Boys Will Be Boys

I went out to check on the chickens a couple of days ago and noticed blood spattered on the feeder and water dispenser.  I quickly went in the pen to check everyone and discovered that the victims were my two roosters.

Apparently, they were fighting, even though I have never seen either of them pay the least bit of attention to the other.  Rusty has a torn wattle, and Barnaby's comb was still oozing blood from some insult that I couldn't get close enough to evaluate.

They look a mess, but seem to be doing ok otherwise.

Sheesh...boys...

Experiments

I've tried a couple of things lately that I've never done before.  After all, I might as well be creative while I wait for it to be safe to plant things in my garden, right?

A couple of years ago, when we were purchasing coffee beans at a roaster in Erie that we like, J and I picked up a couple of burlap coffee bean bags from a box that said "FREE."  When we returned home from vacation, I put mine on a pile and kinda forgot about it.  While I was cleaning house this week, I discovered it and decided to put it over the back of my desk chair like a cover.  Much to my surprise, a handful of green coffee beans fell out!

I wasn't sure it there was enough to do anything with or not, but I decided to try roasting them.  I watched a couple of YouTube videos and roasted them to what should have been a Light to Medium Roast.  I ground them, and JP and I tried a small cup of coffee the next day.

Unfortunately, we were not very impressed - I picked up earthiness with a hint of wet burlap.  Oh well, it was fun trying.

I came upon a recipe last year for a homemade lotion that is supposed to be good for very dry skin.  Working in health care and washing my hands umpteen times a day definitely dries them out, especially in the wintertime.  The mystery ingredient in this lotion is dandelion oil.  Luckily we have no shortage of dandelions in our yard.

I had to start by picking a bunch of dandelion flowers and drying them in the sun.

Then I simmered them in avocado oil for 2 hours.  After straining out the oil, I combined it with equal parts shea butter and honeycomb pastilles and melted it together in a double boiler.

I mixed in several drops of sandalwood essential oil and then poured the product into containers.

I found the lotion fairly oily, but I think it will work well if I put it on at bedtime and wear cotton gloves.  Time will tell.  I have 2 extra containers...any takers?

We had a couple of really cold nights last week (in the high 20's) with frost, so I haven't yet planted out my seedlings, but they are living in the portable greenhouse/cold frame outside right now.  I have been working on trying to rabbit proof the garden for the past several days.  I have gone around the outside of the deer fence twice, pulling weeds and removing debris, and have attached over 50 feet of chicken wire by folding over 6 inches or so, and using landscaped staples to secure them to the ground, and using wire to attach the top to the existing fencing.  I have another roll of chicken wire to go, plus I found some more in the barn.  Hopefully this year I can actually grow green beans!

The strawberries and blueberries are blooming, so I got the areas bird proofed and weeded.  I also dug up strawberry runners that escaped from the beds and planted them in empty areas in the beds.  I'm hoping for a good season of berries this year.

I also put out my hummingbird feeders over a week ago, and have seen the little guys several times already.

I guess spring is here really and truly!  Enjoy it!

Not Yet!

We had a nice heat wave after my last post, but the weather keeps flipping from winter to spring.  We got a couple of inches on snow on the 18th, and below freezing weather for several days, which turned my apricot tree blossoms into crispy critters.

We actually got a bit more snow the morning of March 28th - just a dusting though.  This weekend it was 85* out on Saturday, and I put all the screens back in the windows.  By Sunday, it only got in the 50's, and we had to start a fire in the woodstove!

Luckily the Hellebores (Lenten Roses) are hardy - they have been blooming since late February.

The crocuses, daffodils, and hyacinths have been blooming as well, and the weeping cherries will open any day now.  We have had enough nice days, that I have done some outside work, such as deadheading and weeding in the flowerbeds; pruning the blueberries, butterfly bushes and clematis, and raking gravel out of the grass.

The wild violets have taken over in my largest flower bed.  At first, I tried to weed them out, but it was hopeless, so I decided to let them be.

This year, I thought I'd try something useful with them, and I made some violet jelly.  First I had to steep the flowers in boiling water for 4 hours, which turned it a bright blue.  Right before adding the sure jell and sugar, I added lemon juice, which turned it a bright purple.  After it was gelled, it was a bright pink color.  The recipe stated that the jelly has a "grapey and floral" taste.  All I noted was sweet with a bit of lemon.  Oh well.  I have still been enjoying it on toast!

L was assisting with the HS drama production again last week.  They did "Little Women - The Musical."  They needed a pair of ice skates for a prop at the last minute, so L and I stayed up late and built a pair out of some boots that she thrifted, cardboard, tin foil and hot glue.  They didn't turn out half bad!

I just started another fire in the woodstove, as it is forecast to be 30* overnight, and it is already starting to get a bit chilly in here.  I can't stand it! It's April 6th...where is SPRING??

It's Time To Go!

 It snowed again this morning, March 2nd.

This is how much wood we have left to heat the house with the woodburner.

It's time for winter to tuck it's tail and run, I can't take much more of this!!

On the Cusp...

We are on the cusp of Spring.  I don't smell it yet in the air, but my flowers are starting to tentatively show their tips.  The lenten roses have many buds on them right now, not quite blooming in time for the first day of Lent on Friday.

Last weekend I made about 70 newspaper cups and planted seeds for the garden once things are sunny and warm.  Thery are already coming up!

These are cabbages and kale

We had sunshine and weather in the 60's on Friday, so I worked in the garden for a couple of hours and got the blueberry bushes pruned.  Yesterday it was sunny and in the 50's.  JP and I cleared the pile of blueberry bush trimmings and the junk from last fall out of the garden.  We also tried to deer-proof my flower bed by putting in more posts around it and stringing electric fencing wire.  We still need to connect it to a solar battery to electrify it.

Today it is snowing on and off - hard to believe we were working in the sunshine in light jackets just 24 hours ago!   Sigh...we are down to a month of days before the "legal" beginning of Spring!

Febru-Scary

February always FEELS like the longest month of the year, likely because by this time I am longing to see green things growing and sunshine again!  I must say that 2026 has sped by so far, so I am willing to have it slow down for February!

January 19th was Popcorn Day, so I tried out this Popcorn-on-the-cob in the microwave.  It turned out pretty well!  I also ended up making caramel corn TWICE, because the first batch disappeared in about 36 hours.  My baby brother gave me this recipe:

D's Caramel Corn

8 c popped corn        1/4 t salt

3/4 c brown sugar     1/4 t baking soda

3 T corn syrup           1/4 t vanilla

Cover cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Spread popcorn on sheet.

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and salt and stir until mixture boils, continue to stir and simmer for 5 min, then add soda and vanilla.  Pour caramel over popcorn and toss to cover most of kernels.

Bake at 300* for 15 min, remove and stir.  Turn oven off, but return caramel corn to over for an additional 5-10 min.

JP gave me these fun socks for my birthday, and the day ended with a sunset that looked like fire in the sky.

The weather then turned bitter cold.  I decided to do some baking to help heat up the house, so I made a fancy apple pie (and baked a blackbird in the center!)

Following a few days of cold, we received about 9 inches of snow over the weekend.  Luckily, none of us needed to go to work on Monday, so we were able to spend that day digging out.

It has stayed below freezing, so even though it's been almost 2 weeks since the big snow, most of it is still on the ground.  The sun has been shining brightly for several days, however, and started to melt the snow on the barn roof.  Now we have some pretty amazing icicles!

You can see that the deer have been visiting the barn!

This one is over 4 feet long!

The forecast is calling for another 3-6 inches of snow starting tomorrow. 

Even though the days are dark and cold, L and I enjoyed a salad of fresh, homegrown lettuce this week.  JP got me an AeroGarden for Christmas, and I grew these beauties.  Currently there is some parsley and thyme growing.

I also finished building my Lego Milky Way, including some complimentary lights.  It was an unusual project, using many interestingly shaped and colored blocks.

What have you been doing to pass the long dark nights of January and Scary February?

Keepin' Busy

We are well into winter, with its short daylight hours and long nights.  I start getting more depressed this time of year - especially after the abrupt halt of fun activities leading up to Christmas and the New Year.  One thing that I typically do in the (long, long) evenings this time of year, is puzzles...or if I get a new set for Christmas...Legos.

Luckily, I did get a new Lego set for Christmas, the Himeji Castle.  It is already finished, but it was fun to do and fun to play with the lights now that it is finished.

We have had snow on and off for the past few weeks...about 4.5 inches of snow for New Year's Eve... requiring L's party guests to spend the night.  Following that, we had a big thaw, with temps on Friday topping out in the mid-60's.  Today it is cold and snowing again.  We are getting whiplash around here!  While walking in the snow last week, I found this interesting print in the snow.  It looks to me like a bird of prey (likely a red tailed hawk, as we have lots of them around here) caught a tiny beast in the snow!

The other after Christmas activity that always happens is the Putting-Away-of-Christmas-Gifts, which occasionally requires the Clearing-Out-of-Old-Crap activity.  I had actually done a bunch of the second activity well before Christmas, and stuff had been sitting around in boxes in our storage area for a couple of months, making it difficult to get to the wrapping paper!  In addition, I could no longer close the door to the garage closet where we keep the recycling and burnable trash.  So last week one day became the Getting-Rid-of-All-That-Stuff day.  I took 4 boxes of stuff to Goodwill, and dropped off the recycling on the way, since we no longer have a recycling facility in our area, and also burned the burnable trash in the incinerator.  I put all of the seats in the Highlander down, and the back was completely full!  So.  Much.  More.  Space!

Of course, since I was at Goodwill, I had to look around a bit.  I came home with a complete set of "Planet Earth" DVD's that looks new, a 3 disc set of "Finding Dory", and a brand new puzzle for a grand total of $11.38.

It came in a cute little box that looks like a book!

Currently, I am waiting for JP and J to let me know that they are on their way home from the city so that I can start dinner.  J is coming home to have a combined birthday celebration for L and me.  L slaved all evening yesterday baking a Turtle Cake for the occasion.  

Tomorrow, L heads back to work.  JP and I will take J back to the city, but first will take her and her roommate to pick up a second hand kiln that we will be storing here until they have space/need for it.  We already have J's used pottery wheel in the barn.  They are gradually acquiring the things they will need for their own studio one day.

L and I also put together this puzzle.  It was also thrifted, and was missing a piece.  😞

I'm staying busy enough lately that I haven't yet sunk too far down into the doldrums.  Let's hope it stays that way!

Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal

The above quote is from "Home Alone 2" - the first "Home Alone" movie is in our regular Christmas rotation.  Another favorite of mine is "A Christmas Story."  I just finished reading the book that the movie was based on, In God We Trust:  All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd.  I was disappointed that the book did not include the famous tongue on the flag pole scene, or the swearing during the tire change scene.

It has been very cold again, temperatures in the teens, and we got 3-4 inches of snow last night.  The chickens are doing fine, although they do not like to go outside in the snow.  They are not particularly filthy animals, but they are pretty dirty.  We get 7 eggs from the 7 hens on most days.  We have these very nice and clean nest boxes that 6 of the hens always lay in, but one lady insists on creating her own nest on the floor!

J was able to come down to help decorate the new Christmas tree the Monday before Christmas.  Stella was obviously NOT in a holiday mood at the time!

My parents and J's friend, P, were here for Christmas dinner, which was delicious.  JP did a strip steak roast in the sous vide and then grilled the outside for a nice crunch, which we devoured with a bit of compound butter, along with melting potatoes, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

Shallot and Parsley Butter (Recipe from America's Test Kitchen)

- 4 T unsalted butter, softened                

- 1 small shallot, minced                         

-1 med garlic clove, minced                   

- 1 T finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

- 1/4 t table salt                                        

- 1/4 t ground black pepper                      

Mash all ingredients together with a fork in a small bowl, then dollop onto wax paper and roll tightly into a cylinder and twist the ends closed.  Store in the refrigerator but remove it to soften slightly about 10 min before using.

J had to return to the city the day after Christmas, and JP had to work.  I drove J back to her apartment and then visited the nearby Oriental Grocery where she used to work.  I had a short list of things I needed, but browsed for a while, wondering about some of the more unusual items, such as these:

L's 20th birthday was 2 days after Christmas.  JP was supposed to be off, but got called in for 4 hours as the clinic was super busy.  I made L's favorite cake, Tres Leches Cake, and we had a small celebration so she could open a few of her gifts.  We will have a combo party for she and I when J can come home again later this month.

We have still been in party mode this week, as it is New Year's and work schedules have been a bit more lax for some of us.  L invited several friends over for a New Year's Eve party, and they stayed overnight due to the above mentioned snow.  This made it a good time to stay in and enjoy some of my Christmas gifts:

Cocoa with cookie man

I got these fun glow-in-the-dark plant magnets!

Cozy socks by the fire...

So here is wishing you all a warm and happy New Year!