Soap Making, Child Training, and a Tribute to the Rooster

Whew! It sure feels good to catch a minute to sit down and blog again. It's amazing how quickly a whirlwind of days pass by. We lost our sweet rooster the other day. The second casualty of what we think is a weasel that lives under the coop. "Puck", who was affectionately named by Ava (because it rhymes with 'cluck'), and who was the only of our chickens we named, died a pretty awful death. I'd like to think it was in brave defense of his hens, though I'll never know. Garrett, in memory, made an origami bird (rooster) in black and white- Puck's colors. It sits on the windowsill above my kitchen sink where it too, will probably meet a quick end for all the times it has fallen into the sink (inevitably when it is full of water).

We've moved the remaining hens (who seem unaffected by the recent brutalities they've witnessed, and are laying again, I'm happy to report) to the vacant goat barn where we hope they will stay safe. We've put out a trap for the perpetrator in the chicken coop, but seems he's been untempted thus far. Or maybe after two large chicken dinners in as many days, he's hunkered down for a long winter's nap.

The last few days have been filled with soap making and child training. The latter being just a neverending job, it seems. Especially during long winter months. And every time I think I've got them straightened out long enough to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, another argument ensues. It is then that I remind myself what blessings these children are and how honored I am that God gave me charge of them for what little time we have together. I want my children to learn patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The teaching of these begins at home. I did happen to snap a couple pictures of the children happily co-habiting in the last couple days. These moments have been a little rare here lately and so all the more precious are they...

This last, though not depicting co-habitation exactly, is simply a picture of Brenna spontaneously napping on the couch after several hours of rather challenging behavior. Ahhhhh... Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

I'm very excited about the soapmaking we've been doing. Scents on the curing rack so far include: Stress relief (lavender, patchouli, bergomot), Simply Lavender, Rose Geranium with added rose hips for skin nourishing vitamins and exfoliation, and our Dead Sea bar- a yummy bar fresh from the sea with mineral rich sea kelp powder and dead sea salts from Jordan. Here's some interesting information about the Dead Sea and the wonderful goodness it contains:  http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/deadsea.html. Of course all our bars are all natural and made with only the most nourishing ingredients. These include goats milk, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, mango butter and castor bean oil. Fragrances are derived from only 100% natural essential oils. We will be making several more varieties and then they will all be allowed to cure for a minimum of 6 weeks. In that time we will be working on our logo, website, brochure, and herbal salves! Joe has already designed a beautiful and practical soap holder to use with your soap in the shower so as not to waste any of your beauty bar! He'll be busy turning those out soon.

And the search for our own goats continues... In the meantime, I'm loving the snow, but a little thankful at times that I don't yet have to rush out at 7am to milk...

May His peace be in your homes,
Elizabeth

Win Some, Lose Some

I couldn't believe it when I ventured out to the coop this morning.

Here is what we found...

I had to rub my eyes and look again. Can't say that I've ever been so excited over two eggs before.  The sight of these brown beauties brought a song to my heart.

Corny, but true.

And since it has been almost two months without eggs from our hens, that makes these particular eggs rather expensive little eggs. We shall call them delicacies. All frugality aside, 

I will enjoy them with a smile on my face. And... we even got another tonight!

Oh, it's the simple things, eh?

But...

(refer now to the title of this post). For right about the time I was doing a happy dance around my eggs, I looked down to see a chicken laying dead in the corner of the coop. Mauled by something. I'll spare you the details, so very unfortunate. But I am thankful this particular predator was only feeling hungry for one hen and not 9 last night.

 This evening, my diligent husband set out not one, but two, live animal traps. Sardines lay stinking waiting inside them. I'm hoping Mr. Mink, or Foe Fox, or Rowdy Raccoon has a hankering for canned fish tonight rather than chicken cutlet...

"The Lord giveth and the Lord has taken away" ?

(Job 1:21)

Do chickens and eggs count?

Have a great weekend

A Girl Can Dream...

Saw this advertised today: 10.6 Acre Farm with Spacious 3 Story Farmhouse Spring Water, Views ~and it sure got my mind reeling with all sorts of excitements.
"Plenty of space for gardening and self sustained farming.
3 Post clothesline" Yes, even a 3 post clothesline is exciting to me. It goes on to say how the property is fenced, with a 108 stall barn and milk room!! Possibility for 8 bedrooms in the house! It just got my heart a-pounding. Pounding because unbelievably it is ~almost~ in our price range. But almost is not enough today. IF it were mine and IF I had a bit more time, money and know-how, it would be turned into a goat dairy with a few angora goats and sheep thrown in for fiber. Oh, and let's not forget some pleasure ponies for riding on the trails of the state forest it borders. Oh my. While I DO have faith that someday this may all be quite possible, and I realize it is OK to dream, today the only thing I need to concentrate on are the responsibilities I am currently endowed with. And they are many.  A wise person once told me that if I want to go big someday, I must first perfect small. Working on this... And so, my plans for this humble acreage in the year 2011- however long it takes us to find our "real" farm, include: 1. growing a garden large enough to actually have a considerable amount leftover to can, freeze, or dehydrate. And to be able to can, freeze, dehydrate enough to last throughout winter. This may be somewhat ambitious as I've only been able to can and freeze mere scant amounts in the past. But nonetheless, a goal. 2. To acquire more dairy goats and have them pay for themselves in what they produce for us. A profit would be nice in future years, but realize that is not realistic at first. 3. A weanling pig or two to grow for meat? (Shhhh, don't tell my husband, or my neighbors for that matter ;)) Plan to help grow them with excess goat's milk (excellent for growing pigs, I've heard). 3. Raise 2-3 turkeys and approx. 10-20 meat chickens. Which would mean- 4. Learning to butcher turkeys and chickens . 5. At least get the darn hens to start laying for us again. (a very short term goal, I might add). I think that is plenty 'nough to keep me busy this year. We'll also be constructing either cold-frames or a grow light system to start our garden plants with. Any advice on which you prefer?

I'll leave you today with a few pics of the country kids (sorry for the weird format, still figuring out how to do this) and one of my favorite verses (which was a good one for today):  "I have learned to be content." Phil. 4:11

That would be the "farm toad" Cricket on Charlotte's head



Brenna with our first buckling "Theodore"

 

I love this one. Brenna is such a good helper :)



 


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Our First Egg '05





 



Of Spoonbread and Chickens

What to do when roads are slick and snow-covered and provisions are running low? Five hungry faces are demanding to be fed and will simply not settle for PB+J (again). Make spoonbread!

• 1 cup white cornmeal (I was out of cornmeal, so I ground popcorn kernels in my Wondermill grainmill to make our cornmeal)
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold milk
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, combine cornmeal with 2 cups of water; add 1 teaspoon of salt. I also added a couple Tbsp of honey.Bring mixture to a boil then lower the heat; cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. The mixture will be very stiff. Remove from heat and slowly stir in 1 cup of cold milk. Stir in the beaten eggs and melted butter. Preheat oven to 400° and heat a greased 1 1/2 to 2-quart baking dish or 8-inch square baking dish. Pour the well blended batter into the hot baking dish; bake for about 40 minutes, or until firm in the middle and nicely browned. Serve hot, straight from the baking dish, covered in real Maple Syrup. Mmmmm....

Late in the afternoon, I was able to steal away for a few precious minutes outside. It was a blustery, blizzardy kind of day here. Not nice for jaunts outside, for sure. But a peak in on the chickens was all I needed to recharge for the rest of the evening. They seem to be holding their own nicely in the cold, now that we've moved them to their smaller "winter house". I brought them some veggie scrap goodness and they repayed me with clucks of contentedness. But... we have a problem with the chickens: No eggs for almost a month. Not a one. They are healthy, and eating/drinking heartily, so not sure what the problem is. Hopefully they get the hint soon or to the chopping block it will be. Can't afford to feed any mouths around here that aren't giving in return. As to butchering- not sure who should be more afraid of this idea- we, or the chickens. More on that later...if they coninue not to lay...



Once inside again, Ava (6) and I shared a game of Bananagrams. And while dinner (leftovers) were reheating in the oven, Brenna (3) and I made Grandmother Wolford's rice pudding. On another day with more time, I may just share that goody with you. For now, I'm off to nurse sweet Charlotte (9 months) and then battle the icy roads to work for a few hours. Stay warm.