Michigan

[NovaAman]

Welcome Sweetpea

 

[EeyoreD]

I like Schwarz! How is that pronounced? I have a lot of German in me, and know a few German words.

?

 

[Farmerboy16]

Hello from Northeast Michigan! I have some beautiful willows in my yard, though one lost a huge amount of limbs during a pretty big snowstorm we had out here last month. It took our powerline out, and the down line fell across our truck and was blocking us in for a day. Hopefully the willow will recover.

*Bell came to mind for a name when I saw the picture of the heifer.

I just purchased my first home 6 months ago, near the Huron National Forest (pretty much in the forest.) We got six baby chicks today, and they are going to make a great addition to our household. I have 2 golden bantams, 2 barred rock bantams, and 2 that I can not remember what they are, poor babies. I'm going to try to get some pictures up for identification, but until then, they are black, with a brown coloring on their wings. One of them is the little gal peeking up in my profile picture. I'm so excited to have these little peepers!

to this wonderful thread! I am from West Michigan. My neighbor had told me that its almost impossible to kill a willow tree, when I was worried about my tree a few years ago. It still alive. Bell is a nice name, my first laying hen's name was Isa Belle.

 

[RaZ]

Oh, I love Golden Willows! I got one for my 15th birthday in November, for it is my favorite type of tree. I was drawn to this tree on the other side of the road when I was a child, and love it.

The trees I have are not the same 'golden" willows. That's a problem with using common names for plants. For example, the native "weeping willow" aka "golden weeping willow" is Salis alba L. var. vitellina (L.) Stokes cv Pendula which is also known by 3 other names in published literature.

What I have is an un-patented hybrid and it is not a weeping variety. It's still a pretty tree.

A little factoid: willows are host plants for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Red-Spotted Purple and Viceroy butterflies.

 

[EeyoreD]

Or maybe rubbing an orange peel behind the dog's ear.???

Brilliant!! Ok instead of behind the ear I rubbed it all over her head, ears, snout, on her teeth, etc. But still, no carcass smell! THANK YOU! (and chicken grandma thanks for the tomato juice idea but I didn't have any juice and I was darned if I was going to waste my precious few jars of canned garden tomatoes on her stinky head. Man I can't wait until fresh tomatoes are in the garden again, right now the canned jars are like GOLD)

 

[RaZ]

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-

You could name her "Pork Chop" and confuse the city slickers.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Quote:
You could name her "Pork Chop" and confuse the city slickers.

I am not naming her after a food! we already have a steer named ''Pancake'', and I thought that it was nuts to begin with. BTW, I would like one of your willow cuttings, just to see how it grows.

 

[chicken grandma]

Quote:

(and chicken grandma thanks for the tomato juice idea but I didn't have any juice and I was darned if I was going to waste my precious few jars of canned garden tomatoes on her stinky head. Man I can't wait until fresh tomatoes are in the garden again, right now the canned jars are like GOLD)

I just used the last of my tomatos today! I pick them and roast them and then freeze them! Then I add them to chili and Indian food, serve them with meat.
Yes, I am looking forward to planting more.

Belle the cow? Maybelle? (really pancake and pork chop are great names. How about waffle? or Hamburg?)

 

[EeyoreD]

I just used the last of my tomatos today! I pick them and roast them and then freeze them! Then I add them to chili and Indian food, serve them with meat.
Yes, I am looking forward to planting more.

Belle the cow? Maybelle? (really pancake and pork chop are great names. How about waffle? or Hamburg?)

Oh I never thought to roast and freeze! I have about a quart of frozen grape tomatoes (just frozen on a sheet and dumped in a ziploc) and 4 jars of standard canned toms. The roasting first sounds great! (I often throw my frozen grape toms on broiled stuff, in soups, dressing up spag sauce, wherever but the roasting sounds like added flavor) What do you do? Just put them on a sheet and roast and dump the tomatoes and juice in a freezer container? DO you skin before you roast or blacken it while you roast?

(In case you haven't noticed I have some bizarre passion for tomatoes. I've always liked them but having a garden after a long time... I can't even eat them from the store now. And I wasn't kidding that garden tomatoes are gold. I would sell my soul right now for a tomato that tasted like a tomato that I could eat like an apple right now. I know it's going to be several months before my plants lovingly sowed inside actually yield.)

 

[chicken grandma]

EeyoreD -
I love Michigan produce and tomatoes is one of my favorites! Roasting the tomatoes before using them makes the flavor POP!

Here is what I do -
1, Quarter large tomatoes and halve roma tomatoes.
2. Lay them on a cookie sheet that has been coated with olive oil.
3. Then I sprinkle garlic powder on them and maybe a tiny bit of ground pepper and I bake them at 300 degrees for about one and a half hours and then check on them each 15 mintues until they are done to my liking. Usually it takes 2-3 hours before I feel they are dried/but not too dry. The sundried tomatoes in the store are too dry for me. I don't drizzle with olive oil (too greasy) and I prefer not to use salt.
4. After they cool on the cookie sheet, I layer the tomatoes on tin foil, place them in a tupperware and freeze. Then all winter long I reach in the tupperware and lift a layer of tomatoes on the tin foil and add them to my cooking.


Here is a great PASTA sauce idea.
Take onions in quarters, bell peppers in halves and tomatoes in quarters. Place on a cookie sheet that has olive oil on it. Sprinke with garlic powder (not salt). Bake for an hour or an hour and a half at 300 degrees. Remove the onions early if they are getting too crispy or dry. Place the roasted veggies in the blender with some fresh basil and puree. Add salt to taste. My kids won't eat jarred sauce any more...........