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Easy Fudge

One more Christmas tradition that I enjoy is making fudge. Since I am not an accomplished baker or candy maker, I appreciate easy recipes that are versatile and delicious! For years I have been using the same recipe which can be found on the back label of marshmallow creme, whether name brand or store brand. I like this recipe because it does not require a lot of ingredients, or time, and it tastes pretty darn good. It may not win a fudge of the year competition, but chances are it will all get eaten. The thing that I love about this recipe is its versatility. It is so easy to change this recipe from chocolate fudge to white chocolate fudge with nuts, or green mint fudge. My new favorite is sea salt caramel fudge‼ If they make a flavored chocolate chip, you can turn it into fudge. 

Holiday treats ready to eat
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Preening and Dust Baths

Preening is a chicken’s favorite pastime! It’s the method that Mother Nature has given them to not only look their best, but to protect and condition their feathers. A chicken’s feathers are their first line of defense in battling the elements and protecting their bodies. They have several different kinds of feathers, each serving a unique purpose, and they have several layers of feathers which provide insulation and protection against the weather. A chicken also has an oil gland near the base of their tail. If you watch them preen, you will notice the chicken rub their beak at the base of their tail, collecting oils which they will then spread on their feathers. This oil helps with insulation and waterproofing factors as well as aiding in the battle against external parasites.

chicken sun bathing 1
chicken sun bathing 2
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Potato Soup – A Christmas Tradition

I love Christmas traditions! We live in a fast-paced society where things are constantly changing and evolving, including traditions.  I remember when I first got married, the Christmas traditions that I knew and loved as a child, changed. While we still enjoyed some traditions with family, my husband and I established our own traditions as we built our life together and had children of our own. Now as our sons leave home, marry and start their families, traditions will again change, be modified, evolve. It’s just a part of life! 

It has been a tradition of my mother for the last 30 plus years to have Christmas Eve dinner in her home. Dinner has been modified from the fancy turkey with all the trimmings to a simpler menu of soups, homemade rolls and cheese logs. Personally, I enjoy this altered menu. To me, soup is a comfort food, Christmas and comfort are synonymous, and not much tastes better on a cold winter night than soup. One of the favored soups served on Christmas Eve is potato soup. My mother’s recipe is easy, requiring few ingredients and certainly fills the belly and warms the heart. I would like to share with you the recipe for our traditional Christmas Eve potato soup.

potato soup with toppings
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Chicken Aggression

When I was fairly new to chicken keeping, we got some chicks from the feed store and one of the hens turned out to be a rooster. He was a feisty guy. My boys were ages 2, 4 and 6 at the time and this rooster would chase them all over the yard. It got to where they would not go out back if that rooster wasn’t locked up. They named him ‘Killer’! He would go after anybody that came near his territory and if you have never been attacked by a chicken, as funny as it looks and seems, those little buggers can inflict some serious pain! For the safety of the kids, he was culled. I have only had one other rooster that would go after people and he was exiled from the coop. No longer having a harem to protect, he calmed down.

Chickens eating at feeder
Establishing a ‘‘pecking order” is natural in chicken culture.
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Ducks! Great Entertainers!

Not too long after we started raising chickens, I went to the local feed store for some chicken feed and brought home a white Pekin duckling that I named Howard. Howard was my first experience with raising ducks. Since then the ducks we have added to our flocks have been found, given to us or had physical problems. My husband once brought home a crested duckling from the feed store who had a kinked neck and walked with his head tilted to one side. We called him Crazy Duck! With love, care and time, his neck straightened out and he was a beautiful duck with that fun puff of feathers on his head. My husband also brought home a duckling he found at the side of the freeway. He looked like a Mallard cross and  grew up to be a pretty little guy. When we first moved in to our current home, a neighbor asked if my boys could have a duckling. Sure, why not. He borrowed the boys to help him catch one and next thing I knew, I had a mama and 9 ducklings! I currently have a flock of 6 ducks and they are the best!

ducks with ducklings
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Easy Dinner Rolls

One Christmas I was asked to bring rolls to a church dinner. I had made bread before so I figured rolls would be no big deal and waited until the last minute to make them. Oh, My, Gosh! To say “what a disappointment” would be an understatement. My yeast was old, it was a cold day and my dough wouldn’t rise! I finally baked them anyway and I can attest to the fact that they were the saddest rolls at the dinner. So, I decided to learn how to make rolls. After bread making classes, watching videos and advice from Chef Brad on Cooking with Grains, I have learned a few things.

First, it’s important to have good, active yeast. This is what is responsible for making your dough rise and gives it it’s light, airiness. In order to activate your yeast you need a sugar and warm water. For my rolls I combine 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar with 2 level tablespoons of yeast and 2 cups of warm water. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, so be careful. Let this stand until it becomes all foamy. Then you know your yeast is good.

Activated yeast
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Making Dirt

Making dirt is not something that we generally think of as a great pastime or fun hobby, and frankly, purchasing commercial garden fertilizers is easier. However, I have always been a fan of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’! Trying to be a stay-at-home mom and raise a family required that I make our dollars stretch and not be wasteful with our resources. My husband built our first chicken coop out of wood pallets. The fruits, vegetables and leftover meals that had passed their prime went to the animals. All the organic material at our disposal went into a compost pit to be turned into free garden fertilizer. Every little bit helped! 

Flowering plant in planter
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Friends!

In the middle of July I had a hen who was sitting on some eggs. Two of the eggs hatched. She sat on the chicks for a day, then took them out of the nest. While she was gone, showing her two newbies life in the big chicken house, a third egg hatched. If left to her own devises, she probably would have died. Mom didn’t want her, she couldn’t keep up and the other hens were starting to peck on her. I tried a surrogate mom, a broody hen sitting on eggs, but she pushed the babe out of the nest. So, I brought her into the house, set up a small plastic tub with a heat lamp and a feather duster (her faux mom – an idea mentioned in a Fresh Eggs Daily with Lisa Steele blog post), and left her to rest and warm up. I honestly thought that she would not make it. 

Baby chick
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Going on Vacation!

I struggle leaving home to go on a vacation. Seems like nobody takes care of my animals like I do…except my sister-in-law. She gets 5 stars for her efforts‼  When we go away, even if it’s only for a few days, I worry that something might go wrong. I consider my substitute caregiver successful if all my animals survive, whether the caregiver does all the right things…or not. 

chicken standing on bird house
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Is There Egg on My Face?

A few years ago I began to notice a decrease in egg production without any real reason as to why. In trying to figure out what was going on, I started watching my chickens very closely. My first clue was a hen with egg on her face! Then one morning I actually caught another hen in the act of eating an egg. So the challenge, and major research, was on‼

Chicken eating eggs
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