Fair Trade Items

When Christmas shopping, consider fair trade items. These are items that are made by third world artisans and sold so they can earn a livable wage for their products. Locally, you can shop Lucia's Boutique. The Peace Craft store in Berea is another great option. Both places have a wide range of items available. If you do not have a fair trade shop locally, SERV international is a great option. You can order their products online. Better yet, if you know of an organization locally, sponsor a fair trade fair at your church or community group. Buy high quality handmade Christmas presents while helping someone less fortunate earn a livable wage is a win-win situation.

Christmas Tree Decorating

About the first weekend in December, we put up our Christmas tree here. I love this time because we make it a family event. We turn on Christmas music and everyone helps. We do not worry about the tree being perfect. Part of the fun for me the is opening up all the ornaments since each one reminds me of someone or something.  Some the girls have made over the years. Others are from my Great-Grandma or Grandmother. Still others are ones that have been given to me as presents from someone special in my life. It is fun to unwrap the ornaments and remember from where they came. Afterwards, we put in one of our favorite family Christmas DVD's and watch it together. This is one of my girls favorite evenings. Instead of making decorating a drudgery this year, turn it into a family event. Explore the memories that the decorations give you. Most of all; slow down and enjoy the season!

Local Shopping

Want to help the environment while getting a great gift for someone at the same time. Shop local! Find local stores with local wares or go to one of the many craft fairs in your area this time of year. Even if they do not carry all local products, try to buy gifts from companies that are owned locally. Buying local saves on transportation costs to get goods and products here to sell. It also helps guarantee that they were made by someone who was being given a fair wage for making the product. The best part is you are keeping your money in your local community. Take a little time this year and shop local for those Christmas presents.

Rhode Island Reds

Last week, we finally had to get rid of our Rhode Island Red chickens. It was a hard decision. We had hand raised them from day old chicks. Unfortunately, they were terrorizing our much more mellow Buff Orpingtons. After the third Buff chicken showed up with a large hole poked in its head we knew it was time.

Luckily, our friends in Richmond have a larger flock. Last Friday, Titania and Alannia made their final trip with us down to their farm. They will live out the rest of their lives in their flock. Even though they were chickens, we had become a little attached to them because they were our first. They seemed to settle in well as the day went on.

The Buff Orpingtons are much more calm and the general stress level of the coop seems to have diminished over the past few days. Even though it was hard giving up the reds it was the right decision for the overall welfare of the flock. 

Holidays

This past week was very busy in our household. Not only did we have the Thanksgiving holiday but two birthdays to celebrate. It turned out to be a very hectic but wonderful week. Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends. We ate a delicious meal followed by a movie and board games. It was a fun day.

Friday, we headed down to Richmond for a few hours then in the evening both of my sisters came. We had so much fun over the weekend. Saturday, we went hiking around Eagle Lake on Morehead State's Campus with two new friends from our church. This time the trail was easier as we were properly geared for it with hiking boots, water and snacks. After that we did a little shopping at some of the local stores. We then returned to Lexington, freshened up (took a lot after our hike) and then headed to a local Mexican restaurant for supper. Their treat to help celebrate my birthday.

Sunday, they both took one of the girls after church to do something special with them. Chuck and I spent the afternoon hanging out. We went to a local craft fair and some other holiday places. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks to all who helped make it that way. 

Chicken Round-up

This afternoon, Mary came in quickly to tell me that all the chickens had escaped from inside the run. Makenzie and I quickly got coats and boots on to join her on the chase. Luckily, chickens like to stay fairly close to home and the flock. We do not know how long they had been out but they were enjoying the garden area. Mary grabbed some food, opened the run door and spread some food inside. The Rhode Island Reds took the bait and walked inside to eat the food; two chickens caught and four to go.

The Buff Orpingtons were not so easy. They seem to always be the ones who are escaping but are difficult to catch. I have found the best way to do this is to corner them one by one and then grab them. Before we started the chase, we thought we better find the hole that they escaped from in the first place. We looked everywhere and could not find it. Finally, one of the chickens we had cornered ducked underneath a little raised area of the run. We had found the hole and now three chickens were back where they belonged. Mary placed some edging stones underneath the hole to block it.

The last three proved much harder to catch. Mary, Makenzie and I worked together to corner them one by one. I would then grab them and put them back into the coop. After about 30 minutes we finally got them all back inside where they belonged. Once caught , they did not seem too unhappy about being back inside the run. Apparently, the grass must not have been that much greener on the other side.

Aah, the adventures of urban homesteading.

Rain

I have to admit, rain does not always come at convenient times for me and I complain about it. I then remind myself that without rain my life would be a much different world. Rain provides the water that all plants need. Without these plants, there would be no food, trees, green grass or pretty flowers. Rivers and streams that I like to canoe on or hike beside would dry up. Lakes and ponds would also be gone. Most of all my water that my body so desperately needs would eventually run out.

Once I started thinking of the benefits of rain and reminding myself of the importance of it, my attitude has changed on rainy days. Now, when I find myself complaining about the rain especially if it has changed some plans for me I make myself stop and thank God for all the necessary and pretty things that rain provides in my life. I then feel better about it. I now look forward to rainy days. It provides me with some down time or time to concentrate on some neglected task indoors. What is your attitude about rain? Does it need some adjusting like mine did?

Fall Leaves

I have to admit that I love fall leaves all over my yard. They provide such a beautiful carpet of color. I also enjoy hearing the crunching of feet walking through them. Sadly though the colors fade and it is time to rake them up for the year. That has been our project of the week here. We do not send any of our leaves to the landfill or even to the local lawn waste recycling place. They are much to valuable of a resource for that. Here are the ways we use all of the leaves. We have a large amount because we live on a lot with several mature trees. Here is a list of some of the ways we use our leaves.

1) Put in the compost pile to create compost for next year.
2) Put around cold sensitive plants to insulate their roots for the year.
3) Rake them into newly planned flower beds or garden space. It kills off all the grass and weeds. We then rototill them into the new area in the spring.
4) We put them on the garden and let the chickens scratch them into the garden. It has the added benefit of providing playtime for the chickens.
5) Once the big piles of leaves are gone, we mow over the rest of them to mulch them and help fertilize the grass for next year.

Leaves take up a large portion in landfills. See what creative ways you can use your leaves this year. 

Chicken Moving Day

I have spent the past few days getting the garden ready to put the chicken coop and run on it. I put down compost and then added leaves from the yard. Today was moving day. Chuck and I put the chickens on the garden. We will spend the winter moving them across the garden so they can scratch up all the bugs and weed seeds and eat them. In the meantime, they scratch in the compost and yard leaves. In the spring we will rototill everything under and start the growing season with a naturally fertilized garden that was all free. .

It is also fun to watch the chickens play in the leaves. They jump into the piles just like kids. They then pop up their heads. scratch a little and then jump in again. They can provide quite the entertainment. Who needs TV when you have chickens to watch?  

Decreasing Food Waste

Here are some ways that we decrease food waste at our home.

1) I only fix amounts of food that I know we will eat at one setting unless it is something that I know someone will eat as leftovers.
2) I only buy fresh fruit, veggies, milk and other products that spoil quickly in small quantities or amounts I know we will use before they expire or spoil.
3) Cheeses that will be used for cooking is frozen until I use them.
4) Leftovers are remade or added into other things. I will make meals based on remaking leftovers.
5) Fruits or vegetables that are getting wilted but not moldy will be added to other things. Veggies into quiche, spaghetti, casserole, etc. Fruits into crisps or quick breads.
6) Scraps and leftover foods go to either rabbits, chickens or compost. There is very little we have to throw away that they do not eat.
7) When we go to restaurants, we bring home the leftovers (which we will eat later) as well as potato skins, etc which are then fed to the chickens. I also will bring home such scraps from church functions.

We have a long way to go but have really started to make some headway in decreasing our food waste.

Food Waste

One thing that I have been working on here at home is decreasing our food waste. This does not only include food thrown away that is not eaten or composted but overeating food our body does not need. I was reminded the importance of this by some statistics that I read in WorldArk Magazine put out by Heifer International. Here are some of the statistics they shared about food wasted here and in other developed countries.

1) In the United States, an estimated 40% of food gets thrown away.
2) The United States per capita food waste has increased 50% since 1974.
3) Worldwide, roughly a third of all food produced is never eaten.
4) All together, industrialized countries toss 222 million tons of food each year. That's enough to feed 925 million people.

Food waste is a sad reality. I will try to share some strategies we use to decrease our food waste here. We are doing better but have a long way to go.  

Eagle Lake

Eagle Lake-Morehead State University

Yesterday, we spent the day in Morehead, KY looking at Morehead State University that our oldest daughter is interested in attending next year. The highlight of the day was our walk around Eagle Lake which is located on the campus. The trail had been described to me as an easy 1 mile walk around the lake. That was the first part of the trail. The rest of the 2 plus mile trail was up and down with a few mad scrambles up some of the hills. We could not find how to cross back over the lake to the dam. We later found stones that went across which were under water. We ended up just sliding down a ravine filled with leaves. It has been a long time since we have done such a challenging hike. We had so much fun. The best part of the trail is we only ran into 2 other people during the whole hike and it was very quiet and peaceful there.     

Supper

My daughters help with cooking all the time but one night a week my oldest daughter is responsible for planning and cooking a complete supper. Last night was her night. She made pork chops with mushroom gravy, brown rice and butternut squash. For dessert, I had put together a cherry crisp from the last of our cherries. Her meal tasted wonderful.

Later that night, I came home to something smelling like it was burning. I found that she had left one of the burners on the whole entire time. Unfortunately, it was the one that the cherry crisp had been sat on to cool when it came out of the oven. That was what was burning. Luckily, it did not break the dish but the crisp was burnt all the way through. We had the cherry bread I had made for breakfast for dessert instead. I did have to remind her though that leaving burners on was why they put people in nursing homes. She just smiled. She will have fun getting the crisp cleaned out of the dish today. Live and learn.

Fresh Cherry Bread

This bread was a hit for our family. I used frozen cherries in place of the fresh ones. It worked well although I made sure to drain them well first.

CHERRY BREAD

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. shortening
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c. orange juice
1 tbsp. grated orange peel
2 tbsp. warm water or cherry juice
1 c. halved tart cherries

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in shortening. Stir in egg, orange juice, peel, and water. Fold in cherries. Pour into greased 8 x 4 x 3 inch loaf pans. Bake an hour at 350 degrees. Cool before slicing.

I used half whole wheat pastry and half all purpose flour. I also omitted the orange peel. This made a delicious and moist bread. 

Cherries

Saturday, Mary and I spent the afternoon canning cherries. We love cherry anything and finally found a source for them. My Mom found someone up by her that sells the fresh pitted ones that have been frozen. She got a box for me and sent them down with my sisters two weeks ago. We finally had the time to do them up on Saturday. I had never canned cherries before so I went in search of recipes.

The first thing I knew I wanted to make was pie filling. I did not want a whole lot but enough that I could make a crust, dump it in, bake and serve it to guests or take it down for a church potluck. Next, I wanted to make cherry jam. My Grandma used to make it and I had not had any since I was a child. I found the perfect recipe and have been enjoying it on toast this week. I have not been disappointed. It tastes just as good as I remember it from my childhood if not better. I then made Summer Solstice Jam which consists of blueberries and cherries. Last, I made spirited cherries, just a few to see if we will like them. I then had some leftover so made cherry crisp for dessert which was a big hit with my family. Lastly, I am going to make cherry bread with the rest of the leftovers.

I will share some of the recipes of the above things over the next couple of blogs.

Count Your Blessings Month

This is the third year that I have participated in this activity. On facebook, family meals or other time period during the month of November, name one different thing you are thankful for each day. This has been a great activity for me. I get so caught up in my day to day activities that I forget to stop and count the many blessings that I do have. You will be amazed how many things that you have to be thankful for during this month. Go ahead and give it a try. You will be thankful that you did. 

Date Night

One thing that my husband and I have improved upon as the years go on of raising our children is taking time out for date nights. We still do not do it as often as we should but it is getting there. These do not have to be expensive events. In fact, we have come up with some quite cheap ones over the years. We enjoy going to festivals, church sponsored events, hiking or just plain taking a walk together. Last night, we went downtown and watched our local Thriller parade. Total cost: $3.00 for parking. We had a nice time, spent time together and enjoyed watching the parade and the people. If you are married or in a significant relationship with another person, make it a priority to take some time out of your busy schedules just for the two of you. 

Homemade Leather Conditioner/Cleaner

Tonight, we discovered that our daughter had decided to decorate our leather couch with an ballpoint ink pen. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her artwork just not on my couch. I searched the internet for solutions. Here is what we used. We took cotton balls, soaked them with rubbing alcohol and rubbed these across the ink. It worked very well and got all of the ink off the arm. We decided we should condition the couch and clean the rest of it while we were at it.

Leather Conditioner/Cleaner
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Put ingredients in spray bottle. Spray leather surface with concoction. Buff clean with soft towel. With a little elbow grease our couch is now ink free and clean.

Free Exercise Equipment

We were at Cleveland Clinic this past week for check-ups for our youngest daughter. They are very in to practicing what they preach about being health conscious. We especially enjoyed the signs by all elevators and escalators: :Free Exercise Equipment-Take the Stairs. How true! How often we forget the simple things. We pay gym fees and memberships when most of time if we would take the stairs, bike or walk to closer stores, cook from scratch, grow our own food and other things, we would not need the gym. Not only does this make our bodies healthier but it helps the environment as well. So, next time you are tempted to take the elevator use the stairs and get some free exercise. 

Woolfest

On Saturday, Chuck and I attended the Kentucky Woolfest in Falmouth, Kentucky. The weather here was unseasonably warm and sunny so it was a perfect day to take in a festival. One of my hobbies is to needle felt pictures using wool fibers. I wanted to go to the festival to get some supplies Although I was disappointed in the actual selection of wool products, I enjoyed the festival immensely.

Falmouth may be a small town it hosts a huge festival. There were livestock to see, pet and buy. There were crafts of every kind and a small "pioneer" type area. The food alley was long with a wide variety of foods. Two stages were filled with regular bands providing musical entertainment,

Even though I was disappointed in the wool selection at the wool festival that was my  only criticism. I will be going back to the festival on a regular basis. 

Escapees

Two nights ago, after several days of transition we put the chicken that was pecked badly on the head back in the flock. We waited until everyone was asleep and slipped her back on the roost. The first day seemed to go well. This morning, however, I saw her hunched in a corner. As I walked out to check on her, I saw the blood on her head. She had been pecked and had an open sore on her head. I tried to isolate her but while attempting to do two of the chickens got out of the run.

Makenzie and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to corner and catch them. This was not an easy task. We were trying to balance cornering them with keeping them from going through our hedge. While we were chasing the other two, I heard a chicken fly and realized that another one had flown out of the top of the coop. I now had 3 loose chickens. Finally, we were able to corner each escapee and put them safely back in the coop.

I, then, turned my attention to the injured chicken. I spent quite a bit of time trying to lure the other chickens away from her with treats. Finally, I was able to isolate her under the run.
We then caught her, fixed her head and then put her back in the isolation cage.

Busy day at the gardensong urban homestead.

Hot Pepper Juice Misery

A friend had given me some banana peppers so I could cut them up to put in the freezer. I spent quite a while yesterday cutting them up. They smelled sweet like the ones I plant so I didn't think about wearing gloves. Boy, was that a mistake. After I was done cutting, my hands started to tingle and then burn. It felt like someone was holding my hands in a flame. Not being someone who usually deals with hot peppers, I did not know what to do.

First, I tried putting them under cold water. They would feel good while they were under the water but would then burn even more. Next, I remember my friend using milk when she ate one that was too hot for her. I poured some milk in a dish and soaked them. This seemed to give them some relief. As soon as I started using my hands again the fire returned. Finally, I googled it and found several home remedies but came upon one that several people recommended. Luckily, we still had some sunburn relief gel in the house which is a combination of lidocane and aloe. I applied that heavily to my hands, sat and let it soak into them. The burning finally stopped. Today, they are a little tender but feeling much better. I have learned my lesson, gloves it will be from now on if I don't know specifically the plant source of the pepper.

Children and Chickens

As I am sitting here writing this, I am watching Makenzie out the window. She is feeding the chickens some kitchen scraps from this morning. This is a sight I never get tired of watching. She sits in the grass and hand feeds them whatever tasty morsel she has brought them. They all gather round her and gently peck the tidbits out of her hands. She is the one who usually brings them their "treats", as she likes to refer to the table scraps, so they perk their heads up and watch her expectantly whenever she walks out the door. The best part is to watch how gentle and loving she is towards each of them.

Makenzie's other job is to collect the eggs. She has a special "egg basket" we keep on the counter so she can collect them all and not drop them. She checks them usually a couple of times a day and is very proud of her job. Very seldom do I have to remind her to do it.

The chickens have been a nice addition in Makenzie's childhood. They have taught her how to care and be gentle around other creatures. They have also taught her responsibility. This is one of the nice side benefits to having any kind of pet or livestock.

Quiet Time

I tend to not get our house to myself very often. Last night was one of those rare occasions. My husband came home wanting to go see the Cars 2 movie which is in the dollar theater here locally. He suggested we all go. Normally, I would jump on the chance of a family outing but the last few days have been pretty rough with our youngest child. I asked if just Makenzie and him could go. Mary was already gone at her ballet class.

I almost did not know what to do with myself but finally chose sitting and reading a book. It has been a long time since I have been able to sit for any length of time and read a book undisturbed. It was wonderful. When everyone got home a couple of hours later, I was refreshed and ready to be a much better wife and Mom. I forget how important taking time for myself is and how much better I can handle the everyday stresses when I do. I will need to remember that more often.

Memories

This past week, I have spent a lot of extra time putting the final touches on powerpoint slide shows for our church's 25th anniversary celebration this weekend. I have enjoyed looking over old pictures and watch children grow up right before my eyes as I page through the different pictures. Along the way I have remembered special events and days which have faded from my immediate memory. I have experienced little pangs of regret or sadness at the loss of friends who have moved away and I have not kept up with them. I also remember the friends and acquaintances who have died over the 20 plus years and the times spent with them. Many times over the past couple of weeks, my husband has come into the room to peak at a picture after he hears a chuckle from me. I appreciate the people who asked me to take on this task. It has been a blessing. Happy 25th anniversary Word of Hope Lutheran Church!

End of the Pears

Last night, we finally completed all of the pears. After several marathon canning sessions we have peeled our last pear for the year.We will have plenty of pears to eat and share this winter. The final count was 29 quarts and 12 pints of pears, 18 jars of jams, 6 big and 7 small loaves of bread, 47 pints of sauce, 4 frozen pie fillings, 2 crisps, a large gallon bag of dehydrated pears and several fresh eaten ones. The bast part of the pears though was the many hours that my husband, oldest daughter and I have spent around the table talking and spending time together. That time is priceless.

Cultural Exchange

My youngest daughter and I have spent the morning with Sawako, the Japanese exchange student who stayed with us when we were young. We looked on a world map to show Makenzie where we live and where Sawako lives. We then showed her the country and city (Tokyo) where she lives. We then got on Google earth where we could see the front of her apartment building where she lives. I think it is important for my children to learn about other countries and other cultures but it is really neat to meet and spend time with someone from another country. I think it helps us keep in mind that they are people like us who get up every morning, get dressed, eat, work in some capacity and go to bed at night. I think that it is a valuable lesson that hopefully will carry over to meeting other new people in her life.

Exchange Student

I am excited. This afternoon I travel to my parents house for a few days visit. This evening, an exchange student we had when I was younger is coming for a visit. She is from Japan and we have kept in contact over the years. When I was in high school and college we had exchange students. We had four total, two from Germany, one from Japan and one from Chile. These were very enriching experiences for not only my immediate family but my church, our family friends, extended family, school and even community.

Exchange students can come through many different programs. Ours came through Youth for Understanding. A high school age student came to live with our family for a year of their life. They lived and went to school with us. They immersed themselves in our culture and we learned so much about their culture. It was a great way to learn about the world. Several of our friends also had exchange students. We were exposed to many more cultures besides the three countries represented in our home.

I am sad that it never worked for us to provide this wonderful experience to our children. I am excited though to spend a few days with a dear sister from Japan this week. 

Pears, Pears and More Pears

After a marathon session of canning again today, the end of the pears is in sight. We spent 6 hours cutting, pealing and coring them today. We ended up with 29 quarts and 12 pints of pears. This week I will work on some more pie filling. We will also keep the dehydrator running. Next up, tomatoes and apples. 

Freezer Pear Pie Filling

Yesterday, I went downstairs to check on how the pears were ripening and found several of them ripe. Looks like we will be spending some time this weekend canning pears. Last night, I made carrot cake jam. I will share the recipe later but it was good. I also made prepared pie filling and dehydrated some of them. Here is how I do the frozen pie filling. I find this much easier than canning it and I usually have plenty of freezer space.

8 cups sliced, peeled pears
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda
2 Tbls flour (I use whole wheat pastry)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

I peel and slice pears into a bowl of water treated with lemon juice. I then measure out 8 cups of pear slices at a time. I add rest of ingredients to the 8 cups of pears. I pour all of it into a gallon size freezer bag and shake it to mix in ingredients. I then freeze until needed later. When you want to use it, you simply thaw them, put them in a prepared, unbaked pie crust and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until crust is brown and pears soft. This makes a quick dessert for company. You can also put the pie filling in a dish, cover with your favorite crisp topping and make pear crisp. 

Thrift Stores

Yesterday, I took my daughter, Mary, on a college visit. On the way there we passed a nice looking thrift store in a small town. Mary has needed shirts for quite a while. We decided to make a stop. We shop at thrift stores  and garage sales first when we need clothes. It is economical but most of all it helps the environment. We are reusing items that might otherwise end up in the landfill. It also saves all the resources needed to manufacture new clothing. Mary is an average size so has luck finding things there. I am larger so have a harder time finding clothes for me there. Mary has even found 2 of her prom dresses at thrift stores. If you have not looked in your local thrift store lately try it sometime. You have to be patient and look through the clothes but Mary is well dressed and her friends have no clue where her clothing comes from by looking at it. .

Electronics

Electronics have been a wonderful invention and have simplified our lives as well as kept us more up to date with what is going on with each other as well as the world around us. With that said, we all know there are drawbacks to electronics.  They can be an easy way to withdrawal from the world and each other. They can fill us with so many negative images, we forget to look at the positives. They can influence us in ways we do not want to be influenced.

In our house, we use our electronics but I feel like it is always a battle of balancing screen time with other things. I also realize how dependent I am on them. Last week, our computer died. It took a few days for my husband to analyze and fix it. It was hard doing some of the things I normally do-accessing my recipes, putting out church liturgy, tracking checking account and planning for my classes I teach. Here are some guidelines and rules I try to follow in my life to help me balance the electronics.

1) We do not have cable TV. We figure why increase our temptation plus it is a cost savings for us.
2) I only check e-mails and facebook 1-2 times daily unless I am expecting something.
3) I have specific shows I like to watch and then I turn the TV off. I also do not watch reruns of these shows.
4) The only video games that are allowed in our house are active ones. This is an adjusted rule for us. It used to be no video games but this changed when the WII became available. It is good exercise for my daughter who has motor problems. Even that is limited to 1/2 hour daily on days we cannot go outside due to weather. Her disability makes her heat and cold intolerant.
5) The computer is used for school, education and research purposes. Not just something to surf when I am bored. 

I usually do pretty well with electronics but always seem to have to come back to my rules. Sometimes the temptation can be too much when I am tired or stressed.

Pear Bread

I found this recipe online and modified it a little bit to suit our tastes more. It was a hit at a get together at our church Friday night. Looks like with all the pears we have I will have to make some more and put it in the freezer for the future. Here is the recipe:

Pear Bread

Dry ingredients:
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp soda
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil

Other
2 cups chopped pears

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs. Add rest of wet ingredients to eggs and stir until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Gently stir in chopped pears. Place in greased loaf pan. Bake 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Pear Sauce

My friend has a pear tree and has always talked about making pear sauce. Her kids love it and so do mine when they visit her. Since I had so many pears I thought I would try it. I made it the exact same way that I make applesauce. First, I cut up the pears and cooked them until soft. Next, I ran them through the saucer (there are manual ones which are cheap to electric ones). I then added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (I do not add sugar). I put the sauce in pint jars and water bathed canned them for 20 minutes. Pear sauce is the same consistency as applesauce. It is naturally sweeter tasting though then applesauce. Try it next time when you have some leftover pears. 

Chicken Update

Our injured chicken seems to be holding her own. She is very active in the temporary cage we put her in and even escaped briefly on me this afternoon when I went to give her more food and water. Her wound seems to be healing. Time will tell. Chuck will be adding some nesting boxes this weekend just to make sure there are no more fights over them. We are not sure how the chicken got cornered to be pecked so brutally but they had been fighting over the nesting boxes recently so we are going to add more just to be safe. We will keep you updated. 

Chicken Meanies

One of the bad things about chicken flock mentality is they can be brutal to each other. Tonight, we went out to check on the chickens to find one had a very serious head wound from being pecked. My husband and I caught her to check out the seriousness of the would and found it to be very deep. It was obvious she had been pecked quite brutally. We removed her from the coop, treated her wound as best we could and then isolated her in her own cage. We will monitor her and keep her isolated from the rest until the wound heals. When the weather is nice, we will place the cage next to the others so she will not be so lonely but will be safe. This is the downside to raising chickens. Hopefully, she will recover and get reestablished within the flock. Time will tell.   

Pears

On Saturday, Chuck and I spent the afternoon picking pears. The best thing about them was it only cost us our labor. About a year ago, a friend of ours moved into a new house. He noticed the neighbors tree two doors down produced pears but they did no seem to get used. This year he has since met this neighbor so he asked if he could pick some of them. He brought them to me a couple of weeks ago. They were great pears and they made some nice canned pears along with some jam.

Our friend then told our neighbor about me and that I liked to can. He then asked if it would be OK if I came and picked the pears since they did not want them. The neighbor was glad to have someone pick and use them. Chuck and I packed up ladders and boxes and met our friend over at the house. We spent about 2 hours picking them off the tree. We also picked up the rotten ones which had already dropped from the tree.We then raked up all the leaves around the tree. We will then share some of the can goods with our friend as well as a few for his neighbor with the tree.

I had read in some books to look around for trees in the area where the fruit is dropping and does not seem to be harvested. This is a great way to get free fruit. Many times people will buy houses where fruit trees have been planted and they are not interested in doing things with the produce besides eating a few of them. They also may be elderly or disabled and cannot harvest the fruit themselves. This may be a great place to help someone as well as get some free fruit.

Here are some guidelines I use when I do this. First, I ask before harvesting. (this should be a no brainer). I arrange a time which will be convenient for all and tell them when I will be there and who will be with me. I make sure to clean up any and all fruit laying on the ground as well as leaves. I share a little of the harvest (canned goods/raw fruit) with the owner of the tree. I am always courteous and make sure to thank the owner.

I encourage you to look around your neighborhood when you are out walking and biking. You may be surprised at the number of trees that you find in the neighborhood.  

New Pullets

The new chickens are finally laying their first eggs which are called pullet eggs. They are about half the size of regular eggs. They lays these for a little bit until they completely mature. It has been exciting watching them begin to lay eggs. They are usually quite proud of themselves and announce it to the whole neighborhood when they have been successful. The old hens, Rhode Island Reds, were having a hard time sharing this last domain they still had exclusive use of in the coop. It seems like things are settling down though. Looks like they were all able to work it out.

I apologize to my readers for the lack of posting lately. A lot going on with the start of the school year. I am going to try and be more regular in my posts from now on. Hope all of you are doing well.

Woodland Art Fair

Every year the third weekend in August is the Woodland Art Fair here in Lexington. This is a top notch fair that attracts people and artists from all over. We try to go every year because we enjoy viewing all the different forms of art. The items range from paintings, jewelry to sculptures with the them being classic to modern. This is a large fair so it takes most of a day to walk around and see all the booths. In addition to art, there is usually food vendors and good music to listen to on the stage located in the middle of the fair. If you live locally and have not been to this fair you should check it out sometime. The parking is a little crazy but besides that it is a great day. Hope to see you there next year.

Backyard Chicken Update

I went out to the coop this morning and found our first peewee egg of the season. Looks like one of our new chickens is starting to lay. It had not quite made the nest box and had a crack in it so we have a little work to do. Hopefully, the Rhode Island Reds are not keeping the other ones from using the nesting box. I am hoping they will get it all worked out by the time the rest start to lay. The other good news is that the last chicken has figured out how to get up and down the ramp. Looks like the three new ones we put in last week are settling into their new flock and surroundings. 

Homemade Soap

Today, a friend came over and we made soap together. We made two batches with different oil combinations with a base of lye and goat milk. I have been making my own soap for a couple of years now. I have a lot of allergies and it was getting to the point that I was not able to find any store bought soap that did not break me out. That is when my friend down in Richmond introduced me to making my own soap and I have done it ever since. My husband was skeptical at first but likes it now. We have all found that our skin does not dry out as much. I do not put any additives or fragrances in my soap for everyday use because of the allergies. Lately, though, my friend and I have been experimenting with some different things to make bars to give away as gifts.

If you are interested in making soap I would suggest you use a good recipe with specific directions. Lye can be very caustic so you need to follow some safety precautions. Lye burns are no fun. If you know someone who makes soap already, ask them if you can help one time. Once you learn the process it is not that hard. I can make a six month supply in about an 1 hour time period.

Slow Food

I had heard of the "slow food" movement before but recently read an article about it. I thought it was worth taking some time to look into it. Slow Food is a grassroots organization which was started in Italy. It is now a international movement. The mission of Slow Food is to promote good, clean and fair food for all. They stress food which is grown locally, is seasonal and grown with the environment in mind. The reason the name Slow Food was chosen is to get people thinking the opposite of fast food. If you would like to learn more about this movement you can follow this link to their website. Slow Food 

This movement makes sense in many ways. It brings together many things that other groups are doing. I enjoy the emphasis on organically grown local food that is eaten in season. Take a few minutes when you get a chance and get to know some of the premises behind this movement. 

Creative Leftovers

I have to admit that one of my weaknesses in not wasting food is I just don't like many leftovers. This has lead me to be creative in reusing them and remaking them into other things. My first line of defense is I try to be careful to make just enough for a meal of things we don't like to use as a leftover. Some things my husband does enjoy eating as a leftover so I will make enough extra of those items that he can take them for a lunch or two to work. Another way is to be creative in reusing things. Here are some common ones I use around here. 

1) Leftover salsa added instead of milk makes a nice Mexican Quiche.

2) Leftover veggies makes a nice veggie quiche.

3) Fruit that is coming to its end makes nice fruit crisp.

4) Overripe bananas make good banana bread.

5) Leftover squash can be substituted in any pumpkin recipe. 

6) Leftover hamburger, sausage, etc make good homemade pizza toppings. Veggies are also good. 

7) Leftover turkey and chicken make nice casseroles.

8) Leftover mashed potatoes make nice potato pancakes. 

9) Leftover pork and beef roasts along with poultry make nice Bar-B-Q.

As you can see there are many ways to be creative in using leftovers. In addition to reusing leftovers in our home, any item that is past its prime but is not spoiled is fed to the chickens and rabbits which is then recycled into meat and eggs. Spoiled fruits/veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds and other compostable items are added to the compost pile. As you can see there are many alternatives to using those leftovers. It just takes some creativity.  

Rabbit Ear MIte Update

We took Thumper, our rabbit, to the vet this afternoon. She only has ear mites in one ear but they had a good strong hold. He spent a lot of time getting them out of her ear. It was not a pretty site. Next, he put some ear drops in them and then got even more gunk out of ear. She was really mad when we were done and kept kicking the carrier door all the way home. We have to put drops in for a week until all of them are cleared out. Hopefully, she will be feeling better soon.

Chicken Ramp Lessons

While we were butchering Saturday, we exchanged some of the meat chickens for the egg chickens to help the balance in the coop. Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the new chickens had not come down from the coop to the run. We blocked the other chickens off in the run thinking maybe they were not letting them down (has happened before). We then realized that the new chickens could not figure out how to get down to the run on the ramp. We worked with them and they figured out how to get down eventually.

Later in the evening, we heard the frantic cries of one of the chickens. We went out to investigate and found one of the new ones could not figure out how to get up the ramp. We tried putting feed down of the ramp but she was too freaked out about the approaching darkness that she did not even see it. Chuck finally ended up crawling under the chicken coop and helping her get up the ramp.

This morning, I noticed that the new ones are not down again.  I will leave them up for part of the day and then we will help them down this afternoon. We will see if Chuck will need to assist any of them back up to the coop. The joy of backyard chickens.

Rabbit Ear Mites

We discovered tonight that one of our rabbits has ear mites. We were hoping to mate them this week but won't at this time. They are highly contagious and the other rabbit does not have them. After spending time on online and reading our rabbit care book, looks like we will be calling vet in the morning for some advice. Thumper's case is probably beyond the mineral oil stage. From everything I read she will need 3 injections of an antiparasitic spaced 2 weeks apart. We will also have to put her in our temporary cage since mites can live up to 3 weeks without a host. They said the only way to nonchemically get rid of them is to clean cage and keep her out of it for 6 weeks. We will put her in the shed in our temporary wire cage for the time being after she is treated tomorrow. Hopefully, vet will be able to give me proper dosage and show how to administer the rest of the injections. Will keep you updated on how it is going .

Poultry Peril Day

Today, we butchered our first chickens. We started with 26 chicks and butchered 19 today. 6 additional chicks are becoming our new egg chickens. We set up different work stations, figured out how to do each step. By the end of the time, we were getting pretty good at the process. We know that our chickens were healthy and raised humanely. We look forward to some good chicken dinners in the future along with new baby chicks in the next few weeks. 

Fall Gardening

Fall garden planting is upon us. I am a little behind for a few things but hope to get them in this weekend. It has been so hot here it has been hard to get motivated to get out and garden. We have a few cool days in a row this week so I am hoping to get my fall garden planted. I will use row covers as frost approaches until the crops are ready to harvest. Standard fall crops are the same that you plant early in the spring such as broccoli, cabbage, beets, peas, lettuce,spinach and carrots. They taste so good as the rest of the crops are winding down. I always put down some more compost before planting though to replenish the soil from the summer crops. I will let you know how the progress is going.

Peach Jam Recipe

Making homemade jam seems to be intimidating to people. Jam is not hard to make as long as you follow the directions exactly. You should never substitute in artificial sweetener or decrease sugar amounts. There is pectin you can buy that can be used for sugar free jam. Here is the recipe I use for my peach jam. The key to go good jam is finding fruit at the peak of its season.

Peach Jam

4 cups crushed peaches

5 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup fruit pectin (OR 1 pkg Sure-gel or other similar brand)

1 tsp margarine (this keeps jam from creating foam)

Measure out sugar and put in bowl. Prepare jars (about 3-4 pint size) Put peaches, pectin and margarine in large pan. Stir constantly while bringing to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down). Stir in sugar. Continue to stir constantly until jam comes to a rolling boil again. Let boil for 1 minute while stirring. Set aside for a few minutes (3-5). Stir occasionally. Remove any foam which has come to top. This is edible. I put in a container for later use by family. Ladle into jars leaving 1/2 inch head space (to bottom of rim). Put on canning lids and rings. Water bath can for 10 minutes. 

Peach Jam

Last night, we completed making the rest of the peach items. Our kitchen was once again filled with the fragrance of cooking peaches. My friend, Diane, came over and we made four batches of peach jam which we finished in less than two hours. Today, I will put all the canned produce from the weekend down in the basement and we will enjoy them this winter when fresh items are no longer locally available. The final tally for us: 11 pints salsa, 6 pints pizza sauce, 18 quarts of peaches and 8 pints of peach jam. That is about 1/4 of what we made on Saturday. There is a lot to the saying, "Many hands make light work." Hope this post finds all of you preserving and enjoying the bounty of the season. 

Family Peach Canning

Last night, my parents, sisters, family and friend canned several bushels of peaches in a couple of hours. Peach canning was always a family event when I was growing up. We would get 1 or 2 bushels and we all knew that we were to help. Last year, we started doing it again. We have a few more people to help but 5 households worth of peaches to process. It was a little crazy for a while but even though it is hard, messy work it is a fun time together. There were 3-4 of us at times in my small kitchen but no mishaps. I am happy to say that we were successful in getting them all done with the last canner load coming out around 11:30 last night. We will divide them all up today and have good eating all year. Next year, we will probably do the same.

Birthday Party

Tonight my oldest daughter is having her "friend" party at our friend's house in Richmond. She is having some of our friends over to have a pool party and petting zoo. We are going to swim in our friends pool and go pet some of the animals in the field if they would like. We will grill some hamburgers, put out some snacks and they will visit and have a good time. Later we will have cake and ice cream. 

I enjoy these parties. It is a time to meet her friends. We have never spent a lot of money to do a more traditional party where we pay someone else to do it. Her parties have gotten easier for me over the years but I still enjoyed them when more of the work fell in my court. Birthdays do not have to be extravagant just fun.    

Chicken Surgery Update

We unwrapped Titania's feet tonight to see how they were healing. The swelling has gone down considerably in both of them. All the black stuff is gone. The wounds appear clean and seem to be healing well. She has been quite upset about being separated from the rest of the flock so we rebandaged her feet tonight and put her back into the coop. The other Rhode Island Red chicken was so happy to see her. They have been inseparable since she has been back with the flock. We will recheck her feet in a couple of days. 

Chicken Surgeon

Yesterday, I officially did my first chicken surgery. After reading several different articles on Bumblefoot and how to treat it, we decided to try it. We got up early and went to local farm supply store where we purchased betedine and vetwrap. It took three of us to perform the procedure.

First, we wrapped her in old t-shirts (did not have any towels). Then, Chuck held her while we soaked her feet for 15 minutes in Epsom salt water. Next, we carefully laid her on her side and wrapped one foot in t-shirts. I then took a sharp scalpel and cut around black area on bottom of foot. Next, I used tweezers to pull  hard plug of infection out of foot. After that, I gently squeezed foot to get all the puss out. We then betedined her foot well. Finally, we put some antibiotic cream on the outside of the wound. The last thing we did is carefully wrapped her feet in vetwrap to keep them clean and dry so wound would heal. 

She is in her own cage but next to the other chickens so she is not so lonely. She is up walking around and seems to be fairly happy except for the fact that she is not with her flock within their boundaries. We will keep her isolated a few days and then we will check her feet and see how they are healing. Will let you know how it is going.

Bumblefoot

The other day we noticed a growth on one of our Rhode Island Red's feet. We looked it up online and discovered that she probably has bumblefoot. It sounds like she probably injured the foot at some time and it has set up an infection in it. It is a anaerobic staff infection. After doing a lot of research last night, looks like we will be doing some minor surgery tomorrow when there are three of us here to do it since it is our first time. Our approach is going to be soaking it in Epsom salt water solution for 15 minutes. Cutting out the infected part and then cleaning it well with an antibiotic solution. You then wrap it for a few days and it should heal over. I will let you know how it goes. Always an adventure.

The Story of Bottled Water

My friend posted this link today on her facebook page. I am going to let the video speak for itself. It is well done. If you would like to check the facts they are using, you can click below the video for a footnoted script. Here is the link: The Story of Bottled Water . If you still have a bottled water habit, check this video out it may change your mind.

Small Changes for Increased Water Quality

I told you about the All Creation Sunday we had at church this past week and how we worshiped outdoors. One thing I researched for the service is clean water. Clean water is a big topic locally because Lexington was fined by the EPA several years ago. Even if someone does not care about water pollution in Lexington, you should care about how much it has cost tax payers here in the city. 

It is interesting to me how many people who know that water pollution is a problem but do not understand their part in it. In 2004 a local group called Bluegrass PRIDE conducted a survey here in Central Kentucky, it found that 94% of the population here think they only somewhat or do not at all contribute to water pollution. The opposite is true though. Here are some simple suggestions they offered to help improve water quality. 

1) Pick up pet waste. It can wash into waterways and storm sewers. 

2) Use a car wash versus washing car in driveway. In the driveway, all the soap and grime rinse off and flow into the storm drains.

3) Make sure all detergents used in the home are phosphate free. 

There are things that contribute to pollution which are not listed in the article but just starting with the three above goes along way in decreasing your own contribution to local water pollution. Try implementing at least one of them today if you do not already use these as common practices in your home. 

Whole Wheat Bread

The bread I made the other day passed the family taste test last night. They all liked it so I thought I would share the recipe. This recipe can be easily doubled to make as many loaves as you like. 

Real Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour

1/3 cup milk (brought to room temp)

1/4 cup honey

1 cup warm water

1 1/4 tsps salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1 packet or 2 tsps dry yeast

In a large mixing bowl combine water, yeast and honey. Let sit until yeast starts to activate (yeast bubbles will begin to form. Gently stir in milk, salt and oil to yeast mixture.

Add flour 1 cup at a time and stir in until cannot stir in flour anymore. Put dough out onto floured surface. Knead dough 12-15 minutes until elastic and smooth. This means when you pull it up there are no pit marks in the dough and it is smooth instead.

Put back in bowl, cover with towel and let rise until doubled.

When doubled, punch down and shape into two loaves. Place loaves in lightly greased bread pan. Put towel loosely over pans and let rise until about 1 inch above pan tops. 

Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees then cover top of bread loosely with foil and back for an additional 20 minutes. Bread should be nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Take bread out of pans and let cool completely.  .

Celebrating God's Creation

During the month of July, our church has one worship service on Sunday mornings instead of the normal two. Instead of using the same services, we call it Surprise July and do different things. People seem to enjoy this time every year. Today's theme was Celebrating God's Creation. We held the service down in Brin's Garden which is our outdoor worship space. It is a nicely shaded area where people bring their own lawn chairs to sit in during worship. We also have some garden type benches down there for people who forget their chairs. Singing is usually either acapella or guitar led. I always enjoy this worship setting. It was the perfect setting today for this themed worship service. It is a carved spot in the middle of the city. 

This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time during worship. Celebrating God's Creation with looking at our impact we have made on His creation. I think it is important to look at our call as being the steward's of God's creation once in a while in a worship time. It was neat listening to the sounds of nature around us in contrast to the urban car traffic that is prominent also in this setting.  

Zucchini Muffins

Last night, we were trying to find something to make with the last of the 2 large zucchini that Chuck brought home from work this week. We ended up taking the last cup of zucchini and making zucchini muffins for breakfast today. They were really good so I thought I would share the recipe. 

Zucchini Muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 TBLS baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

3 TBLS oil

3 TBLS applesauce (can also use oil for this)

1 cup grated zucchini

2/3 cup raisins

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In medium size bowl, stir together eggs, milk, oil, applesauce and zucchini. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Gently stir in raisins. Put in sprayed muffin tins. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Tops should be browned and toothpick inserted in middle should come out clean.

Cheap Electricity

Kentucky has some of the cheapest electrical rates in the country. This is mainly because there is a cheap supply of coal nearby. I was reading an article this morning in the March 2011 Kentucky Living magazine which is put out by the local power company. It made me think about a few things. It was written by the editor of the magazine. He was pointing out how Kentucky's energy is created. He used the example of $1.00 which was broken into 100 pennies. Here are the totals: 

3 pennies-amt electricity generated from by burning petroleum

2 pennies-amt electricity generated from hydroelectric dams

1 penny-amt electricity generated from natural gas

less than 1 penny-amt electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar, wood and methane from landfill gas

93 pennies-amt electricity generated from coal

His point in this that even with a lot more money spent, coal would still be the bigger pile of coins when it came to generating electricity. His suggestion is that the best way to cut back on coal use was to cut back on electrical consumption. 

These numbers to me were very interesting. I do believe we need to maximize the use of renewable sources for energy generation. The more important part of these statistics is that it still comes back to energy conservation. We, as a nation, have become energy glutens. We each need to look at where we can do our part to decrease energy consumption. Little things do add up.

Stuff

It is very hot here this week so I have spent more time inside trying to get the house organized. Once again, I am amazed of how much stuff we have in this place. I am working today on getting books resorted and labeled for another home school curriculum sale. I thought I had sorted through everything for the one at the beginning of June but today I have found a bunch more. I keep working on my goal of downsizing our belongings. I have purged so many things already but there still is more to go. That is what happens though when you have lived in the same house for over 20 years. It is easy to put stuff down in the basement and forget about it instead of dealing with it and getting rid of unnecessary items. Wish me luck in this endeavor. 

Homemade Bread

I have tried my hand at making bread before but have only done it for special occasions. We have been trying to find ways to cut back on expenses. The whole wheat bread that is unprocessed with no preservatives is quite pricey per loaf. I decided that I needed to figure out the bread making process. I have been very successful with white bread as well as white and whole wheat mixed together but never just plain whole wheat. 

I searched the internet and my home cookbooks to find a whole wheat bread which was truly whole wheat (not white bread with whole wheat flour in it). I then looked at several suggestions on how to make whole wheat bread taste good. I found the biggest thing was getting too much flour in while kneading the bread and not kneading long enough. Whole wheat flour takes much longer than processed white flour to break down the protein strands so they can mix well with the yeast.

The loaves are done and out of the oven. They look good. Taste will be the next hurdle. I will let you know how it goes. This time I am determined to make this happen.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Yes, the chocolate zucchini bread I made yesterday passed the family taste test. Here is the recipe.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD


2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (can also use all-purpose flour for this)
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¾ cup applesauce (or can substitute oil for this amount)
¾ cup oil
3 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flours, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine applesauce, oil, eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and zucchini.

Stir zucchini mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Gently stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into two greased loaf pans (8 x 4). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Cool on rack then remove from pans.

Zucchini Season

Zucchini season has started. My zucchini plant has blooms on it but no zucchini at this time. My husband brought home an oversize one from work on Thursday. I wanted to make Zucchini-Carrot Cake (recipe in older post) so I decided to buy one more at the Farmer's Market this morning to make sure I had enough. I also bought two small ones to put on the grill with the bratwurst I had laid out for supper. 

I ended up with more than enough zucchini for the cake. I ended up on a zucchini baking marathon this afternoon. I ended up making 2 loaves of double chocolate zucchini bead (new recipe if we like it I will share it on the blog), zucchini brownies and a zucchini-carrot cake. We also had plenty left over for the grill this evening. We had the brownies for supper tonight (appreciated and enjoyed by all). The zucchini-carrot cake is for the potluck at church tomorrow. One loaf of bread is on the counter for breakfast tomorrow morning and the other is in the freezer for future use.

I know about people passing on the urban legend about people locking their cars at night so the neighbor does not "share" his excess zucchini with them. I personally welcome the zucchini. They are such versatile vegetables that can be made into so many things. I am excited that zucchini season has arrived! Bring them on!

Chickens

I ran to the store this morning to pick up a few things. When I came back, there were two ladies looking over my fence into my backyard. It was obvious they were looking at my chickens. I have become use to this. I have people stop by frequently while they are on their walks. I went to greet them wondering if they are for or against city chickens. It was very obvious they were on the pro side. (The funny thing is I have never met anyone on the con side yet but I am sure they are out there.)

The ladies are thinking about getting chickens themselves. One lady had taken the other lady on a long purposeful morning walk past our house. She has been trying to convince the other lady to get chickens and share raising them together. They are next door neighbors. I invited them into the yard to show off the chickens as well as the coop that Chuck designed. Neither one had had chickens before and were concerned about taking care of them. I told them that it was fairly easy and the eggs were worth every bit of the work.

We then did a brief tour of our edible landscaping. I showed them "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" and recommended they check it out of the library before they decided to get chickens. The one lady is going to bring her husband and sons back later to see if they are interested in doing this in their backyard.

I am always excited when I can show someone the benefits of raising their own backyard flock for eggs. It only takes a little bit of time and it is fun to make new friends. 

Smog Alert

The last couple of days I have traveled through Louisville, KY and to Cincinnati, OH for various reasons. Both cities had a smog alert the days that I drove through them. I decided to do some research into this subject. According to the Hamilton County Environmental Services, smog is used to describe air pollution that results from sunlight mixed with certain polluting chemicals in the environment.

The first main pol;uting chemical is ground level ozone. Ozone occurs naturally in the stratosphere layer of the sky. It helps protect the earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. When close to the ground it becomes a powerful pollutant because we breathe it into our lungs. It is especially harmful to the young and elderly as well as those suffering from respiratory diseases.


The second main pollutant is particulate matter which are such things as dust, soot, ash, other solids and aerosols. These particles can come from a variety of sources such as gasoline or diesel engines, factories, wood burning and power plants. They are invisible to the naked eye but can combine together to make clouds or fog-like haze.

Here are some suggestions from the website as well as some I have added which decrease air pollution. 


Ride the bus.

Carpooling
Riding a bike, walking or rollerblading instead of driving.
Avoiding use of gasoline powered lawn equipment.
Keeping your vehicle maintained.
Combining trips or eliminating unnecessary vehicle trips.
Do not top off when refueling.
Avoiding use of oil-based paints and stains.
Saving electricity.
Buying local products to cut down on product transportation pollution.

Even though you may not live in a major area where smog is a problem, everyone adds to the general air pollution problem. We all should follow these guidelines to cut down on general air pollution.

Lutheran Hills

Mary has been going to Lutheran Hills Church Camp since she was 5 years old. The first couple of years were only 2 nights and when she got a little older a whole week. I cannot believe I just made my last trip to take her to church camp. Next year, she will be too old.

Chuck and I were both camp counselors when we were in college. We both felt very committed to the fact that our children should have this experience. We have been able to fulfill this commitment. The only year Mary missed is when she was recovering from a mild head injury. This experience has deepened her faith and been a part of who she has become.

Next year, Mary is hoping to follow our footsteps and become a counselor. She has talked about doing it for years. I hope that it is a goal that she can obtain. I feel she would be an excellent addition to the staff (I admit though I am a little impartial). Time will tell.

Today, once again reinforced how fast time has flown. It is scary as a parent knowing that in a year she will probably be leaving home. It is sometimes hard to let go but I know that it is a necessary and important part of parenting. I know that she will be ready for this next stage in her life when it gets here..She has grown into a fine young lady that I am very proud to call my daughter.

Iowa Waterways.

In the same book I referenced in the last post called Iowa Waterways, it gives a brief overview of the programs that are in place to help protect this precious resource. The 1985 federal Farm Bill was passed to help deal with agricultural activities that affect clean water. Iowa is the number one user of these bills.

The first part was the Swampbuster Provision. It protects waterways by saving wetlands that filter soil and chemical runoff. It makes it difficult for farmers to drain wetlands. The second part is called the Conservation Reserve Program. It pays farmers not to plant erodible areas to row crops, and instead maintain a cover that reduces bare and exposed soil to wind and water erosion. These also help provide a natural filter for field fertilizers to keep from running directly into waterways. In 1984, the Protected Water Areas program was enacted by the Iowa legislature. It helps protect more scenic waterways in Iowa.

This is a brief overview of the programs in place to help keep our water clean of agricultural runoff. Although it is a beginning, there still is a long way to go.

Iowa Waterways

While I was in Iowa last week, we were in my uncle's living room watching deer one evening who were in the waterway. I had seen these grass strips between the fields of corn and beans before but had never given them a second thought. This time I asked what they were. Apparently, Iowa pays farmers to keep a natural grassy area between fields to help keep down soil erosion and fertilizer run-off. They are highly regulated areas. They intrigued me though so I decided to do some research into them. I am going to spend the next couple of posts sharing what I have found out.

In this post, I would like to share some statistics with you. First, I would like to preface them by saying that I am sure you can quote similar statistics for most other states. The impressive thing is Iowa is realizing what a valuable resource their water system is and doing some things to protect them. These statistics come from a booklet I found on the internet. It is from the Iowa Association of Naturalists and is called Iowa Waterways.

1) By 1870, more than 1000 dams impeded the seasonal migration of fish in Iowa waterways. .
2) Iowa has lost more than 95%  of its original wetland habitats.
3) All of Iowa's larger rivers and streams have undergone some channelization or impoundment.
4) By 1930, more than 1000 miles of Iowa streams had been erased through channelization.
5) Siltation has had a major impact on an estimated 92% of Iowa's waterways.
6) Nutrient (fertilizers) pollution has had an impact on almost all of Iowa's waterways.

I will share some of the clean water programs they have in place to change these statistics for the better in next couple of posts.

Apricot Bread

Our apricot tree has been very prolific this year. We made apricot jam but had some apricots left over with bad spots in them but still good. I found this recipe on the internet. We took it to a friend's house last night and everyone liked it. Here is the recipe for Apricot Bread.

Apricot Bread

1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP melted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 TBSP baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
1 ½ cups fresh cut up apricots or ½ cup dried, soaked 30 minutes

In small bowl, put together baking powder, baking soda and flours. In separate bowl, beat egg with mixer. Add sugar and butter to egg and mix well. Lightly beat in water and orange juice alternated with flours. Stir in apricots. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

4th of July Celebration

We had a wonderful 4th of July celebration yesterday. We spent the morning getting caught back up here and with the weeding at church. We then headed downtown for the parade with friends. We found great spots and worried that the rain would not stop. It did though and we were able to see the whole parade.

Next, we walked down to the festival. We listened to a band that the rest of the group had heard on Thursday night. They were great to listen too. Diane and I even made it up towards the front so we could dance. Afterwards, we walked around, checked out the local craft and other vendors. Of course, we got our standard funnel cake to share among the four of us.

We were hot, tired and hungry so as not to break the bank so to say, we headed to a local restaurant for a treat and then home for a rest. Later that evening, we met once again with our friends and headed to our favorite spot to watch the Lexington city fireworks. They are usually very good and we were not disappointed. We then came home and collapsed into bed. What a great day!

Fruit and Vegetable Preserving

Mary and I have spent the day catching up on putting away the harvest of the season. We first made coleslaw for a get together at a friend's house this evening. We were able to get all the ingredients out of our garden. It is always so exciting to make something using things that you have grown yourself.

I, then, cut all the broccoli that was ready. We blanched it then put it in bags. Some for veggie at mealtime and some for quiche. It always tastes so good in the middle of winter. We then tackled the apricots Chuck collected from underneath our tree this week while we were gone. We decided to make apricot jam from the ones that were not in good condition for eating. It smelled so good cooking and tasted so good when it cooled. Can't wait to eat it on some biscuits this week.

There are still some apricots left but now it is time to go to our friend's house. We will have to figure out what to do with them tomorrow.

Home Again

We took our time today coming back from my sister's house. We slept in, ate some breakfast and then transferred all of our belongings back into our car. Afterwards, we made a couple of stops. First to Rural King in Lafayette then Trader Joe's in Indianapolis. We made it home around 7 tonight.

Now comes the fun part (lots of sarcasm here). It is time to unpack and catch up on garden and household chores. The apricot tree is full and has dropped many of its fruits. I may be making some apricot preserves tomorrow. Blackberries are in between batches. Strawberries are gearing up again for another round. Cabbage and broccoli are ready for picking. The weeds seem to have enjoyed the weather we had while we were gone. Looks like we have a big job ahead of us.

We had a wonderful week visiting family and doing some site seeing. It is good to be home though.

Iowa Week

My two daughters, my Dad and I have spent the past week in Iowa staying at my uncle's house. We had a nice time and feel very relaxed. Have not had internet access for the week so have not been able to write on the blog. I have had some fun things and experiences that I will share with you on my blog. Hope you are having a nice fourth of July weekend. 

Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky

When we were at Bernheim Forest this spring, we spent some time looking in the gift shop there. Being a home schooler I am always looking for good books or materials to make learning fun. While there I came upon the book Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky.by Thomas G.Barnes and S. Wilson Francis. It intrigued me to see full colored photos of native Kentucky wildflowers. I was not able to purchase the book at the time but jotted down the name and authors.

About a month ago my husband and I were on our early AM Saturday excursion to the downtown Lexington Farmer's Market. We went by a table which contained the exact same book I saw at Bernheim. What great luck, the author was there doing a book signing. Chuck and I spent some time talking with the author. He told us that he had spent many years traveling across the state taking the pictures in the book. He also had a book there which he has just recently published which not only talks about the wildflowers but techniques and places to photograph them. I had a hard time deciding between the two but finally chose the original book I saw at Bernheim. He then signed my new copy.

Since then, I have had time to read through and enjoy the book. Wildflowers are divided by seasons in which they bloom. The binding of the book is colored according to flower color to make it easier to find the flower in which you are looking to find. Each entry then contains a brief description of the flower and plant. It also lists the habitat and region that it is usually found along with the frequency that it occurs from common to rare. At the end of the book, it lists the plant families along with the species within that family found here in Kentucky.

If you live in the Kentucky region, this is a great reference book to have with you when exploring our many natural areas. I would highly recommend it. It can be found at many local bookstores.

Strawberry Bread

This was a hit at my sister's 40th birthday party over the weekend. Here is the recipe for all of you who requested it.

Strawberry Bread
3 cups flour
1 Tbls cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups fresh cut-up strawberries (or 10 oz frozen thawed and drained)

Put first three ingredients in large bowl. Stir together. Stir together next three ingredients in medium sized bowl. Combine wet ingredients with dry one. Stir just until moistened. Gently fold in strawberries. Pour into two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

You can make these ahead of time and freeze it. You can also make this using the same amount of raspberries.

Fruit Harvest

Two years ago, I redesigned our landscape and put in a more edible landscape plan. Instead of ornamental trees I put in dwarf fruit trees. I replaced and added foundational bush plantings that bear fruit. We installed two tiered strawberry beds along with a grape arbor and raspberry patch. I was able to squeeze quite a bit of fruit into our landscape. This year when we lost our maple tree, we replaced it with apple trees which will provide shade along with apples.

In our medium sized suburban yard I have a raspberry patch, 2 kinds of grapes, asparagus and rhubarb patch, 100 strawberry plants, 2 gooseberry, 1 currant, 3 cherry, 7 blueberry and 3 blackberry bushes, 2 pear, 1 nectarine, 1 plum, 1 apricot, 2 cherry, 1 almond and 1 peach tree and 2 semi-dwarf apple trees. This year the berries and some of the dwarf trees have started to bear fruit in their second year. I will never get huge crops off of them like I would if I could plant a larger grove of semi-dwarf and regular size trees but I still get enough for our family to eat fresh. The fruit is organic and freshly picked.

I never thought I would be able to produce so much fruit here at home. This year, we have started to benefit from our landscape redesign. Everyone should be able to include fruit in their landscape. It just takes some creativity. 

Busy Times

Sorry about the lapse in posts. It has been a very busy time for us. Last week was Vacation Bible Camp at our church. We offer an all day program with VBS in the AM followed by a day camp atmosphere in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun but took a lot of time.

Thursday, I headed to Ft. Wayne to spend time with the family. We celebrated my sister's 40th birthday in grand fashion with a princess party for friends and family. Good time was had by all. Sunday, I was able to spend part of the day with my Dad for Father's Day and then the other part with my husband. It was nice to be able to spend time with both of them on their special day.

Yesterday, I spent the day recuperating from a stomach bug. Today, I made chocolate goat milk soap with a good friend, Colleen and daughter Mary. We then went to Richmond to spend the afternoon with our friends on their farm for the rest of the day. Busy but fun times.

I will be posting this week but will have to take a break next week as we travel to Iowa where I will not have internet service. I will catch you up on our garden news tomorrow. 

Be Grateful

This was one of the challenges that I read in my daily devotional this morning. I always return to this when I get caught up in the trials of my life or are feeling sorry for myself. Being grateful is what simplicity is all about. It is looking at what you have, being satisfied with it and giving thanks for them. I have so many blessings and yet at times I feel myself dissatisfied. Listening to Mary and the rest of the youth tell their stories from the week of tornado clean-up they did last week, reminds me once again how truly blessed that I am. We have so much but yet I still get a case of the "poor mes" on occasion. True joy is finding peace with where you are in life and making the most of it. The "if onlys' never truly get you there. Take some time today, list out your many blessings and thank God for them. It will truly help you live a life of simplicity. 

Mary's Return

Mary and the rest of the Word of Hope Youth Group returned last night from their week long mission trip in Pisgah, Alabama. While there they did tornado clean-up. Mary was exhausted but so excited about the week that she had just experienced. She was so moved by the people she helped, not because she was helping them, but because of how wonderful the people were to them. She said they were so grateful for their help but she wishes that they had had time to do so much more. I am glad that she has had this experience as it has made a big impact on her. It reinforces how unimportant "things" really are in the big picture and to remember that they can disappear in a matter of minutes. What remains important are the friends and family who surround you. At the end, people will not remember how many things you had but what kind of person you were while on this earth. 

Nutritious Eggs

Mother Earth News in their April/May 2011 magazine has a great article titled Backyard Chicken Basics. I would recommend it to anyone starting out with backyard chickens. Here is a link to the article Backyard Chicken Basics . What I wanted to share with you in this post was their statistics of the increased nutrition found in a backyard egg from chickens eating bugs, greens and other veggies than the typical egg found at your local grocer. Here are the comparisons they shared of backyard vs. store.

1) 1/3 less cholesterol
2) 1/4 less saturated fat
3) 2/3 more vitamin A
4) 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
5) 3 times more vitamin E
6) 7 times more beta carotene
7) 4-6 times more vitamin D

Most of all, backyard chicken eggs just taste better. If you would like the benefits of backyard chicken eggs but don't want to raise chickens yourself. There are some alternatives. In Lexington, you can purchase them from several farmers at the Farmer's Market or Good Foods Coop also carries them. If you don't live locally, check out your local Farmer's Market or ask at your local health food or coop store. It will be worth the effort. 

Chicken Wrangling 101

If you had been around my house yesterday morning, you would have been able to watch me chase a 10 week old Buff Orpington around the yard. When I went to lift up the roof of the coop, she was waiting for me. Before I knew it she had jumped off the perch and into the yard. The chase was on.

She darted among the two coops, grape arbor and garden plants. I was trying not to chase her accidentally into the hedge near by as the large dog behind us would have enjoyed a chicken dinner on us. She was slick and darted to the left or right the minute I got close.

Finally, I had to go get Makenzie because Mary is gone this week on her mission trip. I told Makenzie to stand between the narrow opening between the two coops. I told her not to move. I then chased the chicken into the narrow opening. She was blocked from both directions. I grabbed her and put her back where she belonged.

The good thing about chickens is they will usually not venture far from the others. The only problem is there are too many other animals prowling around here to leave one out of the fenced in area. I'll be watching better this time when I open the coop. 

Cilantro

Cilantro is not something that my family grew when I was a kid and learning how to garden. I really like cilantro in my Mexican dishes and salsa but it took me a while to figure out how to grow it in Kentucky. I kept asking and experimenting until I figured it out. Here is a quick synopsis of what I learned through trial and error. 

My first attempt was trying to buy plants and transplant them. They almost immediately went to seed. I talked to friends and did some research. What I found out was that cilantro does not like to be transplanted and will almost always go quickly to seed when it is planted this way in the garden.

My next attempt was sowing seeds. I put it out in time to be ready when my tomatoes were ready so I could use it for salsa. It never seemed to do well. I then found out that it does not like our hot summers. Next, I tried it in the fall with some success. This year I did a spring planting of it and it did very well.

You can cut cilantro for a while as long as it stays cool. I did not do a good job of that this year. When I went out to look at it today, I realized that it was starting to flower which meant that it would be going to seed soon. I pulled all of the stems out and spent the morning stripping off the leaves and putting them in the dehydrator. After it is dehydrated, I will put it in a container and store it in the freezer. I will take some out as I need it through the year. It did not all fit in the first load so the leftover stems are sitting in a cup of water until the first batch is done. Cilantro will keep in a glass of water for a few days.

I am glad that I have finally been able to grow cilantro. I use enough of it through the year that I will also be doing a fall planting of it. Hopefully, it will also turn out well. 

Watering Efficiently

We have not had rain here now for almost 1 1/2 weeks which is a big change from this spring. We were only 7/10 of an inch away from the wettest spring ever here. Watering time has arrived especially since 90 degree temperatures seem to have arrived early. Here in Lexington we have to basically pay double for any water that we use. We pay a sewer fee based on the amount of water that we use whether it goes down the sewer or not. I have been working on cutting back on water usage for a while just due to cost but conserving water is also important. Here are some things that I do or am aspiring to do.

1) Install a rain barrel. My husband keeps promising me one but has not quite gotten around to completing this project.
2) My daughter has a small plastic pool she likes to play in. I water all of my potted plants out of it.
3) Leftover water in chicken and rabbit waterers goes on plants when I am dumping it out to put clean water in them.
4) I save cooking water as well as water from the tub and shower as I am heating up the water. I use this to water plants later.
5) I only water my garden 1x weekly and make sure it gets a full inch of water. This allows the roots to grow deeper and sustain the plant better.
6) I mulch around all plants with either wood chips (flower beds) or straw (garden).
7) I use native landscaping plants as much as possible. Once established they are very drought tolerant and require minimal care.
8) All of my annual flowers are in pots spaced throughout the yard. This allows for easy watering.

Hope some of these hints help. We have a long way to go here but each summer we get better at watering more efficiently.

Country Fair

One of the local Catholic churches here in Lexington has a country fair on their grounds. It has become a pretty big event. They have midway rides along with food booths, bingo and bands. We have not been for a few years because of our schedules. This year, we were in town and went last night with friends (leaving the children behind) and then with our youngest daughter Makenzie this afternoon for Children's Day.

We love going to festivals and carnivals through the year. Last night, Chuck and I even rode a few rides. Something we have not done for a while. Usually we go to these things to look at the booths, people watch and listen to the free music. Today, we let Makenzie pick out a couple of rides to do and we ate some ice cream at the end. The rest of the time we just had fun walking around looking at all of the sights.

Now, is the time to find out when your local fairs and festivals are this season. They can be inexpensive entertainment and usually your dollars support a local group or town.