What a Girl Wants

I am certainly not getting any younger. I am rapidly increasing in age (and in size btw) and even though most of my life and heart is satisfied. There is part of me that is still reaching for this seemingly unknown goal. I have a defined and growing “bucket list” and as I scratch things off, I am adding more on. The one constant in there however is that I want animals. I want sheep and goats. I want more chickens and turkey. I want ducks and guinea fowl. I want a big tree in front of my house. I want to have to take a walk in order to go find my husband who is digging a hole somewhere on our land with his tractor that he spends just as much time fixing as he does driving. This is what I really want. I know this is not a glamorous life. I know its not easy but it is really what i want. (Trust me I feel anything BUT glamorous when I am mucking the chicken coop)

Here is the thing about me. I dont think I will truly be happy with my makeshift life. I think unless I do it, there will be that slight tug and "shoulda" feelings. I just can't see any way to accomplish these things and still maintain the other things that make me happy in life. Its a real crap position!

So I will keep plugging away at my life, making my little garden, dealing with my little issues in my tiny little coop with my tiny little flock. I will train my (not so) tiny little new doggy and love my husband and children. But if you catch me staring off into space looking wistful, I just may be thinking about goats again...

On the 14th Day She Made Botulism

Oh the insanity that is my life... I am sorry I have not been keeping up with my blog very well but I promise that I will get back to posting weekly if not more than that starting now. I feel like I will have more to post now that things are happening on our little makeshift homestead.

First, we have been working hard on the seedlings that were started already. They will be ready to transplant as soon as the weather becomes more steady. Unfortunately I failed at tomato again. They died. All of them began to die at the same time and then those that didnt die got leggy.

Secondly, the chicken status is this: we hatched 12 of 14 eggs (not bad eh?)And of those chickens, we kept 6. I had a friend take the other 6 straight run. She wound up with 2 roo’s and I had 3. They have been in the grower pen attached to the big girls pen now for a month or so. They are 12 weeks give or take at this point and growing up to be pretty fine looking kids. I rehomed 2 of the baby roo’s and I still have one (if anyone is interested in a rooster let me know lol) that I am trying to find a home for. I needed a rooster to breed to next winter though and It really just creeped me out to no end that Ted would be boffing his kids so… I went online and found a lovely little baby Black Jersey Giant chick who was 2 weeks younger than my chicks. While picking him up (he is named Mike or Mikey) I got to talking to the two nice gentlemen that raised him. Turns out, they had recently lost their barred rock rooster! (do you see where this is going now?) What a coincidence! I HAVE a barred rock rooster! So Ted is living on a farm up in Northern New Hampshire with his own little group of pure bred barred rock hens where he will flourish and continue to do what he loves, make babies.

Yesterday I cut the divider between the grower pen and the coop and the little chickens (who are not little anymore) have free reign into the main coop although they only sneak out there to get a treat or eat the big girls food and then when the big girls come in (probably pissed their food is getting eaten) the “little” chickens scurry back into their own section of coop. It’s rather humorous. Eventually, I am hoping they will get braver and go out with the big girls and play in the dirt and leaves. Mike seems the bravest despite his younger age. He also recently became as big as the chickens that are 2 weeks older so I assume this is the point where he turns into a giant. I think he wont fit in the space between the two coops soon!

Image via Wikipedia

Third... I have been trying to pickle eggs. If any of you have a good recipe for pickled eggs, please share it with me. I like them, husband likes them and we hope to pickle other things too. My first batch of pickled eggs I used a recipe i printed off the internet. I carefully halved and followed the instructions and canned 6 eggs. Unfortunately my first attempt yielded botulism. Nobody was hurt in the making of the botulism fortunately and I set out and tried again. This time they are ALL covered with the pickling solution. (yeah I know.)

I want to learn how to pickle cabbage and cucumbers too so share the recipes if you have them. And. You. Have. To. Be. Very. SPecific. :)

Lastly, In just a months time, we will be adding to our little family with a new baby great dane. He has a name too! His name is Noah. His formal name is Sterling's Steel Rain (Chris Cornell tune) and he will be shown in obedience by yours truly, which is something I have always wanted to do!