Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread I got this recipe from a neat website I have been visiting lately, Chickens in the Road. Well actually, it's a combination of a recipe and new baking technique. It is a no-knead bread and instead of using a standard loaf pan or making rolls, I used a straight-sided casserole dish (with the lid on!) The loaf came out very artisan bakery-like! If you are interested in giving it a try, check out our website's Cooking Page.
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Could not be any happier...out pullin' weeds from our vegetable beds getting them ready to plant some seeds. Putting in some carrot, radish, spinach, lettuces, brussel sprouts, peas, beets and potatoes! Our vegetable garden is wedged between the horse pasture and the chicken coop. It was a wonderfully warm day today with a breeze. There are definitely moments that work isn't at all "work-like". Katie and her beautiful Black Wyandotte Cockerel 'Mr. Champ' Katie felt so proud holding her beautiful "Mr. Champ" who just won Jr. Show Champion American! I guess his name really does fit him! She has worked so hard to take care and grow these birds correctly, that we were so happy to see her rewarded for her hard work. She also had a wonderful Black Wyandotte Pullet who won Reserve Variety and Reserve Breed! She can't wait to get chicks from these two! She has renamed this girl, "Mrs. Champ"! Katie brought along a Golden Laced Wyandotte Pullet who also won Best Variety! What a great experience she had exhibiting her birds! Brown Egyptian Goose This is, by no doubt, my favorite bird of the show! I am completely fascinated by this exquisite goose. It's a Brown Egyptian and it has the most intricate penciling on it's feathers. I hope you can catch it in this picture. I always search this bird out at the poultry show. Katie proudly stands in front of her flock! Yes, is the answer to your question. There are shows for chickens! We dropped off our 2 roos and 4 hens in Newnan, GA at the Chattahoochee Poulty Show today. Katie showed a couple of birds last year, which was her first experience showing poultry, and won a couple of blue ribbons! It is so interesting to see all the different varieties of birds. I have always appreciated the effort that people put into raising quality "anything". People that aren't familiar with showing agriculture, and even horticulture, need to open their minds to understanding how important it is for people to raise quality beef, poulty, even vegetables. Keeping a variety of genetically sound animals and plants is so important for our food supply. The commercial producers focus primarily on one or two breeds that give them the most bang for their buck, which means, if they develop a disease or genetic weakness, it usually effects them all, thus, possibly compromising our food supply. These plants and animals are typically treated chemically, which can change the way certain diseases and germs act, overcoming and adapting to the chemicals that are used to combat them. So, next time you here of someone going to a "Chicken Show", or exhibiting their vegetables at a fair, think about the contribution that they are making to us all, knowing or unknowingly, working to preserve a safe and sound food supply! So happy to see those Daffodil's reaching for the sun! The forecast for the next 10 days; High 60's and no freezing night temp's! I took the heated water buckets out and stored them away until next winter...a sure sign of better days ahead! We had a great day yesterday...finally finished butchering the remainder of our rogue roosters! Last 5 went into the fridge, and will be turning them into soup this week. We have definitely gotten quite proficient with "processing" these guys. Even though we are able to hatch our own, we went ahead and ordered about 30 more chicks. Thirteen layers from a hatchery, and from a breeder, additional Wyandottes to boost up our breeding flock. With the longer days, the horses and goats are really starting to shed their coats, and they are loving rolling around to itch. Of course, they are such muddy boys! Also, going through my seed packets. Want to get carrots, beets and salad greens in the ground this week. I saw some potatoes at the feed store last week. Definitely want to get them planted in the "potato can" and see how that goes. We have a poulty show this weekend and goat shows just 8 weeks away! The resting days of winter are officially behind us! Katie showed me this article in her issue of "Backyard Poultry". I am always saddened by some practices within our commericial food industry. I am not the type of person who will protest or become a public vocal activist, but our family works hard to live our life in the most responsible way. Always aware of the consequences of our actions. We are fortunate to be able to raise our own animals and vegetables, and don't expect everyone else to do the same. But something as simple as eggs, which is such a staple of the American diet, is readily available with a liitle effort. Most all major cities have farmers markets available. There is a multitude of "non- farming" people who have chickens and sell their eggs. You would be surprised, if you just started asking around. I know price can be an issue for some, but I believe, once you have, not only,tasted the difference, you will have great satisfaction in knowing that they came from humanely treated birds. Experiment, step out of your zone, give it a try, or just pause to think next time you grab for that dozen at the supermarket. David lookin' local! Today could have been a VERY special day! We thought we finally had a great opportunity to rid our lake of "Greg the Menace"! (Check out blog entries from 8/15/2010, 8/21/2010, 10/31/2010) This morning, what looked like our squatter, Greg the Beaver, taking his last lap around the lake munching on our fish! David grabbed the rifle, first shot! No more Greg!!!! Or so we thought! David definitely hit something large (and it wasn't a fish!). As we waited a few hours, watching it slowly move close enough to the side of the lake so we could reel it in with a rake. We started to doubt, if it was Greg. As David raked the 2nd (not so innocent) innocent victim from the water, where there should have been a paddle was a tail! An Otter! It was a big guy, too! At least he won't be harassing our fish any longer! So, the hunt for Greg continues! (PS - I've got to say what a great shot! Not just David, but I caught the gun smoke and the hit!) If you recall, Honey had a rendevous with a buck back in November(Check out Blog dated 11/15/2010). Well, she has been in heat at least three times since! I guess that means no babies in April. :( We were all so excited for many reasons; Honey is our first little girl who we love so much, and we were so excited to have "Little Hun's" running around. Also, we had her bred to Luzifer Blue, which is a buck we like very much and thought he could improve upon Honey's conformation. We decided not to try to re-breed her, since we have acquired two doelings by Luzifer Blue. Since we have a few girls "coming of age" this year, we will just wait a little longer for goat parenthood. We will have a busy year, with having more little girls to show, starting in April! My beautiful Mom! Since we have been "processing" roosters lately, I have taken the opportunity to freeze as much chicken broth as possible. My mother was an awesome cook and understood the importance of using "homemade" broth. She always had a quart or two in the freezer. For whatever reason, I always felt intimidated about attempting to make "my own" broth. As an adult, I reluctantly continued to buy it from the store, always choosing the organic, free-range, but it never, ever measured up to Mom's broth. You are no doubt asking, "Why didn't you just have your Mom show you?" Well, I was younger and never had an overwhelming desire to know how. Plus, I was one of those naive people who never thought my Mother would never be there to do it for me! Of course, I have grown up ALOT in the past 10 years...my dear Mom had a stroke and is unable to help me. But she did teach me how to be an independent thinker and get things done! So here I am, not just brilliantly making chicken broth, even my Mom would be proud of, but I raised and butchered the chickens too! I must admit, I get a huge swell of pride every time I open my freezer and see all those bags of "liquid gold"! I was at the grain store the other day, chatting with the sweet, lady who owns it, about food, and she mentioned that she has never made homemade chicken soup before. I was stunned, because there are some people you just assume know everything about everything. I assumed she was one of them! I thought, if she doesn't know, maybe I should pass on to eveyone else who is missing out, like I was, what is truly a VERY easy thing to do! (As my Mom always said to me!) So if you are interested, click on the Cooking Page and discover the world of Awesome Chicken Broth & Soup! We love our little Goaty Girls sooo much! Doesn't it look like they are looking back at us with the same loving thoughts?! More real; They are totally looking at us like in the episode of Gilligan's Island, where the lion looked at Gilligan and saw a can of meat! I probably look like a bale of alfalfa! I'll take that love:) |
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