Turkeys on Parade

Aren't we handsome? Who do you think is the best? I'm sure they all think they will win the heart of the lovely ladies below. Yes, Wilma Wildbird is still hanging around. She is actually getting quite tame now.

Whoever asked for this White Christmas should be shot.

The day after Christmas was my turn to deliver mail again. It is not my favorite job but it does pay very well, especially for a part time job in this area. In the spring and fall it is actually kind of nice as the color and shape of the landscape changes weekly. I hate driving the route in the cold, and even more in the snow.

The trip was a stressful event. I knew with the snow it wouldn't be fun, but I did think I could accomplish it. That was BEFORE I got stuck in the Post Office Parking lot before I'd even started driving the route. I called home and ask them to bring the truck and a tow rope. Then I remembered Earl was here for Christmas and he had the 4 wheel van he bought which was previously a postal carrier vehicle - still complete with the red and blue striping.

(I would insert a picture of it here, but he hasn't sent me one in spite of my requests.)

So, to make a long, tedious story short, I had him drive me on the route. We did quite well on the first portion until we came to a drift that was nearly 3 feet high all the way across the roadway and about 15 feet across. Not even the BIG 4X4s could traverse that. We detoured back to town and approached the route from another direction. Fortunately, the other drifts we came across were smaller, but the van still effectively became a snow plow. It took nearly 2 1/2 hours extra to finish delivering the mail on Saturday versus a "normal" day.

As much as my brother irritates me at times (lots of times, actually), I'm still grateful for his help. He was a lifesaver. And every once in a while he does things that make up for all the times he as really ****** me off. Thank you, Earl.

My New Toy

This is the new toy/Christmas/Birthday present which I gave to me. It was a great deal at 30% off (Thank you, Jan, for friends and family night at Bed Bath and Beyond.) Then there was this great deal with a $50 rebate so I have no buyer's remorse for the purchase.

The first thing I tried to make with it was Divinity. I probably should have started with something simpler which I already knew how to make. The beast is too big to make small batches of anything. In order to get the egg whites to whip, I had to use my small hand mixer to start them. Then I could finish off the product with the big dude. The divinity was divine, but the process will need some work.

I made some brownies, cupcakes and other miscellaneous things throughout the holiday season, most of which turned out fine. I decided I was ready to graduate to bread making. The first batch of plain white bread turned out simply ok. Today I made Honey oat bread. With no artificial preservatives or other nasty stuff in it, I was quite pleased. Next time I'll add a bit more oil, but it is definitely something I'll make again. The great thing about making your own bread is that you can adjust the size of the loaves. I made a regular sized loaf and 4 small loaves like you get at those upscale, expensive restaurants. I may make them all the small size in the future, as they freeze nicely and when you warm them, the defrosting process makes it just like fresh bread warm from the oven. It doesn't give the house that comforting fresh baked bread scent however.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all the Prairie House Chronicle readers.

I hope you have all had a joyous and blessed Christmas season and may the new year be prosperous for each of us.

Jalapeno Brittle

Remember those bushels and bushels of Jalapeno Peppers? Well, we put lots of them in the freezer for use in Hot Pepper Jam. Many of them also made it into Jalapeno Peanut Brittle. I offered it on the High Plains Food Coop starting in November. So far this season we have sold over 15 pounds of it. I am debating whether to leave it on the site for January or put it in the archives to be retrieved next fall.

FOOD?

I really like cheese. Most kinds of cheese. Since I don't drink milk, it is a good alternative for my dairy rung on the food pyramid. One of the main items in the cheese section of the grocery stores lately seems to be something called "processed cheese food". If you ask me, anything that has to *tell* you it's food in the name should not be allowed to BE considered food.

quite a shower

My sister came to my house offering to help sanding the floor upstairs to get it ready to become its destiny of a bedroom and sun room. I had been having trouble getting motivated and hadn't even showered yet. She went upstairs and started the sander while I got in the shower. I had just gotten my hair all lathered up with shampoo when the water started sputtering and air came spitting out of the pipes. This cannot be a good thing. My thought is the new furnaces are sucking all the water and I can't even get a shower. I called to my sister, but she was busy pushing the sander around the floor. I climbed out of the shower and put on my robe. Heading upstairs, I was pretty frustrated and borderline angry with the suds still clinging to my hair. She went to her house to check on the water situation there. When she came back she informed me the electricity had been turned off at the pole for the electrician to work on it. That electricity runs our well pump. On the plus side, we aren't out of water. On the minus side, we are out of water for me to rinse my hair! She valiantly went to the well out front on which we spent a fortune to have it pressurized and hydrants added after the incident with the flying truck. After heating half the water on the stove and blending it with the cold water I had enough to rinse my hair the old fashioned way...in the sink - one cup at a time. For today I'm glad I didn't live a century ago after all. Oh, yeah. She did get the floor sanded.

Psychogenic Alopecia

Sounds terrible, doesn't it. Betsy the cat suffers from it. It is an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). When she is nervous or upset, she pulls her hair out. She was doing quite well for a while and almost all of the fur she was missing had grown back in. Now she is pulling it out again. She won't sit still long enough to get a picture, but she looks really sad with a nearly bare bottom and a ring of missing fur around her tail. Otherwise, she is a really pretty calico cat.

Pete is Found

The big stinker Pete Cat was under the house in the insulation all along. It took some doing to get him out, but he (and the new insulation) are none the worse for wear.

Pete is missing

Evelyne and Rick had the insulation under their house redone when their new furnace was installed. We found Slippers under the house and coaxed him out, but we cannot locate Pete. Pete weighs over 18 pounds, so we are pretty sure the owls didn't haul him off. He generally stays close to the house, so we are hoping the coyotes didn't have him for (a large) dinner. We have checked all the places we can think of that he may have gotten stuck to no avail. Keep your fingers crossed that he shows up again. He was Dad's favorite kitten. Hopefully he will make an appearance in less than the 2 months it took Slippers, his littermate, to reappear after Dad died.

Oh, Blessed sleep!

Either I was VERY tired or the drugs were really good or a combination of both, but I slept from about 8PM last night until after 9AM this morning. Yes, the drummer is still there, but I think I'm starting to get used to it. I'm trying to convince myself it is the sound of my mother's heartbeat and I'm just an infant with my whole life ahead of me. How's that for imagination? The coop delivery went very well yesterday. Both my sister and brother were at the distribution site to help with orders in Denver. It really helps when there are enough bodies to get everything accomplished in the allotted time. The animals faired well while we were gone. The English lady with whom we went apple picking/mud bogging cared for them while we were gone. It is nice to have someone who cares enough about animals and has had experiences herself with bad caretakers to watch them when we are away. Although we rarely are gone at the same time, it will be easier now that we have a back up!

How long before sleep depravation causes total insanity?

I've managed an average of 4 hours sleep for the last 3 nights. I didn't get home from Denver until after 9:30 PM and still had coop orders to fill for delivery to the drop off site this morning. So after getting to bed after Midnight I was up again at 5:30AM to get things organized for the Coop's trip to Denver with orders to be delivered today. The bass drum is still announcing the upcoming parade with the furnace in the lead position. Something will definitely need to be done about that. I am taking a sleeping pill tonight and going to bed early. Hopefully I'll get right to sleep and not wake up until the sun comes up tomorrow.

Furnace-more buyer's remorse

You know how when you move into a new house you have to spend some time recognizing and identifying all the strange noises.  That was how I spent last night.  When the water goes into the furnace it makes a recognizable sound; when the fan comes on, another recognizable sound.  When the pump to remove the condensation came on I got a little nervous wondering what that was for sure as it was a different sound than the water intake. But worst of all is this annoying thump=thump=thump much like the sound of the base drum in a marching band about 1/2 block away.  It thumped the whole time the furnace was running.  Since my bedroom is directly over the furnace it is especially annoying and needless to say I got very little sleep last night. The plumber says it is a quirk in the air movement system.  He didn't offer a solution.  There is no way I can continue to sleep in that room with that noise without some serious drugs.  I guess I will need to relocate my bedroom. We are off to Denver today to celebrate the two December birthdays at a restaurant in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.  Fortunately, the weather is pleasant.

Furnace-buyer's remorse?

The geothermal furnace is finally hooked up.  It isn't any less noisy than the previous one.  It is a different kind of heat.  A more constant temperature with less extremes.  The drawback is the air which does come through the vents is not as warm.  So much for putting my pjs over the register to warm them up before putting them on for bed. I think it will take some getting used to, but it will be nice to have air conditioning in the summer.  Strange thing to be thinking about when the temperatures haven't been above freezing for the last week.

What a difference

The geothermal heat isn't hooked up yet, but along with the new furnace came 3 additional heat ducts in the house.  One each in the dining room, living room and hallway by the extra bedroom.  The plumber has them hooked to the old furnace until the new one is operational.  I can't believe what a difference that has made in the comfort level of the house.  Our temperatures haven't been above freezing for several days and the nights have been well below zero.  In times past I would have had to have numerous layers to be even close to warm in the house.  Now, all the cold spots and drafts seem to be gone.  If it stays that way after the new furnace is hooked up I will be one happy camper and the dent the upgrade makes in my checking account will be a whole lot easier to handle.  I don't think it will be as good as the hot water heat I've had in a couple of other homes, but I'll bet it is close.

Happy Birthday, Sis

Today was my MUCH OLDER sister's birthday.  I tried to call her a couple of times to wish her Happy Birthday, but she apparently was out partying and didn't answer the phone.  At any rate, I hope that was what she was doing, but you never know with those older women.

At any rate, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lois.

A little glitch

The electrician came to do his part in installing the new furnace.  He indicated the breaker on our main electric pole may not be big enough.  He called the electric coop to ask for an upgrade to a breaker with more amps.  Their comment?  "It hasn't been tripping so I don't think we need to install one."  I guess their theory is that it is best to inconvenience the customers by having them traipse all the way out to the pole in the middle of the freezing night to reset the breaker several times before it is worthwhile for them to upgrade their system. 

Apparently we have new management/officers at the top of the electric cooperative now.  When I first moved here, and even when the neighbors moved in, they were really easy to work with and very accomodating.  Now everything is a battle with them and they have raised their rates nearly 25% since I moved here in 2000.  Someone said it was called 'Progress".  Yeah, right.

Prairie House Goes Geothermal

Both houses at Prairie House are getting geothermal upgrades.  We are scrapping the old propane furnaces and going green. 
I thought my timing was perfect....I would run out of propane in the tank just as the plumber finished hooking up the new furnace.  I had it calculated just right.  Then Murphy stepped in.  The plumber had to move his daughter and her stuff to D.C. which put his schedule back a week.  I probably still could have made it, but with the temps dropping into the single digits for the week, I ordered another 100 gallons.  Since then I've had the furnace cranked up on high so I can be really warm.
My new furnace should be up and working on Tuesday.  Then the installation starts next door.
I'll let you know how I like it once it has been up and running for a while.

That takes a lot of nerve!

Karl Kat has been persuing the mice in the ante room of the small chicken house.  He knew they were under the sheet of plywood, but no matter how patiently he waited, they wouldn't come out where he could catch them.  No matter how far he reached into their tunnel, he couldn't reach them.  A very frustrating thing when you are a cat!

Today we gave him some assistance and moved the sheet of plywood.  Faster than a lawyer gets into your pocket, he grabbed a mouse and took it to the door.  I opened the door and he trotted outside with it.  He was gingerly playing with it, batting it about and tossing it into the air as cats sadistically do.  All this commotion caught the attention of a wandering chicken.  The chicken sauntered over to the action and stared at the mouse and the cat.  She made a couple of swipes with her beak in the direction of Karl Kat.  The cat stared back at the chicken.  Evelyne and I stood in the greenhouse and watched the developments.  Before Karl Kat saw what was happening, the chicken had the mouse and was heading away with it.  I am so sorry I didn't have my camera with me.  Karl's expression was priceless.  He couldn't believe that chicken STOLE his mouse!  He looked at the chicken.  He looked at the ground where the mouse SHOULD have been.  He sniffed.  He looked at the chicken again, as she finally pranced off.  I felt sorry for Karl Kat.  Never have I seen an animal look so befuddled.

Don't worry, Karl Kat.  I'm sure there will be other mice.

Happy Thanksgiving

One day a year our attention is drawn to all the things we have to be thankful for.  The other 364 days it doesn't seem important.  For the coming year, lets all spend some time each day being thankful for the good things in our lives as well as the lessons (hopefully) learned from the perceived "bad" things.

Please, God. Not another snake.

This morning I heard a scraping noise like something crawling in the furnace ducts. I thought, "Whatever it is must be huge as it is making a lot of noise.  Oh, God! Please don't let it be a packrat, or worse yet, a big, nasty snake."  I listened intently, walking through the rooms trying to decide which part of the duct system it was moving within.  Then I realized it wasn't coming from the ducts at all, because it was the turkeys on the porch awning! Those big birds are really good flyers and very high minded.

At night the turkeys roost on the supports over the little chicken yard. I went in the other night to close the door on the chickens to protect them from the predators and one of those big white birds pooped on me. Apparently he had me confused with my older sister, Lois.  She is notarious for birds taking aim on her.  Even when there is only one bird in the sky, it will hit that target.

As for the turkeys, it is a good thing they are entertaining and good rodent and bug getters or they could be headed for the oven, regardless of previous Thanksgiving day pardons.

Colony Collapse Disorder and Spun Honey

Scientists and Apiarists have noted in recent years a new malady which affects bees.  It has been called colony collapse disorder and generally happens in the fall.  The bees fly away one day and simply fail to return to the hive.  It is almost like INS came in and deported all of them.  They simply disappear.  No bodies left behind; No warning signs; No apparent reason.  Theories have run the gamut from some type of virus to cell phone towers to pesticides but no definite reason has been found.

Unfortunately, this fall my hive suffered from CCD.  So we are preparing to put the hives in the freezer to kill any pests which may have moved in after the bees moved out.  But before doing that, I decided I would take at least SOME of the honey for our use instead of saving it all for the replacement bees I'm planning to get next spring.

It is mild and tasty honey.

For my birthday/Christmas present to myself this year I got the professional Kitchenaid mixer. (heckuva deal at Bed Bath and Beyond on Friends and Family night--30% off!) I used it today to make spun honey.  WOW is that stuff wonderful.  It brought back memories of my youth when my Mom would buy it at the store and let us have it as a special treat.  The taste and texture of the homemade stuff makes the cost of the mixer a moot point.  YUMMY.  I did share some with my Prairie House neighbor, but I'm keeping the rest for myself!  Selfish?  Undoubtedly.  Delicious?  You Bet!

A very rare bird, indeed.

If you look closely, you will see the very rare goatbird in the tree.
                
                                                                        
This is a rare bird, indeed.  One never knows what will appear at Prairie House.

Pullet eggs

WooHoo!  Our youngest hens are starting to lay eggs.  We are getting cute little pullet eggs in a light tan color now.

We found some milo at the equity in Brewster.  They shipped it to Bird City for us and we put it in the feed bowls for the chickens.  They were thrilled and ate like homeless bums at the rescue mission dinner table.

We are hoping to get a truckload of milo this week sometime.

Those sneaky chickens

Our egg production picked up after we gave them the milo.  We didn't notice, however, because they were hiding their eggs.  We found their hidden nest yesterday with over a dozen eggs in it.  They had been hiding them behind an old wood stove.  We moved the wood stove and took away that enticing nesting spot.  Today the number of eggs in the chicken house has increased, but we still have a long way to go to get back on track at full production.

Food Coop Orders and eggs

Orders for High Plains Food Cooperative closed last night at midnight.  Prairie House had a record month.  We are pleased...now the animals can continue to eat!

Our biggest $$ seller by far was the Jalapeno Peanut Brittle, followed by Evelyne's delicious Angel Food cakes.  The powdered garlic as well as the garlic bulbs were also big sellers.

We only sold 8 dozen eggs and had to squeeze the hens hard to make that.  We ran out of milo and wheat so we put them on a diet of Triticale, a grain which is a hybrid of rye and wheat.  It is very high in protein and a great food for cattle.  The goats love it.  The chickens failed to thrive on it and egg production went to nearly zero.  We discovered the problem is a missing enzyme in the grain which makes the protein unaccessable to the chickens.

We are waiting for the milo to be harvested from the fields so we can get them back on track with their favorite foods.  Hopefully production will pick up in time for the holidays!

Some thoughts on dying

A thought to ponder:

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.

 Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

Native American Saying

The when you die part is getting closer each day, I think.  When my brother knew he was dying, he made it known that he didn't want a lot of crying and mourning when he was gone.  He wanted a celebration.  I agree.  And although it is a sin to die with any money in the bank...if there is any left in my account when I go, I want my family and friends to spend it on a celebration, not on a funeral.  Think cruise!

Karl Kat

Karl Kat is the second from the left. (Also shows King Kong, Katie and Krazy Kat.)

Karl Kat is definitely a Siamese breed. When he was born he was completely white with blue eyes. Now he has a golden cast to his coat which keeps getting darker and darker, especially on his head and face.

He just finished rolling in the dirt. Ah! How good it feels!

Our Newest Resident--by her own choice

Our newest resident is a very pretty wild turkey.

Her flock came wandering through a few days ago and she stayed behind. Apparently either the food or the company was better at Prairie House than wandering across the countryside. We thought she would probably wander off in a couple of days, but she has remained here. She sleeps in the tree near where the others roost (on the fence wire which covers the pen for our small chicken house) and hangs out with the others during the day. She is well camouflaged. The others are very apparent and extremely easy to see.

Then again, maybe it was this handsome Tom who convinced her to hang around. I do not know if this might be the same lady who came visiting him last spring. It could very well be her...or one of her relatives.

Rascal Cat (March, 1990-October, 2009)

Rascal was apparently needed on the other side for Halloween as she crossed the rainbow bridge Friday morning, October 30. I have a heavy heart as she was a companion to me for nearly 20 years, helping me weather many a crisis in my life.

Mom and Dad had a beautiful Abyssinian cat who adopted them in the mid 80’s. She had a litter of kittens in the spring of 1990 and tried valiantly to be a good mother, but she didn’t have any nutrition for them in her milk. As a result, two of the kittens were hand fed. When Mom and Dad left for vacation, the kittens were brought to my house to care for while they were gone. Somehow, Rascal and Scruffy stayed with me after Mom and Dad returned. Mom wanted to call the all black kitten Rastus but I didn’t think that fit a cute little girl cat. The name Scruffy didn’t fit the little black and white one either after she grew up, but she always got so much food on her when she was little that she did look a bit scruffy right after meal times. (Scruffy was with me for nearly 15 years. She refused to come in the house one night because there were too many fun things to do outside-like chase mice and lizards. She chased something onto the highway just as a vehicle was driving by and didn’t make it back off the highway. I will always remember her because she really liked Cashew nuts. Most cats won’t eat nuts, but she thought those were better than cat treats and there was no way I could eat them without sharing with her.) Rascal also had a terrific personality. She was playful and intelligent. As a young cat she was a bold hunter and very creative as well as patient when it came to killing mice. As old age took its toll on her body, she could no longer hunt and became content to be in the house, particularly lying in the sunshine as it streamed through the windows or sleeping beside the wood stove in the winter. She slept on me most nights keeping us both warm. She insisted on being as close to the keyboard as she could get when I typed on the computer and was always in the same room with me if possible.

She had been failing in health for the last 3 or 4 years, but started declining at an alarming rate about a month ago. Although she never appeared to be in any pain, I could tell it was frustrating for her not to be able to get around. She could no longer jump quickly onto my lap or wherever I was working, but still managed to figure out a way to there by climbing on shorter things and working her way to wherever I was sitting. I know I gave her a comfortable and happy life. In return she gave me comfort and companionship which I will always remember and I thank her for it. It was her time to cross the rainbow bridge, but I am sad she left me behind.

Goodbye, Rascal Cat. I will never forget you.

A tough month

October has been a tough month at Prairie House. We had a net gain of 1 duck. Molly Mallard stayed, but all the drakes flew away-apparently to the neighbor's pond. We lost King Kong Kat to the highway. We lost 3 chickens-1 for an unknown reason, Tealy due to old age, and Frizzle to a bad dog. No, we didn't get a dog to replace Belle. Visitors brought dogs with them and one decided Frizzle would make a nice snack. She didn't survive the attack. Rascal is failing fast. She is 19 3/4 years old and had a tough start to life. Her mother didn't have any nutrients in her milk, and two of her litter mates died before we realized what the problem was. Rascal and Scruffy were hand fed as a result. Scruffy died on the highway after 15 years of a spoiled life. I was hoping Rascal would make it to 20 years, but it looks doubtful at this time. That is harder to accept than any of the other October departures.

Just Poor Folk

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what society would consider a very poor family. On their return from their trip , the father asked his son , "How was the trip?" "It was great , Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah , " said the son. "So , tell me , what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us , but they serve others. We buy our food , but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us , they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added , "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are." Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have , especially your friends! "Life is too short and friends are too few." This is not an original composition, and unfortunately I do not know who wrote it. I'm posting it here because it clearly defines WHY we live at Prairie House and not in the big city where I grew up. Aunt Jo

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Last night was one filled with odd dreams. My Mom and Dad were still living and we were working on projects around Prairie House. Both were vibrant and healthy. Then Mom just disappeared, but Dad and I continued to do things here. (I have been recently missing my Dad and thinking how much simpler things would be if he was still here to help me.) The dream ended with Dad having a heart attack. I watched him turn ashen and die. It was a frightening dream. Upon becoming fully awake, I realized that he died 5 years ago yesterday. Funny how the mind works when it is unfettered. I miss my Mom and Dad daily, but am very grateful for all they taught me and the love they gave me when they were alive. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

New Residents

When I go on vacation, frequently some of the occupants at Prairie House find new homes. It seems only fair that when Evelyne goes on vacation the opposite should happen. These are the latest new residents at Prairie House: .

They are "rescue" ducks. People just can't resist those cute little fuzzy things in the store, but they don't stop to consider they won't be cute and fuzzy for long. The people who were "getting rid" of these 3 drakes and a hen "just didn't realize they would get that big and be so messy". .. DUH!

They can fly quite well. I thought they were gone for good when three of them took to the air. They flew way south over the open fields then turned, came back to the yard and marched right in to the area where they are supposed to be staying. On another note, Turks babies are also growing. All 7 have survived so far and are looking good. They can't seem to settle on a good place to roost at night so it is always interesting to see where they end up. As you can see, they are quickly gaining on Papa in size: (Turk is the one in the front.)

Jalapeno Peppers

I'm ready to offer a pretty good deal to anyone who wants Jalapeno peppers. It threatened to frost last night, so we pulled up all the pepper plants in the garden. We left the ones in the raised bed and covered them. We had previously picked over 1/2 bushel of jalapenos. After we get the rest of them picked off the plants, we will have another 3/4 bushel. I've been on the internet looking for recipes to use the peppers in! Tonight there is a function for the food coop that Prairie House is providing snacks for. Do you suppose some of those snacks and finger foods will include Jalapenos? I suspect tomorrows donations to the food cause for the Coop will also include jalapenos in some form. I think next year we won't plant so many.

good news-bad news

Good news! EmmaPatches did not succumb to the predators. She showed up again this afternoon, none the worse for wear. I suspect she has another family somewhere...kind of like those traveling salesmen who keep two families but neither of them knows who the others are. Bad news. Krazy Kat still has not been seen. They disappeared about the same time, so I haven't given up hope, but that hope is pretty dim.

A great year for peppers!

There was a hint of cool in the air yesterday, and the threat of cold temperatures overnight. Although the predicted low was only in the lower 40's, down here in the valley it gets colder quicker. Therefore, we decided to pick most of the garden that was close to being done including most of the peppers. You might not be able to discern the size of the container they are in, but we picked over half bushel of jalapeno peppers from our plants yesterday alone which makes nearly a bushel of peppers this year. Yes, that translates into a LOT of hot pepper jam and jalapeno peanut brittle. I sure hope those are popular items for people to give as Christmas gifts this year!

Good bye King Kong

Sadly, King Kong was killed on the highway today. He was a terrific hunter which no doubt led to his demise. I will miss him. We apparently have also lost EmmaPatches and Krazy Kat to predators as they have been missing in action for a couple of weeks now. I'm really regretting the fact that Evelyne had Juliet spayed and we gave away all of her kittens. Maybe Mark and John will let them have just one litter and I can get a kitten back. On the other hand, since Earl abandoned Buster here Rascal has been gaining a little weight and her coat looks much better. Buster is also gaining weight (more than Rascal) but his coat doesn't seem to be improving. Someone made the comment this morning that they didn't know I was running a geriatric home for cats.

Peg Leg gets a new owner

Peg Leg has been moved to a new home. He has gone to live with James--the son of the lady with whom we went "mud bogging" instead of apple picking. James fell in love with Peg Leg when he first saw him. He has taken him apples and gone to play with him whenever he had the chance. We told him he could have him if he would fix a safe place to keep him. Since they had goats when they lived in Virginia we are sure Peg Leg will have a great home there. Undoubtedly he will end up getting fat and spoiled. Pegleg has been very "bucky" lately, and Cream will most likely be giving birth the end of February. (Why is it those girls always time it so the kids are born the coldest time of the year?) I'm not sure if he had his way with any of the other girls, but we shall see as time goes on. We are glad James wanted to take him away as a pet.

Moving Chickens

Last week, under cover of darkness, we moved all the tractor chickens to the big chicken house. We discovered that if you wait until they are sound asleep they can be caught and moved with little difficulty. Apparently that is something predators have know for centuries. Bad goose, Lady luck and her drake wandered into the pen vacated by the Mom hen with the 3 little turkeys (we gave the trio and their Mom to a friend where they will have a great home and be well taken care of...there are still 8 turkeys here and that is enough for now). We closed the gate on BG and his two buddies, so they are now on the east side of the grounds as well. That will make feeding and watering them much easier this winter. Turk and his troupe sleep inside still, but it often takes a bit of persuasion to make that happen.

Missed the turtle races

We missed the turtle races at Beecher Island. Evelyne had to go to a funeral in Fort Collins on Saturday and I was still delivering mail. So we released Mr. Turtle from his comfortable tub back into the wild of the yard.

Our latest addition to the menagerie

Beecher Island days are coming up next weekend. One of the big events there is a turtle race. Our turtle shows up on occasion and then disappears again. It was totally uncertain if he would make an appearance when we needed him, so a back-up plan has been put in place.

I had to deliver mail today (and six days next week, so actually I will miss the turtle races). This guy was in the middle of the road begging to be squashed by a grain truck.

I thought he might be less suicidal at Prairie House. He is now in training for the race. If Evelyne and Rick don't take him to Beecher Island for the races, he will still have a better home than on the road. (Assuming Evelyne doesn't grind him up in the rototiller because he chooses an unfortunate place to bury himself which is what happened to #1.)

Turk's "friends" are back...he's not happy.

The wild turkeys have returned to the farm. There are 25-30 of them of various ages and both genders. Some of them are very large, and the flock as a whole is quite noisy. Turk stands in the yard and gobbles at them..."just keep going. This is my territory!" He struts in all his glory to stress the point. Humorously, the juveniles he has taken custody of were trying their best to strut too. It will take a bit of practice for them to get it right. They have relieved the Momma hen of her duties and only the turkeys are together now. They are apparently at the teenager stage now, as they do not want to go to their room to go to bed at night and it takes a great deal of persuasion to get them there. They have been a delightful addition to Prairie House.

Busy Busy Busy

I'm not sure where the days have gone but here we are nearly at the middle of September. I guess the were eaten up by all the time we have spent processing fruit for jelly making this winter. So far this year we have gone through 75 pounds of peaches, 50 pounds of nectarines, 3 or 4 bushels of apples of various kinds, plums, and tomatoes. The grapes are just now turning ripe and we still have 50 pounds of peaches and a multitude of apples waiting for the paring knife. My sink is currently full of jalapeno peppers ready to be processed, and yes, I have the rubber gloves handy. We dried a couple of batches of garlic for the famous garlic powder we produce. With all this in the freezer or in jars, we should eat well this winter as we have chicken, rabbit, beef and goat in there as well. The chickens are slacking off on egg laying, but we still get enough to meet our sales and have some for ourselves. We have a few hens we are laying JUMBO eggs now and we keep those to eat. One egg will make a "3-egg" omelet. We actually outsmarted the squash bugs long enough this year to get a pretty good crop of yellow and acorn squash as well. Apparently they don't care for basil much. The basil got out of control since we didn't prune it often or soon enough. So when we did prune it, it had stems the size of small trees. We piled it on and around the squash plants. I must remember to plant plenty of basil next year! We have been eating tomatoes since April. Some of the folks in town are STILL waiting for their first ripe tomato from their vines. Needless to say, we have sold a lot of tomatoes this year. A bacon and fresh tomato sandwich still tastes good, even after the dozens or so I've already eaten this year.

Random Thoughts

A friend recently told me: you tell a horse, you ask a donkey, and you negotiate with a mule. Seems to me this could be applied to many relationships (alas! marriages) with just a few minor word changes.

A great job

I should have studied to be a meteorologist. You get paid a healthy salary and get to keep your job even when you give your customers wrong information a good percentage of the time.

Remember Credence Clearwater Revival?

Well, "doo-doo-doo-lookin' out my back door":

Turkeys

We had a flock of nearly 20 wild turkeys in the yard this morning. There were several young poults with them, about the age of Turk's family. I'm not sure if they were just passing through or if they came by to show off the youngsters to Turk. The turkey should have been America's national symbol. They are smart birds and truly regal. Our juveniles have learned to fly pretty well and can cover some long distances by air. The Momma hen has left them totally in Turk's care now. He doesn't take them back into their room at night on his own. We have "persuaded" them into the safe area for the last 4 nights. Turk would much prefer to move back to the tree branches to sleep. The Momma hen with the 4 little ones is doing well and they are growing. The hens in the chicken house have all managed to lose their babies. We have some hatching currently, but it doesn't look promising for them either. I think the turkey (and chick) brooding season is over for this year. That isn't a bad thing! Our flock of fowl has increased considerably this year. It will decrease by 10 tomorrow as some will be leaving for freezer camp.

Visitor or Resident?

This is what awaited me as I drove into my driveway today.

It has a broken leg. I felt sorry for it, but since we are not licensed raptor rehabilitators, we couldn't do much for it besides call the wildlife people. That was an exercise in futility. Talk about a run around. It is illegal to kill or capture these birds, yet when you have one in need of help no one will take responsibility. The game and fish department says, call the sheriff, the sheriff says call the wild life people. I guess we should have called in an anonymous tip that Prairie House was harboring raptors...that would have brought out an army to arrest us, I'm sure. Then maybe someone would have taken care of the poor thing.

It made a few attempts to fly and couldn't get lift as he couldn't put any weight on the broken leg.

I went back to check on it about a half hour later and it had successfully obtained flying altitude and was gone. Much to the relief of all of our other birds...especially the Guineas who kept screaming, "Danger, predator. Danger, predator." most of the time the Hawk was here.

Apple Pectin

Store bought pectin is probably the most costly ingredient in our home made jams and jellies with the exception of the jars. I cannot figure a way to make the jars, but in our quest to become self sufficient I decided to make the pactin. I read several differing opinions on how it should be done, whittled the information down to the main points that were common in each of them and cooked the apples with a positive attitude. The preferred apples to use are crab apples or not-quite-ripe Granny Smith apples. I had neither of those, but forged ahead regardless. I have cooked the apples, strained the apples, boiled the resulting juice down by half and now have pectin to use. According to the pectin test (drop a spoonful in rubbing alcohol and see if it makes strings or a blob...the goal being a blob) I have pectin, but it could be better. In addition to the apples, I have been dealing with Elderberries (what a pain to process!) and the last of the wild cherries. The extra juice from each of those, some added sugar and my fresh pectin should, in theory, make very nice jelly. I have it in jars....I'll let you know in a couple of days if I have jelly or some syrup for Waffles. Either way, it really tastes delicious.

Not a problem, An adventure

One of our customers, Tina, is a transplant here from England via Virginia. She is a very interesting woman with a 12 year old son. She has met some folks here whose parents planted a great orchard while they were alive, but the kids want nothing to do with it. She is so excited about all the fruit growing there. She brought us a big box of apples a few days ago that I made into cinnamon apples which tasted exactly like the ones Boston Market makes. Her son thought he could become addicted to them. Apparently she is starting to tire of picking the fruit because she decided it was time to show us where the orchard was located. In Virginia they don't have "minimum maintenance roads" like we have here. We had gotten just a light sprinkling of rain at our house. We know Bird City usually gets more rain than we do, but in a moment of insanity we said we would go help her pick fruit. She lives close to Bird City and it didn't make sense for her to have to come all the way back to Prairie House, so we followed her 4 wheel drive truck (which did not have the hubs engaged even though they should have been). She started down a road which she has taken many times, but not after a rain storm. In all fairness, the road was not marked as one of the minimum maintenance roads. Most of the people who live in the area just know that. The further we went, the more slick the road got. Eventually we were past a point of being able to turn around, and she was stuck in the mud in front of us in her pick up. Rick is stressed to the max--he doesn't do well with unplanned adventures. Evelyne said she was reminded of those days long ago when we were kids and went to Grandma's house in the winter. It seems we ALWAYS had muddy roads and often got stuck and needed to have a tractor pull us out. Tina called her boyfriend to come and help us, but he only has a 2 wheel drive pick up which won't be much help, and he lives quite a distance away. Evelyne, Tina, James (her son) and I started walking in the rain toward a farm house we can see about a 3/4 of a mile away hoping to find someone with a tractor. The road was slippery even on foot and our shoes, all caked with mud, made that squish-plop-squish-plop sound as we walked...except for Tina's. She was wearing sandals and had mud squishing between her toes. She probably should have just gone barefoot. We nearly got to the farmhouse when there were lights by the car where Rick was waiting. Help had arrived! Good thing, as it was well past dusk by now. The boyfriend is a farmer and has hands much like Dad's were--strong enough to be able to put the truck into 4 wheel drive without tools. He got into the truck and slithered it along the road for about a half mile to a graveled, maintained road. With a clear shot ahead, Rick also managed to maneuver the car to the top of the hill and across the gravel road. Both of the men were more than a little unhappy about the whole situation. On the other hand, the rest of us were still jovial and just considered it a new adventure. No one was injured and there wasn't even any property damage. Just a break in a boring, routine, Friday night. We never did make it to the orchard. That adventure awaits us on another day.

Beer, anyone?

I have a bumper crop of hops this year.

Anyone want to try their hand a beer making?

The jalapenos have also been prolific.

How about some beer with a bite and some afterburn?

Of course, its the plumber's house!

Our plumber invited us to his house for a "Pond Party" yesterday. The property has a pond now, but it didn't have a pond when they bought it. In case you don't remember, Kelly (the plumber) is the one who finally knocked down that ugly barn we had out back. He really likes to play with his backhoe...he wants people to think it is a piece of necessary equipment, we know it is a toy. He used the backhoe to dig the pond. It occupies roughly 3 acres and is anywhere from 3 to 6 feet deep, fed by an underground spring. Having the aversion to water that both Evelyne and I have, we didn't go into the pond. (There were several others who refrained as well, for much the same reason, so we didn't feel like outcasts.) There were several teenagers at the party who had a ball out on the inflatable boat (room for 8...probably holding 12), and some younger kids who couldn't get enough of the paddle boat and the canoe. Adults were bobbing around the water in inner tubes or simply lolling on floating lounges. Food was good and it seems everyone was having a great time. Kelly and his wife, Connie, built a new house using their own labor and that of friends who were willing to help. It has taken them over 6 years to finish it, but they have a gorgeous home. It has two bedrooms upstairs, and a great two bedroom mother-in-law apartment on the lower level. (originally, this was to be a "hunter's retreat" which would be rented out during dove, deer and turkey seasons...it is now actually occupied by the mother-in-law). The house has 6 bathrooms...imagine that! Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, so for now you will need to use your imagination. Connie is from Tennessee. She said the next time y'all come to visit we need to take you to their house for a visit. Remind us...you will be impressed. (Especially considering this is rural Kansas!)

Amusing Turkeys

These little guys are on insect control duty in the front yard. When they see a grasshopper on a plant, they approach it much like the cats do...slowly, stalking it. At the last minute they grab it and gobble it down...yummm-snacks.

We are so glad Mark and John gave us the LIVE turkeys last fall. They have been really entertaining. Although we only have Turk left from the original trio, the little poults they produced are growing nicely.

One of the mother hens has left them to go back to being a chicken and laying eggs. The other one is staying with them and with Turk's assistance is doing a great job of raising them. Our visitors are often amazed that the Tom is helping out. What a guy!

The little ones are just now learning they can actually fly. Some of them aren't too adept yet and their landings are anything but smooth. Frequently their intended landing spot isn't where they end up on the first try, but by the second attempt they make it. The hen takes them back into their shelter at night and we close the door to keep them safe from predators. Turk is claustrophobic and prefers not to stay in there with them, but roosts on a fence just outside their door. He is always ready for them to be out before I am ready to open their door. It is so cute to see him on one side of the window with them on the other side just chatting away. They have a definite language but the humans have not been able to translate it all yet. But it took us a couple of years to learn "Guinea" so I guess we should just keep listening. They are just now starting to get the color on their feathers and we can't tell genders, but do know we have at least two little toms as they were trying to establish the pecking order a couple of days ago and then trying to fan their tails and strut their stuff. They are still too tiny to look impressive but by fall we could have quite a display. There are 3 hens still sitting on turkey eggs and two hens each with one little turkey in the chicken yard. Turk is one prolific breeder!

Funny but Sad

We distribute Government Surplus Food Commodities for Cheyenne County. Today was distribution day. Since the majority of the people who pick up commodities here are senior citizens, we try to coordinate the delivery so they can stop by and pick up the food after they go to lunch at the Senior Center. We have to keep the door locked while we are getting the food ready for distribution, as many of them feel the time frame we have set up applies only to the other people, not to them. They are chomping at the bit to get in and get their food. We opened the door 4 minutes early today. We timed the influx: within 14 minutes, 22 households had grabbed their commodities. It reminded me of an ant pile when a tasty morsel falls on to it. (I know, if we didn't let the kids put the worms and wounded grasshoppers on the ant hills I wouldn't have this comparison available in my brain.) None of these people appears undernourished. Old, yes. But starving? No. Then I remember that many of them are of an age where they can remember standing in the bread line during the depression. If you weren't at the front of the line, and the bread ran out you were simply out of luck and went hungry. I hope we never get to that point in America again.

Beef Stew

We had some wonderful beef stew tonight for dinner with beef, tomatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, squash, peppers, potatoes, herbs and seasonings. Not one of those items was purchased from the store! We are so proud. If I had made chicken or rabbit stew instead of beef stew, we could have said ALL of it came from the farm. If we keep working at it we will be self sufficient eventually. (And the way things are going with our government, we may need to be!)

Off to Oz

We had nasty weather again during the night. Strong winds which blew branches off trees and into the house making terrible noises as they flew by. I was wondering if I would be taking the same trip Dorothy took! In the daylight there was minor damage but not enough to need the insurance company. One of our portable chicken cages was relocated and now looks like this: No animals were injured or killed.

Turk is the sole survivor of the trio

Both of his ladies have been taken by predators. The one little turkey has been orphaned twice. I put him back with the other poults that are being raised by the chickens. He still doesn’t understand chicken language clearly but is learning. Turk stays nearby. We have 7 youngsters who all appear to be healthy. The older ones are getting their turkey voices now and no longer peep, but rather kind of squeak. It reminds me of teenage boys…only not nearly as rowdy. One of the hens in the chicken house has two turkey eggs she has been sitting on and they each have little holes in them and peeps coming from inside so we may have more little ones running around soon. 7/24/09

MMMM good

I just picked the first ears of corn from the garden. After coating them with butter and lemon pepper, I cooked them in the microwave and they created a circus for the taste buds. I think I will have more for lunch tomorrow. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the taste.

I never knew,

sweet potato plants bloomed. I'm not talking about the ones they sell for landscaping. I'm talking about the ones grown in the garden. I have never had them bloom before, but when I was checking out the progress in the garden this is what a saw: