We have EGG!

My sister-in-law arrived about 10:15 with my niece and her cousin.  They were here for a visit and to see the chickens, which they've not met yet.  As we approached the coop, Pete Rose and Betty were no where to be found.  This is unusual, as Pete is usually crowing the second he sees me.  I am his mother after all.  But today they were not there.  I was mildly alarmed and wondered aloud , "Where's my rooster?".  I opened the coop door and there he was and Betty was inside the nesting box panting an in obvious distress.  Expecting that perhaps she might be ready to lay an egg, she is 20 weeks old after all, I shut the door to give her her privacy.  I checked her a couple of times quickly, no change and she wasn't moving.  We stood around the pen chatting over chickens and suddenly, my sister-in-law and Maestro both said, "I heard a knock sound in the coop!".  I opened the door and sure enough, there was Betty proudly standing over her very first egg.  To say I was excited was an understatement.  And Betty let out a very proud cackle of her own.

The picture above is a normal large egg, on the right is Betty's first pullet egg.  Small, but perfectly formed.  We cracked it open last night to see if it was the way it should be on the inside.  It was miniature, but perfectly formed, all parts there, color right. 

Our little farmstead is making food.  That's the most awesome thing I can think of.

Wishing you miniature eggs in your nest, ~Peacemom

Ben Hewitt

On Friday night, I went up to Concord to listen to Ben Hewitt read the first chapter in his new book "Making Supper Safe", One Man's Quest For Food Safety.  He was entertaining and very good natured during the exchange of ideas and thoughts and answering people's questions after the reading.  It sure gives me a whole new view on dumpster diving.  And made me think twice about the "I Love Bacon" cookbook he was standing near while speaking!

I was struck by many things as I sat there, wishing I had brought my camera. It was a small crowd of folks, perhaps 20-25 that came out on the night of a massive street festival to hear him speak.  We were serenaded by a Rod Stewart cover band the entire time we were listening to the reading as they performed mere feet from the front door.  They had shut down Main Street and there were hundreds of folks wandering around our Capital City.  I did not have prior knowledge that the festival was taking place, and enjoyed the fact that as I was walking to listen to a farmer speaking, I was struck by the scente of the petting zoo and horsedrawn hay ride .  In a pretty large city.  It gave me pause and a smile, a great beginning to an enjoyable hour and a half listening to Ben. 

When I entered, I was late (see above street fair for explanation...parking was a nightmare) and he had already started reading. I tried inconspicuously to locate an empty seat and, being alone, I was able to find one in the front row.  I always enjoy listening to an author read their own work because they give it the inflection and tone they meant for it to have, not the one we hear in our own heads.  The chapter was a funny and telling tale of Ben's friend Edward, who has been dumpster diving for 10 years.  He even found 50 pounds of brie once which he promptly baked up for his family for a holiday gathering.  The moral to the chapter seemed to me to be the waste that happens in our country because something is a day or two past a date code and how his friend basically eats like a king dumpster diving on this stuff.  Though I'm not sure I'll be rifling through any Waste Management containers anytime soon, it sure gave me pause to think about just how much we do waste in our country and how avoidable it would be on many levels.  There are people all over the world starving to death, and we're throwing away gourmet cheese because it's past the date code.  And if you think about how absurd that really is because cheese is made with MOLD after all, so what exactly would be the harm of it developing visible mold past the date code?  Kind of silly. 

I noticed some things that perhaps others may not have noticed about Ben. His style was very conversational and welcoming. He was intent on a friendly and non combative discussion after his reading, and my feeling, as he was a little cautious in his tone at times and how he spoke about topics like USDA rules and incorrect use of antibiotics for livestock, was that he had been met perhaps a time or two with resistance from people to his well thought out and well researched ideas and facts.

I also noticed that his hands were calloused and he had a grease smudge on his arm.  Both of these things endeared him to me as I thought, "This is a man who's on the front line of farming.  He's not sitting in an office building, never smelling manure or feeling sun warmed soil, he's in the trenches doing it.  This is the man who's book I want to read, this is the man who lives what he's writing about, not just a corporate 'farmer' spewing the company line".   He brought water to drink during his reading in a quart Mason jar.  Yep, I was gonna like this guy.   I also noticed the enthusiasm he has for his topic, he's not bored with the subject matter, it inspires him and he's passionate about it.  Just like I am.  One of those kindred spirits I've talked about here before.  I really love connecting to a kindred spirit, something a little magical happens in the world when we find one. 

As I listened to the question and answer period, there were lots of great questions about food, antibiotics use and dumpster diving.  One man seemed really intent on learning more about that topic, which I found interesting.  I wondered to myself if he was going to go behind the natural food market across the street and see what was what back there in their dumpster?  Ben had also brought up the great topic (and one I've tried to explain to others around me when they ask how we afford to eat like we do) that food is about priorities. Our country has the cheapest food in the world based on our income. 

We spend a very small amount on food in our country, certainly a whole lot less then it costs to raise that food.  Ever wonder why that is?  How is it that we can pay less for food then it costs to fertilize, plant, apply copious pesticides, harvest, package and ship food?  Because the vast majority of corporate "farms" are subsidized.  Yes, it costs less in the store, but believe me, you are paying for it in your tax dollars each and every minute you work.  And a large number of the businesses that are receiving your tax dollars are not paying taxes themselves.  They even get to receive subsidies for the fuel to ship all that food to your Hannaford's (or Shaw's or Publix, where ever it's sold in grocery stores).  And in some cases, they are paid millions of your tax dollars NOT to grow food.  That's right, not to grow.  Yes, you will pay more for local food at a farm stand because they are not subsidized.  The farmers that grow the food to nourish you in your own town have worked the many hours it takes to do this, pick, harvest, get that food to market all without the subsidy that conglomerate food producers are given.  They toil long hard hours, yet, they have to compete with those same conglomerate's subsidized prices for food.  Uh, oh...I'm off on a tangent, sorry about that, just a deeply held passion of mine.  Paying for food what it actually costs to raise is not cheap, ever. 

I'll get back to the topic of Ben's I was nodding in agreement to the whole time he spoke about it.  Lots of people wondered how we could, in the face of almost 14 months of unemployment, afford what was most definitely healthier but also more expensive local and organic food during that time?  Well, the answer is this.  We prioritize what's most important to us in our spending, then spend there.  Yes, you have to have heat, and electricity and fuel for the car to get back and forth to those job interviews, but we didn't need to go out to eat 3 times a week, or have the expensive cable, or the latest and greatest clothes for our kids.  We basically just stopped spending money on anything that wasn't absolutely necessary in our lives.  If you take that down to a basic level, just spend on what is absolutely necessary, well, you can get by on so much less then you imagine. 

And the other way we managed this is that when you have a relationship with farmers in your own community like we do, it's a give and take situation.  One of our local CSA's requires deposit and payment in full long before the food actually starts rolling in.  That's inherent in the CSA model, you pay up front so that the farmer has the funds to buy the seeds, equipment and fertilizer beforehand.  Well, over the course of time that we've been members, we've also become dear friends.  And they allowed me to pay in installments when I needed to as more important to them then the money was that we were able to keep feeding our family the most nutritious food possible.  This is the type of relationship you can achieve with local farmers.  I can guarantee you that if you went to your local grocery store and told them that you either wanted to work off some of the cost of the food or delay paying the full bill they would laugh you off and show you the door.  And I, in turn, help my friends out with their CSA when I can manage it.  It's a lovely give and take relationship that I treasure in my life.  It's a definition of community that has become quite dear to me and one I hope I never lose.

As the evening with Ben wound to an end, he signed books.  I brought his first book with me, which I'm in the process of reading and finding very enjoyable as well.  It's "The Town That Food Saved" which is about his home town and the amazing growth of local businesses there.  Very enjoyable read I highly recommend.  I spoke to him of local eating, and how cost prohibitive it is for us to purchase land here in our town.  Upwards of $70,000 per acre in most cases.  He agreed that is a deep concern for many wish-to-be farmers (like us!).  A nice evening, an interesting man and time to enjoy both.  Purely delightful.

Literary evenings to you, ~Peacemom

Romeo, Romeo, Where For Art Thou Romeo?

The garden is moving along at a good clip.  These are the delicious Juliette tomatoes we're growing this year, along with a bunch of other heirloom varieties.  My dear friend had a plant sale back in May and I picked up a bunch of different plants.  I'm most excited to try the Purple Cherokees, which are very pretty and beginning to turn purple on the vine.  Amazing!  I also got a couple of yellow/pink streaked ones who's name is escaping me at the moment. 

The need to preserve heirloom vegetables, fruits and animals is very urgent. If you're unfamiliar with what heirlooms are, they are strains that have been handed down and grown for in some cases, thousands of years.  If we allow Big Corporate Food Commodities to dictate our food sources (which believe me, doing the research- is exactly what they are intent on doing, I'm not naming names for fear of slander prosecution ...and believe me on this one, they do that too).  Heirloom varieties are amazing!  Such wonderful flavors, colors and beauty. 

We're so conditioned to seeing the rock hard tomatoes that appear in the cellophane wrapped neat packages on the grocery store shelf.  Those tomatoes were not bred for their flavor or nutrition, but for their ability to be picked green, gassed, wrapped and transported thousands of miles all while retaining their shape.  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to withstand that treatment and look that good on a shelf!  Heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables are bred soley for their taste, adaptation and nutrition.  There is a very large difference between those rock hard, largely tasteless orbs on the grocery store shelf and the ones I'm picking ripened on the vine (as nature intended) sun warmed and juicy with all their different nuances in flavor and texture. Some are super sweet, some are tangy, some are spicy, all are wonderful.  Not only this, but they are adapted to grow in the climate in which they were developed.  You can get tomatoes in New Hampshire that won't succeed in Texas because their climates are suited to grow different types.  Heirlooms tell the story of a region, of generations passed down from one to the next.  They are all of our heritage, really.

And, I might add that they are super easy to grow in containers.  If I could beseech you to do one thing, it would be to plant an heirloom tomato pot on your deck, windowsill, flower garden where ever you have a little space.  Experiment a little bit, give something different a try.  I can promise you that you won't be disappointed, and if nothing else, you've given yourself the satisfaction of growing food to nourish yourself.  Every step towards self sufficient is the best step to make.

As I was browsing the many different varieties of heirloom plants my friend had lovingly started for her sale, I was having such a tough time choosing between which type I wanted to try next.  I was so very saddened to hear my friend trying to explain to a woman who was not going for the gold, orange or purple tomatoes that no, she didn't have red varieties in large tomatoes.  The woman disgustedly told her, "That's ridiculous! Well, if I'm going to eat a tomato, it's got to be red, I'm used to eating red ones".  I was saddened to hear this and also sad for her that she was so set in her ways that she wouldn't even try a new variety.  Expand her tastes beyond those grocery store tomato like vegetables she was so conditioned to eating.  Sad, indeed.  Expand your horizons, folks, it's not only good for our food options, but it's just plain good for the soul.

Wishing you purple tomatoes in your gardens, ~Peacemom

We've Named Him Mullett

It's Haught's Wild Kingdom here on our little plot.  The chickens have brought out a plethora of wildlife.  We see this beautiful skunk almost nightly now, we've named him Mullett (this was Music Man's idea, I cracked up, it stuck).  The boys spotted a "rat" a few days ago running away from the chicken's pen (luckily they were inside their coop for the night).  It turns out it's probably a mink as it has a long body and not too much of a tail.  Either way, not boding well for the chickens and their eggs.  Dog.  We need a dog.

This video was fun, I was so close to Mullett, and he's not phased by us.  Not safe for him as far as fear of humans goes, but he sure is pretty.  I've never seen a skunk that has so much white on it, he's mostly white with a long, luxurious tail.  Maybe he should be Peppy La Pew after all, he's quite divine.

Wishing you some wildlife adventures of your own,  ~Peacemom

Chicken Update

Okay, so folks have been asking for chicken updates.  I was sure I was driving everyone crazy with my chicken obsession, so I took a little break from talking about them.  Now, I'm getting requests from family and friends to put an update and some pictures up, so here goes...

This is handsome Pete Rose.  He's grown into quite the looker, hasn't he?  He crows all day long, beginning about 4:30 am.  Though he's tough on the girls, and Tulip in particular, he's doing his Big Protector job very well.  He will round them all up at night and get the girls in the coop for me.  I just wait for him to do his nightly duty and go out and close the door.  He watches very well for anything he perceives as danger and has a special warning BOK! bok bok. when he's not liking the look of something.  Or the sound of something, come to think of it.  He makes that sound every time I'm in the sunroom and cough.  He can't see me, so it startles him into the BOK! bok bok. (Shhhh don't tell him, but sometimes I cough just for fun). Funny stuff.

And this beauty is the lovely Victoria.  She's the one we thought looked like a hawk when she was just a chick.  She has fluffy little mutton chops that I love.  She's quite stately and is the leader of the girls.  She's not mean, but she keeps them in line and isn't afraid to put Pete Rose in his...how shall we say...amorous place.  I can also pet her too, she's the only one that seems to enjoy that activity.

This picture just cracks me up.  This is Betty and she's the most outgoing of the girls.  She's the first at the door when you open the coop and the first to the "Treaties" bowl.  I love her because she's very inquisitive, as you can sense from this shot.  The girls are all still contained until they are just a bit bigger and so it's hard to get a picture without the fence in front.  I was moving the top screen back and putting the camera inside the fence.  She was very curious about what I was doing and wouldn't hold still, so this is the best I could do, but it's so her, the expression and everything, just very her.

And here we have Victoria, Wilma and Magnolia.  The two Fayoumis in the back are very skittish and not very interactive.  They are the feral of the bunch, but stick together and Wilma is Victoria's best bud, which you can probably see here.

And here we have Betty on the right and Tulip on the left.  They are bestest amigas and hang together.  Tulip is pretty friendly considering Pete never (and I do mean NEVER) leaves her alone, she's his amore even though she doesn't want to be and steers clear of him when she can.  He daily rips out her feathers.  Tulip, Honey, we've all been there. Boys.

So, that's the chicken update.  It's impossible to me to think that just 13 short weeks ago they were little puff balls cheeping in the brooder box.  They are growing up quite lovely and seem to be pretty happy.  And they are making me quite the same. Watching them is better then anything on cable, that's for sure.

Wishing you Farm TV in your backyard, ~Peacemom 

A Most Definite Spiritual Directive To Me

I find there are times in my life when I feel so exasperated by my lifestyle.  Let me clarify...when I explain to a family member or friend or even acquaintance when they ask why I have wanted chickens for 30 years, or why I put all the work into the vegetable garden or why it matters so deeply to my soul to be able to grow the food that sustains my family only to have that person look at me like I have six heads and have fallen off the 21st century wagon. 

I feel frustrated by this lack of understanding or even attempt to understand because it's not what they would do, or that it is not fathomable why I don't just go to the grocery store for all these things like everyone else does.  Or how can I help them understand that this is for a more genuine life?  That creating things with your hands matters. That picking that egg out of that nest from the chicken that you've given a good life matters. Or plucking that sun warmed tomato from the vine offering your family the freshest, most healthy food for their bodies matters. For me, all of this is most definitely a spiritual directive.  When you feel something is right and true so deeply in your soul, then it's met with the glazed over look from the person your talking to or worse the dismissive, "what's the point of all that work, that's silly- just buy it" attitude.

Well, to be honest, it's kept me inside my passions for a long time now.  I used to share these things with people, but after so many rejections of your core beliefs, it becomes a very personal dismissing.  And a lifestyle that I can't understand why more people don't want.  I know so many people that rush from one thing to the next, shepherding kids to this activity and the next, needing to work late at that business meeting or project.  Folks who spend hours on activities I think are inane, but yet, I allow that there is value to it for them.  If they did not get some sense of satisfaction, then they would not be doing it.  I don't think they are crazy for their lifestyle choice, but I do think that perhaps some of them are missing the boat.  Why is there so much craziness and anger and disconnect in our world? 

My feeling is because so many people have lost their connection to the very things that keep us grounded.  You're not feeding yourself staring at your cell phone or computer screen or ipad.  Or feeling the sun warm your skin as you sit among the blueberry bushes harvesting if you're indoors for hours playing wii or watching tv.  Life is meant to lived, dirty, physical, satisfying, challenging and most of all connected to nature.  What is more essential to our nature then living that genuine life?  Then harvesting food, sewing the curtains you need, building the chicken coop to house the very source of your life-giving food?  Having the skills to do all this builds the genuine life. 

My husband and I could just as easily buy all of this, hire someone else to do the work for us, yes, all that is true.  That is the age we live in, but I don't feel it's all for the better.  We live this life by necessity to some extent as we don't have the income to hire everyone for everything we need fixed or repaired or built.  But even if we did, we would not.  We would lose the soul level satisfaction of working with our hands and nourishing our bodies with love and care and attention. To see the sense of pride in my husband's eyes at the coop he built for the chickens, or installing the new light fixture or fixing his car.  Or for myself to smell the strawberry jam simmering on the stove, or shelves of canned food to get us through the winter, or chickens happily clucking while they go about their business.  The knowledge that we have the skills we need to survive in a different way then most.  No amount of money could buy that. Ever.

It isn't until I get the chance to talk to someone that is interested in this sort of thing that I see the glimmer of hope.  I have made such a new friend and we spent the whole of our children's baseball practices talking about CSA's, canning, the benefits of raw milk, why organic is so important to our children's health, chick rearing and our shared disgust over the school lunch program.  It is then that my spirit relaxes, when I see the glimmer of passion building in that person's eyes and someone who is interested in the knowledge I have built over the 4+ decades of my life, it is then that I feel a little song build and a sigh in my heart.  Kindred spirits for your passions are not to be taken for granted.  Ever.

Wishing you the enlightenment that shared passions bring, ~Peacemom

Ogunquit State of Mind

Hello All,

Above is a photo I took in Ogunquit last weekend.  For the first time in almost 8 years, Music Man and I took a night (two actually!) away from our children.  I don't really consider the one night we spent away from them when Little Red was born...since I spent the whole night in labor (28 hours to be exact) and Music Man spent fitful and intermittent sleep on a little bed in the room.  So, no, not a vacation for either of us.  It was so long overdue and so needed after the 15 completely stressful months we just spent. 

My mother-in-law very graciously agreed to take the boys.  She escorted them to their three hours of baseball practice, and around to a bunch of  "The Cousins" baseball and basketball games, and their favorite sports card store and out to eat and they got to sleep away from us for the first time in their lives.  They had a great time and Grammy enjoyed their company.  The gift of time is the best gift she could have given us and it was very appreciated.

We started our trip arriving at the inn where we had reservations.  You know, when you are reserving something site unseen, it can be interesting.  I have a dear friend that LOVES Ogunquit, and I asked for recommendations, but as he either camps or stays at friend's timeshares there, he didn't have a clue where to stay.  I had two requirements.  A jacuzzi tub I fit in (for those that don't know me personally, I'm a chubby tall girl and need a nice big jacuzzi).  It was made for two and was very nice. We also wanted a fireplace in the room as well.  What we got was a lovely, large one bedroom suite with a jacuzzi and fireplace in the bedroom.   However, the sitting area of the place has one VERY tiny little loveseat (it was an oversized chair, really).  That was it for seating.  Being there two nights, we were sort of hoping for a place to hang, have a drink or two.  This was not that space.  It was a little strange.  In any case, we went right down to the downtown area and decided to get a dessert and sit and people watch. There is not much chance to do that in our little country town.  Fun, fun stuff.  Ogunquit is a gay mecca besides being a lovely destination and some of the people we saw had nothing but fun in mind.  It was amusing and we enjoyed their energy. 

Then Sat morning we had the continental breakfast offered by the Inn and headed downtown again to sit on the square, enjoy some tea and coffee and enjoy the lovely morning.  We had amazing and perfect weather the whole weekend, we could not have asked for more.  We walked along the Marginal Way which is a 1 mile walk that goes all along the water.  There are many people that enjoy this and we were able to find an older couple to take our picture.  This is us...

and this is them enjoying one of the many benches along the trail.

and we found the house that our friend, who is totally missing his calling and should be an inn owner, should buy and renovate.  Right on the water, large gorgeous lot and needs someone to love it...

  then we sat on a bench and talked of our lives and our relationship and what the past 10 years together has brought our way.  It was a meaningful, sentimental wonderful discussion in front of a vast and beautiful ocean. We also talked about how we don't have enough time to do just this often enough.  Life gets in the way much too often. 

Music Man also made an offering on a cairn that was built on the rocks...kinda fun I think.

Amazing landscaping all along this trail makes for such an enjoyable walk.   Above is a poppy I just couldn't resist, so fetchin'.

We had a truly enjoyable walk that ended with me falling off a little edge on the walk and spraining my ankle, which was not fun.  And embarrassing that so many people watched me fall and my camera hit the pavement at a very high rate of speed.  Thank goodness that no permanent damage was done to either one of us!

We ate lunch at Barnacle Billy's.  Because there are just some things you should do once in your life.  Our server was great and even brought me a bag of ice for my quicky swelling ankle.  After enjoying more good food (our entire trip was great food and direly needed relaxation), we very slowly made our way back to the hotel for a bit.  We ate supper at the Cape Neddick Lobster Pound restaurant.  This is a place we had visited before we were married.  We were very pleased to find the food still great and the atmosphere equally so. Though, what is with young girls wearing tank tops with their bra straps hanging out.  First of all, so unhygenic to serve food in a tank top (I'll just say deodorant and leave it at that-gross), secondly, modesty is a virtue.  I don't need to see all that hanging out everywhere when all I want is my clam chowder.  But the rest of the experience was positive, so it's all good.  Music Man especially enjoyed his beer float.  This place took a Chocolate stout and added scoops of ice cream.  He coulda died and gone to heaven.  He doesn't drink much , and he is a beer snob, so for him to see something like that...well, there was no doubt he was going to have to try it.

The next day, another awesome meal at the Wild Blueberry, in which we also enjoyed a charming older couple serenade us with some upright bass and piano music.  Outstanding pancakes and Irish Eggs and live music, what could be better?

Though I missed my children, I was still sad to leave that perfect moment in time.  It was so nice to be able to spend a whole weekend not being needed by anyone, or cooking for anyone or cleaning up after anyone and to be catered to for a bit after 8 years, well that was as priceless as it gets.  We both agreed, we won't wait another 8 years to do it again. 

Wishing you some romantic time with your loved one, ~Peacemom