The Winter Hoophouse

With winter setting in, I want to showcase this hoophouse.  The design was an idea inspired from The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Growers Handbook.  We bought a hoop bender from Johnny Select Seeds to shape the metal pipes and criss-crossed rope along the plastic sheet to both hold it down and conveniently open sections of it without worry of the plastic sheeting falling.

I really love this design.  It kept the chickens comfortably warm, even the crazy one that decided to try sneaking out on a night that got into the negative teens one winter.  We found her the next morning, huddled against the plastic and, somehow, still alive and perfectly fine.  She never tried that stunt again!

When we decided to breed pigs, it made the perfect home for the baby piglets to be born in.  Especially, when they ended up being due in early February

A goal I'm hoping to try out soon is to use the metal pipes for climbing vines during the summer months.

Of course, I did find one down side to having the pigs stay in the hoop house:

Our sow, Dot, kept getting excited and wanted to play with the plastic by tearing it to pieces.

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

Being Diabolical with the Dirty Diaper Pail

As Logged by Agent West

Another dirty diaper is tossed into the pail

After a poopy so stinky, it made Mommy wail.

It doesn't look all that full.

Could it fit Mommy's sweater, the one made of wool?

That's not enough, I'll give it some more.

A wallet, a purse, those pearls they adore.

Next this bowl of chocolate pudding cake.

Wait!  Pudding cake?  Time for a break.

 

Does Agent West stuff the diaper pail full?

 

Find out in:

 

Being Diabolical with the Dirty Diaper Pail

Funny Friday (Belated)

 

I am the king of the chair!

 

Roar

Farmer's Breakfast Smoothie

 

This recipe is so quick and easy.  I'm barely awake, trudging my feet down to the kitchen while my husband is lifting weights in the basement, and I don't have to do anything more than throw a few ingredients into a blender and turn that baby on.

I love it because you can add some of the healthy stuff to it that you hate taking.  We sometimes add Omega-3 oil or liquid vitamins.

The recipe calls for raw egg yolks (totally optional, not everyone likes the idea of eating raw egg and I totally get it.  It used to freak me out, too.  And we only use raw egg yolks if they are from our chickens, thus we know how clean the eggs are/were.).  We usually cook the egg whites to give to the outdoor cat, Kitty, or save them for a recipe that we'll use that day (like icing for making gingerbread houses, which we seem to be doing every single day right now.)

Farmer's Breakfast Smoothie

Prep time:  5 minutes, plus 10 seconds of the blender

Makes:  Roughly 5/6 cups of smoothie

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks (totally optional!)

3 - 3.5 cups plain kefir or plain yogurt

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, then thawed

2 ripe bananas

Plus - any optional vitamin/healthy stuff add-ins

Directions:

Put ingredients in the blender, starting with the yogurt/kefir and egg yolks (if using).  Once all of the ingredients are in, pulse the blender a few times, then turn it on and run until it looks blended.

Enjoy!

The smoothie monster!

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

Diabolical Christmas Music and Delicious Turkey Legs

As Logged By Agent Rose

I do love a good turkey leg

If it's fried, I'll even beg.

But, Auntie P has gone batty

Dancing to Christmas music with Catty

It's starting to get on my nerves.

All those dips, trips, and swerves.

How am I to enjoy my turkey

When she is acting so quirky?

 

Can Agent Rose stop Auntie P?

 

Find out in:

 

Diabolical Christmas Music and Delicious Turkey Legs

 

Funny Friday

 When you want to capture the beauty of it snowing outside,

but you're, also, pregnant and hungry.

(You'll need to turn the volume up for this one)

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

  On this glorious, drizzly day

We give thanks to our Lord

He gives us everything we need

And is listening with love and open ears.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Extra pie for the chickens!

But, remember what they say about giving chickens too much pie

It makes them crazy!