Homestead Homemaking
Heritage of the Past at Home in the Present
"Hen pecked" and many other Chicken Sayings
by Richard Fahey
 |
♥
The rain has hardly let up. We need it. Good for the trees and the wildlife and our wells. A blessing from God I must receive with thanks. So no further comment then about mud. I'm just so glad we got the chicken coop moved to clean ground before the rain hit. I don't care for coop soup.
This is the last day for the Homestead Ranch-Handmaiden to take care of the horses and donkeys. We've both enjoyed it since I drive her over. My buddy, Jackpot, is very sweet as I blogged about earlier. Sweet, but perhaps not patient. He's a big horse with big feet. If the feed doesn't arrive soon enough to suit him he takes a big hoof and bangs it on the metal gate continuously until his dinner is served.
Under Homestead Skills on the Sewing page I have posted a story of how I made a sweet baby quilt for $1.50.
♥
♥
01/21/12 - Jackpot and Pot O' Gold
Sometimes horses seem kinda boring just standing and staring a lot. But then there's feeding time. This morning our neighbor's horses (whom my daughter is baby sitting while they're on vacation) were jubilant about something. Feeding time alone is enough to get them animated but this morning I think it was also the weather. After my great boasting about California weather we were drenched with a long and serious rain. I was thanking God for our roof and dry beds as the pouring rain pounded our metal roof through the night. This morning patches of blue sky showed and things started to dry. I know my dogs and cats are effected by the weather. Maybe horses are too. Anyway there was prancing, and rearing and bucking and much tossing of the heads. Is that where we get the saying, "kicking up her heels" ? They were so cute and fun to watch clearly feeling frisky about something - maybe the weather. One of the horses. Jackpot, (my favorite) is a big draft horse cross and he seems to really enjoy affection from us. He'll just stay with us soaking up all the hugs and pats we will give him.
On our way home from the afternoon feeding the sun was dropping and it started to rain again even though the sun was shining. When my daughter commented about the oddness of rain falling through the sunlight I said, "Well, I guess the Devil's beatin' his wife." When she couldn't make a connection between the weather and domestic violence in the nether world I had to explain to her why I said it. It was because that's what my mother always said if it rained while the sun was shining. And then I said, "And do you want to know why she said that?" She looked as though she couldn't wait to find out so I told her, "Well, once I asked her just like you're asking me right now, and she said It was because that was what her mama always said." I realize that I say a lot of little expressions my mama said just because it brings a moment of fond reflection. I hear her sweet voice again.
As we came back onto our property my daughter pointed out a bright rainbow's arc. She tried to spot the other end of the rainbow. I told her to keep looking 'cuz we could really use the gold.
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
01/18/12 - Be It Ever So Humble...
We do not as yet have the chicken coop of my dreams. We do however, have a metal frame wrapped with chicken wire and covered partially with blue tarp which we in fact call the chicken coop. The interior is unadorned except for the two wooden poles used for perches. The one advantage to this coop is that when the "floor" gets too yucky, my daughter and I can put the coop on two dollies (one at either end) and move it to fresh ground. We moved it today and since it's been in service for quite a while it was also in desperate need of repair. So I put on leather gloves and moved about the coop tying pieces of wire around all the places the chicken wire was coming loose. It's now nice and secure, has a clean floor and well, that's the best we can do for now. I hope the girls like it.
♥
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
If you can't have horses of your own it's nice when you can take care of someone else's for a while. My daughter is taking care of some neighbors' horses and mini donkeys while they are vacationing. So now she is the ranch hand-maiden.
These guys know where to go when they see our car drive up.
***
There's that magical something about the girl-horse combination.
When she talks it seems like they listen.
***
And being responsible for other living creatures is good experience.
***
These little minis are incredibly cute and just little bit bigger than our dogs.
♥
♥
California winters are blessedly sprinkled with gorgeous spring days here and there; like today. I looked out at our land, our beloved homestead, encircled by a fringe of sun-dapple through oak and pine. It was a day as clear and shiny as new glass. There have been several days like this but I think the party's over for a bit. Tonight while feeding animals, a chill wind cut through my coat and the eastern sky looked dark and gray. Tomorrow night is expected to dip to the low 20's.
The Homestead Handmaiden turned 15 years old today so I made whole wheat flap jacks for breakfast. She got to pick a hymn at church - I Know That My Redeemer Lives - and was recipient to many kind words and gifts. She is a treasure, a gem. How I delight in her company. The past fifteen years have gone by much too fast. You cannot hold back the tide.
♥
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
I make potato soup often in the winter. My family inevitably rises to call me blessed and I usually have the ingredients on hand and the recipe in my head. I like things to be simple. Here's how:
- 7-8 medium potatoes diced
- 1/2 a white onion chopped or leeks or green onion tops
- 2 carrots chopped or grated
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 8 cups water or part chicken stock
- 1 cup milk or canned evaporated soup is richer
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- some Italian seasonings or parsley, maybe a bay leaf, or rosemary
- couple slices of turkey ham chopped or bacon crumbled, hot dogs, sausages - about 1 cup of meat
Simmer in a covered pot for 45 minutes or so, or in a crock pot all night or day. You can also top with a little parsley or grated Cheddar cheese just before serving. This is a certain winner.
♥
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
I don't understand politics very well but, I think the presidential campaign is not an effective system for bringing forth our best candidates. I think we should nix the campaigning and get a system that will produce America’s best and brightest; not richest or most influential. I think we need a Miss America Pageant for presidents. At local competitions each contestant would publish their “Why I Should Be President” paper and have to respond to live questions. Voters then select a winner to go to state. Then Mr. or Ms. California would join the national competition all proudly wearing their sashes and make speeches and publish statements and perhaps perform a well-choreographed routine at set competitions. No campaigning outside the pageants. Then at the final pageant the finalists compete and one of them gets the crown which is what I believe most of them want anyway.
♥
♥
01/10/12 - Kitchen Contemplation
I love studying other peoples kitchens and how they do things. Since we haven't finished our house my kitchen is a little different than most. My stove, for instance, is made by Coleman and has two burners. My shelves are three nest boxes (previously unused!!!).
Here's a kitchen I thought was kinda cool - Rebecca's Kitchen. I especially like the big chalkboard on the wall. A kitchen sometimes functions as Communications Central which could be well served by the chalkboard with lists, events, homeschool lessons and encouraging scripture scrawled across. I also like the small vase hung on the wall for fresh flowers.
♥
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
I arrived home from some errands town-tired and hungry. I stepped out of the car and immediately noticed the bight, full moon rising on the eastern horizon across the creek canyon. I turned my head to the western horizon which presented a crimson sunset. I opened the front door and stepped into the rich scent of hot homemade bread that filled the house. Thank you, breadmaker. Thank you, God. It's good to be home.
♥
♥
I just baked the last banana squash from summer. After sitting around all this time it was still delicious. We serve it hot with coconut oil melted on it. Coconut oil is currently being credited with curing almost everything that could go wrong with a person. It's probably not quite that wonderful but I am convinced there are some real benefits - not the least of which is that it is so yummy as a butter substitute.
Then I used some of the left over squash (it was a huge banana squash) and made a quick and easy soup. I just put it in the Health Master blender, added some raw carrots, celery, almond milk and tomato bouillon. I turned it on for 7 minutes and it became hot, but not cooked. The friction of the spinning warms it, but only to a temperature that it can still be deemed raw (except for the squash). That means the enzymes and vitamins stay put. Healthy, tasty. Good combination. Sometimes I serve this over tortilla chips but it's also great with warm bread or crackers.
♥
January can be a tough month, so cold and bleak. Beautiful if you have snow, but confining and the body starts yearning for sunlight.
Well, here in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California it is not bleak today. It's glorious, sunny and warm. I know some of you easterners and northerners get excited over temps in the 40's but check out my thermometer today. Low 70's. I dressed to do outside chores this morning and packed on my usual layers of cold weather clothes. I was sweating by 9:00 am. We have opened the doors and windows and I saw my husband, the Homestead Hero, has opened the barn doors where he's working. 
Here are a couple of verses from a cute New Years poem by Edgar A. Guest (1881 - 1959):
♥
Though we've past the winter solstice, the days are chilly and get dark early. Old homesteaders say, "As the days get longer the cold gets stronger," when speaking of January, the coldest month of the year. Country folks adapt their activities accordingly and move indoors for crafting, quilting, spinning and cooking. It's the month to have simmering kettles of soup on the stove for whoever may come in chilled from the cold. It's also the season of warm fires and some rest. With the long dark evenings it's a nice time to read aloud a book the whole family can enjoy together.
Here is a bit of old verse I like from "the Hoosier Poet", James Whitcomb Riley:
From A TALE OF THE AIRLY DAYS
♥
That's the very first time I wrote the date ending in 12. I did it right the first time but will probably revert to the twenty-eleven habbit the next.
It's quiet. My son and daughter-in-law ran back home to Texas taking my grandchildren. Humph. Even little Halle was picked up by her family who drove up from southern Cal. Well, I actually need to qualify that quiet. Niles, our stud Newfoundland is starting to howl a bit. It will get worse. Because, Mackenzie has just come into season. She won't be bred this time but Niles will still bellow like his hind leg is being sawed off. But the pressure is off 'cuz hey, there are 358 more shopping days 'till Christmas.
Halle at 8 weeks - ready to go home
Comments:
Leave a Reply
♥
12/08/11 - Cozy Country Christmas
You can decorate for a cozy country Christmas even when you're in the city. I thought these ideas from Living The Country Life looked pretty easy to do. They got me thinking about how to use things we already have in a new, Christmasy way. And we can all come up with our own variations on the themes they suggest. A bunch of cute ideas though.
♥
♥
Okay, country girls, this is just the coolest. This DIY barn wedding is sentimental and glamorous. See what a creative idea they had for an entirely different kind of guestbook and lots of other handmade treasures. I think this wedding expresses the ideas of Heritage, Hospitality, Homespun and Handhewn all in one beautiful event. What do you think?
♥
The wind blew so hard that we completely lost one dog kennel roof. Then a weirder thing happened at the cat kennels. It was a pitch dark and stormy night (really), so I turned on the lights over the kennels and went out to check on the very exotic and expensive, soon-to-breed Bengal cats. I could not see Zeta inside her kennel. Now, there aren't too many places for her to hide. I checked her warming house and her litter box. The door was latched. I looked for where she might have dug out, even though cats don't typically do much of that. My heart rate increased. She was not there. WHAT?!*!? She couldn't have disappeared and she couldn't have gotten out. I was completely mystified. The other cats were fine but no one was talking. Then I spotted the breach. Ah ha! It was barely visible. A slit in the fencing near the floor on the side of the kennel. It appeared that a board now lying beside the wall outside the kennel had been blown by the wind and cut through the fencing material. Oh no!!! She was gone. A half dozen wild animals popped into mind that could eat her that night. I ran and grabbed a flashlight and amazingly spotted her crouching about 15 yards away from the house. *Adopting my most tender and cat-enticing voice I approached her. She ran farther from the house and the range of my flashlight. I pursued and spotted her again.* Now, just like in crocheting, repeat what's between the *'s - many times. I yelled for my husband so that two of us could now repeat what was between the *'s many more times. I ran in lightweight sandals with bare ankles in the "inky black night" through fields of star thistle. (Read previous posts for my view of star thistle.) I covered the rest of my clothing in what we here call velcro burrs. We tripped and stumbled over terrain which was hard to discern with our fading flashlights.
Certain that we could never catch this domestic cat who had apparently gone completely and instantly wild, we continued to yell out her location whenever one of us would spot her. "Okay, I see her!! She's over... RATS, lost her..." Whenever we got near her she bolted like she was going for some new steroid-induced track and field record. After roaming our acreage in a frantic, blundering manner for one and a half hours my legs and arms were stinging from the nettles and we were freezing and breathless. Zeta was nowhere to be seen. This was bad news. How do I face my son who was the previous owner of this darling feline and tell him I lost her? And yes, we prayed to the Almighty Creator to help us do the impossible - get this kitty.
Feeling heart sick I again scanned the distance and caught a reflective flicker. I reversed the travel of the flashlight and caught the glow of two kitty-sized eyes. I approached stealthily. She was at the base of several fanning oak tree trunks. She starting "talking" as I approached. Of course, I talked back with my best cat-whisperer impression. Surprisingly, she remained still between the trunks. I slowly reached my hand toward her, then quickly scruffed a handful of neck skin. I lifted her and used my other arm to cover her entirely with my coat which the Homestead Hero had already suggested I remove for such a purpose. I held her FIRMLY. I began a long, slow, faltering series of stumbles and missteps back toward the house.
We made it. Zeta slept in the old trailer that night. She was extremely affectionate with me. I took it to mean "Thanks for saving my life" but with cats who knows what it meant. The H. Hero has now mended the torn kennel beautifully to prevent any possibility of future jail breaks. We prayed our sincere thanks at midnight. And I reflected on the parable of the Shepherd and the precious lost sheep.
Zeta, who thought she was Born Free, but wasn't.
♥
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
------------------------------------------------------------
a
♣
Comments:
Leave a Reply
YOUR DELIGHTFUL THOUGHTS:
I love the website and the blog. So happy the puppies have done well...having much to do with your tireless love and care.
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving too. I think it is my favorite holiday. We concentrate on friends, family and food. Were it not for this holiday, would we all make the effort to be together at the same time? It is a precious day to thank God for our unique and wonderful family. (not to mention the pumkin pies, apricot bread, winter squash and turkey)
Y'think King Lemuel's mother had lots of experience in whelping boxes??
I love your website. Am learning so much about so many things.
What a valuable resource in so many ways.
Your garden will be beautiful, I know!
Your comment about the trough that looked like a grave reminded me of a book my neighbor brought me last Wednesday – “Heaven is for Real” - the story of a less-than-4-year-old boy who went to heaven and came back, and eventually, a bit at a time, talked about what he had experienced, and why he had come back. I’d never heard of the book but apparently it’s been on the news. Amazing!
Blessings
Love from
Working Woman Homesteader...or maybe overwhelmed homesteader!
I have given the link to your website to several of my friends. As part of a community garden endeavor in Patterson I come in contact with others who value God creation as a gift and your website fits.
I am Valentina, a member of some financial communities. I came across your website:homesteadhomemaking.com and found it very informative and helpful. I would like to send you an article as a guest post (relevant to your site).
It will be my pleasure if I can contribute some quality content. Please kindly let me know how and where should I send you the article.
Waiting for your quick response.
Thanks and regards,
Valentina Allison
[valentina3633(at)gmail(.)com]
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Someday we hope to own land and have chickens. You all are an inspiration.
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Today the Draft Horses and the wagons and all that goes with that.
I don't know where to begin to comment on all the fascinating things I find here.
The animals, your garden, the food, and so much more, and how you put it all together.
And last week I found your recipe for Ranch-style baked lentils. It is delicious. Definitely a "keeper" recipe.
I am truly inspired every time I come here.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mom Margaret
Leave a Reply
Comments:
Those Muffins look and sound heavenly, mmmm.
http://sassy-keepinitrural.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-crunch.html
