December's end...

 A rough ending to a rough year. Looking ahead to some easier times, hopefully.  We're in the middle of a vehicle crisis right now that's costing us in the neighborhood of 1200 dollars...not a lot by some standards, but pretty much a wipeout by ours. Just when it seemed we were starting to get a little caught up...

 Isn't that the way of it ?  This is one of the VERY few times I wish we had a credit card...just to soften the edges a little.  But...but.  We made that decision and it's best to stick by it. Although, we may be re-visiting it soon. Who knows.  We have only 4 more truck payments left and we could be rid of that.  The truck is in the shop...originally for a ball joint, alignment and tie rod job. To the tune of only 400 dollars, which is easily doable. Not pleasant and not ideal, but doable.  And after that was done, the mechanic took it out for a test drive and came directly back to his garage and called us after putting it back up on the lift. The rear end is shot. He called this morning, found another one and parts and labor for what needs doing is another 800 dollars, Sigh...We trust him, so don't immediately think what  comes to mind. When we took it in, we had had it at another place who quoted us 900 for the 400 job he did. That's what we told him needed repaired and so he didn't even look at anything else. 

 I'm tired. It's been a rough year.  If one more thing happens, I swear I''ll go over the edge. lol Just let this year be over.


~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  On a bright note...we had a nice quiet Christmas and party on the 20th was a huge success.  There were about 35 people in my home, and we ate like big dogs and talked and laughed and finally the last of them left about 10:30.  (Note to self: if I ever do this again, set a start and END time.)  It was great fun and everyone had a good time. I was exhausted for 2 days afterwards. lol

  The temperatures have been dropping the past few days and it's finally feeling like winter. Xmas day was about 50 degrees. Crazy. Still no snow here, but Sunday night we had a seriously hard frost that almost looked like snow, and completely froze the pond.  Brrrr....

  I have a MEN blog to get written (almost late) and a nap to take (only slept 4 hours last night, from 5 AM til 10 AM.  Went to bed but couldn't sleep, and the Irishman was snoring like a freight train and that was the final straw. SO, I just got back up and waited for his alarm to go off. lol Then I stumbled back to bed and was asleep within an hour. SO really, only 4 hours of sleep I guess.

  Need to get something going for supper too...although it might just be breakfast.tonight. Not sure. 

 Have to go up and make a partial payment to the mechanic when he gets home from work (he's having to drive my car, so I am semi-stranded), but at least he's only working 8 hour shifts this week because of the holiday.  Also have to make the 20 minute drive to the credit union to get some money out of the savings account. He gets paid this week, but not til Friday.

  I seem to be having some side effects from the bp medication. Why now? I've been on this same one for almost 4 months.  Sheesh... strange hissing/ringing in my ears. Palpitations. Silly stuff.  One of my nursey friends said it was probably the meds, so I looked it up on the Mayo clinic website and sure enough, there it was. Crikey.

 Wanted to stop in here and wish you ll a very Happy New Year. Didn't realize it's been over 2 weeks since I posted. Oops...I'll do better next year.   (wink)



  Blessings of prosperity and peace on us all....





Namaste.

Heavens to Betsey ! December has taken over my life ! !

The weather has been up and down, some cold, some warm, some snow, some sun. I have been overrun with the spirit of the Holydays this year.  I've decorated my house, my garage, my dog.  Anything that holds still long enough has a ribbon or a garland or an ornament on it. lol  I am throwing a party (tomorrow night, in fact). Today I will start the cooking for that...4 soups, assorted breads and relish trays, crackers, cream cheese plates with red pepper jelly on one half and jalapeno jelly on the other.  Chips and salsa.   I've instructed the guests to bring cookies and candies.  And a couple to bring more bread and crackers. Just in case. lol

  I've been cleaning the past couple of days. No point in getting too far ahead of myself in that department, or by the time of the party it won't look like anything was cleaned at all.  Yesterday my son came over and helped me take the teapot collection off the top if the cabinets so I could scrub the greasy dusty kitchen dirt off of them. Then he scrubbed the fronts of the cabinets. I finished up cleaning and organizing the shelves. Finding lots of stuff to throw away.  The worst of it was the bottom lazy susan ...in the corner where cabinets meet, I have 2 lazy susans, one on top and one on bottom.  The bottom one was really dirty. It's where most of the spices are, so it's used a lot. It's also right by the stove...you can imagine. I still have a long list of things to do...one of the reasons I'm up so early. Been up since 4 AM, got the Irishman off to work, and am finishing my coffee. Then I'll get busy. I'll make 2 of the soups today and the other 2 tomorrow morning.  I've been digging out my crystal relish plates.  I have most of the stuff I need I think.  As usual, it will be what it will be. I'll either get everything on my list done or I won't. The guest list has gotten a little out of hand, and I need to call my neighbors and make sure we can use the lot next door for parking, (They are coming too.) There could be anywhere from 20-40 people here, as the past couple of days, people have been asking if they can bring a friend, or can they bring their kids... and of course I say yes. It should be fun.  I'm charging my camera battery, so there should be pictures galore to share next week...once I recover.  lol  And, it looks like the weather is going to cooperate, with temps in the low 40's for Saturday. 

  I belong to a group that is a bunch of women of assorted ages that gets together once a month for a Goddess Circle.  We were getting together on the solstice, which is Sunday, and now they've changed it to today. That is going to throw a bit of a wrench in my plans... part of the reason I'm up so early. I would skip it, but I promised to take a woman with me this month and she's so excited I don't dare not go. lol  It'll be fine...I'm sure that long about 3 PM I'm gonna be ready for a break. lol   Everything will be fine...the house looks very festive and clean enough (almost). I have lots of candles to light and  there will be so many people here that no one will notice that I haven't cleaned the carpets.  I'm counting on those clean shiny sparkly tea pots directing everyone's attention up high, and away from the floor.  lol

  Is everyone ready for Xmas ?  I don't have too much to buy. I already have the Irishman's.  The boy doesn't want anything, so I'm going to get him a few 25 dollar gas cards, lol.    And as for me, I told the Irishman that all I really want is an Excalibur dehydrator for my birthday and Xmas present combined, and I want to find a deal on it.  So, I am in charge of that and will probably wait until after the 25th to even look. I did hint that he could buy me a new fish tank filter today when he stops at the pet store today. He just shook his head. lol  (Am I so weird? )  I have 2 filters on my big tank (which has too many fish in it), but one of them is an older smaller one and I would really like to have another Whispersoft. They are a pretty good filter. And I'm having a little trouble clearing up the water after this last tank cleaning.  sigh.... it's cloudy. I like it sparkling clear.

  Posted my 4th Mother Earth News blog two days ago.  It's so fun doing this....and this one has already had  122 shares.  YeeHaw. I'm still on cloud 9 over all this,  as you can tell.


  Things will quiet down here at Honeysuckle Hill after Saturday. I have a friend coming down from the state capitol and she's going to spend the night Saturday. That will be fun.  We'll have some time on Sunday to sip tea and catch up.  Hopefully she'll be able to come down a little early on Saturday too. That would be nice.

 The seed catalogs are starting to arrive.  The canning jars are starting to stack up again. At one point I was out of empty jars. We've been eating out of the pantry consistently.  It's still full.  lol  All the soups I am making are coming directly out of my food storage...canned, frozen and dehydrated. This party is really just a food show.  LOL  I'll be pulling pickled beets, pickled okra, pickled peppers, pickled green tomatoes and dilly green beans out of the pantry for the relish trays.  The daughter (15) of one of my friends asked me on Facebook if I would please make that yummy spice cake that I made for her mom's birthday for her since she's coming to my party.  It's the old fashioned oatmeal spice cake and it's fast, easy and cheap. of course I will !  Guess I have to fit that into today's stuff too.  It will only take a minute...and will be a nice change from Xmas cookies if anybody wants it. Just so she gets first dibs, she won't mind sharing.  lol  Looks like we're going to have an interesting range of ages of kids...I was going to make some Xmas stockings for them, but suddenly the number was too big for me to handle.  So, I guess I'll just buy some candy canes and let it go. 


  So, time to get busy. Merry Christmas to you all, in case I don't get back here before then.



Namaste.
 


 


 

A Blissful Sunday

  It's a quiet Sunday morning here on Honeysuckle Hill. The Irishman was up early to make a trip down south for an assembly and generally, when he's up, I'm up.   So I've been up as well, since the butt crack of dawn (4 AM).  Might be a nap in my future. lol

  I've made a list of things I want to get done today that include mundane things, like making the bed and cleaning the kitchen. More extensive messes, like cleaning the aquarium.  And fun stuff, like writing in the blogs.  I have to go to another town and pick someone up later today, around 3, and so I won't have a lot of time to do a lot of things today. But that's okay.

 I can't tell you how strange my morning routines are ...unsettling almost, now that I don't have chickens to be 2 focal points of the day. Not that I still don't have enough to do, with 3 dogs and 4 cats and a husband.  It just seems so...different.  I can't wait til spring to have chickens again. They ground me.


 The weather here has been very erratic, with temps in the 20's or 65.  It has been sunny, raining, foggy and frosted. And we had snow flurries one day. It's enough to make your head spin. But at least we're not experiencing  some of the weather around the country.  Thankful for that. The past couple of days have been so grey and bleak that you almost don't want to get out of bed.  A couple of people I know that suffer from depression are having a really hard time. More things for me to be grateful for   1 ) that I don't suffer from that and 2) that I have friends.


  Having a big bowl of leftover beef stew for breakfast. Because I can. lol  It's really hitting the spot too.  Do you ever eat weird  (to some) breakfasts ? I remember in my early 20's I was on a kick of eating big green salads for breakfast. I was a waitress in this small town in northern California, and I would bicycle to work every morning (about 20 miles as I zigzagged through the pear orchards) and get to work early and go in the kitchen and make myself a giant salad of lettuces and eggs and cheese and veggies and wheat toast. lol  My boss would say--Geez--let me make you an omelet! But nope--I wanted a light and healthy breakfast to keep me going.  Boy, to have that kind of energy again !  Then I would work a hectic 8 hour shift and bicycle back home again.  Needles to say, I weighed in at about 102 soaking wet back then.  lol

  Well, I'm doing it.  Planning a big Christ,mas party here at my little house. So far about 25 people have rsvp'd to say they're coming. I'm going to do a soup  and breads buffet, with whatever little accoutrements I deem necessary (relish trays, chips and salsas, vegetable snack plates) and have asked everyone to bring holiday cookies or candy. I'll have coffees, hot chocolate and hot spiced cider for beverages.   I'm going to enlist the aid of a friend who's pretty crafty and make up some Christmas stockings for the kiddos that will be here.  It will be fun. Another friend is going to help me get the house ready (she cleans for extra $$) . Hopefully today and tomorrow I will get the boy to help me get the Holyday decorations in the house from storage.  I don't want to put them up unti I get some cleaning done though, so there's no big hurry for that.

  Speaking of that boy...bless his heart. This past week he took his poor old mom's car and put new brakes on the back and repaired a cover under the front end that had come loose and was hanging down to the road almost. He's a handy guy to have around...


  Alrighty then. Now that I've eaten that bowl of stew I feel like going back to bed. lol  That didn't work so well. Guess I'll get off here and get moving....or go lay down.  We'll see...



   Namaste.

Buh-Bye, November !

End of the road and beginning of the end. 2014 has been an interesting year, that much I know.   Lots of ups and downs and many many lessons.  So here we come December...today is the first day  of the last 31 days of the year. Sometimes it went flying by and sometimes it didn't seem like it was ever gonna be over. But, here we are.  


  Thanksgiving was lovely, at my brothers house who lives about 40 miles from me. Most of the gang was there, but lots were not. Had a couple of babies, a lot of old people and a few in between.  The food was good and the family time was even better. We got home to our fur babies before 6 PM, so that was good.  On Friday we were invited to a potluck with some friends...since I didn't have any leftovers to bring I went through the pantry and pulled out some jars and made a to-die-for carrot and sweet potato soup.  A cream soup with no dairy in it. With fresh ginger in it.  It was great--and I need to write that recipe down before I forget how I made it.  It was a fun time meeting lots of new people and seeing a few older friends--haven't known any of them terribly long.  It was fun, but I have to tell you...on the way home I looked at the Irishman and said..man, those kids made me feel really old. He laughed and said that he was pretty sure that the oldest of them all was about 20 years younger than he was.  Guess I just don't fit in as well anymore with the younger crowds.  In my head, anyway. lol There were lots of young children at this potluck too. I'd guess the age range for them was about 4 months to 10 years ?  LOTS of energy. It was fun watching them and not being responsible for any of them. lol And watching the dynamics of these children of young hippies (for lack of a better word).  What DO they call themselves ?  I'm out of the loop... Big brothers taunting little sisters, boys fashioning guns out of sticks, playing bad guys. Running and chasing and screaming and whispering...some things never change. Sent me back in my mind to the days when my son was little and we would all sit around watching the kids play at the farm. Getting muddy, running through the barns...just having a great time. Unfettered. Wild.  A long, long time  ago.   Sigh...


 It's Monday. And there are a million things I could be doing, but instead I'm fooling around on the cyber highway to nowhere.  I didn't do much yesterday besides some cooking.  Spent a lazy Sunday at home by myself, reading and resting. I did make a bread pudding with leftover Thanksgiving rolls and coconut milk. It turned out really great.  Then for supper I made a pot of Posole...an awesome pork and hominy stew seasoned with Mexican spices. The weather yesterday was perfect for it. It started out really nice and warm and then suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon changed it's mind and dropped over 20 degrees in an hour. It's been cold ever since. At about 2 AM we had a little sleet storm and the ice is still out there, because today's high is only about 32.  It went down into the 20's last night.   So, we dined and watched a movie and all was warm and comfy, both in our bellies and in our house.

 Tomorrow I go down for my service commitment, a 4 hour stint in a generally boring office, answering the occasional phone call, selling the occasional book.  I need to call and reschedule my chiropractor appointment that I cancelled last week. I guess. I've seen him now (a new guy) about 4 times (I think) maybe 5. The problem in my shoulder/neck/hands --whatever it is--doesn't seem to be getting any better. My hands and arms are getting so numb at night that it wakes me up.  I need sleep !  lol  Not to mention that it hurts...

 I don't think there is anything on the docket for this upcoming week, but I haven't turned the calendar over yet, so I could be wrong. lol   I need to start looking for a 2015 calendar too...the big one that lays flat on your desktop. I write the due date of bills on it and any appointments we have.  And any other pertinent data. Like paydays.  lol  I can usually find one at the dollar general, but I think last year I had to go to Office Depot to get one. Anyway... Not sure that I'm buying much of anything for Christmas prezzies...a few gas gift cards for my son and maybe a point and shoot digital camera for the Irishman.   We have reached that stage of life where we just really don't need much of anything. We'll have a nice dinner together and spend the day watching movies probably. Oh...and I am going to have a Christmas party this year I think. The Irishman's been wanting to do it and I keep dragging my feet. But it isn't really that much work...a couple of soups, some artisan breads and have everyone bring cookies. Hot spiced cider, hot chocolate and coffee for drinks.  I've been invited to a small party on the 14th, but so far that's the only thing happening I guess.  Methinks I'd better make a decision and get with the cleaning if it's going to happen. lol  My kitchen and office are really the only places in need of a serious cleaning, and in the kitchen it's mostly the cabinets.  Doors and shelves. Amazing how dirty they get when you only clean a couple of times a year. lol  A little Murphy's oil soap will work wonders. It's mostly getting the ambition to do it. lol  And then putting up some decorations. I never put them up before the second week of December, because I leave them up through my birthday, January 6th, which is the 12th Day of Christmas. Works out pretty good.  There have been Christmas decorations and lights up around here since 2 weeks before Thanksgiving.  People just looking for some extra cheer, I reckon.  It's all good.

 OK--I'm outta here.  Stay warm and cozy through this wintry month, y'all.  



Namaste.

Goodbye, Chickens of Honeysuckle Hill...

  Today we said goodbye to our chickens.   They haven't been laying for a few months now...and they are 3 years old.  It was their time, as time goes. Animals who don't carry their weight on the homestead don't generally get to stay too long, as the costs of their feed and general care become  a burden. 

  I love my chickens, and somehow, this is the first time we've had to actually butcher them. Last winter was really hard on them, I think. We always keep the heat lamps going in the coop so they don't freeze to death, but the extra cold winter seemed to take a toll on them this time. Whatever the reason, the day came. I had to leave.  I'm not proud of that, but seriously, my son and husband were better off without me here.  I did take over the process once the deed was all done and they were brought into the house.  All 7 of them are presently simmering away in my big roaster in the kitchen. Since they weren't young birds, I thought I'd cook them down and can the stock and the meat, if it's tender enough. We'll see. Once they didn't resemble my girls anymore, I was okay doing the cutting up and cooking.  I did cry all the way to town, when I left them to take care of the butchering. 

  It's a little silly and a little not. We do eat meat. I know where food comes from. It's not anything except that I am so tenderhearted when it comes to my animals. I took good care of these girls for 3 years, and petted them and held them and was always delighted  to see them come out of the coop every morning. Delighted to gather eggs. Delighted to watch them peck and scratch in the dirt and fuss with one another.  Delighted in having chickens all the way around.  Just not this part. 

 Like having to put a sick dog or a cat to sleep, this is one of the responsibilities you take on when you have animals. Chickens are a little different, but not as much as you'd think. We have had chickens killed by raccoons.  That was horrible.  We have had chickens get sick and die. That was bad enough. But to make a plan and follow through with it  was another thing entirely. We have talked about raising meat birds before, and wondered if we could handle the butchering process.  It seemed like maybe it would be easier to just be vegetarians, since we don't eat THAT much meat anyway. lol  The price of feed has been going up and up and it almost isn't financially feasible to raise your own eggs if what you're looking for is a bargain. On the other hand, the eggs are SO much better than anything you can buy in the store that it is a choice you are willing to make.  Or, at least, we are.


  They are forecasting a winter even worse than last year for this part of the country. That was part of our decision. As the price of electricity keeps going up, that is another consideration. It's hard to keep a coop heated enough to be useful. The age of the chickens was another thing we had to think about. It doesn't get any easier the older they get.  Our 9 year old coop is in need of repairs too--it needs a new roof and needs some insulating done.  We knocked it together with materials we had on hand and frankly, I'm surprised it help up this long.   And no eggs. That was the final point. For some reason they stopped laying completely. 


  In the spring, we will build a new coop. Enlarge the run and plant the entire floor of the chicken run with alfalfa grass or something.  It needs to be dug out and leveled anyway...between chickens and erosion, I've nearly killed myself in there at night a couple of times. And when it rains, it's really bad.  So, we'll renovate and get it ready for new chicks next spring.  I think. I do like having chickens.  I just have to remember that there is a circle of life in the world. It's in my world here at Honeysuckle Hill and it's at your house too. I knew the first time was going to be hard. Maybe it will get easier. Maybe it won't.  I know it has affected us all, even though it was all carried out as humanely as possible. And I know it is a part of life...birth and death. All of us beings, animal and man, come to this world to carry out our purpose. Feeding others is the highest calling there can be, I am pretty sure. I feel that in my soul when I feed wild birds in winter, when I care for stray animals and now, when my chickens will feed me and my  family.  That's how I want to see this.  That's how I feel when I share my garden bounty with others. Or when I teach or share my knowledge of raising or cooking food. 

  I am thankful.  Thankful to the chickens who gave me eggs for breakfast for a long time and who now will give me stock for soups to help us through the long dark winter.  Thankful for the opportunity to share my life with  a couple of men who are loving and compassionate in their words and their actions.  And who can do the things that I cannot do, when they need to be done.




Namaste.

 

It has arrived...

 This picture was taken pretty early in the day...we probably got another 1.5 inches as time went on.  It's about 17 degrees and a little breezy out there.  And really beautiful.

  It's easy to like the weather when you don't have to go out in it if you don't want to.  All day I've been listening to people moan and groan about it, but heavens to Betsy--it IS the middle of November.  Of course, this is probably not the song I'll be singing by February, when I'm tired of the mess and the limitations and the all around depressing grey days that go on and on and on. lol


 I spent most of the day at home alone...just me and the critters. I had a pretty slow and relaxing day...made a big pot of creamy potato soup.  I opened a quart and a pint of the pork that I canned a few months ago and opened my last jar of home made bbq sauce and had bbq pork sandwiches on big hoagie rolls with soup for supper. We watched a movie, a light and silly comedy with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. I read for a while this afternoon. This morning I finished my next blog post for Mother Earth News. I had been having some issues with posting photographs in the system they use, and finally emailed my "guy" about it. He sent me back an email and said someone else was having problems too, and IT was looking at it. So...the next time I tried, I got it to work. Yay !  So that was finished and submitted.  I folded the very last load of clothes that were in the dryer, workclothes that he will never take out of the dryer. They are always the last load that I do, because he is at work when I start it. I finish all the rest of the laundry and get them all washed dried folded and put away. Then I start that last load with the dirty workclothes from the week, stop the machine and wait for him to get home so we can wash what he's wearing and start the week with all clean clothes.  I get them washed and out in the dryer and then I always think this will be the week when he'll get his work clothes out and put them away. But he doesn't.  So, I either get them out or he will take them out one piece at a time in the morning when he is dressing for work. It drives me insane.

  I guess if this is one of the biggest sources of discontent in my marriage, we must be doing okay.  LOL  


 I got my first seed catalog this weekend.  Hold On !!  They don't usually start coming until after Christmas, do they ? I was excited and surprised to see it. At that point, the garden still had chives and parsley out there. I appreciate the seed catalogs that come in the dead of winter, filling me with hope and bliss at the thought of spring and gardens. Not so much in November when I am barely finished with all the hard work from gardening this year.

 The soup was very good...I have been experimenting with making dairy free (pretty much. anyway--I still use butter) cream soups lately. We don't use regular milk hardly at all. I do keep some cans of evaporated milk in the pantry. I also have a box of instant milk that I use in some bread recipes and when I have to make a batch of instant hot chocolate.  I have used white beans (canellini)  pureed for the thickener, I have used basmati rice too. I have used coconut milk.  There are lots of things to try. But with potato soup, I generally just make the mirepoix base with lots of celery, onions, carrots and garlic, add spring water, and then chop the scrubbed white potatoes and toss 'em in. Add some salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Cook until the potatoes are soft, then ladle out vegetables and broth into the Vitamix and puree. It gives the soup a lovely texture, as well as rich taste.  Sometimes I will also add about half a package of cream cheese to it...but not always. It gives it a layer of richness that is grand without a whole lot of dairy. 

  Tomorrow I guess I will be making a run to the market if the roads aren't too bad to pick up some wide mouth lids. I need to make a big batch of bbq sauce and can it. I used my last jar and I cannot abide store bought sauce anymore. lol  One of the problems with making things yourself all the time. I make mine from a cheaters recipe that starts with a number 10 can of ketchup. Or 2, depending on how much I want to make.  I can it in pints.  It's  a fairly easy recipe that I figured out once costs me around t 40 cents a pint to make.  And it is GOOD.  It has ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses, liquid hickory smoke, and spices in it.  Sometimes I add finely minced onion and garlic, but not usually.  It doesn't take very long to make or can...I always pressure can it.  If I make a big enough batch of it, I can get away with only making 2 or 3 times a year. We eat a lot of bbq...plus I use it on top of meatloaf, mixed with ketchup. And inside meatballs when I make those. 


  It's getting late and I have that cold weather-hibernation feeling, so I think I'm going to head for bed.  All the critters are in and the house is quiet. Paco was gone for a couple of days after one of the dogs chased him outside...but he's back and has been in the house without leaving now for the past 48 hours + .  He's a bit of a wild boy, but am hoping he'll decide to stay. He's so adorable...

 As you can see, he's made himself right at home in here with me. 


  Here's wishing you all a restful night....




Namaste.

Life's Dilemmas...

This is a daily scene in my house. Add 4 cats and a bird.  All scattered hither and yon. All in the house today because it's like 20 degrees and snow flurries and too cold for them to stay outside more than 5 or 10 minutes...every 2 hours.  Aarrrggghhhh !!!  How am I supposed to vacuum?  How am I supposed to get anything done ?  lol

 I have never been so un-motivated in my life. (I don't think).  My house is in dire need of attention. My  pantry  needs re-organized and inventoried.  I need to write. My NaNo is behind, I have a blog post due for MEN  soon.  On a bright note, I am putting away my dehydrators and canner for a while. lol  The only thing I have left to can is  [maybe] one more batch of soup. The Cowboy Soup, which I can do anytime really. The gardens are down.  We are butchering the chickens on Saturday, and they will go straight into the electric roaster to be cooked down for broth and meat and I will can that too, because there is not one tiny bit of room left in my freezer. It's time for the chickens...they haven't been laying for months and we will not feed them through the winter. The cost of feed and electricity to keep the coop warm enough for them requires that they pay their way, and they are not doing that. This will be the first time we have ever butchered our chickens ...and though I am not looking forward to it, it must be done. The boys will do it while I'm gone.  LOL  This is farm life.  You either pay your way or you go.  It's been a strange year for chickens and egg production...I'm not the only one. I've talked to several people who have had this problem.  Weather ??  Feed ??  Who knows.

  Next spring I will go back to a straight flock of Rhode Island Reds though...they have been the best all around chickens yet.

  I finished up the last batch of spearmint.  Dried most of it, tossed some of it into the compost. And Started a quart jar of oil infused with spearmint. I used grapeseed oil. It's sitting there in the dark, where it will be for 2-3 weeks. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

  Making big plans for Thanksgiving at my brothers. I am in charge of rolls, crockpot corn and a dessert that is not pie. I'm thinking maybe a fresh fruit trifle...,made with home made pound cake instead of angel food cake, and lots of rich whipped cream. Might change my mind and do the angel food cake...it would make a much lighter dessert...we'll just have to see how it plays out.  Or...maybe a beautiful pound cake with a blueberry concoction to pour over it. Hmmm.... the possibilities are endless...

 Sir Paco the cat is playing hard to get again and will not come in the last 2 nights.  It has been in the low 20's and I am worried about him of course.  He sleeps up in the attic of the garage, we finally figured out. Junko has been staying out there with him, and then comes in at daybreak and sleeps in a warm spot all day.  One of the dogs hauled a huge skeleton up into the front yard...must be a young deer, but maybe a coyote. I can't tell. No legs...just the backbone and ribs.   The bones are pretty much bleached. Generally we wind up with at least the rotting carcasses of  a field dressed dead deer in the yard.  Sigh...

  Life on Honeysuckle Hill.  It waxes and wanes. It blooms and dies. It goes round and round and we all hang on for dear life until it slows down enough to let go. And we dance and we sing and we follow the seasons , one after another. from here to there and back again.  And the season of rest and hibernation is almost upon us.  We actually had some snow today...just flurries for a bit and then some big fat fluffy flakes fell from the sky for about 10 minutes. A preview of things to come.  Bring it--I'm ready for a good excuse to stay home and not leave the hill.

Namaste.