Quail Adventures

My sister loves the quail.  Her hubby, a guy who enjoys building stuff out of nothing, built her what we are fondly calling the "Quail Condo".  It is amazing, organized and downright cute.  He even painted it - and the brooder box - a beautiful red.  This is downright awe inspiring.  He devised a self watering system where fresh water is continually coming into the cages using a recirculation pump, a five gallon bucket, a bunch of pipe and some...... stuff.  Above is a cool picture of my sister, SHOWING OFF her quail condo :)  I think I would show it off too!

 The Bucket.....

The Brains.....

 ......and the system!

The upside to this is that her VERY YOUNG quail are good for meat and are laying about 20 eggs every day.  Tomorrow's adventure.......

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH QUAIL EGGS???

 Be healthy and well
Cindy

Fall is here

It has been a great summer.  We planted a garden, swam almost every day, made new friends, learned a lot, began using raw milk, preserved lots of stuff and generally stayed busy and happy all summer.  We learned how to butcher chickens and made gallons of cultured salsa. Most days began early and ended late.  It has been good.

Fall has officially started around here, even though the weather is wonderful.  The pool has been allowed to go green and the garden has sections being finished up.  The chicks which hatched on the first day of spring have begun laying (it is about time!).  We took a vacation to the Oregon coast and went crabbing.

School and soccer began and the kids are being brought back into routines (it is not easy).  We were blessed by a coffee can of rendered bear fat.  I am going to make pie dough with it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Today we had a discussion on cultured foods.  I am re-energized on sauerkraut, ginger ale, kombucha and sourdough bread.  My sister found a great web site that she loves and she is trying out tons of new recipes.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

GNOWFGLINS

 This stands for "God's Natural Organ Whole Foods Grown Locally In Season"

We are all about that :)

Cindy

The return of the Peasant

My favorite definition of peasant:  son of the soil

On a recent news program there was a discussion of China and India - in these countries peasants are rapidly moving away from their subsistence type of lives into an industrial or middle class lifestyle.  Oddly, the discussion revolved on the certainty of a massive increase in diabetes, cancer, obesity and which pharmaceutical company was best positioned to take advantage of  this well known phenomena.

I almost puked.

.........instead, I contemplated how my sister and I - well trained in legal secretarial, sales, education and medical careers (neither of was content with just one career :( - have instead incorporated large portions of being a peasant into our lives.  We are going backwards and are happier and healthier than ever.  I guess the pharmaceutical companies will have to go elsewhere to make their next million.

My son in law says we are peasants who can read.

Really, what has been happening around here is a heart change.  We want to produce more than we consume, make the most of the resource we have, be content with what we can produce, be willing to accept that an idea might not work out like it did on paper, and be grateful for what is here at hand.


This effort includes learning to like new foods (quail, our own chickens, wild game, rendered fat from odd animals).   Also, it involves spending time and energy acquiring "live foods" that you do not produce yourself...... then turning it into something else (raw milk, bear fat, grass fed beef)  It is harder than it looks to not run to the store for what you want.  Instead, head out to the garden and use what you have.

A garden like this is high maintenance.  Tying up tomato and cucumber plants, watering, weeding, trying to find a pathway through the overgrown melon patch (my sister in the picture above continues to try to make a path) is a daily struggle, but it is a good struggle.  When you pop something into your mouth that you have raised - organically, with care, and realize that you cannot buy that kind of flavor, all you can do is enjoy.  The enzymes feed your body, the work feeds your soul.

 All in all, it is time consuming, but good.

We are now peasants..... that can read.

Cindy

The Quail Experiment Continues......

Yum!  Quail on the grill, cucumbers and roasted squash from the garden.

The first batch of quail didn't hatch very well:(

 But we had enough to learn a few things.  They start out very small.

They can "fly" pretty young.

This is where we learned to "process" them for the grill.

Quail Processing

Right now we have 65 Cortunix chicks in the new Brooder Box. 

We have 140 Texas A and M eggs ready to go into the incubator. 

Our first Cortunix should start to lay eggs soon, and we can hatch our own as soon as the males learn what they are supposed to do once they get ahold of the females.

All in all, a success.

Homemade Play Dough

Playdough Recipe

2 cups flour

1 cup cornstarch
1-1/2 cups salt
2 Tablespoons cream of tarter
3 Tbsp oil

Food Coloring
3 cups water 

(colored ahead of time with the food coloring)

1.  Mix all ingredients into a large pot.  Be sure to add the food coloring to the cold water before adding to the other ingredients.  This will give you a better color. (We used approximately 20 drops - the water should be quite dark.)

2.  Cook on medium/low heat stirring constantly until it begins to form into a dough.

 

3.  Turn out onto a cutting board or other surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until it is the right consistency.

4.  After it has cooled, store in an airtight container.  It should stay good for 3 months in an airtight container (does anyone believe this?)


5.  Have a lot of inexpensive fun!  Even though these are somewhat edible ingredients..... don't let anyone eat it.  There are edible playdough recipes available....... if you want to teach your children and grandchildren how to eat playdough... I wouldn't think it is a good idea, but that is your call!

Cindy

Meanwhile....back at the ranch....

we have been busy, happy, working, loving where the Lord has placed our footsteps.  Obadiah is next to our mongo amaranth plant.  They are usually about 4' tall.  Good compost makes all the difference.

Note to self:  If you plan to use Diestel's compost, make wider rows.  This is our melon patch.  We are a little unsure how we are going to harvest it..... Joey is trying to come up with some strategies.  It is as thick as it looks and there are hundreds of melons set.

The tomato and cucumber patches need tied almost every day.  The cucumbers are coming in strong and the tomatoes are just beginning to come in.  Again... next year wider rows.

The guys made us a mama hen house that can hold four chicken families in separate areas.  We have 18 healthy, strong chicks from the ever turning incubator - 9 copper morans and 9 leghorns.  They should begin laying around Christmas time - Chocolate brown eggs for the copper morans and white for the leghorns.  The two mama hens are doing really well.  We have room and mamas for the next batch getting ready to come out of the incubator.

Everyone eats squash..... EVERY DAY.  Enough said.

The corn and pumpkins are thriving......

The Lord has blessed the work of our hands.

Be healthy and well
Cindy

Life in the Summer

Hello my long lost blogging friends.  Since we last talked it has been insane busy around here with gardening, chickens and chickens and chickens and some ducks and

SWIMMING!!!!!  Yeah for swimming.  Otherwise, all I would be doing is weeding, watering and tying the endless rows of tomatoes :)

........ except that maybe it got a little too busy - I seem to have lost my voice.  This is an old, old, OLD injury from my babyhood through my whole life - but I have been free from this problem for quite a while.  I have actually had to take a week off - not for something fun, but just to sleep and NOT TALK!  Anyone that knows me understands my dilemma.  I am also trying every remedy I have ever tried, heard of, or persuaded anyone else to do.  I appear to have maxed out on a few remedies - today I am trying something else.

DETOX might be hitting next :)  but my voice is coming back.  It is not gone for months, but weeks.  This is good.

While I was doing nothing but sleep, our oldest son was teaching his son to wakesurf.  I totally missed it, but thanks to friend Melissa, I saw some pictures.  His folks said I could share them.

Enjoy
Cindy

First, you have to gear up.....
Wait a minute, just what are you geared up for???

Next you need to learn how to fall off the board.... 1-2-3-Jump

Dad is there waiting.

.....and he's UP!

Yep.... I'm totally cool  :)

Five ways to prepare your child for swim lessons

Swim lessons (in my opinion) are a critical part of growing up.  Genuine swim lessons cannot begin until a child moves past their fear of putting their face in the water.  "Gentle" toddler swim lessons that involve lots of splashing, bubbles and playing are a lot of fun... if you have a lot of time and energy to work with your toddler.

If you want your toddler to move into swimming, they must get over their fear first.  There just is no way past this point.  If you can begin this process at home, either in a tub or a small child's pool, it can lower the child's anxiety level and allow productive swim lessons to begin.

Please note that I am not a professional swim teacher, but I am a hobby one...... and I love it a lot, lot, lot.  It is really rewarding to see the little guy who screamed at you for three days move within a week or so into "one more time Teacher Cindy"  off of the diving board. (It usually takes about 3 days for a child to move past their fear if they are not conditioned to putting their face in the water).  NOTE:  I don't mind the screaming at all - just a part of swim lessons  :)  :)  :) 

So..... my list (to be used with adult supervision ONLY):

A child can be considered "ready" for actual instruction when they can get into the pool independently and put their own face into the water upon request by the teacher.

1)  A great first step is in the bathtub over the winter or in the days or weeks leading up to swimming.  The water is warm, which is a huge plus.  Use a watering can, a bucket, a pot - something and dump water over their head in a sitting up position.  I give my usual "underwater trigger" of "ready...go - 1-2-3...stop" to help them learn the breathing pattern.

2)  Blow bubbles, starting with eyes and nose out of the water and progressing into making all kinds of rude noises by blowing against the bottom of the tub, face fully submerged (we have boys around here and that brings much laughter :)

3)  Use the rings as a distraction/reward to teach the feeling of being on your tummy in the water, going under, retrieving and coming up.  This would be especially important if you have had your child in a life jacket in the pool a lot.  Going horizontal in the pool when you are used to being supported in an upright position freaks kids out.  It is probably the most difficult thing to overcome, and the tub is a great place to start the process.

4) Lay the child on their back in a couple of inches of water.  Make sure the water is only to the child's ear.  Let them get the feeling of being on their back in the water while fully supported.  You can add more water as they get comfortable with this and then support the child with your hands to float on top of the water.

5) Tigger Hops:  This is a great safety technique for kids of all ages and it can begin at home.  From a standing position have the child squat down then JUMP up as high as they can go with their hands over their heads.  This movement is a great motor skill to develop for any sport.

So, that is my list...... be sure to reward their good behavior with something special.  We use a "Treasure Box" which is filled this year with Raw Revolution, LaraBars, non-sugar suckers and other treats.

Cindy

A Project in Process

We have all been working hard around here to make the pool area safer, cleaner and function better.  One of the big projects involved turning an old, unworking, hot tub into a kids pool.  The next generation is coming up and I am tired of fishing kids out of the middle of the silly thing.  Also, cleaning it was a nightmare because of the different levels and little corners.

It started out looking like this (well, once we drained the swamp):

This mess got pressure washed and scraped with a wire brush, then rocks added to the middle:

Next came the big concrete job  :)  :)
                               (normally their concrete jobs look more like this)

First you gotta fire up the old mixer.  I think it is older than I am.  It is a good thing George keeps anything and everything.... and keeps it working :)

Add a little concrete and water, mix and dump.

Devise a high tech concrete delivery system.... 

Lots of advice on how to properly spread it around.

Looking for a nice, straight.... or kind of straight... board.

Yep, it works  :)

Floating it out with a little advice from the peanut gallery....

I'll help Papa!

You are never too young to figure out how to finish concrete around here.

.....or a little instruction from Dad...

It is all ready to be cured and painted.... The process will take a couple of weeks.

The baby obligingly slept through the process.

Then, time to move on to the next project..... the never ending fence fixing.

 

A semi-finished kids pool.  Somehow water got in there.  I have no idea how that happened.  Dad planned to put the final coat on with the sand mixed in so it is not slick.... all possible kids are frantically scooping water out.

Cindy