The Birthday Girl.

Hi Everyone,
Yesterday was Terri's Birthday (She is 29.........Again!). And I wanted to do something special for her. We normally take each other out for dinner on birthday's. But with a hectic life for all of us, I decided that I would make her a Birthday Dinner at home instead.
She is always feeding me and she records all the LA DODGER games for me on her DVR (I converted them to Dodgers fans a few years ago and we are all very happy with the season so far! The best record in Baseball!!!)
Anyway, I decided to roast a Beef Tenderloin for her. It took me hours to find a place in town that had any, and yes it was not cheep. But I figured that I would have spent as much, If not more taking her out.
So here is the menu:
Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Garlic, Thyme and Rosemary
Baked Potatoes
Turnip Greens with onion and bacon
A green salad
And at her request.....Lemon Marang for desert (From Scratch!)

I got a 4.9 lb Tenderloin and after removing the excess fat and trimming it down a little, I finally chopped the Garlic,Thyme and Rosemary, Added enough EVOO to make a paste and spread it over the roast. I cover it with plastic wrap and set it on the counter for 3 hours while I worked on the other stuff.
Do any of you know how much work there is in making a pot of Turnip Greens? HOLLY MOLLY!!!
After cleaning the greens chopping them and  the Turnips and onion and the bacon, I was ready for a NAP!
I cooked the bacon, then added the onion and Turnips. Cooked them for a few Min's and then added about 3/4 coups chicken stock to deg lase the pan. Then added the Greens and put the lid on. Let all that cook for 15 min and then it was all mixed together, placed on a back burner on low, to keep hot.

I placed the roast in a 400 degree oven for 35 min (internal temp 120) and then let it rest for 15 min. I have to say "That is the best slice of Beef I have ever had! Terri was surprised  and loved the meal. And I expect the leftover's to be just as good!
Tom

The big move

Last Friday I moved the kids from the brooder to the new Coop. I placed all 6 in a cat carrier and loaded them in the back of the truck. Also had the feeder, water font ready to fill and place in there.
Here are some pictures of the move:

The finished coop. All that I have to do now is get the fenced yard for them built!

They were not sure that they liked the cat carrier. But when I placed it in the coop, only one of them would come out. I had to pull the rest of them out. A couple of them even went back in!

The water font, filled and in place. I had to later place it on a raised platform, as they kept kicking the bedding in the tray. Same with the feeder.

"Would you please let us out?"

Ellie introducing her self to the kids. She was convinced that they were food for her! 

Up close and personnel. "Are you sure that's not food?"

First time on the roost. She could be a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" 

Food, water and bedding. What more could they ask for?

Yep, some place where they can run around in the sun and chase bugs! The two on top of the feeder are "Oddball" and "Chipmunk". Now that they are Teenagers, I can not tell them a part!

Terri took all the pictures, so I could get them in the coop. They have been in there for a week now and seem to like the new place.
So there is the new home for them and they have more room. But I need to get the yard put together and let them out side.
They went through the first heavy rain storm the other night and I was worried about now well the coop would hold up. But it did not leak and they were fine.
I wonder how many Hens are in this group? Time will tell!
Tom

I have a secret

Hey everyone,
This is my One hundredth post!  I wanted to post something special for this post! Maybe the big move for the Chickens to their new home in the newly built Coop. But that's not the secret.
I have not mentioned this secret to many people in the hopes I would not Jinks it and everything just disappears!
Susan (e-i-e-i-omging) and I have been e-mailing out side the Blog world and she has been keeping her fingers  (and other parts crossed!) with the hope that this all works out!
Well it has and now I'm ready to tell the whole world!
The big secret is.........I have been offered a new JOB! And it's so much better then what I have now!!!
Here's the story,
Back in late December I was told that Job applications were being taken at the "Rivers Correctional Institute" near Winton N.C. This is a Federal Minimum Security Prison and is under contract with the "Bureau of Prisons".
I applied and went Thur the process of filing all kinds of paper work and 3 interviews.
It took some time for the back ground checks to be completed. But with my military time and the fact that I have been in Security jobs for the past 11 years, I though I had a pretty good chance to get the Job.
In late February I got a call from the HR office wanting me to get a physical (another worry, I'm 58 after all) and I got that taken care of and was classed as FIT FOR DUTY!
Now remember this all started 5 months ago and like I said, I did not want to jinks it by getting my hopes up to high and I did not want to tell you all until it was a sure thing!
Last Friday I received a call from HR that I missed (out side working on the Chicken Coop!) and I did not check my messages until I was on my way home Saturday morning. You know how they say it is unsafe to drive and use a cell phone? Well, I can tell you they are right! As I almost ran into the ditch when I listened to this message!!!!
I pulled over in the first safe place I could find and listened to the message again! The HR lady said that the start date for training was 4 June and I needed to get two more documents to her (DD214 from the Air Force and the Arizona Army National Guard). She did not come right out and say that she had a Job offer for me, But it sure sounded like it to me!
As it was Saturday and there would be  no one in the office until Monday, I was going to have to wait until Monday to talk with her. I had two days to be excited and worried! That was a long two days!!!
First thing Monday morning I called and the first thing I said to her was, "Is this an official job offer"?
She said that it was and the the Warden had chosen me first from the list of candidate's (there were 18 candidate's for 4 positions!). I was doing the Happy Dance!!!!!
I went on line and requested the two DD214's and even talked to the records office of the Guard unit I belonged to and got them to e-mail the forms to me. Yesterday I found a copy of the one from the Air Force that I did not know I had and should get the other one today.
I will take both to HR and sign my letter of intent. I have already given my notice to leave QVC and my last work day with them will be 30 May.

Let me tell you why this is so much better for me and the Homestead!

1. The starting pay is so much better then what I'm making at QVC right now!
2. Its closer to home! QVC is a 115 mile round trip each day and it is running me $200+ in gas each week just to get to work! Rivers is only 17 miles from home!! That's $200 I can put back into the budget for the Homestead!
3. With the increase in pay, I can get my bills back in line and start to get out from under the worry of how am I going to pay bills on time!
4. I can now start to put some $$ away to do some of the things I have wanted to do ever sense I got the Homestead almost 5 years ago! (It took me three years just to be able to work just 6 Chickens into the program!).
5. As I will not have to spend over an hour and a half driving each way to work, I will have more time to work on projects at home!!
And yes there are a few CON'S to this new adventure. The big one is I will now have to work with Inmates! That is something I have not had to do before and I will have to a just to that as part of the Job! But the PROS far out weight all that!

So that's my Big Secret! And I can now see some light at the end of the tunnel!
Wish me luck!

Next post, 101 and the Big Chicken Move!
Tom

Daisy's new Dog House

She would like to think that, but she would be WRONG! It's the new CHICKEN COOP! Once I got the floor installed, She decided to test it out. She spent the rest of the day inside testing it out to make sure it was good enough for the Kids!

She supervised from this position for most of the day. But she was not much help with the construction!

Roof, side walls and back walls installed. Daisy still supervising.

The back walls. The left one is the door that I will use to clean out the coop and where I will have access to feed and water containers. I cut and installed the two turn locks (?) so the door will be secure.

The door opened and Daisy though this was a good idea! Flow-threw ventilation! It was the only time she got up and moved all day. You can just see Elli (Terri's dog) to the right of Daisy. She was in there too at times. But she enjoyed being underneath the coop in the shade.

So, only a few more things to do before the Kids move in. Extend the walls a little and install chicken wire at the top to keep unwanted guest out. I also need to cut and install a Chicken door on the front. I built the frame work for that already and installed the ramp.
I also need to build a set of roosting positions yet. I have an idea on what I want to do for this. I will build a wooden frame about 4' long and then install 1/2" PVC pipe across the at 1' spacing and then use a couple hinges so I can swing the whole thing up out of the way for cleaning!

So my next post will be my 100th and I will celebrate  that by moving the Kids to their new DIGS!

The next project will be the Chicken yard. I already have it pictured in my head. 8' wide and 16' long on a wooden frame, covered with Chicken wire to keep them safe until they get big enough to start free ranging during the day time.

DO I SEE EGG"S IN MY FUTURE? I THINK I DO!!
TOM

P.S.
BEE GIRL, What do you think? Seeing as you and TOOL LADY gave me the inspiration for the Brooder and this construction project to begin with! Many Thanks!
TOM

Building has started

Holly Molly, Its been a while. But now that Spring is here (I think!), I have been working on all the things that I only could think about all through this past winter.
Like, The Chicken Coop!
Yep, I started building the Coop yesterday! And none too soon! The Chicks are fast out growing out of the brooder and I need to get them out side

All of the lumber is recycled, so that was a big plus! I planed all of this in my head, and not everything came out the way I wanted it to. I sure could have used TOOL LADY'S and BEE GIRLS help on this one!

I also now know how badly I want (NEED!) a work shop!

But as you can see, Framing is done and to day I got some framing done for the floor.

I had to build it near to the house, as I did not want to run over 100" of extension cord. But Mark helped me move it to it's place back near the "Back 40"

As I posted before, the tractor and bush hog are down and I have not been able to get them fixed yet. But my kind friends next door felt sorry for me ( I think they were tired of the jungle in my front yard!) and let me use their riding mower this morning. I got the front yard done and was just starting on the back, when the right front tire just came off the mower! I couldn't believe it! The mower is sitting out back and Mike will send his son over tomorrow to load it up in his truck and get it fixed.
He said not to worry about it. But I feel so bad that this happened! I broke my tractor and bush hog and now his mower! I offered to pay for the repairs, But Mike said "Hell, it was going to happen any way". So he will take care of it!

So I spent the rest of the day cutting the walls and flooring for the coop. I didn't want to install any of that, as it would have been way to heavy to move. But it's all cut and ready to install in the morning. All I have to get now is a set of hinges for the back door and put together the door for the Chickens. When that's done and the Chicks are in their new home, The next project will be the fenced area on the front of the coop to keep them safe. After they get older, I will figure out a bigger yard for them and may even let them free range some!
 Next post, Finished coop!
Tom

Chick Update

I have had the new Chicks for two weeks now and they are so much bigger now. I though it was time to show off the Kids again!

And here they are! They seem to be putting on the feathers well.

And this little girl seems to be the biggest of the flock!

They are always running around the brooder and trying out their wings. They do not trust me and they do not like to be handled much. The one in the upper left is "Chipmunk". I can tell because the stripe on her head is more brown the that on "Odd Ball".

They are in need of a roost and I need to get one put together. The other day it was 84 degrees outside and much warmer than that up stairs. All of them were holding their wings out and patting. So I turned out the heat lamp and opened the windows to get some air flow going. I left it that way when I went to work that night and when I got home the next morning, it was in the 50's. They were all huddled in a corner of the brooder, so I turned the lamp back on and closed the windows.
They were ready for breakfast and some cool, clean water. They are getting to the point of not having enough room in the brooder. And I have had to put a top cover on it. I'm afraid that they will figure out that they can jump up to the top and get out. And I do not need them running around the room upstairs.
So the first thing I will have to do on my time off is, Get a coop built! And figure out some fencing! I have an idea of using PVC to build a temporary fence until the budget will allow me to get the stuff to build a proper fence and a better coop.
After all, The Easter Egger's will be in the 16TH! MORE BABY'S!
Tom

The back 40 and trees

 The first two pictures are of the area of our land that I refer to as "The Back 40". It's not really 40 acres, more like 3! And it is the combined area of Mark's place and mine. As we work it all together and are trying to get the land back into some kind of production, I refer to it as ours.

This is a view of  Mark's land on the back of the place.

And this is mine. Yes there is a lot of weeds and grass here and it needs to be "Bush Hogged". But the "Bush Hog " is down again and I'm not sure when I will be able to get it up and running again. I will be on vacation starting Saturday, What I plan to do is hook up the tiller to the tractor and turn it all under!

But I wanted to show you that there is something that is growing back there! TREES!  I noticed late last summer that trees had started to grow back there and I left them to see if they would survive the winter and  continue to grow this spring. Well, it looks like they did and I see new growth on most of them. There are only a few Pine Trees,

But there are at least 20 Maple trees! They seeded them self's and are spread around the "Back 40". And if they grow as well this year as last, They will be a pretty good size by the end of the growing season!

I hope to some day to be able to fence this area and turn it into pasture. Maybe raise a steer or goats on it?  But that's another thing to add to the "WISH LIST"!
But just getting it turned under right now is the plan and letting the trees grow.
Tom