THANK YOU.

Taken from my mom's blog:

The photo below is of my grampa, her father.

Freedom Is Not Free
By Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free

From ME:
Even with the freedoms and beliefs that I hold dear often threatened, and with all that is wrong with this country... I know that the price that has been paid for me to be free to voice my opposition, the price for me to take a stand when I see the need, the price that has been paid. It's value is one I find hard to say anything other than THANK YOU. This land we love may be imperfect, but the people who have fought to keep my freedoms available to me, the families who have given their loved ones whether I would say thank you or not, the men and women who wonder if they will ever come home again. No matter what their reason, or whether it is right or wrong that they are serving... They SERVE. When the government tells them they are needed, whether or not they agree, THEY SERVE. I have seen the scars that some of my friends and loved ones have returned with. I have witnessed the effects of scars that can't be seen with the eye. The price is high. You don't have to have lost your life to have paid dearly for this country and it's people. There are missed births. Missed childhood milestones. Broken marriages. Broken souls. The least I can do is say THANK YOU. Because the sacrifices they have given for nothing in return from me... they deserve my thanks. So THANK YOU. Thank you children. Thank you wives. Thank you mothers. Thank you fathers. Thank you brothers and sisters. I am forever grateful.

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Itchy McItcherton

Macs has recovered from his hives, which, it turns out, were actually symptoms of something that could have been much more serious. Something called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Luckily, a friend on Facebook thought she should message me and ask if I thought any of his symptoms matched this. He had about three things that matched, and I took him to the Dr to have them check him. Thankfuly, he seems to have only been in the beginning stages of the syndrome, and we were able to help him get through it without anything getting worse. He's not so itchy anymore, and I've had to retire his nick name, Itchy McItcherton. I've also had the pleasure of TWO nights of uninterrupted SLEEP!! Too bad he's so cute. It's really hard to stay very mad at him... even when you ARE sleep deprived.

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Sprouting 101

As I mentioned the other day, I've started to SPROUT! Sprouting lids can be hard to find, and I discovered that I don't like trying to get sprouts out of a jar that's smaller at the opening. Kits for sprouting trays can be expensive, and so I started thinking about how to solve my problem. My solution ended up being REALLY cheap!!
Ziplock Twist 'n Lock Lid containers. I use the small (which are shown in these pictures) and the Medium Sized.

The folks on THE FARM have a really great sprouting how to explained HERE.
To make my lids drain, all I did was drill small holes into the rim using my hand drill!

They sit in a shady corner of the kitchen counter until they are done, and then I just flip over the container and store them in the fridge! The containers are less than $3 at walmart right now, for sets of 2 medium or 4 smalls!! VERY cheap! I use the small containers for my Radish and Mustard seeds, and the medium size for mung beans.

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Worm Bin Progress

When you have a worm bin, things are pretty quiet.
Worms don't have ruckus parties while you're away.
They don't make a lot of noise when they do it.
They don't smell.
They keep to themselves.
All you have to do is keep them warm, and feed them.
Every year, I do a maintenance clean and make sure that there is paper at the bottoms of the bins, and check to make sure all looks well within the bins.
This year, when I was performing my yearly cleaning maintenance, I saw the FIRST signs that not only are my worms doing WELL... They are doing GREAT!
Here's a few signs that the bin is flourishing:
I found EGG SACKS!!

There are tons of teeny new worms all over in the bin now!! My finger is in the photos to show size comparison.

Here's some of the "big kids" in the bin...

I'm hoping by next year, that I'll have my second tray filled. Then I'll be working on filing the third layer, and once it's full, I should be able to harvest the first tray without losing worms!!
I know.
It's really exciting for you too.
Try to contain yourselves. lol

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Digital Housekeeping

I did some digital house keeping today... cleaned up the old blog a bit!! lol
Blogger in Draft now has templates that are VERY easy to change, and include a THREE COLUMN TEMPLATE!! YAY!! No more hacking! I like the new look. Less cluttered I think. I really like the arrangement of the sidebars.

I took a bunch of old blogs I had linked here for niceness off... sorry peeps. If you aren't someone I REALLY visit, or you didn't have a link to my blog, I took ya off. lol
A while ago, I added the widget in the sidebar that searches the web for sites that link to my blog, and lists them automatically, so I don't have to worry about missing a link I didn't know about! Very cool. You can get the widget for your own blog on Referer.org.

I also cleaned up my drop down menus... That's where I keep my lists and lists of cool linkage! Those things have been handy since day one! If you're interested in making your own, just visit the WIDGETS FOR FREE. Because the new template's sidebars are 150 wide, I changed the 160 in the tutorial to 140.

I'm hoping to add some of my new favorite blogs soon... it's been a chore today... but I've been wanting to clean things up for a while now.

Hives. And not the ones with Bees in them.

This is the face of a little boy being made miserable by his own skin.

How can you NOT want to snuggle him and make him feel better!?
Here's to a day filled with itch lotions, bath soaks, and medicine.
Oh.
and SNUGGLES.

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Feather Brains

I realized today, while chatting with a friend of mine on facebook and twitter...
That somewhere along my journey as a chook farmer, I have become a Chicken NERD.
I guess I don't really care.
I like my chickens.
They like me.
I like maintaining them.
I like seeing them flourish.
I like new eggs.
EVERY.
TIME.
It never gets old.
I'm getting ready for the new set of pullets I'm going to be getting in June, and in doing so, I've refurbished the used tractor I found on line at the beginning of spring.
I bought the tractor for $40.00 and spent another $50.00 on 1/2 inch hardware cloth to replace the chicken wire sides. (chicken wire is not good defense against Raccoons, who will reach through the wire and try -and succeed- to pull chickens through.)
For those of you who aren't chicken nerds, you can stop reading any time. I promise you won't hurt my feelings. :)
I used one of the walls of chicken wire to place on the bottom of the tractor. Most tractors don't have wire bottoms, but I prefer them because the chickens can still forage and eat the grass, but they are also safe from digging predators should any try to find a way in by way of the ground.
Here's the new/old set up. Nothing fancy, but it will be a great stay over and holding place now, and in the future if I should have any chickens that need separation from the flock.

Inside, I took the laundry basket that the other chickens have used as a nesting box, and placed it across the already existing perch. I zip tied it to the wire so it won't tip, but it was already pretty wedged in. The laying hens stopped using the basket when we moved them to their big house, and I have plans for other nesting situations there. This will work perfect for this tractor.

Underneath the nest, I will put food and water, and as you can see, there is a pretty good amount of space for them to forage. The total floorspace is about 4X10. Grown birds need about 10 square feet of space MINIMUM, so I have room for 4 hens. A little more for pullets, so the 7 girls I hope to come home with in June will have good room to grow until they can come out with the rest of the flock. This situation would be good for hens I planned to keep in the tractor for their lifetime, but since I plan to move this lot to free range and the large hen house within a few month, and before they're totally grown, it's a good set up.

Here's a shot of the upper and lower area, and the nesting box. I cut the back of the nesting box so that we could check for and gather eggs easily.

I can't wait to go get my new girls now!! Mike has been sending my pictures as the pullets are growing, and I have two picked out from the photos so far!! All mutts so far. We're trading photography for chickens! When I'm all done this year, I hope to have 14 hens and a rooster. :)
More later, on how I will be combining the whole flock once the new girls are here!
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X2 Tuesday

I have always loved sprouts.
Before you claim that you don't, let me remind you of some food that most EVERYONE agrees is great. Stir Fry. Chop Suey. Chow Mein.
You know the sprout.
They are big.
They are crunchy.
They are MUNG.
Sprouting is really super easy.
My top three sprouting faves right now are
Mung
Radish
and now,
MUSTARD.
I just recently read that nutritionally, sprouts are one of the best foods around.
They are rich in enzymes which aid in digestion of fats and carbs. Some studies suggest even up to 100 times more than normal fruits and vegetables. They are rich in vitamin C and other vitamins as well. So we've been sprouting.
The kids and I love to just munch the mung sprouts.
I also made radish sprouts, and LOVE them!! They are a PERFECT addition to a salad. MUCH tastier than a grown radish. One sprout I decided to try was Mustard. I love mustard, and so why not see what the seed sprouts taste like, right? After I tasted them, I decided that they taste MUCH like a hot mustard. Like a Dijon mustard has a kick? That's what they taste like. Then I got the idea that my mustard sprouts would make a great replacement for mustard in a bottle! I decided to put them on my sandwich. I missed the chance to take a photo of the first one. It was so good, I had to make another so I could take pictures and eat it too.
PERFECT with our summer sausage. I think we'll be having some of our elk meat made into sausage this winter.

And last, because everyone keeps asking me...

The monster egg DID have a double yolk in it!! No need to adjust your screen. That's what color the yolks really are.
I think I might post something soon about how I sprout. I've got some new cheap sprouting containers I'd like to share.
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Um. OUCH.

WOW!
Things are crazy around here... I feel like we've been in constant motion for WEEKS now... It would be nice if things would slow down.
Field trips.
Chicken Pens.
RAIN.
Gardens.
RAIN.
Visitors.
RAIN.
I haven't had a chance to use my solar dryer.
That, :::eh hem::: is because of the
RAIN.
My calendar isn't on the wrong month is it?
It IS nearly JUNE, right?
But I have a garden now!!
I've planted:
sugar snap peas
beets
carrots
Stevia
cilantro
Italian parsley
basil
pumpkin
tomato in two varieties
squash
zucchini
broccoli
radish
beans
lemon cukes
pickling cukes
onions
shallots
jalapenos
bell peppers
And I still have some more beans to plant.
Figured out how to keep the chickens out... it's not pretty, but they're out. lol So are the deer.
Speaking of chickens.
I went to collect eggs the other day, and there was a
HUGE.
MONSTROUS.
FREAK OF NATURE
BEAST
UNNATURAL
SEISMIC
GIGANTIC
egg.

All I can say is OUCH.
I mean seriously?
The thing is HUGE.
The egg in my fingertips is the size the eggs usually are.

Stinking lid on the egg carton won't even CLOSE, dude. That HAD to hurt.
So does this laying of a mutant egg mean that my hen has super powers now?
Here's hoping I have my first double (any bets on TRIPLE?) yolker.
Oh!
AND...
I'm still not done unpacking.
Also, I'm looking forward to SUMMER.
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Well, THAT'S a load of BALLS.

Life.
It's been happening.
You know those days when it's all you can do to just keep up with all the BALLS that life keeps throwing at you?
I feel like that.

It feels like forever ago, but it was only last week that Ian finally got in touch with his biological father.
Something you sort of forget about when a parent is out of the picture is that when you DO find them, they have families!! Suddenly, Ian has cousins and aunts and uncles coming out of the wood work!! lol
Probably one of the most exciting is that he has a SISTER!! (he has a step sister and a 2 yr old little brother too, but they live on the east coast, so no visits any time soon...)
He got to meet her last weekend.
It's been so cool to see him look at someone else and see himself SO VIVIDLY. Both Ian and his sister look so much like their biological dad.
We're having her here for the weekend... and I plan to get photos tomorrow in an actual photo SHOOT... but I caught this today on the trampoline...

And today, I decided that Travis didn't need to be the one to instal my
SOLAR DRYER!!
I did it myself!!

Turns out I can dig holes, mix AND pour cement and level just fine!!
The kids, as you can see... have already started using it. :)
Lots more going on...
Keep us in your prayers!!
I was also asked to be a Guest Designer for TallyScrapper.com!! The kit is for sale HERE! It's SO good!! I knew it would be. Nikki designed it, and I love her style. I was pretty excited to be asked to work with her kit!
Gutter Girlz prompt AND A Year in the Life of an Art Journal prompt
SNEAK PEEK!!

I got Susan's prompt done! The first one that wasn't MY prompt that I've been able to get done all year!!

A card for any occasion...

What kind of balls are coming YOUR way?
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Happy Mother's Day

It's been a crazy past few weeks here... but I just want to say...

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Farmers, and Local, and Markets! OH MY!

I spent the night at mom's because she and I planned to go to the Farmer's Market and the Master Gardener's Exhibit today. Recently, she watched Food Inc. and she and I have been looking at vegetarian cooking and local meat sources. We're looking to Make CHANGES.

I guess it sounds funny to say vegetarian and meat sources all in one sentance. lol So maybe I should elaborate. I'm a meat eater. My family are meat eaters. I don't have a problem eating meat. Even before, but especially after watching Food Inc, I do have a problem with industrially produced meats. Part of my plan is to purchase grass fed, locally grown beef. I will be eating eggs from my chickens. I will be eating chickens I've raised myself. Next year, we'll also be raising pigs for meat. I'm considering the benefits of goats as well. Travis also hunts, and so we usually have a good supply of Elk meat in our freezer. When I can't find meats that meet my needs as a consumer, I'll be fixing vegetarian dishes, balanced with vegetable proteins. So even though I don't plan on becoming totally vegetarian, I do plan to integrate some ideas into our meal planing.
So returning to our visit to the Farmer's Market. Mom and I have decided that one of the ways we will be taking action after seeing Food Inc, is to become Locavores.
Am I the only one who finds it amazingly funny that Locavore has LOCA in it? Because SERIOUSLY, people. There are moments when this huge shift in my consumption thinking has made me feel a little craaaaazzzyyyyy!! lol
I digress. At the Farmer's Market, we were looking to find some local produce and I was looking for plant starts for my garden.
We found all that.
BUT
... if you live in the Roseburg area, pay attention HERE!!
We also found a LOCAL farm that sells fyer, game and roaster chickens!! Also sells Turkey! All pasture raised. Hormone, antibiotic, and chemical free. They take orders over the phone and then deliver at Kruze Farms!! Next Kruse Farm delivery date: May 21st. Call ahead to ensure your order, or... take your chances on the 21st. ( I hear they run out fast.) They have Turkey and Chicken eggs for sale as well! Mom bought Turkey eggs today! I wish I were there to taste them... Chicken Fryer price was $2.50 per lb. Roaster (older chickens that need to be cooked longer for tender meat) is $6.00 flat.

Beth and Kerry Olson at B&K Natural Farms

Best trip to the Farmer's market EVER!! It's grown SO MUCH!! I got just about all the starts I need for the garden this year between the FM and the Master Gardener's Exhibit today!! If you've thought you didn't have local HEALTHY and Humane meat to purchase in your area, and you would like to FIND some, CHECK THE FARMER'S MARKET!! I had no idea about this guy until today.
If you want B&K Natural Farm's contact phone number, please email me! I'd love to pass it on to you, but I don't want the web bots to get it if I post it here. :)
So.
Have you WATCHED FOOD INC. yet!?
What are you changing?
What do you think will be hardest to change?
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A year of FIRSTS

It's been a GREAT weekend!! Yesterday, I went with my MOM to The Wren's Nest for a Meet and Greet the last two hours of my show!! It was a BLAST, and I got to meet some amazing people, and sign the magazine the circus freaks are in for their new OWNER!! All in all, I sold The Circus Freaks, The Queen of Hearts, Alice and the Cheshire Cat, Marie Antoinette, Earl Gray Alice and I left Pheobe and the Wren at the shop!! Some of my dolls will now be available through Wren in her shop now! I may also be making some custom orders in the future!
This is Jeremy. He owns a shop in Florence, and bought my Cirque De Phenomene set. :)

It was so cool to hear about how he had bought ADQ (which he only buys on occasion...) and when he was looking through, he had noticed my set. Like a lot of people, he thought the were smaller than they are... lol
Then a few days later, he stopped in to visit Wren at her shop, and was surprised to see the very dolls in ADQ that he had been admiring!! :) SO COOL. Kismet. Totally.
After the meet and greet, mom and I went to Reedsport to have dinner. It was SO GOOD... and we shared desert.

It was yummy too. I don't wanna know what kind of FAT was in it... lol
So far...
This year has been an AMAZING year of firsts. AMAZING. On top of everything else, just today, I added ADQ summer 2010 to my publications links in my sidebar!! :) Hee!!
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