by Susan | Sep 18, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
Farmer friends in Harrington called today to let us know that they were butchering meat chickens and we were welcome to come over and see their Whizbang Chicken Plucker in action. After reluctantly learning how to pluck chickens I needed to see this. Redbird Farm is...
by Susan | Sep 18, 2011 | On My Mind
I was lying in bed this morning, just as the sun was showing itself. My mind was working on ideas for a duck house remodel – their current house originally built as a meat chicken run. Paul was awake so I told him about this thought for giving the ducks a little...
by Susan | Sep 17, 2011 | In the Kitchen
Hannah was on a mission today. Unbeknownst to me, she had a plan for lunch. While I was outside working, Hannah was busy in the kitchen. Here’s what I found when I popped inside for a moment. She made a white bread dough using the bread machine and then formed...
by Susan | Sep 14, 2011 | On My Mind
On Hannah. She was home from school today with a terrible headache – one that started last night that she hadn’t been able to shake by this morning. When I returned home from work she greeted me from the dark cave of her room with my camera. She said that...
by Susan | Sep 13, 2011 | On the Farm
The September full moon over the Banty B & B chicken...
by Susan | Sep 11, 2011 | On the Farm
Beautiful weather gave us the opportunity to work on all kinds of outdoor projects. Paul focused on getting wood cut and stacked for the winter while I worked on garden and turkey projects! And you wonder why we don’t let the ducks and chickens run lose. As soon...
by Susan | Sep 11, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
There are a number of old apple trees on our property. Some trees are sparse and short and the deer eat most of the apples. Others are so big that we cannot reach the apples – even with ladders. None of the trees are in easy access locations. We have to wade...
by Susan | Sep 10, 2011 | Chickens
At long last my mudroom is empty of all livestock! Today we finished the bantam chicken coop we started last weekend. Clover, Pepper, Salt, and Shadow have checked into the Banty B & B (click here to see the coop going together). I imagine they’re a little...
by Susan | Sep 5, 2011 | On My Mind
The three day weekend gave us lots of time to work on home projects. It’s a bit scary that summer will soon be over!
by Susan | Sep 4, 2011 | Hannah's Cutting Board
Hannah cooked us a truly wonderful dinner last night. The menu consisted of a chicken / broccoli ziti dish with garlic (of course) roasted red peppers and cream. Yummy. Dessert was a chocolate mousse made from scratch with homemade whipped cream; very rich and quite...
by Susan | Sep 3, 2011 | Garden
Garlic is a staple in our kitchen – even Hannah likes it. That’s why I increased our crop planting to 100 cloves last fall – up from 60 the year before. I spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting in the dooryard cleaning garlic. For the past few weeks...
by Susan | Sep 1, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
I played hookey today and took Hannah and her friend “M” to the beach for the day. We went to Roque Bluffs and we were the only folks on the beach. I parked myself in my chair, listened to the surf and read while the girls played. Swimming was short lived....
by Susan | Aug 30, 2011 | Chickens
I didn’t set out to be a chicken farmer. My husband sneakily lured me into the world of chickens with visions of farm fresh eggs and happy hens clucking about in the yard. When he attended the Chicken 101 class at Darthia Farm and learned how to harvest a meat...
by Susan | Aug 29, 2011 | Turkeys
They're still too cute to think about serving up at Thanksgiving!
by Susan | Aug 29, 2011 | Ducks
With Hurricane Irene we planned for the worst and ended up with the best. We were on the far eastern edge of the storm and had a short spell of steady rain followed by a very windy night. The power went on and off repeatedly (maybe 25 times?) for hours – the...
by Susan | Aug 27, 2011 | Chickens
With the news of hurricane Irene racing up the coast and headed for New England, Paul and I did some storm preparation today. By the time hurricanes get to Downeast Maine they’ve typically lost a lot of strength with the cold waters up here. Still, we can expect...
by Susan | Aug 23, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
Today was beautiful – almost autumn like – cool temperatures with big puffy clouds. Hannah and I made our annual hike to the top of Pigeon Hill. The exercise drove home the point how little exercise I’ve had lately and how out of shape I am! We were...
by Susan | Aug 23, 2011 | Chickens
I had a little fun with The Girls today. I took a few cauliflower plants that were not flourishing and I strung them up in the chicken run. Just a little out of their direct reach. The chickens studied it for a while, giving it a peck here and a poke there before...
by Susan | Aug 21, 2011 | Chickens
It was a pretty low key weekend here. I spent the bulk of the weekend working on a deadline with little breaks puttering outside. Here are a few weekend highlights.
by Susan | Aug 19, 2011 | Chickens
Hannah discovered that the chickens LOVE the black raspberries that grow wild around the house. Today I visited with The Girls and fed them some myself. Here are the...
