Around the Ranch

These are the first eggs that our hens have laid. I just scrambled up 2 cracked ones for the dogs and the yolks are so golden yellow that they looked artificially colored. How sad that the anemic looking eggs from the store look “normal”.  You can see that I’m getting the blue or green Easter eggs too! Nov 30, 2011

October 2, 2011 – My husband can not enjoy an apple without sharing some with our wolfhounds. Fortunately, they sit and wait their turn.

September 29, 2011 – This are the young chicks that are one month old! They love to eat grasshoppers!

These are our older chickens that we just got. They are 7 month Rhode Island Reds. And we got 2 mixed RI Red & Ameraucana. I’m hoping those will lay the blue and green tinted “Easter Eggs” The girls are ready to start laying, but the rooster has not crowed yet.

The chicks have arrived! Of course, the day after they got here our temperature went from 99 F to 75 F! Chicks need at least 95 F, so they are now staying in a large water trough in our guest bedroom under a heat lamp. So far so good! Now before anyone says “EEEwwww”. They are still little and don’t smell. Once they get a little bigger, they’ll have a nice coop waiting for them.  I can hardly wait until I have fresh free range eggs for breakfast in about 6 months.

This was my harvest today August 27th. At least the pickling cukes and my hot peppers are thriving. I dry most of the red serranos and cayennes in my dehydrator, then grind them up into my own home grown red chilli powder. That goes into Fuzz’s No Salt Cajun Blend.

This is part of my white onion and shallot harvest. The shallots did pretty well. It was my first time growing them. I gave away about half of the onions to our neighbors. Everyone agreed that they had a great taste.

This is part of my garlic harvest. Last November I planted 4 different types. This is the Mild French. Don’t be fooled by the name; it has a nice bite.

This is our mare Hicks and her foal, Jazabell. Jaz is about 2 months old in this photo and she is a pistol. She wants to get into everything and always wants to know what’s happening.  

This is my older Irish Wolfhound, Sean. He is 6 years old and such a sweetheart. With his deep bark and 190 pounds, he is the watchdog for our place, but you’ll usually find him lounging on our queen size bed dreaming good doggie dreams.

This July I borrowed some goats from a friend. I needed the old farmhouse yard mowed down and my friend needed some standing weeds and grass for her goats. The heat and drought has been very bad out here so we were glad to help each other.  This photo and the next were taken by a very good friend of mine who was visiting from the East Coast.

This is me and Jazabel in our horse lot. Jaz is about 2 1/2 months old. She is a little sweetie!