Meet 'Fluffy'

 

     Some people have lap dogs to affectionately cuddle, or maybe a cat, but us... well, we have a Sizzle chicken named Fluffy. This is the most peculiar animal we have ever encountered. When you think of a bird, you don't really picture them coming up to you, expecting to be petted, or following you around the yard just to see what you are doing. Fluffy does. Most birds are skittish, cautious, or even down-right scared of the slightest move you make. Not Fluffy.

     We were informed recently that Fluffy is a Roo (rooster). He has feathers on his feet and a bright blue dot just behind his eyes. He gets to go outside occasionally to get some sun, and he loves just scratching in total freedom in front of the other chickens. It is funny watching him walk around the outside of the chicken coupe, taunting the other chickens as if saying "Look at me!" Little does he know that he would be plucked instantly if we ever let him inside of the coupe.

     Fluffy is more than just another egg producing chicken here at the farm. We view him as almost a mascot. The kids love him. Melissa loves him. Alex is getting used to the idea that we can't fry him. Newport Oaks just wouldn't be the same without our fluffy, feathery friend.   

Putting Out the Fire



      After cutting a lot of trees down for the pig pen, garden space, blacksmith shop, etc., we had an abundance of limbs and brush piled up. After giving it ample time to dry, we finally got a calm day (rare here in Oklahoma) to get rid of one of the piles.   

 

     When burning, I get very serious about fire safety. One, I will not burn if the predicted wind values are above five miles per hour and/or we have been in a dry spell. Two, I prepare the pile efficiently in order to avoid any stray flames or embers being launched into an undesirable location. Three, I always have a sufficient water supply and proper tools for maintaining the pile BEFORE ever lighting a match. Since we have neighbors in the vicinity, we always want to be courteous and cautious when burning.

 

     After about six hours of burning and maintaining this particular pile, it finally consumed the last bit of branches, leaving nothing but a piping hot pile of charred embers. Since we didn't have time to start another pile, we ensured that we got plenty of water stirred into the bed of coals and extinguished the hot spots to prevent a flare-up. Eventually, we will stir this rich charred ash into our garden before tilling time to help enrich the soil.

 

     In case you were wondering, this is only one of about six massive piles we have to burn off. Provided the weather stays nice and the piles continue to dry out, we should get it completed before spring. 

Farm Fresh Eggs

 

     I know what you are thinking... Easter already? Yes, it is January and spring is a ways around the corner, but our chickens just couldn't help themselves. There are no camera filters, no paint, not even spritzes of water for glow. These are straight from the chicken to the carton. It seems that as the chickens mature, the eggs are getting bigger and brighter in their presentation.

 

Not much of a 'blog post' but there's not much to say. Just sharing our beautiful array of the eggs our chickens decided to lay. 

An Egg with NO Shell

 

 

     When we started getting eggs, we expected some to be small or discolored, but we never expected this. The egg in the above photo has no shell. It looks like it has a discolored, rough shell, but in fact, it is just the membrane frozen by the overnight air. We tried to decide what to do with it and finally concluded, "waste not..." It thawed out in the frying pan and made a delicious breakfast. Since finding this oddity, we have not had any other "weird" egg-laying occurrences.

      After a little research (which it seems we are always doing), we started feeding the layers some shell crumbles, oyster shells, and layer pellets to their scratch diet in order to increase their calcium intake which helps produce sturdier shells. After about a week of this new diet, and the shells seem brighter and firmer than before. And did I mention, Oh, so tasty?! 

OUR SEEDS HAVE ARRIVED

          As a kid, going to the mailbox is always exciting. Growing up, our driveway was lengthy, so it was a long walk to the mailbox. The anticipation of not knowing what had arrived made it even more exciting when we would go and find our name on a card or a package.

          As an adult, my view of going to the mailbox has changed. I find this is probably common amongst adults. We find doctor bills, house payments due, electric bill, advertisements for things you really can't even buy. There is usually NOTHING good in the mailbox.

         Today, I got to feel like a kid again. We got a box. It way so exciting for us because it contained part of our seeds for the garden! This little box prompted us to plan our garden. for now, we have planned out the dates we plan to plant and to gather. Soon we will have a garden planned out with exactly what needs to be planted where.

        

Our FIRST Eggs!!!

This is one of the most exciting days on our little farming adventure we have had so far! Our first set of chicks hatched out August 4, 2015 and they arrived to us on August 7th. We have waited 5 months for them to lay their own eggs. Obviously, we didn't expect it right away... Actually we were thinking that it would happen closer to the beginning of March. We don't keep a light on them, so I thought there weren't enough hours of light in each day for them to lay.

This is the first one (pic. left)!!!! It was from our Black Australorp. I know that because it was brown. Although, the color in the picture doesn't do it justice. The picture on the right was sent to me about an hour later. I couldn't believe that we had two eggs in one day!

 

As the day progressed we ended up with six eggs! The Black Australorp laid the brown eggs, Ameraucana laid the green/blue eggs, and the Buff Orpington laid the beautiful pinkish colored eggs. And, because Jett broke one, he got to eat it and said it was delicious!

 

 

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Spending to Save

     Today was another busy day as usual. As I had business to attend to in the city already, I made a stop at the tool store to make a small purchase. Since we have been cutting so many trees, it is difficult (and expensive) to stay on top of the necessary maintenance. I can cut about 2-3 medium trees before my chain becomes dull. To get a chain sharpened at the local feed store costs five bucks and a few days of having no chain. So, I got a cheap chain sharpener which cost me about $45. Nine chains and it pays for itself within two weeks! Now, with the help of my dad who also cuts wood here, we can push harder and get more accomplished with less downtime.

 

 

Blacksmith Shop Construction Project

            I have decided to expand my knowledge and test my skills by undertaking the lost art of Blacksmithing. No, I am not going to have acetylene torches and Lincoln welders. This is going to be a most primitive shop, reminiscent of those the pioneers would have constructed.

 

     We are constructing our own shack out of fallen oak and elm timbers off our land. Everything that is going into this shop is going to be hand constructed. Even the timbers we are using have been stripped of their bark and are drying as I write this. To remove the bark, I used an ancient tool called a drawknife to slice away at the tree's skin. With long pulls of the razors edge, the bark peels away like the skin of a ripe banana.   

 

     Today, I laid over seven trees. With my team of mighty helpers, we quickly cleaned up the debris. We took the extra limbs that were of no use to the burn pile, which will be turned to ash to add to the garden compost; the larger pieces out of the trunk are being used for the corner posts of the shop, and the ends are to be used as firewood.

   

Drawknife at work.

               My beautiful wife working so hard to get the bark off.

 Finished product! You can see the contrast of bark on vs. bark off. 15 minutes per 8 ft. log.

Saving Money on the Electric Bill

     Next week we will be coming up on our seventh year anniversary...We were thinking back at all the places we have lived in our short married life (rented an apartment, bought a house, moved to GA and rented a house, bought a house in GA, and this house.) So, not counting all the places we have stayed in-between this will be our fifth. We looked at the cost of what we spend on things each month and realized that of all the places that we have lived, this winter our electric bill was the lowest it has ever been.
     In the past, we have spent anywhere from $120-$250 a month on our electric bills. This past month we got our bill and it was only $61!!! We were so excited that with a little effort and being mindful of what we are doing we could bring it down.
     Today was a perfect day for cutting firewood. After church, we were able to cut about two ricks of wood in only three hours. And that included running to town to get a fresh chain. The wood will need to dry quite a bit before burning, but by mixing green logs (fresh cut) and seasoned logs, we can maintain a longer, hotter burning fire.
     In order to maintain the most efficient cutting time, our family has a series of roles. I use the saw to fall, limb, and section the tree up while Melissa keeps brush out of my way for a safe working environment. Beau keeps watch of the puppy and does any gopher (go-for) chores we need. We try to do these kind of chores while Jett and Claire are napping in order to free up our attention to the task.
     While we are in need of firewood throughout the winter, the reason for removing so many is to make space for our upcoming spring garden. The pigs will be released into the area to cultivate it for the remaining winter months. Once spring arrives, our garden spot will be tilled, fertilized, and nearly ready for planting.
      This firewood is our sole source of heat through the winter. We don't turn on the HVAC for heat at all. In our home the wood stove is positioned central to the entire house. It  easily heats up the living/kitchen/dining areas and when the bedroom doors are open in the evening, will keep the kids warm too (this is about 2,000 sq.ft. of heated space). I also make sure the children turn off lights when they leave the room and we keep unnecessary items unplugged. We do, however, keep three heat lamps on at all times for the baby chickens and puppy. This brought our total electric bill last month to $61, which we were very excited about.

Ephesians 2:8  (KJV)  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Purple Potatoes & More

When I was a little girl my favorite color was PURPLE!!! Everything I had/wanted was purple. EVERYTHING....
Today we went to my great grandpa's house where my great uncle Paul lives. After enjoying lunch and family inside we wondered outside... We were headed for the creek where my family always likes to go for a stroll but we stopped in the garden and planted a couple of trees. Where there are trees planted now was a huge beautiful garden that my great-grandpa had when I was a little girl. And when I was a girl I found the most wonderful purple vegetable. I insisted that we take it home and cook it for dinner. It was purple, so it had to be good right?  I was incredibly wrong... I hate to admit when I am wrong; but, I was very wrong about the eggplant tasting good.... IT DID NOT! And to this day 20+ years later I have never had eggplant again.

 

Purple has always intrigued me though. This past summer I spent a month in Virginia studying for my graduate degree. I took my mother along with me on the trip and we took advantage of the weekends when I was not having to study to go to local farmer's markets and see what the locals had that we did not.... I found the most beautiful purple potatoes. We bought all they had left and brought them home to cook for our family. We had mashed potatoes, French fries, and dehydrated chips out of them. They taste just like regular potatoes, but they are purple.

 

Needless to say... We will be planting them in our garden this year! Aren't they beautiful! Along with the purple potatoes we found a few other unique items that we want to try a hand at planting. The picture to the left is a screenshot from the website we ordered our seeds from. Just a few of the items are peanuts, purple carrots, purple potatoes, purple beans, and purple asparagus. (Asparagus not pictured.) There will also be a few other fun items to try and some old staples too.
Alex has been chopping some of the oaks down to make way for more garden space. Right now the pigs are tilling the land and fertilizing it to get it ready for planting.

2 Corinthians 9:6 - But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he with soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.