toes, and the other one is Adele..
Two New roo’s, one huge! eight month old blue splashed Jersery Giant! going by the call name of Captain Mel (this boy just took over the roost in one fell swoop.. and one not quite as massive but still big a old fashion multi-purpose Faverolles boy called Wash (yes, I named them after Firefly characters).. He was quite happy to take second place, such a stunning bird!
Then came the drakes, one boy called JR for Jackie, and the other called Spaz for Apple, and they came from the same breeder and so are being buds at the moment but I will split them up with their own girl and we will go from there..
But the BIG surprise, yup, I found a mate for Honk, a lovely coming year old female of the same breed, who is just the right age to find and bond with a mate, and I’m calling her Hiss.. Honk and Hiss, how cute is that!
Still going to get my goslings as planned but I can now also look forward to hopefully having some hatch out on the farm itself..
All and all, a very productive day! Pictures will come another day!
Just another Day on the Farm 