September 16th

Chickens

They are everywhere.

Especially around here.

I've had the cutting board and the 

wicker basket for years

before we owned hens.

Clairvoyance?

It's still molting season here.

Feathers, feathers everywhere!

Can't blame the girls from wanting

to take any excess feathers off in

this oppressive heat.

But,

they aren't laying.

We are down to our last 8 eggs.

I've had those nonproductive staff

meetings where they attend, but only for

the after meeting treats.

As I wrap up the meeting, they cluck

in agreement, but I don't think

they are really listening......

Freeloaders..

Nugget and Pepper have

much less feathers than their sisters.

They look like Zombie Chickens!

Poor babies.

***************************

The backyard farm is looking a bit

haggard from the heat too.

There's still a few hardy veggies

that we've been able to collect.

Cucuzza

(that's blood oranges in the background)

Bell Peppers

Roma tomato

That's the giant Eggplant bush

There are a few small ones in there.

We harvest them when they get a tad bigger,

unless the hens get to them first!

*********************************

Boy, I'm getting old.

(Ta Dum, Hiss)

I need my glasses for everything.

The other night, while getting up to

use the bathroom, I stumbled over the 

end of the bedspread.

NO, 

I didn't have my glasses on.

I wouldn't have been able to see

in the semi-dark anyway.

But, 

I stumbled around like a bat 

with its' sonar malfunctioning.

Then, I jammed my pinky toe

on the door jam into the bathroom.

All this while doing an 

impressive one footed pirouette

before flopping back onto the bed.

(The Romanian judge gave me a 10/10!)

To my credit, I never yelled,

I simply hissed through my teeth for

20 minutes!

Never once did the CEO awaken.

Commendable, right?

But,

Speaking of stumbling....

Last week I was walking through the yard,

aiming to get to the compost heap

with a load of veggie scraps

in my hands,

when a small green snake

decided to slither across my left foot.

Let me be clear...

I had a pair of flip flops on.

That meant that the snake skin and

my skin made direct contact!!!

My immediate reaction?

I'll explain in easy to understand terms.

I screamed like a 3 year old who 

lost her Mommy in a department store!

The veggie scraps went airborne.

Then I flapped my arms as though

I'd get lift off.

All this while high stepping like

teenaged majorettes in a 

choreographed dance routine!

Wasn't pretty.

I looked for that little offender

but I couldn't find him.

He slithered off into HELL!

Listen,

I love animals,

all kinds of animals,

BUT...

God made a few design errors.

Snakes - No arms, No legs.

I'm thinking His Angelic R&D 

in Heaven was either misinformed

or they miscalculated the outcomes

of design on building snakes!

Unless, that's their little inside joke.

"Let's scare the crap outta humans!"

That's just my opinion,

but I'd like to add a few more...

Mosquitos,

No redeeming qualities.

Back to the drawing board please.

Love bugs,

Why?

Another inside joke?

"Let's see humans wash this off their cars!"

Roaches,

Yeah, this picture is of them as they meet

 their Maker again.

Shoulda thought this one out a bit more too.

Only good roach

is a dead roach!

As I said,

these are my opinions,

*************************************

Another recipe from my daughter.

If I haven't said it,

she's a great cook!

Hope you like this one....

Sweet Potato Quiche

Preparation:

Looks yummy!

We'd have to sub some other kind of cheese

because the CEO doesn't like goat cheese.

****************

Hazel says "hi"

September 8th

Molting Season!

Yeah, it's molting season again.

There's feathers all over the place.

I always say it looks like they are having

a pillow fight!

This is Nugget.

She's in the scratch pan munching down,

till she saw me trying to take a picture.

Then she took off like a shot!

The girls get super cranky during

their molt.

Handling the pin feathers is uncomfortable for them.

This is Nugget again. 

A lot of her neck feathers are coming out.

During this time they need more protein in the diet.

So,

we give them the cooked fat from any steaks we eat.

The feathers are protein based,

so,

they need to replenish their protein reserves.

Those small pointy things are

 "pin feathers".

That's the area of feather development.

They are sometimes called blood feathers,

because if that gets pulled out,

it'll bleed due to its extensive blood supply.

It's like us losing hair,

then the follicle replaces it with a new one.

As the hens age, the feather loss becomes

a bit more extensive.

Hen pattern baldness??

They also don't lay during this period.

It can last for 2 weeks to a few months.

It's always different.

That's when we have to buy eggs.

Boy, have we become egg connoisseurs.

Store bought eggs don't hold a candle to

the ones our girls produce!

****************************************

Our new thing is making beef jerky.

My family loves it, but its so

unhealthy.

There's a ton of unpronounceable stuff in 

the store bought ones.

And,

I had always thought it would be hard to do.

NO! 

It's way easy.

We got about 3 pounds of really lean meat,

eye of round,

then had the butcher slice it thin.

(no extra cost),

Then we put it in a ziplock bag

with a bit of the marinade.

Nothing else.

The online directions say to leave it

for approximately 24 to 48 hours in the 

fridge before using.

Our dehydrators both have a "jerky" setting.

So.

We just placed it on the trays, set it to "jerky",

then checked on it after about 2 hours.

(it can sometimes take longer)

It turned out great!

The CEO bought a bit more meat to try

out these flavors….

The are all wonderful,

 but

the general consensus is everybody

liked the teriyaki flavor best.

This is charred pineapple bourbon sauce

and,

honey teriyaki.

You don't have to smother the meat in the 

sauce, a little dab will do it.

***********************

In the 

"IS IT ME?'

category...……

Recently,

I'm picking up my grandson from school.

Typically I stay in the car,

but it was infernally hot this day,

so I walked to the curb holding my umbrella.

A man with a small brown dog on a leash was 

there waiting on a kid too.

He looked directly at me and said

"Did you see them?"

Nothing else....

I looked around and I was the only 

other human there.

So, I say, "It's not time yet, they 

get out at 3:15."

He says, "It's always the same."
I say, "Yeah, 3:15"

Then I smile, thinking he's a doof.

Then,

still looking at me,

he says "Hang on a minute.....

Ma'am, I'm on the phone."

My instant reaction was, SHIT!

So,

I say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought

you were talking to me, Ha Ha"

Then....

1)He didn't laugh,

2)He turned around, picked up the

dog and walked to the other

side of the street.

3)I then saw a Bluetooth device in his 

cockadoodie ear!

4) In my mind I slapped it off his head!

Go Me!!

**************************

Here's another recipe from my daughter.

Cheeseburger Soup

Looks wonderfully yummy!

Can't wait to try it.

Hugs to her for her contributions.

***********************

Well said Cookie,

Well said.