Surviving Minnesota!

[I Love Layers]

hey the ash are finally starting to come back along the creek bottoms!

 

[duluthralphie]

hey the ash are finally starting to come back along the creek bottoms!

That's great, our ash our dying from an "ash borer" or some other bug. I think they said 15 years or so they would be nearly gone.....OR that could be some DNR government employee wanting more money for his department fear mongering, it is hard to tell the difference these days..




I think I have been overly harsh on the "flavor of the month" Creamettes. They are the only chickens keeping my egg production where it should be. I have almost half my eggs I am selling today being blue. Judy said this morning it is a good thing we have the blue egg layers! I only 3-4 of them and they are doing as good as the other 20....


I think my white sports will become the layers of choice for most major egg production facilities in a few years...

I will be raising CLB white sports on Hawaii..... in my beach side mansion.

 

[duluthralphie]

Jerry or EJB, I picked my "pear" crop. I let it go too long and they are overly ripe. I picked a couple a week ago that were just short of ripe. I guess a week is a long time in pear time..


Anyways my question is the size of the pears. Are Ure pears always small or is that just because of first year and being transplanted this year? They were about the size of a small egg,

 

[Bogtown Chick]

My FuFu is on her Summer Hot Streak. She is showing my standards how it can be done in the heat of the summer. Thank goodness for Dixie Doo. She may be a FuFu...but right now she's putting the rest to shame. She's been a free ranging fool with all the young ones too. She is all over the yard. Shucking weed seeds, grass seeds, moth eating machine.



Found these guys at the Campground in Ely. Chanterelles? They are still in my fridge. I'm a chicken...

I've looked at a million photos of chanterelles and I'm sure they are it....but still chicken.

Cool photo of the Ghost flowers or Indian Pipe, Jerry.

Ralphie....lucky Grandkids spending time with G'pa! They're at the farm right? lots of fun there.

We have not had much for hawk/eagle flyovers--knock on wood-- with all the teenage sized birds I'm a bit leary of it all. I watched a sparrow dive bomb Junior while he was eating Grass. he didn't even see it coming.

Last night I weeded landscaping rocks and the chicken's herb and flower garden. It was fun watching how the little ones are getting to know the yard...and testing the different weed seeds, herb seeds, flowers, etc. I gave the ariel predator call *** twirrrrrl*** and June and Patsy were the only two who high tailed for the bushes. Junior and the Illini will need more practice with that...watching the older hens or what have you....Or June and Patsy I guess. I did see Junior look up at some high flying birds and keep and eye on them (too high to see---maybe a gull type heading to the lake). In true Roo fashion he is very curious about everything...taking the lead and testing things. He has not offered to share...but I've heard him bick-bick as he's enjoying the treat himself. LOL. I imagine that will all come eventually.

The grass is supergreen and I love having the chooks out on the yard right now. Flowers blooming....These are nice months for the birds. Love it....

 

[Minniechickmama]

@Bogtown Chick I know Dixie is no Spring chicken, so that is even more impressive for her to be cranking the eggs out now. I found last year that if it hadn't been for my Silkies I wouldn't have had eggs coming at all. About the end of July almost everyone else up and quit laying. I am not getting much right now for the number of hens I have, but the pullets have begun laying and they make up for the number, although the size is still pullet.

You all have a lovely day. I went for a walk this morning and watched all the butterflies flitting about. There are a lot of them this year! That is a good thing too, I think!
Time to get more mowing done before the rain moves in today.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have no doubt those are chatrelles. Look at the false gills. The color and the trumpet shape.


I would eat them. Cut one in 4 pieces and fry it in butter or olive oil with a little onion or garlic just a small piece for each family member. We try small pieces of each new one before eating a whole meal. Just incase we have a normal food allergy to it.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

@Bogtown Chick I know Dixie is no Spring chicken, so that is even more impressive for her to be cranking the eggs out now. I found last year that if it hadn't been for my Silkies I wouldn't have had eggs coming at all. About the end of July almost everyone else up and quit laying. I am not getting much right now for the number of hens I have, but the pullets have begun laying and they make up for the number, although the size is still pullet.

You all have a lovely day. I went for a walk this morning and watched all the butterflies flitting about. There are a lot of them this year! That is a good thing too, I think!
Time to get more mowing done before the rain moves in today.

June and July--> No eggs for us. Dixie was brooding, and the others are getting to be older and a bit spent. The influx of newbies coming into POL this fall will be a nice change up. Dixie I believe, when I got her from you...I estimated her to be the same age as my first brood. So I believe she is 4. My mind is always thinking about things like this...but I think the broodiness/hormones on and off keeps the fertility tract healthier, IMHO. And of course, I suppose eggs coming down the line for longevity.

I know she doesn't have that fluffy of a crest, Minnie...but I've since learned that her beautiful mulberry/black skin as a buff colored hen was no small feat on your part. Hard to get that coloring, so I've been told.

Ralphie. I will try one of those chanterelles tonight. I also got a "Yuppers" from Mike the Minnesota Mushroom guy on his facebook page. Feeling less chicken...LOL.

 

[jerryse]

Jerry or EJB, I picked my "pear" crop. I let it go too long and they are overly ripe. I picked a couple a week ago that were just short of ripe. I guess a week is a long time in pear time..


Anyways my question is the size of the pears. Are Ure pears always small or is that just because of first year and being transplanted this year? They were about the size of a small egg,

I believe Ure pears are a Euro x Harbin pear . Yes always small . Harbin is a species and the most cold hardy . Euro pears ripen from the core out . They do not tree ripen very well . Best picked before ripe and then ripen off the tree . We used to wrap them in newspaper to ripen before canning . Some claim refrigeration for a few days to a week first . The exception are sugar type pears like Seckle . They ripen pretty good on the tree .

 

[jerryse]

Harvesting pears is tricky because they have to ripen out of the tree. If left to ripen on the tree, they will develop a mealy texture. If left longer, they will be rotting from the inside. As a general rule, once the skin starts changing colour (they should still be very hard), harvest them and store them in your fridge for a few days or more. This way, they will keep for a longer period. When you want to eat some, take them out of the fridge and let them ripen at room temprature for a few days. To assess that your pear is ripe, apply gentle pressure on the flesh just below the stem. If it is still very hard, it is not ripe yet. If it is soft (but not too much) it is ready!

 

[duluthralphie]

Harvesting pears is tricky because they have to ripen out of the tree. If left to ripen on the tree, they will develop a mealy texture. If left longer, they will be rotting from the inside. As a general rule, once the skin starts changing colour (they should still be very hard), harvest them and store them in your fridge for a few days or more. This way, they will keep for a longer period. When you want to eat some, take them out of the fridge and let them ripen at room temprature for a few days. To assess that your pear is ripe, apply gentle pressure on the flesh just below the stem. If it is still very hard, it is not ripe yet. If it is soft (but not too much) it is ready!

I blew this years crop then. I should have picked them last week. I was curious about the size because they had some pears at the Benton County fair and they were small too. I suppose us zone 3 people will never get large pears. You teach me so much.

But I wanted giant juicy pears!