Michigan

[Opa]

I awoke at my normal time of 4:30 but decided to try going back to bed rather than putting on a pot of coffee. When I finally got up again at 6:30 I felt like my day was already behind schedule. Opened the thread and found I was 65 posts behind.

Mom I loved the story of your daughter's interpretation of the Silverware war. Sometimes how or what a child hears can be pretty funny. I remember my youngest commenting on the Kenny Rogers song "Lucille". He thought Lucille was a bad person to just up a leave her 500 children.

My trip to the ENT and the audiologist went about like I expected. I am going to need to spend about $6000. My hearing loss varies depending upon the range of the sound. I guess it is called a sloping loss from moderate to profound. The greatest loss is in the range of most women's and children's voices. When my oldest son called to find out the results he wanted to know why that was necessarily a bad thing.

Speaking of my oldest son, he once commented that while he loves where they live in southwest Missouri, one of the downsides is living so far from me. There are so many things that I do that he is now doing and living closer where I could help would cut down on the learning curve.

I butcher my own venison, make a variety of sausages, smoke all types of meat, fish, and fowl, and I been canning fruits, vegetables, and meat for over 60 years. Joe always calls me before he undertakes a canning project. I think he is fully capable of handling it on his own but his calling is probably his way of making me feel good and important.

Canning isn't really that difficult. It can be rather time consuming but the feeling of satisfaction you derive adds to the reward. Knowing the contents and quality of the food I am going to serve my family has always been the driving force behind my efforts.

A good quality pressure cooker is a wise investment. The brand of the one I bought in 1970 is "American". It has no rubber gaskets to deteriorate but depends up precisely manufactured parts to seal. The price depending on size starts at $200 but when you divide that by the 40+ years you will use it it is quite reasonable.

One $6 investment can take all the worries out of your canning experience and that is Ball's Blue Book. I would recommend getting a copy and reading it cover to cover a couple of times so that you are were informed on the various types of food preservation. Once you have decided which method is appropriate for the food you are preserving follow their directions explicitly and you will be more than satisfied with the results.

 

[taprock]

running the cold water over your hands before and a litte during the cutting of the onions will also stop the funky smell from sticking to your hands. It's the only thing i know of that will, i love (cooked) onions, the smell that seems to last for days, notsomuch.

Wash your hands with salt and it takes care of the smell.

For those of you who record eggs, do you count eggs that were laid but eaten by chickens? I was in the coop in the evening, medicating birds when most were roosted. I am looking over and see my Cornish lay an egg on the roost that is a soft shell that breaks as it hits the ground. In a minute flat the other birds had the remains of the egg gone. They just pounced on it. My one girl grabbed and ran with the membrane/shell part like it was a trophy. She ran off and ate it. I have also had two eggs in the nest boxes that were broken and partially eaten. The bedding was out of the box so I would guess they cracked and they were nibbled on since they were not entirely gone.

My babies in the little coop are very adventurous. I did the roosts a little strange in there. They alternate _ l _l at different level so the young birds can hop up without a ladder. I hear lots of peeping and go to look and find two of the younger chicks have gotten to the top roost but don't know how to get back down and seem scared to jump. I got them down and put them back in the box with mom. I have to get a picture of the Polish cross, it is adorable with a little spike.

Off for my coffee. Everything was really white with frost the morning but the sun is melting it quickly - you can see exactly where the sun has been so far.

 

[SillyChicken]

Which direction? I'm 1/2 hr south west of A2 ... I have salmon faverolle eggs.

Anyone within about 1/2 hour of Ann Arbor have fertile eggs to sell? I have a broody I feel bad for.

 

[Mish]

You can all take a deep breath. We're small scale, but not stupid. We feed large rounds. LOL! We used to feed small squares and would stack a year's worth of hay in the barn in a day. It wasn't H-E-double-hockeysticks, but I don't miss it.

Olive, You may have to go back to the square bales. I hear that the round bales are going to be illegal since it's not good for the livestock. They're not getting a square meal. Haha (sorry for the bad joke)

 

[SillyChicken]

Olive,
You may have to go back to the square bales. I hear that the round bales are going to be illegal since it's not good for the livestock.
They're not getting a square meal. Haha
(sorry for the bad joke)

 

[Chickmate]

For those of you who record eggs, do you count eggs that were laid but eaten by chickens?

I keep a record of my eggs and I count everything with a hard shell. So far I have not had any eaten by the chickens unless I gave it to them.

Another cold and dreary day so far, but I think the sun is supposed to come out later. I was up early today, at least early for me: 7:00 a.m. I wake up very early every morning, like around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m., but if I don't get up I can fall back to sleep again. Since I'm retired and don't HAVE to get up, I don't. I waited 32 years to be able to do that and it sure feels good.

Daron, I like the name Bessie or Bella. My youngest cat is named Bella and Bessie is . . . well, a good cow name.

Coffee is good this morning. Nothing special like Starbucks, but a good med-dark Maxwell House roast. Think I'll have a couple of eggs this morning as well. I only have them once or twice a week. I hard boiled 18 eggs and made deviled eggs for my Bible Study group yesterday and they went over pretty well. I added Miracle Whip, Kraft Horsey Sauce, finely chopped onions and dill weed in the yolks and it gave them a little kick.

 

[1muttsfan]

Square meal

I have a book called Putting Food By that I live by when canning

She looks like a Bessie to me to, Farmerboy

Sold 4 hens, they are leaving tomorrow, now I don't feel so bad about the extra 2-3 dozen eggs coming for my incubator

Opa, there are a lot of things nowadays I wish I couldn't hear - campagning politicians, babies crying on airplanes, most news shows

 

[chickflick]

Newbies!!

I do count the broken eggs.... they laid them, so it's counted.
Have a good day. I'm off to Lansing to visit with the kids and grandkids.

 

[babigyrl22]

Well, if you ever want to learn, let me know. I can throughout the growing season beginning with jams when the berries start ripening and heading right into the winter with sauces, condiments, meats, etc.

Olive - I may take you up on this. My MIL sent me her pressure canner. It kind of scares me. I need to go have the guage checked but I just know I am going to blow up my kitchen.

How far are you from Grand Rapids?


I have to say you guys made for a very entertaining morning. HAHAHA Thanks!

Mish -

That was so corny.....I loved it. You couldn't help yourself could you?

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

I like Elspeth... I read somewhere once that it means fat cow... since then I can only find that it means God as my vow...

Anyone what to help me think of a name for the heifer?
I am thinking of Rapunzel, but am open to others.

This is her-