Egg Oddities Part 1

Yesterday we talked about having to butcher one of our laying hens that developed a really bad habit of eating eggs.  She would crack them with her beak and commence to eating eggs sunny side up.  We couldn't have any of that.  We butchered the Rhode Island Red hen.

Upon eviscerating her, removing her heart, liver, gizzard, intestines, lungs, etc. we found something interesting.  Look inside the carcass of the hen to see a plethora of tiny eggs right in the center of the photo below.

When a hen is born (just like a woman), she has every egg (ova) already inside of her.  One by one the eggs are released into the ovaduct.  A hen can lay an egg just about every day.  Each egg first develops into a yolk.  In the photo above, you can see the different stages of development.  In the photo below, you can see an ova that has developed into a yolk.  I pulled this out of the hen.  Once it develops into a yolk, the rest of the egg is formed around it and then the egg is ready to be laid.

One might say, as I originally did, that it was a shame to butcher this hen and lose out on all of the eggs that were yet to be laid.  I agree with that sentiment; however, this hen would have, over time, destroyed more eggs than she laid.  Secondly, this hen is fattened up due to all the eggs she ate and is going to make us a mighty fine gumbo.  Finally, it was a good science experiment.  We normally butcher Cornish Cross meat birds and never get an opportunity to see the inside of a mature laying hen with all the eggs.

We Caught the Egg Eater!

"Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences." - Robert Louis Stevenson

We posted several times about a chicken that has been eating eggs in the hen house.  This has been going on for quite some time.  Aggravating, yes.  Not only was this chicken eating eggs that WE could be eating, but when eggs were cracked and eaten, the yolk would get on uneaten eggs, making them difficult and quite time-consuming to clean.  Countless hours over the past several years have been spent cleaning eggs.

We tried several tactics and remedies to try to resolve this issue - all to no avail.  The best thing we could do in order to save the eggs and ensure that we had some to eat, was to go out to the hen house numerous times a day and pick up eggs and put them in a basket out of reach of the beaked bandit.  By doing this, we were somewhat successful, but oftentimes, we were too late.  

It has been said that if you play with fire, you're going to get burned.  Well, Tricia walked out one day week before last to gather eggs and lo and behold, she spotted a Rhode Island Red Hen cracking and eating a just laid egg.  Tricia quickly grabbed the egg eater and put her in solitary confinement.

We kept her here for a few days while checking the egg production.  The next day there were NO broken eggs.  The day following - no broken eggs.  And so forth and so on for a week.  In fact, where we were previously gathering no eggs to 3 or 4 eggs each day (and those eggs were dirty, sticky, yolk-covered eggs), now we began collecting 14 to 17 eggs a day!  Beautiful, clean eggs at that!

A trial was held and due to proof beyond reasonable doubt, the perpetrator was tried by a jury of her peers and found guilty.  She was transported out of her cell in general population and into her new cell on death row while she waited out the appeal process.  During the next week, there continued to be no broken eggs.

The sentencing phase of the trial took place on a sunny Saturday morning.  The egg eater was found guilty of numerous counts of... (gasp) cannibalism.  Stern justice was meted out by the judge/executioner so this time of crime would be abolished from the hen house, thereby sending a message to other copy-cats that this would not be tolerated.  The egg eater was hung by her feet, bled out, scalded and plucked, while the barnyard inhabitants watched.

The egg eater was pronounced dead at 11:28 am.

She was not buried.  Instead, she was put into the deep-freeze and will become the main protein source in our next Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.  The eater will become the eaten.  Poetic justice, indeed.

Juicy Fruit

This is the time of year for picking and eating citrus fruits.  We have tangerines, navel oranges, and now... grapefruit.  We have been eating a bunch.  Their color is vibrant and the taste and tangy and refreshing.  They'll keep just fine on the tree unless a deep freeze threatens.  If that happens, we'll pick them all and store them inside.  Otherwise, we'll 'store' them on the tree.

One of the things that we hadn't done yet, but will be doing lots more of is making fresh squeezed juice.  Tricia bought a new contraption that I wanted to try out.  It is essentially an old fashioned glass juicer that sits atop a jar.  After cutting a tangerine or orange in half, you squeeze the fruit on the juicer.  Theoretically, the juice flows through holes in the juicer and it fills the jar below it.

That's the idea.  Unfortunately, the seeds and pulp stopped up the holes and the juice couldn't flow down into the jar.  First, I resorted to using a steak knife to poke the holes and allow the juice to fill the jar below.  Then, I simply picked it up and poured the juice into the jar below.  It was just taking too long and I'm not too patient.

We save all the peels of the citrus.  In the past, we'd compost them until we made the discovery that our cows and goats absolutely love eating them.  Now, we save them and throw them over the fence and the animals come running to eat them up.

We did get a full jar of tangerine juice with the new juicer.  Truly delicious stuff!

But then I got the old glass citrus juicer and got to work.  It is fast work.  Simply cut the citrus in half, juice the fruit, and pour through a strainer into a jar or pitcher. 

In no time I had a half gallon of fresh squeezed juice!

We had homemade ice cream that past couple of nights and i mixed the ice cream with tangerine juice to make an "Orange Julius."  Pretty good stuff!

Preparing "Heart Pine" for Kindling

I can remember when I was a kid on the farm.  From time to time, Dad would "bring new land" into the farm, meaning we would plant rice on a piece of land that had been fallow since, well forever.  Clearing that land was quite an undertaking.  One of the last things we'd do before opening up the land with a plow was collecting pine knots and heart pine.  We would pull a wagon through the field and toss all the pine knots on top.  Eventually we'd pile up the old pine somewhere.  This heart pine was the very center part of old-growth long-leaf pine trees.  It was resistant to rot and decay and insects.  It lasts forever.

I still have some and still use it.  We never hooked up the gas jet to our fireplace to start firewood.  Why do this when you have heart pine that you can split into kindling?  Below I'll show you how I did it the other night.

I use a double-headed ax that I sharpen up.  Cutting heart pine is not like cutting any other wood.  It is hard as stone.  I stand the heart pine on end and then commence to cutting kindling off of it.

I said heart pine lasts forever.  I may be exaggerating there, but there is really no telling how old some of this stuff is.  I want you to look at the photo below closely:

That old post is solid heart pine.  If you look closely, you can see an old, rusty hinge on it along with a dozen or so nails and staples that were all hammered into it decades and decades ago.  I'm sure it was not easy to drive nails into this wood.  I have that old post, but I'll probably never cut it for kindling.  I think it has a lot of character and longevity and speaks volumes about quality.  If you buy a "landscape timber" at a hardware store, that thing will begin rotting as soon as you put your turn signal on leaving the parking lot.  This old log of heart pine stands the test of time...

From another heart pine log, I carefully cut long skinny pieces of kindling.  The wood smells like Pine Sol and is sticky to the touch.  The colors of red, yellow, and amber are rich.  If you inhale the scent, it reminds you of simpler times.

I put these pieces in the wagon along with some firewood.  I'll put a stick or two of heart pine kindling on the fireplace grate and then put some dry firewood on top.  I crumple up a piece of newspaper or two and strike a match.  Fire consumes the newspaper I've placed under the heart pine and it quickly ignites.

The sap-enriched wood crackles, sending up billows of black smoke that coats the inside of the fireplace, ensuring that we'll need to call a Chimney Sweep to come and clean our chimney from time to time.  Heart Pine is an old relic from the past.  I'm glad I have a pretty good supply of it as its existence is growing rarer by the day.

Keep the Home Fire Burning!

Turnip Greens

"Thank God for good directions and turnip greens..."  - Billy Currington from his song, "Good Directions"

I've tried year after year to develop a taste for turnips.  So far, no dice.  I just don't like 'em.  At all.  My eyes fool me into thinking they are potatoes in the pot, but the taste is just so different to me.  A little bitter - just not tasty.  I know plenty people disagree, but I just can't like them.  But, turnip greens are another story.  Turnip greens, especially when young and tender, are absolutely delicious.  I planted a row of turnips entirely too close, but intending to feed the turnip roots all to the cows over the winter.  The cows really like them.  I've read numerous stories about farmers in the old days keeping their livestock healthy over the winter by feeding them root crops like turnips and beets.

Turnip seeds are very, very small.  I have a brown paper bag of turnip seeds that I've had in the freezer for years and years.  Despite the age of these seeds, the germination has got to be near 100%.  After planting them this year, I put the seeds back in the freezer.  I must still have 1/4 of a pound of seeds.  At this rate, I'll run out around 2030.

The turnips are planted on the first row in the garden, so it is very convenient to go pick a "mess" of them each night before supper, wash them up, and cook them.  We've had a few warm days which have brought some bug out of dormancy to begin eating some of the turnip greens, but for the most part, they are healthy and fine.

Tonight we're just eating turnip greens, but Tricia likes to mix mustard greens with them, along with chard, kale and beet greens.  We'll wash them up and then slice them and put them in a cast iron skillet to cook them down.

So delicious and so healthy, too! 

The turnip greens are located at the 12 o'clock position on the plate above.  I ate all those and went back for seconds with the quickness!

Sowing Spring Seeds

Each year around January 1st, I plant tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds.  They won't see outdoors for several months, but that's okay.  I'll baby them and by the time the last frost is done, they'll be in the ground.  We're hoping for a better tomato crop this year.  We experienced crop failure last year.  Hope springs eternal in gardening and we are gearing up.

This year we planted the following varieties: Roma, Creole, Black Krim, Big Rainbow, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Pink Brandywine, and Black Vernissage.  All but the Big Rainbow seeds came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - high quality open pollinated heirloom seeds that have great germination rates.

I get my seed pots ready by filling with seed starting mix.  It is a light mix that doesn't pack and is perfect for getting seeds growing.  Since I'll be bringing the seed pots inside, I line trays with newspaper to soak up any water that drips out.  I don't want that getting on the floors and making a big mess.

One very important thing is to label each seed pot with the name of the variety and the date that the seeds were planted.  I generally put 3 or 4 seeds in each pot.  If you have them labeled, you will be able to document any seeds that may have bad germination.  I plant quite a few varieties, so it is important to track which varieties do well versus those that don't.

Cherokee Purple has always been a solid producer for me.  Well, except for last year.  Nothing produced well last year.  This year will be different.

It's not only tomatoes that I plant from seed at this time.  I planted all of my peppers and eggplant seeds, too.

The early freeze in November knocked a number of my broccoli and cauliflower plants out.  I'm doing a first for me this year and I'm starting some broccoli and cauliflower seeds right now.  Normally, I just plant these crops in the fall.  This year I will try them in early spring.  I have them watered and covered with plastic to retain soil moisture.  Once they are up out of the ground, I'll remove the plastic and position a grow light right above the seedlings.  We'll keep you posted as they grow.

2020 Vision

Happy New Year, Everyone!

How could I be that close and yet so far off the track

Well, I've got 20-20 vision but only looking back - Ronnie Milsap

That's some of the lyrics from a good old, classic country song by Ronnie Milsap.  Sometimes I feel just like that.  As I look back on 2019, I can see clearly things I couldn't see while living the moment.  Last year I set three goals.  Let's see how I did:

Goal #1  Read 3 chapters a day in the Bible.  Doing so will get you through the Bible in one year.  I failed in this goal. 

Goal #2  Do at least 25 push ups and 25 sit ups every day.  Doing so will keep me in shape.  I failed in this goal.

Goal #3  Read at least 1 book per month.  I far exceeded this goal.

1 out of 3.  Not good.  Why did I not achieve my goals?  I believe it was because I got distracted.  Work is stressful and involves long hours.  When I'm off, I just like to unwind.  I like to check items off my to do list.  Tricia and me and the boys were talking about goals yesterday and today.  We find that we are pretty, doggone good at setting short term goals and achieving them.  Items on our list that include routine maintenance or chores generally get completed and scratched off the list.

It's the long term goals we I struggle with.  Routine Bible reading builds faith and positions you to learn about and walk more closely with God.  While I truly do love reading the Bible, I admit I find it hard to discipline myself to sit still and read.  I get easily distracted.  I have put this back as the #1 goal this year.

As I get one year older, my metabolism slows and gravity and time takes its toll.  Work is demanding and by the time I get home, I'm tired mentally and physically.  I simply must be more disciplined to keep in shape.  I put this back as my #2 goal this year.

As another year passes by, I realize that I need to do a better job at getting my financial house in order.  We have done a good job with managing debt and sacrificing so that we have been able to save for retirement.  We have not done such a great job in managing our investments.  They aren't diversified, balanced, or allocated properly.  I have added this to my goal list this year.

What we discussed as a family is that it has been proven that if you write your goals down, you are more likely to achieve them.  If you don't write goals down or even if you have long-range goals, but don't list steps to get you toward those long range goals, you experience "drift."  Life just happens and things get away from you - a year later, you find yourself wondering what in the world happened?  I want to live life in a purposeful manner, intentional, and with the end-goal in sight - spiritually, physically, and financially.

Happy 2020 Everyone!