The Making of "Chicken"-- for beginners

This post is dedicated to everyone that has ever wondered how exactly we farmer people do it. 

This Mitchell and Web clip is a humorously oversimplified version of how most people think the "chicken" they buy from the store comes to be.

Surprisingly or not, there is a little more to it than just getting some chickens and killing them or not.

To give our reader some perspective, once upon a time, people that lived on a farm kept chickens for eggs and sometimes dinner. Your hens layed about 2 to 4 eggs in a week. If a hen stopped laying for most any reason, she went into the stewpot (no matter how much you liked her.) If you ended up with more than one rooster, you kept the one you liked the best and made sunday dinner out of the others. Chickens like this started life as eggs laid by the mother hen, hatched by her, and nurtured by her until they were grown at around 6 months of age when they would either become new laying hens, or be made into meat.

Over time, people began to zoom into "traits" they liked best about chickens, and mated chickens that had those traits together, and developed distinct chicken breeds that were best at making eggs, or best at making muscle (meat.)
The baby boom and industrialization of the 1950s drove poultry scientists to develop a better meat chicken that would feed people even more efficiently.

The real face of KFC... note the HUUUGE tracts of land.

And so the "cornish cross" was born. All of the chicken purchased in a grocery store these days-- and even the majority of small farm families are this type of bird.

A quick compare of the bird at left, to the bird at right, should pretty much sum up why this type of bird makes a good amount of chicken, but not only is he big, his breasts are HUGE compared to a traditional chicken. Not only that, but he grows to this massive size in HALF the time it takes an ordinary chicken to grow. Not only does it take less time, a shorter life means less food is spent to make double the meat.

Amazing facet of science and industry, there are NO downsides to this....

Oh except of course for the fact that chickens that grow so quickly are prone to leg problems and organ failures, or that they are bred so much to be eating machines they don't really act like chickens. In fact, if you give these guys a real chicken yard or pasture, they will stand pretty much in the same 2 feet of space forever. Eating and pooping. Eating and pooping. Just as long as they can reach the food. There also isn't really much chance at having a "change of heart" or "rescuing" these types of birds. Eventually, the weight is too much and they die of natural causes in a few months. (The average chicken can live many years)

It sounds like a pretty terrible existence, right? So why does everyone use them? Well, 'cause we like chicken. For most people the cost of feed and how quickly a person can "finish" 20 chickens and get them into a freezer and be done with it. Some people go with the crosses because it helps their resolve to know the bird can't possibly live a long and happy life so they might as well make it into the meat they need.

Both the commercial chicken market and the family farmer orders these baby chickens from a hatchery-- a business who specializes in breeding chickens, hatching the eggs and selling the chicks. A commercial farm likely receives their chicks delivered on a truck, while a family who orders a box of 10, 20 or 50 chicks receives them via US mail, and pick them up at the post office. "Broiler chicks" as they are called, are often appealing as they are a short term commitment, with a lot of return.

The chickens are kept in a warm box with a heat lamp, and fed "chick starter"-- a baby chicken food packed full of nutrients they need to grow healthy.
When they get bigger and feathers grow in to replace the fuzz, the chicks don't need the lamp anymore, and eventually the birds go outside (or into a bigger pen in the barn if the weather is cold) and are fed a "grower" or "meat bird" food designed to give them protein to make muscle and just enough calcium to build the bones to carry it.

"cornish game hens", are these same chickens harvested when they are young and small, as the HUGE 6 pound roasting chicken harvested when it's about 3 months old, the only difference is time and age.

The rest of the process most people can figure out on their own.. the chicken is killed, feathers plucked, undesireable parts removed, and sent on to be sold in pieces, or made into chicken products like nuggets or noodle soup.

Many people "in the know" maintain that these fast growers taste like a watered down version of "chicken flavor" and that the old "heritage" breeds may take more time to grow, but are worth the wait.

I encourage anyone who gets the chance to sample a heritage chicken to do so! You might be surprised to decide for yourself how "chickeny" chicken can taste!

A Mud Free Makover (This time!)

Those that follow this blog semi-regularly (all two of you--thanks Mom!) might notice something is a little..... different.
Did I change the curtains? throw some paint on the cabinets? Well, if you can't quite put your finger on it (and you're the type that wonders what ever happened to the herd of mammoths that used to roam the neighborhood--) I'll put it in a nutshell. Everything is different.

You see, when we moved to the new homestead and off of the rental, we had intended to keep our old name; however while I was pouring over google maps I noticed a large farm about 3 miles away from our home with virtually the same name! Shenanigans!!
Not only does it exist-- the pretenders have the audacity to have a farm sign next to the school! THEY ADVERTISE DUCKLINGS!!

So, suffice it to say-- to avoid any confusion our little farm has undergone a re-branding.

Why the palm tree wallpaper you ask??

This might be strange to explain to non Arizonans, but I kid you not-- palm trees are a staple along the horizon of the west valley farm country. Hay farms and homesteads the valley over have the tall frondy things.

As for growing our little farm experiment?

We have made leaps and bounds. We have expanded from one cow to 4. (See my last post about Milking Martha.) A herd of 9 Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats have been given to us and we anticipate a busy kidding season in February-- we have 6 pregnant does and the breed is known to not only give birth twins with regularity, they often drop triplets and even have been known to have quads!

Our flock of welsh harlequins currently stands at 15 breeders. We also had donated to us a flock of 5 Pekin ducks, and we have housed them with our mixed breed and cayugas for an exceptional meat duck breeder pen.

Our two wyandotte hens are grown-- we enjoyed them very much, but as we are focusing on the ducks for eggs we've listed them for sale hoping to share them with a chicken fancier. Candidly speaking, I should probably part with some of my more ornamental duck hens too!

Our thanksgiving turkeys are in the freezer waiting for the big day-- their two sisters are healthy and vigorous and will be staying on as breeders for the next generation of Dusky Acre turkey dinners. We also added 3 new young turkeys-- one baby red palm hen from bourbon red heritage stock, and two young Fall Fire toms that should do an excellent job fathering next year's holiday meals.

Our geese have stayed on-- Goliath and Ethel are still joined at the hip flirting with the idea of setting a fall nest. Brucie and Lucy are a little more aloof, but I am hopeful they have what it takes to raise their own family in the spring.

Since we came into the new place at the beginning of fall garden season we worked quickly to get something--- ANYTHING planted, so we have a large series of pots and dresser drawer boxes full of dirt and plantings.
We've got bell peppers, tomatoes (romas and heirlooms), tree onions, salad bowl lettuce, herbs, cucumbers, peas, zucchini and cantaloupe sprouting and looking incredible. A much better turnout than we had at the leased property. We have plans to put in more raised beds and get an extra large strawberry patch and a decent asparagus patch going within weeks-- beets and beans, chard, carrots, leeks and potatoes hopefully to follow as space permits.

Fixes and projects have been slow going but they are going!

We completed our first goat pen before the goaties arrived (thank goodness!), we have a lawn now where there was only dirt before. The demolition on the old deck wrapped up today and the space is clean and ready for new skirting and raised beds made out of the salvageable old deck wood to house the rest of those veggies in my list. Next the demo on the old white singlewide begins with that old deck to become the strawberry boxes.

We have a grape vine planted next to our covered porch to climb the lattice-- we have two vanilla plant starts that are doing well in their new pots. We have two shade trees (desert willows) to plant in front of the house that will be much appreciated when the heat kicks up again in a few months!

All in all, we are seeing progress every day-- I can hardly wait till we have more than eggs on "farming status"!

Secret Cow Level

Long story short. Most people I know, know how I adore Missy Moo, my precious little pocket cow. Missy cries for me when I leave the cow pen-- she nuzzles. It's no secret how I am anxiously awaiting her calf during the holidays.

Well-- a family member decided my cow was pretty neat. So he invested in 3 new dexters (that passed my basic muster for health and value.) Mama Martha is in milk and has a 3 month old baby (Monica). Betty Brown is a beautiful red dexter but hasn't seen a lot of hands on treatment, so to get the girls at their full potential, I've taken on training them.

We begin with milking Martha.

Now, Martha has been hand milked before. Once for sure. A year ago. Our first milking trial saw her pacing back and forth in the horse pen, bellowing for her baby all day. I am quite certain that the neighbors thought I was torturing the poor animal.

When the appointed hour came, first order of business was a swift kick in the bucket. (Side note: Jeffers sells VERY good quality stainless steel buckets.) Goodbye first few ounces of cream. Hello ringing in my hand.

With a flank rope in place, Martha couldn't bring herself to kick anymore. (HAH!!) So she took to spinning around the pole I tied her to... (...hah....) I persisted in trying to work what I could out of her when she stopped to catch a breath but she seemed determined not to let down her bounty, further what I did get was so full of dust and hair I think it probably could have won a sand castle competition with my milk bucket contents.
Dejected, dusk setting in, and finding it all of a sudden very hard to draw a deep breath I finally gave it up, put her back in with greedy baby Monica and the other cows.

7 hours later, I was in bed with pneumonia. So much for cow training.

A few days later, I was ready to try again. This time, I got wise to the spinning top maneuver and set up a milking stall across the fence from the peanut gallery (Monica, Missy and Betty) This time, we hit our stride! Martha munched her oats unnmoving for several minutes-- The soft calf lowes seemed to help with the letdown-- the milk bucket was screened, and my hands were learning the milking motion!! We had achieved Dairy!! When martha scooted too far away from the stool a tug on the flank rope brought her back. It was like milking a different cow, she was so mellow and compliant!
I didn't put much milk in the bucket since I was trying to leave a lot for the calf, but I pasteurized that 1/2 pint  with PRIDE!!

The next day I was so looking forward to getting another go at it, Martha was even getting better with being led. She didn't freak out so much when I put her in the horse pen. Yessir, everything was PEACHY!

Then at about 11 am I glance out the window and what do I see? A mama cow--- pacing around the cow pen. From the outside of it.

With a deep sigh I set down my coffee to go see what section of the fence she jumped over or tore out to escape.
It seems Martha was a bit of an engineer. How obvious that since she entered the pen by the gate--- she should leave that way.

Gate is now laying torn off of it's hinges. Horse is gone. Thankfully the hay pile is the most interesting place in the neighborhood and I was able to collect him quickly and re-hang the gate.

Obviously by now, I have realized I should not trust Ma'am Martha. When will I milk again? Glad you asked! I am working on yet another insidious plot to separate mother from (cow) child. Hopefully, a lot more fruitfully this time around.

It's become abundantly clear in this world that while we may want things to get better, it's a slow road if you plop down and wait for them to do so of their own volition.

Setting Spiritual fulfillment to the side (since that's a loaded canon, and everyone has their own untouchable preferred recipe) this blogger thinks that a lot of people; far too many these days, live their lives waiting for that magical moment when their situation will change and life will all of a sudden become "happy."

"Mommy, you will NEVER guess what I just did unsupervised in my room involving crayons, scissors, glue, fingerpaints, and the dog"

A new job or a raise, moving to a new place, meeting your soulmate, a new baby or pet-- a new place to live, or something new to drive. All these things may be important, but the type of people who put life on pause and wait for these times when they expect to be happy, often find themselves one day older, still not satisfied, and wondering how they got where they are.

So here we come to it; my humble suggestions to finding joy in the little things every day-- because life is made up of little things and every days.



1.) Grow something edible. 


A while ago a popular Ladies magazine published an article stating that psychologists found a unique connection in the reward centers of the brain that is triggered only when a person satisfies some primeval desire to feed or clothe themselves or their family members. This is often triggered by hobbies like knitting, sewing, canning, and gardening. Gardening is the simplest and most approachable way to benefit this bio-mental phenomenon (I totally made that word up, you like?)

A shoe organizer has a midlife crisis

Most people think of gardening as a big production demanding yard space, destruction of lawn, hours of work-- but porch container gardens can be simple, thrifty, and beautiful. If fancy pots are too spendy (and in this blogger's opinion, store bought pots ARE) get ahold of some pots designed for trees. These can be had cheaply at Lowes, or often free on Craigslist from folks that recently planted a bunch of trees. Goodwill frequently offers rubbermaid tote bins without lids for cheap.

Growing too much maintenance? plant grape vines or a fruit tree that needs only water and sunshine to grow.

No outdoor space? start a windowsill herb garden in your kitchen and water it when you do your breakfast or dinner dishes.

In time, you'll find there will be a certain amount of pride in snacking on one of YOUR oranges or apples, and in cooking up pasta with YOUR basil.


2.) Dress yourself (and your daughters) like a princess.

"I should wash these windows... someday. Before my prince comes."

When I mention it, you will instantly remember that formal or semiformal dress in the back of a closet or bottom of a drawer. It fits, but has this STAIN on it you just can't get rid of. Maybe you're thinking of throwing it out, or you want to but can't bring yourself to do so because a relative gave it to you as a gift, or because you spent too much money on it.

First- here is one last ditch tip to remove stains-- treat the spot with hydrogen peroxide. It's a cheap, natural "magic" stain remover. If it didn't work the first time, treat it again. If the garment has a stink or a dinginess your laundry cycle didn't take care of, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your laundry detergent, and white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment.
Another option is a bottle of RIT dye to change the color to rectify stains or fading- this can be found in the laundry isle usually and can be done in a large bowl, a sink, or a bathtub- Dying is a great skill to have for reclaiming vintage items.

Second... if you love these clothes, find ways to wear them! If a little girl can't wear one of her dresses to church or school anymore, demote it to play-clothes status. My middle daughter has her favorite "princess nightgown"- an ankle length dress with silk, ribbon rosettes and a soft lace skirt that was demoted from the school rotation due to wear and tear, but she still feels like a disney princess at bed time.
I have different dresses I wear "out" or for messy at home activities, and some I wear as nightgowns after their "best days" are used up.

Third.. if you have "dress up clothes" that aren't getting used because you're afraid of "ruining them"-- stop worrying! Treating a day (or yourself) like you're not deserving of something nice is not going to help your mood or your long term goals. This tip follows the "use the good china" philosophy. And besides, even if you get a spot on something I've already told you how to fix it.

3.) Animals are awesome.

Research shows that people who have pets have less stress and live longer. Sure, it's easy for someone like this blogger to say... I live on a farm after all-- but there are a lot of ways to incorporate the therapeutic qualities of animals without collecting them. I'm all about responsible pet ownership, good stewardship, etc etc. and I don't advocate everyone rushing out and buying a dog or a cat. For one, not everyone is suited to taking care of an animal either by personality or lifestyle. But watching animal TV programs, cute critter youtube videos, visiting a (morally responsible) zoo, or petting or walking shelter animals will trigger a measure of catharsis normally limited to exposure to feathered or furry creatures.
For some reason, animals have always touched on something instinctive in mankind.

If you badly want a pet, and are able to keep one where you live, you do have a few options apart from dogs and cats.
My first "apartment living pet" was a ferret-- I was used to dogs and cats and I value qualities like personality, playfulness, and cuddlyness. Woozles are not for everybody-- they need frequent attention to be well socialized and to stave off bad habits. Their musky odor takes effort to manage (but it IS manageable). Some bird species can be very personable creatures, but they can be very noisy, sometimes destructive, and several species live longer than some pet owners can commit to caring for them. (I always say, don't adopt a critter unless you're prepared to see to it's needs as long as it lives.)

I've known many people who opt to keep indoor ducks as house pets-- They have personality, can be very quiet depending on breed/sex, can be diapered to prevent messes, don't chew, don't bite and don't shed hair- a very appealing combination of attributes.

Domestic rats are also an often overlooked pet. Like ferrets they need attention to be calm, but they fit the bill of cuddly, cute and playful, they don't have a tendency to claw, and their short life span is a reasonably small time committment, plus they travel easily. You don't often find someone having to rehome a pet rat due to having to move. They are generally gentle with children too. The downside to rattus domesticus is that they manage to escape at times, and need to chew constantly.

"Carrots? No thanks, I filled up on electronics."

Rabbits have been gaining ground as indoor pets in recent years because of their great personalities, cuteness and ability to be litterbox trained, but bunnies have drawbacks-- big ones. They like to chew on everything from walls to furniture to electrical cords-- hardly low maintenance pets.

4.) Eat well.
I don't mean eat whatever you want, anytime you want, but food is fuel for your body and mood at it's basest level. My waistline will readily attest that I'm not in the habit of turning down dessert or delicious processed fast food once in a while, but you know-- if you put watered down gas in your car, it will sputter and stop running all together if the gas is bad enough. Likewise high performance cars do better on high octane fuel. There is even a subtle difference between 85 and 87 octane gas in most vehicles.

The great thing about fueling your own body, is that unlike gas, higher quality does not cost you an arm and a leg-- it's all in the choices you make.
Plus, more complete "richer" food like whole grains, whole milk, real butter and actual meat (if your body is craving it) have been shown to satisfy cravings better and make you feel fuller.

5.) Get Mail 

Looking forward to a small short term goal is great for a person's mood, plus mail generally comes to your house or gets you out to do errands if you have to pick it up from a PO box. Getting something fun injects a little joy to doing errands or staying home/going home.

Order something online or win an ebay auction if you have disposable cash. Order free samples or exchange cards via snail mail with a friend, relative or pen pal if you don't.
Join a swap/barter community if you can neither afford or justify buying new things-- this keeps your "mail high" up, but keeps your clutter and unwanted items going out.

Mood bonus-- by taking charge and getting rid of things you no longer need you are seizing "control" of a facet of your life, a perennial mood booster-- it's empowering to rule your things rather than be ruled by them. Which brings us to tip #6.

6.) Command and Conquer your clutter
There is no reason on earth that a person needs to pay out of pocket in any way in order to save things they cannot comfortably fit into their house. If you have a storage unit, and you can't put those things into a place that you live, you officially have too much stuff.
If you don't have room for "your things" around you, you must not really need those things, since you are obviously living without them already.




But, above all though;

In Celebration of Easter... Cheesecake! (with a carb free twist!)

Nothing says "holiday" like a feast, and typically the menu bears a certain "waistline be damned" quality.
The Schafer clan's favorite cheesecake however, is a guiltless baked New York style variety originally conceived as a part of the Atkins diet, but we prepare it today (and many other days) in an effort to stave off a pancreatic shut down, one dessert at a time.
It's so delicious, easy to prepare and cheesecake addict approved that I thought I would share our minimal guilt cheescake.

Ingredients:
~Three 8 oz packages of Neufchatel Cheese (Looks, smells and tastes like cream cheese, 1/3 the fat content.)
~1/4 to 1/2 cup splenda sugar substitute (or tweak your sugar substitute for flavor and adjust the calorie content. 1/4 cup Honey is also divine in this spot if you want to use MORE natural and local)
~2 Tablespoons vanilla extract (the real stuff is better, the cheap stuff is a wood processing byproduct.)
~3 whole eggs (or in my case, 2 large duck eggs)
~1 cup plain greek yogurt. (Oikos unsweetened is perfect, Fage is great, home made 'gurt is fab. You can also sub sour cream but I prefer the smoothness of yogurt.)

The unbaked batter as written (including food coloring.)

~ 6 drops of yellow food coloring (optional... looks more store bought with.)

Directions:
1.) preheat oven to 375 F
2.) Soften neufchatel in a large bowl
3.) With an electric mixer, blend cheese ALONE  until creamy and of an even consistency.
4.) Add sweetener, vanilla, greek yogurt and blend until thoroughly mixed.
5.) Beat in eggs ONE AT A TIME and blend after each is incorporated into the batter.
6.) Grease a glass pie pan or springform pan.
7.) Add batter to pan
8.) place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until slightly firm in center.
If you want to avoid a "cracked top" you may bake the cake in a water bath (by setting the cake pan inside another, larger pan in an inch of water... but you know... my family doesn't care if the top has some crackles in it :D)

Prep time, about 15 minutes!

The main difference in this cheesecake is a lack of empty carbs and fat in a crust, but almond meal dusted in the bottom on the greased pan is a delicious alternative for nut lovers. The basic recipe has about 5 grams of carbs give or take, but I encourage every chef to tweak this blueprint to suit your family's taste, local foods (or household foods!) and special diets.

Spring Cleaning: Defeating the "It's in Storage" Monster

Our blog today is about "Storage", and how to part with it effectively.

If you make this face every time you open your hall closet
or "spare room" this column is for you.

There is no reason on earth that a person needs to pay out of pocket in any way in order to save things they cannot comfortably fit into their house. If you have a storage unit, and you can't put those things into a place that you live, you officially have too much stuff. 

If you don't have room for "your things" around you, you must not really need those things, since you are obviously living without them already.

If you are at all concerned about money, immediately look to eliminate things from your life you don't use. Knick knacks, clothes, appliances, exercise and sports equipment, hobby materials that have lost their luster, dishes, family heirlooms you don't like, what have you, and liquidate it into much needed cash.

~Yard sales have been popular for decades, but they've taken a serious dip in success as people have less free cash to drive around looking for sale signs and deals to be had there. (Some cities and counties don't even allow sale signs at street corners anymore.) 

"It looked like they might have had a treadmill out there, did you want to turn around?"

In other words, far fewer people drop by a yard sale just to see what's there. The majority of sale shoppers are looking for a deal on something very specific, and they won't drive far out of their way to find it. 

A successful yard sale takes far more planning, effort and promoting than ever before. 

-If you want to have a yard sale you have to promote your "main attraction items". Your add must mention items people are looking for to get people interested in buying your stuff out to see it. Furniture, antiques, vintage clothes, appliances, children's clothes, baby items, camping equipment, bunk beds, etc are all big draw items and will attract people with cash in their pocket and a truck to take it away versus lookie loos and just browsing Betties.

If you live in a rural area count on only your neighbors showing up to a yard sale. 

You should probably look at joining or organizing a "community rummage sale" with a church, charity or large group of families to attract a large enough collection of items to draw customers to your location (again, think main attraction items)

I'll be honest... even this stock photo from
google images excites *my* inner bargain hunter. 

Rummage sales don't have to donate all sale proceeds to do good-- you can get rid of your clutter and get paid too by charging a "space rent" and donating those proceeds- a sure thing in terms of raising money for a good cause as opposed to being capped by potential sales and talking people into giving away their stuff. 

Selling items online is always a viable choice. 

Ebay is good for listing very specific items that people ordinarily go there to look for, like clothing lots, collectibles and current or retro electronics, but not so good for average or mundane items-- new home made crafts generally have a disappointing return on ebay, and pass on listing items on ebay that are so saturated that you won't get an acceptable price. Know how much it will cost to ship your item too... under estimating what to charge for shipping, plus your listing and pay pal fees is a sure way to get skunked. Paying to get rid of your things is very counter productive to earning money.

Craigslist and Ebay Classifieds are good for large items that need to be picked up locally rather than shipped, depending on how active your area is. There is usually some local classified listing available through a local paper, radio station or even facebook group. 

Etsy is a great specific site for listing craft supplies, vintage items, and homemade crafts because that is what the site users are looking for, the listing periods are months long, and listing fees are cheap.

If money doesn't concern you, there are many ways to offload excess without having to wait for someone with cold hard cash to come along. There are many forum communities with "barter boards" where items you don't need are mailed off to someone in exchange for items you want and ebusinesses that specialize in swapping DvDs, electronics and small appliances you don't want for those that you do-- usually involving a credit or points system. 

It's well known that charities will accept donations of items in exchange for a tax credit-- before you do that there are some things to consider:

First, how you want the item to be used by the charity should dictate how and where you donate it. If you want to donate clothes, furniture or nessecities directly to the needy or a shelter to be given to people at no cost to those who need them, donate to a shelter group and state your intentions-- many groups also have a thrift store that your things could also end up in storage for, and if that's not how you want your things used, you need to make sure it gets to the right place. 

If you're fine with your old stuff being sold by an organization to raise cash, you can drop stuff off at a drop point at the thrift store, and some groups will come to your house to pick up a substantial amount of stuff. 

If you are looking at one of these,
take note of the charity that owns the box,
and google it to make sure  it's both a legitimate cause,
and one you can fully support before donating. 

Look long and hard at those drop boxes you see in parking lots. Some of them are for legit charities, and others may only collect your items to sell for profit. The only "service" those boxes offer is keeping items out of land fills and the government has cracked down on some of these imitation charities lately. Some of them only work with drop boxes because they don't have true charity status and thus can't give tax write off receipts. 

Something a lot of people who donate items don't seem to be aware of is the fact that even thrift stores have a  sorting process, and only items that meet certain standards will reach the shelves, and the rest will end up in the trash anyway. 

In short, only donate items in good enough condition that someone would actually want to buy. Old electronics should work, clothes should not be ripped or stained, puzzles and games should have all their pieces. If donations don't meet these criteria, not only are you wasting the charity thrift store's time spent in sorting unusable items, you're actually costing them money in disposal. 

You can also take the charity of donating into your own hands by listing items on Freecycle.org for local pickup, or by listing on Craigslist in the "free" section, a poster on a bulletin board, or sharing your things with someone around you in day to day life that needs or would enjoy items you don't want like outgrown children's clothes, food in the freezer or pantry your family won't touch, or an out of date couch.

Having trouble getting motivated to clean or get rid of things? I've never known anyone who can sit through an episode or two of the show "Hoarders" without looking around their house with new eyes... and a burning desire to offload things they've been saving without purpose... as quickly as possible! 

Spring springs Eternally... in the Desert.

Well, maybe not eternally. We have this thing called summer that lasts from June to September and it discourages anyone and anything from being out doors between the hours of 7 am to 11:59 pm and 12 am to 5 am.

"My kid brother looked like a tick about to pop."

I'm sure you folks in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota think you're really clever when you say how cushy our winters are in Arizona... but just you remember the next time you put on your three sweaters and two pairs of wool socks that we can't put on or take enough off to get through *our* in-climate weather comfortably, smartiepantses!

Anyway.

Spring has officially arrived here in South Western Arizona. The ducks are at it like ducks (which is 3 notches above "at it like rabbits" and 1 above "at it like rock stars and politicians")
I'm loving all my eggs and finally starting to look at maybe getting into a market now that I'm at the point I can't possibly use all of my eggs and not all of my birds are mature enough to lay yet.

"uhm... call me crazy but I'm pretty sure none of my drakes look like that..."

We will not be *trying* to hatch any, but true to most famous last acts of doom I've decided to leave just a couple of eggs every day in one of the nest boxes to "just see what happens" and if any of my hens will go broody.


Since raising ducks last year went so well,  hubster talked me into geese, so we ordered 10 "hatchery choice" straight run geese from Ideal as they not only had a special running but they had the first hatch  out on feb 1st. While it is all well and good to get birds in July, Jan. and Feb mark the beginning of our spring season and gives our fowl the best shot at growing up in spring and summer and our freezer the best shot at being filled with excess male roasting geese in time for the holiday season.
They're all adorable right now, but I'm sure the time will come when they start to get extra moody and Camp Kenmore will look pretty appealing come November.

We also decided to give raising holiday turkeys a whirl, and added 10 BBW poults to the chick nursury with plans to order our first box of cornish cross chicks when the turkeys are feathered and outdoors so I think we're well on our way to the self sufficient safe meat goal.

The garden is in the ground, the heifer is having her conjugal visit in less than a week, and d'you know? all in all spring is a great time of year :)