Rain (AGAIN!) and COLD (AGAIN)!!

Last Friday was a really nice day, 73 degrees and sunny! I was able to get a few pallets broke down. The new tool is so amazing! The best part is it doesn't do a lot of damage to the wood or bend the nails. Makes it easy to recycle them!

But Saturday a front moved in and the rain started and the temps took a dive into the 30's! Here it is Tuesday and we have not seen the Sun in 4 days! And they are calling for more rain tomorrow! Did not get a lot done outside and will have to wait for the swimming holes to dry up and the ground to stop being MUD!

So, I though I would show you some pictures of the new Babies. They will be 3 weeks old this Friday!

All 12 seem to be doing great!

Starting to put on some feathers and color

Some more so then others. The one in the lower center, doesn't have much color yet.

But tail feathers are coming in too!

I'm not sure what breed they are, Just that they are RED PULLETS. And when I move them into the Hen House, I will have 20 layers!
The older girls are still locked up in the Hen House, But seem to be alright with that for right now. I get 5 - 6 Eggs a day and the totals for the year are 342! When I have 20 layers, last years totals should be blown out of the water! And I hope to get a regular customer list that will buy Eggs from me!
I have been thinking about getting a Rooster and turning him loose on the Girls and see if they will hatch out some babies for me next year.
So that is the update on the weather and the new Kids.
I will close by saying, SPRING IS COMING!! At least I hope so!!
TOM

New Tool (toy?) and The BIG SCORE!

Hey everyone,
If you are a regular reader of this Blog, You know that I love working with recycled wood. I pick it up where ever I can and use it for projects around the homestead. I have been trying to find a place that has a overabundance of pallets, But due to the fact that I live where I do makes it a long drive to get a truck load. But I have gotten a few and have started to break them down using a hammer and crow bar. What a pain in the neck! It takes so long to get them a part and I can really tear up some good wood.
So, I have been a fan of IZZY SWAN over at his You Tube channel  for quite some time. He is a great talent and has so much to show those of you that may want to do some woodworking! He has designed and built many a JIG that is used with his table saw (from turning tool handles, to turning logs into lumber!).

And this is where I got the idea to start to use pallets! He designed and built a tool that will break down a pallet in under 10 minuets! And I ordered one from him and it arrived yesterday!

This box was delivered yesterday about 3 o'clock. I have to admit I felt like a kid on Christmas morning!

This is what was inside! The two wooden parts are 100 year old RED OAK salvaged from an old building! Some Assembly was required, But Izzy had a video at his web site that walked me thou it and it came together !

And this is the new TOOL/TOY!

Leigh, If you are reading this, I think Dan will appreciate this. A Tool yes, But also a piece of art! IZZY ,You did a great job ! It is only about 8 pounds and the metal forks have no problem with the pallets I have tried it on!

And this is the Name that Izzy chose to bestow upon his new Tool. The Red OAK is so beautifully  worked and the green forks make it stand out! I love the feel of this handle and the step has not had a problem with anything I have used it on!

The first pallet to be taken down by the "Pallet Pal"! Oak with twist nails. The Pallet Pal pulls the nails straight out with very little bending. So I can recycle them  too!

Less then 10 Min's later!

I sent IZZY an e-mail and told him that I would do a review of my new toy here on the Blog.
 IZZY, As I said you did a great job on this and I will be using the P.P. a lot over the next few months. On a scale of 5 stars, you get a 100!! As you can tell, I love this tool and your videos! I will return again and again to see what new things you will come up with next!

As far as the BIG SCORE.....
I said that I have been trying to find a place that will let me pick up pallets and last Monday I found it! And it is only 15 MIN"S away. There is a plastic plant just outside of town and I went by there to see if they had any pallets I could ask about. All they could tell me was no, Right?
But they said YES!!! I talked with the shipping manager and he said the because the pallets they had are smaller then the standard, (30 X 30) They could not give them away until now. They are a one time use pallet for the company and last year it cost them $5000.00 to have them removed and taken to a land fill. He was so happy that I wanted them, He offered me his own trailer to use to make a pick up

The first truck load that I got. There must be over 300 pallets that I can have!

And what do you think I will be using them for?

One of the first things will be a fence around the Hen House! After the predator attacks of two weeks ago where I lost two of my layers, the rest of the girls have been locked up in the new Hen House. As the weather gets warmer, I know that they want to be outside. So a new fence will be worked on over the next few days, If the weather cooperates! The above picture is my idea of a fence panel that is 30" X 30" and I will bolt two of them together to give me a 60" tall fence. I will also be putting a cover over the whole thing to keep my girls safe!

I want to stain all of this wood and will water proof it too. And if the wood does rot, It will be easy to replace it with something new!

IZZY, if you read this, YOU ARE THE MAN!! And I hope to some come see you and get you to sign my P.P. It really is an amazing tool and I'm glad I was able to get one before you sold out!

Leigh, I think Dan will love this!

And for all you others, go by IZZY's web site WWW.THINKWOODWORKS.NET. And check out his videos!

TOM

Ice Storm

I know I said that I would not be posting about the weather, But THIS IS NUTS!
Yesterday the high was 72 degrees and the Sun was shining. Terri even put wash out on the line to dry.

When I left for work last night it was still in the 60's! But when leaving work this morning, It was over cast and the temps were dropping. After getting a few hours sleep, I woke up to this!

Drivers side window on the truck!

Watch how you step here! Bottom of the steps.

Terri just got home from school and was telling me that the roads are already iced over and  there are a couple of cars already in the ditch on our road. Looks like this will be another night of work missed! The truck does not handle ice and snow well and I do not want to rick it!
All I keep telling myself is SPRING IS COMING! But you sure can't tell it from looking out side.

Went out to check on the older girls and collected 6 more Eggs. Total for the year is now up to 248!
And the new kids seem to be doing fine. I lowered the heat lamp down and the thermometer is reading 110, But the brooder is big enough that they can move away from the heat if they have to.

So another day in the wonderful winter of 2014! It has to get better, RIGHT?
Tom

Babies first DayYep

Bet you can't guess what came in this!

After our Predator attack the other night and the loss of two of my Hen's, I got up this morning determined  to get some new Babies! I wanted to at least get a dozen and I wanted to build a new brooder for them. So with what salvaged wood I had, I put together a 4' X 4' brooder and put it  in the storage room up stairs. It's also 4' high and I left a panel out of one side and placed a PVC panel in it's place. I use a couple spring clamps to hold it in place. That makes it easy to remove it to replace water and food for them.

When that was done, I put the heat lamp in place and I headed to the "Tractor Store". Besides the new Chicks, I got the starter feed for them and 2 bundles of wood shavings for bedding.

And here they are!

 12 Red Pullets. They put 6 per box and so I got to bring home two boxes! Not sure what breed they really are and will have to wait until they get older to tell. My hope is that they are brown egg layers.

I feel like a new "Poppa" with 12 new Babies!

Cute!

See the one with it's head over the others neck? It seems to be the most aggressive,  Her favorite game is to sneak up behind the others and grab a leg and pull it out from under them. I can just see her laugh each time she does it!

Yep, That's her right there!

After a long trip home, all they wanted to do was sleep. But that didn't take to long and they all found the food when they woke up! Some of them stuck their heads in so far that their butts were in the air. LOL

I love Babies, But I hope they grow up fast and start laying! Maybe July or August?
I got 6 Eggs from my other 8 layers today and they seem to have adjusted to being cooped up in the new Hen House (No pun intended!).

Now I should have something to post about besides the weather and the cold!

I also got the seeds I ordered from "Burpee" today!

Two packs of "Tomato, Steak House" Hybrid. They are suppose to get up to 70" tall and produce fruit up to 3 pounds each. 50 seeds total and I need to get them started soon!
Also got "BEET" Dark Red, Medium Top.350 seeds. I love Beets and the greens are good too! I just got some at the store the other day and for 3 Beets it was $2.49! YIKES!
And one pack of "SWEET PEPPER", "Chocolate Belle", Hybrid. 30 seeds. I grew them years ago and use them a lot in cooking and in salads. They make the best "Stuffed Peppers". I need to get them started too!

Just went to check on the kids and saw that the lamp was to low and the temperature was at 105! So raised the lamp up some and will check it again later. But the size of the brooder lets them move away from the heat if they need to

OK, I guess that's it for now!

Tom

Down to 8

I had 10 just a week ago! Then there were 9! And now 8!
A Predator has found the Hen House and killed two of my girls. And the dam thing only takes the head and neck, Leaving the body behind to show the other Chickens what is in store for them if they were to remain in the old Hen House!
Last week I took Izzy and Holly to the Vet to be spaded and was told by the Vet to keep both dry as the stitches would dissolve when wet. So with all the snow and rain we have had, the only place I can take them outside is the driveway. No standing water there.
So I had Holly out and was near the end of the driveway and she made a lunge to the right. It was dark and what she had seen that I did not was one of the Chickens! Which ran back toward the Hen House. I took Holly back inside and got a flash light to see if I could find this Dumb A--! I went to Terri's house to get her to help me (She has a better flashlight then I do) and we found one of the "Brown Leg Horn" Hens trying to climb into a stack of pallets. I was able to get her and headed to the Chicken yard to put her away and Terri spotted another Bird sitting on top of the fence around the yard, It was Cuddles and it was easy for me to gather her in too! But I then knew that something was wrong as there were four more of the girls huddled in one corner of the fence.
I took the two I already had to the new Hen House and put them inside. Terri was looking around with the flashlight and spotted another one on the back side of the yard and it looked like it was trying to crawl out through a hole on the fence. But it was stuck and when I walked back there, I realized that it was dead! Head and neck were gone and it was stuck in the fence where our night time dinner had tried to pull her through!
We must have scared it off as I did not see it and I opened the back of the old Hen House to find another Hen sitting at the top of the roost. So the Predator must have gotten into the Hen House and grabbed one of them and scared the rest of them so badly that they made a dash for the outside! There were feathers all over the inside of the coop and some of the girls are missing tail feathers.
I got 6 birds into the new Hen House and locked inside. I have had the inside construction done for quite some time, But have not been able to get a fence put up around the new Chicken yard yet. There were still 2 girls not accounted for and we took a walk around to see if we might be able to find them.
As I walked across the front yard with Terri behind me, She spotted one of to my right and though it was also a goner! But as I got near her she turned her head to watch me and I was able to just pick her up. She was not hurt and I placed her with the others and tried to see if we could find # 8. But no luck and we though she must have been carried off.
We called it a night and went inside.
Terri called me early the next morning and told me that there was a Chicken running around out back. I could not believe that one had gotten out! And it hadn't, this was #8!  We just missed her the night before!
So all 8 are locked in the new Hen house and seem to be adjusting to the new place. I know they want outside and that makes the building a fence a must now. But it's not in the budget yet. SOON!!
Tomorrow I will be building a new brooder so I can get at least a dozen new day old chicks on Saturday from Tractor supply! I hope thy have  a decent selection to choose from?!
So, Predator 2, Hens 0!
It's my night to cook and I need to get over to Terri's and get started. Grilled Pork steaks, Oven fried potatoes, Collards and Apple Sauce! Yep, That sounds good!
Tom

School Project

Today is another cold nasty day out. At 9:30 am it is 29 degrees out and we are to get a mix of rain and snow today. And the same for tomorrow!
So I though this would be a day to watch the Olympics, do some cooking and just veg out.
And post the promised "School Project" that I helped Terri do!

So Terri called me a couple weeks ago and told me about a school project she had to do and wanted to know if I had any ideas. She is a full time student at ECU and her major is Graphic Design . The Project was for her Photo class and was to be a story told in pictures and be 35 pictures long. And the pictures had to be taken with a real camera, 35 mm SLR (No digital pictures allowed!).
So I told her I would think about it that night at work. So I though that a story about some "Homesteading" project might work. She had to take the pictures, develop the film and print the pictures and place them in a binder in such a way that anyone could see the story.

So my idea was to make a batch of bread and take pictures of the process......

And this is what we came up with.....

(All of the pictures were taken with my digital camera for this post)

Greek Country Bread!

We got the recipe from a cook book and was something we had never tried before. And while we were at it we decided to make a big pot of Chile to have with it!

The ingredients and the "Stand mixer we used to mix the dough.

Following the recipe, we mixed the dough and got to the point of placing the dough on the island to knead.

Dough was pretty sticky at this point.

But it came together pretty nicely. I was able to work out some stress on the dough!

The dough was then placed in a bowl with a little oil to keep it from drying out. We preheated the oven to 170 degrees and then turned it off. Placed the bowl in the oven, covered with a dish towel and allowed to rise until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours)

The first rise! Looks pretty good!

So then I punched it down and did a second knead.

More stress gone! 

Once this second knead was complete, the dough was shaped into a log and cut into 6 equal sections and placed on a baking stone and covered with that same towel to rise again for 30 Min's.

It was then brushed with a little milk and the top sprinkled with sesame seeds and sea salt.

As a side note (a story in it's self)....

The pot of Chile simmering on the "NU Wave" convection cooker I got Terri for Christmas! It was a BOGO  deal and we really like this thing. Manly because we can set it to any temperature we want and let it cook! So this is what we a had for dinner that night. It was great along with the bread!

And right out of the oven! This is a pull a part type of bread and I have to tell you that it was very tasty! We will be making this again!

And now for the funny part of the story!....

Terri did all the photo work and I did most of the bread making. She took the required number of pictures with her SLR camera for the school project and the pictures you see in this post with my digital camera.

And the funny part you may ask!???...

SHE FORGOT TO PUT FILM IN HER CAMERA!!!

LOL!!

So she had to do it all over again!! SILLY RABBIT!!

But I got to make a new type of bread and a pot of Chile and got to post about it!! I really like to cook and I like to bake too! And a new recipe is always fun to try. And this one was very good and will become one of the recipe's I can come back to and use again!

So that's the school project story. She got a good grade on the finished project and we got a good meal out of it to boot!

Tonight I have the night off from work and the responsibility to make dinner as Terri is in school and Mark (her husband!) can not boil water with out burning it!

So I think I will make Chicken/Broccoli Alfredo over Egg Noddles, A green Salid and of course BREAD! 

Tom

Snow, Snow and more Snow!

Well it snowed for most of the night and this is what it looked like when I first went out to start to shovel some.

This was taken from my front (side?) porch and some where out there is my driveway!

Did we get the 7 inches that was predicted? I took a ruler out and stuck it in several areas that seemed to be level and sure enough, 7 INCHES!

My truck with it's hat of snow!

After I got some of the stuff off the  windshield . Gives you a better idea of just how much we had ! It's a very dry snow and I was able to use a broom to get it off the truck.

I did not go to work last night. The road that I live on has not been plowed and it will not be for some time. I tried to shovel some of it out, But with the driveway being so long, that proved to be more work then I was willing to do today.
There does not seem to be much melting going on and the Temps are going to stay in the lower 20's! So any that does melt, will just refreeze tonight!
I will try to get the truck out tomorrow and turn it around to face out towards the road and leave it parked out by the road so I can get to work tomorrow night. I will have to work some overtime to make up for all this, But if I stay home, No pay!

As you can guess, the Chickens did not like all the white stuff!

It was noon before I went out to feed and water them and the two above were the only ones to come out for the bread I tossed out for them

There was one place that was clear of snow and I poured out some feed  there and got the rest of them out long enough to get something to eat.

But that didn't take very long and all but the two went back inside.

Of course both the water containers were frozen and the outside pan was solid ice. so I dumped it out over the fence and refilled it with very warm water, But they were not willing to stand in the white stuff to get at it. So I took the one from inside the hen house went into the house and placed it under hot water to melt the ice. It got a good cleaning and was refilled with warm water and returned to the coop! That one they ganged up on and got their fill of water. I will have to go out and refill it later, as it will not take long for this one to freeze up again!

At least one of my critters though the snow was great fun! we had a snow ball fight until he got cold and wanted to go back inside and lay in front of one of the heaters!

"Come on, DAD it's cold out here! Romeo rolled and played in the snow until he had enough!

We do not get this much snow. The last time was 3 years ago and when we do, everything shuts down! Schools and most stores do not even open their doors! It's pretty, But a big pain in the butt! We have been lucky in that we have not lost power! With my heat pump down, The three space heaters I use has kept the house warm enough so that pipes do not freeze. Keeping the water cracked and allowed to run also helps!

So for you who this would be normal winter weather, all of this is old hat! But for us that do not, We are hoping that Spring arrives early this year!!

So long from the new WINTER WONDER LAND that has become NORTH CAROLINA!
Tom