Big Sky Days

a funeral for a chicken

We said goodbye yesterday to one of our young chickens.  It is a long and sad story but the jist of it is that our dog, Ruby, attacked one of our brown chickens on Friday morning.  Our hen suffered horrible wounds from the attack and we tried to lovingly nurse her back to health but in the night she passed away.  

Therefore, a coffin was built and it was decided that she should be buried out by the chicken coop. This way she would stay close to her friends and family.  A hole was dug.  We officially named her since we were never able to tell the black ones apart.  So, we had a short ceremony for Padme just as the sun was making its way through the morning clouds.  Henry tried to read a poem but the tears were too hard to fight back.

I had to take over for my sweet, sweet one.  I read:

Just Now  by W.S. Merwin

It is clear from this experience that we are really not farmers.  I realize that farmers could never have such rituals for all the death that is seen on a true working farm.  However, it was good closure for us.  We raised this young chicken since it was just a few days old and we all felt some responsibility for her death.  We also took the time and made the decision to forgive our family dog, afterall..., and to consider the cycle of life.  

R.I.P. Padme Amidala. 

 

a recap and a recap and a recap

I guess I have been too busy to be in this spot for very long lately.  

I have come by and looked at the same old post from weeks back and thought to myself, "Self.  I should really post something new."  Then I look up and my daughter is about to draw on my wall or my son screams he needs help with some thing downstairs or I realize I should be cooking dinner, paying bills, or picking someone up from something.  That is what has been going on.  And therefore, there have been no recent posts.  

However, the good news is that we have really been up to some dynamite things and I just haven't been sharing.  I need to share.  The quickest way is the recap.  I know, I know I have done a lot of recapping this summer.  But I think maybe that is good...it means we have been out doing.  Doing.  That seems important.  So, I will berate myself no longer and get on with the recap.  

  

Joseph Creek.  A slice of heaven on this beautiful earth.  A place where the indoors is also outdoors.  The bikes were ridden every day.  The kids explored endlessly together.  We played in the river and had milkshakes.  We had delicious dinners outside by candlelight.  The kids rode in old trucks with no seat belts down the rural road to get cinnamon rolls.   The night sky was rich with stars and a waning moon.  A sheepherder's camp was rediscovered.  There were ATVs.  It was heaven for all and I can't wait to go back.

Back to School.  Second grade for Henry and a new start at Montessori for Lila.  The beginning of school is a hopeful and exciting time.  The fresh start and clean slate are welcome.

It has been the summer of the chicken egg and the tomato.  We have little else that we have produced.   Our beans were so-so.  Our chard was so-so.  Our broccoli was all wormed out.  The birds got to our strawberries.  Oh yes, we did have great raspberries!  And we did decide on a spot for the garden next year.  These are the important steps along the way, I guess.  

We did discover that homemade chocolate pudding is worth making (despite what many believe!)    And that it is best consumed outside by a fire pit.  At the end of summer.  With family and friends.

And finally, Yellowstone - our friend and neighbor.   We have sneaked in a few visits this summer to see the sights.   How can we not when we live but an hour and 1/2 away?!  

This last time we found out that if you take a 4- mile-hike to a creek you can see a lot along the way.   I think Edward Abbey talked about this.  He said to get out of the car and you will be rewarded.  It was a tough hike for these kids and, yes, some of them did require carrying and many moans and groans were uttered but in the end it was so worth it.  

Yes, worth it all.  

 

we started out

We started out this week with a warm, sunny day after another 4-inch Spring snowfall a few days before.  Now the snow on the ground is melted and our day was bright and long and full.  It felt very springy.  Finally.  

The cousin boys woke up and started immediately on making their own board game.  These boys love monopoly and so this new creation was monopoly-based but with their own slant.   It is called Explorer and there is a strong nature and money theme.   Intriguing combo, huh?  This blank board game is from Bare Books, one of my favorite places to shop on-line.  

Although the weather is warmer, the chickens must remain inside since the nights are still cool.  To make up for this, in some small way, we treated them to cottage cheese and scratch grains.  Not everyone was bold enough to try it but those that did kept coming back for more.  I guess there is a pecking order.

With the last of the day's light, some played a quick round of catch and I snuck off to make some supper. 

Dinner was served.  Enchiladas.  

Enchiladas are great because new, healthy ingredients can be mixed with ingredients that are well known and loved.  My daughter's diet is still quite narrow but my son is welcoming food of many different kinds these days.  This is his second stab at enchiladas and he gobbled them right up.  

Enchiladas

1-2 tbsp of olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 small squash (we used starburst), chopped

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 15 0z. can corn

1/2 uncooked quinoa

1 cup shredded cheese (we used mozzarella because that was what we had on hand.)

1 15 oz. can Hatch green chile enchilada sauce (any kind will substitute)

6 whole wheat flour tortillas

Green onion chopped for the top

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the onions and squash until soft, about 5-8 minutes.  Make the quinoa in separate pot.  (Mix 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup water and boil for 10 minutes, add water if too dry.  Once boiled, turn off and cover.  Rest for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork.)  Drain the corn and black beans and rinse.  Mix the onions, squash, quinoa, black beans, corn, and shredded cheese in bowl.  (Save some cheese for the top.)  Fill the tortillas with the mixture and roll up, then line up the filled tortillas in a prepared 9x9 baking dish.  Pour the can of enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve with chopped green onion and hot sauce!

Mucho Bueno!











 

life around us

There is life around us and sharing this space of earth.  We have had visitors and old friends.  We have had new life and signs of spring.  All right here, just outside our windows.  But pulling us out our back door.  We quietly watch with awe and intense curiosity, wondering what or who will come next. We quietly watch and unravel our winter layers to get a close unencumbered look.  

To me, this is the best of spring.  

 

Like the owl, our breath rises, drifts

toward something warmer, something better.

-Todd Davis, from his poem While We Wait For Spring




 

teenage chickens

They're gawky.  They're awkward.  They're funny lookin'.  They're teenage chickens!

This bunch got a new home.  A new home for their new teenage stage in life.  

And they got a new home because they will need to stay inside for a few more months.  (Due to the topsy-turvy, unpredictable, Montana Springs.)

Maybe by then we will be able to tell them apart, since they are have rather specific names.  

And right now I couldn't tell you who was Elizabeth or who was Jackie.  And I do look closely, sometimes.  But I do know that Elizabeth is definitely not Princess Leia.  I am on top of that one.  But in any case, maybe in a few months we will be just as clueless and maybe that won't be so bad either. 

Remember this one...

...still around.  Oh yes, still around.  

a surprise, here and there

It was a bit of a surprise when we walked out the door this morning.

Lots and lots of snow!  I knew the snow was forecasted but somehow I didn't believe it.  I mean, spring was in the AIR yesterday!  It was nearly 50 degrees out!  Plus, we had just returned from a trip to New Mexico where the weather was nothing but glorious.  Seventies, nearly Eighty.  At one point, I was comfortably sitting with friends at an outside table after dinner enjoying the moonglow.  (I know New Mexico weather has nothing to do with Montana weather but it still somehow seemed significant enough to mention.)  And I guess it really isn't a surprise that it snows in spring.  

Next we checked in on the chickens.

Now here, I am actually going to admit some surprise over their growth.  These little ladies are big! Hmpf.  Um.  Not sure how we are going to keep them in this same spot till JUNE, as originally planned...I will have to think on this one.  

We returned inside to review and download all the photos from our recent trip.  Near the end of our trip, we got to go to the Santa Fe Children's Museum.  Although it was not the first time for both of the kids, it was a new place for me.  By this point in the trip, the kids needed a bit of exploratory play.  And that is just what they got.

Which was a nice surprise.



 

 

 

Chick Days

These chicks have arrived!

We have created their brooder and we now are hanging with them -  trying to figure it all out.  We already did a few things wrong but, oh well, they seem to be thriving (or surviving!)

6 little nuggets of chicken love now reside in our storage room. 3 Delaware chicks (yellowy ones) and 3 Jersey Giants (brown/white ones.)  

These little ones are like tiny dinosaurs with fluff.  Soft and fragile.  We are working on getting their ecosystem right and checking in on them, at least, 5 times per day.  This is a new experience - and like all new experiences it is exciting and scary.  

We are working on the names.  So, I will have to update you on that in a bit.  

Ornithology 101

Wikipedia says:

Ornithology (from Greek: ὄρνις, ὄρνιθος, ornis, ornithos, "bird"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds.  Most marked among these is the extent of studies undertaken by amateurs working within the parameters of strict scientific methodology.

This blog may soon turn into an ornithological (is that a word?) web site.   Because...look who I spotted in our tree today.

On the left is the corner of my house, with the bird feeder we always watch from the kitchen window, and way up in that spruce...let's zoom in for you...

Oh My.  Now even I can I identify that beauty.  I mean she is on our quarter or our dime or our state house, something quintessentially American.  She is grand and important and endangered.  This incredibly iconic, endangered bird blessed our spruce tree this morning.  I was overjoyed.  I felt like I won the jackpot.

Here she is again.

I am in love.

Well, it turns out the American bald eagle is no longer endangered, that was lifted in 2007.  But she is still a rare sight for this girl.  They are at the top of the food chain and actually eat mostly fish and carrion (which was a word I learned from my son the other day, decaying flesh.)  Which means, they are not a huge threat to my chickens-to-be and quite welcome in my yard.   These birds have hollow bones, have 7,000 feathers, weigh 10-14 pounds, and pair for life.   The adult males and females look the same, so she just may be a she.  Yes, these are the facts that amateur ornithologists know (or just read.)  

And I think an ornithologist may also enjoy some eagle poetry.  At least we do in this home.  This poem seems to capture the essence of these birds and is perfect to share with kids. 

The Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

by Alfred Tennyson

 

look who's watching...

Is that an eagle up there?  It may be a hawk but, if so, it is one big hawk.  

This grand raptor has been sitting in the tree right above our (future) chicken coop for the past several days.  We even got a glimpse of her in flight...spectacular.

 Now, I have never really loved birds.  That seems like an absurd thing to say, who doesn't like birds?  But I have this fear that they are will all swoop down around my face and peck and peck and torture me to death.  To death!  Yes, it does have to do with that terrible Alfred Hitchcock movie.  And yes, I cannot help it.  It is irrational.  But just as irrational and scary as sharks are to people who watched Jaws.  And I am certain there are a lot of people out there who are scared of sharks.  (Of course, not me!)

But one of the sweet joys of moving to this new house has been the bird watching.  The people before us put up birdhouses every where on this property.  Clearly, they loved birds.  Could I? So after resisting for about...eh, 1 month, we bought bird feed and watched the birds flock (hee hee) in.  

So now we have a Peterson field guide for western birds out and about at all times for quick identification.  We have all kinds of little birds (which I always need to look up since I spent a lot of time avoiding all birds, I know hardly any bird names.)  We also have big birds: pheasants, partridges, hawks, and maybe even an eagle watching over us.  

And the true beauty is...I can sit at my dining room table and watch the birds safely away from my neck.  

chickens?

Yes, I think so!

Spending some time thinking about how we are going to bring some cluck, cluck chickens into our lives. I am scoping out the scene around our house, reading books, visiting feed stores and, most importantly, trying to imagine these sweet birds pecking around me.  I have much to learn.  And it sounds like a bit of time to absorb it all and let it soak in.  Chickens will arrive in these parts (in all parts?) in about a week but I have been told to wait until end of March/beginning of April to get my little brood going.  

I am mostly excited about the possibility of fresh eggs.  But I also like the allure of backyard chickens.  I like the the homey, farmy quality about them and I like the idea of my kid's caring for them.  You know, instilling responsibility and such.  And I am not alone!  Chickens are making a comeback and seem to be joining many suburban and urban families...they are not just for rural folks anymore!  I have been told they are easy to care for.  I am intrigued.  Nervous but intrigued.  

Does this look like a good home for chickens?

We have an outbuilding on our property.  The rumor is that back when our home was a school, in the 1930's, the ranch kids tied their horses to this building before coming into the main schoolhouse.  Neat, huh?  Well,  much has changed since those days but I like the romance.  The owners before us put in a dog door and heated a small area of the building for our cold, long winters.  They then had an area adjacent to the building fenced in.  I thought the heat indoors and fenced in area sounded like the makings of a chicken coop.  

This is the inside.  A bit weird.

Then off to the feed store to check things out more.

Looks like a nice home for some chicks.  How many to start with?  hmmm...we have seen some hawks and even a bald eagle around our property lately. 

What kind?  So many to choose from?  Look at those beautiful birds!  The Rhode Island Reds? The Ameraucana?  The Dominique?  

Okay, back to the books.