Project 70s Redo Checklist

posted by pbird@hawksnest

With the handy dandy help from Mark (Jay's bandmate), we are giving Hawks Nest some much needed mini makeovers..

Project #1: Front Balcony

I don't have a "before" picture...the original railing on this balcony was a solid wall...all closed up with siding--utterly cold and uninviting. The logic behind this design detail puzzled us...was it a nude sunbathing porch? hmmmm. We declared it the "smokers lounge" and subsequently, it never got used. So a few weeks ago, Mark made new railings to match the deck rails on the back side of the house. Everyone teases us that we can't nude sunbathe anymore. ;) Hopefully, some nice outdoor carpeting and lounging furniture will magically sprout in spring and I will be able to catch an outdoor cat nap on a perfect afternoon.

Project #2: Kitchen

It wasn't going to be a big deal, after all, we weren't going to replace the cupboards. We weren't going to spend alot, we told ourselves. Just a couple updates. We went through a huge 2 story remodel at our old house, so we figured--how hard could it be? I will attest that remodeling is like childbirth...you forget the pain after a while and a couple years later you find yourself in the same boat all over again.

Will we ever learn?

It is a slow process...we are trying to keep the 70s vibe and retro feel to our house as much as we can without going totally overboard.

But it's really hard...we've flip-flopped on our design picks so many times that we decided we must be from the Brett Favre School of Design.

So far, I am adoring our new lime green counters and all brand-spankin new stainless appliances. I'm most excited about the black granite composite sink for the loads of pots and pans we use too. Jury is out on the hardware...it's not fully installed yet.

There is more work to be done...new flooring, backsplash, lighting. I'm getting a new-found appreciation for the 70s designs and miss matched crazy patterns. It's too much work to be all matchy-matchy.

Project #3: New Shed

Actually, this project is in anticipation of Project #4. Project #4 is to convert our existing garden shed into a sauna, but before we can do that, a new shed is needed to store all our garden and beekeeping stuff. So once again, carpenter Mark came to the rescue and built a duplicate of our current shed next to the compost pile. Only things different is the direction of placement of the door and the nice new crank out window. I like that the door faces the setting sun.

Project #4: Sauna

That's "sow-na" for all you non-Finns. When I was growing up, everyone we knew had a sauna. Now I'm a grown-up and I told Jay if we don't get a sauna soon, I may be forced to relinquish my Finnish heritage. So we're converting the existing shed because it's already got a concrete floor.

I'm researching sauna stoves and layouts. Our sauna won't have electricity or plumbing...you'll have to carry your own water. This sauna is not for wimps.

Last but not least...

Project #5: Kids Rooms

We promised to paint the girls rooms two years ago when we moved in...finally getting around to that. The carpet downstairs needs replacing too, after the dishwasher exploded last year and dripped into Josie's room in the basement. Her room's damaged walls were recently repaired and painted. She picked a pink, green and blue theme. We will tackle the other rooms and carpet in due time...

Can we juggle anything else? Good grief, I hope not!!

Hopefully, more progress photos to come!

In the meantime here are some of the 70's designs i've been getting ideas from (you laugh...but i'm totally serious!!!)...especially digging that horse stall in the kitchen. Hilarious!

Chicken Check-In

An email from Jack, our chicken-goddaddy (the guy we got our chickens from) and my response...

Hi Paula,
Ah chickens. A week ago I was sitting on the couch watching the tube when I heard what sounded like a death moan of Whitey (our rooster). I ran out on the deck and sure enough, the was this loud moaning of a chicken. I yelled thinking it was a fox. Still, moaning continued. I ran in the closet and grabbed the .22 mag and fired into the ground. Still moaning. I ran at the noise and hear a Goshawk had a chicken pinned. The chicken ran of from the pile of feathers and the hawk flew away into the pines. It turned out to be one of Whitey and Pheasants (Aracauna) offspring. Those haws must get more than we think because I have found piles of feathers before and blamed it on foxes. Oh well, we lost one other one that day. I caught two hens that ran away 50 yards and dove into the grasses and sat still. I brought them back to the coop and they were very nervous. Whitey was even shaken. I never found one of the Golden Biuffs so maybe she stayed out at night and got eaten by something else. You hate losing a layer. We have 20 Golden Buffs that I raised from day-olds this summer so they should start laying before too long. So I do have replacements for the older hens that seem to make good meals for the critters in the woods. I hate to keep the chickens locked up, but it is for their own good. This time of year I let them out for about 1 hour at night and watch them (like a chicken herder!). I think it is time you move to raising ostriches now.
--Jack R.

Dear chicken-goddaddy Jack,
So sorry to hear of your recent poultry passings and other disturbances. Those nasty hawks and fox...have you put up a game camera? Our four remaining hens are adorable and seem to be doing well although I'm worried about the missing back feathers on our aracauna named Muff-Muff...hoping she doesn't get frostbite. Our 2 ducks are in the coop with the hens now. They seem to get along ok, maybe too well. The ducks are beginning to act like chickens. You should see them waddle up and down the ramp. Hilarious. Our flock seems to have a built-in alarm system--they "know" when the kids get home off the bus and that's when the squawking revs up. They are let out for a couple hours and head straight to the pasture and pick at the bugs in the horsie poo. I worry about them there...like open targets. May as well put a sign on them that says "open for dinner." We need a chicken guard dog. Our dog Chui is not much help in that department anymore. He's too old. Thank you so much for your chicken feed bags, btw! I'm trying to get this sewing thing off the ground...If you know anyone else who has bags, let me know. I think we will be getting more chicks in the spring...but I don't think our fence is tall enough for ostrich, ha ha. That reminds me...you should have seen the giganto egg our smallest hen Sandy laid...oh my...it could have been an ostrich egg!! go here: http://hawksnestfarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/world-biggest-chicken-egg.html. Well, that's the news over here. Thanks for keeping us posted!
--Paula

Hawks Nest Island

Minna made this imaginary island poster for a 6th grade geography project using our farm as an inspiration! Every year, 6th graders get a kick out of doing this project...their creativity just pours out. Each of the amazing and inventive posters are up in the hallway at school. Everyone stops to oogle and awe at them...they are like mini vacations for the brain!

(Sorry for the bad iphone pic--I will try to take another one soon!)

Here's what Minna said about "Hawks Nest Island"

History
Legend has it that Hawks Nest Island was created for Hawk, the bird who saved the Skeeni people from a great everlasting war. It was his reward from Anua, the Skeeni people's god. Nobody knows for sure how it was created, but the legend is the most used idea.

Size/Location
Hawks Nest Island is definitely not the biggest island in the world. It is about 228 miles all the way around. It is located 90 degrees west Longitude and 47 degrees north Latitude on Lake Superior.

Crops/Resources
Hawks Nest Island is ideal for farming. It can grow many different varieties of food. Crops are grown on the wings of the "hawk." East wing grows corn, wheat and oats, and the west wing grows vegetables. To get things they can't grow or make, the designated suppliers will sail their giant steamboat from the Harbor to the state of of Minnesota and buy and order certain things that each family needs.

People
The First people to live on the Hawks Nest Island were the Indian tribe Skeeni. They got there by a suggestion from Anua, their god. They built heavy-duty canoes. It is most likely they got here 3000 years ago. Now, there are only about 40-45 people living in Hawks Nest. Even though they do have the same kind of modern technology as we do, they prefer to stay environmental-friendly and not have large industries or anything big taking up the natural land.

Carrotcatures

The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution!

–Paul Cezanne, French post-impressionist painter (1839-1906)





"Carrotcatures" Jay said when he saw the pictures I took of the funny looking carrots I dug up the other day.

I laughed, but I admit, when I pulled up one ugly carrot after another in the garden, I was horrified...absolutely horrified.

The discovery of disfigured veggies fueled my ever-growing list of soil grievances. All I could think was: Our garden is DOOMED...damaged beyond repair FOREVER! What in heaven's name has caused this ABOMINATION ? Why aren't my carrots PERFECT like on the seed package?

Whoa pbird, get a grip...

To my relief, a little veggie science research has alleviated my garden anxiety. Seems there are plenty o' reasons for why carrots buck the system.

The U of Mexico has a good explanation here, and Wikipedia sums up the problem of the carrot rebels by saying this:

Vegetables most usually grow into an unusual shape due to environmental conditions. Damage to one part of the vegetable can cause the growth to slow in that area while the rest grows at the normal rate. When a root vegetable is growing and the tip is damaged it can sometimes split, forming multiple roots attached at one point. If a plant is in the primordium (embryonic development) stage damage to the growing vegetable can cause more extreme mutations.

and,

If carrots are grown in soil which has been manured that year, some of the carrots are strange shapes because the young carrot plant's roots go off in odd directions drawn by irregular pockets of manured soil.

Ok, so we get our soil tested and mix it up better. But still, why isn't there more scientific research on google about this topic? (After all, what about all those disfigured frogs?) I didn't find alot of science to support my bad soil theory, but I did find something more interesting...a realization that my belief in "Carrot Couture" is rooted deeply in consumer prejudice...and evidence that our consumer attitudes may be shifting.

Surely everyone knows the produce aisle is basically a beauty pageant of garden stuff. Over time, consumers have been conditioned to view carrots as beautiful, long-legged and perfectly orange just like the photos on the seed packages. On another end of the spectrum, we've got growers who will go to extreme lengths to market their commodities...how many giant pumpkin pictures in the newspaper have you seen or heard about already this fall? Ever heard of a square watermelon? These veggie wonders are not merely a product of science fiction.

Produce workers (bless their souls) work hard to keep ugly veggies out of view. Who can blame them? But I am bewildered when I see perfectly good food getting throw out. Where does it all go? And what about all the stuff that gets thrown out before it hits the store?

Maybe the tide is changing. We consume ugly veggies everyday...we just don't realize it. Before I researched for this post, I didn't know (or think about) those packages of ready-to-eat "baby" carrots. They are simply cast-off ugly carrots cut up in sections and scrubbed down to look pretty and uniform. The farmer who thought of this idea to reuse unmarketable carrots explains he was just tired of seeing good carrots going to waste. Read the fascinating article all about it here.

Carrot-cature or Carrot-couture?
Cezanne may be right...the carrot revolution has begun--for me anyway. I have a prediction too: organic "ugly veggie" boutiques may soon sprout if not in California or New York, somewhere. Just watch: as supermarkets and other produce marketeers realize they can make money off these oddities of nature, we are sure to see them in the produce aisle. Already the European Commission has lifted restrictions dictating the size and shape of veggies in the marketplace. Go here to read the full article. Not only that, researchers at the U of Ohio have discovered how to manipulate the genetic code to control the shape of tomatoes...so there you go. Not only ugly...designer ugly! Does Ugly Betty have something to do with this? hmm.

I love that a bunch of funky carrots can drum up this much excitement in our household. We are lucky to grow our own and learn the simple facts. I only wish we had more bounty to get us through the winter. We have our work cut out for us next year if we want to grow more, that's for sure.

Are you somebunny that can't get enough orange bliss? Then hop on over to the World Carrot Museum to learn more about your favorite root veggie! Be sure to check out the page with the world records for some of the craziest carrots ever! If that's not enough to satisfy your appetite, take a gander at the veggies gone "wrong" at Uli Westphal's Mutato Collection and Michael Hanttula's Museum of Food Anomalies. You won't be disappointed!

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Making Grapefoot Juice

posted by pbird@hawksnest

We harvested about 60 pounds of grapes on September 30th. We were lucky, because the next day it turned rainy and awful cold and hasn't changed much since. With the help of our friend Drew, and the grape foot-stomping action of Mamie and Josie, we squashed down our 60 pounds of grapes into 5 gallons of juice which Drew will make into 16 bottles of homemade wine for us to share. It takes about 6 months for the wine to age.

There is a vast science to harvesting grapes that we are just beginning to learn about...water content, sugar content, etc. We are also learning that if you get too caught up in the fine details, you can miss out on enjoying the berries all together!!

Earlier in September, the girls and I picked about 15 pounds and made some tasty and tart grape jelly. We made a video about the experience and will add it to our blog sometime soon!

Here are some pictures from our chilly foot-stomping evening with Drew in the garden...a memorable evening for everyone! Even our old dog Chui who got into the action and drank the dirty foot bath water, (ew)!

Brazilian Get Well Tea

posted by pbird@hawksnest

My sister Rebecca flew into town from L.A. yesterday for our dad's 70th birthday. Some of us at the Hawks Nest have been hit with cold and flu, so she whipped up some Brazilian Get-Well Tea.

Rebecca's husband, Roque, is from Brazil and this concoction has been in his family for generations. It's delicious...try it for yourself! Rebecca says:

"Anytime anyone has a cold or is sick, the first thing to do is make make this tea...it's best to use all natural ingredients."

Brazilian Get-Well Tea
8 cups water
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 Tbsp crushed garlic
1/2 cup honey
juice from 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients except honey and lemon and simmer about 20 minutes. Add honey and lemon to taste. Strain and serve hot.

World's Biggest Chicken Egg?

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Check out the whopper egg the kids found in the coop recently! Holy-moly this egg was HUGE...an amazing 6 inches wide round and 8.5 inches tall in circumference!

It seemed impossible any of our chickens could push out an egg that big. We thought for sure the giant egg was a duck egg since the ducks, Oiva & Pilvi, are expected to start laying in October.

But there's been no other giant eggs to date. So we have deduced that the giganto egg must have been laid by our smallest hen, Sandy! Way to go Sandy...you are one extraordinary chicken!

Curious to know about the supposed largest documented chicken egg in the world? Go here!