Feathered Friday: Easter Eggers and Their Colorful Eggs

Every hen lays a different color egg in our coop.  (I'm sure that will change once the younger girls start laying.)  So here is a quick pictorial of who lays what.

Gate Locker lays the greenest of the eggs.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but her eggs are an olive color. They also have a rough texture to them.

Gat Locker

Gate Locker's Olive Egg

Gracie's eggs are a pale blue color, smooth as satin, and usually long.

Gracie

Gracie's Long Blue Egg

Mine lays eggs that are somewhere in between Gracie's blues and Gate Locker's olives.  It can be hard to tell hers from Gate Locker's, but to my experienced eye there is a distinct blue tint in the green.

Mine

Mine's Blue-Green Egg

Tommi's eggs are very different form the other three.  She lays eggs of a salmon color.  Some people might just call them light brown, but when you have a young child you say it's pink.

Tommi's Salmon Egg

Tommi

Playing Catch-up and Taking on More

Okay, today is really just playing catch up.  I know I missed both Feathered Friday and Mindful Monday, but I have good reason.  

I've been gourding!

A few weeks ago, an old friend from my childhood summer camp days request a faery house for her daughter's new faery garden.  I found the perfect gourd right away, pulled out a couple more, and got cleaning.

The other gourds I cleaned will be made into special gifts for the two daughters of another couple very dear to my heart.

I have found that making the gourds is easier if I'm making them for a specific person.

Along the same lines, I've been updating the Mom & Me Gourds page here on the blog, so I can provide an up to date list of our inventory have available and special orders we can make.  (I've pulled it from the blog while it's under construction, but it's almost finished.)

I also took on the challenge of creating a "class creation" for Bug's kindergarten class that will be part of a silent auction at the school's Fall Festival in the beginning of October.  This is another super fun project.  It should be easy to make, too.

I've also taken on the responsibility of heading the Reflections program for the PTA.  I was nominated for this position by a friend who is the VP of the PTA.  She told me of another friend who seconded that I would be a good choice.  

Reflections was created to promote art in young children.  They are encouraged to participate, entering one piece of creative work, be it traditional painting or drawing, sculpture, music, dance, or writing.  I do hope that I can get more than a few entries from the students, and I am working on a way to promote it that will draw students and parents in and make them want to participate.

Beyond all of this, I have been busy with studying my herb books, trying to learn as much as I can without the aid of classes I can't afford right now.  I was told by the owner of  Nature's Food, a natural food store, that there is a small shop nearby that sells bulk products.  I can't wait to find this place, see what they have, and talk with the owner.  I'm hoping that this may be the connection I need to advance my learning in an inexpensive way.

Next Monday will be about Fall planting.  I'm working on something for Feathered Friday, but it's slow going at this point.  This week might just be pictures of the girls and their handsome boys.

Until Friday. . . !

Roasted Rosemary Almonds

I'm not all that creative when it does to supplementing one ingredient for another in a recipe.  It takes me a few times making it before I'll get creative.  Unless I'm missing something, then it's no holds barred.  I guess this comes from wanting to know what the original tastes like before I go changing things around.

Those who are familiar with my now-5year-old (gasp!) son probably recall that he seems to be a self-made vegetarian.  Well, fruit- and carb-etarian might be more accurate.  He will eat meat, but only junk food tip meat, like hot dogs or chicken nuggets.  While he used to eat eggs, he has since turned his nose up at that healthy source of protein we now grow in our backyard.  The only other source of protein he will eat willingly is nuts.

And, boy, does that kid love his nuts.  

I'm not thrilled about him eating too many salted nuts, but he prefers them that way.  He is particularly fond of cashews, pistachios, and almonds.  (Yes, he has expensive taste.)  So, when my aunt in New Mexico shared her Roasted Rosemary Almonds recipe, I was intrigued.  My only concern was the added spice of the red pepper.

But, the Bug Boy surprises me sometimes.  He prefers spicy taco meat, but only sometimes.  

I lost track of the recipe through the months, but in June we had a huge family reunion in Duck, NC, on the Outer Banks.  (A much needed trip that was fulfilling in so many ways.)  

On the kitchen island in our house sat a bowl of almonds.  When Bug saw them, he dug his little fingers in and came out with a handful which he strolled over to the table with and proceeded to eat them all before asking for more.  

I asked my Aunt Jill if they were her Rosemary Almonds, and she confirmed that they were.  So I popped one in my mouth.  (Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs.)  I have never had nuts that tasted so good.  And the little kick from the red pepper was the perfect touch.

The fact that Bug loved them so much was a pleasant surprise.

So this week, I bought the few ingredients I needed and made some to pack in his school lunch.  (I'm still getting used to that.) They were super easy to make, and when I did a taste test while they were still warm I about melted in ecstasy.  They were better warm!

So, I thought I'd share the recipe and hope Aunt Jill is okay with it.  I find it humorously ironic that I chose a bowl I got from my grandparents to make their daughter's recipe.  (I didn't make that connection unit I was looking at the picture.)

Roasted Rosemary Almonds

   Ingredients:

• 4 cups raw, whole almonds
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 c olive oil

   How to:

• Preheat oven to 400.  Spread almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and roast for 10 minutes, or until popping and smoking.  (Note:  Check on the nuts often, as it can be easy to overcook them.)
• While the nuts are roasting, mix the remaining ingredients in a large (heat-safe) bowl.
• When nuts are finished roasting, add them to the bowl with the spice blend and toss until covered.
• Allow to cool, tossing every once in a while.

Enjoy!

Credit for this recipe goes to Jill Waugh.

Mindful Monday: Hybrids vs GMOs, a Brief Comparison

Last week, I posted the picture below on my Facebook page, both for the blog and personally.

It caused a bit of controversy on my personal page, where someone left a comment:

" that's super adorable in that it's factually incorrect."

Someone else replied to that:

"Just saying it doesn't make it so, (name). How is it incorrect specifically."

I posted a link that gave the definition of a GMO as it is used in today's society.  When the first person commented that my link was not creditable because of the source, nongmoproject.org, I came to a few realizations. .  .

1. I was reluctant to use that particular website because of the possibility of subjectivity, but I thought the definition was valid and I assumed (mistake) that someone arguing against the picture would side with this page.
2. It comes across that the person arguing the point didn't read the article and it's contained definition.
3. This person never gave support of their argument, but insisted on telling me I am wrong and naive/stupid.
4. The article only gave a definition for GMO, and did not include hybrids specifically.
5. Maybe society doesn't really understand the difference between hybrids and GMOs.

I was pretty worked up by this online confrontation.  (Partly because they drag out vs. a verbal debate that is instantaneous.)  So I thought I'd give the definitions and my views here on the blog.

First, I think it's important to point out that, yes, hybrids and GMOs are the same. . . on a very generic, non-specific level.

Hybrids are the offspring of two organisms from differing races, breeds, species, or genres.  Merriam Webster defines it:

GMOs are organisms modified by science in a controlled environment and utilizing DNA from one organism injected into another organism--gene splicing.  

"Genetically modified foods are plants or animals that have had genes copied from other plants or animals inserted into their DNA. It's not a new idea — humans have been tinkering with genes for centuries through selective breeding. Think dogs bred to be more docile pets, cattle bred to be beefier or tomatoes bred to be sweeter. Turkeys were bred to have bigger breasts — better for Thanksgiving dinner. 

What's different about genetically modified or engineered foods is that the manipulation is done in a lab. Engineers don't need to wait for nature to produce a desired gene; they speed up the process by transferring a gene from one plant or animal to another. 

What are the desired traits? Most of the nation's corn and soybeans are genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides. A papaya in Hawaii is modified to resist a virus. The FDA is considering an application from a Massachusetts company to approve a genetically engineered salmon that would grow faster than traditional salmon."

                                                                                              ~Huffington Post 

Now, here is my thinking on hybrids and GMOs.

• On a very basic level, hybrids are GMOs.
• Man has been cross-pollinating and cross-breeding plants and animals for centuries.  That's why we have the diversity of dog, cat, horse, cattle, and other domesticated animals that we have.  It is also why we have certain plants in our gardens, both for food and aesthetic reasons.
• Nature creates hybrids all the time.  Bees go from one flower to another, species to species, cross-pollinating the plants and producing hybrids.  
• GMOs are created by science.  NOT nature.  
• If you want to guarantee that the plant matter you consume is neither hybrid nor GMO, grow it yourself.  In a closed green house.  And do your own pollination to get your plants to produce their promised fruit.  Oh yes, and you must use seeds cultivated yourself from this process, or seeds that are certified heirloom--which have their own, very specific set of regulations for labeling them as such.
• GMO technology may one day save me from the torment of living with Type I Diabetes.  It may provide a path to curing many deadly diseases. 

You are, of course, entitled to your own opinions on this very controversial subject.  I have had my say.  If you think I am wrong, that's fine.  I will not challenge you.  But don't challenge me or tell me I'm wrong if you are not prepared to defend your statement.  Teach me.  

After all. . .

We can learn nothing without the education of others.

Feathered Friday: Roosters and the Pecking Order

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on this subject, but I find it intriguing within my own flock.  I love to sit and watch all of them squabble and make friends.

But James, the Light Brahma rooster, and Chase, the Black Australorp rooster, are especially entertaining.  They are both beautiful.  But that's where the similarities end.

James:

• He's the BIG boy.  Easily twice the size of Chase and the younger hens, and the largest bird in the flock.
• He has feathered legs and feet.  This is always a topic of discussion when someone new meets the flock.
• He is near the bottom of the pecking order.  

And this is the surprise.  As a rooster and the largest chicken, you would think he'd be asserting himself to all the ladies and keeping Chase in his place.  But that is not the case with this big chicken.  Gracie, the golden-laced Easter Egger hen, runs James around the run.  She will come from across the run to "attack" him for no apparent reason.  It seems as if she's reminding him that she is above him in the flock pecking order.  It's rather comical, really, to watch this big rooster get chased around by all the other chickens.

I like to say he is the definition of a chicken.  He's the first to run away from any perceived danger, although he will come back to explore if others are doing the same.  But I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't hold up to the defensive job of a typical rooster.

Chase is the opposite of James.

Chase:

•  He's younger than James by about a month, which is huge in the chicken world.  It's also the reason he's half James's size.
• He is cock of the walk.  The dominant rooster, although the girls do put him in his place when he gets too forward.
• He's already started trying to mate with some of the girls.

That's right.  My baby rooster, one of the 3 youngest chickens in the flock, is already asserting himself as the man.  Of course, who could blame him?  When you have gorgeous black feathers that shone iridescent green in the right lighting, and you are developing a stunning upright tail and vibrant red crest and waddle. . . What girl could say no to that, right?  (Not that chickens care much.)

He runs from me most of the time.  That's how he got his name:  always the last to be caught and had to be chased for a while before he was.  But, if he perceives a threat to the flock, he stands up to it.  He runs at my dog when she comes close to the run.  And yes, she's afraid of him.

So, even though they won't need it when all is said and done, I know my girls, and big chicken James, will have the protection of a good rooster.

Since these photos were taken about a week ago, Chase has grown.  His tail, crest and waddle are bigger, and he really holds himself up like king of the mountain.

Rocky photobomb!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

I'm sorry I've been lacking in my posting these past few days.  It's been crazy around here.

Friday was my Little Man's first day of Kindergarten!






















Then Monday was his 5th birthday!

My husband commandeered my computer all weekend to listen to an NHRA race.  We had two other birthday parties, and, while I should have used Tuesday to write today's post, I was busy tying up loose ends involving doctors and schools and mommy lunch dates.  So I apologize.  But Friday will be Feathered again.