Gardening with the Girls Tuesday, May 27, 2008
This weekend we had the most spectacular thunder and lightening storm I believe in Portland history! SO FUN! i sat on my friend James front porch and ohh’d and ahh’d more then i do at at fireworks show. It was best! Needless to say I didnt get a lot of gardening done on saturday or sunday. But i did get to go to Bend for a Michael Franti show and buy a new hat to protect my brain from the freezing cold! It’s May right?
Monday rolled around and i decided enough was enough. I had to get out there and do something! the weeds and leftover chicken coop supplies were taking over.
The pots of veggies i have on my patio are looking really great and the watercress is coming right along in my fountain. 
So i went out to the garden and decided it was time to tackle the weeds and it wouldnt hurt the get a little help from the ladies. 
They were beside themselves with excitement. they raced from the Blueberries to the weeds
to the kale back to the weeds, 
more weeds..well you get the idea. they were so pleased with themselves.
I left the coop door open so they could go back in if they needed water or felt unsafe.
Mr Big snuck into the garden and was completely traumatized when he saw the empty coop. His little curly-cue tail was all a droop.
I then rerouted him to the veggie patch and you could see his body heave a sigh of relief.
When the girls would take themselves out of bounds on a little walk-about, i would pat their bums with a bamboo stick and they would squawk and race away, mostly in the right direction. So far they havent charged into Kudra’s paws or Tim’s mouth. I learned that if i whistle for them while heading back to the coop and rustle the feed bag, they race over to me in a flurry of excitement. pretty easy ladies!
Gardening just got more fun if that is even possible. speaking of bums…
I may have to start a blog and have a chicken-bum-of-the-day picture
Mothers Day and More Chicken Bits, Of Course Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Mother’s Day is always a challenge for me. Ironically I cant count on fingers and toes the number of them i missed while my own mother was alive but now that she isnt around, of course i recognize each year. I just learned that Mother’s Day celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. It was created by a woman who wanted to recognize the amazing amount of work her mother put forth and offer her a day of rest. Ironically when Hallmark and FTD took it over as a money maker, she refused to celebrate or even acknowledge its existence. She had the right idea. The women who help raise the village, should be recognized for their incredible selflessness everyday. Plus a day to eat quiche and drink mimosas is good day to me. As lucky as I am to be surrounded by amazing mothers, grandmothers and aunties, I am also surrounded by the beautiful little critters that make up all these women. Here are 2 of my favorites 
seriously, could they be any cuter?
The weekend after Mother’s day I had Mieke stay with me. She is such a treat. She LOVES the chickens!
We had toast with jam and hot chocolate and then raced out to see the girls. I think the chickens love her too
Big Chicks and Baby Robins Too Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Harriet Sweet Harriet. 4 days old verses 5 weeks old! She might even be growing into her head
This week was quite momentous in the bird world, well my bird world at least has doubled.First I got the coop finished, my eternal gratitude to GW, and I got the girls into their new home. Secondly, my robin family had their babies! They are so little and peepy. I walked by their nest and did a double take when i heard these tiny little noises and then looked up and saw the tell-tale open mouth bald head.
and Papa (i have decided this is papa and not mama) spent all day stuffing worms into his mouth and racing up to feed hungry mouths. I was planting tomatoes and decided to turn up piles of worms for him. I dont think he missed one.
It was also over the weekend that i realized the girls were ready to scoot outside. Each time i opened the top of their pen, they raced up to the edge and sat trying to balance..sometimes not very well
And here is a little snip of the girls in their new home racing around after a worm…they LOVE their new space. Although Penelope waits for all the others to climb down the ladder and then she leaps off the edge on top of the softest most readily available pillow…generally this is Harriet. I need to get that on video.
The Coop IS OFFICIALLY THE Coop. Wednesday, May 14, 2008
At long last, we did it! we build we nailed we hammered and swore and dug and wrapped and painted and now, the girls have their own official home. I could not be more pleased with the results! I am still looking for the perfect tin sign but all in good time right?
So the girls spent their first night outside last night and i was rather nervous. I was really nervous! After i was informed that I might find them in a frozen pile of dead chick this morning, I woke up every hour to check the outside temp and forced myself not to go outside every minute. Of course they were fine and I hope they slept better then i did. This mother hen bit is exhausting!
The girls now have so much room to run around, they are totally overstimulated. They race from one end to the other and back and dig up worms and peck at invisible things. Unexhausted curiousity. Lets hope the old adage about cats and curiousity doesnt leech over to the fowl division. Speaking of which, I have 2 cats who have been, up to this point, incredibly disciplined and well behaved about the chickies…until now. Now they feel, the girls are outside, game on. They sit outside the coop for hours and stare at the girls. The girls dont seem to be worried, or they are so overstimulated as i mentioned above, that they are in a sort of trance. TIme will tell.
Mr Big still wants to be a chick. i brought him in the coop to hang out with the girls and they pecked at his toes…he didnt like that much but he was so excited to be close to them, he didnt move.
Let the Sun Shine In! Wednesday, May 7, 2008
I have lived in the green bean for 4.5 years now and i have loved pretty much everything about my little house except for one thing, my bedroom. I am a slut for sunlight and i need windows and sunlight and perhaps a pretty view. My bedroom was cozy, basically becuase it had one window that faced out to a covered patio…it made me feel like i lived in a trailer and was looking out at my trailer awning. I hated it. I even moved my bed so i didnt have to look up at the awning when i woke up. It was cozy because i kept my curtains drawn.
That being said, I decided to do something about it instead of yabber about it another year. I had a huge hole punched out of my wall and had a lovely window installed. It looks right out to the garden! This is how i discovered that i had a Robin living outside my window, MY NEW WINDOW.
Now my room looks so much bigger and when the sun is streaming in and the breeze is blowing my curtains about, i feel like i am in a Jane Austin book., complete with cozy kitty.
The Coop is a Coop Part IV Tuesday, May 6, 2008
part 3? part 4? it is all a blur at the moment but the bottom line is this: the coop is a coop and closer then ever before to becoming home for my 4 little girls…trouble making fussy girls! This view is what people will see when they come into the garden. See the new door is in and the wire is being added to the walls. It just looks like it has always been there! and when we clean up all our scrap, it will be quite lovely i think. What color to paint the door? hmmmmm
here are some pictures of the progress.
This will be the hinged door to the loft for egg collection. The 2×4 sticking out of the top will hold their watering container and i need to find some sort of mast-head for the end…any ideas?
GW is cutting out the door so the girls can come in and out of their house. We are going to built them a nice big deck for lounging and eating and a ladder to the ground for bug and weed eating and general strutting about the yard. The girls will want to keep their figures between egg laying sessions as you should know.
Voila! Door! I still need to shingle the lower part of the coop and find a nice plaque for their entry way. Such lucky girls! sheesh!
And of course no chicken page is good without some girl updates! Have i mentioned that they are getting rather large? well they are!
HERE ARE THE LADIES! They are 1 month old today Happy Birthday
I think Harriet might have entered her awkward phase but i know she will grow into a gorgeous hen. Jenni thinks so too.
This is Gladys, she is the bravest and the smallest. This was taken right before she leaped out of the pen and landed on the cold hard floor…she was not pleased.
Penelope, Jenni and Harriet trying to figure out where the heck Gladys is hiding (hint she is wedged between the wall and the back of the pen girls)
She’s Back! Penelope, Jenni and Gladys…Gladys is plotting her next escape. You can see it in her eye
Four Little Birds Beside My Door Step Singing Sweet Songs of Melodies Pure and True (they like Bob too)
((note Harriet’s festive party-in-back hairstyle))
Shhhhhh, Harriet is trying to nap. This is how the girls sleep each night now, up on their roost.
Show us your gorgeous feathers my dear. She has green feet! I am a little bit jealous!
MAY HAS ARRIVED! Tuesday, May 6, 2008
so i feel like it is officially Spring for some reason. With all the May Day nonsense that people seem to get their panties in a bunch about i like to remember how I spent May Day as a child. Do you remember May Poles and picking the neighbor’s flowers and leaving them on your front porch for you mom to find? According to the Farmer’s Almanac the first day of May is also the first day of summer on the Celtic Calendar..now i see that as much more productive then driving slow on the freeway or rioting in the streets. Lets celebrate May!
First of all i caught my wild cat who had been coming in through the cat door and spraying my house with his lovely perfume. Then after dropping him off to an unknown fate with Animal services, i cried about it for 2 hours, took a nap, ate ice cream and prepared for what ended up being a Cooking Club of 2 this month. i was slightly disappointed but after i busted out my pasta maker and made fresh ricotta and stuffed some home-made egg pasta into silly little mushroom tortellinis, i felt much more spring-like. Plus, my friend Jenna came and made it all the better with an INCREDIBLE wild mushroom and asparagus bread pudding with Leek Cream Sauce. we polished off a bottle of wine and had a lovely chat about all the cute boys we adored in high-school. sigh…
After finishing saturday night off so well, Sunday was just that much better and it also included left overs
I worked in the garden planting zucchini, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, arugula and flowers.
Janet (my robin, has a sweetie who brings her fat juicy worms and treats while she keeps their eggs warm. I was sitting in the sunshine while he hopped around the yard collecting bits for her. It was really very sweet to watch. I talk to her each time i walk by in the hope that she will trust me enough when her babies are born to see them, maybe.
the BEST scones! Monday, May 5, 2008
i decided to make scones for my unit on friday. If you are like me, most scones are just glorified biscuits with nothing special about them. I have these specific Orange currant scones that i seriously would sell a first born for and have never found another to replace it…until now
i knew what i wanted, flakey, dense, rich, melt in your mouth buttery goodness. These little critters are packed with so much cream and butter you cant go wrong and then i took the left over cream and added a little powdered sugar and grand marnier to it and DAMN! i do not like icing in general but i ate this stuff by the spoonful. I felt i needed to share so here you are
2 Cups of Flour
1/2 Cup of Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
stick of butter
1 Cup of whipping cream
big handful of Currants
1 Tablespoon of orange zest
powdered sugar
vanilla or hooch of choice
425 degree oven.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into tiny pieces and add to the mixture.
Using your hands, break up the butter into even smaller pieces while tossing with the flour until the largest pieces are no bigger than a pea.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour the cream into the well.
Using your hands, mix by hand until the dry ingredients are all moistened.
Gather into a ball and place on a lightly floured board.
Knead 10 times, pushing the dough with the heel of your hand and folding over until the dough is smooth.
the less kneading you do, the lighter the dogh will be
Pat the ball into a 9-inch circle about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
Cut into 12 wedges like a pizza
Put the triangles on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Brush the top with a little cream and sprinkle with sugar
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and still slightly moist in the center
let cool for 5 minutes while you combine just enough cream and powdered sugar and vanilla (or hooch) to make a thick icing. Drizzle your scones with icing and PLEASE eat them warm. you wont regret eating at least 2 of them right off the cookie sheet.
