This week's pile:
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| 155 |
 |
| 156 |
 |
| 157 |
 |
| 158 |
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| 159 |
BORING BLUE SWEATER
160
PILE O' POTS
161
155- I can chop, mince and shred faster by hand. And I don't have to store my hands in my limited pantry space.
156- I find that I use Mason jars for everything. Plus, this may be glass, but it has a plastic top. PLUS, I drink more iced tea in a day than this holds.
157- Since they found PFOAs in surrounding areas, I have not been able to bring myself to use this nice, non-stick pan. I know it's not Teflon-coated, but....
158- Yes, it's charming. And exceptionally awkward to use unless you have a very large hand. Which I don't. Have.
159- I struggled with this - it was my first large knitting project and I love the idea of ponchos. But, it seems, not the actual wearing of ponchos.
160- Yes, it's so boring I didn't even photograph it. Not surprisingly, I didn't wear it, either.
161- Time to winnow out the 5 million pots and recycle them to a local grower.
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I have decided not to raise the Nuggets again. They are just too...too...creepy. I know they grow from 0-6# in eight weeks, but there is something so completely unhappy and unnatural about that, that it is really getting to me this year. I have lost two Nuggets so far - only two weeks to go. One was my little poopy patient that got the worst of a pile up and never recovered. The other was a seemingly healthy and large male that I found bottom-up this morning. He had been a little "off" the past couple of days.
I still think it's essential to grow what I can of my own food, so I won't give up raising meat chickens. However, I am going to go the more natural route next year - the Reds (Red Rangers, French Reds, whatever the latest 'hot' label is). It will take longer to get them to weight, but I am also going to stop raising them for others, too. That will bring it down to a more manageable project. So I hope, knowing as I do that I seldom listen to my own good advice. I've got the system down pat - little brooder to big brooder to hoop house. I have the feeder set-up that works, a waterer that's large enough, and a way to regulate air circulation. I bungeed a small fan to the inside this morning, as it is supposed to be hot and humid for the next few days. So much for spring. I believe, this year, we got 15 hours of spring weather - then winter came back and we leap-frogged spring right into summer.
I had the chance to clean out the duck house for the first time this morning and it worked like a charm. I can swing the side up, prop it on a board and rake it out. I am looking forward to having the project finished (except for my bit) on Saturday. Then I can put up some fencing and let the (LARGE) ducklings out to waddle about. They seem quite happy in their house, but I am sure they will be thrilled with their kiddie pool! I am waiting to hear from the post office - I have 15 chicks on their way and it is taking longer than normal to get them here. That does not bode well. Six are for a neighbor and the rest are mine. Since I never seem to listen to myself (lalalalala - see reference to my blatant lack of good sense), I ordered five Salmon Faverolles and four Partridge Rocks. And a "Free Exotic Chick", which means my replacement rooster. Did I need more chicks? Why, no, I did not. But the minimum quantity for shipping was 14. And I don't like even numbers. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
17 comments:
I used to raise the cornish rocks for my father and I...your so right about there existence being sad. I am watching Little LORD house Chicken catching ants as I type this. He is Happy and wicked fast.....good legs sassy attitude. Always peeping happy tunes....
We have been very happy with the Freedom Ranger meat birds. They are not creepy, but grow well and forage well. I hate those Frankenstein birds too.
Do you kill and clean your own meat chickens or do you have someone who does that for you? And what about raising rabbits for meat -- might be less trouble than chickens, I don't know?
We've got the same crazy weather. Snow one weekend, 80 degrees the next. What????????
And I totally agree with 155. Why CLEAN all that when a good knife is quick and easy and so so so much easier to clean up.
Have a great weekend
I see you and Ralph now have a farm mascot...
DD, I've heard nothing but good things about them.
I usually take them to a processor but we're doing them ourselves this year. I'm not really a fan of rabbit so I haven't raised them for meat.
I still have my down parka hanging by the door. It's crazy!
I have to jump on the bandwagon aversion to food processors, Cuisinarts, etc. Give me a sharp knife and a wooden spoon and I can do just about anything I need to do in the kitchen. I use our blender a lot for making smoothies but cleaning that is bad enough. A food processor to take apart and clean? No thanks.
Sorting through my own pile o' pots is something I really need to do. Thanks for the reminder.
You must be far, far ahead of us up here in northern Minnie-soda. Summer hasn't arrived yet. Just another (and another and another) wet, soggy, foggy day. Good fer nuthin' but growin' weeds!!
I'll trade ya! I'm not a hot and humid kind of girl. I positively wilt.
i HATE this weather. what happened to spring? we are humid, sunny and in the 90's and it's getting hotter. i am melting.
If I had to raise my own meat, I'd be a vegetarian. I buy my meat from local farms but never have to look it in the face so I don't blame you.
I like Freedom Rangers and Kosher Kings. They are fun, have pretty colors, and they act like "normal chickens". They grow into a decent-sized bird of about four to five pounds dressed in about ten weeks.
Tyrant? :)
Rabbit is nice meat but they are very housing intensive...no free ranging and they need pellets.
I don't use my food processor much, BUT I LOVE my magic Bullet. I can do small batches of almond flour, whipping cream, dressings, etc. Fats and easy and great for smoothies :) Those meat chickens have given me the creeps. It's not a natural growing cycle. Good for you! I wonder what the flavor is like, different or?
Sorting is something we all need to do as we go. I have a couple of friends that just cleared both their parents house. Now the husband holds something up and asks, Do you want to throw this out or save it for our daughters to toss? It's working for them and they are thinning now instead of leaving it for family to do years down the road.
I missed baby and fresh chickens but not the work. I do miss the fertilizer.
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