Chickens, Ducks, and Wolves... oh my!

Many critters have come and gone since my last post... er... the one before the 2 quail posts, that is. Back then I had chickens, so that's where I need to begin. As I feared, my family and neighbors were not fond of constant chicken chatter. These were some exceptionally noisy chickens. I honestly think a rooster would have been quieter! Warning- set your volume low before watching this one!



So I had to find them a new home. As luck would have it, a very nice couple from a farm in Rosalia (a small town to the south) came to pick them up. They have about an acre fenced off for their flock of chickens, they told me, with lots of grass and bushes and a small pond- sounds like chicken heaven!
So I have flat given up on the idea of chickens. But I have not given up on the idea of eggs! As you can see from my quail posts, there are other egg options out there for urban egg production. I found a source for quail, but we need to make an enclosure for them first. But we still had the chicken pen and barn....so I thought, Ducks! Like quail eggs, duck eggs beat chicken eggs for nutrition. So we bought a few ducks off of Craigslist to try them out. I had read that khaki Campbell ducks lay more eggs than any chicken breed- almost 300 a year! And that's without light supplementation! So I decided to get a few. Nope, not for me. They were as noisy as chickens! So they went. I had read that khaki's were developed from runner ducks, another type that lay 300 eggs a year, so we tried a black runner female. We had also gotten some Cayuga Ducks. These have since become my absolute favorite! They are exquisite! And they are Quiet! The runner was a bit noisier, but not too bad.
Now... unfortunately we learned the hard way that an Arctic wolf though not all that interested in a chicken is terribly interested in a duck!!! One day I had the ducks out of their pen in the backyard. The dogs were inside, the back door was locked. ... Or so I thought. Orio opened the door when no one was looking and went out in the yard to play. It didn't take him long to find that a duck made a great toy. I went outside to find him trotting across the yard with a dead duck in his mouth. He saw me and came prancing over to me to ask me to throw it for him. I fell to pieces! It was the Cayuga female! All I could do was just hold her and cry. Don made sure Orio knew he had screwed up royally! Afterwards I wouldn't talk to Orio for 2 days. But as if that weren't enough, about a week later, tragedy struck again. The ducks were put away in their pen, the dogs were out. No one was looking. Suddenly Dori came running to the door yipping and barking to tell us Orion was getting into trouble. No one realized that our Arctic wolf had had a taste of his natural food source and decided that was what he wanted for dinner. He plowed his way under the gate to the duck pen and killed my remaining 2 ducks! Luckily I only had 2 at the time, the Cayuga drake, and the runner. I was so furious I came frighteningly close to killing him!
So Don is going to rebuild the duck pen for me. It will be taller, thicker wire, and he will run it underground and fan it out so that if Orio tries to dig under it, he'll hit wire. Nothing is entirely wolf-proof, but we can at least slow him down enough that we can catch him before he gets too far. I now have 3 pairs of show quality Cayugas. They are absolutely beautiful! No way is that wolf going to get any more of my ducks!!!

Homegrown Revolution

This is what we all need to be doing, right in our own back yards, right now. The term "Victory Garden" is back. I think it applies now more than ever. After watching this video, visit YouTube for more just like it. There is a gardening revolution sweeping the nation, and I'm proud to be part of it!!

http://pathtofreedom.com/ <--Visit their website!! EXCELLENT!!

Chia -- Superfood!

The famous Chia 'pets' grown on clay pots are a superfood known and cultivated by Aztecs over 5000 years ago. We need to stop playing with this plant and start EATING it!!

There are two varieties, the cultivated Mexican Chia, Salvia hispanica, which grows naturally on clay soils (hence chia pets), and the Golden Chia (Salvia Columbariae). This is our northern variety. It hasn't been cultivated, but was collected from the wild by the indigenous California people. It's a little annual sage that doesn't look like a sage. The leaves are deeply dissected and very crinkly. 2 or 3 neat flower globes grow on each square-stemmed stalk from a 1-2 foot plant. Highly variable, this native can be found in clean areas between the chaparral, on south slopes on rock, gravel, or disturbed soil. In the desert it grows only a few inches high.

Taste-wise, chia seeds have a nutty flavour, and are a healthful addition to the diet sprinkled on cereals, yogurt or salads. You can also eat them whole or mix them into flour when baking bread, muffins or other baked goods.

Chia (-hispanica) is an oil seed; two-thirds of Chia oil are Omega-3 essential fatty acids (polyunsaturated) with only 10% saturated fatty acids, making them a better source of omega 3 fatty acids than flax-seeds. In addition to its extremely high Omega-3 content, Chia has other nutritional qualities: antioxidants, fiber, vitamins B1, B2, B3, plus minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper.

A great benefit of the chia seed is its durability. Unlike flax-seeds, it can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid, and does not require grinding. Two tablespoons of chia - about 25 grams - provide about seven grams of fiber.

In a preliminary study from the University of Toronto (2006), researchers gave 21 diabetics either a supplement made from chia, or grains with similar fibre content. The results were interesting. After three months, blood pressure from the chia group dropped 10 points diastolic and 5 points systolic., while the blood pressure from the grain group remained steady.

Chia hispanica

Chia columbariae

More on Chia

and More on Chia

Merry Maybon!

Maybon, or Second Harvest, is an ancient holiday feast from Northern Europe held on the Autumn Equinox. Since we just moved, and aren't even finished unpacking, we don't really have much to harvest. :( But that didn't stop us today!!! :)
Don suggested we go to Steptoe Butte. We had a super fantastic day! And what a harvest! :)
First we came across the wild apple trees growing in the ditch along the east side of the road along the edge of the wheat fields. They were LOADED with small, plum-size apples! We all picked handfuls and loaded Grif's backpack. I'll use them to make apple jelly! Then on the opposite side of the road we picked some cattails and wild oats to make a fall wreath for the door. Nef decided to pick some fresh mullein leaves to dry for the medicine cabinet. On our way up the butte, we stopped to have a look at the rose hips. The bushes are absolutely covered! They are still orange and hard, not quite ripe yet. They won't be ready until after we have a good hard freeze. That's when they get really sweet! YUM! And we'll make tons of rose-hip jam! -A great source of vitamin C during the winter!
We saw more apple trees, more mullein, lots of butter-n-eggs, and Grif (always prepared ;)) used his handy pocket snips to cut some teasel heads for more decorations... probably that wreath! But the best part of the whole day was V THIS GUY V we saw on the way home!

Bayberries!!

This bayberry candle comes from a friend
so on Christmas eve burn it down to the end.
For a bayberry candle burned to the socket,
will bring joy to the heart and gold to the pocket.

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane. Ever since, I've always loved the thought of making my own bayberry candles. Now that I'm home and am putting down some roots, I can finally make that little dream come true! On our south fence I'm going to put a row of bayberry bushes. They'll make a beautiful hedge, and with any luck, I'll have a ton of bayberries to make a few candles! To make the candles is pretty easy. Just boil the berries and the waxy coating floats to the top. Pick up the wax when it cools, remelt it with 20% beeswax (Bayberry wax alone is too brittle and will crack), then pour into candle molds or dip tapers. Voila'!
Northern Bayberry is native to the East Coast, but it is hardy and adaptable to a wide range of conditions, so I should be able to grow it here without much effort. There is a high demand for real bayberry candles, and they are quite expensive, so maybe I can even make a few dollars!
Here's the bayberry in Summer dress and decked in Winter silver! Such a beautiful bush! I can't wait!

Setting a Sundial

Do we really need digital watches and clocks to tell us what time it is? I guess if you're an accountant working on Wall Street you have to be a slave to schedules. But if you're a gardener, a sundial can be an even better way to tell the time.
I put this post under the sustainability label because sundials do not require industrial technology to build or maintain and cause no pollution. But they are an attractive, and useful decoration in the garden. Not only can you tell the hour, you can easily follow the path of the sun throughout the year, learning the direction of light and shadow in your garden. It takes a bit of education to get the most out of your sundial, but learning is always fun, and getting a better understanding of the movements of the sun throughout the day, the season, and the year, can be very rewarding for a successful gardener.
There's a couple ways to learn about setting and reading your sundial. There's quite a few books on the subject if you really want to get serious. Here's a couple that are highly rated:
...
Or, Another way to learn is just do it! Make a simple sundial or buy a fancy one and put it in your garden. Then ... watch! Observe your sundial and compare it to a conventional clock. Make adjustments as you learn.
Sundials come in so many styles and mediums, it's easy to pick one that fits the personality of your garden. They can be made of brass, concrete, colorful tiles, carved stone, resin, or wood. They can be combined with zodiac wheels, a compass, or in combination with flowerpots, fountains, or birdbaths. Here's a cute one. The gnomon is a sailboat!

Going Off-Grid

Sustainability is one of my favorite topics. If we would all live this way, there would be no pollution! Here's a great website full of articles and resources about solar and wind power, composting toilets, greywater systems, and much more! Have a look around!


Here's a great article on setting up a wind generator system.
click here
Here's a magazine! Cool! If you're interested in the subject of Home Power, this magazine is for you! Older articles are all online! This is a huge recourse on renewable power! A real must see!

Home Power Magazine