New nesting box for chicks and homemade donuts (not for chicks)!

So the chickens have needed a real nesting box ever since we put them in the modified doghouse, and HR and I finally gave it to them! Two nesting sites affixed to the side. Our doghouse is looking more and more like a coop!



And the girls ...


Lady Spur has not joined the flock just yet, but is fattening up and getting healthy all the same. She has spent two "outside" sessions with the big girls. One resulted in Rose pecking her harshly (I intervened even though you're not supposed to) and the other they got along swimmingly (or flightlessly?).


She's getting big! And she's tamed down to the point where she will hop onto your lap for a treat. I'm very pleased with her!

And, Happy Hanukkah!


*Sucks in air* Homemade, gluten-free, vegan pumpkin rice powdered sugar donuts ... that's a mouthful! And a good mouthful too.

Playing shoot 'em up games

It rained yesterday and instead of riding in the rain, I went to the shooting range with HR. He shot his big ole muzzle loader and I played with my personal gun: .380 Micro Desert Eagle. Handy little thing with big bang! 

HR said that I gave my guy a nice slow painful death and probably really ticked him off. Mission accomplished. That shot above the red circle is HR's. Everything else is mine. First time shooting with this gun, so not bad. All shots taken at 10 and 20 yards.

HR and his big puff of smoke. He was shooting his gun at 50, 100 and 200 yards! He ended up scoping himself though and now is sporting a butterfly bandage on his brow. I did take a pic of the blood and the gore on his face, but he erased it before I could post it. Darn digital technology! 

New chick!

Meet Ms. Spur!

Ms. Spur arrived last night from Lane, S.C., where HR's granddaddy lives and keeps thousands of chickens. They are game chickens, and Ms. Spur is about as wild as they come. 

She is 6 weeks old and named after the Carolina Gamecock's rooster Sir Big Spur:

Anyway, she is undergoing socialization for the next few weeks and then she'll get to join her sisters Rose and Dorothy once she's a little more ... tame. 

Dressage show

Went to a dressage show this past weekend with my leased horse Jaeger Meister. We got a 61% and second place in Intro A, and 59% and third place in Intro B.

Show Oct. 23, 2010

Also riding with my barn (sixstarstables.com) was Susie on Toby (other red horse), Renee on Trissa (gray arabian) and Caitlin on Paramour (black bay horse).

And a good time was had by all!!!

Hungry, hungry caterpiller

Took these photos a month or so back but wanted to share. I picked up a dill plant for my herb potter and it had an unexpected and voracious friend. He started eating up that dill quicker than it could grow and he was promptly asked to leave in search of other delectables (I put him on my equally voracious rosemary bush since they seemed well-matched). 

I think I had him ID'd as a black swallow tail caterpillar. Never did get to see him transform into a butterfly, but he made a pretty neat looking guy.

Also, tiny bugs are really hard to get good pictures of. Those photos were the only good ones out of like 20! Thank goodness for digital camera! 

First Class HR

HR made FS1 today and I got to put the pins on his hat. His captain was really proud of him and said that he was a good leader and always goes a step beyond. He also said he was good in the kitchen (all stuff I already know! :) ). Anyway, I'm real proud of him and I could tell he was really proud of himself (as he should be).

Happy endings

Anyone who knows the Streets, knows we are suckers for animals. 

This little guy (now named Seinfeld) was dropped off at our house Monday, Sept. 13, after nearly getting run over from being in the road. At 4-5 weeks old, he was too tiny to be out on his own. He also was sick with worms and a bacteria infection. But man is he cuddly!

By Wednesday, he had seen the vet and found his very own family! We wish Seinfeld well, since not all pets are so lucky to find such good homes (especially after such an ominous beginning!).

Seinfeld and his person:

Mom & me from 1988

Uneventful Earl

Thank goodness! Hope the rest of the East Coast fairs as well as we did. Nothing to speak of. Woke up and started to take pics of the "damage" (see above). Ended up taking pics of the animals instead.

I'm not sure if Dorothy is molting or if the storm stressed her. But we had more chicken feathers than debris from the storm this morning!

Hmmm ... didn't get a pic of Cora this morning. She was pretending to still be a wild kitty. Got Missy though! <3

Our uninvited guest

Yes, I'm talking about Earl. He's extremely rude for showing up without being invited and canceling our vacation plans to Western North Carolina this weekend.

HR is underway and I'll be riding out the storm with the puppies, kittens and chicks. 

No need to worry about us! We should be safe and that's becoming apparent hour by hour. We shouldn't get much more than 60 mph wind gusts (30-40 sustained, likely) and no flooding at our house. 

Batteries charged, water supplies stocked and food ready to be consumed. I even charged up the old e-reader so I can do some old fashioned reading if power goes out.

Of course, the worst of it should be at around 2-3 a.m. Friday. So I may just be sleeping! 

One Way along the waterway

Got a few pics of One Way (think I'm going to start calling him HR here) coming home from being underway.

See him up there on the tower?

My workspace

Just in case anyone was wondering where the "news" comes from:

Yep, that's a Cooper's Hawk tail feather and a bandana from Blaze Ya Dead Homie. 

Blowing in the wind

The Street family household just got a little bit greener. OK, we did it because 1) it saves money and 2) clothes get less wrinkly (a chronic issue with our current dryer). But going green is always good too!



Ana helped ...


But wasn't very good at giving directions.




:)

I think One Way is trying to poison me (or Interesting volunteer)

The summer garden is looking beautiful and has resulted in an interesting find.

In the same spot as the cherry tomato from last summer, what I thought was a volunteer sprouted. It had some odd characteristics but it just screamed tomato family to me. So even though my suspicions were aroused by the white flowers, flatter leaves and interesting cluster of fruit, I kept it. It smelled like a tomato through and through.

Yesterday, some of the fruit ripened to a spooky black.

At the moment, I'm 99% certain it is Black Nightshade (a less deadly form of Deadly Nightshade) that is also known as Garden Huckleberry and can be used in jams and pies. There are theories that say nothing in it is toxic and theories that say cooking it will remove toxicity. All the same, I've sent this photo on to get it properly identified before making any jams.

So have you been naughty or nice this year? If you've been naughty, you may just end up with some Black Nightshade jam *evil grin* 

Beach visit

With Henry out of town, I've been stuck by myself. Oh, it isn't as awful as it sounds when you have a gazillion animals to keep you company!

Yesterday, we went to the beach and had a great time.




Ana got super sandy after rolling around in the sand and we went swimming together. Kit, who is scared of water, patiently waited for a shark to eat us while she was safely on the shore.

Street Family Farm harvests

Summer is nearly here and we have started harvesting from our spring/summer crops.

Cucumbers started coming in more than a week ago and we are getting at least one a day (from one plant ... and I have about six of them planted so we are going to be consumed by cukes here soon).

I got my first tomato blushing yesterday and picked it, and today another one started to blush so I'll probably pick it tomorrow.

Dorothy, who went into a brood for a record six weeks, came out of it and she and Rose are giving us two eggs a day.

I've also started getting some squash every other day. And the jalepenos are going full steam. I also harvested all of our red potatoes today (see pic? That's about 1/2 the harvest so it will last us a while).

Growing up

Our formerly feral kitty Cora, who adopted us last year, is now over a year old! And boy has she grown. Pretty amazing that she went from this:



To this:


That's one big kitty! Not bad for being the runt of her litter. Now, even tipping the scales at 9 pounds, she's still the runt of the Street Family (yes, I'm pretty sure the fat chickens outweigh her).

Our trip to Ireland in pictures

Trail ride at Whippoorwill

One Way and I went our separate ways this past Sunday. Since I got pictures and am the author of the blog, you get to see my day. His day was spent golfing. Mine? Riding.

Weekend snow

Snow

New year, new coop!

Planting season is around the corner and seeing as our beloved chickens decided my fall/winter garden belonged in their bellies, One Way and I had to figure out a new strategy. The result is a much more simplified version of what we had been doing (coop at night, freerange during day, giving them full access to all things edible – and non edible – in the yard).

We purchased a large dog run and a large dog house. Problem solved and quite nice. One Way calls it the "Stress-free chicken coop" but I think I'm going to call it the "Habitat" (because they are little dinosaurs) or the "Condo" (because the Golden Girls live in a condo).

Here it is! We're very pleased with it.

Rose and Dorothy's feet: