Everything I know...

First goats, now chickens. I can truthfully say that any knowledge I have of goats and chickens, I owe to Karen Pannabecker.

Karen was a guest speaker on national radio yesterday - a blogtalk radio show called The Chicken Whisperer. She had a 40-minute spot in which she talked about homesteading. It was terrific! I'd never thought about it before, but she and James are true homesteaders! It's really worth listening to. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/backyardpoultry and click on the January 26 segment.

Anyway, I listened to the whole show this morning. It was quite interesting, and as a result, I will end this day much smarter than I began it. So I want to share a little bit of that new knowledge with my friends.

First, a quiz:  How many cows does it take to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs?

No, this is not a trick question. I thought footballs were made with pig skin too, but apparently not. The answer is 3000.

No, that's not something Karen said. The radio host told that before Karen's segment came on. But I do have to give Karen credit for everything else I learned today - about chickens. Something she said today triggered an Internet search that led from one thing to another and then another, until I now have a new appreciation for chickens.

Karen mentioned "hen savers" when she was talking about a hawk getting one of her chickens. I had to jot that term down so I could look it up afterwards. I couldn't come close to imagining what a hen saver might be. The name certainly didn't give a clue.

As I learned later, Hen Saver is actually a brand name for a hen apron, also called a chicken saddle. This device is put on hens to protect their backs from roosters during mating. Apparently, during mating, the rooster can really tear up the hen's back. The apron provides protection for the poor hen during this apparently over-zealous encounter.  The hen apron also has the potential for protecting a chicken against a hawk attack by reducing the hawk's ability to grasp the chicken.

Hen aprons come in an assortment of colors, including camouflage. They fit over the chicken like a backpack. You can also get one that has predator eyes - believed to deter a hawk from even thinking about attacking the chicken.

Hmmm, a hen apron with predator eyes. Now that's a tough picture to conjure up in your mind.

The pictures below are from http://www.hensaver.com/.  The site has some great pictures and apparently some great products.  I hope you will visit the site and if you own chickens, purchase a hen apron or two. They look like good quality. Some are even lined with fleece and provide warmth.

The hen apron

The hen apron with predator eyes

I'd never heard of hen aprons until today. Another thing I'd never heard of until today...some people actually keep chickens as indoor house pets.  These indoor pet chickens wear these cute little Hen Holster chicken diapers and  run  free-range around the house. The Hen Holster also doubles as a harness, so when you want to take your pet chicken out for a walk, you just snap on a lease and out the door you go. Makes me look at chickens a little differently.

The Hen Holster Chicken Diaper with Lease Snap

I've never really considered owning a chicken, certainly not for a pet. Bob, though, would have a half-dozen chickens running around our back yard right now if he could.  He'd love to have the eggs. I wouldn't mind having the eggs either, but chickens in the city, in a back yard in a subdivision?  I don't know.
A strange thing happened to me today though, I guess from reading all this chicken stuff. I ran across this great website - http://www.thecitychicken.com/ - a site to encourage city folk to take the plunge into poultry. There was all this great information about how to keep chickens in the city, information about chicken laws, and dozens of pictures of the most beautiful chickens.  The idea of having a couple of chickens actually started looking pretty good.

I think it was seeing the chicken tractor though that really caused me to entertain the possibility. According to the website, a chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage or pen that can be rolled from one area of the yard to another. It's bottomless so that the chickens can scratch and eat grass and bugs off the ground, and the chicken manure can go straight onto the ground and fertilize it.

Yes, I could almost imagine a chicken tractor with a couple of chickens like the one in the picture in our back yard. It actually made me a little excited. Excited enough to pick up the phone and call the city. I spoke to the nicest young man. No, he wasn't surprised that I might want a couple of chickens, and No, there is no code prohibiting chickens in the city. The only restriction is that chickens must not be allowed to cross over onto another neighbor's property, and they wouldn't in a chicken tractor.  Why, he even told me we could have a goat if we wanted. One goat per 1/2 acre!

Wait a minute!  What in the world am I doing!!

"Where do you live?" he asked. When I told him, he gave me the saving grace. He told me that while there are no city codes prohibiting chickens and goats in the city, there are, in all probability, deed restrictions that prohibit them in my neighborhood. And that is certainly and most likely true.

Whew!  Thank goodness!  I was about to get a little out of control there.

One thing about it though. It has been a good learning day. The more I learn about chickens and goats, the more I appreciate them. I might even have one of each some day.

Thanks Karen.

Well, Happy New Year! Finally!

Happy New Year everybody!  Can I still say that 26 days into the new year?

I know.  I was not a very consistent blogger in 2010. Meant to do better but found myself spending less and less time on the computer.

Now that's a shocker, even to me. I used to worry that I was addicted to the computer. It was so bad, I often felt embarrassed.  I'd be on the computer when Bob left for work, and still there several hours later when he came home. Some times I'd even jump up and pretend to be doing something else. Now that's bad. Not that Bob ever said anything, so it had to be my own guilt. So I'm actually pleased to find that I can go days at a time without doing much more than simply checking my email. I am sorry though, that I didn't blog more - at least once a month. I actually had several fun things I wanted to blog about.

Soooooooo, I want to play a little catch up here and go back to 2010...
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In January last year I went on my first cruise - Western Caribbean, four days. The decision to go was not an easy one for me since I tend to get motion sick in a massage chair. Couple that with the fact I'd had a bad experience once on a fishing boat - went out for the day with a large group - got sick as soon as we got out to sea and stayed sick the entire day. I can attest, a commercial fishing boat will not turn around and head back inland just because someone is deathly ill and puking their head off. So I stayed curled up in a ball on the floor of the deck the entire day, raising my head only to puke overboard. Sea sickness is a sick sick.

Thus, my reluctance to go back out to sea. But, I did great. Went with my husband and several friends - twelve of us. (I’ll speak often of this group. I call them my Friday night group, although we’re as likely to get together on Monday night as we are on Friday night.) We had a blast and I didn't get sick once, even though the weather was bad and the waters extremely rough. After surviving that one, I figured I was good to go on any cruise, anytime, anywhere.

So Bob and I cruised again this past August - went with our son and grandson to the Bahamas. No sea sickness that time either. So now, we're already planning our third cruise – another one with my Friday night group - June.  Hopefully I'll be a better blogger by then and will blog about it while it's still fresh

Just to show you how bad the weather was...this picture was taken in Cozumel in January.

The weather for our August cruise was perfect. This picture was taken in Freeport, Bahamas.

No matter the weather, I enjoyed both cruises very much. I'm so glad I didn't allow a little thing like possibly puking my head off for four days & nights rob me of two wonderful trips.

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I  made two visits last year to Pannabecker Mountain to visit Karen and James.  The first was in June with my Friday night group, and the second in October with my friend Zandy.  (Zandy is part of my monthly dinner group, as is Karen.  I should probably also mention that Zandy is my oldest friend.  We've been friends since 1975.)  Anyway, I took my Ninja in October, so don't let me forget to tell you about that.

My Friday night group tries to make a trip to Pannabecker Mountain at least once a year. We've been doing this even before James and Karen officially moved from our small town to Natural Bridge.  We're all envious of their lives and would visit several times a year if we could all get the time off together.  These pictures can say it better than I can...



Our Friday night group

I took my Ninja in October, just so I could show both Karen and Zandy what the fuss was about. (I blogged about the Ninja in October.) I think they were impressed. I know Zandy has since gotten her own Ninja. Not sure if Karen has yet.  It might just take a second visit to fully convince her.

Anyway, the green smoothies were extra special in that the greens came straight out of the Pannabecker garden. I even picked the spinach and kale myself! Of course, James had to tell me which was which. 

This one's spinach, right James?



Of course, Karen & Zandy had to see how the Ninja would do blending cheese...

Since we couldn't lounge around in the river in October, we did the next best thing - visit the Rockbridge Winery.  This next picture is the three of us with Jane, owner of the winery. Jane is a friend of Karen's. We felt really special walking in having the owner take care of us personally. She had cheese and crackers waiting for us, along with some very wonderful wines.  When we left, Jane was a good friend of mine and Zandy's as well!

Here we all are posing with an author who just happened in. She
was in the area to do a book signing ~ a book about wine.
Wish I could remember her name.



And finally, no visit to Pannabecker Mountain is ever complete without music...

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It was in October as well that I made my first trip ever to Seagrove!  Now I say that with an exclamation mark because there is a story here.

Seagrove is a little town here in NC just full of potters. My dinner group (Karen included) makes a day trip to Seagrove every year without fail. They wouldn't miss it. They set a trunk dollar amount and then spend the day buying pottery until they reach that amount. Most of group goes. I do not. Until this October, I'd never gone to Seagrove - for a couple of reasons: 1) They always go on Saturday. After working a 50-60 hour week, spending another several hours going from one potter to another was not my idea of a leisure afternoon, and 2) I've always fancied myself a crystal-kind-of-girl.  So pottery? I didn't think so.

Well, was I ever wrong.  I had the opportunity to go to Seagrove this October with another friend of mine from Winston Salem.  She is a potter herself. I did get some flack from my dinner group for going with her and not them, but hey, she was going on a Wednesday.  I now work every Saturday, so I couldn't have gone with them this year if I'd wanted to.

Anyway, Wednesday was a great day to go to Seagrove. It was not busy at all, so we got a lot of one-on-one from the potters. I even videoed one potter as he set at the potter's wheel and turned out 4-5 vases in just about 15 minutes. I was very impressed and came away with a great appreciation for pottery.

You hear that Ladies? Next time I'm going with you guys ~ unless I have to work! 



This is a picture of a wood kiln - the heat and ash actually give the pottery a unique color and design. The potter's wife is explaining to us how the kiln works. She said that after the pottery is fired and the doors open, it's either Christmas or Halloween -  oooohs! or yikes!



Some ooooohs! Some yikes!



 Another Potter at work...

Our last stop for the day was this potter. Things were quiet so he didn't hesitated to sit down at his wheel and demonstrate his craft for this first-time visitor. I don't know if you can tell, but that's a TV in front of him. Ha!  He was actually my favorite of the day!

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We visited about eight potters throughout the day and saw some beautiful pieces. It was a great day!

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And lastly, a few days after my visit to Seagrove, a couple of friends and I took a 4-hour sculpture class. I just had to get my hands into some clay after seeing all that pottery.

Anyway, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it except to say, if it was offered weekly, I'd sign up. There were five people in the class, including Jean, from my dinner club, and Sue, from my Friday night group. We each made a sleeping moon. It's amazing what you can do with clay!





Our Class: Me in the center; Jean behind me; Sue in the apron
The instructor is in the green shirt

Jean's Sleeping Moon

Sue's Sleeping Moon

My Sleeping Moon

A closer look at my Sleeping Moon - How 'bout that?

So, there you have it - four blogs in one.That should improve my average somewhat. Now if I can just do better in 2011!  I'm really gonna try. It's one of my New Year's resolutions.

Happy New Year everybody!  Finally!

Is that spinach in your teeth?

Guess what I’m drinking right now? If you guessed spinach, you’re right!!

Add to that, two leaves of kale, half an apple, a quarter lemon, a handful of frozen raspberries, one scoop of protein powder, a cup of water, two ice cubes and you’ve got yourself the makings of a green smoothie.

Of course, you’ll need a blender or food processor of some kind.

I’ve got the Ninja… as does Bonnie, and Nancy, and probably by now, Ruth, and several other members in my dinner group!

Our friends can really influence us, can't they?

Bonnie had the first Ninja in our group. I learned about it one morning a couple of months ago when I stopped by her house to return a book. Bonnie is a neighbor and also a member of my dinner group. There are ten of us. We've all been meeting for dinner the second Tuesday of every month for more years than I can remember. Bonnie is the most health-conscious among us, and so, without a doubt, the most in-shape. We’re all envious of her tight abs. She teaches yoga and is also a vegetarian. There’s not one ounce of fat anywhere on her body.

Anyway, Bonnie had just finished breakfast and her Ninja was still sitting out on the counter. I don’t remember how or why the conversation got around to what she’d had for breakfast (I probably asked) but we eventually got around to the Ninja.

For those not familiar with the Ninja, it is a very simple to use, yet powerful and very unique blender/food processor. I understand it is a hot item on many Christmas lists this year. It is unique in that rather than a single blade, it has dual blades, thus the name Ninja.  Is that cute, or what? It can make a green smoothie or a strawberry daiquiri faster'n you can say "Kung Fu Fighting!"

I know that now, after using it for two weeks. I can’t say, though, that I rushed right out after leaving Bonnie’s and bought a Ninja. The idea of drinking greens didn’t really sound all that appetizing. I did start noticing the Ninjas more and more, though, when I shopped. They were actually hard to miss once I knew about them. They were everywhere - Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Target, Belk’s, Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond. They were always around the same price, too - $59.99.  Then I got lucky and came across a Ninja on sale for $39.99!  I can’t even remember where I was.  Who knew if it would ever be that cheap again, so I bought it, brought it home, stuck it in the kitchen cabinet where it stayed unopened until two weeks ago.

Thank goodness for my friends...

It was our monthly dinner gathering. As usual, our favorite topic came up ~ food. Well, Nancy started talking about her new Ninja and how great it was. Then Ruth piped in that she’d been to Nancy’s for a demonstration and thought it was pretty special too.

"Hey, I have a Ninja!"  I spoke up.  But that's all I could add to the conversation. I couldn’t tell them which model I had, what color the Ninja head was, or even if mine came with two containers or three. All I could do was just sit there and listen to them go on and on about their fantastic Ninjas and the delicious green smoothies! I was getting left behind!

Well, that’s all it took. I stopped at Harris Teeter on my way home and bought all the ingredients for my green smoothie, and I’ve been drinking spinach almost daily since.

You ought to try it. I highly recommend it. That’s why I included the recipe at the beginning of this post.

The quantity for the spinach ~ a handful.  Just watch out for spinach in your teeth!

Judy's Mighty Ninja

Don't expect your green smoothie to always be green!  It seldom is. 
This one's green because I forgot the raspberries!

My Wonderful Dinner Buddies. This picture is a few years old,
but, hey, we all still look pretty much the same  (smile)

Back on the subject of milk...

I seem to be spending a lot of time talking about milk lately, and not just me, my friends are talking as well.

I blogged about milk last time, or more specifically, the various mammals from which milk is obtained for human consumption. As you recall, the list just blew this city girl away ~ cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, horses, zebras, moose, reindeer, llamas, etc. Who knew? And I'm not at all certain that this list is all inclusive.

Few of my friends have read my blog though, so I'm not the reason for this sudden discussion about milk among my friends.

Seems that several of my friends have switched from dairy milk to almond milk. I was greatly surprised to learn this, because I've been drinking almond milk for several months now. I love it, and haven't missed dairy milk at all!  Imagine my surprise during a discussion over dinner recently to find that at least 4 of my best friends are also drinking almond milk! (You'd think we'd know something that important about each other!)

I started drinking almond milk back in May. My husband Bob has a lactose intolerance and so was already drinking almond milk. (In addition to being lactose free, almond milk is also cholesterol free and high in protein and calcium.)

Being in a hurry one morning, I poured my Cheerios into my bowl only to find I was out of milk. Rather than pour the cereal back into the box and search for something else to eat, I decided to use some of Bob's almond milk.  It was delicious!  I've been thoroughly enjoying it ever since ~ and it's available in chocolate too!

Anyway, since we've recently discussed milking goats, milking donkeys, and milking camels, I couldn't resist this one ~ milking almonds!

https://youtu.be/57ZpEYjE6Wo?si=vE1e7ZW9-yT8xEzz

There are some things we city girls just don't grow up knowing - or doing

Just in case you haven't yet read Karen's blog since Saturday (Holes in My Jeans), you should take a few minutes and go there. She and Adam actually helped process over 650 chickens this past Saturday!

It's really quite an interesting read, as are all her posts, but just a little warning to my "city" friends before going there ~ there are such words as gutting, scalding, plucking, and beheading, just to list a few. Such words for us city girls can be nightmare-inducing.

Though I am a city girl, I've actually had a little experience myself with chicken processing ~ maybe not actual hands-on, but certainly eyes-on.  My grandfather used to raise chickens, and on most Sunday mornings he'd bring one of his chickens over to our house and actually behead it right there in front of us kids.  That headless chicken would then flop all over the place for what seemed like an eternity while us kids just watched wide-eyed and mouth agape. Mom would then put the chicken in a large galvanized tub and pour hot scalding water over it which apparently made plucking the feathers a lot easier.  She would then gut it and whatever else one does to a freshly-killed chicken before frying it up for Sunday dinner.

I never ate one of those chickens. Couldn't.  My chicken had to come from the grocery store. I guess it was easier for me not knowing the chicken personally.

I enjoy reading Karen's posts.  She make me think, and often times remember (as in the case above). I learn a lot too. Take those two earlier posts that addressed donkey and camel milking. Until I read those,  I never knew one could milk a donkey, let alone a camel, and then actually drink the milk.  Or maybe I just never thought about it...no, thinking back, I really didn't know. There are just some things we city girls just don't grow up knowing. Heck, I really didn't know you could milk a sheep. Now I know that some of the best mozzarella cheese comes from water buffalo milk, and that milk from a horse (donkey too) is similar to woman's milk. Zebra milk is drinkable, but one of the least nutritious sources of mammal milk. Llama milk is lower in fat and salt and higher in phosphorous and calcium than even cow or goat milk, but unfortunately is produced in such small quantities that only baby llamas can benefit. Moose milk is commercially farmed in Russia; and reindeer milk, while drinkable, is very difficult to obtain. (Wow! Like that's a surprise. It can't be easy milking something that flies!)

Anyway, I've only ever tasted cow's milk, and fairly recently, goat's milk.  I owe my experience with goat's milk to Karen.  If you follow her blog at all, you know she has acquired quite a few goats in the last couple of years, and now starts and ends each day with goat milking.  It was because of our friendship that this city girl even ventured out to taste goat's milk in the first place. 

Now she has a donkey...

My Favorite Time of Year!

I love the fall!

I just came in from outdoors where the temperature this morning is a crisp 50 degrees. Couldn’t see my breath yet, but I know it’s just around the corner. My cheeks are rosy, so’s my nose, and the tips of my ears are a little tingly.

Back when I used to run a little, 50 degrees or lower meant ear muffs for me. While my hands seemed to warm up about a mile down the road, my ears never seemed to.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it - the changing colors, the crisp air, the sound of the leaves as they crunch underfoot and the absence of mosquitoes!

Sweater weather, many call it, and another reason I love it. Cool weather clothes are my favorite ~ sweaters, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans, and big old wooly socks! Puts me in the mindset of both activity and relaxation. Put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and you’re ready to walk a brisk couple of miles or throw a leg over an armrest for an hour or so of reading or napping.

Cool weather is energizing. Just the other evening, I met my walking buddies at the greenway for our Monday night walk. The air was cool. Everyone had on sweaters or sweatshirts. The energy in the air was undeniable. We walked more briskly, laughed and chattered more than usual, and even punched and hugged each other a time or two, something we don’t do much of when we’re hot and sticky and just trying to get our three miles in.

I think winter, too, often gets a bad rap. I actually prefer winter to summer. My husband is just the opposite. I don’t think it gets too hot for Bob. He says it’s too cold to do anything outside in the winter. I say it’s no different in the summer. We escape to the air conditioning to get out of the heat which I don’t find nearly as comforting as escaping to a warm kitchen to get out of the cold, or better yet, to a nice cozy chair in front of a nice fire.

Ahh! I’m excited! It’s my time of year.

Jean's Garden

I visited my friend Jean last week to take some pictures of her beautiful flower garden. I'd found this perfect Smilebox garden slideshow, and since I didn't have a garden of my own, I borrowed Jean's.

I'd probably have gone to Jean's anyway. Hers is no ordinary flower garden. You'd find it in Better Homes and Gardens magazine if they only knew about it.

Jean works hard at it and puts a tremendous amount of love in every flower. She's done it for years and every year it just gets better and better.

I’ve read recently, that flowers have stories to tell and Jean knows them all. So just walking through all the fragrant, colorful blooms and leafy foliage is an amazing adventure. And the butterflies!! There must have been hundreds! They were everywhere! No wonder I never see a butterfly around my house!

Anyway, I've posted the slideshow below for you to enjoy. First though, let me point out that the picture above is one of the photographs I took. Jean cut some flowers for me while I was taking pictures and put them in the sour cream container to bring home. The overall effect was just so gorgeous, I couldn't bring myself to transfer the flowers to a vase after I got home. I think you will agree that a vase couldn’t have made the arrangement any lovelier! (You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Oh! One more thing…I use this little Smilebox program all the time to save and display my pictures. I enjoy it more than putting the pictures in a photo album. I tell you this only because my friends just go on and on about how talented I am, and it makes me feel a little guilty. I try to tell them how easy it is, but they refuse to believe it. So, just let them think what they will (Smile). Between you and me, though, it takes no special talent, and it’s a lot of fun. I recommend it to anybody who takes a lot of pictures.

This free photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox