tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18373772904540357982024-02-07T22:09:47.001-08:00The Bog BlogThe building of a small family farm from scratch, warts and all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger270125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-45026257297830028772017-06-24T11:36:00.000-07:002018-02-04T20:44:04.684-08:00Romance on the FarmIn passing the other day, I mentioned to the hubs that we were going to have to find a bigger bucket for the pigs' slops. These boys eat like it's going out of style!<br />
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Anyhoo, fast forward to a week later. Bill had to run to the <i>Home Despot</i> for a few tools and other dude-stuff. Once he's home, he says - "I forgot. I got you a new bucket!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiXeTLXBomguTc8s4qmjgbWmWz8CQ4z32R_WRxIPY-8Hyd5SAVnpOsWD95TXi5vg9WtzMZBnFqr-sql38O2Fy_WyoGGOXgnXQEm8bTJ8g8rE4V1Kxei08cubWi1kzu_aQ5GqBzCLG9wM/s1600/IMAG0595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiXeTLXBomguTc8s4qmjgbWmWz8CQ4z32R_WRxIPY-8Hyd5SAVnpOsWD95TXi5vg9WtzMZBnFqr-sql38O2Fy_WyoGGOXgnXQEm8bTJ8g8rE4V1Kxei08cubWi1kzu_aQ5GqBzCLG9wM/s400/IMAG0595.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">OOOOOH! </i><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">For </span><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">meeeee?</i></td></tr>
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And they say romance is dead! :P<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-77962818163615473352017-03-11T09:02:00.000-08:002017-03-11T09:02:07.133-08:00EGGS!!!!! - First of the yearWell, the Chickens are at it again now that we finally have a little more light. We will have 5 dozen eggs out at the stand for sale. $4.00 as usual. This year our younger kiddo is taking on egg prep duties and gets half the proceeds! Sheesh, what a lucky kid. Hopefully pretty soon our flock of ducks will also start laying as well.<br />
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Once the wet season/winter/time to build an ark finally ends we'll start getting the garden planted. Hopefully snow-peas and greens will come up first with perhaps some Rhubarb. Keep your eyes open.<br />
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Sadly there are no quail eggs this year. If you know someone who wants a really nifty quail hutch (8ft wide by 2ft deep) drop us an email and we can talk.<br />
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Happy almost spring!<br />
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BillyBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17310840673176943843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-37608506949649249342016-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:002016-06-13T12:38:05.608-07:00"Sprummer" in the HollowIt's not even officially Summer yet, but the garden, critters, and occasionally, the weather, are all in Summer mode.<br /><br />Those 3 or 4 days we had of 90+ degree heat we had a few weeks ago seemed to put our raspberries over the top. We've been getting a pint per day as of late, and they haven't even hit their stride yet. I think I'll be making a LOT of jam this year!<br />
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The strawberries are doing good as well, but tend to fall victim to the slugs and roly-poly bugs if not picked the <i>second</i> they become ripe. Thankfully, the duck yard is directly next door to the garden, which keeps the slugs and bugs in check, though a few still get through and leave their unmistakable mark.<br />
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The pumpkins, beans, carrots, sunflowers and watermelons are all up and looking decent. The potatoes are growing like gangbusters - we need to hill them up again!<br />
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The snow peas have finally bloomed, and will hopefully have their first fruits ready by this weekend. Besides a little Sungold tomato or a sun-warmed raspberry, snow peas are my favorite garden sneaky-snack. ;)<br /><br />The pollinator bed is taking a little longer than usual to get going. The borage, not surprisingly, has reseeded itself <i>con mucho gusto</i>, to the point where I may have to pull a few out to ensure that my breadseed poppies, calendula and phacelia have half a chance at making it.<br />
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The lemon balm and spearmint have all but squeezed the chamomile completely out of the tea bed, meaning that a minty-reckoning is overdue. Since none of our critters are terribly fond of the stuff, and I have waaaay more already dried and put up that I could ever need for tea, I think I'll be offering up cut mint & lemon balm this weekend to anyone who is willing to take the stuff.<br /><br />As for the critters.... OY.<br />
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The ducks are doing well, but their egg production is down due to thieving ravens. We're looking to add a net or some sort of barrier/deterrent to the duck yard/Quack Shack to keep the hungry little buggers at bay. Especially since we want to hatch out some babies, which we learned the hard and heartbreaking way, are also a favorite food of hungry ravens. :(<br /><br />The chickens are doing well. Ruby the Easter Egger took off for about a month and came back with a single little black and yellow chick. We're calling her Garnet, though he/she is still way too small -and fast! - for us to get a good look at in the hopes of accurately sexing him or her. I suspect that Garnet's papa is our Cuckoo Marans rooster, Godzilla, which would make Garnet, if she <i>is</i> in fact a she, an Olive Egger pullet. The other gals in the flock seem to be falling prey to chick envy/baby fever and have been trying to sneak off to raise families of their own. Wrangling our stubborn laydies has been more challenging of ever as of late.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pycVQGri_KHDrSz6rNwCEGwC1PeIE7K9TMQ_Yv06PCbAYC16mzlAgylkcoiWYnJexmhBM7ooiCepFvybc3dNb6pGZpAJFQeNaM5bqvH_nXutsb4SGgKRwwY3XatInCgOaFpjlnlbmJg/s1600/IMAG3088-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pycVQGri_KHDrSz6rNwCEGwC1PeIE7K9TMQ_Yv06PCbAYC16mzlAgylkcoiWYnJexmhBM7ooiCepFvybc3dNb6pGZpAJFQeNaM5bqvH_nXutsb4SGgKRwwY3XatInCgOaFpjlnlbmJg/s320/IMAG3088-1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just hatched! "Kotori", Japanese for "small bird". :)</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Our quail flock is expanding! We have ten 5-week old babies, and another four 1-week olds coming right behind them. We'll be hatching out more later this Summer, but the ducks have dibs on the incubator next.<br />
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The bees are humming along (see what I did there?)! We have three top-bar hives and one Langstroth, and as of last week's peek, all are looking healthy and full o' honey. Beekeeper Bill says that we should be able to pull some honey at the end of this month! These were all new packages as of this Spring, and they're off to an awesome start owing to everything blooming so early this year. Let's hope that our luck (and theirs) holds.<br /><br />The goats are happy. We're down to just our two old ladies - Sophie and Chardonnay. They're doing a pretty good job of keeping goatlandia mowed down, and will soon be the recipients of a big windfall of blackberry vines just as soon as Bill and I can find the time to bushwhack the chicken yard. There's never enough time for everything!<br /><br />So, that's about that. The critters seem happy, the garden seems happy, and the lawn and weeds are out of control, as ever. Life is busy, but good. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-82046220721948225962016-04-05T18:46:00.000-07:002016-04-05T18:46:18.195-07:00Spring is Finally Sproingin'!It's been a <i>very</i> long time since we've posted anything - sorry about that!<br />
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Spring is finally showing up in The Bog, with all the attendant fanciness and fertility that a little bit of sunshine and a lot of raging hormones bring out in both plants and critters alike.<br />
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We've had our first broody hen - Athena - who gave herself away when, upon being let out of the coop first thing in the morning, instead of following the crowd directly to the water pan and flock block, ran for all she was worth in the exact opposite direction toward the bog. <i>Hmmm...</i> s<i>umpin's up! </i>Sure enough, I follow her hasty course down to the tree line just before the bog and, <i>viola</i>, she's got a secret nest in a little hidey-hole amongst the roots of a mid-sized madrona tree with 5 eggs already in it. <i>Sneaky monkey!</i><br />
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The ducks, however, seem to have no interest thus far in motherhood. Our Muscovy pair, Speckles and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind_(film)" target="_blank">Nausicaa</a>, are still in their honeymoon phase and seem to have eyes only for each other (and worms, and naps), so, no baby action there yet. Squirt and his harem of Khaki Campbell girls also seem interested only in hanging out. Our newest pair - adopted from our local animal shelter, if you can believe it! - are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke" target="_blank">Ashitaka</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujiko_Mine" target="_blank">Fujiko</a>, a mated pair of Pekins. Fuji is rather high-strung, and Ashi spends most of his day just trying to keep up with her.<br />
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The quail are just kinda maintaining. They aren't particularly exciting birds, but man, are they productive! We're planning to incubate some eggs starting next week, with the hopes of getting our egg production up by the time Summer rolls around.<br />
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That's the fauna. Now for the flora side of things.<br />
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Nothing is really producing much yet except some perennial herbs (sage, thyme and horehound, mostly) and our indefatigable Victoria rhubarb. The plum tree and pear tree are already loaded with blooms, and the pie cherry tree looks to be next up.<br />
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This year is <i>supposed to be</i> a banner year for morel mushrooms, but I've yet to find a single one. Alas, we do have a vigorous crop of the NOT edible <i>Amanita Pantherina</i> growing like gangbusters in the chicken yard. I guess morels on my doorstep were too much to hope for? ;)<br />
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The garden is/will be late going in this year, as the monsoon rains didn't even slow down until nearly the end of March. Everything is still sopping, so I'm hedging my bet and holding off for another week or so before starting to plant seeds in earnest. I'd rather have late veggies that waste my time and money plugging seed into the ground only to watch it rot.<br />
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That being said, when we finally do plant our garden, here's some of what we'll be growing -<br />
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*<a href="http://uprisingorganics.com/vegetables/peas/ho-lan-dow.html" target="_blank">Ho Lan Dow</a> snow peas<br />
*Jack Be Little pumpkins<br />
*Danish Flag breadseed poppies<br />
*Resina Calendula<br />
*Bodegold Chamomile<br />
*Goosebumps pumpkins<br />
*Red-cored Chantenay and Royal Chantenay carrots<br />
*Cocozelle zucchini<br />
*Yukon Gold potatoes<br />
*Assorted red raspberries<br />
*Grosso lavender<br />
*Lemon Balm<br />
*Spearmint<br />
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I'm looking forward to getting out and working in the yard and garden without looking like I've just come from a mud wrestling smackdown. Someday... ;)<br /><br /><i>Farmstand Days and Hours - Saturdays & Sundays 10ish - 7ish. This month's offerings will/might include - Eggs (chicken, duck & quail), Rhubarb, Fresh Herbs, Beeswax and hand knit dishcloths, coasters and other assorted goodies. :)</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-74708865368695479372015-06-08T23:06:00.000-07:002015-06-08T23:06:40.324-07:00Today's Take - 6/8/2015Three out of four of our broody mama ducks finally hatched out their babies this week! Blueberry & Drusilla each had five babies, Kiki hatched out three. Now hopefully they'll get back to laying some of their wonderful eggs for us.<br /><br />The garden is finally starting to feed us. ;) Peas, lettuce, herbs and raspberries are starting to roll in and we're really enjoying the homegrown salads every night.<br />
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For the record -<br />
Chicken eggs - 10<br />
Snow peas - 8 oz<br />
Buttercrunch lettuce - 1 head<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-69915031448230023902015-05-20T20:45:00.000-07:002015-05-31T23:24:56.870-07:00BHF ~ Photo of the Day 5/20/15<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9Oai0BKvOJhSZzqkQ6e4SUCNTwFOCqij4fx7ZE7WLnx9m-0ouUas5k7qphgO-iqSvb60CTtTth72Hdv7lM_0wEZhg-sdQZAu6RLpnATkYLTc6tI6xBuiJknxaKRrKCIjGkf3DRimHR4/s1600/IMAG2134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9Oai0BKvOJhSZzqkQ6e4SUCNTwFOCqij4fx7ZE7WLnx9m-0ouUas5k7qphgO-iqSvb60CTtTth72Hdv7lM_0wEZhg-sdQZAu6RLpnATkYLTc6tI6xBuiJknxaKRrKCIjGkf3DRimHR4/s400/IMAG2134.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clarke's Beltony Blue Shelling Pea blossom</td></tr>
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I was getting pretty impatient to finally see a blossom on our peas and today was the day - times three! This is the Clarke's Beltony Blue in flower. We also had a pair of blooms on our He Lan Dou snow peas. Today was a good day in the garden!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-76509509506027701152015-05-16T23:44:00.000-07:002015-05-16T23:44:38.439-07:00Garden Update - Mid-MayWe finally finished planting in the garden today. <i>Whew!</i><br />
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Some of the earliest stuff we put in is getting big and beautiful, but so far, we haven't harvested anything yet with the exception of a few pounds of rhubarb. Our pea and onion plot is looking lovely, but the pea plants, for all their vigor, have yet to set a single flower. It seems to me like we should have had our first peas by now.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-kZ6EdlkUEM9aNY3GbHsDz1bLXCZs_ckCeV81vnW1OOE_aSFU0gDp_3rMuDJnN_MD7KWL4pTHGXtYHR9t53cxv3VefL8wUq0F-wHjePUxEaf-_9wcjIDPXw2KNS7HNHfARRzwsX7h44/s1600/IMAG2124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-kZ6EdlkUEM9aNY3GbHsDz1bLXCZs_ckCeV81vnW1OOE_aSFU0gDp_3rMuDJnN_MD7KWL4pTHGXtYHR9t53cxv3VefL8wUq0F-wHjePUxEaf-_9wcjIDPXw2KNS7HNHfARRzwsX7h44/s400/IMAG2124.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clarke's Beltony Blue Shelling peas and Yellow Rock onions</td></tr>
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The Watermelon radishes were also a disappointment. They started to bolt before they ever even began to form a bulb! I pulled a few and found that they were all scraggly and sad looking, so I pulled the lot. We have another succession planting of them already about 2 weeks in, so we'll let those grow and see if they come out right, and if not, I guess the bunnies will have a second feast. At least <i>they</i> get to enjoy them!<div>
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The carrots are starting to worry me too. No signs of life from that bed yet. :( I'll be hugely bummed if our carrots don't work out, since they are one of the veggies that we go through tons of year-round.<br /><div>
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The potatoes finally seem to have gotten a foothold. The <i>Purple Majesty</i> are clearly the front-runners, with <i>Rose Finn Apple</i> and <i>Yukon Gold</i> well behind, in terms of foliage. Weird, since the Purple Majesty's are a mid-season variety, but whatever - progress is progress - I'll take it.</div>
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Seeded/Planted out today -</div>
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*Cucumbers - <i>Addis Pickle</i></div>
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*Pumpkins/Squash - <i>Small Sugar, Oregon Sweet Meat</i></div>
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*Corn - <i>Dakota Black (popcorn)</i></div>
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*Beans - <i>Robert's Royalty (bush)</i></div>
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<i>*</i>Sunflowers - <i>Giant Greystripe, Honey Bear</i></div>
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*Peppers - <i>Pimento</i></div>
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*Melons - <i>Minnesota Midget Melons (cantaloupe)</i></div>
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*Ground Cherries - <i>Aunt Molly's</i></div>
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*Flowers/Herbs/Botanicals - <i>Hungarian Blue Breadseed poppies, Resina Calendula, Hyssop, Bachelor Buttons, Bouquet Dill</i></div>
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I had planned on putting in a bed of just cutting flowers, but food plants come first, so they didn't end up fitting in. I think we're going to try to find some room somewhere to shimmy in some borage though, since the bees go absolutely nuts for it. Besides that, I daresay we're about done planting stuff, with the exception of a few succession plantings (cilantro and radishes).</div>
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Done with the seeding! Now begins the watering/weeding/cursing-at-hungry-bugs phase of the garden. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-18112263655169343122015-05-11T01:11:00.000-07:002015-05-11T01:11:56.822-07:00Mother's Day Weekend in the Garden - SundayAfter a good, late wake-up and a lovely Mother's Day breakfast prepared by my youngest kiddo, Bill and I managed to get back out to the garden today to chip away at the nightmare that is <a href="http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua011.html" target="_blank">reed canary grass</a>, and weed and put in another bed's worth of plants.<br />
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What we accomplished today -<br />
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*Weeded and re-seeded empty spots in the beet and radish plots<br />
*Thinned out and cleaned up the rhubarb <br />*Planted out 18 <a href="https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/chamomile-bodegold-organic" target="_blank"><i>Bodegold</i> chamomile</a> cells (started indoors back in March), one 4" <a href="https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X1678-800&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Plants&source=799158.29456" target="_blank"><i>Flora Plena</i> chamomile</a>, one 4" spearmint, and about a half a packet of <a href="https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/calendula-resina-organic" target="_blank"><i>Resina</i> Calendula</a> seeds.<br />
*Sowed about 1/4 of a packet of <a href="https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/kale-bear-necessities-organic" target="_blank"><i>Bear Necessities</i> kale</a> in the greens bed, amongst the volunteer Russian Red kale babies from last year.<br />
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Ok - writing that down makes it seem like I/we didn't get much done. I tell you though, trying to rid the raised beds of the canary grass roots and rhizomes is a battle without end. If the goats didn't enjoy eating that grass (and it didn't make such nice <b>free</b> hay), I'd hate the stuff altogether.<br />
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Regardless of how much I managed to get done -or not- in the garden today, it was a nice way to have spent my special day with some of my most favorite people and critters. And eventually, <i>maybe</i>, I'll get some tea and salad out of the bargain as well. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU7jCpi2ZR8vW7FMeZbm-hGg2Srk79sPg5SyLYuaW7EsC3v9x8TZELN2WgUzhPLSm9IttZjCvZrHkmGiFgIS1kxDOcA7dt7RY818fHzm-117tVBc35zEoAqTuvSplTiVipINSBvknLNk/s1600/IMAG2063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU7jCpi2ZR8vW7FMeZbm-hGg2Srk79sPg5SyLYuaW7EsC3v9x8TZELN2WgUzhPLSm9IttZjCvZrHkmGiFgIS1kxDOcA7dt7RY818fHzm-117tVBc35zEoAqTuvSplTiVipINSBvknLNk/s400/IMAG2063.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny, aka Princess Pickle-butt, sampling some of our pasture.</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-79564832910674902292015-05-09T23:06:00.000-07:002015-05-11T00:35:43.641-07:00Mother's Day Weekend in the Garden - SaturdayWe had a very productive day in the garden today, planting out a few starts that we got from Spring Creek Nursery, as well as some of our seed stash. Started today -<br />
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*Cabbage - Copenhagen Market, Mammoth Red Rock<br />
*Lettuces - Red Leaf (romaine type), Buttercrunch (bibb type)<br />
*Cilantro - Standby (the fist of several sowings)<br />
*Basil - Thai, Genovese, Sweet<br />
*Thyme - Lemon, standard<br />
*Tomatoes - Sungold, Roma, Black Prince<br />
*Peppers - Anaheim, Purple Jalapeno<br />
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If I'm not too achy tomorrow from today's exertions, I plan on planting out my German chamomile, hyssop, spearmint, calendula, breadseed poppies, borage and assorted cutting flowers. We have only <i>just</i> passed our average last frost date, but I'm feeling pretty under the gun about getting everything in and started ASAP.<br />
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I really need to get the corn, beans and squash in the ground as soon as can be managed as well, but I feel less guilty about putting them off by a few days in favor of crops that are either less heat tolerant (and more cold/cool/generally-crappy-weather friendly) and those that have a longer growing season (90 days and up). I suspect that we will have an Indian Summer this year, but if living and gardening in Western Washington for 40 years has taught me anything, it's that the weather and seasons defy logic and predictability the vast majority of the time.<br />
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There isn't much to do except wait and see, and so I will. :)<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-49118320422652192802015-05-05T09:32:00.001-07:002015-05-05T09:32:35.247-07:00Recipe: Duck Egg Noodles<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">These simple and delicious, homemade egg noodles, made using our Muscovy and Black Swedish duck eggs, were a hit with the whole family! I added 1/4 cup of blanched, finely chopped stinging nettles to this batch as well, as I had them on hand. You can take or leave the addition, or substitute your family's favorite fresh herbs, kale, citrus zest or a bit of beet or pumpkin puree to mix things up a bit. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh duck egg and stinging nettle noodles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">An eggy windfall - where it all begins!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Duck Egg Noodles</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-3 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-2 whole eggs</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-4 egg yolks</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-2 tsps salt</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-2-3 tbsps water, more or less*</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">-1/4 cup blanched, well drained, chopped stinging nettles (or chopped herbs, kale, etc.) *optional*</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Start with your flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle for your eggs & yolks. Gently scramble the eggs with a fork, slowly beginning to incorporate the flour/salt mixture. Once the eggs and dry ingredients are well mixed, begin adding water in small increments, kneading and squeezing the dough together after each addition. Continue adding water as needed to the dough to reach your desired consistency. Now it's time to fold in the nettles. Knead them into the dough well, until the are mixed evenly throughout. Allow the dough to rest for at least 10 or 15 minutes before rolling out. I run my dough through the pasta roller attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer, rather than rolling the dough out by hand.** </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">After rolling out into sheets, I let the dough rest/dry again for at least 10 minutes or so before cutting into individual noodles.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">I most often use the fettuccine attachment to make the final cuts, but rolling and cutting by hand with the kiddos is just as good a method (if a slightly messier one) for getting 'er done. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">I freeze any pasta that I don't use immediately by laying the finished (uncooked) noodles in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and popping them in the freezer until thoroughly frozen, then transferring them to gallon freezer bags for storage. If you skip the cookie sheet step, and put them straight into the bag, you may end up with a giant noodle octopus rather than nice, individual noodles. ;) I've had mixed success with drying them, but you're welcome to give that a go if your freezer space is at a premium.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">*Because duck egg whites are significantly more viscous than chicken egg whites. You will likely need more water (or other optional liquid/puree, if using) than the 2-3 tbsps called for here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">**If you'll be using a similar pasta making attachment, I recommend starting at thickness setting #1, and running the dough through again on setting #3, and lastly, #5. Eggs noodles are meant to me a little beefy and chewy, so thinning them out further is just not necessary, and makes a lot more work, in my humble opinion. ;)</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-31621085954123009122015-04-29T12:04:00.001-07:002015-04-30T08:05:40.126-07:00Playing Catch-upBirthday season, for the most part, has come and gone, allowing us to focus a <i>slightly</i> larger portion of our time and money on gettin' 'er done around the house and farm. A few developments since I've last posted -<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistj_dpAjJlc0F2g8fWP2O6gba153oE9FI9e9BiHXTM45VC-vB1jILCbmdpF3o_96OYfncQTss3PxGprL3GTTnjrbPAkqSyscyEH8cQ02cWB8nJ1JTHNi9vbKPNuBE5Kqxq6RZC0aKjl4/s1600/IMAG1957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistj_dpAjJlc0F2g8fWP2O6gba153oE9FI9e9BiHXTM45VC-vB1jILCbmdpF3o_96OYfncQTss3PxGprL3GTTnjrbPAkqSyscyEH8cQ02cWB8nJ1JTHNi9vbKPNuBE5Kqxq6RZC0aKjl4/s1600/IMAG1957.jpg" height="320" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think she thinks she's invisible.</td></tr>
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*<i>Blueberry</i>, a Muscovy hen, has made the executive decision to go bat-crap broody, and sit on a fairly-well hidden clutch of eggs. She's rarely off the nest, but based on the few quick glances that I've had of the clutch, I'd say she's got at least 15 or 20 eggs in there. If you happen to be one of our egg customers, this may help explain why the duck eggs have been fewer and farther between these past few weeks. But...<br />
<br />
*We have another half-dozen layers just around the corner! The Khaki Campbell girls are now almost 8 weeks old, and have been integrated into the main flock. They seem to have unanimously chosen <i>Kiki</i>, our black Swedish hen, as their mama. "Keeks" seems mostly indifferent to her new brood, but to her credit, does not seem to mind overly much that they follow her every move. Kiki's fella, <i>Tombo,</i> thought he hit the jackpot when his harem grew by six laydies overnight. Alas, he was too... er... <i>vigorous</i> in his attentions and traumatized the heck out of the Khaki girls. And so, Tommy-boy is living in the <strike>ducky bachelor pad</strike> chicken tractor for now, where he can see, hear and chat with his gals, but not have direct "encounters" with them. He'll stay there until - a) the Khakis are fully mature, b) he learns how to be a gentleman, or c) we re-home him. We'll play it by ear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiki and her little 'uns.</td></tr>
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<br />
*Our eleven 8-week old chicks have also transitioned into living with the main flock. So far, so good.<br />
<br />
*We've been averaging about 10 chicken eggs, and 1 or 2 duck eggs per day from the laydies.<br />
<br />
*I planted a whole bed of carrots this past weekend. Half are Cosmic Purples and half are Red-cored Chantenay. I also started a second plot of Watermelon Radishes.<br />
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*The new beehives are doing pretty well. The Langstroth hive started to build a bit of cross-comb, which Billy cleaned up, but other than that, everybody appears to be settling in nicely.<br />
<br />
*We're gearing up to make our first batch of soap of the season - Dandelion & Honey, provided that the bees don't begrudge us a little of the sweet stuff. The next batch on deck is Sugar Pumpkin & Spice, with homegrown pumpkin. :)<br />
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*We've had some fun and different bird sightings over the past few weeks - male and female Rufous Hummingbirds, California Quail, and a very vocal Raven.<br />
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And that's about it, I think. I need to get crackin' in the garden this coming weekend - cilantro, spearmint and kale are on deck fo' sho', with chamomile, thyme, calendula, breadseed poppies and borage to follow soon after.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-26905279964220408332015-04-12T20:49:00.000-07:002015-04-12T20:49:40.499-07:00Today's Take - 4/12/2015For the record -<br />
Duck eggs - 4<br />
Chicken eggs - 9 (10 if you count the one that was eaten/smashed by the hens)<br />
<br />
In the garden -<br />
Weeded the peas/onions/radish bed, and plugged in a few more onions in the empty spots where onions failed to come up. Planted half a bed of Lutz Tall Top Beets. The carrots, kale and rat-tail radishes are hopefully going in sometime this week.<br />
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The seeds started under the grow lights are doing well. They're finally starting to all get their first set of true leaves.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-63890529687887199462015-04-09T01:06:00.000-07:002015-04-09T01:06:13.699-07:00Today's Take - 4/8/15For the record -<br />
Duck eggs - 1<br />
Chicken eggs - 6<br />
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In the garden -<br />
Planted the 2nd batch of potatoes today. I used "Smart Pots", similar to Root Pouches, but quite a bit thicker. The other difference from batch #1 is that I used fairly fresh rabbit poo as the fertilizer this time, rather than the kitchen scraps/goat poo/chicken poo compost mix that I used before.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-4298432633231170402015-04-04T22:23:00.001-07:002015-04-04T22:25:25.076-07:00Today's Take - 4/4/2015The chickens and ducks have both been doing a nice job laying as of late. Despite one duck and several hens going broody on us, practically overnight, we've been managing to average a dozen or better eggs per day between the clucks & quacks.<br />
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We also just harvested our first garden produce of the year, some humongous stalks of Victoria rhubarb. I wish that I had some of last summer's blueberries still in the freezer, because a "bluebarb" cobbler sounds fantastic right about now. Ah well, the 'barb is in the freezer now, waiting on berry season. :)<br />
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For the record -<br />
Chicken eggs - 13<br />
Duck eggs - 2<br />
Rhubarb - 1 1/2 pounds<br />
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In the Garden -<br />
Planted 3-25 gallon root pouches with a little more than half of our seed potatoes. We're growing Yukon Gold, Purple Majesty and Rose Finn Apple. I put about 3" of our homegrown compost in the bottom of each container, followed by another 3-4" of Gardener & Bloom "raised bed" soil, with a handful of kelp meal mixed in, then the seed pa-tay-ters, followed by another 3" (more or less) of very loose G&B soil. The Purple Majesties already had good 2-3" sprouts on each of the tubers, so I'm hoping to see some foliage from them first.<br />
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I'm planting the remaining half of the seed potatoes (again, in root pouches) next to our back balcony. Come harvest time, we'll see which batch performed the best.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-40730599059112813632015-03-29T20:30:00.000-07:002015-03-29T20:30:57.095-07:00Today's Take - 3/29/2015Just a quickie, since I'm crazy whooped tonight.<br />
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For the record:<br />
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Duck Eggs - 4<br />
Chicken Eggs - 11 (5 more and we'll be running at full capacity! Yay!)<br />
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In the garden:<br />
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Planted another 20 Yellow Rock onion sets in the same bed as the first lot, since the first planting have come up a bit spottily.<br />
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Bill planted a bed full of strawberries, a mixture of Benton, Quinault and TriStar, I believe. Some of them were already beginning to bloom.<br />
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Scatter-sewed a mixture of lettuce seeds over about 6 feet of bed space. The varieties in the mix are - <i>Merveille de Quatre Saisons, Buttercrunch, Red Romaine, Cimmaron and Rouge d'Hiver.</i> I treat them all as cut-and-come-again, so we should have a very interesting, <i>hopefully</i> long-lasting bunch of salad greens this Spring & Summer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-56194217058168094922015-03-25T20:53:00.000-07:002015-03-25T20:55:48.767-07:002 Days' Take - 3/24 & 3/25/2015The rain has been very limiting in terms of getting to play and work outside. I think I'm ready for May to be here, like, <i>now.</i><br />
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Since the weather has me somewhat house-bound, I've tried to put that time to good use reading a whole mess of farming, gardening and homesteading books, including -<br />
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*The Complete Book of Potatoes<br />
*Organic Gardener's Composting<br />
*Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades<br />
*Success with Organic Vegetables<br />
*Top Bar Beekeeping<br />
*Super Formulas - How to make more than 360 useful products that contain honey and beeswax<br />
*The Candlemaker's Companion<br />
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I <i>really</i> look forward to making my next batch of soap, even if it won't be a goat milk soap this time. I'm planning on trying out a recipe for a Pumpkin & Spice bar using the last bit of pumpkin puree that we have in the freezer from last Fall's sugar pie pumpkins. Hopefully we'll be able to incorporate a little of our honey and/or beeswax into that batch as well. That is, if we're able to rob the hives anytime soon. But first, this stinkin' rain would have to let up!<br />
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For the record -<br />
Duck Eggs - 5<br />
Chicken Eggs - 14Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-40671924620246288902015-03-23T20:57:00.000-07:002015-03-25T20:53:24.914-07:002 Days' Take - 3/22 & 3/23/2015Nothing too much happening here - rain, rain and more rain. Bleh.<br />
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In spite of the dreary weather, Scarlet and I went nettle picking on Sunday. I didn't think to weigh my take before blanching them, but it amounted to about 1/3 of a paper grocery bag full. Not too bad for an hour's walk in the woods!<br />
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Beyond the nettles. nothing but eggs. I'm hoping we'll have a good amount of them collected and ready for sale by next weekend in advance of Easter. Speaking of which, the girls and I will have to try using one of our big ol' duck eggs for making <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pysanka" target="_blank">pysanky</a> this year. :)<br />
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For the record -<br />
<br />
Duck Eggs - 8<br />
Chicken Eggs - 12<br />
Stinging Nettles - 12 (+/-) loosely packed cups' worth (before blanching)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-30839933307075169922015-03-21T21:56:00.001-07:002015-03-21T21:56:54.009-07:00Today's Take - 3/21/2015It was a fairly productive day today - 14 eggs collected and the two mean Muscovy drakes harvested and in the freezer. Tomorrow, I hope to get out for a bit and pick some nettles while the gettin' is still good.<br />
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We're also going to attempt to integrate our "tractor girls" into the main flock of chickens tomorrow. Here's hoping that the pecking order shake-up doesn't get too hairy before everyone settles in.<br />
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I may divide raspberry canes and put more radishes in tomorrow, if the weather and the limits of my energy permit. It's 50/50 at this point... ;)<br />
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For the record -<br />
Duck Eggs - 5<br />
Chicken Eggs - 9<br />
Ducks, butchered - 2 (dressed out weight was 5 pounds +/- each)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-65753294148038101252015-03-20T20:20:00.000-07:002015-03-20T20:20:20.097-07:00Today's Take - 3/20/15Happy first day of Spring!<br />
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The Farm Stand will be open tomorrow from 10ish-7ish, and we'll have nuttin' but eggs this time around, as nothing in the garden is happening yet.<br />
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As for the eggs - boy can it vary from day to day. Two of the Muscovy hens seem to have gone broody on me already, and are doing their level best to stash their eggs in increasingly harder to find nests. Today they stumped me, and so we ended up with only two duck eggs from the two gals sensible enough to lay them in the duck house - Kiki, the Black Swedish, and Cocoa Bean, a Muscovy. <i>Merci, mesdames. </i>Now - if you could show your sisters how to nest in a nice, easy to find spot, that'd be great.<br />
<i><br /></i>
Whilst hunting high and low for duck eggs that weren't ever to be found, I noticed that the maple trees have begun to flower. Now if the dang rain would let up a bit, our bees could get out there and go ape on those blossoms. Maple blossom honey sounds divine!<br />
<i><br /></i>
For the record -<br />
Duck Eggs - 2<br />
Chicken Eggs - 7<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-72403821000516293942015-03-19T20:49:00.002-07:002015-03-19T20:50:17.200-07:00Today's Take - 3/19/15Just a quickie - two birthdays, a band concert and helping my teenager get ready for her Sadie Hawkins dance have handed my butt to me this week. Blehhh. <br /><br />The good news is that Spring begins tomorrow!<br />
<br />
For the record -<br />
Duck Eggs - 4<br />
Chicken Eggs - 5<br />
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In the garden -<br />
More peas popped up overnight, and the first onion green has come up. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-25976549449326292632015-03-18T19:54:00.000-07:002015-03-18T19:54:38.278-07:00Today's Take - 3/18/15Whoopsie - birthday mania sort of got in the way of my posting for the past few days. But we're done with that until next month, when the birthday crazy train comes back around. In the mean time, I'll try to hold up my end and faithfully record the Hollow's happenings. :)<br />
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The plan I had for putting my slacking Ameracauna hen in the chicken tractor? <i>That didn't happen. </i>Instead, we put the 8 new laying hens that we just bought into the tractor and set them to work tearing up weeds for us. I think the results speak for themselves -<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 3 - the tractor has been moved twice.</td></tr>
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Not too shabby, eh? In addition to the yard work, they've laid us half a dozen eggs so far as well. Pretty good considering that they just went through a pretty dramatic life change.<br />
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On the same day that we got the new layers, we also got a mated pair of ducks from the same farm. The drake, "Tombo" is a beautiful I-have-no-idea-what-breed, but, in the way that good looking fellas so often are, seems to be a bit of a jerk. Whereas his lady love, "Kiki" a Black Swedish, is sweet as can be and a faithful layer of huge, pale blueish-grey eggs.<br />
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Between Kiki and the 'scovy girls suddenly deciding to lay, we've abruptly gone from no duck eggs at all to 4 per day. And in August/September, our 6 Khaki Campbell ducklings should begin laying as well. That's the thing about farming - you can go from feast to famine and back again just like that - which is why we don't take a second of it for granted.<br />
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For the record -<br />
*Duck eggs - 5 (must have missed one yesterday!)<br />
*Chicken eggs - 6<br />
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In the garden -<br />
*Bill weeded 8 beds<br />
*I planted 4 short rows of Watermelon radishes, with the plan to start 4 more in a week's time<br />
*The peas we planted about three(?) weeks ago are finally starting to poke their heads up!<br /><br /><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-342384363280719242015-03-15T22:49:00.000-07:002015-03-15T22:49:28.531-07:00Today's Take - 3/15/15It was a rainy, blustery day today, very fitting for the Ides of March. I really hope that the weather settles down soon, so that we can re-open the farm stand, as the eggs are piling up quickly, with even more layers coming on board starting tomorrow. :)<br />
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We're picking up 8 new-to-us laying hens and 2 ducks from a fellow farmer who recently sold her farm. That means that we will potentially be getting a total of 16 chicken eggs and 4 duck eggs per day very shortly. Exciting!<br />
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The timing is perfect, since the South South Direct Sales Farm Map <i>just </i>came out, and this year, we're listed. With our little farm stand now literally on the map, we're looking forward to getting more traffic, meeting new neighbors and selling them some of our fantastic eggs.<br />
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For the record -<br />
Chicken Eggs - 6<br />
Duck Eggs - 2<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-43865789767409987512015-03-14T21:39:00.000-07:002015-03-14T21:39:33.120-07:00Today's Take - 3/14/15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was beginning to wonder if our Muscovy girls were ever going to give us an egg, when <i>viola!, </i>Bill found a small nest of three eggs in a pile of loose orchard grass hay in the goats' milking shed. The milking shed has been the place that the Muscovies have been hanging out whenever they manage to break out of the duck yard, which is a very regular occurrence. <i>I should have known they were up to something!</i><br />Shortly after finding the first three, we found another egg in the duck house. Yeehaw!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goods!</td></tr>
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<br />We're going to try these tomorrow, as none of us has ever tasted a duck egg before. I've been told that frying them is slightly trickier than a chicken's egg, as they can get overcooked and rubbery pretty easily. I think I'll scramble them this first time around. I don't want to take a chance on cooking them wrong and souring us all on eating duck eggs the first time out of the gate.<br /><br />For the record -<br />
Duck eggs (woohoo!) - 4<br />
Chicken eggs - 6<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-33273261523125987642015-03-14T00:16:00.001-07:002015-03-14T00:16:41.209-07:00Today's Take - 3/13/15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nothing much (again) today, just three eggs, all of them brown. Hmm.... someone... or rather, 5 someones... are slacking!<br />
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I know that one of my slackers is Bedelia, a 2-year old Americauna hen. Even on a good day, when I get a blue egg in the nestbox, I can always attribute it to our only other Americauna, Snow White, who I see in the nest box each and every morning. I haven't seen Bedelia in the box a single time yet this season<i>. </i>I suspect that she is laying, but not where she's supposed to. I have a plan to test this theory, starting tomorrow, bright and early. <i>Bwahaha!</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedelia, our suspected shirker.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow White, reliable provider of beautiful blue eggs</td></tr>
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Here's what I'm thinking - I have a flower bed that I need turned over, ASAP. I also have a brand-spankin'-new used chicken tractor that <i>just so happens</i> to be a near-perfect fit for my weedy bed. So, Bedelia and a brown egg laying pal (or two) will spend the day working the flower bed for me, during which time they will also hopefully lay a few eggs. If I end up with a blue one at the end of the day, it'll confirm my suspicion that Miss B is actively laying, just nowhere that I can find them. Exactly what I'll do with that information, well, I haven't got that far yet. ;)<br /><br />Anyway, today was a three egg day. Hopefully tomorrow, the laydies will step up their game and give us a half dozen or more. <i>A chicken lady can dream.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837377290454035798.post-91525180516716703852015-03-12T16:59:00.000-07:002015-03-12T21:51:00.551-07:00Today's Take - 3/12/15Not so much in the way of <i>taking</i> today, rather, Scarlet and I did a little <i>putting.</i><br />
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Carly-girl helped me plant out 3 1/2 dozen or so Yellow Rock onion sets. Hedging our bets just a little, we kept back about half a bag of the sets to put in in a week or two, weather depending. They already went in a good 4-5 weeks late, what's another one or two? The worst case scenario for having planted them late is that we end up with a lifetime supply of onion greens instead of bulbs. Doesn't sound too bad, all things considered.<br />
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The stinging nettles are almost tall enough to start nipping, and the Muscovy hens should (hopefully, maybe) start laying any day now. We'll have a really interesting quiche in our near future if the stars align and both greens and eggs arrive at the same time.<br />
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The chickens have been pulling their weight well, giving us 5+ eggs per day as of late, possibly on account of a) daylight savings time ending, and or b) the heat lamp running 24/7 in the brooder. In the case of the brooder light, I'll be glad that it's helping out the hens, because it sure isn't helping out the rooster. Darth Vader was crowing every 90 seconds like clockwork at 1:30 am, the night before last, on account of the time change and the extra light throwing him for a major loop. My neighbors are endlessly patient with us and our yappy critters, but I still feel awfully bad about it.<br />
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Our not-so-grand totals for today -<br />
Eggs - 4<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0