Bad Egg

I cracked open our first bad egg the other day. I had found it when I was raking the litter in the coop. Anytime I find an egg like that I put a big X on it so I'll know it is suspect. And don't worry, I never give these eggs away.

This egg looked like it had incubated about a week based on the development inside. And since the weather has been cooler lately, it must have incubated several weeks ago when it was hotter.

Pumpkin Treat

There was one little pumpkin left over the other day from the Fall gathering we attended. So I asked if I could have it. I had read that pumpkins make a good treat for chickens.

So I quartered it and threw it out into the chicken run. The chickens loved it based on the fact that nothing was left at the end of the day except the tough rind. And even a couple of those disappeared in the night so I'm not sure what other animal enjoyed it.

Jacket Potatoes

We were invited to a Fall gathering the other day at a friend's house. It was a potluck type thing so I decided to take what we call Jacket Potatoes (potatoes in their jackets, i.e. skins) or what most normal people call baked potatoes.

It's not complete without all the condiments though. So I also took a block of butter, a pound of grated cheese, a tub of sour cream, bacon, and homemade chili I had made earlier and took out of the freezer. 

Sadly I had to buy potatoes (not the right season here) for $4 / 5 lbs.

I wrapped the potatoes in foil.

I buy the bacon without nitrates. It usually costs about $5  for less than a pound.

I chopped up the bacon and fried it until it was crispy.

Our favorite cheese comes from Kansas. It costs about $7 / lb.

Kerrygold butter is the next best thing to farm raw milk butter. I buy it at Walmart for about $3.50.

I transported the jacket potatoes in a small ice chest. It kept them warm for hours.

Celery

I read somewhere that you can plant the root end of a celery head after you've finished with it - instead of throwing it out. So I thought I'd try it out in my hydroponics. It takes awhile but it works!

Soap Class

The local garden center offered another soap class a few weeks ago so I decided to take it again. I really enjoyed the first one, and thought it was a good value. The teacher supplies all the equipment and supplies that you need, and you get to take home a block of soap at the end. This time she even mixed up the oils beforehand, along with the lye and water solution. So all we had to do was choose the things we wanted to add - like color, scent, texture - and mix it all together. I choose a green color, lemongrass, and oatmeal. A few days later, I cut my block up into fourteen bars. So for the $35 fee, each bar is less than $3, which is about half what you might pay for homemade natural soap.

Pool Deconstruct

We hadn't been using the above ground swimming pool for a few weeks. The water was beginning to get cold and we were too busy. So it was time to pack it up.

It took several days to drain the pool, using the outlet at the bottom and a garden hose. We were able to lift the liner gradually to remove the last few inches of water.

The frame came apart fairly easily. But the rope securing the sides had disintegrated in several places so had to be thrown away and will have to be replaced. The ground sheet had also disintegrated. 

After a few days in the sun, the liner was able to be folded up and stored in the workshop.

Flooding

Just one week after the Event, we had a weekend of extremely heavy rain. (So thankful it waited a week!) We had about 13" in a couple of days, while a nearby town had almost 20".

When we get so much rain in such a short space of time, following months of no rain, there is really nowhere for the water to go.

Creeks flooded. Fields flooded. Roads flooded. Sections of Interstate 45 were closed. Thankfully our house sits on higher ground, but some of our property on lower ground was underwater.

I happened to be in town the day it started raining. I had no idea how bad it was going to get so quickly. I heard later that the roads I used to get home were closed soon after I left. Thankfully I was in Guv'nor's truck that day which sits up higher than most cars.

When I saw the boat rescue (!) going that way I decided to go a different way.

The water started getting deep as I approached this overpass.

Thankfully I was on slightly higher ground as I waited at the intersection just under the overpass.

My theory was, if the truck in front of me can do it, I can too.

Guv'nor resorted to wearing his cowboy hat since it was waterproof. He's not happy about all the rain.

The website "drivetexas.org" was useful to see which roads were flooded.

Event

After weeks of planning, the time came quickly. Everyone was ready and the wedding started right on time.

Once again, thanks for the photos: RF, LG, JC.