Ten Dollar Bathroom Sink

Ten Dollars can go a long way. My daughter Lesley and I were "barn saling" and we stumbled on a great sale where someone had literally cleaned out an old barn and wanted to get rid of a lot of stuff. I bought this black drop-leaf table for $10.00. Later, I got the sink from a nice family in East Lansing through the local Freecycle Yahoo Group. If you don't know about Freecycle, then you need to go and learn. The sink (circa 1920) came with a really cool pedestal, but our plumbing was so ridiculous that I decided I was in no mood to re-plumb everything. Ruth had the idea of cutting out the inside of the table and inserting the sink into it. Voila! We think it is really cool and will look perfect in our 100+ year old farmhouse. (are we delirious?)

The above photo was taken in the barn and NOT the bathroom!

The photo below is of one of the original faucets on the sink. It is probably original and we plan on re-building the insides and using it. Since the sink pre-dates modern bathroom plumbing fixtures, we will use the mix and match faucets that came on the sink, but try to find the ceramic handles like the one pictured below.




Duckies Update!

Don't they look cuddly?! They are really bonded and are never more than three inches apart. When one of them eats, they all eat. When one of them drinks, they all drink. When one of them... you get the idea. They are growing so fast.

You can see one of the chicks I hatched in my classroom about 6 weeks ago keeping watch over the flock of duckies by night. The eight little chickens I hatched think they are so tough and try to boss the duckies around. They usually succeed. I have a feeling a week or two will see some "changing of the guard" as the duckies gain a little confidence.

Hot Chicks

I bought 35 chicks the other day to replenish my layers and to fill some meat bird orders, and saw these bantam chicks and I just could not resist! I don't know what breeds they are, but I do know that they are pretty danged cute!! I am going to do some research and see if I can figure out what I have. Ruth took some photos for me.

Enjoy the pics!

I want geese!

Things Are Just Ducky

I have resisted getting ducks until now. I am not sure why I didn't get any before, maybe I didn't have the mental energy or something. I have a little woodland pond that I am sure they will discover and enjoy until it dries up in late August. I bought nine little ducklings, three each of Rouens, White Pekins and Indian Runners. My plans for them are mostly farmyard ambiance.

Now that is quite a face right there!

I have a one gallon waterer for them and they go through that twice a day. I think I am going to have to give them the five gallon container! It is amusing to sit and watch them in the brooder box go from thrusting their heads all the way under water and then waddle over to get a mouthful of food and then head back to the water.


This is the little "crate" in which they came home to the farm. They didn't want to stay in that for one minute longer than necessary. They spent their first two days in a 20 gallon aquarium in my third grade classroom and created quite a stir. We had lots of visits from other classrooms, and most of the younger kids at my school got a chance to hold one of the ducklings. After getting a chance to hold and cuddle with one of the ducklings, I had a little six year old tell me, "This baby needs a mommy and that mommy needs to be me!" I didn't point out to him the obvious, but that was a nice moment. My school is in a suburb, and most of the kids only have contact with dogs and cats, so a few moments watching chicks hatch, of holding and naming a duckling can be a good connection back to our roots; back to days when we had gardens and animals because we needed them in order to survive.

Sitting and watching these ducks is so fun! They have such little antics. I am going to let each of the students name a duckling. This will be interesting as some ducklings will have multiple names. However, I want to help them make a connection with a little life that is different from anything they have experienced. Maybe we will write in our Reflection Journals about how it feels to name a creature that will live forever in our memories.

"Take a good look," I told my class as they were leaving for the weekend. "These ducklings will be all feathered out and look very different the next time you see them."

After school on Friday, as I was getting the ducklings ready to go home, three 15 year-olds, whom I had in class 6 years ago, came into my classroom for a visit. I realized that the words I had told my class earlier takes place with people too.

Maple Syrup

Saturday was a beautiful day to be outside and boil sap. The temperature was in the mid-forties (F) and the sky was as blue as it could be. I put together a little outdoor sugar shack and boiled the ten gallons of sap I had collected last week.

First, I collected a good supply of firewood. Next, I took my bonfire ring and put it on the gravel driveway and set up some concrete blocks to make an outdoor stove. I have several sturdy grill tops that I set across the fire pit and put my trays of sap on them so the fire could get to work boiling away the sap.

And the sap cook looked upon what he had wrought and said, "it is good enough."

Now all I had to do was tend the fire, keep adding sap, and wait.

And wait...
And wait...


And wait...

(March is "Reading Month" and I got in several hours of reading Sherlock Holmes)

Ahhhh, but this is definitely worth the wait. I ended up with about 7 cups of pure maple syrup. I expected it to be a little darker, but I do like the nice light amber color. Depending on the sap flow, I will be out there for the next two Saturday mornings boiling and reading.

Come on over, and let's have a little book club while we watch the sap boil.

Son of Khan

Changing of the Guard

This is Squanto. He is the son of Khan, my original rooster. Khan was a Cuckoo Maran who was the king of my barnyard for about two years. He overstayed his welcome by getting mean and aggressive. I have lots of kids roaming the farm from time to time and didn't want to worry about a ten pound rooster attacking little kids! I had to end his reign and did so in a dignified and painless way. Khan was buried in the woods. I named him Khan because of my deep interest in Central Asia and all the powerful leaders who controlled vast areas of Asia.

Ruth named Squanto today, after snapping this picture. His coloring reminded her of Native Americans and she wanted a solid name for him. Squanto was the Native American who helped the Pilgrims during their first few years in the New World. I'm sure we owe Squanto and his People much more than the naming of a rooster, but it is an honor to call him Squanto.

Squanto's mother is a Partridge Cochin, maybe Broody, the hen who hatched him! I want to believe that, so I will say that is true.


Thinning the Herd

I sold 19 hens and a rooster on Saturday. That leaves me with 23 hens and Squanto. I tend to dislike roosters, but I am taking a different tack with Squanto. I pick him up several times per week and walk around with him. He doesn't like that at all, but I want to see if he'll end up being less aggressive than his poppa.

I had 43 hens. That felt like too many to me. Each spring I hatch out a batch of chicks in my classroom and wanted to have the room for the newbies. A friend of mine let me know of a family that lost their whole flock recently and wanted to buy mature and productive hens, so I took the plunge and sold 19 hens and one rooster. It was really fun to watch the young boys race around the barn trying to catch chickens. If you have never tried to catch a chicken, you have got to put that on your life's to-do list.

Should I hatch out Green Barn chicks?, or should I order some interesting eggs from a hatchery?

The Seven Month Itch

I'm not sure if the number seven is the right one, but it sounded close. I am ready to get the garden going right now! I have plans to add additional beds and improve the existing ones. I have a ton of nicely composted chicken coop litter that I mixed with some grass clippings and maple leaves. I plan to mix that into the beds as soon as the ground will let me. I put some "raw" chicken litter on the beds last fall and hopefully that will mix in nicely and not be too "hot."

Are you feeling the same as I am? I know many of you have kids still living at home and they can really keep your mind occupied with all of their busy-ness. However, for me, I have a 28-ish year old daughter living in New York City, and a 27-ish year old son performing on a Princess cruise ship bouncing around the Hawaiian Islands. That leaves my wife Ruth and me probably a little more time to goof off than those with children responsibilities.

Ruth bought me a Gardening magazine the other day and there are some nice articles on pairing plants together, bed rotation plans, ideas on what to grow and how to keep the garden relatively pest free without dousing it with Dow Chemical products.


I spent a few productive hours perusing the Johnny's seed catalogue and made a list which will require another farm! I will probably add and subtract from this list as the next few weeks go by. I want to grow a lot of vegetables this summer, especially green beans, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. There are about twenty other vegetables, herbs, etc. on my list, but I don't want to bore you.



The Kitchen Garden in Winter

There are eight nice beds in this garden, which is between our house and the barn. I plan on extending all of them by four feet or more, and maybe adding two other 4' x 8' beds in-between some of the beds. This garden is surrounded by a circular driveway and a "still-not-completed" fence. I plan on covering the fence with climbing vegetables like beans, cukes and peas. It may end up looking a bit untidy, but hopefully it will yield lots of meals!



Like me, the garden needs a little bit of a slumber to get re-energized for another year of productivity. I am going to test the pH this year and see what exactly is going on out there.

Three Sisters Garden

Since I live in Michigan, and the "Three Fires" Native Americans lived in this vicinity, I am thrilled to use their way of gardening on land they once roamed. We have a little woodland, spring-fed pond and I want to believe that it was used by the Potawatomi and the Ojibwa. Ruth, Peter and I picked a lot sweet corn last summer and I am going to plant way more of it this year! The squash and beans did not do very well in here, but I plan on making a few changes this year to try to help them a little more. (2009 was a poor year in Michigan for all squashes!). I left most of the corn stalks in the ground. I couldn't bear to lose them last fall and they looked rather decorative for all of the Fall holidays.

When will you begin your garden planning? Maybe most of you are way ahead of me!!

Well, I'm off to find all the stuff I'll need to start seedlings in March and April. Hmmm, lighted Plant Cart, seeds, good starter mix, watering can. It was 2 degrees F (-17 C) last night and we have 7 inches of snow on the ground.

I may be just a tad early? Maybe you need to just come in for some hot coffee, or perhaps a spot o' tea?

Harvest

Harvesting my own crops is so fulfilling. I love picking things for dinner. We had many meals this year where everything on the table was something from the farm. Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, fried green tomatoes, raw zuchinni, green beans, ripe tomato slices, green onions, pickled beets, chicken and noodles, (store bought flour, homemade noodles), eggs, etc.

I am rather new to gardening and have a much better idea for what I will do this fall and next spring. I ordered garlic and am going to plant it in about two weeks in the pepper bed. I also have loads of composting coop bedding and some "fresh" coop bedding which I will cover all the harvested beds, and till it in a little. This will provide my beds with lots of good organic material and also some good chicken poo. Letting it sit over the winter will allow the "hot" poo to break down into usable fertilizer.

Here are some of the things I am harvesting this year!

Sweet Corn

Wow! This is the "Three Sisters Garden" and I will definitely do this again next year. I need to be more diligent with fertilizer so the cobs will get a little larger. However, the corn was superb. I also harvested many meals of green beans from this bed and there are 6 pumpkins scattered throughout this bed.

Tomatoes

I love vine-ripened tomatoes. This is a Pink Brandywine ready to come in for a visit. The tomatoes grew so huge that I had to use fencing instead of stakes or wire cones to keep them upright. This didn't help too well as many branches bent over and pinched themselves to death. (all the brown leaves)

Pumpkins

I have two types of pumpkins: Jack O' Lanterns and Cinderella. This is a litlle dude hanging from some corn. I have a feeling it doesn't have enough time to be succcessful.

The interesting markings on this pumpkin were made by free-ranging chickens! The little boogars!

Banana Peppers

I don't know what I was thinking when I planted eight of these plants. We hardly eat them and there are probably over fifty of these waiting for chili or something. What do you recommend?

Basil

Boy do we love basil. Ruth makes the best pesto and we faint with the taste of freshly made basil pesto. I have three different kinds and they are flourishing. I took a bouquet of them and surprised my principal with them and the whole school office was rich with the aroma of basil.

Black Peppers

This is a pepper, (not the kind you put in a grinder), which I intended to grow for my daughter's wedding bouquet. However, the Michigan weather didn't cooperate and it is just now (6 weeks late) coming into its own. The leaves are black and the peppers will turn a cherry red. I think they are beautiful, but probably won't grow them again. They need lots of hot weather.

Popcorn

I am trying this out because I thought it sounded like something cool to do. The cobs are all a really nice size, and now I just have to wait for the husks to turn brown. I plan on giving some of this as Xmas gifts.

Zuchinni

I planted one zuchinni this year and it just keeps on producing! I must have picked 20 already and there are another 10 getting ready. This is one crop that can make you feel like a successful farmer.

I am thinking about next year and what the garden will produce. If you have something you grew this year and want to recommend, please let me know. I may name the raised bed after you!

I can't catch you up!

Well, I decided to just post some words today.

I have been busy this summer getting my daughter married off on the farm. Then I jumped back into my routine of spending a lot of time in August getting ready for the new school year. Add to that a new computer and a more complex waay of getting Ruth's photos, and I have fallen off the blog cliff.

I miss all of my blog pals!

Green Barn Update

• I have 44 hens busily laying eggs and eating grass. You can see from my sidebar the different breed I have. I have opinions about breeds and which ones I would recommend, but you don't want to hear that now.
• I don't have any roosters now. I am not sure if I will ever have one again, but never say never.
• I have seven turkeys. I had to butcher one that got injured. After spending two hours doing that job, I am definitely happy to pay the local butcher $7.00 to do that. I have an appointment on November 25 to have the remaining seven "processed."
• My garden has done a great job! We have been eating lots of sweetcorn, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, fried green tomatoes and various herbs.
• I just received my order of garlic bulbs to plant soon. If you live in a cold climate, order your garlic NOW and get it planted around the time of your first frost.
• My pumpkin production is way down! I have about a dozen pumpkins in various stages and none of them look all that great. Did anyone have good luck with pumpkins this year?
• I have several piles of chicken coop bedding composting away right now. I am planning on giving them a few more turns and then I will cover all my beds with about six inches of it and till it in for the winter. I would be happy to give you a bushel or two of coop bedding! C'mon out and get it. BYOBB (bring your own bushel baskets)
• If anyone is planning on a Hawaii cruise between now and next summer, my son is playing his guitar on the Princess cruise! Let me know and I can hook you (or your cute daughter) up with him! ;)
• I have vanilla still brewing in the cupboard. I ordered cute little amber bottles to put it in. Nice gifts!!
• Another Green Barn gift (hopefully) will be popcorn. I have about 100 popcorn stalks out there and it looks like a bumper crop! I hope to fill pint jars with it. Stay tuned.
• Maybe I need to have a November drawing and give some vanilla and popcorn away.
• I love beets! I grew one row and they went absolutely nuts. I cooked them and canned them and wish I had five rows. No, I won't give this away.

I need to go blog visiting. I hope to see you soon on your blog!

Where Have I Been?

I have been very neglectful of the blog world! I have been a little overwhelmed with the ending of school and all that I have to do for that, as well as the stuff around the farm that has been keeping me hopping.

I am planning on getting back into gear. I need to get caught up with all of my great blogger pals.

I just took 28 chickens to my (my?) Amish butcher up near Gladwin, MI. His wife and children do all of the work with the butchering. I wish I had taken some pics, but I think they wouldn't have liked it so much. The Amish farm has some modern additions, like a big diesel engine that runs a de-feathering device, but for the most part, the Weavers live pretty true to their convictions. They charged me $1.50 per bird to do the complete butchering process. They also cut them up, as many of the birds were too large for the gallon freezer bags.

I have another thirty broilers going to the butcher on June 26. Looks like we'll be making lots of chicken and noodles and chicken salad sandwiches!

I hope they are tender! The six month old roosters I butchered last fall were very tough!

Broody is back at it. Tomorrow is hatch day. I can hear peeping coming from the eggs, so I think we (she) will have some success. I made the mistake of leaving her nest in the coop, and she has gone from the original 8 eggs, to an astounding 38 eggs. I am sure they won't all hatch, but to help Broody with the hatching, another partridge cochin has been sitting alongside her for the past week to make sure the eggs all get good coverage. I don't know what will happen when the eggs hatch. Who will get to be the mom?

I am rambling away here.

My veg garden is starting to look like a garden. Practically everything is up and growing! Some of the seeds I planted didn't germinate, so I will have to make do without some things, mostly squash and chives.

The blackberries are going absolute bonkers. I can't believe how many canes I have and they are all loaded with flowers.

OK, I have to go out and do some chores, but I am going to post this boring thing anyway.

Thanks for reading this far!

Five Weeks Old

New Meat Locker

That sounds really crass! I predator-proofed the middle section of my barn this past week and moved 45 chickens and 7 turkeys in, (all of them about five weeks old). They were a little overwhelmed with all of the space at first, but are now happily nosing around in all of the new corners.

The white birds in the photo below are the cornish X breed. These guys are twice as large as the red broilers I am experimenting with. I have heard that the red broilers are tastier, even though they don't grow as quickly as the cornish chicks. I bought the red broilers from Ideal Poultry, and they are growing well. I am going to try to give them a little outside time and see how they like that. Last fall, I butchered out some extra, (annoying) six month old roosters, and they were as tough as shoe leather. I think the free-ranging gave them a little too much body-building time.

In the photo below, you can see three white turkeys and a bronze at the far right. They are very curious and like to follow me around. I am glad I found a butcher, because I am not enjoying the "processing" part of raising chickens.

The two very dark chickens in the photo are barnevelder hens. They will lay very dark brown eggs, beginning sometime in late August.

This turkey hung around Ruth while she snapped photos.

Don't look closely at the chicken wire! I discovered that I am really bad at getting it straight. After I made that discovery, I started to not care too! So, the coop is secure, but certainly not a mona lisa. (This is a short-term coop anyway!) There, that makes me feel better.

To make the coop look even better, I only had four foot chicken wire, and overlapped it. Then I ran out of chicken wire altogether and didn't feel like buying more, so I cut a section of hardware cloth to fill in the last little opening. I connected them with nylon zip ties. Wow! I'm thinking "coop of the year!"

Poopy eggs

The nice man who gave me the blue slate turkey eggs pictured below reminded me that washing them would be bad for the developing embryos, so I didn't. Aren't they just lovely? That is a nice mixture of mud and poo. I hope THAT isn't bad for the developing embryos too!!

Hatch day is Wednesday, May 20!

To List or Not to List

Where does all the time gone?

I am not one who usually makes to-do lists. When I do make them, I often misplace them, or forget that I made them, and then find them a year later and wonder why I took the time to make that list. (Ruth is great at making lists and then actually getting everything accomplished. If you ask her, she'll make you a complete itinerary for two weeks in Paris, complete with walking tours!) However, with that being said, I must get on with making a to-do list for this spring and summer.

First, I need to explain why I feel the need to create a to-do list. Our daughter is getting married on our little farm on August 1st! That is a pretty good reason to get after things in an orderly manner. Secondly, I have some vegetable gardening goals. Third, I have over 100 chickens and turkeys who all need to be cared and planned for.

Hmmm, I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed!

This is where the wedding ceremony will take place. I am planting several hundred sunflowers as an additional backdrop. The Yucca is moving. Any takers?

Wedding to-do list: (not in order of priority, Ruth will do that in a minute)

1) painting: studio roof, corn crib roof, deck rails, trim three outbuildings, stairway in the house

2) plant 2000 sunflowers

3) plant black pepper plants, coleus and other various flowers for decorations and bouquets

4) plant 20 pounds of wildflower seeds

5) lay new linoleum floor in downstairs bathroom

6) talk to neighbors on both sides about parking

7) finalize plans for the specially brewed beer for the reception

8) finish patio between the shed and the studio

9) tidy all the buildings

10) power wash the house

11) refinish the deck

12) scrape and paint the front porch floor and rails

Vegetable Garden List:

1) remove existing grass from proposed veg patch

2) till the ground thoroughly

3) build 6 raised beds

4) fill beds with nice garden soil and compost

5) start seedlings indoors

6) plan and install watering system

7) build fence and three gates

8) remove perennial bed from the "Three Sisters" circle

9) plant seeds

10)construct cold frames

11) plant seedlings at appropriate times

12) etc.

Poultry List:

1) build another brooder

2) prepare the middle barn room as another coop (build 3 doors, three walls, install chicken wire, move two lights, etc.)
3) other things I can't think of right now

What am I doing with over 100 birds?

Original Flock: 25 Hens

1 Rooster (Khan)

Broody's Babies: 7 (hatched on January 13, gendering still incomplete at this time)

Science Project 22 (hatched on February 13, gendering still incomplete)

Red Broilers 30 (freezer date: early June)

White Broilers 15 (ten for nephew, 5 for donation to food bank)

New Pullets 7 (2 aracaunas, 5 welsummers)

Turkeys 7 (3 bronze giants, 4 white giants, Thanksgiving for various families)

Science Fair hatchlings. The white ones are Light Brahmas, Rhode Island Reds and a Black Sex Link, from Eagle Nest Poultry.

Three or four of the as-of-yet non-gendered roosters are destined for new homes, (people have asked me for a rooster or two). All other rooster will head to the Amish butcher sometime in June. So, by mid-June, I will be down to 7 turkeys, 1 rooster, and between 40 and fifty layers.

If you are still reading this, thank you, but I am sorry for the tediousness.

This list will be much more difficult to lose!

My niece holding and adoring Jinx, a red broiler. (no. I didn't tell her!)

Hybrid Seeds or Heirloom Seeds?

There is a huge debate out there in the gardening world that swirls around seeds and their origins. As you can imagine, there are large groups of supporters on both sides of this argument, and I doubt if there is a clear winner. This is by no means a complete definition of either side of the seed argument, and I'm sure there are tons of details that can be added. Please add some!!

Hybrid Seeds

Hybrid seeds got their start in the 1920's by a man named Henry Wallace, a professor at the University of Iowa, who founded a seed company called The Hi-Bred Corn Company. This company later became Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Company, a subsidiary of DuPont Chemical Company. Wallace wanted to help out with the food supply and had the idea to create a corn that would grow prolifically and provide an abundance of food for America and the world. It is interesting to note that Wallace later became the Secretary of Agriculture under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wallace became Vice President under Roosevelt from 1940-1944. Friends in high places? I digress...

Hybrid seeds are created by finding parent plants that have the desired traits for the hybrid seeds and then, they are matched to produce the seeds. Farmers were convinced to buy these seeds in order to produce higher yields, and they did. Before this new "technology" farmers would save enough seeds from their crops to replant their fields the next year. The new hybrids began a cycle forcing farmers to purchase new seeds each year, as they could no longer keep seeds due to the nature of the hybrids.

Not only were farmers buying hybrid seeds, but the nation's gardeners began doing likewise. These varieties were selected for their productivity, their ability to withstand mechanical picking and cross-country shipping, and their tolerance to drought, frost, or pesticides. One of the traits of hybrid seeds is they are "high response" seeds. They require a lot of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and a great deal of water to achieve their high yields. This is how the chemical companies got involved in the farmyard. If you'll recall, Wallace's seed company is now owned by DuPont Chemical. Another well-known chemical giant, Monsanto, the world's largest hybrid seed company, also is the creator and producer of Roundup, and is the leader in bovine growth hormones.

Heirloom Seeds

People who have a great interest in Heirloom seeds and their plants are attracted to them for many reasons. Some are interested in growing the same plants that were grown for hundreds of years. Some are attracted by the idea of being connected with their forefathers. While others believe that the Heirloom plants are simply natural and lend themselves to organic gardening much better than hybrids. Most of us believe they just taste better!!

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Heirloom seeds are also known as "open pollinated" seeds. Unlike hybrids, which are pollinated mechanically and under tightly controlled conditions, heirloom plants produce seeds that mimic the parent plants. Gardeners save seeds from their best plants and store them for the next planting season. Heirloom plants tend to have much more flavor than hybrids, but often have irregular shapes, or don't transport as well. Producers of hybrids have discovered that it is far easier to breed plants for size and shape. Flavor is a mysterious thing! Another aspect of heirloom seeds is that they are dynamic. This means that the plants are able to adapt to their local environment, whereas hybrids are pretty much static.

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I was recently reading a magazine called Heirloom Farm and came across an article about William Woys Weaver, author and seed collector. Weaver, an avid gardener, discovered a collection of seeds in baby food jars in his recently deceased grandfather's freezer. He learned that his grandfather collected seeds from his gardens and replanted them into next year's garden. Weaver donated some of these to the collection at Monticello, as well as several collection sites in Europe. Weaver has written a book called Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, and it is on my list of must-get books.

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I am planning to grow mostly heirlooms this year and will change over completely next year. I have a gazillion sunflowers to plant, and they are all hybrids. I am going to try to plant some of their seeds and will let you know what develops!!

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Farm Update:

Garden Site

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This is a photo of the inner circle of the driveway, where I am planting the veg patch. It will be fenced to keep out critters, and I plan on building a series of raised beds. The soil is gravelly and sandy, and the raised beds will allow me to create nice soil on a much smaller and more controlled scale.

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Chickens on a Sunny Day!

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The Buff Cochin, (Bev), is leading the charge to find some good stuff to scratch around in.

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The Great Escape

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Steve McQueen would have been proud to see the chickens sprinting past the unsuspecting Bishop, (the barn cat). I kinda have the feeling that not much gets past her, including a group of loud and boisterous chickens heading to a dust bath!

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I hope you are having a nice day!

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It is somtimes easy to focus on negative things.

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Ruth and I are focusing on positive thoughts.

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(The photos in this post were taken by Ruth.)

Shells, Chicks and Rustic Bread

Carl's Shells

My Blogger Friend Carl, (who won my Lucky Horseshoe Giveaway), was very kind and made a special trip out to an island near his home and played Beachcomber. He gathered enough shells for all of my third graders (and Ruth and me) to create a cool project. Stay tuned for the project!

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(Carl also sent some other very cool items, and I am saving those for another post.)

Sauteed Scallops anyone?

Chicks Update

Broody has done a remarkable job of keeping her brood alive and kicking. They will be four weeks old this week. The white chick started sprouting some head tassels. She must be half Polish Crested!

Italian Rustic Bread

I have never made a loaf of bread from scratch before, except when we used to have a breadmaker and I would toss in a mix. Well, yesterday I bought some yeast and some bread flour and scrounged around for an interesting recipe. This one used a "Biga" that I made the day before. This bread did taste so good, it made us want to make some every weekend! I am no bread expert, and maybe some of the bubbles are a bit too big, but I think I have just found a new hobby.

Fresh Bread and Fresh Eggs

These are the good old days!

Ruth and I were talking about bread today and we wondered how did we Americans get so far away from great bread. Growing up in the 1960's we would buy ten loaves of white bread for a dollar, and toss eight of them in the freezer. They would all be gone by the next shopping day. Yummy!, white bread with oleo. A side note on the oleo: We lived in Wisconsin back in the 60's and oleo was white and it came with the yellow food coloring if you wanted to make it look like butter.


In 1928 the automatic bread slicer was invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, in Iowa. This invention, coupled with the need for speed, allowed housewives extra time each morning as they juggled making toast and making sandwiches for growing families on the go. Believe it or not, in 1943 there was a short-lived ban on selling sliced bread! Apparently the need for heavier wrapping and the extra cost for labor made it a target for cost-cutting measures during World War 2.


White bread has been considered a sign of luxury since the Middle Ages. The color of your bread was directly related to your social standing. The lighter your bread, the richer you were! Today, it is the opposite. We are willing to pay premium prices for whole grain breads.


If you Google French bread, or Italian bread, you will undoubtedly find loads of great-looking breads. If you Google American bread, I think you'll see the difference.


We used to live in Istanbul, Turkey (1985-1988) and our door man delivered two loaves of piping hot bread, directly from the bakery one building away for a whopping ten cents per loaf. Each morning, we would have the butter and honey, as well as the Turkish Olives ready for a delicious breakfast.


I think the winds of change are a-blowing across America in more ways than one. I think we are discovering good bread, and perhaps we will start to expect that our bread is not just filling, but also that is delicious!