Sunday, August 28, 2011

Green Eggs and Ham

Actually, no.

No green eggs.

They are blue. I thought they would be teal......that's what the blurb said above the chicks at the farm store.

But since we are into soft grey/blues at Litengard that's what the eggs turned out to be.....grey/blue. They are just beautiful. One of the Ameracuna's is laying brown eggs (false advertising!!!), but the other is laying these beautiful light blue eggs. And they go so nicely, visually, with the brown eggs.

Jon wants to know how they taste. I tell him I'm still just looking at them. They are so pretty I don't want to crack them open and use them. But I guess I will have to get over their outside beauty and experience their Omega 3 nutrition shortly.



The gardens at Litengard and behind 42 are producing prolifically. I have about 12 heirloom tomato plants and everyday I make pasta sauce for the freezer. Danica put me onto this method last year. I roast up the tomatoes, garlic, onion, green peppers, all sorts of herbs and at different times anything else that I might have too much of such as zucchini, and eggplant. Put it through the food processor and it makes the most delicious pasta sauce.

I've been digging up loads of potatoes and I have a ton of winter squash, acorn, butternut, blue hubbard and then there were the volunteer pumpkins that just sprouted up in the most inconvenient places.

One of the guests at Litengard put me onto Lactofermentation as an alternative way of processing all the produce. It was the way ancient cultures processed veggies and the result is supposed to be very good for one's digestive system. I "did" up some green beans and cucumbers the other day. It's quick and easy, and I have heard it tastes great. They are fermenting right now on my counter. I'll let you know the results. Everything gets pickled. Nancy tried some shredded carrots last year and loved them. I've got lots of carrots and beets coming too.




These beans were sort of hidden behind the chicken wire so they grew to these ridiculous lengths (and are totally unusable). Thirteen inches! I wonder if that is a Guiness World record?

Growing things. It's a God thing. Babies, gardens, poultry, friendships, homes. It's put there by God and it's so much fun to work together with Him and see the results!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Rigmar Wants Children

For almost three weeks now, Rigmar has sat in the nesting box.

At first I was concerned that she might be ill. But a quick call to the in house vet and a frantic email to her previous owner assured me that she was not in any physical danger or distress.

I was instructed that what she is doing is "brooding". She wants children. It's only natural. We all, (or most of us) want to have some children of our own. And I guess chickens are no different.

But she's pathetic now. When one of her friends lays an egg, she immediately goes and sits on it. "Maybe someone's eggs are fertile!"

I try to shoo her off the nest and get her to go outside, which she does but only grudgingly. Then, in a big huff and lots of clucking and noise, she races back to the coop, jumps inside and back in the nesting boxes.

The rest of the hens think she is crazy and are ignoring her. When she does get down briefly she puffs herself up to twice her original size and struts around making loud noises. The others think she's ostentatious and try to peck her so she's not so puffed up. They don't have the mother instincts yet.

But, what to do, what to do. I think she is really suffering. We take all the eggs each day and she is desperate. Maybe Mr. T., who reads this blog, can recommend something or can tell me where I might get a couple of fertilized eggs. Perhaps if she could hatch a baby or two she could revert back to her tender, quiet self.

But, maybe not. Children are sometimes more than we expect. They're cute and adorable as infants. Sometimes they're messy and sometimes demanding. They need to be taught manners and rules of home life. But they're certainly fun...and loving...and inquisitive...and imaginative....and complicated....and....
absolutely lovely.

I think that is so in the chicken world too. There is a certain order to their living out there in the barn. A pecking order, so to speak. So if Rigmar ever gets to hatch a chick or two, we'll see how she handles motherhood.