Monday's Daybook Aug. 31, 2015

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For Today: August 31st, 2015

Outside my window: I'm late posting this and it's dark out there.

I Am Thinking: That now I have to worry about Eggo's foot.  I'm pretty sure she has bumblefoot. 

I Am Thankful:  That I have my vet 2 minutes up the road! 

In The Kitchen:  Dishes are cleaned up and there is a solid "loaf" of bread that didn't rise in my breadmaker.  I'll be throwing that out to the birds! 

  

I Am Wearing:  A white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. 

I Am Creating:  Another crocheted dish cloth.  I also made a few coasters this week.  Someday I'll attempt a hat!!

  

I Am Going:  To bed after I watch the news.

I Am Reading:  Nothing this week.  My sister is visiting.

  

I Am Hoping:  That I can fit in a riding lesson this week. 

I Am Looking Forward To:  My handyman, Kerry, painting the deck tomorrow even though it will be a problem letting the dogs out!

I Am Hearing:  The TV on in the family room.

 

Around The House:  There must be some things that would sell well on eBay!!

In My Garden:  It's still dry.  We've had very little rain. 

I Am Pondering:  Whether to try and lance Eggo's foot myself or go up to the vet.  It will probably be another vet call!

One of My Favorite Things:  Having my sister here to visit and to go places with. 

Quote of the Day:  

  

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:  Tomorrow, having the deck painted, Wednesday, hopefully a riding lesson, Thursday the Culligan man has to come and fix my water softner; my water is too hard!!  Hopefully going over to my son's to see him and Linda and my grandchildren this holiday weekend.

Photos From The Past Week:  

I am linking this post with Simple Woman's Daybook.

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com

Go have a visit and read about other woman's days.

Shirley

Be sure to visit me on Periscope!

Link is in the top right side-bar.

Monday Daybook

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For Today:  August 24th 2015

Outside my window:  It's sunny and going to be a nice day in the 70's.

                    

I Am Thinking:  I'm going to open some windows and let some nice fresh air in.

I Am Thankful:  That my sister is finally coming for a visit later this week.  She hasn't been to visit since last fall!!

In The Kitchen:  I can hear the soft whir of the dishwasher.

I Am Wearing:  A turquoise t-shirt and black running pants and my garden clogs.

I Am Creating:  Another crocheted dish cloth and some coasters.  Also trying to "zentangle" a little bit everyday.  Those two things, crocheting and the zentangle doodling are such good stress reducers.

I Am Going:  To run up to GoodWill to see what I can find and to Home Depot to see if they have something I thought of getting for my daughter.  Don't want to give away her gift surprise yet though.

I Am Reading:  A Sue Grafton mystery.  "F is for Fugitive" (Audio book)  Almost done, then I get to go to the library for more.

I Am Hoping:  That I get better with doing Periscope and get some followers!!!

I Am Looking Forward To:  Riding my horse, Echo this week.  I have a lesson tomorrow.

I Am Hearing:  Stillness.  So nice sometimes!

Around The House:  I need to do a good clean-up and wash my floors before my sister comes!

In My Garden:  It's pretty dry.  I watered my sad little vegetable garden this morning.  The deer haven't left me much!

I Am Pondering:  About scoping (Periscope) in GoodWill today.

One of My Favorite Things:  Sitting by my chickens in the evening while they dust themselves in the dirt run.  I usually do a "chicken scope" from there in the evening.

Quote of the Day:

  

                       

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:  Find more things to sell on eBay (see link right side bar), clean the house!, riding lesson on Tuesday, pick my sister up on Thursday, Maybe go visit my grandkids this next weekend while my sister is here. 

Photos From The Past Week:

I am linking this post with Simple Woman's Daybook.

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com

Go have a visit and read about other woman's days.

***Also don't forget to visit me on Periscope.

Link in the right sidebar at the top.

Shirley

Some Good Chicken Breeds To Start With!

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For the First Time Chicken Keeper

There is a great chart to see all the kinds of chicken breeds.  

It's called Henderson's Chicken Chart.

It lists 60 different breeds.

I'll put a link at the bottom of this post.

Everyone with chickens has their favorite breed.  It's just like with dogs.  

Everyone has their most beloved breed of dog.

There are some chickens that are just known to be more docile and friendly and would be easier if you're just starting out.

After all . . . they will become like pets if you just have a small flock.

You'll name them and talk to them and tell them what good girls they are when they give you an egg!  : ))

OK then!

Here you go.

 The Road Island Red.

They are great layers.  You'll get an egg a day.

They are active and fairly docile.  They are robust and hardy to heat and cold.

The reddish brown is the most common color.

The Barred Plymouth Rock

This is a favorite among chicken owners.

They are calm and docile.  Easily handled and friendly.

Can be easily taught to eat from your hand.

They're cold hardy and lay large light brown eggs.

The Silkie

If you want to try a little bantam (miniature) chicken,

the silkie is a fun choice.

They are friendly, but remember their eggs are also miniature size!

Their feathers are so soft and fluffy they feel like silk.

Care should be taken if introducing bantams into a regular size chicken flock.

Welsummer chicken

The Welsummer chicken is docile, non-aggressive and will easily fit into a mixed flock.

It lays beautiful chocolate colored brown eggs.

It is cold hardy.

The White Leghorn Chicken

This is an "egg laying machine"!

The most common chicken used to lay eggs for production.

It lays large white eggs, is hardy and heat tolerant.

Can be flighty and nervous. though

The Orpington

It comes in a couple different colors but the buff orpington is the most common.

It is docile and easily handled but does tend to go broody more than some other breeds.

It is a good mother and lays large brown eggs.

The Wyandotte

This is a silver laced wyandotte and can also be seen as a golden laced wyandotte.

They lay medium to large brown eggs.  They are calm and docile.

Robust and cold hardy.

The Cochin

The cochin comes in many, many colors.  The special thing about them is their feathered feet.

They are calm, docile and easily handled.  They can go broody easily and make good mothers.

They're cold hardy.  Their eggs are a little smaller and are a yellowish brown.

They come in regular or bantam size.

The Easter-Egger or Americauna

The easter egger is a calm and curious chicken.

Some can be a little stand-offish.

They have tuffs of feathers (muffs) on each side of their face near their beak that reminds you of a chipmunk.

They lay slightly blue to green eggs, medium to large.

A must for a pretty egg basket!!

The link to Hendersons Chicken Chart is here:

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html 

Hope you found this useful if you are thinking of getting chickens for the first time or just adding to your flock.

Watch for my broadcasts on Periscope about chickens and my other animals etc.

Link is at the top of the right side bar.

Shirley

Sometimes I Think I'm a Frustrated Food Photographer!

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Here' s just a few of my food photos in the past couple years!!

These are just a few because I seem to want to take photos of everything I make or eat!
Do you think I have a problem!!
Delving a little deeper . . . maybe it's telling myself that it was OK to get this expensive kitchen re-do 4 years ago!!!

: ))

Shirley

Now, That's Delicious!!!!!

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There's probably millions of people that have had peanut butter and banana sandwiches!

However, this was my first one.

 I used peanut butter on one piece of 12 grain bread and Nutella on the other piece.

One whole banana sliced in the middle.

 I then toasted it in the George Forman grill

Let me just say . . . It was heavenly!

This grill was one I had gotten a long time ago and used for awhile.  I then took it down and stored it in the basement and completely forgot I had it till I saw someone using one on YouTube.

Now it's back up in the kitchen and I scoped myself making bacon in it this morning.

I'm on Periscope everyday broadcasting about chickens and other this and that.

The link to Twitter and Periscope is at the top of the right side bar.

Thanks for visiting.

And try this sandwich!!!!!

Shirley

Some Interesting Facts about Chickens

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This is one of my hens named Dottie.

I came across a lot of interesting facts on chickens this week.

This post sort of goes along with some of my previous Periscope broadcasts.

I just recently started using "Katch" which captures your live broadcasts on Periscope and puts them on Twitter for more the the previous 24 hours.

Anyway . . . .

Here are some chicken facts.

(these are from the "My Pet Chicken" handbook.

#1  Chickens make good teachers.

           Mother hens teach their baby chicks what is good to eat and what is not.

#2  Chickens have prehistoric roots.

           Chickens are thought to be the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex!!!!

#3  Chickens have their own language.

            It's thought that chickens have about 30 distinct vocalizations that they use to communicate                 with each other.  For instance, the warning cry for a predator that is coming on the ground is               different from the cry that is warning a predator coming from above, like a hawk.

#4  Chickens sometimes model their behavior on other chickens.

            The special way a broody hen clucks can encourage other hens to become broody too.

#5  Chickens begin communicating before they are hatched.

            A mother hen "talks" to her chicks when they are still in the egg and the chicks begin to peep               back right before they are hatched.

#6  Chickens are more docile at night.

            Chickens go into a passive, trancelike state when they sleep at night.  It is the easiest way to                 pick up a chicken, when they are in this sleepy state.

#7  Chickens learn who you are.

            Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces!!

#8  Chickens lay different colors of eggs depending on the breed.

            Different shades of brown, green, blue, pink and of course white.

#9  Chicken eggs are nutritionally about the same regardless of the color of the shell.

            Brown eggshell colors are deposited on the outside of the shell, while blue goes throughout                 the shell, even on the inside.

#10 Chickens signal when they are ready to lay.

            Before a hen begins to lay, her comb will get larger and redder, and she may begin to squat                down submissively when you reach down to pet her.

If you catch my scopes on Periscope I talk much more on the subjects that I post about here.

I usually scope on Periscope at least once a day, sometimes more.

Usually my "chicken scopes" are in the evening.

On Twitter @hoofprints
There is a link at the top of the right sidebar.

Thanks

Have a great day.

Shirley

            

3 Basics for a Chicken Run

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This post goes along with my Periscope from tonight.

You can find it on Twitter @hoofprints

https://twitter.com/hoofprints

It will be viewable for 24 hours, until 7pm, 8/14/15

3+  important things about chicken runs.

•Make your run or chicken yard as big as you can.

(At least 10-12 Sq. Ft. per chicken.)

•Make it secure.  No chicken wire, use hardware wire.

•Keep your main run covered to avoid any swopping hawks.

Pick up any food or debris at night so it doesn't attract rodents.

In the larger yard, have a place they can run for cover.

You can hang shiny cd's or pie plates to help scare away hawks

Poultry fencing with or without electricity.

Wobbly fence to discourage chickens from flying up and landing on the fence.

Protection for free range chickens:

Brush  or shelter to hid in, a rooster or guard dog.

Shirley

The 3 Musts When Building Your Chicken Coop.

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1. Build your coop bigger than you think you'll need!

          Chickens need at least 2-4 sq. ft/ for each hen.

          Plan your coop for future additions!  

After 2-3 years of age, the laying diminishes and you'll want to add more chicks for more eggs!

Don't crowd your chickens or you may start to have behavioral problems.

2.  Make sure your coop is predator proof.     

Elevated off the ground.

Locks on all doors. (Man door, egg boxes and pop door.)

Use carabiner latches or pad locks.

Use hardware wire not chicken wire.

Chicken wire only keeps chickens in, and does not keep predators out.

Keep in mind, if a five year old child can open it, so can a raccoon!!!

Predators can include:

Raccoons, Possums, Fox, Hawks, Owls, Coyotes, Dogs, Snakes etc.

3.  Build you coop with good ventilation.

You want good ventilation without drafts on the chickens. 

Use hardware wire on the windows.

This post goes along with the live scope I did on Periscope tonight.

It will be able to be viewed until 7:30pm  8/13/15

Check it out from my Twitter page @hoofprints.

https://twitter.com/hoofprints

Shirley

It's Like Starting All Over!!

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When you haven't ridden in a few months and then just a couple times since I hurt my back, it's like starting all over again.

I've lost those riding muscles and muscle memory!

Frustrating.

But I intend to keep at it.

It'll just take time.

Why does my helmet look so huge!  Has my head shrunk!! 

              

I have to say, my inner thighs are killing me today : ))

So out of shape!

Shirley

A Taste For Lemon

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I had such a taste for good lemon cake.  I got out an old recipe and changed it around a bit.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (2 layer size) of lemon cake mix

2 pkg (3/4 oz each) Lemon Flavored Instant Pudding

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

2 cups cold milk 

1 1/4 cups water 

Juice of one lemon

Zest of one lemon. 

Powdered sugar for topping.

Prepare cake mix as directed, (I exchanged the vegetable oil with coconut oil.) 

Pour into a 13 X 9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Put dry pudding mixes, granulated sugar, milk and water into a bowl and beat with a whisk for 

about 2 minutes till it begins to thicken.

Add the juice and the zest of one lemon to the pudding mix and stir.

(For a tarter lemon taste you can increase the zest to 2 lemons)

Pour evenly over batter in baking dish.  (I used a dipper to do this)

Bake for 55-60 minutes till done.

Pudding will thicken as it cools.

Cool completely.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Just out of the oven.

Enjoy!!

Shirley