A fateful string of events

About 10 years ago my father brought home a few white geese. A short while after that he drove hours to southern Virginia to pick up a pair of Chinese geese.These geese live a peaceful, good life with a safe shelter to rest in at night, and eight acres to roam during the day. A little while later my father began raising ducks and after that came the chickens. My father is not a dog or cat guy but apparently he does keep pets. As a pet caretaker this means spending a small fortune on food and many hours weekly improving their habitat (like collecting pine needles for their shelter, building and cleaning a large chicken coop, and feeding the ducks special leafy green treats from the garden). Many evening hours were also spent taking care of predators in a way people in the country need to take care of predators.

After about a decade of keeping these animals, and with it, the intense care and work it requires, he's decided to give it up. Perhaps it was this past harsh winter of endless below 0° days and having to trudge through snow and ice to feed the animals daily that helped him reach this decision. Perhaps it was turning 70 and realizing there are still more than enough chores on his property to keep him busy enough, without the animal care. Either way, he decided that by the end of this year he would give up all the ducks, geese and chickens. 

The next question was, where would they go? He had just started talking to some friends and acquaintances and found some places to bring them, but he suspected that his beloved pets would not be taken to new homes to live the kind of life they had at my father's house. They would be "taken care of" in a different kind of way. My father has had the older generation of geese for a decade. As you can imagine, the thought of this made his heart ache. 

One of the white geese and one of the Chinese geese in the foreground

The other day, a neighbor my parents had never met before came to their house. She told my father she had a four acre farm just a few blocks away with horses, chickens, and a small pond, and that she had a pair of geese for 11 years. The goose pictured below, one of her favorite animals, had recently lost his mate. She'd noticed a change in his behavior and she was concerned that he was lonely. With a heavy heart herself, she explained that she'd remembered driving by in the past and seeing my father's geese happily roaming the yard. She'd come to ask if her goose could live at my father's place and hopefully find some company. He told her of course he would take the goose.

The neighbor's 11 year old goose who recently lost his mate

Neighbor's goose in the water, ducks along the edge

After a day or two my dad saw that the new goose was not eating so he called the neighbor who came over to visit again. He told her he was concerned the goose was not going to do well if he was refusing to eat. They decided that it was a possibility the goose was not transitioning well and might need to be back at his own home. My dad then told her he actually had a plan to get rid of all of his animals by the end of the year. He asked her if she wanted any of them. She was thrilled about the opportunity to adopt ALL of them! This way she would keep her goose and my father's entire flock would move to their new home with him. In about two weeks, they will make the exchange of animals. Before this time, she'll be cutting out a bigger pond and getting ready to increase her animals by about 10 geese, 15 chickens, and about 20 ducks. 

As the neighbor left that day, she said goodbye to my parents, quacked at the ducks and honked at the geese. With that, my dad knew there would be a happy ending to the story!

I love gardening (and books, and birds, and toads)

Last weekend, I took Veggie Pak's advice and went out to do some weeding. Though I'd planned to take the whole season as a loss after months of neglect, his advice about pulling weeds before everything went to seed was not only timely and sagely, but made me realize how freaking much I love gardening. Several times, my husband peeked out, and with dirt on my clothes, sweat pouring down my face, I stated, "Gardening is so fun".


It's incredibly rewarding to be on the ground hyperfocused on a task, and then stand back and see how much progress has been made. I love filling this blue can.


I even got to sow a row of fall greens.

I'm glad I got in the mood because this weekend, my new order of perennials from Bluestone arrived. Along with planting new additions, I moved several plants around. I absolutely LOVE moving plants around. Anyone the same way? I'm sure the moonbeam coreopsis will be so much happier in this spot - and passersby will more enjoy its reliable loveliness.




Above - lingonberries fruiting one tiny, tart, delicious berry at a time...

Below - the pepper garden going full force - poblano, cayenne, habanero, and jalapeno.


Tucked in the back, where I would never have strolled if I were sitting on my ass indoors like I have been all summer: pretty, delicate cyclamen.



And another benefit of all the fresh digging - birds coming to visit! I've never seen a woodpecker like the one above . And below, I've never actually seen any birds perch here, especially three! My husband bought me a really crazy bird book (was a birthday request). I wanted to learn more about birds and at least be able to identify some local ones. I even thought that as the talented whistler I am, I'd be able to learn some bird calls. But this book is really wacky. If you see a Great Blue Heron, you can communicate by saying deeply, "frahnk, frahnk, frahnk". A Scarlet Tanager will say, "hurry, worry, flurry, blurry". More literately, an Eastern Towhee will say, "drink-your-tea", and the elusive Olive-sided Flycatcher will say, " quick three beers"!


And last night, one of my favorite fall sights - garden toads. I don't know much about toads, but I'm certain that I never notice them except for around this time of year... I need a toad book.

In other book news, I'm excited about three books right now. The book above is a collection of stories written by women about turning points in their lives. One of the stories is written by Grace, one of my favorite bloggers (who happens to have a spectacular flower garden). The book below, is written by Ricki - another favorite blogger who has written a lovely, personal, common sense guide to gardening (and also makes these beautiful banners!).

Finally, I have been completely consumed by reading The Godfather. For the past two weeks, I have carried this book everywhere, have gone to bed at 9pm just so I can read for a couple hours, have brought a chair next to the stove to read while cooking, have skipped calling ahead for carry out just so I could order at the counter and read at the restaurant while waiting for my food, have encouraged the family to stop the convo and eat quickly so they can leave me alone at the table to read. For 2 straight days, I fantasized about being a crime boss. A generous one. You know. One that gets respect. Then I started getting paranoid - One day I dog-eared a page, ran out to pick up my daughter and at the stop sign down the road, I saw an unmarked delivery truck. As I passed it and looked in my rear view mirror, my first thought was that someone in there was paid to follow me. Anyway, despite having to set some fantasy vs. reality limits, I can say this is one of the best books I've read. I'm so sad that I only have about 50 pages left...

By the way, I know the movie is awesome and all, and we actually started watching it, but there is absolutely no comparison to the book. I would say the movie only includes maybe...1/2 of what's in the book. If you've seen the movie and enjoyed it, you REALLY need to read the book.

GTTC: muddled mint oreo ice cream

Today's Garden to Table Challenge comes from the herb section of the garden, the only section that is currently making me proud. The ice cream I made was loosely based on a recipe from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream At Home. This recipe book is filled with bright photos, unusual ice cream flavors, and truly instills a sense of confidence and inspiration to be creative with your ice cream. If you like to make ice cream at home, it's a MUST BUY (I wish I could say I was being paid to write this, but I'm not).

Today, I followed the Backyard Mint recipe and added Oreo cookie pieces (because Weight Watchers starts tomorrow). It was quite delicious - and interesting because the real mint used to create mint ice cream, tastes so different from the green mint ice cream we've all had from the supermarket. It definitely lends a "backyard" taste that is so natural and delicious.

What's going on in your garden and kitchen? I'm sure you're having more success with harvest than I am. What are you doing with your vegetables? Post about it with a link to this blog and then link below!

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In other things black and white, this is our little pet sugar glider Shakti-taka, making a rare daytime appearance. I think this super soft marsupial looks like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.

But in case you're not able to see the cuteness in Shakti, I'll end with something lovely from the garden...

Ducks and the geese that watch over them

Kids above catching dragonflies...below, the mogwai (Gremlins) of the flock of ducklings.

Above, an idyllic little path to see the water lotuses. Below, the view from near my father's vegetable garden.

Above, the white geese that roam the property. Every evening, my father claps and yells, "Hey!" and they all start filing in to their enclosure for the night. In this old post, you can see images of the geese walking in single file. It's hilarious (please come back after seeing the first few photos because I have a funny story to tell). The two Chinese geese in the photo below used to be part of that gaggle of geese that would roam during the day and come in at night. However, ever since my father collected eggs, hatched some of ducks and geese and then brought them out into the smaller enclosure, the two Chinese geese have not left the enclosure to join the other white adult geese at all. Instead, they stand guard just outside the smaller enclosure ALL DAY LONG. When anyone comes near, they start spitting and hissing. As it turns out, 3 of the baby geese belong to the Chinese parents.

On this day, my father needed to change the bedding in the little house. When he got near the enclosure, the Chinese geese started flipping out, honking and crying, and causing all kinds of hysteria. Then all the baby ducks and geese start honking and quacking and running around. In the photos below, you see that the Chinese geese first tried to corral the babies into the corner, and when my father walked in, they started to corral them into the house. Finally, must have honked, "GET OUT! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!"

Once the smaller guys are able to mix with the older folks, it will be really interesting to see what happens. I wonder if the non-Chinese geese will be adopted by the Chinese parents? I wonder if the Chinese parents know which are their offspring? Will the ducks try to follow the Chinese geese? When the geese are able to roam the property, will the ducks cry out? Will the regular white geese adopt their offspring at that point? Will the geese then roam as one group or split off into two now? Gawd, the whole thing is so fascinating to me!

Fowl, containers and kombucha update

I decided to tackle this mess last weekend. Honestly, the main reason I'd been avoiding this area for years was because I was scared. With all the pots haphazardly thrown on the cart, I knew some creepy crawly things had probably made homes or a bazillion babies in egg sacs. What I was happy to find was the bird's nest below.

I've tried eggplant a few times, never to see a reasonable eggplant before the plant was decimated. I decided to tuck this eggplant in a corner of the container by my front door and so far, no flea beetles! It will be really pretty to see flowers (or dare I say - fruit) on this plant.

Drumroll...below, you see the "mother" SCOBY (brownish), with the daughter below it! In this post, I pondered whether the kombucha would garner more shock value or health value.

After diligently waiting about 12 days, I found the drink pretty darn cool. Fizzy with a head. Pretty crazy, huh? Though it started off with as sweetened tea, the finished product was not sweet. I felt it tasted a bit like sparkling apple cider. It literally warms the belly as it goes down - like i'd imagine some good old homemade moonshine might. But alas, in the end...

I just can't do it. I drank a few glasses and coincidentally, we started to have a fruit fly problem. I decided to make this effective trap, only I didn't have any cider vinegar on hand, and thought the kombucha would be perfect. Guess what? I've got the perfect recipe for fruit fly bait. After seeing a cup of kombucha in a plastic cup with a bunch of dead fruit flies it in, I just can't drink it anymore. Below, my older daughter tries it with her pancake (with a sauce made of strawberry preserves, lemon juice, and butter - yum-o!). This is her face after she states, "The pancake that was just in my stomach is now in my throat." I tried. We all tried. We will not be experiencing the long-term benefits of kombucha in this household.

Some mean old geese at my parents' house. They're not happy that I've come to take photos of the babies.

These are the more chill Chinese geese below. Unfortunately two were killed by predators last year. The Chinese geese are supposed to be very protective and loyal. I've noticed they seem to keep watch over the babies - see the bottom photo...

Above and below, the fowl habitat. My father just built a smaller pen for the babies, and there is also a fenced area on the pond for the ducks to swim around. They have quite the life!

Below, the new baby ducks and geese. Awwwwwww!!! You can see one of their grandparents hatching here.

GTTC - strawberries and canning competence

I was right about the bumper crop of strawberries! For this week's Garden to Table Challenge, I made a few things from the garden that I can enjoy now or months from now.

First, I made triple berry jam (on the left) and strawberry lemonade concentrate (on the right). Later in the week, I made another 14 pints of lemonade concentrate, this time also adding raspberries and blackberries to my own strawberries. Here are the recipe and directions I used (loosely based on the Ball canning book - I adjusted somewhat because the recipe was waaaaay too sweet):

• To make about 6 pints of strawberry lemonade: measure 9 cups of berries (then puree), 7 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 10 pounds of lemons to end up with 7 cups of juice. You really need a citrus juicer for this job!), and 8 cups of sugar. Heat ingredients in large pot till sugar is completely dissolved and liquid is hot but not boiling. Fill hot pint-sized jars. Process for 15 minutes.

Below, the start of tonight's project - strawberry lemon marmalade. This marmalade is so flavorful. There's something so fragrant about the peel of citrus fruits - but I think it's definitely an acquired taste. I thought marmalade was soooo disgusting as a kid. Do you like marmalade? Did you as a kid?

This week's canning went so smoothly. It's funny to compare the mad canning skillz I have now compared to my first experience. Here's what has REALLY helped:

• I have all the necessary supplies and have learned which ones I really need (large canner with a proper rack, tongs, a wet washcloth, a stockpile of jars, lids, and rings) and which ones I really don't (magnetic stick to pick lids out of hot water, jar lifter).
• I have the concept down. I don't need to constantly read and re-read directions in the canning book as I go along.
• I've got a system down. I can quickly and carefully remove a hot jar with simple tongs and a washcloth.
• Per my former farmer friend, I keep my clean jars hot in the oven turned on low rather than in separate boiling pots of water. This trick has made all the difference.
• I'm not freaking out about trying to keep a completely sterile environment like the book warns about. It will all be just fine.
• I have full trust in the "pop!" and don't feel the need to hover to watch and listen for it.

And because canning is just really freaking fun and awesome (well, if you're the kind of nerd I am, you understand), I've decided the first GTTC prize will be the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I've also decided that I'm not going to wait till the end of the season to offer prizes. In fact, all season long, if I think of a fun prize, I will simply: 1) announce it on a particular Saturday, 2) draw a name from all the entries thus far, and 3) award the prize the following Saturday from all entries up to Friday night. All entries then go back in the pot. In other words, the more you play, the more of an opportunity you have to win.

Note to new GTTC participants - I'll be posting each week's GTTC on Saturday. Feel free to blog about what you're harvesting/cooking up, link to this blog, and then link below. Doing this gives you one entry to the occasional random prize drawings as described above.

So...next Saturday, I will draw from all the entries in the GTTC so far. Winner will get a new copy of the Ball book, which has a gazillion recipes and explains all the basics of canning step by step. The photo above is just so ridiculous I had to post it. I was moving photos from my camera and found my husband took these. On a glorious day this week, my six year old and I were outside in the front yard. I was reading the canning book (you can see it behind me), then we decided that we were going to pretend to take a nap. All I remember was that my little one said she was going inside to get juice. I woke up an hour later alone, dazed, and confused. The six year old got juice and decided to check out what was on TV. She never came back. And I'm sleeping in the front yard by myself cuddling stuffed animals...

And speaking of cuddling animals, my father's little guys were born last week. Can't wait to see how big they've gotten in one week. This post from a few years ago shows photos of a duckling being hatched (or whatever the verb for that process is). Hope you've had a good week!