This -n -That Sunday

Just a few things to take care of today.
First and foremost...clean out the fridge as the Darlin' Man is back from his trip (as of Saturday morning) and is making a trip to the grocery store for me today. He has the list and I hope against hope that he won't forget too many items AND will not buy too much that is NOT on the list. He always brings home one or two *surprises* that I have to end up incorporating into a dish or meal. That can be fun or frustrating...or fun AND frustrating.
"Really, honey? A one gallon jar of marinated artichoke hearts....and 4 jars of kim-chi? That'll go well with the chocolate chili sauce you got last week."

Back to the fridge...
My chickens and the goats LOVE fridge cleaning day. So far this morning they have received some wilted lettuce, rubbery carrots and soft grapes. There's a squishy apple and a peach that got buried and turned mushy in the back that I have cut up to toss to them in a bit. I try to not have too many goodies to toss to the critters, but things invariably get shoved to the back and forgotten or hidden. Wasted food HURTS these days! I know, I know, not completely wasted since the chickens and goats will repay with eggs and milk. Still, I'd rather see the food go to our table than to the animals!

Speaking of food...I am trying to get everyone to eat foods they are not used to. Our vegetable dish tonight with dinner will be roasted root vegetables. Turnips, beets, potatoes, carrots and parsnips. I'll peel them, toss them with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and some herbs and then roast in the oven. Serve with a bit of butter. YUM! I just hope the kids like them! Generally they like everything I put on the table...although it took a bit of convincing on some dishes. They both hated spinach when I got here. Now they argue over who gets the last bit out of the bowl! (using either fresh or frozen thawed spinach, saute some garlic in olive oil, drop the spinach in the pan and saute until fresh is wilted or frozen is heated through. Serve with a pat of butter on top)
I think the root vegetable roast will go over pretty well.

Back to the critters...the Darlin' Man was upset about the loss of Cloris and has taken my suggestion to build a separate pen for the buck. YAY! We will get to work on that next weekend.
He came home from California inspired and eager to do more projects here to increase our yields, both from gardening and from the livestock. A lot of his inspiration came from attending the L.A. County Fair. He saw animals and gardening demos, quilts and other handicrafts. He took about 300 pictures, so after I sort through the pictures, I will post some...maybe you might get inspired, too!

Sad Day

This morning I went out to feed the goats as usual...and discovered that our youngest goat, Cloris, had died during the night.
Cloris was born in March, daughter of Champagne and Wang.
In case you don't remember Cloris:

Cloris is the little one to the right...she had just lost the *King of the Mountain* championship to Geordi in this picture taken a couple of months ago.

I know why Cloris died. She had gone into season far too young (it can happen...sigh) and before we discovered this, she had been bred.
She was simply too tiny to be pregnant.
I called a friend this morning after my discovery and sadly loaded Cloris into the trunk of the car and drove over to their place.
A brief necropsy and we discovered that her uterus had split and she had died of internal bleeding. She was carrying twins. Too large a burden for such a tiny young doe!
Cloris was left far out in the desert. The coyotes and birds and other scavengers will have her now.

Gender Bender on Frippery Farm?

Remember Penelope?

Our chicken that preferred the company of goats?
Penelope was purchased at our local feed store, along with Phoebe. Phoebe settled in well and proceeded to make friends with the other chickens, etc. Penelope got in constant fights and was attacked not only by the other chickens but by the rooster, Red the Psycho, as well.
I let Penelope stay with the goats and she soon learned how to get out of the goat pen and wander the yard contentedly. No eggs, but we bought her and Phoebe young and didn't expect eggs for a few weeks.
Penelope would sit on my lap as I milked the goats and followed me around the yard as I fed the goats and did other chores. She had become a fixture in the yard and was benignly ignored for the most part.

Yesterday I let all the chickens out in the yard...and Penelope made a bee-line for them.
Uh-Oh. There's going to be a fight!
Uhmmm...what's Penelope doing...she's not fighting...she's...HOLY CRAP!

(I had to edit in a new surprised face as the old link went bad)

Penelope...is not a girl chicken, she's a BOY chicken.
That's right...Penelope is a rooster!
Observe what I finally took notice of:

See the spurs growing?

Except for the tail feathers, he is a handsome bird! No crowing yet, but he gave it a bit of a try this morning.

S-o-o-o-o-o-o...name change is in order.
We are calling him Pender.