It was late at night and we as a family were catching up on each other's lives. Ten o'clock came around and all of a sudden someone asked if anyone had shut the chicken door. (We like to let them out of the coop for several hours each evening. We can't leave them out all day until we have a fence that will keep them out of the gardens and flower beds, but mostly because foxy has been brazen and bold in broad daylight this past week and has been snatching some chickens and guineas.)
Zach was willing to go outside to close the coop door. Out he went with flashlight in hand, shining at everything including under the coop, walking softly. Why? Because we've been seeing a skunk every night and morning for the past several days and the last thing any of us wants is to get sprayed, or have that stink permeate the air. So Zach was inspecting everything. He shone the light at the woods thinking he saw a deer, when he realized it was a bear. Forgetting all about the chicken door, he came running full steam to the house to alert the family. We ALL tiptoed and half ran together outside and stood by the chicken coop which is halfway between the house and the woods.
The pigs grunted their low sound while we watched the medium size bear. A stray cat ran out of the empty small chicken coop and the startled bear climbed a tree. Braden made sure the chicken coop was latched. The bear soon came back down. It would peek around the tree, stand up, or sit down. After twenty minutes, nothing too terribly exciting was happening.
But then Zach grabbed a couple of stones and threw it towards the bear in attempts to startle it. That caused the bear to move a little. Donkey brayed. Bear got close to the corner of the pig pen. (Just yesterday we surrounded an area with electric fence to let the pigs out to green pasture.) Meanwhile, we kept shining our flashlight all around watching for any other movement. An opossum came in to light doing it's thing, whatever that was. We kept flashing for other movement. Then we saw the dreaded skunk between us and the house, moseying along and taking his good old time. None of us wanted that thing to spray us and now some of us felt kinda trapped. What would we do if it came straight toward us? I guess we would have to step over the electric fence a couple of places and go around the back side of the coop.
We'd watch out for skunk, then look at the bear, back to the skunk, now back to bear. Skunk came closer but headed for the edge of the woods away from us and the detour we had planned. We still didn't trust his stinker. Back to the bear and then he climbed the tree at the corner of the woods. What was he going to do? We watched and held our breath. Would he attack the pigs? We spotted skunk. That part was OK. Now back to bear who jumped down. His paw reached for the fence. We heard a small zap. Then a low growl. Ouch! He got shocked and ran away! We all laughed. We couldn't see skunk. Bear had slunk back to the woods. We flashed for skunk, couldn't find him as we all headed back to the house together.
Will bear come back? Will the electric shock to this wild animal be enough to keep it from coming back? Do bears attack pigs? We don't know. Merv told the girls, "Keep your window open tonight and if you hear the pigs squealing, then please wake me up." I don't what he'd do if bear would be attacking pigs.
One things is certain, we saw something tonight that probably most people don't see and that is that we saw a bear get shocked when he touched the electric fence!
I googled bear attacks pig and found the article 'Bear attacks pot-bellied pig in Afton' which doesn't sound promising as bears can attack pigs. The electric fence may be our only hope. Or hopefully the donkey braying will also scare it away. One thing is certain, we need a good guard dog, but even that is no guarantee. Such is animal life whether wild or tame on the farm.
5.28.2014
10.10.2012
Do you know the meaning of the words you use?
We had a very interesting discussion today.
Allison read in Matthew about blasphemies and mentioned to Amber that she bets we say words that we would probably never speak again if we knew what they meant. In passing, Allison said, "shoot" about something and thereby Amber was urged immediately to get the dictionary and search out it's meaning. What we learned is appalling...
Before I continue, I'll be the first to admit that as a child, I knew I must stand before Almighty God one day and give account for every idle word I speak (Matthew 12:36), but at the time I didn't care how I used my tongue. Bad habits were formed. Words slip. Today I confess that my speech is still too sloppy at times for one who professes to be a child of God and I shudder to think of standing before God. I've been guilty of saying the same word that prompted our search.
James 3 talks about the tongue. Verse 8 says, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
Verse 10, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."
GUILTY. Is that how I want to be? No.
My heart needs to be cleaned. Purified by reading the Word of God.
The holiness of God will make me speechless when I stand before Him. I won't have a thing to say.
Oh God, I've sinned and I'm so sorry!
Back to this morning...
The dictionary meaning for shoot: (euphemism for shit) (1876) - used to express annoyance or surprise
What is euphemism? the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
In essence, shoot is a nicer word to use than the offending and unpleasant word shit.
And I've used this awful word? Oh, wretched woman I am! I had no idea that's what it meant. I think this study will help some more of us to quit using this word forever in the wrong context.
I guess we'll be thinking more about our speech from now on. We'll be looking up more slang/offending words in the dictionary to see if the word is OK to use and/or if it is a euphemism. One sure thing, if you don't know the meaning of a word you use, it's probably a bad word to say.
Allison read in Matthew about blasphemies and mentioned to Amber that she bets we say words that we would probably never speak again if we knew what they meant. In passing, Allison said, "shoot" about something and thereby Amber was urged immediately to get the dictionary and search out it's meaning. What we learned is appalling...
Before I continue, I'll be the first to admit that as a child, I knew I must stand before Almighty God one day and give account for every idle word I speak (Matthew 12:36), but at the time I didn't care how I used my tongue. Bad habits were formed. Words slip. Today I confess that my speech is still too sloppy at times for one who professes to be a child of God and I shudder to think of standing before God. I've been guilty of saying the same word that prompted our search.
James 3 talks about the tongue. Verse 8 says, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
Verse 10, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."
GUILTY. Is that how I want to be? No.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me." Psalm 52:10,11
My heart needs to be cleaned. Purified by reading the Word of God.
The holiness of God will make me speechless when I stand before Him. I won't have a thing to say.
Oh God, I've sinned and I'm so sorry!
Back to this morning...
The dictionary meaning for shoot: (euphemism for shit) (1876) - used to express annoyance or surprise
What is euphemism? the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
In essence, shoot is a nicer word to use than the offending and unpleasant word shit.
And I've used this awful word? Oh, wretched woman I am! I had no idea that's what it meant. I think this study will help some more of us to quit using this word forever in the wrong context.
I guess we'll be thinking more about our speech from now on. We'll be looking up more slang/offending words in the dictionary to see if the word is OK to use and/or if it is a euphemism. One sure thing, if you don't know the meaning of a word you use, it's probably a bad word to say.
*************************************
Today we canned 7 quarts of pinto beans and finished the carrots which yielded 7 quarts. So glad that is done.
We had black beans and rice with cabbage salad. We really like the combo.
The salad is so easy to fix. Chop cabbage finely with a knife. Sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic or red wine vinegar, and salt. Eat with rice and beans.
For dessert, I saved a few apples for apple dumplings, probably the last for this season.
*****
Apple dumplings always remind me of our dear friend Pepper who is now deceased. My Mom would occasionally fix them. I would say it was very infrequent. Consequently, almost EVERY time Mom would bake them, our friend would stop in on a whim. We didn't know he's coming. He didn't know, either. I remember several times when dessert was served that one of our family members would suggest that 'Pepper should be here' or 'Just watch Pepper come' and more than once, he showed up. This subject would come up in most of our visits.
My Mom and sisters compiled a cookbook years ago. It was named "The Esh Cookbook" and I've no idea if we would have any left to sell.
Pepper told us, "There's one mistake you made. One thing is missing. You forgot to include the recipe for Anna Dumplings." That's what he called our apple dumplings. Apple substituted for my Mom's name. He was right. We forgot to include it.
*****
I don't really know what recipe my Mom uses for the dumplings. I used to use our pie dough recipe to wrap the dumplings, but somehow they never tasted quite right.
This summer I've been using the Mennonite Community Cookbook a lot as I've been learning more about the old timers and how they lived and preserved food. It's where I found the dumpling recipe that I so very well like. It's where I always went for the sauce recipe anyway.
Old-fashioned Apple Dumplings
6 medium-sized baking apples
2 cups flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening (I used lard)
½ cup milk
Sauce:
2 cups brown sugar (I like to use ½ the amount.)
2 cups water
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
Pare and core apples. Leave whole. (The corer from Pampered Chef works best.)
To make pastry, sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
Cut in shortening until particles are about the size of small peas.
Sprinkle milk over mixture and press together lightly, working dough only enough to hold together.
Roll dough as for pastry and cut into 6 squares and place an apple on each.
Fill cavity in apple with sugar and cinnamon. The boys love to help with this part!
Pat dough around apple to cover it completely.
Fasten edges securely on top of apple.
Place dumpings 1 inch apart in a greased baking pan.
Pour over them the sauce made as follows:
Combine brown sugar, water and spices. (I ommitted the spices.)
Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat and add butter.
Bake at 375ยบ for 35 to 40 minutes.
Baste occasionally during baking.
Serve hot with rich milk or cream.
Tonight I used raw sugar as I'm out of brown sugar. The dumplings tend to get lighter in color when using the raw sweetener. I usually cut the sugar in half for the sauce when using brown, since the cavity of the apple is filled with sugar. Using all the recipe calls for is simply too sweet for our family.
It was absolutely delicious served with ice cream!
10.09.2012
A dreary Monday but blessed day to be canning
Sometimes the list of things yet to preserve looms ahead of me like a big cloud. It seems like it's unendng. I like to can but it can be challenging to fit it in with homeschooling.
So already yesterday, we decided to cancel school today and help each other with the big job.
You see, I'd been planning to work up the remaining three bushels of apples, sometime.... I was able to attain an old fashioned copper kettle including a stand at a local flea market and the only thing I yet need to put it to use is the long wooden stirring paddle. All along I knew Merv probably wouldn't be able to craft one this year. But I was still hoping....
And then yesterday (Sunday, of all days) when I walked past the apple boxes in our tiny basement/cold storage to shelve the crockpot I'd just used for our pot roast dinner, I smelled a VERY ripe apple smell and was thoroughly disappointed to see that many were rotting and it was high time to put the idea aside of making apple butter in the copper kettle this year.
This year there's been an apple shortage. Warm weather causing the apple trees to bloom a bit too early in the spring followed by a freeze has affected many orchards in the east coast including some of our local orchards. I was fortunate to purchase all the apples that I needed at a good price. I bought mostly seconds but made sure the ones I reserved for our future apple butter day were number ones. But like many have been saying, this year apples are not keeping as long and that certainly held true for me.
With that, today we were forced to work up our apples. We didn't get a really early start in fact, it was more like midmorning when we started as we also had laundry.
Everyone pitched in and helped out. We especially like our electric food processor at a time like this. Normally, we process the cooked apples outside but today was just too damp, cool, and rainy so we worked at the kitchen table.
Zachary has once stated, "I just love canning days like this. I love when the whole family helps one another."
We finished out the day with 20 quarts applesauce, 9 quarts apple butter that was cooking in the roaster all afternoon and evening, 12-1/2 quarts pumpkin, 9 quarts pears.
Oh, and I saved the pumkin seeds, washed and drained them well, seasoned them with the savory flavor, and roasted them. They make a great snack!
I know it doesn't sound like a whole lot, but processing different things seem to take more time than having for example, a big apple day.
All in all, we are very thankful. We weren't able to finish our half bushel of carrots so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Thankfully, our list is dwindling down. We've yet to can more pears, squash, and pumpkin.
On second thought, I may try dehydrating the pumpkin as I'm running out of jars. Dehydrate2Store.com is an excellent source for any questions you may have regarding dehydrating for long term storage and I found some info on the pumpkin while relaxing a bit before retiring.
So already yesterday, we decided to cancel school today and help each other with the big job.
You see, I'd been planning to work up the remaining three bushels of apples, sometime.... I was able to attain an old fashioned copper kettle including a stand at a local flea market and the only thing I yet need to put it to use is the long wooden stirring paddle. All along I knew Merv probably wouldn't be able to craft one this year. But I was still hoping....
And then yesterday (Sunday, of all days) when I walked past the apple boxes in our tiny basement/cold storage to shelve the crockpot I'd just used for our pot roast dinner, I smelled a VERY ripe apple smell and was thoroughly disappointed to see that many were rotting and it was high time to put the idea aside of making apple butter in the copper kettle this year.
This year there's been an apple shortage. Warm weather causing the apple trees to bloom a bit too early in the spring followed by a freeze has affected many orchards in the east coast including some of our local orchards. I was fortunate to purchase all the apples that I needed at a good price. I bought mostly seconds but made sure the ones I reserved for our future apple butter day were number ones. But like many have been saying, this year apples are not keeping as long and that certainly held true for me.
With that, today we were forced to work up our apples. We didn't get a really early start in fact, it was more like midmorning when we started as we also had laundry.
Everyone pitched in and helped out. We especially like our electric food processor at a time like this. Normally, we process the cooked apples outside but today was just too damp, cool, and rainy so we worked at the kitchen table.
Zachary has once stated, "I just love canning days like this. I love when the whole family helps one another."
We finished out the day with 20 quarts applesauce, 9 quarts apple butter that was cooking in the roaster all afternoon and evening, 12-1/2 quarts pumpkin, 9 quarts pears.
Oh, and I saved the pumkin seeds, washed and drained them well, seasoned them with the savory flavor, and roasted them. They make a great snack!
I know it doesn't sound like a whole lot, but processing different things seem to take more time than having for example, a big apple day.
All in all, we are very thankful. We weren't able to finish our half bushel of carrots so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Thankfully, our list is dwindling down. We've yet to can more pears, squash, and pumpkin.
On second thought, I may try dehydrating the pumpkin as I'm running out of jars. Dehydrate2Store.com is an excellent source for any questions you may have regarding dehydrating for long term storage and I found some info on the pumpkin while relaxing a bit before retiring.
10.01.2012
Bamboo
Merv came home from work one day a couple weeks ago and announced to the boys that a place where he will be redoing a bathroom has some bamboo and we can come and get as much as we want. The boys have been asking and asking when that day will arrive. Since then, Zach has been anxiously waiting with anticipation and excitement, dreaming of starting his own bamboo patch. Meanwhile, he's been online watching videos on YouTube and looking what all he can do with it.
That blessed day finally arrived today when Merv forgot a few items and needed someone to take them over to his jobsite. It was a drizzly rainy day, but a great one for now they could finally see the large patch. The boys delved right in, found a shovel in Merv's trailer and immediately dug some shoots.
They were thrilled to be able to stay and play
until their Daddy finished for the day.
They had a couple of hours to harvest these ten foot rods. They lost the load going up the hill and will get them at a later date - when it's not raining.
I don't know all their plans, but I do know they want to build a fort. Braden showed me how they cut some apart as little boats and they float.
That blessed day finally arrived today when Merv forgot a few items and needed someone to take them over to his jobsite. It was a drizzly rainy day, but a great one for now they could finally see the large patch. The boys delved right in, found a shovel in Merv's trailer and immediately dug some shoots.
They were thrilled to be able to stay and play
until their Daddy finished for the day.
They had a couple of hours to harvest these ten foot rods. They lost the load going up the hill and will get them at a later date - when it's not raining.
I don't know all their plans, but I do know they want to build a fort. Braden showed me how they cut some apart as little boats and they float.
9.17.2012
Chickens and guineas
Months have gone by, and the chicks and guineas have grown. The Cornish X landed in our freezer. Allison and I butchered most of them by ourselves as Amber was having back trouble and the boys - hmmmm, they were grossing out. It really was funny when Zach was about gagging when he was pulling out some feathers. Plus they had a distraction that day when their friend showed up. So we left them off the hook as they weren't a whole lot of help anyway. But mind you, they won't get out of it the next time we butcher chickens. Smile!
It was exciting bringing a few birds outside in May and watching them scratch and eat the way God intended.
It was high time to get them out of the cramped quarters. We ate our words on this one when we said we'd never raise chicks in a garage. But I put the cart before the horse when I ordered the chicks and we didn't have any living quarters fixed up for them yet.
Thankfully, by the end of May, Merv was able to have a nice coop and fenced area built for the birds. We all enjoyed the simplicity of sitting together as a family and watching chickens and guineas.
The pullets grew and we anxiously waited for the first eggs.
These were the first eggs layed in July and two of them are guinea eggs.
Sadly, by this time, we were having some woes as we noticed a fox for a couple nights in a row. We did get one, but then we saw another one a couple of nights later. We never did trap or kill that one and haven't seen it around.
Then we noticed guineas going missing. We had no idea what it was. A fox didn't seem likely as they usually cut off heads and do mass murders in one night. Could it be vultures? There were piles of feathers here and there then we go for days where we'd stay with the same count. What was getting the guineas and why not the chickens?
Our answer was solved on August 19 when Merv's parents were here helping us with our new house and slept in the unfinished house. That Sunday morning Dad looked out the window and saw two dogs licking at some remains and more feathers strewn about. We learned it was our dear neighbor friend's pets.A dog is a dog and you can't change that. It was rather disappointing to learn that it was dogs that were getting our birds. It was the last thing we'd suspected. Our neighbors are so nice about everything and they have said they want to replace them.
Some members of our family liked the guineas, were intrigued with their habits and stupidity while others hated them and now relish the quiet. Currently, we've got two left. We still have all the chickens and rooster which is a miracle. Maybe the guineas did save the chickens.
We're now in the stage where we get between 12-14 eggs a day and sometimes the cleaning piles up. We sure are enjoying our own fresh eggs and not having to buy them at the supermarket. What a difference in taste!
7.20.2012
The Hunt for Blackberries
What is it that calls us to the woods and beckons us to come? Why would you EVER go through all this for a bucketful or two of berries?
It's hot and the woods makes everyone itchy. I don't know if we'll ever learn to get up early rather than wait until midday to pick although evening is a nice time of the day, too.
Sometimes we search and search only to find ONE nice berry on which we thought we'd find a whole cluster. The others were overipe. We feed some to the dog. And we keep on.
We stomp through tall weeds and branches, create all sorts of little paths, stoop our backs to duck under briars, reach further in the prickly brush, the scratches on our arms and legs shooting pain through our bodies.
And yet we keep on........
We wish we had a pin or needle to pull out the little splinter that stays sticking in the flesh. It throbs whenever we hit that spot.
OUCH! Someone gets stung with a bee and we rush to find plantain which we chew, tasting the nasty plant OR else rub it together and scrunch it to get the juices flowing. The plantain brings healing, drawing out the poison of the sting.
We're hot and thirsty. We rest in the shade for a few minutes, relishing the cooler air and very thankful that we dragged a water jug along.
We continue picking.......
We walk through poison ivy, hoping we won't react to the oil in the plant. Hopefully the cold rinse when we get back will take care of that.
The fly is so pesty, relishing the blood from the scratches received. We try to coax it away but it keeps coming back.
The ants on the berries bite if we don't shake them off before picking.
We hope against hope we don't encounter a snake. So far we've not seen one so we don't want to borrow trouble. Yet we are always on the lookout, for after all, we are in the woods and must stay alert for any sign of danger.
We get sidetracked, following the route where the deer have made a regular path to the little creek. We find a few berries on the way. But mostly, we needed a slight diversion.
We hear the wood crack and JUMP, wondering what in the world that was. Everything stays silent so we have only to guess it may have been a deer and a small mammal. We'll never know.
The younger ones complain, asking if we'll never get finished.
We get back to the house, eat lunch, wash and measure the berries and discover we need 2 more quarts. We all head back out. The younger ones keep asking when we have the amount we need. They are troopers, enduring all the work and pain.
WHY do we do this?
Aside from all the health benefits, we relish the flavor of the blackberries.
We wash the berries over and over, making sure no little ant or gnat stays intact. We pull a maggot from a berry even though we were SURE we did a thorough job of washing.
We can the berries and eat them with plain yogurt and granola. We use this recipe:
It's hot and the woods makes everyone itchy. I don't know if we'll ever learn to get up early rather than wait until midday to pick although evening is a nice time of the day, too.
Sometimes we search and search only to find ONE nice berry on which we thought we'd find a whole cluster. The others were overipe. We feed some to the dog. And we keep on.
We stomp through tall weeds and branches, create all sorts of little paths, stoop our backs to duck under briars, reach further in the prickly brush, the scratches on our arms and legs shooting pain through our bodies.
And yet we keep on........
We wish we had a pin or needle to pull out the little splinter that stays sticking in the flesh. It throbs whenever we hit that spot.
OUCH! Someone gets stung with a bee and we rush to find plantain which we chew, tasting the nasty plant OR else rub it together and scrunch it to get the juices flowing. The plantain brings healing, drawing out the poison of the sting.
We're hot and thirsty. We rest in the shade for a few minutes, relishing the cooler air and very thankful that we dragged a water jug along.
We continue picking.......
We walk through poison ivy, hoping we won't react to the oil in the plant. Hopefully the cold rinse when we get back will take care of that.
The fly is so pesty, relishing the blood from the scratches received. We try to coax it away but it keeps coming back.
The ants on the berries bite if we don't shake them off before picking.
We hope against hope we don't encounter a snake. So far we've not seen one so we don't want to borrow trouble. Yet we are always on the lookout, for after all, we are in the woods and must stay alert for any sign of danger.
We get sidetracked, following the route where the deer have made a regular path to the little creek. We find a few berries on the way. But mostly, we needed a slight diversion.
We hear the wood crack and JUMP, wondering what in the world that was. Everything stays silent so we have only to guess it may have been a deer and a small mammal. We'll never know.
The younger ones complain, asking if we'll never get finished.
We get back to the house, eat lunch, wash and measure the berries and discover we need 2 more quarts. We all head back out. The younger ones keep asking when we have the amount we need. They are troopers, enduring all the work and pain.
WHY do we do this?
Aside from all the health benefits, we relish the flavor of the blackberries.
We wash the berries over and over, making sure no little ant or gnat stays intact. We pull a maggot from a berry even though we were SURE we did a thorough job of washing.
We can the berries and eat them with plain yogurt and granola. We use this recipe:
Pie filling
3 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups instant clear jell
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups water or fruit juice
¼ cup lemon juice
7 quarts fruit, any kind
Mix sugar, clear jell, and salt. Rub into fruit. Add water and lemon juice. Mix well. Pack into sterilized jars and seal. Process 18 minutes with water bath method. Yield: 8-9 quarts
We take a shower, washing away the sweat while the water stings our scratches even though we've had a small shower while picking with the rain the Lord gave us.
Despite the small hardships or rather inconveniences of the hunt of the blackberries, somehow, someway we do it again and again!!!
And in the winter when we delight in the taste of the wild homemade goodness, we never give one thought of all the sweat we wiped and insects we've brushed aside.
But one thing we do is thank the Lord for the blessings of eating blackberries.
3.30.2012
New baby guineas
We were expecting our second shipment from Reich's Poultry yesterday, but since that didn't happen we were fairly certain it would be today. Sure enough, at 7 AM the phone rang and it was the postmistress calling to tell us we had some more chicks. But this time it was guinea keets - 16 of them. Both boys heard the phone ring as they had slept in the living room so that Grandpas could sleep upstairs. They were knocking on our bedroom door before Merv answered the phone, all excited about going along to the post office.
For a minute, I thought of staying home and getting baked oatmeal mixed together but I simply HAD to go along to witness the whole ordeal. And I'm so glad I did. The boys jumped up and down. I captured most of it right here...
but missed the part between the 2 videos where the postmistress said, "Two of you? How PRECIOUS!"
She asked how the other chicks were doing and then said, "Well, you got 16 more according to that box there."
Now that we had the babies, I could get breakfast for our guests and family. Fresh strawberries were a perfect fit with a simple dish of baked oatmeal. We also had canned apples which is one of our favorite things to add with baked oatmeal, and some snitched a cookie with their coffee.
We are a couple days/weeks later with starting our tomato and pepper plants than I'd like to be. But with such a pretty day and having Mom-in-law a perfect teacher here, we worked on that. Actually, the girls took charge while I busied with weeding the flower garden. I never did start my own plants before. It really was great mixing the soils and getting our hands dirty.
Then came a phone call that changed the day for some. Mom's brother-in-law, Merv's uncle, and my Mom's cousin (all the same person - JF) was rushed to the hospital after having chest pains, sweating, and dizziness and in the presence of the doctors he suffered a heart attack. They immediately put a stent in which saved his life. Our life is in the hands of our Father, and we have nothing to say when He spares or takes a life. Today was not the day for John to go to the Father, but he did have a chance to speak to the ambulance crew about the woman at the well when he was so thirsty on his way to the hospital.
The day continued to get warmer and the boys each brought a chick outside to hold. Then they put a couple of them in the trailer cart which had some compost on. The babies found a green blade of grass and tugged and pulled at it....
But we did enjoy this little wonder and drama.
The guinea keets are so little, but they are fast. They are very different from chicks. They have a different 'chickality' and it is very interesting to take note of that. Most of them still have the egg tooth. They definately make a louder noise than the chicks. They have long necks and while sleeping some will interlink necks with another keet.
The girls were taking careful note of the chicks and noticed that two of them had pasted vents. What pasting up, in essence, is an unusually thick and "pasty" manure that
gets stuck to the chick's feathers around the vent area. In and of itself, this
isn't a problem. However, if left unchecked, it can build on itself throughout a
matter of hours and eventually close off the chicks vent entirely. The bird, in
this case, will not be able to expel waste properly, and will get basically
backed up. When this happens, the chicks will stop eating or drinking, because
they are filled up. Chicks that don't drink water at least, don't last long.
All you need to do is take a warm paper towel or washcloth and try to wipe off the dried poop. Or you can carefully pick it off without wetting it. Either way, if you don't get it off the chick will die. After working on the first one with loud squawking, the poop blasted out and the chick seemed more relaxed.
We now know to check the chicks carefully several times a day and keep their bottoms clean. One interesting thing that Allison noted was that this particular chick seemed shy from the very beginning and may have a tendency to get stressed quicker because of it's quiet 'chickenality'.
Again, all this wonder points to the Maker and Creator of ALL things!
For a minute, I thought of staying home and getting baked oatmeal mixed together but I simply HAD to go along to witness the whole ordeal. And I'm so glad I did. The boys jumped up and down. I captured most of it right here...
but missed the part between the 2 videos where the postmistress said, "Two of you? How PRECIOUS!"
She asked how the other chicks were doing and then said, "Well, you got 16 more according to that box there."
Now that we had the babies, I could get breakfast for our guests and family. Fresh strawberries were a perfect fit with a simple dish of baked oatmeal. We also had canned apples which is one of our favorite things to add with baked oatmeal, and some snitched a cookie with their coffee.
We are a couple days/weeks later with starting our tomato and pepper plants than I'd like to be. But with such a pretty day and having Mom-in-law a perfect teacher here, we worked on that. Actually, the girls took charge while I busied with weeding the flower garden. I never did start my own plants before. It really was great mixing the soils and getting our hands dirty.
Then came a phone call that changed the day for some. Mom's brother-in-law, Merv's uncle, and my Mom's cousin (all the same person - JF) was rushed to the hospital after having chest pains, sweating, and dizziness and in the presence of the doctors he suffered a heart attack. They immediately put a stent in which saved his life. Our life is in the hands of our Father, and we have nothing to say when He spares or takes a life. Today was not the day for John to go to the Father, but he did have a chance to speak to the ambulance crew about the woman at the well when he was so thirsty on his way to the hospital.
The day continued to get warmer and the boys each brought a chick outside to hold. Then they put a couple of them in the trailer cart which had some compost on. The babies found a green blade of grass and tugged and pulled at it....
with the guinea keet eventually swallowing the whole thing. Merv and Dad were also there to witness this. I wonder what all the mama hen tells her babies. Do the chicks and keets try to eat greenery that isn't good for them and she needs to tell them no? Or is eating the right thing a natural instinct?
This intrigued the boys so much they thought it great to bring ALL the 57 babies outside. I don't know if it was a good idea or not. Definately if mama hen would have raised them, they would have been exposed to the outside elements almost immediately. But these were hatched by an incabator.
I don't have answers about this although Dad suggested it is probably best to keep them inside for a little while, yet as it isn't all that warm outside yet. We will follow the wisdom of our elders.
All you need to do is take a warm paper towel or washcloth and try to wipe off the dried poop. Or you can carefully pick it off without wetting it. Either way, if you don't get it off the chick will die. After working on the first one with loud squawking, the poop blasted out and the chick seemed more relaxed.
We now know to check the chicks carefully several times a day and keep their bottoms clean. One interesting thing that Allison noted was that this particular chick seemed shy from the very beginning and may have a tendency to get stressed quicker because of it's quiet 'chickenality'.
Again, all this wonder points to the Maker and Creator of ALL things!
3.29.2012
Chick day two
It was the second day of raising chicks, and with the month being so warm it is completely unnecessary to house these babies in the laundry of our house. Somehow, chicks don't belong in the same house as people. And I was not about to have brown ceilings like the in the one book I read. Anyway, the smell was getting to all us girls. It seemed the only scent was chick feed and poop although I think the feed overpowered everything. They simply had to go outside even though it had been VERY convenient to check them frequently while in the house.
We moved a few more things out of the garage up to the house on the hill. Then Allison, the boys, and I moved everything outside while Amber kept sewing her skirt. She had a goal to get it done today and she got that checked. She did a very good job on one of her first sewing projects.
Then we cleaned the house with Pine Sol and opened the windows to get the smell out. Merv's parents were coming here on their way home from FL and so we had to have it looking presentable.
It was so nice to see them again after not seeing them since last year. We fixed meatloaf on the grill. We have a Holland grill which we really like as there is no flare ups. We don't use tin foil, a pan, or anything to grill the meat. We simply put it right on the grate and you have the smokiest, best tasting meat loaf. We added mashed potatoes which was a real treat for them. They hadn't eaten it in a long time. We also opened up two cans of green beans.
But the best part of the meal was fresh tomatoes and fresh strawberries grown in FL, picked ripe, and delivered by our dear parents, no truck refrigeration with that commercial taste. It was awesome. Of course, we had the pie crust and sauce made just a couple hours before their arrival. So we had the best tasting strawberry pie this side of Mason Dixon, far surpassing the ones we had two weeks ago made with strawberries from the grocery store.
The boys played with the chicks a good part of the day. They studied the chicks and decided each one has the own 'chickenality' - at least that's the word they came up with. They finally narrowed it down to their favorite and have each chosen one for their own. How can you tell one from the other with 16 looking alike? It's amazing and again it points to the Creator that even chicks don't look the same. They have slightly different patterns which is easy for the boys to tell which is theirs.
Zach is still thinking of a name for his. He likes The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black and was trying to think what girl names are mentioned in the book series. All he could think of was Carliss and I told him Lady Carliss would be a great chicken name, but he's not sure about that yet.
Braden couldn't think of a name so I suggested Henrietta. He liked it and that is his chick's name.
Landon chose the name Silkie.
So now when they reach in the box to hold a chick, they usually hold their very own. One of the Golden Reds is a rooster and we have no clue which one it is. But it may very well be Silkie - as it's fluff is the lightest of all the chicks. Time will tell!
We moved a few more things out of the garage up to the house on the hill. Then Allison, the boys, and I moved everything outside while Amber kept sewing her skirt. She had a goal to get it done today and she got that checked. She did a very good job on one of her first sewing projects.
Then we cleaned the house with Pine Sol and opened the windows to get the smell out. Merv's parents were coming here on their way home from FL and so we had to have it looking presentable.
It was so nice to see them again after not seeing them since last year. We fixed meatloaf on the grill. We have a Holland grill which we really like as there is no flare ups. We don't use tin foil, a pan, or anything to grill the meat. We simply put it right on the grate and you have the smokiest, best tasting meat loaf. We added mashed potatoes which was a real treat for them. They hadn't eaten it in a long time. We also opened up two cans of green beans.
But the best part of the meal was fresh tomatoes and fresh strawberries grown in FL, picked ripe, and delivered by our dear parents, no truck refrigeration with that commercial taste. It was awesome. Of course, we had the pie crust and sauce made just a couple hours before their arrival. So we had the best tasting strawberry pie this side of Mason Dixon, far surpassing the ones we had two weeks ago made with strawberries from the grocery store.
The boys played with the chicks a good part of the day. They studied the chicks and decided each one has the own 'chickenality' - at least that's the word they came up with. They finally narrowed it down to their favorite and have each chosen one for their own. How can you tell one from the other with 16 looking alike? It's amazing and again it points to the Creator that even chicks don't look the same. They have slightly different patterns which is easy for the boys to tell which is theirs.
Zach is still thinking of a name for his. He likes The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black and was trying to think what girl names are mentioned in the book series. All he could think of was Carliss and I told him Lady Carliss would be a great chicken name, but he's not sure about that yet.
Braden couldn't think of a name so I suggested Henrietta. He liked it and that is his chick's name.
Landon chose the name Silkie.
So now when they reach in the box to hold a chick, they usually hold their very own. One of the Golden Reds is a rooster and we have no clue which one it is. But it may very well be Silkie - as it's fluff is the lightest of all the chicks. Time will tell!
3.28.2012
First day of baby chicks
AT THE CRACK OF DAWN......
we rushed to the post office. You see, for years we've been 'talking' about raising our own brood of chickens, but that's as far as it went. Our children kept begging us for animals, at least some hens.
Merv didn't grow up on a farm, so this was a new adventure. But I grew up on what we always named our little 'McDonald Farm' housing chickens, a few ducks, a pair of geese, two little grey donkeys, a couple goats that would produce kids every year, and even a turkey or two. We never butchered any of these animals. We only kept them as pets and always had our own eggs. We lived along a busy street where we would frequently see cars stopped along the road simply to watch and photographic our interesting little meadow. As a young girl before the age of ten, my Daddy used to raise steers, pigs, and chicks. He had two chicken houses. The one housed 10,000 baby chicks and the second 20,000 peeps. But somehow along the road of life, I graduated from a country girl to seemingly a city girl. Ordering chicks and raising them after not being around animals for so long seemed like a very scary thing.
But it was high time to take some action and finally on February 23, 2012, after twenty-one years of married life, I made a phone call to Reich's Poultry Farms from Marietta, PA and ordered 25 Cornish X Rocks straight run chicks to raise for meat, 15 Golden Red pullets, an extra cockerel which they included, and 15 Pearl Guinea Keets. Their earliest ship date was March 26. I always grew up around Rhode Island Reds, but the reason I chose the Golden Reds is because these world champion birds have won egg laying contests in every country. They are outstanding producers of large brown eggs that have excellent color, shape, shell texture, and strength, and have the capability to produce 275 to 300 eggs on less feed than any other brown egg layer. They also lay well in extreme cold weather. It's the hen my friend recommended we try.
I told the girls about the chick order soon after the phone call, but we waited to tell the boys until Saturday, only a few days before they arrived. Merv, the boys, and I needed to make a trip to Tractor Supply to purchase our needed supplies of raising chicks: a couple heat lamps, feeders, and waterers. We planned to purchase a couple chicks of a different breed to add some variety to our little flock, when Merv noticed a sign saying that six was the limit because of some farm rules. We weren't not interested in buying six as we felt like we had enough right now to raise so we needed to break the news to the boys that we would be expecting chicks in a few days. That helped to ease the disappointment at the farm store and by now, they were very excited.
Reich's Poultry had planned to ship the chicks on Monday March 26, but they were delayed a day. I made sure the post office knew about the arriving chicks and gave them our home phone number. So at 6 AM this morning, we got the awaited phone call to the start of our own little McDonald Farm!
The night before, Braden mentioned that he wanted to go along to the post office. Merv didn't think anyone would go along and I think he was rather surprised when I mentioned going along. I went upstairs then asked Landon if he wants to ride along, but he said he was too tired. Then I woke Braden who is normally an early bird, and he was out of bed and dressed within five minutes. He was the only one of the children who rode along to the post office, his eyes beaming and shining with excitement.
We waited until we were in the house to open the precious noisy package where we saw the chicks were all huddled together in a corner, a sign that told us they were cold.
We had the ENTIRE family flocked around the box that we set up in the mudroom/laundry as we watched the wonder of the new baby peeps. It was their first hands on experience for all the children. I'm sure we'll look back on today and wonder why in the world we didn't get animals sooner?
You can guess how school went today. At least we got math done. But this hands on science/creation learning education is better than any classroom has to offer. There is simply not enough words for the wonders of babies and they just don't stay little very long. We surely know that from human experience.
So we decided that the children may play with them, hold them, and touch them all they want because all too soon, their little balls of fluff will be gone.
We wanted to do some photo shots when all of a sudden, this little peepy got a bit excited or scared when Landon jumped at the surprise little peck on the cheek from the chick and immediately after snapping this photo, it pooed on Landon's shoulder.
We all laughed and laughed.
The boys made sure to introduce their little stuffed animals to the chicks and vice versa.
We marvel at the wonder of God and stood in awe of the little egg tooth still attached to its little beak.
How did it know to raise its neck to drink water? We only introduced one or two chicks to the watering fountain and the others all followed suit.
Amber was also enjoying the moments for the long awaited day and the jumper she wore perfectly matched the occasion.
We'd been borrowing chicken books from the library over the past year and made sure we had some on hand when the babies arrived, all 41 of them. I escepcially like The Joy of Keeping Chickens.
Another book we frequently borrowed is Keeping Chickens. I really like the cover of the book.
Braden didn't think this little one would be able to sit on my shoulder very long and he kept repositioning it which excited the little chick so much that it pooed on Mama.
Seconds later, the chick was fast asleep.
YELLOW - what a perfect color for spring! All kinds of yellow things to be thankful for. It's even the color of our new house still being built. The Lord has given us so many little miracles so let's never forget to thank Him for His goodness and patience to us.
We ended our day with working in the dirt weeding some of the flower garden.
we rushed to the post office. You see, for years we've been 'talking' about raising our own brood of chickens, but that's as far as it went. Our children kept begging us for animals, at least some hens.
Merv didn't grow up on a farm, so this was a new adventure. But I grew up on what we always named our little 'McDonald Farm' housing chickens, a few ducks, a pair of geese, two little grey donkeys, a couple goats that would produce kids every year, and even a turkey or two. We never butchered any of these animals. We only kept them as pets and always had our own eggs. We lived along a busy street where we would frequently see cars stopped along the road simply to watch and photographic our interesting little meadow. As a young girl before the age of ten, my Daddy used to raise steers, pigs, and chicks. He had two chicken houses. The one housed 10,000 baby chicks and the second 20,000 peeps. But somehow along the road of life, I graduated from a country girl to seemingly a city girl. Ordering chicks and raising them after not being around animals for so long seemed like a very scary thing.
But it was high time to take some action and finally on February 23, 2012, after twenty-one years of married life, I made a phone call to Reich's Poultry Farms from Marietta, PA and ordered 25 Cornish X Rocks straight run chicks to raise for meat, 15 Golden Red pullets, an extra cockerel which they included, and 15 Pearl Guinea Keets. Their earliest ship date was March 26. I always grew up around Rhode Island Reds, but the reason I chose the Golden Reds is because these world champion birds have won egg laying contests in every country. They are outstanding producers of large brown eggs that have excellent color, shape, shell texture, and strength, and have the capability to produce 275 to 300 eggs on less feed than any other brown egg layer. They also lay well in extreme cold weather. It's the hen my friend recommended we try.
I told the girls about the chick order soon after the phone call, but we waited to tell the boys until Saturday, only a few days before they arrived. Merv, the boys, and I needed to make a trip to Tractor Supply to purchase our needed supplies of raising chicks: a couple heat lamps, feeders, and waterers. We planned to purchase a couple chicks of a different breed to add some variety to our little flock, when Merv noticed a sign saying that six was the limit because of some farm rules. We weren't not interested in buying six as we felt like we had enough right now to raise so we needed to break the news to the boys that we would be expecting chicks in a few days. That helped to ease the disappointment at the farm store and by now, they were very excited.
Reich's Poultry had planned to ship the chicks on Monday March 26, but they were delayed a day. I made sure the post office knew about the arriving chicks and gave them our home phone number. So at 6 AM this morning, we got the awaited phone call to the start of our own little McDonald Farm!
The night before, Braden mentioned that he wanted to go along to the post office. Merv didn't think anyone would go along and I think he was rather surprised when I mentioned going along. I went upstairs then asked Landon if he wants to ride along, but he said he was too tired. Then I woke Braden who is normally an early bird, and he was out of bed and dressed within five minutes. He was the only one of the children who rode along to the post office, his eyes beaming and shining with excitement.
So we decided that the children may play with them, hold them, and touch them all they want because all too soon, their little balls of fluff will be gone.
Braden didn't think this little one would be able to sit on my shoulder very long and he kept repositioning it which excited the little chick so much that it pooed on Mama.
3.25.2012
Are you saved?
We listened to a couple sermons by Paul Washer.
Oh, if only more American churches would preach the truth of the Bible! Too many pastors give their members a false hope of salvation. Just saying the sinner's prayer isn't enough to be saved.
If you have had an encounter with God, YOU WILL BE PERMANENTLY CHANGED! You can't live like the devil during the week, and try to live like a Christian on Sunday and call yourself a Christian. You are a goat wearing sheep's clothing.
The Bible says, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:20
Verse 21 says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
65-70% of people in America claim to be Christians. But where is the fruit?
I don't want anyone going to hell, but the Bible says 'many are called, few are chosen'. Examine your life by the Word of God. "Try the spirits whether they are of God." 1 John 4:1
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17: 9, 10
We live in perilous times. It's not easy being a Christian in America. There is so much materialism and media to keep us entertained. I am guilty.
It is a challenge to spend quality time with God and His Word and remain in prayer. My heart desires this, but I get sidetracked. I am ashamed before the Lord. I am sinful!
Check the fruit of your life. Are you growing in Christ? Or do the things of this world - fashion, music, media, shopping, etc. - things that don't satisfy keep your attention and draw you away from the Lord? You can't trust your heart, it's deceitfully wicked. Examine your life by the Word of God.
Oh, if only more American churches would preach the truth of the Bible! Too many pastors give their members a false hope of salvation. Just saying the sinner's prayer isn't enough to be saved.
If you have had an encounter with God, YOU WILL BE PERMANENTLY CHANGED! You can't live like the devil during the week, and try to live like a Christian on Sunday and call yourself a Christian. You are a goat wearing sheep's clothing.
The Bible says, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:20
Verse 21 says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
65-70% of people in America claim to be Christians. But where is the fruit?
I don't want anyone going to hell, but the Bible says 'many are called, few are chosen'. Examine your life by the Word of God. "Try the spirits whether they are of God." 1 John 4:1
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17: 9, 10
We live in perilous times. It's not easy being a Christian in America. There is so much materialism and media to keep us entertained. I am guilty.
It is a challenge to spend quality time with God and His Word and remain in prayer. My heart desires this, but I get sidetracked. I am ashamed before the Lord. I am sinful!
Check the fruit of your life. Are you growing in Christ? Or do the things of this world - fashion, music, media, shopping, etc. - things that don't satisfy keep your attention and draw you away from the Lord? You can't trust your heart, it's deceitfully wicked. Examine your life by the Word of God.
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