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.

August 29th

                                           Today is a rather sad reminder that 14 years ago,
                                           we went through the grim reality of what a major
                                                                 hurricane could do.
                                                         I choose not to dwell on that.
                                              I only pray that I never live through another.

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

Hazel

Isn't she a cutie?

Lucy

She's our curious one.

Always getting in trouble.

Boy, did we name her correctly!

Although I came across a better name for her...

Hugh Jass!

(take a minute, it is kinda obscure...)*

Pepper

She always gives us 

the stink eye.

She's our follower.

They were crowding and jumping around me like

a bunch of peppy cheerleaders at a benefit

car wash!

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

Another cucuzza.

They taste great.

I love that crazy shape!

Purple Bell peppers

Tomatoes

A late summer crop.

Ours didn't do well this year.

We are hoping that these turn out better.

Twins!

The 3rd life of this onion.

I mean, we initially grew it from a cutting like this.

It was from one bought at the grocery.

I used the top half and cut off the bottom with the root.

Then I put it in water and waited for it to grow.

This is the stage that's best for planting.

This one is ready to plant.

I'll get 2 onions from it.

Put it in a simple pot in good light and it'll grow!

The rainbow colors of our Bell Peppers.

Beautiful!

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

This segment I'll entitle,

"Is It Just Me?"

In the last few weeks we've had an abundance of

veggies from the garden.

That's a really good thing, right?

In most cases I'd agree,

BUT

I've been eating A LOT of veggies!

A lotta gas producing veggies.

So...

Here's the scenario.....

I'm in the car driving to pick up the

kids from school.

I noticed that my stomach was "acting funny".

By funny, I mean, gassy.

OK

Well,

 I usually don't have these issues,

but today it seemed that my small and large

intestines were at war.

The sounds I was making sounded like

dogs growling!

AND,

I'm still about 30 minutes from my favorite

toilet (my own!)

That old adage kept coming to mind,

"Never trust a fart!"

Now..

All my 5 senses shut down, 

I guess to prevent any outside stimuli

from distracting my

 "lock down" mode.

Then...

I began sweating.

I'm sure I was flushed red too.

I think it was so bad that,

 if someone had pasted a white sickle and hammer 

on my forehead, 

I could have passed for the

Russian flag!

My bowels were close to rebelling

in an explosion of biblical proportions,

so....

I started to pray.

Yay!

I made it to my toilet!!

Thank you Baby Jesus!

Ahhhh!

 I exorcised those gastric demons

in surround sound,

Only to realize that the CEO hasn't fixed the 

     exhaust...….

Woe is me.

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

Food, my favorite subject

and,

Recipes!

I've got some great ones from my daughter.

She's a wonderful cook!

This one is for her 

"Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup"

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef

                  1 small onion diced

                                1(29 oz) can diced tomatoes

                           1 large bell pepper diced

                                          1 (14 oz)can chicken or beef broth

                1 can tomato soup*

                 2 cups cooked rice

                1 tablespoon sugar

                             1 tablespoon garlic powder

                 salt/pepper to taste

                                             shredded cheddar cheese for topping

          Instructions: In a large pot, brown and crumble ground beef.

                        Add diced peppers and onions, then drain after cooking.

                             After draining add tomatoes, broth and tomato soup.

*(or tomato sauce can be substituted)

Then add the rice.

Stir in seasonings - sugar, garlic, salt & pepper. 

Cover and simmer for 30 min or so on low.

Serve with cheese topping.

She said that one of the restaurants on Bourbon Street

asked her for the recipe and now they use

it every once in a while as their soup of the day!

How cool is that??!!

I'll post more of her contributions....

Many thanks to her creativity....

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

Musings...………

People who, after it rains,

pick up earthworms on the sidewalk

and throw them back in the grass or dirt,

are the cornerstones of society.

We should all strive to have that

level of compassion for each other

and the natural world,

just sayin'

Coming from a grateful worm...

Always Hugs!

* Huge Ass

August 20th

Who doesn't like bacon?

I mean,

Even if I were to "go vegan",

I'd probably still sneak a slice of bacon.

I know my weakness,

especially with brown sugar glazed bacon.

That's how I made it for tonight's dinner.

We had Egg Surprise.

That's my name for eggs in a hole.

The cut out piece of bread gets toasted 

and goes on top,

with a strip of bacon.

Awesome!

Breakfast for Dinner is

a frequent request around here.

Those lovely eggs, 

courtesy of our girls,

are always delicious.

We also had

Bacon and Ham Steaks

with

fresh strawberries, blackberries and

raspberries.

The CEO had a glass of tea with

juice ice cubes.

Peach, Strawberry and Orange cubes.

Don't throw away the juice from a can

of fruit (natural with no added sugar)

or just mash some fresh berries.

Then put them in an ice cube tray,

and place the frozen cubes in a Zip Lock bag 

to scoop into your tea.

It's great!

It is a nice additive to our 

summertime iced tea.

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

This is Spearmint.

It has pretty lavender flowers.

I try to clip the herbs before they flower.

Flowering sends too much energy to the bloom 

and not the plant.

The plants get leggy and 

don't produce as much.

Yes, you can eat these flowers.

What do they taste like?

Mint!

Thai Basil,

whit the same problem.

It's been too hot to go outside

so all of them are flowering.

These are going to seed.

Still quite tasty sprinkled on just about anything.

Patchouli

It smells like the '60's.

Seriously.

You can wrap the leaves up tightly 

and burn them as a kind of "smudge"

It kinda smells like incense.

Bell Peppers and a Cucuzza.

The Cucuzza is so long,

I couldn't get it all in the picture.

A Cucuzza standing quietly 

behind the couch.

Not sure if it was about

to scare someone,

or act as a baseball bat!

Malabar Spinach,

with a small purple berry.

This is a new addition to our backyard.

It is native to India and Asia.

It not really a spinach, but grows on a vine,

and has thick leaves that taste great

in salads or anywhere you'd use spinach.

The plant produces small berries that

are edible but slightly sour.

We don't eat them,

the hens do!

The plant does considerably well in 

extreme heat.

That's a win for us!

It just needs a lot of water.

Tip: Don't plant it in the ground.

It grows like crazy and will take over.

All our herbs are in pots.

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

With all this produce,

I had to come up with a 

few dishes, but it was way too hot to 

heat up the kitchen.

Break out the crockpot!

I made Ratatouille.

Easy dish.

It's just stewed veggies.

Here's the recipe:

1 medium jar of Prego

dried oregano, basil, salt and pepper,

pre cut up in a jar - garlic

Cube these veggies...

1 large sweet onion

1 eggplant

2 zucchnini

(I used half of my cucuzza)

(you can substitute any squash)

2 bell peppers

2 tomatoes

then...

1) coat the bottom of the crockpot with olive oil,

2)layer the veggies in the pot.

3) add a few dollops of Prego and 

sprinkle with oregano/basil and a teaspoon of garlic.

4) Keep doing this till all the veggies are in the pot

and covered in Prego.

5) Cook on medium for 5 hours

6) stir it halfway through cooking.

7) for the last hour, uncover and allow sauce to thicken.

To serve, sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Yum!

***

Then I tried this one.....

I hate frying anything!

So, I looked for a recipe where the eggplant 

was baked.

Here it is...

Melt about 5 or 6 tablespoons of butter and 

a teaspoon of mayonnaise, 

 then coat each slice of eggplant.

(you can use only butter if you like)

Next dip it into Italian flavored breadcrumbs.

I used 1 cup.

The recipe calls for them to be 

covered with grated parmesan and baked 

in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Then flip them and bake for another 20.

Tip: Bake for 20 minutes,

then after you've turned them over,

sprinkle the parmesan cheese.

It'll stay on the eggplant

rounds instead of falling off.

I'm eating them with a dip of 

creamy Italian

(because that's what I had)

The recipe says Ranch.

I don't think Ranch would have 

brought out the parmesan

like the Italian did.

anyhoo….

Hope ya like these.

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

Chicken 101

Backyard chicken eggs are healthier

than store bought eggs.

The dark yolks tell the tale.

The darker the yolk, means the more

nutrients, Omega 3 fatty acids,

Carotinoids, beta carotene,

Lutein, and

Vitamins A, D, and E.

Homegrown eggs have thicker shells

due to a greater amount of calcium 

in the hen's diet.

Also...

Chickens are essentially

omnivores.

They'll literally eat anything,

Insects, small rodents, snakes,

fruits and veggies,

even their own eggs.

Our girls haven't eaten their eggs,

but they do eat the crushed egg shells

out of the compost heap.

They also eat a "laying feed"

that contains various seeds

and grains.

That's why their "butt nuggets"

are so good!

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

I was perusing the internet 

and came across this...

It's about iconic streets that

are a must see before you die.

Hope you can read the small type,

especially the last line.

I laughed and laughed.....

Bless their hearts...……

and

Remember,

be kind,

you never know

what someone is

going through.