Weekend Work and Relaxation

I've been taking a bit of morning time to watch the birds on our property.  Every now and then I am able to get somewhat of a good photo.  I have seen a red-winged blackbird only once, and did not have my camera.

Canning Coffee Jelly, Gardening Updates, and More

 If you think I have found strange and interesting recipes over the years.....we now made coffee jelly.

It's actually pretty good. 

Bird Watching

Yesterday morning, I saw Jasper (one of the house cats) sitting on top of the wood stove.  I didn't dawn on me that something might be in it at the time.  I thought he was just chasing spiders (which he loves to do).

Later, closer to noon, the dogs barked at a noise coming from the stove's chimney.  I heard it too.  

I went and asked my son to check it.  He opened the damper and then closed the stove door again.  A little later, I heard scratching noises at the glass door on the stove.

My son opened it and a bird flew out.  The crazy woman that I am....pulled a blanket over my head and ran around after it with a broom. 

We opened the door, but it kept flying from window to window to get out.  Poor thing.  Funny part is, is that the house cats were all napping at that point.  They missed the "show."

I didn't have to go far to do bird watching, ha ha ha!

Mazda's Suspicious Tail Feathers

Hmmm.

We can't figure out what happened to one of our rooster's tail feathers.  It somewhat looks as if a person cut them off with scissors.

We are pretty sure it wasn't the other rooster.  Sparta is afraid of Mazda now, and typically runs away from him. 

I wonder if the goats got a bite out it?  A few are growing back already, but it sure looks suspicious to us.  We did some research and people actually steal rooster feathers to put in their hair.  We've had the dogs bark at 3am, two nights in a row, but saw nothing.  Next time, I'll be taking a flashlight to the chicken barn, just to be sure.

Curious Cat

This is Tiger's new "hang out."  We can typically find him sitting here almost every day.


The recycled wood pellet bags come in handy for new baby chicks.  The sides of the cages are covered to keep curious cats out. 

Healthy Popcorn Snack

I'm sharing a recipe I found in a magazine recently. 

from the Homesteading Journal . . .

....planted a Colorado Blue Spruce seedling, purchased cumin seeds to grow again, and planted two new apple trees.

...planted more lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, Swiss chard, and spinach.  Rain is coming so we will till and plant more after that.

...planted several zinnia seeds.