Misc.Doings of The Week

We tried the turkey eggs,and they tasted like chicken eggs,but with a noticeably richer flavor. We have been getting about two a day.

Sap season is pretty much over. We have buds coming out on our trees,which affect the taste of the sap-it becomes bitter. The weather is starting to get too warm for sap to run,and the night time temps are starting to be above freezing. We pulled our buckets yesterday,and were pleased with the 5 gallons ( approx) that we processed. It's nice,light,Grade A syrup.Now work begins on cleaning out the garage.

This weekend the temps are going to soar into the 60's,and on Monday may hit the 70's. This is a heat wave for us here in NH! I am so excited to be outside in pleasant weather. Though I live in NH,I hate the cold and will do all I can to stay inside. It doesn't bother me. Folks ask me,if you don't like the cold,why do you live in NH? I live here because it's the place of my birth, a beautiful state,it's a lovely way of life,and having winter makes me appreciate the other seasons.I never take them for granted.

Yesterday morning I woke up,and saw the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining,and the birds were singing away. It was wonderful. I love this time of year. The snow goes away,things turn green,the air starts becoming warmer,and my bird friends come back and serenade me with their beautiful Spring song. It's the rebirth of the Nature after being dormant all winter. It doesn't get better than that!!

Today I am going to start my broccoli and tomato seeds. I have three new green peppers that have sprouted,but since I last checked a couple days ago I may have more,and more oregano,thyme,and marjoram.

This weekend I plan on raking where it's dry. I need to check on my strawberry info to see when I should uncover them from their layer of protective straw. I need to get outside and soak up the rays. Like Laura Ingalls Wilder said,"...she could never get enough sun soaked into her bones."

Rick is excited because now that he has been deemed 100% disabled from the VA,he is eligible for a permanent hunting and fishing license. He only had to pay a one time fee of $10.00 to get the license,as well as  show documentation stating his disability,a signed form from his Dr,copies of previous hunting and fishing licenses,and his ID. He and Brother B went to the Fish and Game Dept in our state capital of Concord yesterday to get it. He could've just sent it in,but he didn't want to take a chance,and this way he would get it right in hand. The only money he will have to spend is on the tags ( deer,turkey,etc). I had a Muffin Date with My Dear Friend Michelle,so I didn't go. Girl time is of utmost importance!!!!

I hope all is well in your area of the world. Enjoy this wonderful day!!!!!!

Turkey Egg!

We have  friends who also have turkeys,and they have been telling us about the turkey eggs that they are getting. This led us to wonder why we haven't seen any eggs yet. Our Tom has been busy huffing,puffing,and strutting around in front of the two girls with all his feathers unfurled for the last couple of weeks,so we figured that we might see something soon. Rick made a bigger bed for them thinking it might help. Then,yesterday,he came into the house and told me to open my hand. I did,and lo and behold,there it was....our first turkey egg!!! 



Turkey egg and chicken egg for comparison

I have never seen a turkey egg before. I expected it to be bigger than a chicken egg,but I was still surprised at the size. None of us have tried eating turkey eggs before. Our friends informed us that they have more flavor,and are a bit richer than chicken eggs.Some of them told us they prefer turkey eggs to chicken eggs. I am curious to see the difference!

April Fools....I Wish!!!!!

Yesterday was a lovely day.The temperatures were in the low 50's. The boys boiled down 22 gallons of sap,and had to collect sap twice. A mere 6 hours after gathering 25 gallons,they had to gather more because the buckets were filling up. So we had a total of 35 gallons of sap gathered yesterday. The total syrup made yesterday was 3 qts,1 pint. We have about three gallons of syrup total.

Today there is no boiling,because Mother Nature is in the process of giving us what we were hoping was an April Fools joke...but it's no joke. This is what she is giving us today....



Juncos enjoying seed and snow



A view of my herb and strawberry boxes...which you can't see



Yesterday this is what the herb and strawberry area looked like.You can actually see the straw covering the strawberry bed!

 Yep. Mother Nature has decided to dump a upwards of a foot or more on us today. The snow is a typical Spring snow...wet and heavy. The stretchy waffle weave roof of the turkey cage is now almost to the ground. Rick had to low crawl into the cage to raise it up as much as possible.It's still pretty low. Some of the braces need to be fixed/replaced. The snow is suppose to last all day,and widespread power outages have started. I am thankful that even if we lose power,we have a wood stove,a generator,a grill,and camp stoves. No problem eating or keeping warm. We could even watch TV if we wanted. But the main thing would be to keep the toilet and the fridge going. Hopefully it won't mess up my seeds too much. I put on the light yesterday at 14 hour intervals. I have some thyme and oregano that have sprouted. My laundry is all finished,so I don't have to worry about that. Needless to say,Zach has no school today. He has had quite a few snow days this year,so it looks like he will be in school until late June. That is no fun. Farmers Almanac missed this prediction. They said this winter would be "average to below average snow fall." Whoops!!! Better luck next time,guys.