Weekending

Happy new year!  I've been knee-deep in goal setting and writing this week.  Many of you have emailed me requesting specific blog topics and I've loved using those ideas to generate upcoming posts.  I am currently about what we eat which is ending up a bit longer than I'd planned.....as you know, I'm a bit long-winded at times.

Our time off is officially over so back to making products we go.  It will be nice to have a bit of a schedule again.  I've been so confused as to what day it is for 2 weeks!  We even ended up forgetting an appointment and showing up late.  We felt horrible but thankfully it all ended up working out ok.

We've been very lucky weather-wise.  We escaped the last ice storm (it hit as close as 1 town away from us) and ended up just getting a thin layer, then rain, and then a very thin layer of snow.  The snow was helpful to fall at the end so we could get traction when walking on the ice.  The temp's have been, for the most part, above freezing which has been very much appreciated.  It has allowed us to get some organizing done in the outbuildings.

Praising - the coop girls!  They have been laying anywhere from 11-17 eggs per day.  Woo hoo!  Our egg customers have been quite happy.  We do have 2 egg eaters in the flock......I am NOT happy about that.  I've caught them both in the act - yolk dripping from their beaks.  In the past we've tried adding fake eggs to the nesting boxes.  I've read that some people have had success.  We never have.

Chickens are quite persistent and they love, I mean LOVE eggs, so when they realize that the deliciousness is contained in that shell they just laid, well, then you end up with an egg eater.  If we were selling eggs as part of our income then we would likely have to cull them.  But, because we use the money to pay for their upkeep only, we'll ignore it the best we can.  It sure makes the other eggs a mess.  They usually only eat a couple of eggs (as far as we can tell) but they break them in the boxes that have additional eggs in them.  The untouched eggs get coated with egg yolk and small shell bits.  It's like decoupage, but not the pretty kind.  During the spring, summer & fall I'm pretty good about collecting eggs every couple of hours so it's not usually too bad.  But in the winter we usually only collect them once or twice a day.

Cooking - last night I made Jay Chicken & Dumplings and myself Veggie Pot Pie with Black Pepper Biscuits.  The BEST comfort meals for a dark and drizzly day.  Tonight Jay is getting a chuck roast cooked in the slow-cooker with rice, gravy and broccoli.  I'm having leftovers.

Jack is handsome but naughty

Wishing - that Jackson would stop being a bully and that Oliver would stop being so fearful.  I know, it's just who each of them are but my-oh-my is it awful.  Jack is just so mean to Oliver which makes Ollie so fearful.   We are without much sleep this week.  We've tried a whole lot of things - locking Jack out of our bedroom, putting Oliver in our bed, changing Oliver's bed to his crate (which is usually a comfort spot for him), etc.  For some reason (I suspect Jack did something naughty) Oliver is suddenly absolutely petrified of sleeping at night with me away from his side.  But he doesn't feel safe in our bed - I have to (attempt to) sleep on the couch with him.  Ugh....  We are going to keep trying things until we get it worked out.

Reading - I recently read this article which really resonated with me.  If you are one who gets quite stressed out when guests are coming to your home for dinner then you will enjoy it.  It speaks the truth.  I've been reading (affiliate link) The Simple Living Guide.  It speaks to my heart so I certainly am enjoying it.

Loving - non-dairy, no refined sugar hot cocoa.  And my frother. (affiliate links)  In a small saucepan I add 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of cacao powder (my favorite is here), and 1 cup of non-dairy milk (I use oat milk). Use more maple syrup if you like it sweeter.  Heat over medium-high until warm. (usually takes right around 2 minutes)  Use a frother to create a small amount of foam & to combine the cocoa, maple syrup and non-dairy milk.  You can certainly use a whisk, however, you won't get foam.  And foam is essential.  At least in my cocoa.  Sometimes I get really wild and add a drop of vanilla extract.....

Hoping you had a lovely weekend as well!

Weekendingwas originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)