New additions

We decided to add a few more chickens to our flock.  Four eggs a day simply isn't enough for our family and we love the idea of having more chickens.  Two little girls now call our yard home.  Our dear friend Lynn picked them up from Western Farm Supply when she got 5 chicks for her family.  Lynn needed to get more chicks as all of her chickens were eaten by a raccoon.   Yes, apparently a predator proof chicken coop really is necessary.

Lynn raised our chicks with her own for 6 weeks (thank you Lynn!).  Now we have them.  They are giant Cochins, the ones with the feathered feet.  Gage named them Elizabeth and Flower.  They are growing quickly, but far too small to join our flock.

I have introduced them to the flock slowly with a fence between them, and Minnow our top hen wants to kill them.  I don't mean she wants to peck them or chase them around, she wants to kill them and she has tried.  She puffs up her neck, spreads out her wings and makes a noise that is something between and growl and a scream - ready for the attack.

So, the chicks live in their own pen with a a little coop I borrowed from a friend and neighbor.  When they get a little bigger, around 3 months I will built them a pen inside the current chicken pen for a couple of weeks and then begin introductions with the big girls.  If Minnow is still trying to kill them, she will live in the chick pen on her own for a couple of days or weeks, however long it takes her to chill out.  Then one night all of the chickens will be stuffed into the big coop at night to wake up together and I hope to find a cohesive and friendly flock the following morning.  :)   That is one old-school secret to adding birds to your flock.  Stick the new chickens into the coop at night when everyone is in and roosting.  The theory is they wake up thinking the new chickens are members of the flock and accept them.  This does not work 100% time, particularly if you are adding younger birds. I will let you know how it goes with my flock.  The one thing I do know about roosting birds is they are incredibly docile.  Once a chicken goes to sleep for the night or even as they get ready for sleep they calm down, settle in and let go.  I hope they can keep that calmness first thing in the morning as well.

Adding chickens to your established flock can be rough.  Take your time, be creative and try to understand chicken flock social dynamics and home turf mentality.  Always try to add bird of approximately the same age or size, young chicks added to a flock will most likely be killed.  Lastly keep your fingers crossed.

Beaver Island

We took a wonderful, busy family trip back to the midwest.  I say back, because I am originally from Iowa.  A midwest transport to California.  And I say busy because we were on the move for most of the vacation.  We flew into Milwaukee, where my brother and his two children and my mom picked us up in a large passenger van they had rented in Iowa.  We stayed a night in Milwaukee where I lived for 6 years and enjoyed lake Michigan.  It was however, far too cold to swim.  They were having a very cold, late spring in the midwest

Than off we went north, around lake Michigan.  We drove for 4 hours and made our first stop in Escanaba, MI.  The upper peninsula of Michigan is a truly beautiful place.

After one night we were of through the Upper Peninsula over Mackinaw bridge to the small town of Central Lake, Michigan where my lovely cousin Liz lives.

She has a son, Max who is one day younger than Imogen and she is pregnant with her second baby, due in October.  We rested a night or two with her and than we were off to the main attraction Beaver Island.  The lovely Beaver Island in Lake Michigan.

We woke up early so we could get on the ferry by 7am, with all of our gear, the van and all of those children. The ferry ride is about 3 hours, some of us slept, some just ran around.  It was incredibly cold when you were outside, so we all had to take breaks inside to warm up.

Beaver Island is a mysterious, wonderful place.  A fairly large island that hosts a year round population of 500 and survives on summer tourism.  My aunt once owned a restaurant on the island, where I waitressed for a summer in college and now owns a cabin on Fox lake, one of the small inland lakes on the island.

We stayed on the island for 3 days.  Enjoying the family, kids, water and other amusements of the island.  We fished, we walked among the legions of mosquitoes (they use 25% deet bug repellent) and visited some of the interesting locales in town - like the toy museum.

Than it was time to leave.  There is always a sadness when leaving Beaver Island.  Somehow, in only that short visit I felt connected again, wanting to stay longer.   When my aunt was telling the story about finding the island for the first time, she said that she cried when she left the island.  After that first visit, she was hooked.  I completely understand that feeling, there is a life on the island, something that I am so attracted to.

Despite my sadness, it was time to go.  So we boarded the ferry again, and waved good bye to the beautiful island that housed us for those three short days.  Bye-bye Beaver Island.

Waiting

Our little Charlotte waits.  She waits patiently by her well spun egg sac for her little babies to hatch.  Every time we look she is the same place, waiting.

For a moment I thought she had died because she was always in the same place.  But the next morning I saw she had a new web, freshly spun and beautiful.  So she waits quietly, in her own pre-baby stillness.  Moving at night to spin a new web or wrap up a flapping insect.  Than moving back to guard her babies, to watch over her little ones as the sun passes over them all.

Watching her, in what seems her unending patience, reminds me of waiting for my first baby.  Of course my baby was on the inside and there was only one.  But it seems similar, the waiting.  Those last months and weeks seem so long as you grow heavier.  Spending sleepless nights thinking of the new person coming into the world, so excited to meet him/her.   Waiting.

So our little Charlotte waits and she teaches me patience, as I long to meet her little ones as well.  I feel blessed that I have had the opportunity to do the waiting game more than once.  Where Charlotte will see these many babies into the world and than she will leave it.  Patiently waiting.

To nap or not to nap . . .

My 4 1/2 year old son is traveling through some tiring times.  I talk with other moms about this current crazy faze and most of them, particularly the moms with older children confirm that this is normal.  Something they have experienced as well.  Some of these moms have 5 children, so I am comforted by their affirmations.

As we struggle through this faze, this development, whatever you would like to call it.  I am finding that Gage needs more sleep than ever.  His exhaustion is all consuming and definitely adds to the "developmental struggle" :)   But we have also found that naps don't necessarily help.  When he naps he is up until 9pm and than we begin the cycle.  Up until 9pm, therefor needs a nap - blah, blah, blah.  So my approach is to push him through those saggy, tired moments and carry on.  Make it to 7:30pm and he goes right to bed, sleeping pretty soundly.

I do however, make exceptions as we always do in parenting.  Because some times the nap just happens to him.  It just takes him over the moment motion stops.  He is barreling around the house and happens to sit down for a moment and boom he is asleep.  He is wresting and swinging himself crazy at the playground, gets into the stroller to go home and boom he is asleep.  So those moments come and I try to take a deep breath and go with it.  Some times ya just gotta sleep.  

Just yesterday was one of those moments.  Around 4pm, the worst time to take a nap, Gage pauses for a moment (and I mean a moment) in his destruction of the house.  And a nap jumps up and grabs him.  I blink and see this upon the couch.

It's official the keeping him awake game is over, so I take a deep breath and move on.  Gage has fallen asleep on the couch, Imogen and I keep playing and I began making dinner within an arms breath of him and he sleeps through it all.  An hour and a half after crashing on the couch he sits up as though startled, looks at me and I think maybe this nap has come to an end.  But instead he slouches down and spends another hour and a half like this.

This nap, that I attempted to post pone lasted 3 hours.  3 hours.  That is quite possibly the longest nap Gage has ever taken.  He woke up a changed person, well-rested, happy and cordial.  That night we tried to get him to bed on time, to no avail.  He was awake until 9:30pm and the cycle continues.  Ow well, it was so wonderful to see him sleep so deeply, so completely and to see him wake up as my son, not crazy person that has taken him over recently.

So to nap it is, whenever the nap jumps up and grabs him.  It appears to know better than I what is needed.

Kombucha

There are many reasons to drink Kombucha, first there’s all the benefits of detoxification, such as healthy livers and cancer prevention. One of kombucha’s greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many of the enzymes and bacterial acids your body produces and/or uses to detox your system, thus reducing your pancreatic load and easing the burden on your liver. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer.  Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the recently deceased Russian author and nobel-prize winner, in his autobiography, claimed that kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer during his internment in soviet labor camps. (And because of this testimony, President Reagan used Kombucha to halt the spread of his cancer in 1987. You’ll note he didn’t die until 2004, and that was from old age, NOT cancer.)

Next, there’s all the benefits of the glucosamines it contains, such as preventing or treating all forms of arthritis. Glucosamines increase synovial hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid functions physiologically to aid preservation of cartilage structure and prevent arthritic pain, with relief comparable to NSAIDs and advantage over glucocorticoids. Hyaluronic acid enables connective tissue to bind moisture thousands of times its weight and maintains tissue structure, moisture, lubrication and flexibility and lessens free radical damage, while associated collagen retards and reduces wrinkles.

Then, there’s all the benefits of the fact that it’s a probiotic beverage, such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, and the general health and well-being associated with this. As such, it’s noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc.

Plus, it’s extraordinarily anti-oxidant rich, and you all know the benefits of anti-oxidants for boosting your immune system and energy levels.

Here are some articles about the health benefits:

http://www.kombu.de/val-gwf.htm
http://www.gaiaresearch.co.za/kombucha.html
http://www.acupuncture.com/herbs/kombucha1.htm
http://www.gokombucha.com/health_benefits.html

Once you have decided to try this beverage or if you already have a taste for  it, next you need to learn how to make it.  It is incredibly easy to make and making it will save you a lot of money.

First you need to get the starting material.  The easiest way to do this is to purchase a kit for around $13 and gallon glass jar and you are ready to get started.  There are many places on-line to purchase a kit I like Oregon Kombucha.

The kit contains black tea, sugar and your scoby.

Next you add one gallon of boiling water to the glass or ceramic container (never use a metal container).  Add the tea bag from your starter kit or 12 regular size tea bags.  Any tea will do, I prefer black.  For optimum brewing time, remove black tea bags in 4 minutes and green or white tea bags in 2 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup sugar per gallon of water.

Let the tea cool to room temperature.  Add the entire contents of the live culture packet or scoby.  This culture packet contains a piece of life kombucha culture and some kombucha tea.  The culture is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast: a scoby.  The scoby will grow in the sweet tea you have prepared and change in into Kombucha.  During the process healthy vitamins and digestion-aiding natural acids are formed.  This process creates natural carbonation.

Cover the container with cheese cloth and rubber bands.  This keeps dirt and bugs out, but lets the Kombucha breath.

You can than cover your kombucha with a cloth napkin or dish towel to keep out some light and place it in a warm place, dark place.   In the summer anywhere will work in the winter find a warm spot in your house - near a heater vent, or a pilot light, on top of the water heater,in an insulated cooler with a jar of warm water.  Kombucha is best brewed at 80 degrees.  In cooler weather it will take much longer for the fermentation to be complete.  Kombucha can be ready in 7 days or take as much as 30 days.  Taste your Kombucha on day 7.  Everyday it will get fizzeir and more tart when it seems perfect for you, move it to the refrigerator and the brewing will stop.  Kombucha will last for moths in the refrigerator.  You can filter your Kombucha through cheese cloth to remove some of the sediment.

The scoby is a live organism and it will grow in your container while Kombucha brews. At first, it looks like a transparent film and then grows into a solid mass the size and shape of the container. It may be white, dark, smooth or bumpy.   It may grow in layers that can be separated.  You can use the scoby to grow an unlimited number of batches of Kombucha.  to keep it alive simply keep it covered in the Kobucha, at room temperature, with a cloth over the container, until you are ready to make another batch.  Give it a little fresh Kombucha or sweetened tea occasionally.  Each time you make more Kombucha you will grow another scoby, so feel free to pass it on to a friend so they can begin making their own Kombucha.  Share the pleasure of Kombucha.

Colossal Egg

I went to gather the eggs late this morning, and I found this gigantic thing awaiting me.

This egg is easily twice as big as any egg we have gotten from our chickens.  I placed it in a jumbo size egg carton and couldn't close the container.  A whopper  of an egg - I think the culprit is Yoko our Rhode Island Red.  She lays the biggest eggs on a regular basis.

Our second surprise was when we cooked the egg.  It appears the reason for this huge size is a double yolk.  Essentially we got two eggs in one.  :)  Thanks Yoko.

Killer Brownies

I brought these brownies to a potluck with friends and they disappeared in a moment.  These brownies are chocolaty, gooey, chewy yuminess.    They are easy to make and work perfectly for a quick desert for many.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup buttter

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degree oven.  Grease a 9 by 11 pan.

Melt the butter in sauce pan, add sugar, stir to combine.  Return to heat briefly until hot, but not bubbly.  It'll become shiny looking as you stir it.

Stir in cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla.  Add the eggs, beating until smooth, than add flour and chips, beating until combined.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes.  

I think nuts would be a good addition as well.

Enjoy!