Texas

[Teri Metcalf]

Found a Spiny Lizard in my bathroom sink this weekend.

Handsome boy (or girl)! How big?

 

[Teri Metcalf]

I just want to point out that BYC isn't selecting those ads. BYC has an area where a 3rd party advertiser (seems to be AdChoices) throws up content. BYC loads the main page and that section is filled in totally outside of BYC's immediate control.

Now AdChoices may have ratings for ads and BYC may/may not specify which content ratings can be displayed at their site but BYC hosts the 3rd party ads to get revenue to keep the site up. Hopefully they'll get AdChoices to remove the offensive ads (I'm not seeing them today myself). The ads are often based on the cookies in your browsing history. Today I'm actually seeing some for network domain registrars because that's what I was working on yesterday. Go search for something unique like "Nissan Leaf" on Google and click a couple of those pages. Then in the next day or two many of the ads you encounter will be advertising the Nissan Leaf! So be honest, who was looking on the web for ...

That must explain why I keep getting ads targeted at my age demographic, such as cosmetic surgery.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

Weighed my JS roo today. He is 5 1/2 months old and weighs, 8 pounds!


Here is a smarphone pic of him on the scale. He is so huge!

He's gorgeous! I'm impressed he is standing still on the scale for you.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

I hope so. I'm sick and tired of standing around holding a hose for them. I'm hoping next year I can get away with watering deeply every two weeks or less. My 2 acre property is mostly covered in big live oak and I find that very, very boring. No one in my neighborhood--all acreages out in the Hill Country--has anything other than live oak, cedar and occasionally Texas oak and crape myrtle. No color anywhere. I've tried to plant things that will have spring and fall color but are also natives--flame sumac, red buds, Mexican buckeye, bigtooth maple, Mexican plum, Texas ash, cedar elm. Each one of those 100 or so trees and shrubs also has a deer fence around them, too, except for the mountain laurels and oleander. It was a major undertaking to put them in last winter and spring.

I'm going to again plant wild flowers inside the deer fences and use them as a guide for watering. When do I plant wild flowers? Texas bluebonnets? I planted some bluebonnets from seed last year but they were a failure. I think I planted them too late.

I have not had success planting bluebonnets from seed. But I think you're supposed to plant them in the fall, so now is the time. I've heard that it is good to soak the seeds before putting them in the ground. They like full sun so be sure to find a sunny spot for them.

 

[TammyTX]

! So be honest, who was looking on the web for ...

Not me!! I have two of my own..!

 

[Teri Metcalf]

Something brilliant just happened.

Well, I told you all that I'd bought some better feed for the flock and I was just expecting some better egg production. Well, we haven't had any eggs, but that might be because you have to wait a week or so to see how it's working. So there's that.

But something else has been changing, too. I've always had two chickens, Cutie and Sir Cutie (I haven't actually come up with a name for him yet) who love to hop up on my shoulders or my head. They also like to sit in my lap and sleep while I pet them. That's been cool. But all of my other roosters and most of our hens don't like being near--or caught-- by me unless I have food.

Suddenly, after only three days of feeding them the new mix, they are coming up to me on their own accord. My kinda spazzy frizzle chicks are hopping up on my lap for a nap and some petting. One of my flighty game hens tried hopping on my lap. A little cockerel--that I haven't held since he was just a chick--jumped up on my shoulder and nuzzled my hair.

And finally, today took the cake. A big black Australorp roosters that normally hates to be touched at all hopped up on my arm. He sat there and let me pet him on his right side! (He's blind on his left eye, so if you touch him on the left he doesn't do anything except jump away. Normally, if you try to pet him on the right, he'll run away and screech.)

What a treat! I pet him and just enjoyed him being near me because I don't know if it will happen again. I'm just so happy to have them coming up to me. I'm pretty sure it's the feed because there haven't been any other changes lately. The feed seems to be the only catalyst. Eeek! I'm so happy!

I tried to follow your example this afternoon, and sat quietly on the bench watching the crew peck scratch up the wet lawn for succulent morsels. The two new redheads came right up, and one hoped up on the bench right next to me and nipped my knuckle--twice before I scolded her and shooed her away. You must have the patience of Job.

 

[akelley]

Not me!! I have two of my own..!

Bahahahaha!

 

[TammyTX]

Okay don't faint, but I have not heard of this soup. It looks delicious. I don't suppose you would give out the recipe?

Lisa

...or an invite?

 

[LBejaran]

I tried to follow your example this afternoon, and sat quietly on the bench watching the crew peck scratch up the wet lawn for succulent morsels. The two new redheads came right up, and one hoped up on the bench right next to me and nipped my knuckle--twice before I scolded her and shooed her away. You must have the patience of Job.

Not really, haha! I haven't had issues with roosters pecking me for a long time, probably since our first roosters (some full grown roos that were gifted to me by a person who was vegan and believed all animals were one in the same. Needless to say, that was not the case). One was evil, one was mean, and one was so calm, we thought it was a girl until it beat up his brothers and started calling the flock his harem. Well, those are long gone and all the roos we have now have been raised by us since they were chicks. However, they have never been so eager to be held.

I went to sit outside again a little while ago and he got up on top of an old metal tank (not sure what the heck it was for) and watched me. I held out my arm for him and he hopped on. Whenever I hold my babies, they tend to peck lightly at me, which I've generally associated with them telling me to feed them, haha! Most of the time, they'll just settle for petting until they get tired or want to go scratch around. This big rooster, though, seems to like pecking lightly at my shirt. So to appease him, I caught a grasshopper and fed him. He seemed content to just laze around after that.

I'm really thinking it's the change in food, though. Everyone is oddly calm and they will graze wherever I'm sitting, which is so odd, haha! I really feel like head rooster! If only they would stop following me to the patio whenever I come inside. I'd love to not have to clean it daily just because they want to wait for me to come back outside.

 

[TammyTX]

I have a really good biscuit recipe from America's Test Kitchen...or Cooks Country. It takes a little while because you roll the biscuits over and over into layers, but they go from about 1/2 inch to 2 inches in the oven. As a matter-of-fact, if you use too narrow of a biscuit cutter they fall over! Do not open the oven during baking.

FLAKY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
Makes 12 biscuits. Published January 1, 2006.
The dough is a bit sticky when it comes together and during the first set of turns. Set aside about 1 cup of extra flour for dusting the work surface, dough, and rolling pin to prevent sticking. Be careful not to incorporate large pockets of flour into the dough when folding it over. When cutting the biscuits, press down with firm, even pressure; do not twist the cutter. The recipe may be prepared through step 2, transferred to a zipper-lock freezer bag, and frozen for several weeks. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before proceeding.

***MY NOTE: THE SECRET TO THE FLAKE SEEMS TO BE THE COLDER THE BUTTER STAYS, THE BETTER –AND- YOU SHOULD SEE CHUNKS OF BUTTER IN THE DOUGH WHEN YOU ROLL IT OUT***

**Biscuits not as many flaky layers when recipe was doubled.**

2 ½

cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus additional flour for work surface (I’ve had the BEST luck using 9.1 ounces of bread flour/3.4 ounces cake flour)
1

tablespoon baking powder
½

teaspoon baking soda
1

teaspoon table salt
2

tablespoons vegetable shortening , cut into 1/2-inch chunks
8

tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cold, lightly floured and cut into 1/8-inch slices (Do NOT use Falfurias butter…they don’t rise as well)
2

tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
1 1/4

cups low-fat buttermilk , cold

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

2. Add shortening to flour mixture; break up chunks with fingertips until only small, pea-sized pieces remain. Working in batches, drop butter slices into flour mixture and toss to coat; pick up each slice of butter and press between floured fingertips into flat, nickel-sized pieces (see illustration at right). Repeat until all butter is incorporated; toss to combine. Freeze mixture (in bowl) until chilled, about 15 minutes.

3. Put down plastic wrap over counter using the wet/wipe stick method. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of extra flour across area; gently spread flour across work surface with palm to form thin, even coating. Add all but 2 tablespoons of buttermilk to flour mixture (I HAVE NEVER HAD TO USE THE WHOLE EXTRA 2 TBSP); stir briskly with fork until ball forms and no dry bits of flour are visible, adding remaining buttermilk as needed (dough will be sticky and shaggy but should clear sides of bowl). With rubber spatula, transfer dough onto center of prepared work surface, dust surface lightly with flour, and, with floured hands, bring dough together into cohesive ball.

4. Pat dough into approximate 10-inch square; roll into 18 by 14-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick, dusting dough and rolling pin with flour as needed. Following illustrations below, using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, fold dough into thirds, brushing any excess flour from surface; lift short end of dough and fold in thirds again to form approximate 6 by 4-inch rectangle. Rotate dough 90 degrees, dusting work surface underneath with flour; roll and fold dough again, dusting with flour as needed.

5. Roll dough into 10-inch square about 1/2 inch thick; flip dough and cut nine 3-inch rounds with floured biscuit cutter, dipping cutter back into flour after each cut. Carefully invert and transfer rounds to ungreased baking sheet, spaced 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps into ball; roll and fold once or twice until scraps form smooth dough. Roll dough into 1/2-inch-thick round; cut three more 3-inch rounds and transfer to baking sheet. Discard excess dough.

6. Brush biscuit tops with safflower oil. Bake, without opening oven door, until tops are golden brown and crisp, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 to 10 minutes before serving.