~ Sunday Blessing ~

May Signs of Spring

Make Your Heart Sing Today !

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ The Blue/Green Egg & Herbal Roots Zine ~

Late yesterday afternoon , I went to close the chicken coop up for the night and to gather the eggs , I was very excited to see a small blue/green egg in the nest with the others. I guess the new hens are happy , wasn't expecting them to start laying until another week or so.

Don't miss your chance to win a 1 year subscription to " Herbal Roots Zine ". Click on the link in the next post and leave a comment. The March issue will be about " Garlic " , although the it's written to help kids learn about herbs , there's plenty of useful information for adults too.

Hope Everyone has a Wonderful Weekend !!

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Birthday Giveaway #8: 1 Year Subscription to Herbal Roots

Birthday Giveaway #8: 1 Year Subscription to Herbal Roots

Scenes from Yesterday ........................

~ The hens enjoying some green grass after

letting them out of the coop yesterday morning ~

Organic Water ? (LOL)



~ Mya eating frozen blackberries treats I had thawed out and forgot about , my loss / their gain. I was rewarded well for this treat though , collected 6 eggs yesterday afternoon ~

~ This is Jenny , she is one of the hens that just finished molting , her feathers look more green since her molt.

I wonder if they'll stay that color ~

~ Little Missy feeding Shadow leaves (LOL) ~

~ Just a Swinging ~

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Just for Fun !! .............

You've got to check-out this blog called " Birthday Bear "~ http://diane-birthdaybear.blogspot.com/ ~. It's so much fun to read about the " Birthday Bear " adventures. Vickie , I think you'll really enjoy this blog , since you love theme parties. You can check-out Vickie's blog " Frenchy Addict " to read about the " Theme Parties " she and her friends have , they look like alot of fun too. Click here to read about their " Glam Nite " party ~http://frenchyaddict.blogspot.com/2010/02/theme-party-glam-nite.html ~. I have one more link to share ~ , JoAnn over at " Pieceful Afternoon " wrote about the adventures of Buddy E. ( the frog ) and Grampa Bear ( a bear of course ) this past Sunday for her " Sunday Favorites " , I enjoyed reading about their adventures , hope you'll blop over here ~ http://piecefulquillting.blogspot.com/2010/02/sunday-favorites.html ~ and enjoy their adventures too. Please let me know if you enjoy these blogs/links.

~ Happy Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Homemade Vanilla Flavoring ~

Last Friday while Dh and I were out to pick-up the hens , we stopped by the liquor store to get some vodka. I use vodka for my tinctures , but my main reason for picking up vodka was to make more homemade vanilla flavoring . You may remember I made vanilla flavoring for the first time about a year and a half ago. I think it was Kathie over at Two Frog Home that posted about making your own homemade vanilla flavoring , it was the first time I had heard of making your own. Well , it's definitely worth the time and effort put into it . You can order organic vanilla beans here ~ http://www.organic-vanilla.com/servlet/StoreFront ~ . I've ordered from them a couple of times , the first time for myself and the second time for my sister-in-law. I was very pleased with the vanilla beans and the service I received. If you're a baker , you know how expensive vanilla flavoring can be. But if you buy some vanilla beans and vodka you can make your own , it's economical , no preservatives , corn syrup or added artificial colorings , the taste is heavenly and it's so easy to make. If you google making vanilla flavoring , you'll find many different techniques , you may find another technique that works for you. But this is how I made it ~ http://www.ehow.com/how_4454043_make-vanilla-extract.html ~.

I made a score/slit down the length of the vanilla bean first , you don't want to cut through the bean as shown above , just enough to let the inside of bean be exposed for extracting.

then I cut the vanilla beans into 1 inch pieces ,

put 4 or more vanilla beans in each pint jar , add 2 cups of 100 proof vodka , put lid on each jar and shake , be sure to label and add date. I also marked the calender with the date that it will be ready. In six to eight weeks , you can strain it or leave the vanilla beans in and strain as needed. I leave the beans in , because they add more flavor over time. I added a tbsp of this flavoring to the snow cream I made for Valentine's Day and it tasted like French Vanilla ice cream , umm ~ sooo good.

The weatherman is saying we might see an inch or 2 of snow tonight , so maybe we'll have snow cream one more time before " Spring ".

Hope Everyone is having a good week !

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ ~ ~ ~A Whole Lot of Crowing Going On ~ ~ ~ ~

Yesterday morning I found Ms. Arlene ( formally known as Jolene , Curious J kept calling her Arlene , so that name kinda stuck ) in the nesting box , she laid her first egg since molting.

Chief Little Roo has try to claim the new flock as his girls , he just kept standing there admiring them :0)


Afterwards , he had something to crow about (LOL).


( It was the first time I've saw him crowing )

Of course , then we had a crowing contest going on :0)

I was late going to shut the hens up last night , my Mom called as I was getting ready to go out to the chicken coop. After talking with her and my sister for awhile , I headed out to shut the coop for the night. I went to get the little hen from the holding pen outside and she was gone. I looked a long time for her , so long that Dh came out to see what was wrong. He thought I might have run into that bear (LOL) , I told him about the missing hen. There were no signs of a struggle , no feathers on the ground , no animal prints and the makeshift pen was intact , but the little hen was nowhere to be found. I checked inside the coop and everyone seemed fine , no ruckus or signs of anything happening. So we finally gave up the hunt , hopping she would be there this morning. I introduced the new flock to the roost Sunday night. I couldn't wait a week , they kept trying to fly up in the pen to get to the roosting area , so I decided I would let them out and see what happened. The older hens weren't exactly thrilled about them , but after a little pecking , the new girls ended up on top of the nesting boxes roosting with the roosters. Hopefully in time they'll all become one flock. Anyway , I went out as soon as it was light enough to see this morning and there was the little hen hanging out with the guinea. I was happy that she survived her night out , but now she's sequestered to the little pen in the coop until she gets a little older. I guess she flew out of the holding pen and the other hens wouldn't let her back in the coop , so she must have found a safe roosting place outside last night , she may have roosted in the trees with the guinea (LOL). Thankfully it all ended well.

Collected 5 eggs yesterday.

~ Homestead Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ A Sunny Weekend ~

~ Watched another Glorious Sunrise ~

~ Took Little Froggy for a Ride in the Wagon ~


~ The Hens found a New Watering Place ~

Little Froggy enjoyed the tire swing.

~ The Guinea enjoyed Sunning ~

~ Sunday afternoon I took a walk to my cousin's house to check on him , he's been having some health issues. On the way back home , I decided it was time to pick up the litter along the road , so I grabbed a few bags and got to work. It was a gorgeous afternoon , Sunday afternoon is the best time for picking up litter along this road , because it's very busy during the week. I gathered 2 bags , one holds the recyclables and the other one has trash. I didn't get finished , hopefully I'll get the rest picked up soon . Well , that sums up my " Sunny Weekend ". ~

Did you have a Sunny Weekend ?

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Twilight before Sunrise ...........................................

Early Morning ,

Brings Quietness.

Thoughts of Peace ,

Moments of Wonderment.

A Day of Promise Begins ,

Embrace the Honor.

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ New Hens ~

~ The 5 new Hens ~

~ These are the 2 Ameraucanas ~

Yesterday , Dh and I made the drive to pick-up 5 new hens. I've been wanting some Ameraucana chickens , they lay blue/green eggs. They're known as the " Easter Egg Layer " chickens. I found 5 chickens on craigslist and two of those were Ameraucana, so I contacted the lady about them and made arrangements to pick them up yesterday. The hens are 18 weeks old and should be laying soon , can't wait to be blessed with blue/green eggs :0). This flock also included a production black hen that's suppose to lay a white egg . I put the small pen in the coop so I could keep them separated from the other hens . I was hopping they would accept the small Partridge rock hen into their flock , but that didn't happen either , they kept pecking at her , so I had to remove her from that pen and make a separate pen for her. All of them will be in their pens for about a week , then I plan to put them on the roost with the other hens one night after everyone has settled down for the night. Hopefully , they'll become one flock soon.

~Warmest Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

Look what ...........

came in the mail. I received the clay pendant necklace I won last week over at ~ http://www.lunaherbco.com/herbal_roots/~. The February issue of Herbal Roots Zine was about " Willow " and it's medicinal properties and other uses. The pendant features willow leaves on the front and on the back it reads " Willow , Strong enough to bend ". I love the necklace , wore it today. Dh and I picked up the new hens , I'll be posting about that tomorrow. Hope your day was beautiful !

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Around the Homestead & Chores

Yesterday after lunch , I spent most of the evening outside doing a few chores. I cleaned the chicken coop and put down fresh straw.

That made the hens very happy , they were scratching around like mad. I let the new hen out of the crate , the roosters attacked her , but she ran and found a safe corner. The hens weren't very nice to her either , hopefully today will be better. Tomorrow , Dh and I will be picking up 5 more hens.

I put the chicken poo filled straw in my herb/garden bed. I'm trying to build the soil up in that bed. Fern , the little red hen just had to see what was going on , she's my most curious hen and will jump in the middle of whatever I'm doing to get a better view , she hopped up on the wheelbarrow as I was heading back to the house after finishing up , guess she thought I had a wheelbarrow full of treats (LOL).

After finishing my chores , I walked around and took a look at the garlic , it's peeking out in the garden bed near the garage. The garlic in the big garden is looking good , I need to add more mulch to it soon. My spinach is still living , it must be very cold hardy to make it through this winter. , this year was the first time I've ever grown spinach. We've had the coldest winter on record in thirty years or more. On a better note , 30 more days til the 1st day of Spring , Yay !

So ........ what's going on around your homestead ?

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

This Morning at the Coop !

Fern checking out the new kid ( chick ) in the coop.

The new Chick's not sure she wants to venture out , with the other hens gawking at her.

Chief Little Roo

Geronimo

Breakfast is served !




I'm out , but these other chickens aren't so nice !


Time to Earn my Keep !



Free Ranging ...........



Got Eggs ?

~ Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

There's a New Kid (Chick) in Town

Yesterday afternoon , Dh went to pick-up this new hen. She's a partridge rock , she has beautiful coloring and is about 3 months old. On Friday we'll be picking up 5 more pullets to complete our young flock. I plan to sell a few eggs this year , hopefully enough to pay for feeding all the chickens.

The roosters are doing well , I haven't heard Chief Little Roo crow yet but Geronimo has been crowing everyday , he crows in the afternoon too (LOL). They're finally coming up to me as I get their feed ready , before they would stay a few feet away watching and wouldn't eat until I started back to the house. They haven't shown any signs of aggressiveness yet. The egg laying is starting to pick-up again , although the two hens that were molting haven't started laying yet. The hens have produced eggs all winter , but some days I only got 1 egg , then 3 or 2 the following days. This past Saturday and Sunday I got 4 eggs each day , yesterday there were 2 and today 3 . Well , in celebration of the extra eggs , think I'll have egg salad for lunch today.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ A Great Valentine's Day ~

We had a great Valentine's Day , I invited the kids over for brunch. I cooked a good ole country breakfast of local made sausage , our fresh eggs , homemade biscuits , milky gravy and grits. We also had my homemade blackberry jelly and pear preserves , yum. I gave all the kids , grands and Dh homemade Valentine's cards I made using the pop-up card instructions on Flassie's blog and made snow cream as a Valentine's Day treat. The snow melted fast Saturday , but I filled a bowl and put it in the freezer , so I would have it for Sunday. It was a real treat , it's been 10 years since I eat snow cream.

I received earrings , ring and a new purse from my youngest daughter & the boys and a box of candy from Dh.

And the day ended with this view ............................................................

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn