Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Dr HaHa]

Good Morning Everyone! Very early!

Got up to put wood in the stove and couldn't go back to sleep. Nap later I think. cd you also could try bag balm. I've had the tips of their combs lose color and they came back. Agree with you and Bigz, love that smell! There's nothing like the smell of split wood in the morning. Smells like victory.

Bigz I've done that too with questionable trees. Better to be safe. The Charlie Brown trees are the best ones! The first xmas in the house I took the youngest DD out in the woods behind the house to get a tree. Couldn't even find a decent one to top so we cut 2 branches and tied them together and decorated it with all homemade decorations. It was the best tree ever! DA Cool beans on the shepard part! I always wanted to be a wise man but that ain't never gonna happen.

ODrH congrats on the eggs hope yours and H&R's hatches goes well!

sadies0111! Agree with Bigz if we were all closer we'd all come over and help! cp I love to watch partridge come into the crabs and try to stay on the thin branches to get that last apple out on the end. Now that's entertainment! TO hope you get that sleep issue resolved it makes for a very looong day! The chickens came out to play in the sunshine yesterday. Buster has issues with my black downtown jacket. I needed some things for my mustard short rib recipe and when I got back and got to the door he went on the attack and wasn't backing down for nothing. We sparred for awhile then I picked him up and talked, put him down and he was fine. He doesn't like that coat or L's black purse. He looks pretty impressive with his hackles raised! Should put on the coat and get a pic of him like that. The poult eggs are now in the large catagory

Have the ice fishin poles all stripped and ready for new line. Going with the BFF tonight. The lake he has a semi-portable on the bite doesn't come till after dark. Have a good one!

 

[Terri O]

Good morning! Ohhh--Ice fishing! Fun! I used to go with my Dad when I was very small. The smell of overripe bananas takes me back to that wood and canvas shack! Be careful with those trees you guys! Sheesh--just the name "widow makers" gives me the goosebumps! BL4 I read some about the accident in the paper and was hoping the person you knew was one of the OK ones. How terrible! Welcome Sadies--there are also a bunch of threads on here about butchering your own chickens...you could check them out and see if it is something you might be able to attempt (with a friend or 2)

It really isnt that bad once you do it a few times.
It was so nice the other night that I almost talked myself into going out for a horse ride. Notice I said almost! I came to my senses pretty quickly! Did take most of the blankets off yesterday though--the thin horse and the young horse got to keep theirs.
That spilled water in the coop is definitely a problem in the winter CD! The trough on my waterer gets all full of stuff and all summer I am in the habit of dumping it out onto the floor of the coop twice a day. Now I dont want to do that to keep the moisture down in there but it is hard to get it to go into a pan to carry it out! It is a 7 gal one so very tricky to tip is when it is full! As for those Anconas Amyable, they are such spazzes that I couldnt catch them to put Vaseline on their combs if I wanted to!

They are the craziest birds in my coop for sure. Even though they are very neat to look at, I wont be having any of them in the future!
Christmas is sure creeping up on us isnt it? ONE WEEK away! THe dogs got their pig ears to chew last night. Here is a pic of a quiet moment at my house:

And here is what I have been finding in the nest boxes lately!

Holy egg hey?! It is not a double yolk...yet. Has a very large one though...speaking of that, I do believe I will have it for breakfast! Talk to ya later--have a fantastic day! Terri O

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
Cool pictures Terry O! Don't you just love when the house is peaceful...LOL. Today we"re heading to Howards Grove WI to start the 1st of the 4 Christmas gatherings this year- this one is at DH's mothers house with her side of the family. We are bringing the turkey- cooked the 32 lb one that the kids raised this past year- we grill the birds using apple juice and they turned out great! Have a good one!

 

[Terri O]

I had the egg in the pic for lumch and it was indeed a double yolker! I wish I had waited until I went out to get today's eggs though, I had a pullet egg! It would have been a cute pic to have them together in the pan! LOL THat wind is RAW out there today...wear your scarves if you are going out! Terri O

 

[Dandelion Acres]

Evening all, Hope everyone is staying warm and toasty, Terri O it sure looks as though those are some super happy pups, LOL.

The lady at the feed store gave me a container of dried Meal Worms today on account the boys took two fuzzy little kittens off her hands

So I took them to the coop and the ladies went nuts for them. I couldn't afford to buy them very often at $14.00 a quart

But I will give them to them for a treat every now and then. I can see an awesome Christmas dinner coming for the chickens with some of the dried meal worms, BOSS, Raisins, Dried Cranberries, and wheat grass.

Finally have gotten to narrowing down the list of chickens to order for next season. I am a little worried about my one DS choice, but I think those Jap. Bantams might be ok with the bigger chickens.

If not there's always the option of another coop.

Have a good evening all. God Bless!

 

[Hurley]

Just got done putting together and wrapping up the boys' presents to the grandparents. They're getting some framed photos of the Christmas pics I took of the boys and a framed photograph of Thomas finger painting along with a framed copy of the picture he was painting. Very cute.

Got a fire lit, which is warming things up nicely (toes were getting a bit frozen) and Tyler thinks it's the most fascinating thing he's seen. Finishing up a dinner of chicken sandwiches (from a roasted chicken, clearing out some leftovers) with mayo and chips...gotta have some crunch on the sandwich and I am out of lettuce.

Actually, am quite a fan of chips on a sandwich, great texture and a little kick of salt can't hurt.

I think the clucklings outside have finally decided that winter is not going away. They were actually out and about from the coop today for periods of time. I rewarded them with a plate of milk-soaked bread, which they were quite taken with.

Got a problem in the bator and trying to decide what to do about it. I've got 2 silkied banty cochin eggs that are adhered to the egg turning rack and I can't see why. They weren't cracked or anything when I put them in. I can't see anything on the eggs that would have stuck them solid. Any ideas? I'm afraid if I try to detach them that they will break. Anyone got any bright ideas? Thought about spraying them down with a little water to loosen them up, but don't want to shock the eggs or cause bacteria to penetrate the eggs - this early on, especially.

Stay warm everyone.

 

[Susie"J"]

Welcome Sadies we processed our first this Fall and all went well. Just followed the help on sights from BYC and we did it

Terri I sometimes have weeks at a time when sleep doesn't happen for me and I use Ibuprofen PM that does help. I only use it if it happens for a number of nights, I don't think it's habit forming but I don't want to depend on it. I made pot holders and trimmed towels with matching material for my sisters and friends. I can't wait to give them away.

DH is still working on the dining room so I'm cleaning dust and dirt every day, says he will stop soon so I can finish cleaning for Christmas. I'm so lucky he can do all the work. I am thinking about the chicks I want to get in spring and Silkies sound like the ones for me. Friendly ! How are they for laying? I wonder if they will get along with my pair of Jungle fowl

Sitting in front of the Christmas tree and it sure looks pretty, always brings back wonderful memories of my childhood and my kids. Can't wait till they are all here

Have a good night and enjoy Sunday. Susie

 

[Raiquee]

I was going to post earlier but then got to makin' some bread!

I can't make bread for the life of me. It may just be something I have to continue to buy. I've made the GUMP recipe off this site with mixed results. First batch I whipped up was on Thanksgiving. I have it mixed in my bread machine (carpal tunnel doesn't allow me to knead bread!) and then baked it off in rolls. The free formed ones I did came out good, the ones I dropped into the muffin tin turned into little rocks. So it was a 50/50 sucess. Second batch I did, I think I let rise too long the first time. It was huge and beautiful and spongey. Knock it down, divided it, rolled it out, rolled it up (per instructions) and plopped into two bread pans. Second rise I touched the pans and they deflated

Leaving me with baked, dense bread. This batch? I didn't let it rise hardly at all the first time. Let it "rest" rather for 10 minutes, then divided and put in pans. One rised nicely, the other I touched it and it deflated! I baked the one, got mad at the other and slugged it acrossed the kitchen! The 1st loaf turned out decent tho. But not sandwich worthy.

I just like the airy, light, barely there sandwich bread I guess. SIGH.

On another note, I ate half a pineapple and now my tongue is numb

I am also planning our garden for spring, as I know I will need to start seeds indoors in Jan-Feb. I am going to really utilize my garden space this year, and put in a spring, summer and fall garden. Last year I plopped in a summer garden and didn't realize I could have utilized my space better! I also want to grow a small area of feed corn and other things (maybe zuk plant, and a sugar snap peas?) to feed to the ducks to help with the feed bill. We may get a turkey poult this year to raise up for thanksgiving. That was kinda off topic. Annnnyways, I want to go gangbusters on lettuces, carrots, radishes this spring and then this fall do another round of lettuces, carrots and radishes. I want to do the "overwintering" in the ground with the carrots...and then plant some onions, garlic and tatoes as well. Who knows, I'm still master-minding. My herbs are going into that metal horse waterer thing hubby brought home for me, so I'm really excitied about that. Tomatoes i'm unsure of this year. I gotta get a good quantity of paste toms in my garden, as last year was a mess with the slicers. Just too much waste for me to make in sauce, not a good ratio. For slicers I definatly loved the flavor of the Black Krims. Only problem was I got 1 large tom off that plant and only had 4 developing. If thats the standard for that plant, sorry but it's wasted space! And we all know how my San Marzano tom turned out...aka DEAD! So i'm a bit worried to try them again, so I am going to buy seeds of them and Romas and start equal amounts of both, pick out my toughest ones, and hold on to my britches and hope for the best!! I think my volunteers were romas tho...but my pregnancy kept me indoors and they fizzled out before ripening. Had I watered and mulched them they probably woulda make it, but the first cold snap and they were done. I also think that by starting my toms inside, I can maybe try a double batch of toms! Romas take just under 3 months to mature...If I can get em 1/2 way done inside and plop them out in June..maybe...who knows.

I really need to get out there and measure the sq ft I have between the two gardens.

Well something FRAMILIAR happened with this pregnancy finally. HEARTBURN. It's awesome. Flaming in my chest in all it's glory. At least I can say "well I had this during my last pregnancy!" Probably time for me to go to bed now.

Nighty folks!

 

[Dr HaHa]

Good Morning All! Raiquee sounds like your getting the garden planned out. That is something we all do, always thinking of better layouts for better productivity. S"J" a lot of people have sleep issues of a varying degrees. It SUCKS! I too found that a PM can really help when things are messed up. Hurley maybe boil the water to kill any nasties then bring it to bater temp before spraying it on. Hope you can get them unstuck! H&R are you going to have enough bird for everyone?

TO Yes a widow maker is certainly scary. I've messed with enough of them to respect them. Still here so far but have had some questionable moments. Didn't make it to the ice last night, long story. But the BFF is off for a week or so soon so we'll get plenty of time. Had a lazy day yesterday, gotta have one once in a awhile. So today I'll pay the price and get things done. Looks like it's going to warm up next week some, that's fine with me. Think the Pack might not have a good evening. Hope Mathews the Monster gets mentioned often. Enjoy your day!

 

[Terri O]

Good afternoon! I slept in this morning! Good thing because sending these pics and videos to a client about had me in fits! Sometimes I wonder why computers dont do what you think they should do! I swear, I prepare and send the way I have hundreds of times and it is rejected! Had to divide it all up and send separately! Sure hope it worked or I am just going to print out the da%n pics and deliver them myself! Perhaps that is the easier way anyhow!
So I guess I must have needed the sleep from doing without for a few nights. I am very glad that it only seems to hold out for 2 or 3 nights or I might go crazy! I am still getting used to taking care of a client in the evening I guess. Messes me up.
Mr Buffo is fighting to get out of his sling and I am going to take him out as soon as I am done with this message. His legs seem like they might be getting stronger! I sure hope so. This morning I had a dream about going to a school and my best dog ever (Sarge) was with me. It was very neat to "see" him again.
Gotta go and work on that chicken...wish me and him luck! Maybe he will just walk right out of the cage! Wouldnt that be a gift? Have a fantastic (rest) of the day! Terri O