Missy's Homestead: Chicken Wings

My husband has been holding down the fort while I have been gone and of course that means helping with our Co-Op Backyard Chickens.    We live in the back of a larger house so we share the chicken responsibilities with the gals that live in the front.  

Greg Chasing Down Gloria

A couple weeks ago Greg started to notice that the chickens were not only in the yard but behind fences, in the back ally and the final straw was when Miriam was on the roof of our house.  If we were going to keep these little flock ladies in our backyard and not lose them something had to be done.   We don't really have the resources or materials right now to build a large full caged in coop and run for the ladies, so we needed to come up with another way to keep the chickens in the backyard and still allow them to roam free while we are gone.  So Greg and I discussed options and in the end it was decided that we should clip their flight feathers.  

This is a very simple procedure that is often performed on birds, that are pets, so they cannot fly away.  I never thought we would have to worry about the chickens flying away as the are notoriously non flight birds but they actually can get up pretty high when they are determined.  They also LOVE to be as high up as possible since it makes them feel safe from predators.  

Gayle Working Her Magic on Gloria

The ladies in the front house were all for it but they opted out of performing the deed.  I was away working and so I couldn't do it and Greg was willing to help but wasn't sure he could do everything by himself. 

Turns out we had a veteran bird flight feather remover in our family!  My wonderful Sister-in-law Gayle had once done this with a pet parakeet.  She watched a few YouTube videos about clipping flight feathers on chickens and Walla!  Honestly the hardest part was catching those chickens!  The procedure took seconds and as soon as it was done the chickens were back running around the yard scratching for grubs and chicken scratch.   As times goes on I realize why farms and homesteads are so much work.  Very much worth it, but even the smallest little homestead takes a lot of time and there is often tasks to perform that you never thought you would need to do.  It never occurred to me when we got the chickens that we would have a problem keeping them in our yard.  I just figured that it would be so nice back there that they would never want to leave!  How silly of me to assume my desires for the chickens would be exactly what they would want to do.  

Until next time.  Consume More, Buy Less, Ask for help from your friends or family for help.  You never know what strengths they might have.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: People I admire

I have a lot of great people around me.  My family, my fabulous friends, the ladies I work with at What You Can Do, the crew members of the theatrical shows I work on, the list goes on and on.  But today I want to talk briefly about two people in my life who are making a difference in the lives of a homeless or shelter animal:  My mom Karen and my boss Alicia.  Both of these women are strong and wonderful women who always encourage others to to their best and always practice what they preach.

When it comes to pets there are many different reasons to either adopt a shelter animal or buy a puppy direct from a breeder.  Sometimes circumstances make it hard to adopt from a shelter.  You may need a certain type of breed etc. that unfortunately prevents you from being able to adopt any animal.  However, if life allows you to adopt a pet that truly is a beautiful gift that you can give to that animal.

These two fabulous women whom I mentioned above have recently in the last several months found a place in their homes and hearts to adopt pets in need.  My boss Alicia was looking for a new pet and took the time to consult the shelters in her area for some kitties in need.  After a long search through the New York shelter system, she was able to find two little kitties who needed a home.  While Alicia originally set out to adopt one kitty, circumstances being what they were she refused to break up two little brother kitties.  And now these amazing little guys are happily living the urban kitty life in her NYC apartment. 

Mr. Jabez

My mom Karen has a very different adoption story but a great one non the less.  My mom actually already had a dog that she adopted from a family in town.  This family had too many dogs and could not care for all of them so several years ago my mom adopted Mr. Obie, a small white maltese.  A couple weeks ago when my mom was out talking with her neighbor a scrappy and dirty small black dog ran into their yards.  This poor little guy looked like he had been on the streets for a long time and had no collar or microchip that could identify him and the owner.  My mom contact her local shelters and put the word out that she had found this little guy to see if anyone was looking for this lost little dog.  Unfortunately she was unable to find the owners of this little guy.  So she took him to the groomer and had him checked out at the vet.  Turns out he is very healthy and cleans up very nice.  At this point my mother and father decided that fate had brought them another dog and they have adopted this tiny black dog into their home.  Now they have Obie and Jabez.  

Making the choice to have a pet is a large one and should not be taken lightly.  Pets should also not be considered as gifts unless you and that person have discussed and decided on getting a pet.  So many animals end up homeless and living in shelters that anytime you can find it in your life and heart to adopt a pet I believe you help to make the world just a little bit better.

For more info about adopting a shelter animal you can check out www.petfinder.com

Until next time Consume More, Buy Less, Consider Pet Adoption.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: Dreaming of Spring

Dreaming of Spring

Sad Winter Garden

As you my have gathered this winter I have been away from my little homestead.  I got a job back on the east coast for a couple months so I have been living vicariously through updates from my husband.  As I mentioned last week the chickens have slowly begun to start laying eggs,  However, I did get an update that my little winter garden has not done very well.  I got some leeks still going from the summer (They are pretty big) and some parsley and baby bok choy, but everything else has really stalled out.  Also, Greg just doesn't have the time to tend to the garden these days since I am out of town.  Things look a little sad right now.   I am eager to get back and start my indoor seedlings and clean out the dirt beds.  Maybe add some extra fertilizer and Chicken poop to help build back up the nutrients.  

I have had some time to consider my seed choices this year, and I think I have finally figured out what I want to attempt to grow this year.

Zucchini and a couple different types of squash:  I love zucchini.  I love it in all forms and as I found last summer it takes no effort to grow.  I said last year that I might not plant as many this year but to be honest I actually might.  I loved trying different recipes in order to use up my zucchini and I actually think that because we did have it a bunch that my husband actually really started to enjoy it.  (he is not the biggest squash fan)

Tomatoes:  I loved having the tomatoes although I really didn't choose the right varieties for my purposes.  I loved the tiny little yellow shaped tomatoes that I had, they were delicious.  But the grape tomatoes were too small to really do anything useful with, and I had some weird long red tomato that was always mushy inside.  I also had a darker tomato that also didn't really taste very good.  This year I have decided to plant larger heirloom varieties.  I hope that they will have a much better texture and be easier to break down into soups and sauces.  I also plan on trying to not water the tomatoes too much.  Dry farming Tomatoes is suppose to make them much more juicer.

Carrots:  I love whole carrots and I adore carrot juice.  Last year I tried to grow some carrots in between some of the other veggies.  So this year in effort to get more yield I am going to devote a larger and more open part of my garden to those delicious veggies.

More Sad Winter Garden

Cucumbers:  Last year I planted a bunch of lemon cucumbers and I really didn't use them very much nor did I particularly love the flavor or taste.  This year I am not going to plant any of them.  They had very large seeds and not a lot of meat.  Instead I will focus my efforts on planting more regular  cucumbers.  This way I might actually get enough to make some pickles!!

Chard:  This is a no brainer.  I love having it in the garden and I plan on planting a ton of it this season.  It is always a go to for a great green in a dinner.

Lettuce Mix:  Honestly I hardly ever used the lettuce I grew in my garden and it actually got out of control.  This year I don't think I will be planting any of it.  I will leave lettuce to the real farmers and buy it locally at the farmers markets this summer. Unfortunately it is just not worth the water consumption or the space in my garden

Various herbs:  I loved having basil, cilantro, dill etc.  Last year I didn't have very many herbs, so this year I plan on planting a bunch. Especially basil.  Making homemade pesto sauce for the freezer is something I really enjoy.

Beets and Bell Peppers:  I was kind of skimpy on these items last year and I love both of these items.  I plan on planting a lot of them.  Beet juice is delicious and who doesn't love a stuffed bell pepper for a great dinner?

Potatoes:  I didn't try growing any of these last year and my husband and I eat a lot of potatoes.  This year I am going to get a few types of potato starters and try my hand at growing some.  

Okay that is all for now.  Are you planning your garden already?  If so I would love to hear your plans.

Until Next time, Consume More, Buy Less, Plan your garden.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: Cage-Free is the way to be

I love eggs.  I can eat them all the time.  Before I met my husband I didn't really pay attention to where my eggs come from or what type of environment the chickens were being kept in. Greg was very adamant  that we always buy eggs that came from happy happy chickens.

Often times farms keep their chickens in tiny little cages where they just sit and lay lay lay.  Not a happy environment for producing the best eggs.  A few terms you see now a days are "Cage-Free" and "Free Range" which are suppose to mean that the chickens are allowed to freely roam about. In other words happy chickens.  However, currently there is not much regulation on how free range or cage free these chickens have to be in order to qualify for that term.  The best way to ensure that you are getting the best quality eggs (from happy chickens) is to go to your local farmers markets and buy them directly from the farmers themselves. Another great thing about organic eggs is that you can keep them on your kitchen counter instead of in the fridge.  Eggs that are processed for the grocery store get treated with products that break their natural inside seal.  Organic eggs do not have this problem and so their natural casings can keep the egg fresh on your counter.  (Crazy sounding?! I know).

When I (and my friends!) finally completed the goal of the chicken coop this past fall I was elated!  Fresh eggs all the time.  I couldn't wait for our first egg.  And then I realized that we had purchased our chickens too late in the year and that they would probably not start laying eggs until this coming spring of 2013.  Well guess what!??! Recently one of our little chicken ladies has started laying eggs!  They are pretty small but the yokes are a deep yellow and super rich.  Greg made up a batch of friend eggs the other day and sent me a picture.  He said they tasted delicious. Best eggs he has had in a long time.  (When I get back to the homestead I want to do some side by side comparisons of the store bought eggs to the eggs that are laid by my little flock.  I think we will be shocked at how better our home eggs are than from the store.)

Now I know not everyone can have chickens.  There is not always the time, room or money.  However, you can try to buy farm fresh eggs.  And if you can't do that try to buy Cage Free/Free Range.  Even though it can cost a little more those eggs will be better.  Because they came from happy chickens.

Okay until next time,

Consume More, Buy Less, Buy Farm Fresh.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: Resolution Ideas

Resolutions Part 1

Like most people I always make New Year Resolutions.  And like most people they last for about the first month and then they fade.  And again like most people every year I vow that this year will be different. 

Even though I know all this I still want to make some resolutions for this year.  Here is a list of  a few of my ideas that you might also want to try out.

1.  Try my best to use less paper towels and commit to buying them recycled.  I love paper towels.  They are quick and easy plus they just get the job done.  I love them.  I am not afraid to admit it.   However, I do use too many and consequently I often buy them in bulk at Costco.  Thus giving me plenty of papertowels but they sure are not recycled.  I need to amend this habit.  I need to use less paper towels and if I am going to buy them I need to buy them from recycled materials.  I think that the best way I can achieve this goal is by using more reusable kitchen towels.  This way I can wash them once they are dirty and reuse them.  Also I feel like instead of keeping the paper towels out where they are easily accessible, that I should put them away.    If the paper towel are out the way I feel that I would opt for using the kitchen towel before I roll out the paper towels.

2.  Always do Meatless Monday.  I don't think this will be that hard for me as both my husband and I love veggies and other meatless item.  The problem for me is just committing to always remembering to do so.  The benefits for participating in this are not just for the health benefits but also it helps the environment and contributes to a reduction of your carbon footprint.  

3.  Investing in a rain catcher or barrel.  It rains all the time in the winter and spring in sonoma county.  Reusing rain water is a great way to help the environment and help protect our water resources.  I can feed my plants stored rain water and water my grass with water

that has all been collected from the massive amounts of rain fall.  Again it is just about committing to taking the time to catch the water.

4.  Get off the mailing list of printed catalogs.   Billions of catalogs are mailed out in America and each of these costs millions in trees, water, printing etc.  If we could reduce our use of these printed materials we could help eliminate some of the stress on our environment.  Less clutter, less pollutions, less waste all around.  I need to commit a day to contacting all the companies that send me their catalogs and have them remove me from their mailing list.  

5.  Learn to save on my energy bill buy giving up washing cloths in hot water.  Most of the energy that a washing machine uses is for the heating of the water.  I find that cloths come out just as clean with cold water.  So why not commit to saving money and resources by never turning the dial to Hot.  

Okay I have a few more resolutions but that is it for now, more next week.  Also if you have some great Green inspired resolutions please let me know.  I would love to hear about the ways that others are trying to be better stewards of our earth.

Until next time Consume More, Buy Less, Commit to be the change.  

Missy