Dairy Post: November 28, 2017

Author's Note: To practice free-writing style, Drew has encouraged me to write down my day-to-day activities occasionally as a writing exercise. Over the years, I've had numerous people wonder what it is like to be at The Britten Roost on a day-to-day basis. These new writing entries, I've titled "Diary Posts" will be this glimpse into life on our property. Enjoy. 

By 7:40 am, I had already cut and scooped the contents of three sugar pie pumpkins, placed them on cookie sheets and was turning on the oven. Despite my lingering cold, I was going to make the best of today. The kids were off on their perspective days, the laundry machine was swirling, and I was frying a couple of delicious farm fresh eggs up for breakfast. I read a couple of emails, downed another cup of tea, and put a few things away from our "morning rush". The washer machine announced its completion so I set myself downstairs to change loads.

Knowing it was garbage day, I found myself outside scooping dog poop in the back yard by 9 am. Glamorous, I know. But, these things must get done. Once I cleared most of Ginger's by-waste I then began picking up all of the logs and sticks she had scattered. Our log piles are located behind the house which are covered under our back porch. This means Ginger has ample access to all of the sticks and logs a dog could dream of and for me, well...it means I play a game of  "52 Card Pick-Up" every few weeks. I used to get annoyed about the logs she drug out, but know I tell myself it is a "work-out" that most people would pay for. Some days even I have to "trick" myself to get the work done.

After I pulled down the recycling and garbage to the end of the lane, I walked slowly back enjoy the light mist of rain that freckled my face. I was greeted by a bark. Ginger was waiting in the garage for me. I couldn't resist her youthful demeanor so I took a few minutes to kick her old, soccer ball around the back yard. Noticing a few more leaves had fallen, I grabbed my rake and pulled them close to the gate to push them out into the woods. I forgot my quick, but, faithful friend so Ginger rushed the back gate and began tromping through the woods. After calling her back several times, she ran back to me smiling. I decided to put Ginger away in kennel while I finished up sweeping up the back patio and preparing the soil for grass seeds. My dad had always called it "roughing the soil" which in layman's terms means dragging a rake back and forth over and area. After preparing the soil in a few key areas, I hand-seeded them with grass seed to help some of the barren areas. This summer's drought caused much plant damage on our property, including some grassy areas. 

After letting Ginger back out, I made my way up to the grain shed to grab the wheel barrow. I raked a few piles of leaves here and there as I made my way back to the chicken coop. I had loaded up the rest of the pumpkins displayed at the front door and added them to the growing pile of pumpkins by the coop. We had been blessed by several families' Halloween/Thanksgiving pumpkins and gourds which I had been breaking and giving to the chickens. The added protein, variety and food was a bonus for our chickens and helped us keep our feed costs down in the winter months. 

As I finished dumping the last load of leaves down into the woods, the soft drizzle had suddenly turned to a full-on down pour. Since the idea of coming back out in the cold rain, didn't sound too appealing I decided to go ahead and chore the animals while I had the chance. I was pleased to see the six new chickens we added to the flock last Friday were doing well and already mingling with the established flock. It is always a gamble when you mix new birds into your flock as they have to "re-establish" the peaking order and sometimes they just don't play fair. In addition, we always do bio-security measures to quarantine, inspect and dust the birds for mites as a precaution.

As I stood filling the last of the remaining chicken waterers, the rain had started to drip through my hair. No bueno. My hair was already making ridiculously large curls, so, I made my best effort not to dawdle. But found myself, sweeping a bit and gathering eggs before I made my quick walk back to the house. Just recently the chickens egg production has increased slightly to an average of 6-8 eggs a day. This was a huge relieve as we count on these eggs to pay for their feed and supplies. Not to mention, many of my regular buyers have become anxious for their regular egg orders to be filled. You would think that 26 possible egg layers would have more, but with the reduced hours of light and many of the hens molting this is still a fair number. As I quickly walked back to the house in the rain, I was grateful for having already pulling the recycling and garbage down. I was soaked.

By the time I had made way back into the house, the air was filled with a thick aroma of pumpkin.  I went ahead and slid the now soft pumpkins out of the oven to cool. Of course, without properly cooling the pumpkins I began peeling back the layers of the outer skin. I'm not sure what the temptation was, but within a few strips I was washing off my fingers with cool water and wondering why I didn't wait. To ease the time, I found myself folding a load of laundry and celebrating that every sock had a mate...well, at least this load. 

After peeling all of the pumpkin and putting it into a large bowl, I mashed the goodness with my potato masher. The warm, soft texture was easy to combine. After measuring out 4 lbs into their containers. The thought of pumpkin muffins and bread became a reality as I pulled out the deliciousness later that afternoon. 

My afternoon was complete. A fire in the fire place, warm pumpkin muffins and the opportunity to share my day.