The end of 2012

Another year is over. I just went back and read my last two or three posts and realized that quite a bit has happened since then. Here is some of the things that have happened and what I am dreaming about these days. Earlier this Spring I got my chickens and they turned out just fine. Just as I had planned, all of the roosters except a couple were processed for meat. The processed roosters resided in my freezer all year but as of now, only one is left. They were a little tough, not like the chicken you get in the store, and not as much meat but much more tasty. After a little trial and error I learned to slow cook them in a my cast iron dutch over with lots of garlic and onion. I add potatoes and carrots at the end of the long cook to make a one pot meal. This is some of the best chicken I have every had. The hens have all survived. I have not lost one to coyote or hawk although I did have one unsuccessful arial attack by a small hawk. The big rooster stepped in and put a stop to that nonsense. The other day I saw a huge Red Tail Hawk circling above but my Crow friends managed to drive him away. I was getting about 10 eggs a day from my 12 hens but now that it is the dead of winter, I am only getting about three a day.

I also added ducks to the mix this year. I found Kahki Campbell ducks for sale on Craig's List and got five of them. They are suppose to be excellent egg producers but not so good for meat. I really like my ducks. They are the most entertaining critizens on the farm. When they are babies you can't tell their sex so had been wondering for 12 weeks or so what they were as they all looked identical. All at once two of them developed dark heads, and curled pin feathers indicating that they were drakes, which is what male ducks are called. The females are called ducks! Now we have all heard that ducks like water and they really do. They really liked swimming in the creek when they got old enough. I had always wanted a pond and that was on my list of things to do in the future but now I had a reason to dig it. I got Jerry over to dig a pond and of course, like every project, turned into more than I had bargained for. Jerry did a wonderful job though and we all love the results. We is Jerry, me, and the ducks. The pond is still not filled with water as we thought it would be best to let the dirt surrounding the pond settle this winter and fill it in the spring. I am looking forward to swimming with the ducks this summer.

Three lambs were born this year too. Rachel, the older ewe had twins and Suzette the young lamb surprised me with a single lamb. All three were males and in case you don't know, it's not a good idea to have more than one ram in a flock that small as they tend to fight, sometimes to the death. Two of the lambs were slaughtered for meat and the third is being traded for another ewe. It was a sad day when it was time to do the inevitable but I am now enjoying and sharing with others the fine tender cuts of lamb chops that they provided us for our sustenance.

I am now reading Sepp Holzer's Permaculture and it has given me a ton of ideas for the newly purchased five acre tract on the north side of my property. Sepp is a permaculture genius that lives in the Austrian Alps. He has managed to create a garden of Eden in this hostile environment and has provided many ideas for my mountain side. That project alone would be one to last me the rest of my life. I am looking forward to it.