First Hard Frost

Well, it’s December 4th, and we’re finally, officially going to have our first ‘hard’ freeze around here. Goodbye Brandywine tomatoes. Goodbye my Romas and Sweet Cherry 100s who are still producing. Bye, bye big, lush basil. Ugh.

I was going to name this post “Check out my Hooters”, but I haven’t gotten pictures of them yet. Stay tuned for the madness and mayhem. Just kidding. Well, about the madness and mayhem, anyway.

In farmhouse news, I’m ripping apart the interior of ye olde farmhouse and re-arranging things more to my liking. Now that we’ve been here over a year, I know what I’ll use and where it serves me best. So, I’ve been “Martha”-ing it up all day today and I only got to 3 rooms. Oh well. Feels good to get rid of clutter. Sorry I don’t have current pics, but my camera is dead today. I re-re-arranged the pantry, making a ‘maid’s’ corner (yes, that is me). I love it! Will get photos soon.

In farm news, today I lost my last female duck. I let her out this morning, and by midday, she was gone. Just disappeared. I am almost certain it was a hawk, and well….I’m pretty pissed about it. I LOVE duck eggs to bake with. Sigh. But, here’s some pretty happy news…I took 2 of her eggs and put them underneath a setting hen, and both are developing! Funny thing: I just was researching this phenomenon (chickens hatching duck eggs) and I found this quote: ” One good breed of chicken to consider to hatch your ducks is called the Silkie.” Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing! I have my fingers crossed that they’ll hatch into two beautiful little females. I will keep you updated on that. At any rate, this spring, I will be adding some more female ducks to the farm as well as female geese. Did you know that ducks are actually as efficient, if not more so, at laying eggs than chickens? The eggs are also much richer. Because my ducks do not eat funky stuff in a pond, their eggs do not have any weird, off flavors. Anyway, I’m down to 2 geese and Mr. Duck.

Well, time to go sit in front of my fireplace, finish my coffee and work on some crafts! Hooters coming soon!

Afterthought: I want to add some pics I snapped of the Christmas tree in our kitchen! Enjoy!

Mamaw and Papaw 1978 — An ornament for my Mamaw and Papaw circa 1978

Vintage Sana — A Vintage Japanese Skating Santa with a....skirt???

Vintage Frosty — A vintage Japanese snowman ornament. Isn't he so cute?

A vintage Japanese angel ornament, playing her harp

Friday Night Yard Fire

So, last Friday, we were invited to a real country get-together, known in these parts simply as a ‘yard fire’. Let it be known that most everyone ’round here has some kind of fire pit in their yard somewhere. For entertainment, simply throw some logs into the fire pit, ignite, and serve drinks. There ya go.

Anyway, I was so excited because we really never get to go out and do much of anything, especially with other adults, so I was all geared up for a great time. However, J wasn’t home yet, and I was slap starving to death, so I decided I’d venture out all alone (well, my daughter was with me), stop at Bertha’s and pick me up a fried steak sandwich and their awesome onion rings. Let me take just a sec here. Remember when Sonic made REAL onion rings? I mean, the hand battered kind…back in the days when Pickle-Os still graced their menu board. Anyway, Bertha’s makes these hand battered, delicious rings that remind me flavorwise of those tasty Sonic rings. Naturally, Bertha’s are even better because they’re big and thick. Anyhoo….so, we stopped off at Bertha’s, grabbed our food, and headed out.

Let me just say that it was now pitch black, and I had never been to this house before. AND it’s way off in the country. AND I get no cell phone service out there. AND I have a semi-flat front tire. AND I have NO gas. So much for being prepared. However, I decided that there’s nothing like a little pioneer spirit (The Donner Party, anyone???). So I plodded on. And on. And on. And I came to realize that I may not be in Kansas anymore.

My directions were to ‘go until the road turns to a dirt road’. Well, I did that. Unfortunately, I had taken a wrong turn and was in some God-forsaken, Deliverance-looking part of East Texas. No fences, no lights, no houses. No sound….except for the very faint first few chords of Dueling Banjos. Now starting to sweat a little, I called my friend*. Don’t ask me how I got any cell signal. It was a sheer miracle, believe me.

“Where are you?”, she asked.

“I don’t know, but I hear banjo music and I just passed a deer that threatened me with a box cutter.”

“Ok, what did you pass?’

“Well, besides a church about 2 hours ago, lots of grass, red dirt, and a house that looked like it was in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

“Turn around and meet me at the church.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I zipped around somehow (looking in my rearview for toothless rednecks wielding banjos and shotguns and deer with box cutters) and hauled some major you-know-what. Sure, I shook my brains out on the graded dirt roads, but by then I didn’t care. I followed her truck as closely as I possibly could. When we got to her house, she exclaimed, “Wow, did you see that huge armadillo on the side of the bridge back there?” I told her if it wasn’t her tailights I didn’t see it. It could have been the second coming of Christ himself on the side of the road, and I assure you I would have never seen it.

Well, it turns out we had a great time (albeit having a near falling-in-the-fire experience), and we got to spend some time with some great people.

Here’s to yard fires!

*names have been omitted to protect the innocent

Fun with Dogs

Just thought I’d share some cute photos I snapped of the puppy dogs:

fallonthefarm1109 004 — Fran by the Fireplace

nov09 016 — Fran and Hoss frolic in the leaves

I have to admit, I’m nuts about my Fran. I could, seriously, have a zillion of her and just love it. She is the funniest, coolest dog I know. Please don’t tell Hoss, though….he’s a great boy, too, I just kinda wish that he were the size of Fran sometimes, lol.

Givin’ Martha a Run for Her Money

Today was an extremely productive day here on the homefront. I recently bought Martha Stewart’s huge tome: Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook, and, inspired by the thought of gleaming vitreous china, floors, and faucets, I decided to make today the Super Cleaning Marathon. So, I donned my new, super awesome apron (I will be posting about it SOON), and my bright yellow Playtex rubber gloves, I got down and dirty today. I started at about 10am and did not finish until about 4:45pm. I hand scrubbed the entire stairway, floors included, as well as my bathroom, kitchen, and hall floors. Naturally, floor cleaning is reserved for last, so beforehand I had dusted and polished every surface, every facing, every knob, etc.

But, what I discovered today, thanks to information gleaned from MS’s book, was how to create your own cleaning solutions. I have been using a product called CitraSolv for the majority of my cleaning, but after reading about d-limonene in the book, I thought I’d try some of the homemade cleaning recipes, which are supposed to be very safe and effective. Anyway, I have been using baking soda and vinegar for several years now for various household chores, so I am not totally new to the DIY cleaning department. BUT, today, I have to brag and tell you that I was MOST PLEASED with the outcome of my window washing solution! To preface this, I have been getting more and more aggravated with using Windex as it seems like it smears terribly whenever I try to clean glass with it. Isn’t that it’s sole purpose? To clean glass??? Did I miss something here? Anyhoo, today, I used this simple, extremely cheap recipe. Mix 1 part water to 1 part white vinegar. There. That’s it. No pretentious chemical lists, just pickle maker and water. I am here to tell you that it left not one streak nor speck of dirt. OK, I’m totally sold on this now. Naturally, I used a microfiber cloth in conjuntion with the solution for a lint-free shine. Also, I found that it literally only takes about a drop or two of this solution to clean an entire 12×15″ window. So, for pennies, you can have your own super safe, effective glass cleaner, too! (Note: because vinegar is acidic, there are some surfaces you do not want to use this on, but it is definitely safe for glass)

Recipe number two was also super simple and effective. To make an all-purpose cleaner, take 2 tablespoons of a mild liquid dishwashing detergent (I used a brand called Maison Belle that I snapped up @ Pier One on clearance), add to 2 cups of water, and there ya’ go! See, how cheap and easy is that? And, I used that on my painted walls, woodwork, and tile with no residue and it left it so clean. I actually did not have a spare spray bottle for that, so I just threw it in a little plastic washtub and dragged it around the floor with me.

So, there are a couple of ways to make yourself some nice, effective, safe, and very cheap cleaners. Now, let me tell you something funny….

I am an avid window washer. I can’t stand dirty windows! If you have dirty windows, I want you to whip up some vinegar/water glass cleaner, throw on your rubber gloves, grab a microfiber cloth and get to work! Don’t worry…I’ll be right here till you get back. Done? Ok, moving on. So, being a rabid clean window freak, I cleaned most of the easy to reach exterior windows before tackling my window nemesis: the windows in my dining room. The problem with these windows is that there is a 3 1/2′ wide growth of dwarf yaupons sitting right in front of them. Obviously, whomever planted these things was NOT a window washer. Anyway, they were by far the dirtiest, so I decided to tackle the task. Lacing up my apron tightly (yes, I so love my apron) and using a 3 step ladder, I figured the best plan of action was to balance myself on the 3 inch ledge in front of the eight foot length of the windows. To do so was to ultimately face my fears of heights, falling, and being stung by a rogue gang of yellowjackets (hey, yaupons are thick and scary…you never know what lurks in there). Somehow, by the grace of our dear Lord (cause I certainly am lacking in that department), I managed to precariously perch my bare toes on the very ledge, while simultaneously gripping the edge of the window. Now came the hard part. I had to spray the solution, plus manage to wipe it without killing myself. Don’t ask me how I did it, but the windows are now nice and clean. I was able to hook the spray bottle to my apron and buff the windows all while gripping like a deranged spider monkey on a ledge no wider than a credit card. Probably not a safe thing to do….especially since the number one cause of death in the homeplace IS falling after all, now isn’t it?

Well, shine on, ladies and gents! I’m hitting the sack!

Farmhouse Photos…FINALLY

Let’s face it…blogs that don’t have nice pictures are high on the Snooze Factor. Without further ado, here are some pics I have snapped recently:

Here’s those pickles I told you about in my last entry. I think I have some juice left….maybe.

Now, here’s that apple pie I wrote about last time:

HOmemade Apple Pie

I hand cut the little apple motif from some leftover dough. It was fun!

Now, here’s some pics of my pantry that I remodeled, yet again. This once was the laundry room, but space was so limited, it just didn’t make a good laundry area at all. Plus, there is virtually NO kitchen cabinet space for all of my food. I have no idea where I would have put all of this food and stuff if we hadn’t converted this room to the pantry!

pantry 007

I don’t know why I have a thing for vintage wall calendars, but I just love them! So I dedicated the back wall of the pantry just to them. I may eventually cover all of the walls with them, who knows? The pantry still needs some tweaking (hanging up the onion basket, etc) but oh well. I already had the 2 white plastic racks and then I bought the large metal rack from Lowe’s on sale. Also, I got the clip strip that holds my popcorn for free from a convenience store. Never hurts to ask!!! I love my pantry…

pantry 006

Lastly, here is a little chalk wall hanging I snapped up at Goodwill yesterday for 99 cents. I mean…how could you NOT smile at a singing pickle? Honestly….

vegetable chorus

The Simple Life is the Life for Me

“Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.”

My mom and I were talking the other day about all her stuff that she has. It depresses her to know that she has a huge house full of stuff, a storage building packed to the gills with stuff, and a huge barn full of stuff. What constitutes “stuff”? I would classify it as nonessentials that are taking up space. Essentials being food, some household goods, and some clothes. I made the comment that I LOVE the ‘simple’ look for my home. In other words, lots of uncluttered clean lines. I also made the comment that the act of simplification is HARD! For example, when I decorated my kitchen counters, I had to decide what I use on a daily basis. For the most part, aside from my dry goods such as sugar and flours, if I did not use it on a daily basis, it did not deserve to take up space on my kitchen counter. The most difficult decision was deciding not to leave out my kitchen utensils (ladle, spatulas, etc) which, even though they were tastefully arranged in a vintage crock, were just too much eye clutter for me. It sounds silly, but I do believe that my stress levels go down when I see ‘clean lines’, that is, not a lot of STUFF laying around! I also believe in the power of a CLEAN KITCHEN SINK. I swear, it’s better than anti-anxiety medication!

Anyway, I think this is why I have embraced the vintage country look so tightly. I have also embraced the saying, “If you don’t love it, lose it.” If it is an item of considerable worth, I will sell it. If I can ‘recycle’ it into something new, I will do that. If I just can’t figure out what to do with it, I run it to Goodwill. I think this is an extremely valuable lesson for all of us to learn. Why surround yourself with things that you don’t absolutely love? This is just simplification of your Life. Are you, too, drowning in a vast sea of stuff?

I came upon a website that I fell in love with: The Farm Chicks blog. I am going to direct you to her Laundry Room blog. I saw that blog and it so inspired me that the next day, I took an hour to re-do my own laundry ‘room’. She totally decorates with the same style that I love. I also spent the rest of that same day re-doing my pantry. Three hours later, I love it! I will post pics soon.

In farm news, I would like to brag to you all for a minute. I had this shirt that I got at Goodwill the other day. Truthfully, I did not love it. I will have to admit to you that it was an impulsive, dumb buy for 4.99. But I did love the fabric. Well the other day, I decided to do something with it. I ripped out the side seam of that shirt, and I made each of my girls a prairie skirt/maxidress (why not get 2 uses out of one item of clothing, right???). Oh, they really turned out so cute. And, to top it off, the elastic I used to make the skirts’ waistband was an elastic band I had removed from one of my own skirts that I am re-doing! Oh, please pat me on the back, lol! See, I’m really getting into this whole ‘repurposing’ thing. Like, I took some sundresses that I had, where I really LOVED the fabric, but frankly, as sundresses, they made me look like a beached whale. I whacked off the straps and VOILA! they became a full-length skirt. I have gotten many compliments on them, surprisingly not as dresses, but as the new skirts. So, when I go to Goodwill, yard sales, etc. I don’t always look at something as it’s original intended purpose. God bless my mom for buying me a sewing machine 10 years ago!

Yesterday, I made my first batch of refrigerator pickles. I planted some pickling cukes back in September and they are now ripening. Boy, are they good! Here is another reason to hang onto used glass jars!!! I was wondering what I would do with all of these glass jars that I can’t use for canning. I can’t bear to toss a good glass jar! Here is the recipe for those pickles. I scaled down the recipe to make just one quart jar. I did this by tasting the vinegar solution after boiling (Hint: Do NOT inhale when bringing the tasting spoon to your mouth. Bad, bad idea) I didn’t have enough liquid the first time by simply cutting the recipe down, so I just made some more up, flavoring with sugar and pickling spices. You can substitute pickling spices instead of all of those spices they use, by the way. I believe one reviewer used 2 teaspoons of pickling spice for the full recipe, but do add to suit your taste.

I also made a homemade apple pie! I picked up an apple slicer, peeler, corer at the flea market the other day for four dollars. They are usually about 25 brand new. I had bought one previously for 2 dollars, but I found out it was missing an integral part, so I will have to come up with something to fix it. Anyway, to peel, slice and core and apple with this doodad takes about 20 seconds. It is so awesome! Well, the pie turned out delicious. Here is the recipe. You know it’s good when it gets almost 4,000 5 star ratings! But, I would only suggest this: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a tiny (!!!) pinch of nutmeg. Also, after you made the syrup, combine it with the apples, THEN pour it into the bottom crust. That is all!

Well, I ordered 13 books for my birthday from Amazon. As you can probably guess, most, if not all, are on self-sufficiency. Well, I did also get some on how to make rag rugs and vintage kitchen linens. How I love books! Right now I am reading through the complete Tightwad Gazette. It is like my own personal bible. I love it!

Until next time, learn to simplify!

Chef Dad

As you all may know, if you are a regular reader of my blog, we look forward to the cooler temperatures because we are able to cook in our fireplace with our Dutch oven. Jason called this afternoon to tell me he was preparing a pot of fireplace chili, so I was really excited. After I got home, Jason carefully tended his precious Dutch oven with nothing but great love and care. He gently stirred the contents of the pot, all while adjusting the pot oh-so-precisely. As he stood up, he said, “My chili may need a little spice adjustment.” At that very moment, I remembered that I had used up the last of the chili powder about 4 days ago.

I said, “Uh, we don’t have chili powder. What did you use?” J: “Well, I found some powder in a jar.” Me: “Um, it didn’t happen to be a glass jar did it?” J: “Well……”

I thought, uh oh. We went into the kitchen and he showed me the glass jar, which was now missing half of its contents. “This one” he said. I stuck my finger in the spice jar and licked my finger, knowing full well what was coming.

“Bleeeeech! That’s cayenne pepper! Oh my God, how much did you use?”

“Well, like half the bottle.”

I burst out into laughter. “I guess it’s a chicken nugget night, huh?” I said. So, due to the culinary faux pas, we instead ate a plate full of chicken nuggets, which I am almost convinced are not really meat at all.

After dinner, curiosity got the best of us. Jason tasted the ‘chili’ first.

“Oh………..my………….GOD!” he managed to say between wheezes. ” This is DEADLY.”

I took my place in front of the pot. “My Lord! And how many jalapenos did you put in?” “Well, just a few.” A few? There were about 2 whole super hot jalapenos in there! I put a drop on my tongue.

“GAAAAAAAAKKKK!” I managed to get out while spitting the ‘chili’ in the trash. It was so hot, it seared my tongue and throat and made my eyes water.

If I remember correctly, this is also the same man that accidentally substituted salt for sugar in a cookie recipe. Then again, maybe I just have my memories mixed up. Anyway, just so that you all know, Jason actually happens to be a good cook most of the time (with the exception being Chinese food, and when he gets ‘inventive’ with his spices. For whatever reason, he tends to over-garlic things sometimes).

He makes the best brisket this side of the Mississippi, and that’s the truth. Just don’t try the chili on a night when he’s using an unlabeled spice jar!

Gettin’ my goat…

Lately, we have been having ‘problems’ with our goats. Oh, they’re perfectly healthy and robust, but unfortunately, they all seem to suffer from some sort of co-dependent paranoia/eating disorder that if I do not come and feed them every 10 minutes, they are at the fence (unfortunately which can be seen through my back door) and scream at the top of their goat lungs. An incessant, “BAAAAAAAA, BAAAAAAAA, BAAAAAAAA” from early morning to nightfall. It is to the point that my husband is ready to gut and clean every goat and have a giant, citywide barbeque. So much for the peace and quiet of the country. We currently have eight goats; I am trying to get that to two or three to quiet the decibel level of “Baa”. Oh, they have full access to about 12 acres of brushy, goat-friendly goodness, but they’d rather take a hand-out. Reminds me of some of the people in this great nation. Anyway, maybe that’s why I find it doubly irritating. I don’t know. I did just look and the goats were all where they are SUPPOSED to be, which is in the woods. Maybe they will learn, yet. We shall see.

In farm life, yesterday, we had a couple of ‘our guys’ come and help us burn dead wood out in the goat pen, clean out the goat pen and apply it to my garden, and haul bricks to our pathway we are constructing in front of our house. It was really great to have 4 extra hands! I found one of my up and coming Rhode Island Red hens with her rear end virtually pecked to a bloody mess (ah, the fun you can have with chickens) so, I had to put her in a separate cage, clean and medicate her chicken bootie, and see how she does. She’s a lot better this morning. If you didn’t know it already, chickens will ruthlessly peck most anything that is red, blood especially, to the point they will kill a fellow chicken. It can be extremely annoying and frustrating. That’s why many chicken brooder lights are red, so that they cannot distinguish one red area from another. So, I’ll have to turn back on the red light, I guess. Oh well. They are almost ready to put out with the big guys.

So, screaming goats and doctoring chicken booties aside, yesterday was a really good, productive day!

A junkin’ we will go…

The whole thrill of junking is that you just know the next table will have what you’ve been looking for all your life. –Mary Randolph Carter

Last Saturday, as an early birthday present, my husband took me to Canton, TX, to go shopping. Canton’s First Monday flea market is HUGE. You could be there for a week and still not see everything. I am completely addicted to anything that resembles a cheap garage sale, so of course I had to go.

I always drag Jason through the so-called “Dog Alley’, which is where they permit animal sales, and it totally separate from the main flea market. I have to tell you that if you have never been, and if you enjoy people watching, this is by far the place for you to go. You’ll never come out disappointed, or unscathed, for that matter. You see things that make you want to cry out with laughter, and things that just want to make you cry. For example, this time around, we saw the typical ‘redneckerie’ surrounding the animal sales tents. One vendor I was listening to managed to completely convince a woman that she would be able to take a goat home in her compact car by simply putting down a trash bag in the floorboard .(obviously the buyer has never had a goat, who will probably immediately jump onto the dashboard or back glass as soon as the car starts, as well as eat various parts of the upholstery. Not to mention the diarrhea and urine that are sure to come flowing out of the goat when it realizes it is in a moving vehicle, but anyway…) And, one vendor was savagely and cruelly snatching chickens up by one wing, yes, one wing, all the while the poor chickens were screaming as though they thought they were dying because they thought that they were, and it was obvious that she didn’t consider that the chickens actually do have brains and nerve endings and painfully obvious that she just considered them as ‘things’. I am not a supporter of animal rights, but I do support animal welfare, and there was just NO sense in the way she was doing that. For whatever reason, people hold chickens by their feet/wings/etc, when it is nothing but humane to grab them by their bodies, with wings held in place. It is not that difficult, even my three year old can do it.

So, we walked on (while I was contemplating snatching that woman up by her arm and twisting it behind her head), and I saw lots of people who paid WAAAAAAAY too much for puppies walking with their new purchases, which I knew likely were infested with worms and had coccidiosis, if not even some fatal genetic disease. The worst part is that these are people who appear to not have two nickels to their names, and have just seriously overpaid for a sickly animal.

Anyway, we drove to our favorite side of Canton, which is the unreserved section. It is essentially a huge, super-cheap, conglomeration of JUNK. Or, junque, as I prefer to call it. I managed to find a pair of 300-500 dollar, handmade python boots for $32, dishcloth calendars for $1, and a leather rug for ten bucks. Because rain was forecast, we were even given FREE junk! I got an old metal Coca-Cola tray, and Jason got some kind of tools and a John Deere hubcap. We fully believe in repurposing, so, his junk will likely adorn his shop, and I am going to use my tray as a magnetic message center.

Jason was talking to one of the ‘vendors in a van’ (people who are nomadic junk haulers and probably hit every flea market in the South), when a young, pretty and preppy girl walked by. She was wearing a tight shirt with the number 3 on the back. If you live in the South, you know that the #3 is only seen as one thing: dearly departed Dale Earnhardt, who has achieved the highest status of those other Southern icons, such as Colonel Sanders and Robert E. Lee. Anyway, the Vendor in a Van called out to her several times, “Hey! Heeeeeeeey!”. She finally whirled around and said, “Are you talking to me?” V in a V said, “Yeah, I was wondering if that’s a Dale Earnhardt shirt you have on. ” She said (after a long pause), “Uh, no, it’s Ralph Lauren.”

I’m pretty sure that V in a V had no idea who Ralph Lauren is or what he does, but as the girl walked off, he said to Jason, “Well, I was going to buy that shirt off of her so she’d take it off right here!” Jason kept his head down, possibly to keep from laughing, but more likely from sheer embarrassment. Then V in a V immediately went into a story, saying: “Well, back when I was in prison…”. Clearly, it was time to walk away. Judging sheerly by looks alone, it was not surprising that he had once ‘worked for the State’, if you will, nor would it be surprising that he would one day return. Fortunately, I was busy trying on my python boots at the Boot Vendor in a Van, and didn’t hear that part of their conversation.

Well, that’s Canton in a bag for you!

Take five, they’re small…

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?” – S. Parkes Cadman

The other night we came home just after dark, and drove up to the chicken coop to lock up the chickens. I noticed that there were only 3 chickens in the coop, which was really unusual, since chickens always return to their roost at night. So, I went into the pen and they were all crammed into the corner closest to their little doorway into their coop. The little door was closed, so they couldn’t get int0 their coop. Chickens, not being the absolute brightest sometimes, will all huddle together in a big ball when they are scared or, as in our situation, they wanted to roost and had nowhere to go. Unfortuately, in both situations, it is not uncommon for them to crush one another (think: people crushing one another in those soccer matches overseas. I guess people aren’t too bright, either) Well, after I dispersed the pile, I found Dot, my daughter’s absolute favorite Bantam hen lifeless on the ground. I attempted a feeble try at chicken resuscitation, no mouth to mouth, mind you, but she was already gone. I did not tell our daughter that the turkeys likely crushed little Dot for fear that she would hate the turkeys, so the next day she assumed (as she does with all the animals that are not seen again) that ‘the coyotes’ had nabbed Dot. So, of course, Dot had to be replaced by another ‘banty’.

We went to Atwood’s and, lo and behold, all of the baby chicks are now on clearance. My daughter immediately picked out the chick that I had my eye on, which was a tan and black spotted little number, with fully feathered legs. But, the most eye-catching thing about his appearance was that his bottom beak was at a 45 degree angle to his top beak. The chicks were already a couple of weeks old, so it was apparent to me after checking out “Stanley’s” body condition, that even though he was a disabled chicken, he was doing just fine. Yes, a disabled chicken. So, as we were looking at the other chicks, another family (and I use that term loosely here) came by with about 3 kids and another on the way, and the smallest girl, who looked about two, wanted to touch the tiniest Bantam, whereupon her mother’s boyfriend/new husband/whatever told her, “No, you don’t want the runt.” First of all, it isn’t as though they were buying chicks, they were just looking. Second of all, it isn’t like being a runt is contagious, and thirdly, they were Bantam chicks, anyway! (that means miniature chicken, essentially)

Naturally, I picked up the “runt” and I bought it, too, to save it from being the target of some other redneck’s comments. Then, I picked up a baby chick for the little girl, who I was pitying at that moment, having to deal with a mother that was running around with an angry-looking redneck boyfriend who took every chance he got to make snappy comments at her, and she pet the chick ever so gently. (That woman really needs to listen to Dr. Laura) So, then I picked out 3 more chicks that I am almost certain are Frizzles, and we left.

My husband came home singing a song (we are always singing dumb, made-up songs) with some lyrics about, “Well, we went to get two, and we came home with five…”. Oh, well.

In farm life, we worked on the brick path yesterday, despite being 90 degrees with 400% humidity. The weather has been so wacky lately, I’m surprised we haven’t yet been slammed with a tornado yet. Today is hot, tonight will be cooler, tomorrow will be hotter, but then the next day we’re having a major cold front. Go figure. Anyway, we have completed enough of the path that it is now coming around the front of the house and we have gotten rid of two pallets of bricks that have been sitting in my front yard for about a year. Yippee! When Jason moved the last pallet, he found a snake for me, so of course I had to go outside and pick it up! It looked like a Rough Earth snake to me, but I am not 100% sure on that. But what I am positive about is that it wasn’t poisonous. I don’t ‘do’ poisonous snakes.