by Susan | Aug 16, 2011 | Chickens
A rainy day gave Paul the chance to finish “fine-tuning” his plans for the chicken coop. We’re happy to offer these plans to you for free. Click here to view and download the free chicken coop plans. You can also right-click on the link and choose...
by Susan | Aug 14, 2011 | Chickens, Turkeys
by Susan | Aug 14, 2011 | In the Kitchen, Recipes
I experiment with pizza dough like some women experiment with nail polish colors. We have homemade pizza once a week, usually on the weekend. We make our own, not because we don’t have choices, but because we like ours better. After years of experimenting,...
by Susan | Aug 13, 2011 | On My Mind
Last night was cloudless, a full moon lighting the yard with an eerie glow. As I was falling asleep I heard the “who-who, who-who” of a great horned owl. As I listened to the owl’s lonely call, thoughts started turning in my mind. Earlier in the day, Ginger the dog...
by Susan | Aug 13, 2011 | On My Mind
Hannah decorating her fort with leaves.
by Susan | Aug 11, 2011 | Ducks
Dilly, affectionately known as “Silly Dilly,” arrived as a new hatchling five weeks ago. It wasn’t until I took her out of the brooder and let her run around outside in the garden for the first time that I noticed her legs have not developed properly. Dilly’s legs do...
by Susan | Aug 10, 2011 | Turkeys
Thanksgiving dinner is here! These three-day-old baby turkeys arrived at the local feed and seed today. When I brought them home, Hannah insisted on naming them. A family “no-no” for things that will grace the dinner table. She’s calling...
by Susan | Aug 9, 2011 | Chickens
Last night we enjoyed our first roasted chicken from a Cornish Rock chicken we raised ourselves! Cornish Rock Chick Cornish Rock One Month Cornish Rock 7 Weeks Roasted Cornish Rock Roasted with thyme, rosemary and lemon it was very tasty, tender and moist. This was a...
by Susan | Aug 8, 2011 | Ducks
The ducks have finally moved out of the garage brooder and into their permanent digs. One month old and they’ve left home. This little structure was the house and run for our first batch of meat chickens. We came to the realization that the meat chickens did not...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2011 | Family
Twelve years ago today, darling Hannah entered into our lives. She took her own sweet time arriving on the scene two weeks late. Not much has changed on that front. My due date of July 23 came and went. When the doctor said that they were going to induce labor, I was...
by Susan | Aug 4, 2011 | Chickens
I gave the girls an outdoor roost to break the monotony of life in their chicken run. A couple of cinder blocks with a branch draped across did the trick. They like to hop up here when they see me heading down to the coop area. I think it gives them a better view so...
by Susan | Jul 31, 2011 | Ducks
Oscar got his quack! Quackers is close and the other two have a little catching up to do. Exciting stuff. I harvested the rest of my garlic today so I was able to expand their temporary play area in my garden. This gave us room to set up a bigger swimming pool for...
by Susan | Jul 30, 2011 | Chickens
We went to town today for a roll of 6′ x 50′ chicken wire and came home with four bantam chicks and no chicken wire. How did that happen? It had to be Chicken Math. These little cuties were $1 each – end of the season left-over chick sale. Who can...
by Susan | Jul 29, 2011 | On My Mind
We made a trip to town yesterday and turned the Prius into a pickup truck again. As we were cruising along, the AC blasting to keep the child in the back seat happy, I looked down at the mileage display and snapped this pic (Paul was driving). 418 miles on this tank...
by Susan | Jul 28, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
After a meeting in Bar Harbor today I paused for a moment to snap a couple of pictures. This is the Margaret Todd, a four-masted windjammer heading out of the harbor for a sail. How fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful area!
by Susan | Jul 26, 2011 | Family
Fourteen years ago, I married my best friend. This has not been an inconsequential partnership so far. Four ducks: $25 One gold fish: $28 Thirteen chickens: $77 Two cats: $1,153 Three dogs: $4,760 One half-grown child: $103,850 One home in the woods of Maine: $290,000...
by Susan | Jul 25, 2011 | Chickens
I love these afternoons when I finish work early enough to putter in the garden before dinner. This afternoon I did some weeding and deadheading and just enjoyed being outdoors – ducks looking on from their garden plot. Weed and feed at my house has a different...
by Susan | Jul 24, 2011 | Ducks
One moment I’m refilling their bathing pool. The next I look up and see the ducks sitting in my garden – on the other side of the fence! Thankfully they seem to like traveling together so it wasn’t too tough for the three of us to herd them back...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2011 | Ducks, Garden
Meet our ducklings! Today I harvested half of my garlic crop. In the empty space I erected a temporary enclosure for the ducks and covered it with deer netting so they would be safe from hawks. Now that they are out of the brooder we noticed that Dilly’s legs...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
Saturdays in the the summer we make a habit of visiting the Milbridge Farmers Market. There are so many things we enjoy purchasing at the market that we’ve set a $20 limit for our outings. Each week there is a drawing for a market basket – goodies from...
