Syrup - Earth Hour

Well - It's Monday already. What a busy weekend. On top of all this - BOTH kids were running fevers - Ingrid in the 102's and Grace not so bad in the high 100's. They are both home from school today - but NOT FOR LONG. Fevers are now gone - - Dance class - here we come. Glad that was short lived. We leave for Kansas City in just 5 days!

Earth Hour was fun. We actually turned the power off at the circuit box. NO flow for an hour. We lit lots of candles and the big lantern. I read to the girls from Little House in the Big Woods. There is a chapter in there all about sugering! It was fun. All the while - David was outside watching the syrup to make sure we didn't spoil it in all our fun. Around 9:30 the kids went to bed - and David brought in the syrup. The 30-40 gallons of sap had cooked down to about 7 quarts. Time to finish off on the stove. We continued to boiled down until it reached the PERFECT 219 degrees Farenheit - - - that is 7 degrees about the boiling point of water on OUR stove with OUR now calibrated thermometer. Ask and engineer - get an answer!! We finished canning it up around 12:30 AM!

So - here is the Syrup. We got 12 - 8 oz jars. A LOT of work for 12 jars - let me TELL YOU! The name on the label - STILLE SKOV - will be the name of our little piece of woods. It is Danish for Quiet Place in the Woods.

Then of course, work continued on THE COOP! Scott & Cindy & Co. came over and helped us carry the deck out of the garage. IT FIT for those of you worrying about it!! They helped with the walls too - and that was a nice bonus. So - here are all the pieces strewn about in the back yard - final vote in the POLL was 14 to 7 - so you Back Yard'ers WIN!!

Here David is putting the back wall into place. It is the shortest section - and has NO windows or doors. Let me just say - this is going to be one well ventilated coop!

This is a view from right behind the garage. You can see the steps coming out of the dining room to the left - and the coop far over to the right. It is 28 (not to energetic) paces from door to door. I'd guess about 50 feet! There is another small "structure" just to the right of the largest tree. It is the compost pile of those inquiring minds who JUST HAVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING!

And, here is the view from down in back. Quite the cozy back yard. Hmmmm - - - wonder where the eventual hot tub figures in with the chickens. Wonder if they'll jump in. Gosh - I hope not. ICK!

And, finally, here is the master giving a thumbs up to his work. (Actually - I think he's asking me if I think the front overhang should be higher in th front before he secures it in place. I KNOW we've already discussed this once or twice - my response was NO - it is WONDERFUL RIGHT WHERE IT IS!) xt step - sheathing the sides and roof with particle board - - and then putting siding and insulation in. I think the grand plan has a layer of 1/4" plywood or luan on the inside to keep the chickens from pecking away the insulation. Note too - your varmint lovers - it is about 10" off the ground on a cinder block and PT to level it off as it slopes down a bit to the back. No little critters welcome.

Sugering

DON'T FORGET EARTH HOUR SATURDAY NIGHT!
8-9PM Eastern!!!

Here are the girls. We had a 4" March snow storm yesterday. What a wet mess!






Elise & Simon had sap running out of their ears. Well, their trees! They gave us 40 gallons of sap and their sap rig. Here Gretchen is - sugerin'. NOT something I ever even dreamed of trying. We'll let you know how it comes out.

For now - this will be a SHORT post. I have to get back to hauling firewood to keep the fire nice and HOT - slowly adding the sap - and waiting for that sweet sweet result. The 40 gallons SHOULD result in a WHOLE GALLON of syrup. Will take most of today - and maybe some of tomorrow. Let's just say the side bonus is a lot of that icky scrap wood and pine laying around - will be GONE when this is done. The 3 year old pile of scrap lumber from construction - GONE! Maybe even that 11' tall christmas tree ditched there between the sap rig and the woodshed!!
THANKS SIMON & ELISE - youngin's too!

Earth Hour - Saturday!

Check out this link: http://www12.earthhourus.org/ Earth Hour is (on the East Coast anyway) from 8-9pm Saturday night. It is an "event" sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation. We plan to totally disconnect from the grid at the breaker box. We can do without the fridge, clocks, computer, TV and lights for an hour! An interesting night in the dark - - Let me know how yours turns out!!!

Well - three posts in a row this morning. It seemed easier that way with more than 10 pictures I wanted to show everyone! And, of course, I did them upside down. I should have done it so the Easter Pictures were first, then the coop update, and then the general going's on.. Oh well - bear with my inadequacies - and read on.. Alas, you'll get the gist of the last week. BUSY!

Here are the kids on morning just before leaving for the bus. LOTS of deer, we've seen 11 at a time, wander around the property. If you look between the kids heads - you can see one feeding on something WE"VE grown!! Frustrating - but lovely to see wildlife around all the time.
Not to be outdone by Daddy. NO - this little girl had a plan of her own. Cut this smaller, I want this shape, can you cut this in half, etc.. About an hour later - her Littlest Pet Shops have a home and a table. The note on the table says. Stop here to check in!! HE HE HE Love it!
We got to have our friend EMMA for dinner one night while her parents went to a meeting. She had fun with the kids.
..... and Grace read her a story. It was marvelous to see the girls being so nice to a little girl far away from home. I would say Ingrid was almost maternal. I wondered where the OTHER Ingrid went and hoped she would stay there a bit longer!

Ingrid likes to help. A year or so ago I bought some unfinished curtain tie-backs. It was finally time to re-make the curtains for this house (after almost 3 years it was about time huh?) They had fallen behind the dryer. She eagerly stepped up to the challenge and climbed back there to get them. They were pretty dirty - but that didn't stop her from getting them for me.
We painted them up to match the other ones I made 3-4 years ago - I remade the curtain and we FINALLY have a softening touch on the dormer window. Whatcha think? (Oh - there is the chicken house star - for now!)
The helping around the house is improving. Here the girls work together to unload the dishwasher. This is the most dreaded task of the parents - - - they do great and leave piles near cupboards they cant reach.. It is a big help - - - They USUALLY take their plates and load it up after dinner. I can't complain about this.
Well - after the birthdays and Easter - we also celebrated our 14th Wedding Anniversary this week. You can see - it was apparently a SHOE ANNIVERSARY! David got some neat Merrill shoes. They are high-top of sorts, a bit trendy in style and very comfy. After years of waiting - I finally got a pair of clogs. I have missed having them - - - These have backs - and David almost approves!! They will look totally awesome with my hand-knitted socks! Can't wait to finish my current pair and try them out!

Zee Coop!

Here is David about a week ago setting one of the first of Cindy's windows into the wall. They didn't come with frames, so he spent a day or so framing them out. They will have hinges so they can open and eventually screens so that little Chickie's can have some ventilation -








The girls are working to show David what it will be like with the coop is all full of chickens! This is a fun project!











Here everyone is with "the star" and showing the large window in a side wall. YES - it is fully erected in the Garage. YES - it will come out. David hasn't really nailed the walls to the deck firmly. There are a number of "strategically placed" ropes to secure it all in place for now. This, naturally, ensures a good fit. This Sunday Scott & Cindy are coming to help us locate the deck (in the back yard - thanks for all your votes folks!) Then the walls will be permanently attached and the roof put on..



One of the best parts of it all - is the time spent with the kids. Here is Ingrid helping David to put the framed window into the wall to ensure a GOOD FIT! Doing fun things with the kids, learning new skills and practicing creativity that will last a lifetime. The chickens are just an added bonus!!

Easter and David's Birthday

Here are our pretties on Easter Sunday. Last week the church kids put all the plams on the cross. Easter Sunday then all paraded down the aisle with flowers to adorn the cross with. It was very nice.

Happy 42nd David! His birthday fell on Easter Sunday. We got to bring home a lot of balloons from church - - that picture is farther down! It made for a festive day with a Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake. Thanks for the recipe Sugar!!!

So - as promised. Here all ALL the balloons at church. They are released from their tomb right at the end of the service. It is quite the scramble to wade thru the very long strings and then for everyone to pull down their share. It was really fun - and the girls had NO IDEA it was coming. Their faces were wonderful!

After church the Easter Bunny had visited and there was a huge egg hunt on the front lawn. Ingrid was so sweet. She found a little stuffed dog perched by a tree. She immediatly got it and then came running to give to Grace. So - there is hope for their relationship after all!

On Monday - Janice and Lee came to celebrate David's birthday. We had lunch and played some games. Here is Grace - obviously WINNING at twister. David's birthday was very CHICKEN FOCUSED. The girls gave him a metal star to put atop the chicken coop, my Mother gave him 20 bucks to buy chicken feed with and his folks gave him an old chicken scale!! All in all - very clucky - - see next post for an update on "THE COOP"!

The Chicken Coop Begins

Well, David managed to get home a bit early Monday evening to start building the chicken coop. These chickens just don't know how good they have it!!!! After getting FREE stuff over the weekend, he is pretty psyched. The floor is being painted in the basement (to protect it from the elements). He got a miss-mixed gallon of outdoor paint for $8 at the hardware store. The color isn't THAT bad - especially considering it will visible only on the BOTTOM of the floor. Honestly - the things we do for the mice (and other small creatures) of Brunswick!!! Here he and Ingrid are putting together the frame of the deck. They make a GREAT team! Their jackets and gloves even match! Got to LOVE this time with the kids. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David decided to work in the garage to protect everything from the elements until it has a roof and real floor. Once the deck and walls are assembled and tacked on the deck to ensure a good fit - we'll pull the walls off and locate everything in the yard for final assembly and the roof. Once the coop is erected, we'll start making a nice sized fenced in chicken yard around the coop. David has a master plan - I'm sure the coop will be there for decades to come! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We're still having a bit of a debate about where to put it. Perhaps YOU can help. There is a POLL at the top of the BLOG Home Page. Please scroll up and vote for your choice!! Comments would also be welcomed!! Choice #1: Behind the house in the BACKYARD near the woods. This is convienent for us to see from the house and very very easy to access via garage and sliding door in dining room for feeding and gathering of eggs. It MAY be too close to the bedrooms and be a bit clucky in the wee hours of the morning! Choice #2: Front yard near the fire pit and wood shed. It is also fairly easy to get there from the garage to take care of them and would would see it every time we come in. Adding to the woodsie ambience of the property!! However, we can't really see this area from inside the house for quick check-ups on the flock!! This location does offer a bit more distance from the bedrooms.

The Morton FARM begins.....

David JUST ordered our chicks. He is TOTALLY excited. To hear him tell, its the beginning of our "farm"!! It is just too hysterical to imagine!! We ordered 10 Assorted Chantecler, Pullets (females). They are coming from a distributor in Texas and will arrive the week of 4/21/08 right after we get back from Missouri. Here is a link to the distributors web site. https://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/Products.aspx . The picture shows the 3 different varieties of Chantecler! From the top down: Partridge, Buff, and Red. Buff is currently out of stock, so I excect mostly Partridge and Reds. The usual minimum order is 25 chicks. NOT FOR ME THANKS! I'll pay the small order fee of $7. Because it is a small order, we will likely get a bunch of males of other breeds. This is to help the poor little darlings stay warm whilst they are being shipped. It will be interesting to see what shows up!!! -----------------------------------------------------------------

So - the other preparations will now begin. David is gathering materials to build the coop. It will be out behind the house. I'm not recalling his final decision on the dimension - but roughly 6x8. It will have a nice large yard for them to cluck about in. This location is easily accessible from the garage and back door - and hopefully will help us to keep up with feeding, watering, and maintenance - and of course - gathering eggs.... He has purchased the deck materials. And - just this morning - got an extra door and window from a friend of ours that has recently done some renovations. Her house is 200 years old - it is very cool to think that a small piece of Eagle Mills history will now reside in my chicken coop. Thanks CJ!!!! You'll have a supply of eggs for awhile - provided this works of course.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, friends - get ready for eggs and you brave stock cooking types (you know who you are!!) get ready for the cocks we don't want......

News & COFFEE MUGS

It has been a busy week. I am planning a trip to Missouri in April. Thanks in advance to all of you hosting us. We are excited to see each and every one of you as we drive accross the country.

I've been busy coordinating the PTSA bookfair that starts next week. Thank GOD for wonderful friends and volunteers. It makes the job easy. You know who you are - THANK-YOU!

Ingrid had a school project to make a clothes-pin doll that resemble one of our ancestors. She chose Polly Snow Morton (her Great^5 Grandmother on the Morton side). Here she is knitting a shawl to go on the doll. She is actully kniting a lacy pattern with yarn-overs and knit-2-togethers. Very Cool. I am working on my 3rd pair of socks. Lovin' this couch time with her..... Last Sunday we went looking for Bald Eagles that had reportedly been roosting near the Hudson River. Well a day late - an eagle short. However, on the way I noticed a LARGE bird on an overhead power line. We stopped and turned around and it was still there. It was this BARRED OWL. We learned about them in 4H at a meeting last year. He flew off to this tree right along a busy road. Sat there for a long time while we spied him thru the binoculars and took some pictures. They don't do him justice - but a good remembrance of the "occasion".
The other neat part was that along our road on the very same trip home, we also saw a Red Tailed Hawk. And then, almost best of all - - - on our way home after dark the next day a strange critter ran accross the driveway and shuffled off into the woods. We think it was a large mink, or more likely, a small fisher. VERY COOL INDEED. The following is the girls first musical composition, complete with staff, time signature, G-cleff and lyrics (with hyphens where you are supposed to sing on more than one note!!!). It is a RIOT. I only wish it wasn't on a white board. I can't save it!!! It is entitled: "Pet P.J.'s". Here are the lyrics if you can't read them in the picture and want to sing along! My pet dress-es in my P.-J.'s. They get fur-ry. With fur. My P.-J.'s feel funny. I'm still fighting with the BLOGGER ways. The following picture SHOULD HAVE been where the owl picture was. This is Cohoes Falls. It is the area the Bald Eagles were in for several weeks. The falls are on the Mohawk river. The Mohawk actually divides into 4 branches as they all dump into the Hudson river. The area is loaded with islands. A very picturesque location. One of our favorite places to go hiking is one of the islands that has a trail all the way around. There are also a lot of hydro-electric generating stations in the area. Some are over 100 years old and quite historic. The following came to me in an e-mail this morning. I thought the message was very good. Consider this when you have YOUR next cup-o-joe and/or are "stressed"! g

The Coffee or The Cup

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups .. . . . Enjoy your coffee! "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. Have a blessed day and enjoy your coffee!