Goldie, the Watch-Duck

Goldie, previously referred to as an exotic woman, has found her role on the HomePlace. She's the assistant to Bear Dog. He barks at the meter reader; she quacks raucously at the meter reader. A car pulls up, Bear barks, and Goldie joins in. Obviously we needed a watch-duck for the farm.


She's louder than the dog, and more persistant. She just needs Bear to get her started. She goes on and on and on. Do ducks get laryngitis? Apparently not. I like the warnings, and don't want to hurt her feelings by yelling, but we need to figure out how to stop her after five minutes or so.


The racket is upsetting the chickens she rooms with. They're already angry about her swims in their water dish, and  this noise has affected their laying. The chickens that came with Goldie have picked up the slack, but the Cornish Gals need to get with it. I'm hoping they'll get used to the new regime soon. Goldie has started laying and I'll put up with a lot of quacking for yummy duck eggs!


She takes such joy in quacking and she's quite good at it. Anyone have any ideas?

Voted!

 Went to the "County Seat", Marlin TX, found a place to park at a very busy courthouse, and entered the basement where the voting booths are set.
I wanted a paper ballot, as I don't like dealing with the computer. The paper ballot makes it feel more real to me somehow. Did my duty as a citizen, and filled in those boxes. Fed it into the computer that logs the votes. Can't seem to get away from computers, can we? The computer ratcheted, rattled and gave me the OK that my vote was logged.

Picked up my sticker on the way out, and wore it proudly for the rest of the day. I don't care who you vote for -- just get out and VOTE!

32# of Meat ; This IS a Farm, You Know!

Down twelve rabbits, who are now frolicking in an afterlife meadow. Thank you, rabbits, for your sacrifice. As Juniper McKenzie would say, " We take in need, not in wantoness."

Half to go in our freezer soon, and the other half  went with Hangman, who is one of the quickest processors I've ever worked with. Whew! A good days work. Thanks!

Feed bill will go down, and room is made for the next generation of rabbits -- larger, and some new bloodlines. Good things for the winter season, and the following spring.

Transplanted turnip greens and kale this morning, tough winter greens for the critters. Delights for their tastebuds and ensuring those egg yolks stay deeply colored. Now greens will stretch  farther, too. Humans will also enjoy the kale. I can't get next to turnip greens for some reason. Probably don't know how to cook them.

Tomorrow I'll transplant more broccoli, kale, onions, and parsley. The winter garden is picking up! Astounding number of green tomatoes on the vines; hope they'll ripen soon!

The seasons turn and we enter cooler weather after summer's blistering heat. I am meant for cool weather, just like the rabbits we raise.

Letter to Politicians at Halloween

Dear political candidates,

Your costumes above are appropriate, reflecting your  actions in Washington.  Holiday appropriate garb, but let's get serious! No tricks, no treats, folks. 

This is not a partisan comment; both major parties are treating this campaign as a joke. Lies, half truths, arguments, and my particular favorite : voting both sides of an issue.

Can't be done you say? Let me explain. The first vote on an issue you vote" for", the second vote you can vote "against. The third time? Your choice! You can claim to have voted the way best determined when the time comes.

Don't worry though, the country is watching, and I'll be out there on the second voting after doing my research.

 Oh, and don't tell me the Health Care Bill was too long to read. Take the time, people. That's akin to signing a contract you never read. Stupid, in a word. Quit sneaking in secret ammendments and attachments unrelated to bills before congress.

OOhh! OOhh! I have an idea! Let's repeal some legislation on the books and become sensible, fiscally responsible people. Whatta ya think?

Love my Constitution, Love my country! Get out and vote! Early voting begins today. Vote the clowns out of Congress

Green Tomato Jam Disaster

Confident green tomato jam would be as good as green tomato pie, I decided to use up some of those tomatoes hanging around stunned into non-ripening by the heat. I picked what I could find and hauled them to the house in an ice cream bucket. Tomatoes rinsed and draining in a collander, I set off on an internet search for a recipe.

Green tomato jam with cinnamon? No, I don't think so.
Green tomato jam with allspice? Nuh-uh.
Green tomato jam with citrus?  Maybe, but not orange.

Searching, searching, searching...

Green tomato jam with lemon... Maybe? I don't have enough tomatoes for this one, and where's the pectin in this recipe? How will it thicken?

I know! I'll make up my own recipe! Please note the directions with the pectin powder specify to use the exact amount of sugar to cause the jam to jell. Seven Cups?

I must follow the directions, I must follow.... Gads! This stuff tastes like 100% sugar! Maybe if I add more lemon juice? I trickled in  1/4 cup, stirred and tasted. Marginally better. More lemon? I poured in another 1/2 cup of lemon juice and tasted. Much better, but still too sticky sweet. One whole cup????? Glup! I dumped in a full cup of lemon this time. Ahhhhh, perfection! Tangy, fruity and delightful!

I packed and processed the batch according to package directions with the help of my hubby. We removed the jars to cool overnight. Such beautiful emerald beauty gleaming in gem-like jars, standing on the towel.

The next morning I lifted one of those stained glass beauties and tipped it. Did it remain in place, even across the jar, fully jelled?

Did I follow the recipe?

Eight half-pints of green tomato syrup leered at me from the towel. Looks like I'll have to get more tomatoes and remake the whole batch. The directions say to do a sample test  before redoing the entire batch.

"Begin with with one cup unjelled jam...." 

"Hmmmm...?"

Exotic Woman joins HomePlace

An exotic woman lives here in a cage. The Russian Orloff roosters told me so.

"She speaks a foreign tongue! Her feathers are golden and smooth. She has no comb, and her feet wear water waders. No wattles, no clucking; we've never seen the like. But female and quite attractive.!

"There's no roosters in there, we looked. We can handle her and all her friends, too!"

Fat chance boys!  She's a duck, and you're staying where you are. I'll get a replacement picture ASAP. This'll do for now.