I spy...

...three Red Ranger chicks!  Can you see them? 

We bought three broilers this week. This is a different, larger bird. These guys should grow fast and plump up just as the Cornish Cross birds did. 

Matilde calls them her Power Ranger chickens. :) Again, six chickens is still legal, and we'll be back down to three in about 8-12 weeks. This is the only time of year to buy meat birds, so we'll be raising them as long as we can continue to get our hands on them! 

Meet Douglas!

This is Matilde's goat, Douglas.  He was a Christmas gift from Aunt Laurie, and Matilde loves him dearly. She desperately wants a pet goat. This Douglas and her soft plush Douglas from grandma and grandpa will have to do for now.  

Always add a pinch of love...

I've baked two loaves of bread this week, and I must be adding too much love because they have come out shaped like hearts! Andy, on the other hand, seems to think they look like butts, but I prefer to see them as hearts. ;)

Either way you choose to see them, the recipe below is the simplest recipe I've found for bread. Hands down. It's tasty, light, and does the trick. I hope you have success with it.  It takes a little bit of timing and planning because it needs to rise and rise again, but it's well worth the wait.  Bread making is a calming experience and every loaf will be unique. Send me a photo if you try it!  I want to see and show off that beautiful loaf!

Bri'Anna 

---

No Knead Bread

3 c- all purpose flour

1 1/2 t- salt

1/4 t- active dry yeast

Stir together in a bowl. 

Add 1 1/2 c luke warm water. 

Mix everything together. (I usually get my hands dirty at this point because I honestly can't work a wooden spoon properly.  I don't knead it. No way! I just make sure I've scraped all the dry ingredients off the bottom of the bowl.)

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-18 hours in a warm, dry place. 

After 12-18 hours your mixture will be stringy and should have had a nice first rise. 

Scrape it out onto floured parchment paper, and press it out with your hands into a nice 10x10 square-ish. (Mine usually end up in giant rectangles.) 

After it's pressed, fold the corners in to meet in the center. 

Turn it over. 

Set folded sides down onto the lightly floured parchment. 

Loosely wrap in the paper and cover with a tea towel. 

Let rise a second time for two hours. 

After 1 1/2 hours place your cast iron dutch oven with lid on in the oven and preheat to 500. That should take up the remaining 30 minutes. 

Remove your baking dish. 

Place your dough ball folded sides up into your dutch oven. 

Cover and bake 30 minutes. 

Below is my cast iron dutch oven. I LOVE IT!! Andy and the girls bought it for me for Christmas at Marshall's. I have to unscrew the plastic knob because it cannot withstand the high temperature, so I replace it with foil. No biggie. You use what you have and make it work for you. Adjust baking times or use a different baking dish if needed. Just remember that Pappy always said 205 degrees will yield the perfect loaf. 

Remove the lid. Lower the temp to 375 and bake an extra 15 minutes for a darker, crispier crust.  (My people like a softer loaf, so I'm done after 30 minutes. You'll find what suits your family.)

Again, good luck and happy baking! 

Bri'Anna 

From 12/17/13----UPDATE

Got Rabbit food w/ 18% protein for meat rabbits, chicken food, straw, and alfalfa.   $62

Moved Eve from the nesting suite back into her outside hutch. Had to repair the hutch before she went in.  The had chewed through several of the side slates between the cages.

Found 3 eggs.

The chickens had “aerated” the compost pile so I racked it back into a pile.

Raspberries

This tiny plant is such a nice sight considering the chickens wiped them out last spring.  Darn Donnas! 

How do you like them apples?

A very promising sight! 

A name change.

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 

These girls are eating and eating and not laying a single egg!  Strike that. One girl is earning her keep, but the others are just mooching. I don't know how much longer I can handle purchasing eggs. I bought my first carton day before yesterday and it was over $3!  Couldn't believe it. It's been about a year since I've had to peruse the egg case at the grocery store, and I did not like what I saw. These Donnas better get it together or we will be nibbling on some legs soon. 

Evan already has new birds picked out! 

On a side note, we are patiently awaiting Martha Washington's (Miss Piggy) and Lady Bird Johnson's kindles. It should be soon, very soon!  

Planter Box #6

I came home from work to find Andy working on yet another box. It is now in its permanent place out front. It sits to the right of the tree in the photo. It is a little larger than the ones we already have.  What should we plant in it?  

Size 10.5s

So aside from working in the yard, Andy has been working inside our home!  His most recent project is this handy dandy shoe rack. It looks great and fits nicely in the corner. He measured it to fit all of his shoes perfectly!  As for mine, they are still stinking it up under our bed in a giant plastic bin. 

Mummified

A while back, about a year ago, our rat problem was worse than it is today. We feel WAY better about it now. I honestly don't think it is much of a problem any more.  Well back then we would set traps every evening and check them every morning. After setting out some new traps we noticed one go missing. As Andy was working in the yard recently, he stumbled upon this gem. It was the rat that stole our trap!  He had run off with his head snapped in the trap!  

I love finding this sort of thing!  Crazy rodents!