Pics of my flock: Faverolles, Speckleds and Ameraucanas

[okiechick57]

Windy......... only one question
CAN I COME LIVE WITH YOU?

..........lovely place and beautiful chickens, I dream of a place not everyone can come visit easily

 

[Windy Ridge]

You're free to come visit (if you can find us) harhar.

Our house is relatively small and needs lots of work, but we bought the place for the secluded location and the acreage. We never intend to move again, so we plan to slowly make improvements as we can.

We'll just charge you two hatching eggs a night...

 

[eggzettera]

Windy have you ever eaten a paw paw? If so, what to they taste like? I keep hearing different accounts.....I tried to grow them a few times and they did not take....wondering if you have any past experience with them? Like to they really smell that bad?
TIA
Nadine

 

[Windy Ridge]

YUM. They're my absolute favorite.

I've never smelled the blossom; I understand they're not pleasant to smell. The fruit smells wonderful, though, and tastes like banana pudding--very tropical. My husband thinks they taste like a cross between bananas and mangoes; my mother thinks they taste like a cross between bananas and pineapple or strawberry. Just like with persimmons, they're better when almost overripe.

Once you've had one, you begin to wonder why more people don't try to grow them! The shelf life is not good, only a few days, which is why you probably can't get them in stores. A friend of ours hates pawpaws. She the only one I know who's tried one and didn't love it. She's also the only one I know who has her own pawpaw patch, so it works out for us. We think she's crazy. But she lets us come and gather up the fruit that she would otherwise toss, and I can preserves and chutney, and make pawpaw bread and ice cream.

We've saved a bunch of wild pawpaw seeds and have planted them everywhere on our acreage, hoping they'll come up. I've also started some seedlings that I've planted. We've had commercial varieties, too, that really do taste better. The fruits are MUCH larger with fewer seeds, and the flavor is more subtle. However, I'd be tickled pink if the wild ones sprouted, to be honest. We don't have the money at this point to purchase commercial sedlings, but any variety by Neal Peterson would be The Bomb. We sampled some of his fruit at a pawpaw festival and were amazed.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Beautiful!

I'm with you, Windy. We bought into a kinda crummy living situation this year with a beautiful piece of land, for similar reasons. We spent all summer gutting the living quarters and making it livable. Worth every minute so far!

Also I'm hoping to grow Pawpaw. Most likely I won't get much, if any, fruit, where we live, but I like a challenge and would love to know what they taste like.

 

[OHChick]

Windy, great snapshots! Looks like you have way more color going on there than we do in Central Ohio right now. Everything here is either dead and dried out or not turned yet. Gorgeous surroundings and gorgeous chickens.

 

[Windy Ridge]

We do have quite a bit of color, but we have a lot of springs in the hillsides, too. Just 10 miles off, there's a lot less color. I think our springs have helped keep the trees from experiencing the drought so much. I've heard our peak color this year is supposed to last a shorter time than usual.