#43 on the list of things that make me smile

New feeder

Only Caccitore is brave enough to check out the new hanging feeder I got today - or is it pure gluttony?

The quail needed the small jar feeder, so there was my excuse to hit Valley Feed down the street and bag up (free) loose straw/hay mix from the shed floor - and buy a hanging feeder, and a new steel spade, and some top soil/sheep manure/peat moss mix for my container potatoes.

That free bedding sure costs alot.

Now I need to use the extra plastic garbage can lid to make an umbrella of sorts to keep the feed dry. Hopefully it won't rain before I get around to it.

And I need more organic feed.

No wonder small farmers go broke.

My commute to work

Juju rode with me today

Not all of the views are pretty

But most of it is better than the views from the street

chicken dinner

We segregated Quesadilla from the rest of the flock last night. He (her? I never checked) was the first to show signs of having a hard time walking and breathing. Cornish crosses have a very short lifespan, 12 weeks average. They are bred to grow so fast and are so breast heavy that if not butchered in time they are likely to be found dead of a heart attack. Even at 6.5 lbs not all of his feathers had time to grow in.

At first we put him in a cat carrier with water, but soon the water was everywhere and he was soaking wet. He spent the night in the coop yard with a small shelter and only water.

Before I went to work we prepped him for eating. It took about 20 minutes from start (give thanks) to finish (looking like a store bought bird). Dressed out he weighed out at 4.6 lbs.

Now what? I looked around the kitchen for a container large enough to brine the bird.

In desperation I dumped the brown rice out of its 3 gal bucket (Now I have multiple jars of brown rice) and put the chicken inside. Water, salt, rosemary and some poultry seasoning and into the fridge it went. In hindsight I should have cooled it down in ice water first - but my day job was soon to start.

Off to work I went.

I came home to dinner nearly ready. Using the beer can method on the charcoal grill Hubby and Juju cooked our first home raised meat.

Outcome?

Very chickeny flavor. The colour of the meat showed that this bird had lived, not in a cage in a warehouse, but really lived. He had pecked and scratched, eaten bugs and greens, run and played.

But, I think a traditional oven roast would have been nicer. The beer did keep the meat moist, but the texture was so different from the frozen chicken breasts and thighs we usually eat that despite the 180 temp, there was the momentary thought of "did I cook it all the way?"

Juju had a hard time, she said knowing the chicken made it hard to eat. Mesha, on the other hand, ate both drumsticks with enthusiasm. She also claimed the legs of the other 2 birds. It was celebration dinner of sorts - we could do this. In a couple more months we will be able to have a full dinner from our yard.

That feels good

full wing feathers

Weeding

Our landscaping was put in about 25 years ago. There are multiple hardscaped layers along most of the property edges. There are various roses and irises.

And there is Vinca major.

Years and years of overgrown groundcover on steroids. I have been slowly making my way around the property and have done about 1/2 the front yard (morning sun) and 1/4 the backyard (afternoon sun) over the last year. I know that I cannot eradicate the viney plant, nor do I want to, it is pretty and makes a nice living mulch. I just want it under control. Stems from previous years turn brown and are sharp when pulling, not to mention it will strangle anything else that may be trying to grow. My goal is to have only first year growth.

The day was cool enough for Hubby to take on 2 of the beds that have been at the end of my list. Even though I know that there is a beautiful bicoloured rose in the mess.

I did clear off the back fence of Virginia creeper so we could plant our own mix of morning glory, sunflower and cosmos in the alley but had not ventured into the mess.

So I came home to nearly bare dirt. And a pile of weeds to either to the chickens or to the garbage men.

Hopefully the free pile of wood mulch down the street has been refreshed again. (it had been depleted a couple days ago.)

Maybe there will be room for all 50 tomato plants we started from seed.

Finished front bed

Well, except I need to make it a couple feet longer on either side . . . and plant the Echinecea . . . and plant more basil . . . and maybe some leftover garlic . . . and carrots. . . and label the plants before I forget which one is which. . .

I am the queen of 3/4 done projects.