gadZUKES!

It's Zukezilla!


(No, we didn't grow this one, someone gave it to us!)

Don't worry, though. I handled it. He won't be back to bother anyone again.

play day for goats

Most folks call it Hackberry. Around here, we call it Snackberry.

chicken oasis

If I were a chicken, I'd hang out in here, too.

signs of improvement

Well, things in the poultry yard seem to be looking up. It seems that enough pullets from the first batch have survived the predators to replace most of the adults I've lost. I have quite a few boys that are already at fryer weight, plus a whole new batch of pullets arriving in about a week and a half (those girls will be enjoying maximum security accommodations). Add to that the two dozen or so little cockerels we're raising for meat (six weeks old now) and we'll be awash in fryers and eggs before we know it!

One of our male Muscovy ducks, at the tender age of three months has just taken the reigns as pater familias, and has started to...errr...prove his virility. Which means that we should soon be back in the duck business as well.

The next step for me is to turn my little enterprise into something cohesive, rather than a haphazard mess of birds running around the property like so much buckshot. Which is what we have now.

garden update and how to use duck eggs

Well, we turned over the rest of our potatoes and the results were about the same. Just a handful, all small. We had a long period of heavy rain this spring, followed immediately by a long period of very high temperatures. So the pill bugs came, then as soon as they left the fire ants came. Ehhh...maybe next year will be our year for potatoes.

Our beans have mostly tanked in the heat, although we are getting a small quantity of cow peas and limas. The greens are really holding their own, though. The swiss chard is hanging in there and the New Zealand spinach (a heat tolerant variety) is really taking off. We had our first salad of that stuff a couple of nights ago and it was lovely to have salad from the garden again...or anything, for that matter!

In the poultry yard, it turns out that our one adult muscovy duck is our most reliable layer. Normally we'd let her set them, but with no mature male at the moment, we've not much choice but to pick them up. Besides, they're divine! We especially like them boiled, as they have a very smooth, creamy texture. Having grown tired of egg salad (!), I found a new and really wonderful use for them. I urge you to try this at home - even if you don't have access to duck eggs, it would still be good with boiled chicken eggs. Also, feel free to substitute vegetables as they are available. I can imagine this also being delicious with garlic and greens, or onions and zucchini.

SPAGHETTI WITH PEAS AND HARD COOKED EGGS

1 lb spaghetti (or linguini or angel hair)
6 T. butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
salt and cracked pepper to taste*
2 hard cooked duck eggs (or 3 chicken eggs), peeled and finely minced

Cook pasta as directed and drain, reserving about two cups of the cooking water. Melt butter in the pasta pot over medium heat and saute shallot until just tender. Add pasta and peas back to the pot and toss. Add reserved cooking water in increments until you have a "sauce" consistency you are happy with. Add parmesan, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Serve in deep bowls topped with a generous helping of minced egg. If you have crusty bread and fresh summer tomatoes to serve with this, do so!

*Note: I actually used ZERO salt in this and it tasted great, and I'm not a "no salt" type.

it's raining, it's pouring

For something like two or three weeks we've had 100+ temperatures. For many weeks longer than that, it has been very hot, dry and still. The garden has gone up in flames, the dogs and goats are crabby and the chickens sit very still in the shade with their mouths hanging open. Finally this morning I woke up early to hear "tap tap tap tap" outside my window.

I asked hubby, "Is it...raining?!!?" My mind actually had to search for the word rain, as it seemed to have faded completely from my vocabulary. I asked the question as if I were from some remote and isolated culture and seeing my first can of Coke...something I'd only heard about but never actually seen. Something that only other people experience.

Just mere months ago, I pretty nearly tried to run Rain out of town on a rail. Now it's back for a daytrip, and everything looks clean, the plants get a much needed drink and I can finally open the curtains and let the dogs watch chicken TV (they are perpetually closed against Sun, who is many times more evil than Rain).

This is okay.

Happy Fourth of July!

Hubby and I are enjoying the weekend by spending it mostly in pj's, drinking irresponsible amounts of beer and setting off fireworks. I'm sure fireworks have to be bad for the planet and all, but I really can't help myself. They're one of my very favorite things, and I cackle like a (very juvenile) mad woman every time we set one off. It doesn't matter if they're small, large, sparkly, crackly or just one loud bang. I love them all. My favorite thing about them is not knowing exactly what they're going to do - each one is a surprise in a colorful little package.

Much like life.

(a mere portion of this year's haul)