The 2015 Meat Birds - Two Weeks Old

A week following our last update finds our meat birds growing a little bit.  We put them on the scale and we'll show you the results in a minute, but first, I'll talk a little about the results from this past week.  We ordered these birds a month and a half later than we normally do with the thought process that it would be warmer and the birds would make more efficient use of their calorie intake in growing as opposed to staying warm.  Well...

Here's the part of the narrative where I tell you that chicken ranching is a lot harder than it looks.  I guess if it was easy, everyone would fill their garages with smelly birds and Tyson would go out of business.  The weather was supposed to cooperate, but it didn't.  Several days of near freezing temperatures and a strong north wind affected our birds, even though they were under heat lamps in the garage.  Despite our best efforts, we experienced the agony of defeat.

In last week's installment we had 111 birds.  Alas, we now have 103.  Eight birds succumbed to the cold weather.  When they get cold they bunch up in little piles under the heat lamp and the ones on the bottom are crushed.  I've composted those chicks in the garden and those 8 brave and noble birds will be feeding our garden soil instead of us.  Not a total loss, but there are cheaper ways of feeding your soil. On the bright side, if you are going to lose chicks, you want to lose them now - not after you have put a bunch of feed in them.

A casualty

I picked out our Cornish Cross and Red Ranger that we're monitoring and brought them to the scales for weigh-in.  They are bright and perky and appear to be very healthy.  You can see the wing feathers coming in and the tail feathers on the Cornish Cross.

Cornish Cross (left) and Red Ranger (right)

The Cornish Cross went on the scale first this week and weighed 6 ounces, up 2 ounces from last week.

Cornish Cross - 6 ounces

The Red Ranger stepped on the scale next and weighed 5 ounces, up 2 ounces from last week as well.

Red Ranger - 5 ounces

Here's a shot of the birds in one of our three brooders.  You can see the heat lamp is lowered to a good position and the birds in the center are scattered out - not piled on top of one another.  The birds on the right and top left are eating chick grower (feed).  The birds on the lower left are encircling the waterer and drinking to their heart's content.

In this photo below, if you look to the ground toward the 'brown' color, I don't need to tell you what that is.  Each and every day, we place new bedding on top of the existing 'stuff' and each and every day, they soil it very quickly.

Dirty Birds

I want to try to get these out quickly. but a glance at the 10 day weather forecast is a mess next week, with highs in the early week in the upper 70's followed by high percentage rain chances for 3 days and lows around 34 degrees on Thursday.  We'll see how it goes, perhaps next week at this time, I'll have them out on pasture, but it's not looking good.

Choosing what to look at - Mud or Masterpiece

They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;

You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.  

Psalm 65:8 (NASB)

We've had a little rain lately, transforming the area around the barn to a dreadful swamp of muck and mire.  It sticks to your boots and it stinks.  I'm taking the photo below from inside the barn where it is high and dry.  Once we finish milking the cows and open the gate to the barn, Daisy and Rosie, slowly and reluctantly slog out to eat hay. Annie, our Nubian goat, likes walking through the mire even less, lifting her feet high, prancing in lady-like fashion so as not to get her "shoes" muddy. When the muddy area finally dries, I'm going to order a load or two of fill-dirt and build up the land around the barn.

The foot rot that we treated Daisy for that I was mentioning in a previous post, was undoubtedly brought about by the mud that encompasses the southeast corner of our property - or more accurately, by organisms that live in the mud.  You see, what looks like mud to you and I, if you put it under a microscope, is actually soil mixed with cow poop and urine and is teeming with living bacteria, including a bad one, (Fusobacterium necrophorum), that causes problems.  As an update, our treatment of Daisy's back left hoof with iodine has been successful and she's no longer limping.  

Mud!

After feeding all the laying hens, making sure that their trough of crushed oyster shells is full, turning off the lights to the barn and heading back inside with our buckets of milk, we look westward.  It is the end of the day.  We thankfully notice that the days are getting longer - ever so slightly.  This will enable us to start working on a chore list as long as my arm during daylight hours.

It's funny though, many times I dread my "real job" - sitting in an office behind a computer all day.  I never dread working on our little farm.  Every day is different and even if there are challenges and hardships, there is a sense of freedom, contentment, fulfillment and satisfaction I get from being outdoors and working on our little farm to get projects completed that I don't get elsewhere.

So despite the mud, at the end of the day there is peace and tranquility.  There is real beauty if you stop long enough to look around, but the choice is ours as to what we focus on. 

God's Masterpiece

Many times (more often than I'd like to admit) I'm guilty of only looking down at my circumstances and seeing only the 'mud' and in doing so, I miss looking up and seeing a magnificent portrait painted by the very hand of God.  I must constantly remind myself that his signature is everywhere and many times I miss it.

2015 State Livestock Show - Gonzales, Louisiana

Hundreds of Louisiana youth flocked to Gonzales, Louisiana last week for the 80th Annual State Livestock Show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.  It is a fine facility that has been hosting the State Show for quite some time now.  When I was younger and showing sheep, the State Livestock Show was held on the LSU campus.  I assume that it was moved to Gonzales due to the traffic congestion/parking issues on campus each year.

As a boy, I'd look forward to the livestock shows as it afforded the opportunity to get out of class for a few days as an excused absence.  I remember having so much fun running around with my buddies, unloading our Show Boxes that we made in Vo-Ag class, setting up our Parish Area, getting ready for the show, and then having the nervous butterflies in your stomach as show time arrived.

As much as things change, many things stay the same and Benjamin participated in the exact same things as I did - but 34 years later!  He had the opportunity to ride with a friend a day earlier than us and stayed in their camper with them.  They went out to eat and I got the following text from him: "Dad, we went out to eat at TJ Ribs and I got a half rack of pork ribs, 1/4 of a chicken, red beans and rice. and fries.  I think I gained 5 pounds!"  Some things do change - I never ate quite that good at livestock shows!

Benjamin brought his heifer, Amy, a Jersey Dairy animal, to the show.  We decided to leave Daisy and Rosie, our two Jersey cows in milk at home this year.  The Showmanship competition began Saturday and exhibitors wear white shirts and bring their animals in the ring.  The judge is looking at the ability of the exhibitors to show their animals - not the quality of the animal.  The classes are broken up by age group of the exhibitor and it doesn't matter what dairy breed the animal is.

Bringing Amy in the ring

Benjamin was a little reticent about showing Amy as, wouldn't you it, she was in heat.  When animals are in heat, they jump on other animals, on you, and on passers-by.  It is embarrassing and they are hard to handle and it was unfortunate timing...  But that is life.  You deal with it, control them the best you can, and move forward.

Showmanship (You can see the many different breeds of dairy cattle: Jersey, Holstein, Ayrshire, & Guernsey)

In Showmanship, the exhibitor must watch the judge very closely, as the judge is motioning directions.  Eye contact is critical as you want to stop and set your animal up quickly when the judge instructs you to.

Keep your eyes on the prize

The judge makes his way around and asks questions to each exhibitor to ensure that each boy or girl has been involved in his/her project.  In the photo below, the judge is asking Benjamin:

"What is your heifer's name?"

"When is her birthday?"

"How much food do you feed her?"

"What is her sire's name?"

Benjamin getting questions from the judge

In the end, Benjamin did a fine job.  He placed Seventh in his class and received a nice yellow ribbon.  When I looked at the ribbon, I remembered that the very best I ever did at State showing sheep was Seventh Place.  I have a ribbon in my old bedroom at Mom & Dad's somewhere that is exactly the same color, shape, and size.

Seventh best Showman in the State in the 13 year old class

Here is Benjamin's haul of ribbons from the Parish, District, and State Livestock Shows for 2015. The three on the left are from State.  After placing Seventh in Showmanship, he went on to get Fifth place in the Jersey heifer class and Second Place in Louisiana Bred Jersey heifer.

It's really not about the ribbons, though.  It is about making memories and putting your efforts into a project that teaches work ethic, responsibility, patience, time-management, character-building, budgeting and compassion - all valuable traits that will serve them well throughout adulthood.  They are indeed Learning By Doing - which just so happens to be the 4-H Motto!

Broccoli from Another Planet

You probably have "old stand-by's" in your garden - like tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, and green beans and every single year without fail, you plant them. You like certain varieties and you swear by them.  I'm like that too, but I also have an unofficial experimental plot where I plant odd things.  I find these odd varieties while perusing seed catalogs on dreary, wet, cold winter days while sitting in front of the fireplace.

This year I planted some purple cauliflower, some green cauliflower, and this oddity - Romanesco Broccoli.  It literally means broccoli from Rome because it originated in Italy.

Romanesco

Romanesco looks like a cross between a broccoli and a cauliflower, but if you look really close (and I wish I had a better camera to show you), it is very, very strange looking.  It has many points on it that are made up of spiral buds that are arranged in other spirals.  Those spirals make up curious patterns.

Up until it creates its head, you might easily mistake the plant for a normal broccoli or cauliflower plant, but then when it starts growing its head, you know immediately that this is not your everyday, run-of-the-mill broccoli.  No, this thing looks like it is truly from another planet.  Luke Skywalker, from Star Wars, was a farm boy on the planet Tatooine before rising to fame.  Yes, I'll bet this is what Luke probably grew before becoming a Jedi.

Romanesco spirals

Have you ever noticed that so many things in nature have patterns that are distinct and orderly in a mathematical arrangement?  Things like the pattern on pine cones, pineapples, artichokes, sunflowers, and romanesco...  Looking at things like this is evidence to me of a Divine Creator. Things like this just couldn't have been created by accident.

In fact, since we're talking about "Broccoli from Rome," I thought this verse is quite appropriate:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.  Romans 1:20

Well, regardless what it looks like, I harvested some and we're going to taste it soon. It is supposed to have a nutty, delicate taste most similar to cauliflower.  Although we haven't tasted it yet, I'm sure it will be "out of this world."

Love Like Crazy - Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom & Dad

The Gold Standard

On February 20th, my Mom & Dad celebrated their Golden Anniversary.  Fifty Years, wow!  Our extended family wanted to mark this milestone and honor them with a simple reception.  I'm not a party planner and don't know squat about decorating, but I do know who to ask and family members with party planning skills came through with flying colors.

The 50th Anniversary celebration was well attended by family and friends and well-wishers and we spent the afternoon visiting, laughing, and snacking on various cookies and cakes that had our blood sugar spiking to precipitous heights, I'm sure. It was a sweet time, both literally and figuratively.

I got a photo of the happy couple before the crowd arrived.

Happy 50th!

My Dad has a tradition of getting Mom a yellow rose each anniversary - one for each year of marriage.  He was able to locate 50 yellow roses to mark the occasion.

My sister has a cottage industry that she runs out of her home making/decorating cakes and was able to make a beautiful one that tasted great, or so I hear.  It was long gone by the time I drifted over to the cake table.  

Mom & Dad's preacher, Bro. Don, prayed a prayer thanking the Almighty for blessing their many years of marriage and for providing a model of marriage for all in attendance. After thinking about the day, I was amazed that we didn't ask them what the secret was to a successful and happy marriage.  I'll definitely do that, but I'm sure they'd answer - prayer. Lots of prayer!  And that made me think about a country song all about this exact topic.

Lee Brice sings a song called "Love Like Crazy" that encapsulates a good marriage with some timely advice whether you've been married 50 minutes or 50 years.  I've copied the lyrics below with the really important advice in bolded red.

"Love Like Crazy"

They called them crazy when they started out

Said, "Seventeen's too young to know what loves about"

They've been together fifty-eight years now

That's crazy

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week

Bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street

Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed

Now that's crazy

Just ask him how he did it

He'll say, "Pull up a seat

It'll only take a minute

To tell you everything"

Be a best friend, tell the truth

And overuse "I love you"

Go to work, do your best

Don't outsmart your common sense

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job

Said them home computers, boy, they'll never take off

Well, he sold his one man shop to Microsoft

And they paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it

He'll tell you faith and sweat

And the heart of a faithful woman

Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth

And overuse "I love you"

Go to work, do your best

Don't outsmart your common sense

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

Always treat your woman like a lady

Never get to old to call her baby

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

They called him crazy when they started out

They've been together fifty-eight years now

Ain't that crazy?

If you click on the arrow below, you can watch the video of the song.

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy!  Indeed...

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom & Dad.  Thanks for loving like crazy for 50 years. We love you!

The 2015 Meat Birds - One Week Old

Did you ever have a place in your house where your mom would have you line up up with your back against the wall and with a pencil, make a mark on the wall and put the date and how tall you were to track your growth?

In this installment we'll do the same with our chicks, to chart their growth.  This year we'll do something a little different as we'll monitor the growth of the Red Ranger (on left) and the Cornish Cross (on right) in the photo below.  The Red Ranger takes 12 weeks to reach maturity, while the Cornish Cross takes only 8 weeks.  Notice also that the birds are just barely starting to lose their fuzz and put on a few little wing feathers.  They're still cute, but that's about to change.

Red Ranger and Cornish Cross at One Week Old

So we zeroed out the scale after putting a bucket on the scale and then put the Red Ranger in the bucket.  At one week old, he weighed 3 ounces.  They are all eating more and more.  We have to keep food in front of them all day long as they consume it quickly.

Red Ranger: 3 ounces at one week old

In doing the same with the Cornish Cross, we see that he weighs 4 ounces.  Starting off, we can already see, albeit minimally, that the Cornish Cross is supposed to grow bigger, faster than the Red Ranger.

Cornish Cross: 4 ounces at one week old

Some notable events in chicken growing during this first week:

The little chicks are eating more and more as each day passes, contributing to a stinky garage.  They are just barely starting to put on some tiny feathers.  As I look at the weather forecast, it looks like rain or good chances of it for the next 10 days. That isn't good weather for putting them out on pasture anytime soon.  The earliest I've ever put them out on grass, I think, was around the 3 week point.

We lost three birds today and we haven't pinpointed the reason for the first two although it appears that some of the birds might have piled up on top of them suffocating them.  The other one somehow fell in the waterer and drowned.  We did put a thin layer of fresh hay on top of their soiled hay and we adjusted the heat lamps to ensure that they were getting the exact temperature that the baby birds need at this age.  We're feeding them a Non-GMO, non soy, 18% chick grower at the moment.

We ordered 110 birds and were shipped 117.  Two were dead on arrival, leaving 115. A couple days later, we found another dead in the brooder leaving 114.  Today 3 died, leaving us an current count of 111 chicks.  We'll post an update in a week so that you can see the chicks' status in weekly installments. 

Setting the Pullets Free

Even though the picture below was taken on an overcast, foggy Saturday morning, I think it is beautiful.  It is a nice shot because as far as the eye can see on our little 3 acre pasture, you can see our free-range laying hens scratching, roaming, searching for bugs, worms, and the first, tender growth of grass.  The hens go where they please and are free.

Oh give me a home, where the laying hens roam...

That is opposed to our pullets.  We have a little system that has worked for us in which we hatch out baby chicks from our incubator, keep them in a brooder and then when old enough, we move them out to pasture into one of three chicken tractors we have.  The chicken tractors are on wheels and have nesting boxes, roosting bars and no caged bottom.  We push them to fresh grass every day so that their poop is broadcast across the pasture to enhance grass growth.

These chickens are NOT free.  Better than being in an immovable coop, but not totally free.  That is, until they begin laying their first eggs between 20 - 24 weeks. Then we open the doors to the tractor and they are free to roam.  At this age, they are large enough to not squeeze through the hog wire fence that surrounds the pasture and they can fend for themselves (mostly) against the weather and predators.

Before releasing them, there's a bit of work to do.  As you can see from the photo below, there are some roosters in the tractor.  This is because we hatched them from our own eggs and you can usually count on 50% cockerels and 50% pullets.  We don't let all of the roosters out, though.  I only let enough out to maintain a 1 rooster for every 10 hen ratio.  The remaining roosters will be for supper. We'll butcher them and put them in the freezer and they'll make fine fricassee.

Pullets ready for freedom

First, Russ got into the tractor with a net and caught each pullet and handed them to me so that I can trim their wings.  I don't want them flying over the fence as they'll get themselves killed by the neighborhood dogs.  I had some sharp clippers and I expand one of their wings out.  

An Aracauna's wings

I clip only one of the wings.  I used to cut two before someone smartly told me that cutting both was unnecessary since with one wing clipped, they would be unbalanced and unable to fly.  They were right.  I clip the wings pretty far down, but not enough to draw blood or hurt them.  This Aracauna is a beautiful bird.  She lays blue and green eggs.  We don't name our laying hens, but if we did, her name would be Smoky.

Clip, clip...

You would think that chickens would be going nuts while I clip them, but if you put them on their backs, they become amazingly calm while you clip their feathers. Once done, setting them right side up, they'll give a brisk shake and take off, exuberant about their freedom and the prospects of not being confined to a 12 foot by 6 foot chicken tractor with 22 other birds.

Free at Last! Free at Last!

Then it's on to the next bird - a barred rock.  In all we set 13 pullets free after trimming their feathers on their right wing with some sharp clippers.  The first year I did this I used ordinary scissors and in the process, compressed a nerve on my middle finger which resulted in my finger being numb for more than a week.  My weirdest injury ever, but it taught me to use the proper tools for the job.

Note to self: Use sharp clippers!

At the end of my task, I had a nice pile of feathers from multiple breeds of chickens. Ordinarily, I'd rake them up and compost them, but over the years I learned an unusual fact.  Feathers are composed of protein and as a result, the chickens will come around once you're done and eat every last one of them.  Sure enough, the next afternoon, there was not a feather in sight!

Here today - Gone tomorrow

The pullets seem a little awkward at first, sort of like you might feel if you are in a new place with lots of people you don't know.  Same thing here.  They stay close to one another and don't venture out much.  Although the existing roosters on the pasture rush up to introduce themselves as you see in the photo below:

Rooster (far left) introducing himself to four prospective harem members

I notice after a few days that they are all still hanging around the chicken tractor that they were released from, but if history is any indication, they'll slowly assimilate to the flock on the pasture.  It just takes them a little while.

Flavoring Kombucha

So we left off yesterday in Our How to Make Kombucha Tea Post explaining how we made kombucha.  After 10 days of fermenting on the top shelf in our laundry room where it stays a constant temperature of 78 degrees, we determined that we'd consider it done.  You can leave it to ferment longer, but the taste profile changes and it gets less sweet and a little more 'tangy,' having a 'vinegar' taste.

We unscrewed the lid to reveal that another SCOBY had formed on top of the tea. That's when you know it's done.  The 'mother' or older SCOBY was right underneath.  Each time you go through fermentation, it will multiply and grow another SCOBY, allowing you peel one off and share it with a friend so that they can start brewing kombucha.

A New SCOBY

Simply lift the new SCOBY and the older one out of the fermented tea, and place it in a quart jar. You'll use it to start brewing your next batch.

Removing the SCOBY

We pour just enough tea out of the original batch into the jar with the SCOBY and the contents will serve as your 'starter culture for your next brewing.  The recipe calls for a starter culture of 2 cups per gallon.

But before we begin brewing another batch, we need to drink this one!  You can either drink the tea as is from the gallon jar that you removed the SCOBY from OR you can flavor the tea and let it undergo a second fermenting.  Tricia likes it plain and enjoys drinking it as is.  Me?  I like some flavorings.  Cultures for Health has a You Tube video below that you can watch to show you how to flavor your kombucha.  Click on the arrow to watch:

In flavoring ours, we wanted a bold flavor and looked around to find something with a different flavor profile.  We had some leftover whole cranberries in the freezer from Thanksgiving, so we crushed a handful of them in a bowl and then grated a couple of tablespoons fresh ginger.  Cranberry-Ginger Kombucha!  That sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Grating fresh ginger over crushed whole cranberries

We carefully put the cranberry/ginger mash in a juice bottle and using a funnel, poured the fermented kombucha into the bottle.

Flavoring the kombucha

You want to use a bottle that allows an airtight seal, because the second fermentation will produce carbon dioxide and give it an effervescent, fizziness.  Put it out of direct sunlight on the counter and allow it to ferment for a couple more days so that the flavors intertwine.  Now we wait... Again.

While we're waiting on the flavored kombucha to go through the second fermentation, we start our next batch brewing.  Simply brew another gallon of tea and add 1 cup sugar per gallon and allow to cool, and pour the starter liquid you reserved from the first batch:

And go ahead and add the SCOBY:

Put a cloth over the top, fastened by a rubber band and set it back on the top of the cabinet for 10 days.  You can see the SCOBY in the bottom.  

After two days, the flavored kombucha is ready.  I'm excited to try it.  The button on the lid was popped out, letting us know that it was carbonated.  I actually ordered a couple special bottles with flip-top lids (Grolsch-style bottles) for the next time. Anyway, we opened the top and poured the tea through a strainer to catch all the solids, and then back into the bottle.

I poured a glassful with a couple cubes of ice.  You can see the carbonation bubbles on the side of the glass along with the beautiful, reddish color of the tea.  In smelling it, you can smell the ginger.

Cranberry Ginger Kombucha!

Now for the taste test...  DELICIOUS!  We really enjoyed it and the gallon was gone quickly, especially since Russ came home from college and really liked it.  I guess we'll have to brew bigger batches from here on out. The Cranberry Ginger Kombucha was a nice flavor.  We're going to try other flavors.  Cultures for Health lists these interesting flavors that you can make:

Other Flavoring Ideas and Combinations

• Blueberries and cinnamon
• Berries and fresh or candied ginger
• Strawberries and basil
• Cherries and almond extract
• Pears and almond extract
• Apple juice and cinnamon
• Lemon or lime juice and fresh ginger
• Pineapple juice, coconut water, and coconut extract
• Vanilla beans (split open) or vanilla extract
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Fresh or candied ginger
• Coconut extract
• Lavender and chamomile
• Chai Spice Blend
• Lemon balm and rose hips
• Combine 50% lemonade water kefir and 50% kombucha for a Probiotic Palmer.

Our first attempt at making Kombucha

We like to try a lot of new things around here.  I've been hearing for years about kombucha and have wanted to try brewing it for a while.  We were standing on the banks of the Atchafalaya River outside of Melville at our friend's home, when she said, "Hey, I just brewed a batch of kombucha.  Wanna try some?"  She brought out three cups of kombucha tea and we enjoyed it immensely and I knew immediately that we just HAD to try our hand at making some ourselves.  I can't tell you how good this stuff is.

Kombucha is a fizzy beverage made by fermenting tea using a SCOBY.  SCOBY is an acronym that stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.  According to Wikipedia, people think that the word kombucha came from a Japanese beverage made from kelp or kombu.  The actual kombucha tea is different and both the Japanese and Chinese translate it literally to "Red Tea Mushroom." Historians believe kombucha originated in China before moving to Russian and eventually Europe.

Regardless, it is a delicious effervescent beverage.  There are many reasons to drink it for health.  It provides detoxifying enzymes and acids that help your liver.  It is made with a living colony of bacteria and yeast, so it is a probiotic that helps in digestion.  There are many other healthy reasons to drink it.  There's also the taste. It is delicious!

So we ordered a SCOBY from Azure Standard, a Co-Op that we belong to and it arrived in the box below.  I like the fact that the label said Kombucha Brewing Made Easy.  I'm always a little concerned when we try something new and I don't want to mess it up.  The fact that it is easy is a big plus in my book.

Kombucha Starter Kit Arrives

The kit came with the SCOBY floating in the starter liquid, some oolong tea, organic evaporated cane juice sugar, and detailed instructions.

The Unpackaging

Get a gallon of filtered water boiling on the stove top.

Then put the oolong tea in the boiling water and allow to steep for 20 minutes.

Then pour the cup of sugar into the tea and allow to dissolve.

Allow the tea to fully cool.  Once room temperature, pour the tea into a clean gallon jar.  Up to this point, we just made regular tea that you might enjoy on the back porch on a nice day.  Now, we're gonna throw a twist to it.  Add the SCOBY and starter liquid in the bag into the gallon jar full of tea.

Pouring in the SCOBY or Mother

The SCOBY is also called the mother because it produces new colonies.  It is not pretty.  In fact, I think Tricia and Benjamin said it looks like a jellyfish floating in the tea. I'll admit, it is not very appetizing at this point and I'm wondering if this is going to be drinkable.  

"Waiter, there's a jellyfish in my iced tea!"

Fortunately, we don't drink it now.  You cover it with a paper towel or cloth and put a rubber band around it so that bugs, dust, critters don't get into it.  It is alive and needs to "breathe."  

Now you wait...

Now we put it aside, away from sunlight and in an area where the temperature is 75 degrees. We found a spot in our utility room on top of a cabinet that met that criteria.  We placed it up there and allowed it to ferment for 10 days.  The longer you leave it, the more "tangy" it gets.

We watched the youtube video below to help us learn how to make it.  Again, I wanted to be very careful our first time to do this.  The video is by Cultures for Health and they have all sorts of starters and supplies to help you get started making kombucha, kefir, cheese, yogurt, etc.  If you're interested, click the arrow to watch a good instructional video:

This will be a two-part series.  In the next installment, we'll show you what we did after the tea fermented for 10 days.  Hint: We flavored it with an interesting blend of flavor enhancements.