That is what we used to go through in a week, year in and year out, when my four kids were growing up. Of course we ate other things too, but those three items were permanently on the grocery list. At least, the bread and milk were; after a while I began canning my own jam. My yearly goal was to can 50 half-pints of strawberry jam, as that was the family favorite. I finally accomplished it the year before DS1 graduated and left home.
We also easily went through an entire 250 pound (on the hoof) hog, and three deer in twelve months. Twenty four chickens? No problem. Ate those too, and then some.
I got really good at taking recipes, most of which are written for 4 servings if they are an entree, and multiplying them. DH and I used to joke that our kitchen, with it's 5-burner stove and extra large pots and pans, looked like I was cooking for an army.
Then the kids started to leave home. Honestly, we didn't notice much difference in food consumption when DS1 left; mainly because DS2 and DD1 were hitting their stride as teenage eaters right about then. But when DS2 left home, I realized I didn't need to multiply recipes anymore. Not unless I wanted to put some in the freezer for future use. I could even get away with only buying milk twice a week!!
Two months ago, after DD1 moved out and before any hint of DS1 & family moving back in, DD2 asked me what I would do next year, when she goes off to college. With only DH and I to feed, would we eat the same dish two days in a row in order to use it up? Or would I put half into the freezer? Would I start buying milk by the half-gallon so it didn't go sour before getting all drank up?
We were down to drinking just 1 gallon per week at that point. I figured I could probably get an entire gallon drank before it went bad, if I bought it with a far enough out expiration date. Or, maybe I'd just talk to the friend a few miles over that got dairy goats this summer. . .
Then everything in the south (Carolina, that is) went south, and I find myself in not a household of three planning to go down to two occupants before the next ten months is up, but in a household of seven. Thankfully one of the seven isn't on solid food yet!
Fortunately, cooking for six is still pretty natural to me. Because, with DS1, K2, and K3 all eating here daily, we are back to four loaves of bread (made now, not boughten), seven gallons of milk, and a half-pint of jam each week. An entire hog would be most welcome in my freezer. And three deer also. I'm all ready running a little short on chickens.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Transition
This morning, I started my new job. Which, actually, isn't a job, but the beginning of my own horse business.
You see, I am working at a different farm than I have been for the last decade-plus. But I don't work for them. I am not their employee. That is not the way the pay system is set up. This is becoming more and more common at horse farms and other similar places: you hire in to perform a set of tasks, and you are paid as a 1099 employee (meaning you pay the taxes on your income, not the farm--and they don't have to offer you health insurance) rather than being hired in to work x number of hours on y days a week. In other words, an independent contractor. Self-employed.
Which is really ironic, as I've been wanting to have my own horse business for a long, long time (since I was sixteen), yet the time, finances, real estate, etc never aligned perfectly in order for me to do so. And when I decided to look for some other farm to work at so that it would be possible for me to leave the situation I was in at the other farm (the decade-plus one), I didn't think of it as going out on my own.
Honestly, until this morning I thought of it as a stepping stone; a way to make a (much needed) break from the other farm while I get all my ducks in a row to pursue a business loan (this winter/next spring) to get the start up funds I need for finishing off the horse facility we began at this little place here when we seeded pastures, built the shell of the barn, and began growing hay more than a handful of years ago. A horse farm was the original intent for purchasing this raw piece of land, way back in 2001 when we made an offer on it.
Two weeks ago, when I accepted the position at the new farm, I thought I was just biding time (and earning cash) waiting for next spring to get here when it would be construction season again--as in, once the ground thaws for putting in fence posts, running water lines, etc since I don't have the cash on hand to begin that stuff now before winter hits.
But actually, I just started my self-employed horse business. I'm freelancing, as it were, at the new horse farm doing much of the same things I will be doing at my own horse farm once all the physical structure is installed. Which means, as a self-employed person, the rubber knee boots I bought this afternoon to replace the ones that cracked and sprung a leak yesterday, are now a business expense. A write-off against those income taxes I will have to pay. And the miles I drove to get to the new farm (and home again) are also a business expense.
I'm kinda liking this. I was so afraid to jump into self-employment partially because I couldn't see how to juggle the monetary stuff. Yet, today it's so clear. Need new boots to do the horse-related job because the ground is currently very muddy? Buy the dang boots and write them off instead of worrying how to squeeze such a purchase into our personal budget (in other words, out of DH's paycheck). Stop worrying about the 9 miles further drive to the new barn each day versus the old barn. Those extra miles are now worth their weight in gold in reducing our income tax responsibility at the end of the year. Gloves from last winter worn out and in need of replacing so my hands don't freeze this winter? Just like the boots: go get some good warm work gloves, write them off, and enjoy having fingers that stay supple and toasty instead of stiff and icy.
Just think; I have all winter to get the hang of this self-employed/business owner thing before laying out a big chunk of change (or signing on a loan) to complete my own farm at this little place here. And, all the while, I am making contacts who are all potential future clients.
Win-win. Not to mention I'm starting to feel like my lifelong goal of working for myself and no one else is actually obtainable. A dream that really will come true.
You see, I am working at a different farm than I have been for the last decade-plus. But I don't work for them. I am not their employee. That is not the way the pay system is set up. This is becoming more and more common at horse farms and other similar places: you hire in to perform a set of tasks, and you are paid as a 1099 employee (meaning you pay the taxes on your income, not the farm--and they don't have to offer you health insurance) rather than being hired in to work x number of hours on y days a week. In other words, an independent contractor. Self-employed.
Which is really ironic, as I've been wanting to have my own horse business for a long, long time (since I was sixteen), yet the time, finances, real estate, etc never aligned perfectly in order for me to do so. And when I decided to look for some other farm to work at so that it would be possible for me to leave the situation I was in at the other farm (the decade-plus one), I didn't think of it as going out on my own.
Honestly, until this morning I thought of it as a stepping stone; a way to make a (much needed) break from the other farm while I get all my ducks in a row to pursue a business loan (this winter/next spring) to get the start up funds I need for finishing off the horse facility we began at this little place here when we seeded pastures, built the shell of the barn, and began growing hay more than a handful of years ago. A horse farm was the original intent for purchasing this raw piece of land, way back in 2001 when we made an offer on it.
Two weeks ago, when I accepted the position at the new farm, I thought I was just biding time (and earning cash) waiting for next spring to get here when it would be construction season again--as in, once the ground thaws for putting in fence posts, running water lines, etc since I don't have the cash on hand to begin that stuff now before winter hits.
But actually, I just started my self-employed horse business. I'm freelancing, as it were, at the new horse farm doing much of the same things I will be doing at my own horse farm once all the physical structure is installed. Which means, as a self-employed person, the rubber knee boots I bought this afternoon to replace the ones that cracked and sprung a leak yesterday, are now a business expense. A write-off against those income taxes I will have to pay. And the miles I drove to get to the new farm (and home again) are also a business expense.
I'm kinda liking this. I was so afraid to jump into self-employment partially because I couldn't see how to juggle the monetary stuff. Yet, today it's so clear. Need new boots to do the horse-related job because the ground is currently very muddy? Buy the dang boots and write them off instead of worrying how to squeeze such a purchase into our personal budget (in other words, out of DH's paycheck). Stop worrying about the 9 miles further drive to the new barn each day versus the old barn. Those extra miles are now worth their weight in gold in reducing our income tax responsibility at the end of the year. Gloves from last winter worn out and in need of replacing so my hands don't freeze this winter? Just like the boots: go get some good warm work gloves, write them off, and enjoy having fingers that stay supple and toasty instead of stiff and icy.
Just think; I have all winter to get the hang of this self-employed/business owner thing before laying out a big chunk of change (or signing on a loan) to complete my own farm at this little place here. And, all the while, I am making contacts who are all potential future clients.
Win-win. Not to mention I'm starting to feel like my lifelong goal of working for myself and no one else is actually obtainable. A dream that really will come true.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
"Training"
Why is it that people get upset if you say something about "training" a child? Why do they get offended and say things like "that is degrading; children are not dogs!"
What is training? Is it not, at it's simplest definition, instructing someone or something in a particular area?
Yes, we train dogs. We train them to not urinate or defecate in our homes, but rather do those sorts of things outdoors. We train them to come, to sit, to stay, to walk politely on a lease. We train them to not bark at everything under the sun.
We also train horses. We train them to walk nicely on a lead rope and not bulldoze their handler. We train them to carry riders, or to pull carts.
We adults typically are 'trained' when we start a new job. We don't just jump full-bore into a new work environment without going through a training or orientation session first.
So why can't we refer to teaching our children as training them? It's not diminishing their value to speak as such. Nor is it degrading to their little psyches. It's just the plain truth. We are teaching--training--them how to behave in an acceptable manner in a variety of situations. Otherwise, how are they ever going to know how to get along in this world?
I was trained. I have trained my kids. I am training my grandkids. I'm not going to put some other modern day mumbo-jumbo politically correct, don't-dare-offend-anyone sort of phrasing to it.
(End rant)
What is training? Is it not, at it's simplest definition, instructing someone or something in a particular area?
Yes, we train dogs. We train them to not urinate or defecate in our homes, but rather do those sorts of things outdoors. We train them to come, to sit, to stay, to walk politely on a lease. We train them to not bark at everything under the sun.
We also train horses. We train them to walk nicely on a lead rope and not bulldoze their handler. We train them to carry riders, or to pull carts.
We adults typically are 'trained' when we start a new job. We don't just jump full-bore into a new work environment without going through a training or orientation session first.
So why can't we refer to teaching our children as training them? It's not diminishing their value to speak as such. Nor is it degrading to their little psyches. It's just the plain truth. We are teaching--training--them how to behave in an acceptable manner in a variety of situations. Otherwise, how are they ever going to know how to get along in this world?
I was trained. I have trained my kids. I am training my grandkids. I'm not going to put some other modern day mumbo-jumbo politically correct, don't-dare-offend-anyone sort of phrasing to it.
(End rant)
Friday, November 7, 2014
Challenge #39: Use It Up
Looking around this week, and trying to conglomerate ever more stuff (DS1 & family still unpacking boxes that have been in my garage for going on six weeks now) into the closets, cupboards, and pantry, I am finding tons of things stashed here and there that really should be used, not stored.
Some of it is obvious: the food stuffs and other consumables from DS1's house in South Carolina obviously need to be eaten, laundry washed with, behinds wiped with, etc rather than just being kept in a box or closet for months (or years). Some of it is less obvious, like the miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner that now take up an entire plastic basket under the bathroom sink.
You know, the sorts of little bottles that you find in hotel rooms when you arrive for a stay. How many of you travel for work, stay in hotels, and bring home those little bottles of hotel shampoo, conditioner, and lotion? If you are not the traveling one, how about your spouse or significant other?
My hubby has been bringing those home at least a few times a year, for almost twenty years now. And, since the majority of his trips are corporate travel, he's usually staying in decent hotels, sometimes even really posh ones (in other words, salon-type products!). Early on, he got into the habit of bringing home the shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles with him. Honestly, he started it because he wanted to bring the kids a 'treat' from his trips as sort of a consolation for him being gone from home so long, and we never had much money to spend on treats (or salon-type products!). So, he'd bring them the unopened soap, shampoo, lotion, notepad with hotel name, etc. They thought it was the coolest thing!
Even when the kids outgrew the novelty of the little bottles, DH kept bringing that stuff home because it was awful useful for tossing into an overnight bag when they would spend the night with a friend, or go to camp, or whatever. Why lug an entire bottle of shampoo with you when you only needed two or three head-washings worth? Little bottle it is.
But then, we started reducing head count (and shampoo use) at home as the kids grew up and left, yet at the same time, DH's corporate travels ramped up. Now I find myself with dozens of the little bottles, all stashed in an overflowing basket under my bathroom sink.
At the same time, I find myself with normal size bottles of shampoo and conditioner in my shower that are nearly empty. As in, time to add shampoo and conditioner to the shopping list.
Cue the light bulb above my head. Inspiration! I pledge not to buy any more shampoo or conditioner until I have used up every one of those little bottles in the basket. By my rudimentary calculations, that should be sometime next spring, if not summer.
How about you? What can you find stashed in the dark recesses of your home that you could use up rather than continue to store for 'someday'?
Some of it is obvious: the food stuffs and other consumables from DS1's house in South Carolina obviously need to be eaten, laundry washed with, behinds wiped with, etc rather than just being kept in a box or closet for months (or years). Some of it is less obvious, like the miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner that now take up an entire plastic basket under the bathroom sink.
You know, the sorts of little bottles that you find in hotel rooms when you arrive for a stay. How many of you travel for work, stay in hotels, and bring home those little bottles of hotel shampoo, conditioner, and lotion? If you are not the traveling one, how about your spouse or significant other?
My hubby has been bringing those home at least a few times a year, for almost twenty years now. And, since the majority of his trips are corporate travel, he's usually staying in decent hotels, sometimes even really posh ones (in other words, salon-type products!). Early on, he got into the habit of bringing home the shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles with him. Honestly, he started it because he wanted to bring the kids a 'treat' from his trips as sort of a consolation for him being gone from home so long, and we never had much money to spend on treats (or salon-type products!). So, he'd bring them the unopened soap, shampoo, lotion, notepad with hotel name, etc. They thought it was the coolest thing!
Even when the kids outgrew the novelty of the little bottles, DH kept bringing that stuff home because it was awful useful for tossing into an overnight bag when they would spend the night with a friend, or go to camp, or whatever. Why lug an entire bottle of shampoo with you when you only needed two or three head-washings worth? Little bottle it is.
But then, we started reducing head count (and shampoo use) at home as the kids grew up and left, yet at the same time, DH's corporate travels ramped up. Now I find myself with dozens of the little bottles, all stashed in an overflowing basket under my bathroom sink.
At the same time, I find myself with normal size bottles of shampoo and conditioner in my shower that are nearly empty. As in, time to add shampoo and conditioner to the shopping list.
Cue the light bulb above my head. Inspiration! I pledge not to buy any more shampoo or conditioner until I have used up every one of those little bottles in the basket. By my rudimentary calculations, that should be sometime next spring, if not summer.
How about you? What can you find stashed in the dark recesses of your home that you could use up rather than continue to store for 'someday'?
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Yarn Along #12 Sock It To Me!
Busy Wednesday, I was beginning to think I might not get a chance to join Ginny's Yarn Along this week. And I even have a finished (well, off the needles, still in need of blocking) object to show off:
The oaklet shawl:
Now that it's done, and knowing who I intend to give it to, I kind of wish I'd gone ahead and done the math to make the shawl a bit larger. Oh well, The intended recipient is most likely to wear it around her neck than over her shoulders anyway.
I finally feel like I've gotten to spend some time knitting again in the past week. Not only did I finish the oaklet shawl, I managed to get three (of four) pattern repeats done on the leg of Athos sock #2. Yay! That means I will be working on the heel this weekend :0)
I'm getting rather anxious to be done with this pair of socks. Normally a second sock only takes me a week or so to get done, and I'd originally planned to have the entire pair done by the end of October. Which means, according to my time table I'm running behind. Therefore, no casting on anything new until this sock is done! I need to focus. Sock. . . sock. . . sock. . .
Reading wise, I started the book Quiet over the weekend. It's kind of interesting, but a bit dry. I will keep reading it, but wanted something a little quicker as my main reading. So, yesterday I picked up The Meaning of Names from the library. I've only gotten into the second chapter so far, but I think I will like this book. It is a fiction account of a German-American family in the Midwest during WW1. I can (just barely) remember my great-grandmother --who was first generation German-American, born in 1889 and died in 1984 when I was 12 years old--talking about how, during the World Wars, they were careful to not speak German in public and how they were discriminated against because of their ethnicity. So even though I am a long time removed from that era, this book is something I can relate to. I'm looking forward to reading further.
The oaklet shawl:
Now that it's done, and knowing who I intend to give it to, I kind of wish I'd gone ahead and done the math to make the shawl a bit larger. Oh well, The intended recipient is most likely to wear it around her neck than over her shoulders anyway.
I finally feel like I've gotten to spend some time knitting again in the past week. Not only did I finish the oaklet shawl, I managed to get three (of four) pattern repeats done on the leg of Athos sock #2. Yay! That means I will be working on the heel this weekend :0)
I'm getting rather anxious to be done with this pair of socks. Normally a second sock only takes me a week or so to get done, and I'd originally planned to have the entire pair done by the end of October. Which means, according to my time table I'm running behind. Therefore, no casting on anything new until this sock is done! I need to focus. Sock. . . sock. . . sock. . .
Reading wise, I started the book Quiet over the weekend. It's kind of interesting, but a bit dry. I will keep reading it, but wanted something a little quicker as my main reading. So, yesterday I picked up The Meaning of Names from the library. I've only gotten into the second chapter so far, but I think I will like this book. It is a fiction account of a German-American family in the Midwest during WW1. I can (just barely) remember my great-grandmother --who was first generation German-American, born in 1889 and died in 1984 when I was 12 years old--talking about how, during the World Wars, they were careful to not speak German in public and how they were discriminated against because of their ethnicity. So even though I am a long time removed from that era, this book is something I can relate to. I'm looking forward to reading further.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Jump
After several years of contemplating and about a year of off and on looking, I have found myself standing on the edge of opportunity, and I've decided to make the jump. There is, of course, some fallout to sift through, but I'm convinced that in the long run, this is the direction I am supposed to go.
Next week, I will be employed at a different horse farm. It will be a few more hours per week, for more money per hour, and only horse-related tasks required. Feed, turnout, clean and bed stalls. No more housekeeping, no more errand running, no more pulling weeds or trimming shrubs around the owner's home, no more running around behind the other employee and being expected to pick up their slack while listening to the boss tell me how that person does 1/3 the work they used to yet she doesn't want to fire them.
(Yeah, I've gotten rather sour about my work situation.)
I won't be able to move my horses to the new farm because they are full up for the winter (34 head). That will be okay, I think. Because now I will be a paying boarder instead of a work-for-board boarder. Which means I can be picky about the care my horses receive and not be expected to just settle for mediocre (on the part of what the other worker isn't doing well). As much as I don't like to give money a whole lot of importance, there are times when you can't deny it's power.
I also think it will be okay because hopefully in the spring we will be ready to move my horses home to this little place here. So it will only be about six more months of dealing with the other farm in any way. In the grand scheme of things six months isn't very long at all. Not when you look back and know that I have, in some way or another worked there for most of the past twenty years. Six months is a drop in the bucket.
So, anyway, while it might not sound like all that big of a deal, for me this is HUGE. I am no longer going to be pretty much a private stablehand/housekeeper/errand runner. No, I am getting back into the public eye, the active horse industry. My time will no longer be spent hidden away on a farm that is itself in retirement; where no one comes and goes anymore. Now I will be making connections that will, if they work out they way I intend, roll this job into the teaching and horse training career that I have wanted for decades.
Next week, I will be employed at a different horse farm. It will be a few more hours per week, for more money per hour, and only horse-related tasks required. Feed, turnout, clean and bed stalls. No more housekeeping, no more errand running, no more pulling weeds or trimming shrubs around the owner's home, no more running around behind the other employee and being expected to pick up their slack while listening to the boss tell me how that person does 1/3 the work they used to yet she doesn't want to fire them.
(Yeah, I've gotten rather sour about my work situation.)
I won't be able to move my horses to the new farm because they are full up for the winter (34 head). That will be okay, I think. Because now I will be a paying boarder instead of a work-for-board boarder. Which means I can be picky about the care my horses receive and not be expected to just settle for mediocre (on the part of what the other worker isn't doing well). As much as I don't like to give money a whole lot of importance, there are times when you can't deny it's power.
I also think it will be okay because hopefully in the spring we will be ready to move my horses home to this little place here. So it will only be about six more months of dealing with the other farm in any way. In the grand scheme of things six months isn't very long at all. Not when you look back and know that I have, in some way or another worked there for most of the past twenty years. Six months is a drop in the bucket.
So, anyway, while it might not sound like all that big of a deal, for me this is HUGE. I am no longer going to be pretty much a private stablehand/housekeeper/errand runner. No, I am getting back into the public eye, the active horse industry. My time will no longer be spent hidden away on a farm that is itself in retirement; where no one comes and goes anymore. Now I will be making connections that will, if they work out they way I intend, roll this job into the teaching and horse training career that I have wanted for decades.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
So I Went to the Auction Last Weekend. . .
Two auctions, actually, as the weekly hay, straw & small livestock auction was Saturday morning, and then the last monthly consignment auction of the year was on Sunday morning.
I had gone to the Saturday auction looking for some pullets to replace the nine that got 'lost' in the dog/chicken incident the second day after DS1 and company had moved in. Because of course of 11 pullet chicks I'd raised this year to replace my old hens so that we'd have farm fresh eggs this winter, all but two were killed. And the two survivors were traumatized so badly they have not yet started to lay. Getting as late in the year as it is, and the lack of long hours of daylight for the next several months, there is a pretty good chance they won't start laying now until about mid-February.
Three older biddies laying every other day and three more wounded and healing (so, not laying) do not create enough eggs each week to meet our increased needs. Or even our normal needs, not counting the extra people in the house now. So I need to come up with some pullets in lay. Ordering started pullets from the hatchery at $17-20 each plus shipping is too rich for my blood. Even the few and far between I was finding on Craigslist were in the $10-12 range. So, the auction appeared to be my only hope for finding affordable young, productive birds.
Anyway, there were a lot of birds at the auction last Saturday. Mainly old hens and roosters. A few pens of chicks that looked a whole lot like meat birds rather than layers. I set my sights on about five pens, three of which had obviously mature birds in them but their feathers were full and glossy, indicating good health and that they've all ready finished their molt for the year so therefore are ready to lay again. The other two pens had smaller birds that I thought might possibly be pullets, also with good feathers indicating healthy birds. Some of the other pens held obvious laying hens, supposedly young, but with ragged feathers and red, upset skin showing. Not the kind of birds I wanted to bring into my flock.
Of the five pens I had my eye on, I ended up winning one, a pen of three nice young hens. Two are obvious crossbreds, and the third I think is a black Australorp.
As you can see, the blue one (gray feathers) has a muff and beard like an Aracauna or Ameracauna, but she also has feathered legs like a Brahma or Cochin. Yet, she is not as big and hefty in body as either of those two breeds.
What breeds they are really doesn't matter. As long as they lay, I don't care their parentage. And lay they do. It's really nice to go from seeing one or two eggs in the nest each day to seeing this:
The idea is that in ten years they will be tall enough and full enough to make a nice screen for the road and the neighbor's house across the street.
While we were planting, I decided to leave one of the trees in it's pot--we dug the hole and set the tree pot and all down into it, then did not fill the dirt back in around it--so that we can bring it in the house in mid-December and use it as a Christmas tree, then take it outside immediately after Christmas and plant it then.
In the last five years or so I've gotten away from having a tall Christmas tree, mainly because if it's tall enough to reach the ceiling it is also quite wide at the base and therefore takes up a lot of floor space in the living room where we need all the space we can get to seat our family. The tree I chose to reserve for Christmas this year is about 3.5 feet tall, not including the pot, and should do nicely on a small table or stand (probably built with cinder blocks).
I had gone to the Saturday auction looking for some pullets to replace the nine that got 'lost' in the dog/chicken incident the second day after DS1 and company had moved in. Because of course of 11 pullet chicks I'd raised this year to replace my old hens so that we'd have farm fresh eggs this winter, all but two were killed. And the two survivors were traumatized so badly they have not yet started to lay. Getting as late in the year as it is, and the lack of long hours of daylight for the next several months, there is a pretty good chance they won't start laying now until about mid-February.
Three older biddies laying every other day and three more wounded and healing (so, not laying) do not create enough eggs each week to meet our increased needs. Or even our normal needs, not counting the extra people in the house now. So I need to come up with some pullets in lay. Ordering started pullets from the hatchery at $17-20 each plus shipping is too rich for my blood. Even the few and far between I was finding on Craigslist were in the $10-12 range. So, the auction appeared to be my only hope for finding affordable young, productive birds.
Anyway, there were a lot of birds at the auction last Saturday. Mainly old hens and roosters. A few pens of chicks that looked a whole lot like meat birds rather than layers. I set my sights on about five pens, three of which had obviously mature birds in them but their feathers were full and glossy, indicating good health and that they've all ready finished their molt for the year so therefore are ready to lay again. The other two pens had smaller birds that I thought might possibly be pullets, also with good feathers indicating healthy birds. Some of the other pens held obvious laying hens, supposedly young, but with ragged feathers and red, upset skin showing. Not the kind of birds I wanted to bring into my flock.
Of the five pens I had my eye on, I ended up winning one, a pen of three nice young hens. Two are obvious crossbreds, and the third I think is a black Australorp.
the new girls
The head and neck on this one remind me of some silver Hamburgs I used to have, yet her body is heavier than a Hamburg, and she has feathering on her legs more like a Cochin or Brahma.
As you can see, the blue one (gray feathers) has a muff and beard like an Aracauna or Ameracauna, but she also has feathered legs like a Brahma or Cochin. Yet, she is not as big and hefty in body as either of those two breeds.
What breeds they are really doesn't matter. As long as they lay, I don't care their parentage. And lay they do. It's really nice to go from seeing one or two eggs in the nest each day to seeing this:
On Sunday, I went to 'early church' (aka the 8:00 a.m. church service instead of the 10:30 service I usually attend) and then over to the consignment auction which began at 10:00. The day before, while there looking for chickens, DH had noticed that there were several lots of potted or burlap balled trees, and he hoped we might be able to pick up a dozen or so of them to plant along the edge of the field out by the road on the part of our frontage that is south of our driveway. I had noticed some 'antiques' that I was interested in getting and putting to practical use at this little place here: a couple galvanized wash tubs and a 3-gallon crock.
Turned out that the wash tubs and the crock went for way more than I had in mind to pay for them. And most of the trees did too--if we wanted to pay nursery prices we would just go to the nursery instead of taking chances with auction trees. I did, however, manage to win two lots (one was 5 trees, the other was 4) of Norway Spruce for about half the cost of comparable trees at the nursery.
DH, DS1 and I planted them the next afternoon.
While we were planting, I decided to leave one of the trees in it's pot--we dug the hole and set the tree pot and all down into it, then did not fill the dirt back in around it--so that we can bring it in the house in mid-December and use it as a Christmas tree, then take it outside immediately after Christmas and plant it then.
In the last five years or so I've gotten away from having a tall Christmas tree, mainly because if it's tall enough to reach the ceiling it is also quite wide at the base and therefore takes up a lot of floor space in the living room where we need all the space we can get to seat our family. The tree I chose to reserve for Christmas this year is about 3.5 feet tall, not including the pot, and should do nicely on a small table or stand (probably built with cinder blocks).
the designated Christmas tree
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