I have been hatching out Black Australorpe chicken eggs for a friend who wants good quality brown egg laying chickens.The past 2 days I had a few eggs that were unfertilized, cracked & seeped and had an odor from the bottomless pit (:<........I tried to gently lift these eggs off the egg turner, then gently rock them back & forth.....frustration overtook good sense and..............POW !!!!     BOOM !!!!    MY WHOLE CELLAR & PART OF MY KITCHEN REEKS OF A SMELL THAT RIVALS THE TRENCHES DURING A WW1 MUSTARD GAS ATTACK!!   I should leave well enough alone. I arrive home late from work but check on all the farm animals to make sure all is well & bedded down safe & sound. Last of all I check on the incubators. They had a surprise for me (:>

Turkeys and chickens

It looks like a wedding processional of turkeys in their pretty white feathers. Actually, they are curiously following me to their coop and yard . I had hopes of moving the meat chickens from the barn to the big general population chicken/turkey yard where they could freely forage .They would also have access to the garden leftovers .

I removed several chickens , showed them where the grain and water is and their roosting house.Turkeys milled about and made little curious sounds.

Well,that idea went over well! Gobblers fanned out their feathers and began strutting and grabbing onto the chickens necks .Bullies!!  Back to the yellow chicken box they went and transferred to the other side of the farm.

Turkeys HATE to share their grain (:<

Sweet Sweet Corn !

The end of August and the beginning of September can be overwhelming for those of us who can & freeze our harvests.However, if you have Bailey the Corn  Plucker and Ed the Corn Shucker,you will be OK.All will turn out well because many hands make the work load light.

This year I planted Bodacious Corn and it was all it's name claims to be.Yum! I can eat it raw by the handful ,cramming every mouthful  between the vegetable chopping blade's strokes down  each side of the cob. Kernels bounce off the counter and spill to the floor but the cats are also lovers of fresh juicy corn and they keep the floor tidy for me.Everyone here loves corn plucking season.As I pick each ear of corn, empty corn stalks get pulled and tossed in piles.Later I carry them to the horses, sheep and goats.YUM!!! They devour the fresh green leafy stalks.I always throw in a few ears of corn for each of the corn fans as they chomp away.At the end of this, I will give you "LEE MILLER'S MOTHER'S CORN PUDDING RECIPE", a recipe I use every Thanksgiving, because it's so GOOD! 

Here is my favorite man,Ed the Corn Shucker.This year our corn ended up being planted a little too close together but NO MATTER ! Gus, the dog,helped us out!! He ran through the corn, happily leaping about and flattening out whole sections, thus allowing sunlight to beam its' warm rays throughout the interior corn plants who before had no hope (:<  "WHAT did I do"  with the downed corn plants ? you ask. Of course I dragged them off to the barn to awaken the senses of the drowsy lazy horses and sheep who were hiding out in the dark stalls of the barn hiding from flies .

August is a hot listless month.Horses hide in dark spots of the barn rhythmically swatting flying intruders with their tails and we with our swatters on the porch. Who the heck feels like canning veggies in a hot steamy kitchen ? Yours truly and a goodly number of others who may have read Proverbs 6:6-8   and Proverbs 31:10-31  in the Bible. Did you know that the OLDEST profession in the world is gardening? Just read the first few chapters of Genesis. Man was created in the field but God placed him in the garden. He became a farmer.Woman was created in the garden. Maybe that's why we love flowers and men yearn for the field where hunting and fishing exist. Isaiah says that in the end of this world, men will beat their swords into plowshares and will not learn WAR anymore.We go back to farming and the contended life of  producing from the earth. God says that men will sit under their own fig tree.The frenzy of city life I hold at arms length.        

LEE MILLER'S MOTHER'S CORN PUDDING  RECIPE

3 eggs  

4 TB flour

1/3 c. sugar

2 c. milk

2 c. kernal corn, drained

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick margarine

pinch of nutmeg (save till last to sprinkle over the surface)

While mixing other ingredients,melt margarine in casserole pot (that you will bake this in).Add other ingredients.Sprinke the pinch of nutmeg over the surface of the pudding mixture.

BAKE 400F  45-60 min.Middle should be firm. Stick knife through middle, to test  for doneness. If it comes out clean, it's done.                                                                                                                               

Dill spears

I have never had any success making keg dill pickles. Therefore, sweet pickles/ Bread and Butter Pickles have always lined the shelves and keg pickles were tossed over the embankment.

    (LONGGGGGGG   SIGH~~~)   I have FINALLY found a yummy, YUMMY dill pickle spear recipe and  years of frustration have come to an end ! I will share these recipes with you. There are more than one.The basic trick is a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar to water , however one recipe below calls for 2 cups water and 1 cup vinegar.. The rest of the recipes are merely spices added. Taste your mixture as it cooks on the stove. If it makes you leap in the air, cough, gag and eyes tear up, then add a little more water.

1..  This is the recipe for the spears you see on the right.Tumeric was added. That's why there is a difference in color.The recipe is from McCormick's recipe site .Specifically

http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Gravy-Sauce-Condiment/Dill-Pickle-Spears.aspx

2.Another recipe I used ,I added spices .
 
           4-6 cucumbers (about 1 lb.) sliced lengthwise into spears.
           1 cup white distilled vinegar
           2 cups water
           1/4 c sugar
           3 Tbs coarse Kosher salt (NON-iodized or your pickles will turn brown in the canning process)
           Dill seed & weed cut from a dill plant (a sprig for each jar.) (1 tsp dill seed  1 tsp dill weed )
           5-8 peppercorns
           2 garlic cloves, peeled,smashed & chopped.( Pressing it between 2 spoons releases flavor better than only chopping it)


           A) In a saucepan combine vinegar,water,sugar,salt,dill seed & weed and garlic. Bring to boil stirring until sugar & salt dissolve.
            B) Place cucumber spears in sterilized glass Qt canning jars & pour boiled hot liquid mixture over it. Make sure that all jars have dill seed,weed & garlic & peppercorns.Add more to skimpy jars if you need to.Fill jars leaving 1/2" head space & seal according to Ball or Kerr canning book directions. HOT WATER BATH ONLY!    Do not pressure can. They mush.
         
       
          

Growing celery a fun way!

I have never had much luck growing celery in the garden.It never made it off the ground. Now I have found this wonderful site on Facebook~ Homesteading/Survivalism  that gave me new hope. yes, I do believe I am at the end of  my celery sorrows. I tried this crazy idea for growing celery and it took off like a rocket.When you are nearly finished with your celery,cut off the base and stick 4 toothpicks,one in each side and suspend it in a jar of water on a window sill. SUDDENLY !!!! You will wake up 2 mornings later and it will be like Christmas !!! CELERY GROWING OUT OF THAT DOGGONE STUMP !! HOO HAH !! 

I thought about this thing and it occurred to me, "How much nutrition is in plain water?"   Not a heck of a lot.So, I added a few drops of plant/veggie food to the water and the growth continued to dark green leafy stems. All within a short period of time.

Eventually,roots began growing and once I had a decent amount of a dangling root system I transplanted it into potting soil.

I shall let you know the outcome. (:>     You can do this with ginger root, scallions and some other things that I forgot, but am too lazy at this moment to look up.

Alfalfa~ you should be dog meat! But....

     Alfalfa, you should be dog meat. But, understanding person that I am, you are forgiven and may live to see another lambing year.  
      The last week in May , I was feeding the sheep when I saw an opportunity to catch an 8 week old lamb for a sale that night. Of course, it was a sudden poorly thought out move. You NEVER know what a day will bring. That's my motto.On a farm, you need to think out EVERY MOVE and possible repercussions! So, work slow.That lamb howled and bleated and BAAAAA 'd at excruciating decibles. His daddy, the farm ram, stopped eating his hay and charged straight for my chest wall while I was still on my knees. CRASH !!!!*&%$#@   Right into the old chest freezer used as a grain storage bin.So, I spent the next 3 weeks hobbling around, spasming every time I yawned, coughed or sneezed and slept on the couch for the next 5 weeks because I couldn't lie flat. As he started to back up for another charge, I yelled horrible explicatives .Then  he grew bored and came over for a chin scratching and pet on the head. Just havin' fun, he said,Well, that was the beginning of my summer.My spring planting was started but interfered with it's maintenance. It seems like every year at this time, something comes up.
     The sheep were sheered that evening.That sure looked nice! (:>

Seedlings

These are my cabbages and brussel sprouts for the coming year.I don't eat many of these but my farm animals will .You are looking at $40.00 + worth of seedlings that I would have had to pay for if I did not start these myself.I have plenty more seedlings under lights elsewhere in my basement , especially for  tomatoes ~ Heirloom tomatoes. I can save & re-plant their seeds at the end of the season for next year .Heirloom corn is not so lucky, Tough and tasteless,it looses popularity to the more exciting hybrid crowd .I prefer starter plants because they mark their area so nicely before weeds get a good start.