Go! Learn things!

A quote from a TV character that we both like very much. 

It's a frigid sunny day out there, after it felt like -25 C over night.  The wind chill this morning was brutal, and I had to wear my down parka for morning chores.  All the bantam waterers in the garage were frozen. I'm having mouse problems in there again. The ducks didn't want to come out of their sheltered run, except to send two emissaries to our back door to see what was taking so long with breakfast and water. (I love how they do that!) The hens in the quarantine stall didn't look happy at all.  They have a sweeter heater over one of the perches, but not all of the birds roost under it.  I made them hot breakfast mash as an apology.  

Now I'm sitting by the wood stove as it clicks and clanks and the thermometer rises.  Got some good BTUs in there. Fern is asleep on the couch beside me. I really hope she'll be ok. She is one irreplacable little bird.

Some updates on tries and fails, tries and learn/modify try again. And of course the few successes we have to hang on to!

I made my first nice chunky skein of wool on my wheel a few weeks ago.  That was fun.  I now have four bobbins so I can if I'm really on a roll with some roving I can make several skeins in succession, which makes sense if I'm trying to make enough yarn for a larger project.  This will make it easier to sell.

I tried sprouting grains to give fodder to the chickens.  Didn't work out so well.  I will try again with new containers that are easier to use.  Problems were the grains getting too dry, so growth was too slow.  Then when we realized that and kept them wetter, we also had the room very hot with our new fancy wood stove, so that just created mold.  Try again!

G made me Boston baked beans in the crock pot.  They taste amazing, and are great comfort food this time of year.  Things I would change: I would add more water (he had already increased the amount in the recipe) and I should have let them cook longer. 

My first attempt at making chevre the other day was rather irritating.  In the end, it turned out, but we wasted some milk, and I wasted some time.  The major problem was that the sheet of butter muslin sold by the culture company was not big enough for the recipe! You've heard my views on the right tool for the right job....The muslin in the large collander couldn't hold the full gallon of milk, so I had to wait for some of the whey to drip through, and slowly add more, over and over again until I ran out of time to babysit it and had to go out for several hours of evening chores.  

So next time I will use two sheets, since they have to be doubled, and G suggests trying an extra drop of rennet.  Things might not have solidified very fast also because our house definitely isn't 72 degrees, as the recipe assumes your kitchen should be. 

The greenhouse off the front of the chicken palace has been a huge success this winter.  We have learned that the size of it is key in achieving and maintaining high temperatures.  The smaller poly tunnel that the backyard chickens have doesn't get as warm.  This has lead G to decide he will tear down our beautiful food greenhouse, and contruct a larger one with an insulated north wall.  There's really nothing like experience.  

Well that's all the time I have for today. 

Captain Jack, last night: