Counter Clutter & Creation

I was pondering my next post...and in preparation for my 'creation' part of it, had a chuckle over how my homesteading life tends to infiltrate my house:

We have water bottles (the type

typically used for rabbit cages), fresh eggs, milled flour, flour container, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, bag of potatoes, a tomato and even a bag of popcorn!

Then on this counter we have:

In preparation for making Orange Marmalade ~ oh yum!

Gleaning - we were blessed to have someone donate oranges.

Start with 8 oranges and 3 lemons:

Wash the oranges and lemons (these were natural, no pesticides or other yucky chemicals).

I put my lemons in warm water to help make them juicier.

Next, I stared cutting oranges. I cut these into 8ths.

Each wedge, I made a slight 'V' to cut out the white pulpy part. Then cut into chunks.

Next, into the food processor. The first set of oranges I processed needed to go a tad longer. This was my first time making marmalade and I was on the learning curve.

Definitely want the peels chopped up well!

I picked up this gadget from a thrift store (hey, for 50 cents you can't beat it) but have decided I really DO NOT like it. It has a blade you can add and supposedly works well for grapefruit. I'm not impressed. It did help get the juice out of the lemons.

The recipe did not state why I needed to add lemon, my thought was to prevent browning. If that is the case, next time I will just dissolve a vitamin c tablet in there and be done with it. I have done that in the past with other recipes and it works extremely well.

In the crockpot above, cooking down the marmalade. I made the mistake of adding 2 cups of dry honey, then 4 cups of orange juice, I was supposed to add the juice, oranges, lemon juice cook for a while and then add the sweetener. I like using honey as it sweetens well, without a heavy taste and is more natural. I do not use white processed sugar in anything I cook.

Water boiling...the recipe I used said to keep the marmalade in the fridge for up to 2 months. Another recipe I consulted said to water can for 10 minutes. I opted for the water canning. I see no reason to take up space in the fridge for something that does not need to be in there. :-D

Water at a rapid boil, marmalade hot and into the jars it goes. Wipe down the lips of the jars, put the lids and rings on them and then into the pot.

I boiled these for 15 minutes, just to ensure that the water had gotten back up to a roiling boil.

Jar grabber - a friend bought this for me - WONDERFUL gift. Prior to this I was using a set of metal tongs...not a good idea. They did not grab the jars well at all.

Out of the canner, sitting undisturbed on the counter for up to 24 hours.

Listening for: bing, bing, bing, bing and ta dah, the last bing as the lids pop, letting me know that my seal is good.

The people that gave me the oranges received 2 jars - now that I have tried out the recipe and feel comfortable I will try to get a larger batch of oranges and do this again. Here is the recipe if you'd like to try making your own marmalade.

Tongue Tied Chicken

Being raised in the city, one does not usually come in contact with farm critters. Unless, of course, one has family or friends who are willing to 'train' a greenhorn. :-D

Chickens are an easy start to homesteading...though there is a LARGE amount of information we have learned in protecting and providing for our feathered friends.

One of the first lessons we learned: chickens like to take dust baths, me, I prefer bubble, but chickens like dust baths. When they are done they lay all splayed out - in fact they look dead.

After our initiation into this 'position' we've learned to be cognizant of how chickens act, lay, etc.

Older chickens are a tad easier (though they can be naughty as well) as they have 'been there, done that' and have learned some basics.

Young chickens, like children, are clueless. Hence my title and the example...we had a baby cage (more on that in another blog) with very young hens. These were probably around 6 weeks old.

I was walking through the yard and noticed a pullet (baby chick) lying down, first thought, "ahh, she is soaking up sun and relaxing after a dust bath." Then thought, no...she is not laying on her side, but head down, like she is stuck.

What could she possibly be 'stuck' on or with? Drawing closer, it was obvious that she was definietly 'tied' down. As I got closer it was obvious she had 'caught' a string from the blue tarp we had over the pen.

My thought? Dense bird, you can't eat that, just let it go. All the while drawing closer and observing, hmmm, she acts like she is trying to get away but can't. On top of the pen (so to speak) at this juncture, the chilling realization:

OH NO! She can't get up because she has swallowed the string! Instantaneous thoughts flashing through my mind...she's swallowed that string and it is wrapped around her intestines and HOW am I supposed to get that out of her?!?!

Quick run into the house for a pair of scissors - remember always point scissors AWAY from you, especially if you are running. I know, I know, cardinal rule: DO NOT RUN WITH SCISSORS. But I did...snatch the cage up off the ground (no it is not light), snag bird (heh she couldn't run from me now could she?), snip the string and bring the bird into the house.

Now animals (as well as children) do not like to voluntarily open their mouths, especially when they have something in there that they ought not. In the house, bird locked under left arm so she can't flap around, left hand prying open the mouth (all the while blue string flapping around), ahhh, thank you Lord, the string is only wrapped around her tongue.

No wait...it's TIED! Somehow in her pecking at the string and trying to 'eat it' she managed to literally tie her tongue. (Shame I didn't get a picture, but was short on hands at this point.) Notice that the tip of the tongue has already had a loss of blood (lack of color), thoughts still flashing rapidly though mind on WHAT TO DO!

Decide that even if I **could** get the string untied, her tongue tip is probably not going to rejuvenate...plus sticking a pair of scissors (or any other sharp instrument) into a wiggling, non compliant patient's mouth is not something I really want to do. Chickens do not have very large mouths (though they can be quite vocal).

Decisions, decisions - finally, the only option at this juncture...cut the string as close to the knot as possible, perhaps it will come unloose once the pressure is off. I never did go back and check to see if the knot was still there.

She (and I) survived the minor surgery - she actually did quite well. Though she always remained somewhat smaller than the other chickens, she laid the most beautiful pink eggs.