The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[CapricornFarm]

Hello! The hummingbirds are back and i am loving it!

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Punkin chunkin is where they make a big cannon and launch pumpkins to see how far they go! Really funny the first time you see it!

Like combine demolition derby.
That's so hilarious!

 

[Blooie]

Hello! The hummingbirds are back and i am loving it!

BRAT!!!!

 

[bruceha2000]

I kind of figured that! What's not to love about garden ripe tomatoes? !

If you are my DW, pretty much everything. She isn't a tomato person.

 

[ShrekDawg]

English breakfast is just plain black tea. Tea is shaken through various sized screens. English breakfast is the full leaf that doesn't make it through the 1st screen. At the bottom of the screens there's dust. That dust is orange pekoe.
Earl grey is black tea with bergamot (usually added as an essential oil).

Did you know that black tea, green tea and white tea are the same tea leaves? Black tea leaves are crushed/crunched when the leaves are picked. This releases the oils from the leaves and increases the fermentation. Green tea leaves are only slightly bruised, so less oil is released and it therefore doesn't ferment as much. White tea leaves are left alone so little or no oil is released.

Can you tell that I was my district's tea expert when I worked at Starbucks?

Thanks for all the info! Never knew any of that.

Must admit I feel slightly lied to though lol I thought they were all different

Good Evening Friends

Catch up time for me!

DMC Nope, I have not told my current employer that I am looking elsewhere .. to be honest I think they may try and talk me in to staying and I am passed that point; not much they can do to make me change my mind I think .. you know when you are just at that stage you have had enough? Time for a change.

Hey Deb, thank youi! I am pleased you are liking the new greets. As you know, I have so much going on at the moment and I am having trouble keeping up with the greets and made the decision that I just can’t do everything and while I will still do some greets, I am not going to attempt to greet everyone as I have in the past. Anyways, I wanted something that was still welcoming but a bit easier on me, especially when they are already on page 3 etc .. so, I had the idea to share some pictures from home

I hope you have some success with Kendra Blooie; you are an awesome grandmother!

Great poo pile Cap! LOL

I did not have a great start to my day, I went downstairs to find that Jessie [FIL’s dog] had taken it upon herself to try and make a bed in my raised vegetable garden and had killed off three of the five capsicum and chilli plants I had growing there by either digging them up or burying them under the dirt and they were doing really well This is the second time she has done this in that garden, plus trying to dig a hole under a couple of my favourite plants, exposing roots etc. I spend most mornings filling in some hole or other she has dug. I was actually so upset, I sat down on the step and cried .. I know, sounds silly right? But, as I explained to hubby, the garden is my sanctuary and I love and care for all the plants in it .. to walk down and see the devastation is heartbreaking and on top of that, the garden is the one place I have which is mine and in a way, I do not even have that cos the dog can destroy it at will

I put the two plants I managed to save into pots and put the pots in the raised bed so that she can not try and dig in it again. However, she will probably now just turn her attention elsewhere and destroy something else

Anyways, moving on … a few random photos to share. When we moved in to what is now our bedroom the carpet was so feral we ripped it up and tipped it .. this is what we have had as a bedroom floor for over 8 months:

View attachment 1349258

Today, we put down a new one! Yes, we are exhausted! :

View attachment 1349259

We saw the flooring on our previous trip to Townsville {Easter} and it was reduced from $60 a carton of 12 to $10 a carton so we grabbed 6 cartons. Instead of $360 our new floating timber floor cost us $60! {plus some underlay}.

When hubby was in Townsville yesterday, he bought me a present! A chicken door stop .. not a chance my chicken is going on the floor!!

View attachment 1349260

My desert rose is flowering! Just hope the dog does not dig it up!!

View attachment 1349261

Sorry to hear about the dog destroying your garden!

Love the flooring though and what a bargain!

Good morning all!

@Michelle Farmer-Brown you beat me to the tea questions. You could have worked at our tea & spice shop in Key West instead of evil Starbucks.

@Teila so sorry about the dog messing up your garden. Crying is understandable, how frustrating Congrats on the new flooring, that was a great sale. Cute chicken doorstop too!

I'm going to work for a few hours today at the golf course pro shop. Still no word on when the restaurant will be able to open. Things are still stuck between the food supplier and the company (accounting dept.) we work for.

Time for another cup of coffee!

Sorry about all the trouble you're having with the course and restaurant still!

I understand Starbucks is closing down for a while to teach their employees to be sensitive? Or something or other.

From the little bit I heard about it, there was an "incident" at one of their stores. I guess employees at all stores are to receive some sensitivity training for one day. Don't really know all the details.

My dislike for them goes way back for other reasons.

Yep. Apparently, a couple of young black men went into a Starbucks in an affluent area and were just sitting at a table, without ordering anything. They were there by prior arrangement to meet someone, who hadn't gotten there yet. The manager got prickly and called the police, and had them arrested for trespassing - even as the guy they were there to meet arrived.

Would the same thing have happened to a gaggle of skinny white girls? Yeah, someone was definitely working with a bias.

@Teila I must admit, when I heard you were moving, not just into your FIL's neighborhood, but into his house, I wondered how that was going to work for you. It's hard enough for an adult child who moves back home - and they grew up with that person!

I've been down that road with my own animals sometimes; I remember looking at a couple of rescued Belgian Shepherds who were sitting in the middle of the wreckage of about a hundred dollars' worth of pansies that I had been growing, and asking them, "you are trying to find out just how much I love you, aren't you?"

Good call on the pots - the dog is unlikely to try to bed down in one of them.

@Blooie - did I ever tell you about going through the grocery store when my son was a toddler? One time, when he was somewhere around 2, he was in one of his rare cooperative moods, and was pointing out the items on the shelves that he recognized.

(Understand, if I had asked him, "what's this?" he would probably have shut down on me, but he was volunteering, so I was more than glad to have him exercising his vocabulary - Heaven knows, it could use it!)

We get to the paper product aisle, and he starts pointing to the pictures on the toilet paper packages:
"Bear," he says.
"Yep, that's a bear," I agree.
"Kitty!"
"That it is. What a pretty kitty."
"Baby!"
"That does look like a baby, doesn't it? Right again."

And so we go, until we get to the paper towels. Remember the Brawny paper towels guy - not the brunette, the blond lumberjack? Spud pointed right at him, and said gleefully, "Daddy!"
I somehow managed not to laugh and said, "yes, he does look a bit like your daddy, doesn't he?"

When hubby got home that night, I told him, "Spud saw his daddy at the grocery store today."

Wow that's ridiculous :/ i hooe they got fired. And how is it trespassing if its a public building?

And LOL that is a great story!

Woke up to frost this am again, but hopefully it's the last one.

Will be breeding Rhode Island White chickens and my turkeys. My hollands are already in their breed pen. I've gotten enough genetic diversity into my duck flock this year that I don't feel a need to isolate them, but rather let nature dictate the outcome. That could be a bad choice, but we're gonna give it a try. Decided not to breed or hatch del's this year. Hopefully next year I can get more breeding pens built and in place.

Nice! What kinds of ducks do you have?

If the commute to the golf course would be onerous, I can't see her making it to work in Key West!


"incident"? Yeah, what @Bunnylady said. In Philadelphia. Apparently they were there a couple of hours and asked to use the restroom. Told to buy something or leave. They didn't because they were supposed to meet someone for business purposes (guess the guy was really late!) Cops were called and arrested them for trespassing, didn't even talk to them about why they were hanging around. Nope no racial bias there So the president of Starbucks decided the entire employee population needs a little training. And yes the manager of that store was unemployed pretty much immediately.


How did he take that???

That's absurd!

Michelle, district tea expert indeed! I knew absolutely none of that, and I'm a tea drinker. I just found one I liked and stuck to it. After drinking loose EB tea, the thought of going back to using a tea bag isn't real appealing. No idea if there really is any difference, but it FEELS like there is and that's enough for me. Tea snob?

Teila, that's a shame about the dog deciding he liked your garden as much as you do - but in a slightly different way. I think the most frustrated I ever got gardening was when Evan, who was then about 4, decided to help me with mine. He'd been helping me weed and Ken called me into the house for a minute. Yep, you all know where this is going, don't you? An entire row of beets...gone. Some other plants I could have put back and nursed along but not a root crop. He was so proud of himself, with his red stained little fingers, but honestly for just one split second I wanted to chop off his hands with dull axe! If you know how temperature sensitive beet plants are, you know that trying to replant in the summer is pretty useless...they like it very cool to start . So we had iddy biddy tiny little beets for dinner that night. But it was Evan...he was little, and didn't know any better. Love for him was greater than love for beets.

The new floor is beautiful! What a bargain!

Debby, you got snow? We just got blue skies, sunshine, and wind. Seems to be the formula for us the last week or so. We have to cross the Big Horns tomorrow for a brunch and then Ken has a meeting right after that, so if it's nice I suppose the wives will explore the shops in Sheridan. If it's blustery and nasty, they can go and I'll stay in the lodge building and read or work on my quilt.

Be nice if the supplier and the accounting department could get their poop in a group. <Sigh> Gotta be irritating as all get-out to be ready to go and have nothing to go with!

I don't do greets. I suppose I should, but they are always covered better than I could so I leave it to others. Bad attitude? I do go through New Posts and when I see someone with a question I think I can help with, I chime in, and I do try to notice how long they've been members and extend a welcome if they are new. But I'd never be able to keep up with all the new members, so I don't even try.

Bob, some photos of those birds in their breeding colors would be lovely! Hint hint!

I know I missed folks....you all go so fast I can't keep up!

I imagine loose leaves are definitely better. I'm too nervous to try it lol

I've been thinking about making my own tea. I might grow lavender and/or mind this year and my brither has raspberries.

How do you make your own? Is it even possible or safe?

And aww i imagine you'd be so frustrated, I would be too, but like you said, he was little and didn't know better. Be hard to hide it/have a straight face though.

@Teila
I have a question for you. Do you have any savings? I'm thinking that you're more than done at your job. The stress and unhappiness could be a factor in your crying over the garden (although having part of it destroyed is upsetting enough). Is it possible for you to just leave your job while you search for another? Or go straight into plan B?

Starbucks shut down for a day once before. That time it was to reteach everyone how to make the drinks. Things had gotten so far off the rails it was incredible. Howard Schultz had actually left the company and came back to save it.

Believe it or not, I don't like Starbucks coffee. We used to get a free pound of coffee every week, and I had to mix it with something else to make it tolerable. I started working there to get some knowledge for opening up my own coffee shop someday.

Speaking of which, I still haven't heard from our county about the permanent setup for my trailer. I could go to events with it, but I really don't want the hassles of setup and teardown every few days. With the house purchase, move, foundation, wiring and plumbing it's just not feasible right now either. I'm sad, but hopefully it will happen sometime down the road.

@rjohns39 isn't it awfully late for you to still be getting frost in TN?

I'm also going to have to forgo a garden this year . I'll do a few containers and plant one for the chickens. Next summer I'll get it going again.

I've never had starbuck but if its anything like dunkin donuts it's just burnt water lol

Hope you can do the trailer eventually

@Teila, could you put rabbit fencing around the area the dog is digging or would it just go over? Some people have been known to put a couple of low strands of hot wire around garden areas as well.

Yeah, i keep the dogs fenced out of the garden for the most part. So i get some alone time. Love it! Mini takes no notice of plants and tromps right over them!
Had a great day at the swap, sold 4 rabbits and a dozen hatching eggs. Met some new people, found out about anothet good swap.
Oh and bought a dozen pretty blue eggs to hatch!

Glad you had such a good day at the swap!

And good idea on the fencing.

Nice!

You do need to keep the chickens from eating the plant though.

They would eat the whole thing?

Hubby found the girls dust bathing in front of his shop. All their usual spots are muddy. Must not be easy as it’s gravel there. Hubby’s got big fingers as you can see

Adorable!

And looks similar to my flock. Your EEs look just like mine. And are those leghorns or white rocks? And what are the brown ones? We have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Black Australorps, 1 Barred Rock, and 2 Easter Eggers. We used to have 3 Orpington.

That is a good place for dust bathing! Better than in a mud puddle

Lol true.

Usually that is best! They eat most plants. Mine left tomato plants alone though

I wonder if once the plant is established and huge if they would still kill it?

KD, I'm putting 7' deer netting around my garden. My sweet lil darlings have emptied two raised beds. Peas, carrots, radishes, onions all gone, but they did till and fertilize it for us.

DMC that was really cute.

ETA: Oh and they have disassembled my hydroponic tank and piping for lettuce and spinach.

WOW! Yours are destructive little things! I was thinking of having a people garden and then a chicken garden just for them as we have plenty of space and it seemed like a nice idea but it sounds like that is not a good idea? It kind of sounded on the website like you could do that.

Back in FL, I had to put up plastic fencing around the garden to keep the chickens out. They loved the berry bushes and one sad day, they wiped out an entire bed of kale.

They can be just a bit too much help in the garden!

Oh wow! Thankfully mine don't really go in the garden but I also have raised beds and maybe they don't realize they can jump up into them. They do destroy the regular garden though, throwing mulch as soon as my mom puts it down, etc. Lol and they love tomatoes and peppers when I would give them the damaged ones, like slug hole peppers, or fallen tomatoes.

I had a compost pile that was about 5'X5'X5' until they discovered it. They turned it into a level layer of black gold. I've since gated it off and let the pigs expand into that area... They are removing all the roots and other undesirable plants. Adding more fertilizer and tilling it up to 8" deep. Going to move them in a month or so, probably to my broken pond as I understand they can fix it. And then deer netting and more garden in that area.

funny story... Pigs don't seem to mind the chickens for the most part, but pecking a worm off the end of the pigs nose is apparently inappropriate behavior... Pig spun around 180* and smacked the chicken with his rear end, then proceeded to dig in another area... Chicken didn't mind ran right over to his new spot.

pigs don't even mind sharing their feed with the chickens, but greens and kitchen scraps are off limits. Last time a chicken tried to get some of that, she went airborne with nose of the pig as the launcher.

LOL hilarious!

Bob, those pig vs. chicken stories are great!

Who needs TV, I have the best entertainment on the planet...

BTW, My list totally changed... Funny how DW can do that. Took trash, went shopping got the two extra cockerels moved to their new shelter (aka prison), but they seem happy in the 8" grass. Sold 16 hatching eggs for $5 each and then moved the BR that I'll sell tomorrow into his new temporary quarters. Wasn't going to do that but with rain starting at 7 tomorrow... It's either move him tonight or ski in the mud. So we'll fix the planter in the rain tomorrow and plant the plants in the rain. Move the rest of the chickens out of the greenhouse and fix their latest escape tunnel. Sometime next week we'll move the ten best RIW hens and the best roo into the greenhouse and start rotating toms through the hotel suite.

Still trying to find the market for my eating eggs without a lot of luck. I know people are buying organic from walmart and mine are way better. Toying with an idea that the lawyers are chewing on... "Hay, walmart customers who buy organic eggs... Bring me your carton and I'll give you a dozen eggs to try for free. Please do compare mine to what you're currently buying..." I know it's a crazy thought, but have to figure out what to do with 1000 eggs per month, if I don't find customer.

Sounds like you're gonna be busy!
I assume you've tried craigslist?

And lots of eggs! Wow!

That is a lot of eggs. I’ve been giving mine away and I only have 22 layers. No one wants to buy around here sad to say.

Oh wow.

Lots of eggs there too

That’s so hard. I have the opposite problem here.....no more chickens but folks still stop me and ask me if I plan to get more and sell eggs again. That’s really something nice to hear when you figure how many other people in town have chickens. The kids miss the “Kids’ Meals”. Wish I could help you out.

Aww that's sweet people still ask. Guess they'd rather buy them from YOU.

I know the market is here. My friend had a loyal following until one day he processed his whole flock and got totally out of poultry and pork. I'm trying to get him to introduce me to his customers, but not working. So I'm trying to find his customers online, but not doing so well...

Odd he won't tell you.

Do it!

I think I will.

Yeah, if you trim off flowers and a bit of greens the plants will grow back. They will dig up and eat the whole plant!

Oh wow! They will?

Looks like a good dust bathing spot. My girls like the somewhat coarse stone and very dry dirt in the little barn. I have to look for craters before I step.


Now that needs a video!


You have any small grocery stores around? My favorite family owned market sells eggs from various sources, including a local egg farm which I don't think is real big.

I used to sell a lot to a restaurant.

Good ideas.

If your friend got OUT of poultry, I'd think he'd be happy to refer his old customers to you.

Exactly!

I'd like to see the pig launcher myself

Lol me too.

Well, look how successful Punkin’ Chunkin’ has been....

Hilarious.

With my luck they would eat the tomatoes!

Mine ate the ones on the ground (some vines hung over).

Yes, they eat the tomatoes but not the leaves!

They love tomatoes!

I kind of figured that! What's not to love about garden ripe tomatoes? !

Chipmunks loved mine..

Good afternoon friends

Gee Debby they sure are mucking you around!

DMC I loved the video and your girls all nattering away while they bathed!

Tee hee Bob, your pig V chicken story cracked me up!

No eggs from the girls for months! Tis the season to be broody and moulting!

Thank you all for your kind words; you are all right on the spot!

I am feeling the pressure of all the demands on me at the moment and I guess that shows. If I can get the work thing sorted out, may be I can cope with the home thing a bit better; both together are just too much. Anyways, I am hanging in there.

We have a bonus day off on Wednesday, Anzac Day … so, rather than do the housework today and then again next Sunday, I figured I would leave it today and just do it on Wednesday while my chilli’s are in the dehydrator, that way I do not have to do it next Sunday either. A couple of days either side is not going to hurt. Good thinking?!

Today we got the grocery shopping done early and I got everything watered because in just under an hour, our team are playing in the AFL and I intend to sit on the couch and watch it! I have an Iced Coffee in the freezer as I type so game, couch and slushy IC, here I come!

Our little Sun Bird was sitting in the nest today; we have nicknamed him Sol .. not the best picture because the sun was not in the right spot but I think you should be able to just see him.

View attachment 1350474

Adorable and beautiful bird.

Morning everyone!

@rjohns39 do you have a farmer's market around you? What about pinning up a notice on your feed store bulletin board (if they have one). Maybe the guys you work with would be interested? I hope you find a market!

@Michelle Farmer-Brown the "phooey" refers to my general state of mind at the moment Best of luck getting your city house sold soon and the new house situated and fixed up!

@Teila the work thing will get sorted out for you, it just takes time (which can be frustrating!). You do what you need to make things less stressful. Best of luck to your team today and enjoy the game!

@Blooie what's Punkin’ Chunkin’? Is that something on tv?

Chilly morning here today in the 30's but it's supposed to get up to almost 70*. I have a long day to work in the pro shop today but maybe we'll be busy so the time will fly. Yesterday 2 of my favorite old guy golfers came in to chat and get their memberships. Love those guys, they're so funny and full of crazy stories (which may be 1/2 true and 1/2 fiction ).

Time to go do some greeting, then it's off for the day. You all have a good one!

Another excellent idea. I was gonna suggest farmer's market but you beat me to it.

Punkin chunkin is where they make a big cannon and launch pumpkins to see how far they go! Really funny the first time you see it!

It's hilarious

Hello! The hummingbirds are back and i am loving it!

Nice!

Like combine demolition derby.
That's so hilarious!

Lol it is

 

[bruceha2000]

I've never had starbuck but if its anything like dunkin donuts it's just burnt water lol

Starbucks is a lot more expensive. And they have "adders" to put in, no not just sugar and cream. Flavors. Whipped cream. How about a Hazelnut Mocha Coconutmilk Macchiato?

And weird size names. Short, Tall, Grande, Venti, Trenta. Only been there a couple of times. Not that enthralled.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Starbucks is a lot more expensive. And they have "adders" to put in, no not just sugar and cream. Flavors. Whipped cream. How about a Hazelnut Mocha Coconutmilk Macchiato?

And weird size names. Short, Tall, Grande, Venti, Trenta. Only been there a couple of times. Not that enthralled.

Yeah, all the flavors are crazy. I've seen jokes/posts about people that get like 15 flavor shots and crazy stuff like that. Often different flavors too. How do you even taste the coffee??

Not sure if anyone actually gets 15 but there are definitely people who get crazy high numbers and/or a million sugars and stuff.

I've only had a pastry there once haha

My friends boyfriend recently went to Dunkin Donuts and I think, if I remember correctly, he got 3 creams and 3 sugars but it might have been 6 each instead. It was a ridiculous amount haha I was like ewww

 

[ShrekDawg]

Turns out it was 5 each lol my friend and I just went to get coffees for them lol

 

[Teila]

Good Morning Friends

We won! Yep, the boys were not expected to win the game yesterday and were definitely the underdogs but they did it!

Leading up to the game we were not sure if one of our top players would be available as his wife was due to give birth; they welcomed their baby girl the evening before the game and he was available to play, albeit on only 4 hour sleep. Very scary moment in that he got knocked out cold and was stretchered off the oval but he is OK.

 

[drumstick diva]

Whoopee your team won Teila