First Snow! WOW! Winter Wonderland!!!

Our first snow!! We had 3 maybe 4 inches! Dori was so cute in her red sweater that she loves to wear so much! We need to get her some littel boots to wear out in the snow. We let her stay out for a little while, but I just had to make her come in before her paws got too cold. The second picture is (left to right) Nef, me in back; Dori, the one with paws; Bianka, Nef's friend next door; and Skylar, a long-time friend of Bianka's and a new friend/ interest of Nef! EEEK! We all had a blast playing in the snow. I got a couple of video clips you'll see in a composition a bit later.

This morning when we got up everything was a winter wonderland. The sun was shining, the sky was that deep winter blue, and everything glittered and sparked in wintery- crowned glory! It has been a BEAUTIFUL day! :) --And more snow on the way tomorrow!!! YAY!!

MALLEE!!!!

Remember a while back I mentioned the local pet shop where I saw a pair of Mallee Ringnecks? They were listed "not for sale" and had a cockatiel-size nest box sitting on the floor of their dark enclosure. I knew they would never breed for their owner in those conditions. I had asked the pet department manager (who personally owned them) if he ever decided to sell them, I would be interested in buying them. Well, not long ago he called me and asked me if I still wanted them. I of course said "you bet!" He said he was moving, and couldn't take the birds with him. He gave me an unbelievable deal on them! I brought them home and have them in a large parrot cage in the office until spring. We'll be building the indoor/ outdoor flights, and these active little emeralds are gonna LOVE it!! :) The male (the one that's a tad bigger and brighter) we named Sprite, and the female is Fern.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving and a huge meal with all the trimmings. Hickory smoked turkey! If you've never had smoked turkey, oh you simply MUST give it a try! We are absolutely spoiled for smoked turkey. I think this is the 7th or 8th year we have had it. Next year though, we will have our own smoker and we can smoke our very own! I wonder.... can we keep a turkey in town? Hmmm.... maybe I should stick to buying one from one of our local farms.
I'm so proud! I made the most perfect pumpkin pie ever! The recipe I use is from The Spice Hunter, their Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend. Just a sniff from the jar is enough to send you to memory lane and thoughts of the holiday season. The pie was so pretty I had Don take a picture for me while it was cooling on the counter. Unfortunately, we were having such a good time that that was the ONLY picture we took all day! So I have no more pictures for the blog. Sorry :( I'll try to do better through the rest of the holiday season. :)
That's my mom's home canned pears and bread and butter pickles there on the counter with the pie. :) Better than anything you could ever hope to buy from a store!!! :P

Our first chickens!

Meet Daisy and Zeeba, our first chickens. We don't know much about them, unfortunately. We found them at a local pet shop and the owner wasn't very helpful. What we were told is that a lady brought them in, they should begin laying in a couple of months, and they are bantams, (duh) the blond one is a "Millie" and the zebra one is a "cochin". Hmmm... So I hit the internet and did a bit of research. It looks to me like Daisy, the blond feathered girl is indeed a "Millie", short for "Millie Fleur", French for "thousand flower." But this is actually the name of her color pattern. The name of her variety is called the Belgian d'Uccle. Her color and markings are just amazing. I've never seen anything like it! Don's eye was captured by our other newcomer, Zeeba. This little hen is apparently a Silver Sebright. Both of these little girls are super sweet and very quiet. A good thing since they are spending their nights in our kitchen in a large dog kennel! We had planned to get chickens in the spring, after we built a small coop in the corner of the back yard, but when we saw these,... surprisingly, even Don didn't want to let them get away! We built a run for them to spend the day until they get used to the backyard. I want to give them free range of the whole yard, but I don't know if that's going to be possible with our neighbors' 3 mean dogs. They said they will put up a privacy fence this spring. I hope they do! Another possibility is clipping their wings. (the chickens, not the neighbors) I may just do that anyway to be sure they stay safe and in our yard.

Cattails!

If you have never popped a cattail, releasing the millions of seeds into an autumn breeze, then you have missed one of the finer points of life! But who knew cattails were so versatile? I've read that cattails are highly nutritious and are a wonderful survival food. They are an excellent source of starch, containing ten times the amount of an equal number of potatoes. Virtually every part of cattails is edible, and they have a wide variety of uses. In spring, the new shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. The young flower heads can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob. The pollen can be collected in the summer and mixed with flour to provide nutrients and protein. The winter rootstock can be boiled and mashed much like potatoes, or can be dried and ground into flour. I've never tried any of these folk remedies, but according to tradition, the fresh root of cattails can be pounded and used as a poultice for infections, blisters and stings. The sap from the green leaves can be used as a topical antiseptic, coagulant and mild pain reliever. The boiled leaves can be used as a wash for irritated skin. The root flour or young flowers can be eaten to relieve diarrhea. The fuzz from mature female flower heads can be used to relieve scalds, burns, diaper rash and weeping sores. The pollen is homeostatic and astringent. Take It internally for internal bleeding, menstrual pain, chest pains and blood stagnation. So the next time you're picking cattails, you might try taking a nibble!