Guess What Didn't Get Done!

Laugh Out Loud!  I didn't get half of my list done this weekend.  Not by a mile!  Not that it's all that surprising.  It was such a lovely weekend.  Saturday was mid-sixties, bright and sunny.  I spent a good part of the day rearranging some of the chickens.  Our newest buff pair got moved out from under the shed, as we needed the room.  Bojangles got a bigger pen.  Little Chicken and the black star that was with him got moved into the big pen with all the ladies.  And, of course, Mike smoked the butt roast. 

Now, to explain the butt roast.  I can't believe all you pervs and sick-o's!  See, here in the Carolina's we love our barbeque.  It ain't Texas BBQ.  They have brisket and beef ribs with red, tangy suace.  Here in eastern NC we do pork.  Pulled or chopped, on or off a bun, cole slaw, french fries, and the sweetest iced tea!  The best part of the pig to use for such (though other parts can be used is a Boston Butt.  It is a large hunk of meat that comes from the upper part of the shoulder.  I don't know why it is called a butt, but it is perfect for smoking.  We put it on the grill with oak or hickory wood chips (a few weeks ago we used apple wood).  Mike soaked the wood in water to make it burn slowly, but hot.  Our butt roast smoked for nine hours on Saturday!  Then we used a blend of secret herbs and spices mixed in a gallon of apple cider vinegar to barbecue sauce.   Mmmm...mmmm...mmmm...mmmm!  Good stuff!

Sunday, Mike helped Pat clean and partially paint a trailer he bought to haul his lawn mower and other stuff around.  That took up a good part of the day.  I was working on the double-decker pen.  Little Chicken was in the lower part of the dbl decker.

Isn't it amazing how big he's gotten!  He's the first chicken we hatched in the incubator!  He's RI Red (rooster with pea comb) and White Cornish Rock (meat hen) mixed.  He's a gorgeous bird.  He and the little black sex-link were moved in the all the other hens.  We cut out part of the floor of the dbl decker to make it into a more sturdy pigeon coop.  They need something better than what they are in, really.

It was a productive weekend.  We ended it with my nephew, Joel's birthday part at Pizza Inn.  While we were there a nasty thunderstorm blew in (because it was 72 degrees according to the weatherman).  The wind blew at over 40 miles per hour.  But it was a nice party  Happy 6th Birthday JJ!

Got more pics for later this week.  I got the camera back from Mom at the party. 

TGIF!!

I am so glad that it's Friday. Work has been insane, and I am so ready for a couple of days off. This credit crunch has left us hurting for help because we cannot hire. That means that I am having to extra work for no extra pay. We are not allowed overtime, either. My mom wanted me to come for a visit before I go to Florida, but I have so much to do at home, not to mention gettting ready to go. I spoke with her today, and she assured me that she knows I still love her even if I don't visit when she wants. We we gonna meet half way for dinner tonight, but my dad has to work. So we agreed to wait till I get back.
My brother is staying with us. He moved back from Texas a few weeks ago, and is now job hunting. Till he can get himself settled he will stay with us for a while. He just called me a few minutes ago to tell me that Bojangles, the Dominique rooster has escaped and has gone missing. I'm not home, so there's nothing can do about it. I'll have search when I get home this evening.
I got to count the bantam babies yesterday afternoon. There was 11 of them. A short while later I found one dead in their little coop. I'm not sure if Bucky killed it or not. He's a little bit of a hyped up one. Just to be on the safe side, He got put by himself for a few weeks. He is close by, so hopefully he will get used to them.

This is China. She has finally come out into the sunshine! Well, what she could find. We had some nasty thunderstorms yesterday. But the babies were all running about. I had to pick one up. They are so incredibly tiny!! And adorable. Of course one of my bantam pullets is all white, and one of Henry's friends wanted a white one. So, I guess if I get a white hen out of the three white ones, I will have to give it to him. Unless I give him my white pullet. Then I could breed one of my white ones to the cockrel (full grown rooster by then) that I now have. Whatever. I'm digressing just now.

I have so many jalapenos! Mike makes those jalapeno things with the shrimp, cream cheese, and bacon. I love those things. But I have never made jelly. (at least not on my own...I have helped others when Iwas a kid.) So I was searching for some recipes on the internet today for jalapeno jelly. I have four recipes...one for hot jelly, one for mild jelly, one for mint jalapeno jelly, and one for raspberry jalapeno jelly. If any of you have any recipes you'd like to share, please feel free to e-mail them to me. mikenran@gmail.com .

Y'all have a most wonderful weekend. I'll blog at ya later!!

A Bit on the Gang

Well, I'm not where I can start posting pics yet, but I suppose I can at least give you some wordage about the gang. Mike and I live on a small plot. It's a little over a half acre, I believe. We have a nice neighbor on one side, Henry. He's divorced with kids that stay with him part time. He's a good guy. He's always offering to lend us things like a hoe for the garden, scratch when we run out before I can get to TSC or things like that. On the other side used to be Ron and Susanne, but they, too, are divorcing. They put their house on the market and moved away. Now the home is empty and up for sale. Don't know much about the folks across the street. Mr. Wade lives across the field behind the house. He owns the field. This Spring he plowed a few rows for Henry and us to plant. I have squash, canteloupes, watermelons, okra, tomatoes, beans, radishes, eggplants, corn and cucumbers growing. Sometimes I let the hens out and have to watch them. They try to get in the garden to scratch.

We have two dogs, Max and Minnie. Max is a Toy Poodle. He's smart and loyal. He's a good dog and very "motherly". Minnie is a Rat Terrier mix. She's over weight. She loves to eat and eats almost anything. I try to keep her on a diet, but she sneaks in bites of cat food and everything. We have two cats, Elvis and Priscilla. Elvis is about 6 years old and all black. He spends a lot of time outside. He's fixed and has no front claws because he was supposed to be an indoor cat. But he wouldn't let that happen. Prissy is a gray tabby. She had kittens in April, but there was no way we could keep them in our little place. I tried to find homes for them, but no one would take them. They went to the pound. I hope they were adopted out, but I'm not going to ask. Prissy stays inside a lot and is still young. She's not even a year old. She was way too young to have babies, anyway. We have a Quaker parrot. Her name is Becky. We got her as payment for a debt. She used to be so mean to me. She tried to bite me every time I walked by. She's changed lately, though. I can't pick her up, but she lets me change her food and water and pet her head. We also have a couple of fish tanks. One has a bunch of Fire Belly Mickey Mouse Platys in it. The other has two African Cichlids, two Opaline Gouramis, and an African Brown Knife.

Then there's the chickens. We have four roosters. Perogi is the first rooster we got. He's a Rhode Island Red. He is so mean. He will spur you in a New York minute. He even tries to spur or bite me through the fence when I feed him. He's by himself at the moment. Bojangles is our Dominique rooster. He's very young. He's in a round with a buff hen, but he's not messing with her. Bucky is our Bantam rooster. He's pretty fiesty, too. Mr. Wade brought us a bantam hen for him. Hopefully she will start sitting soon. She had nine eggs this morning. Henry's bantam started sitting at 13 eggs. Then we have Col. Sanders. I don't know what he is. I don't even know if it's a he or a she. I thought she layed an egg once, but someone suggested it was left from the white hen that had been in the round. Mr. Wade swears it's a rooster, but he don't crow. We have four Buff hens that don't have names (yet). We have 10 black Sex Link hens (also nameless) that are still a bit young for laying. And we have 13 White Leghorns that were rescued from Perdue that lay very large brown eggs. One leghorn has a gimp foot. She doesn't lay. Her name is Dana, after a high school friend also with a gimp foot (lol). We have two bantam chicks that we got from Henry, and should be getting one or two more from him. I think one is a rooster, but I would prefer if the others were hens. I have a small Red/Leghorn mix chick that we hatched in the incubator. His name is Little Chicken. He follows us everywhere and comes when we call. Yesterday her rode around on my shoulder. His sister died in an escape attempt their first night outside. And we have five bitties that just hatched this weekend.

That is our gang. Yeah, I've put a lot up here. But it's a necessary introduction. Hopefully I can start posting pics soon. Hope you like what you have read, and will stick around for a while!!