Halloween Horror

I was thinking of food this morning. Actually, I think about food a lot. Afflictions I've had over the years have been food related--my most recent Alpha-Gal allergy.

And, I often think of things I could have done differently raising my family. The elimination of FAST FOODS being one of them. It is one of my greatest shortfalls as a mother to admit that some of my daughter's first words were "Fench fwy" and "coke".

I was young and unwise.

Now I am old(er) and wise(er.

Since ubiquitous McDonald's was the first fast food we frequented, and is available on every other corner, I usually use them for my example. This is not to say other fast foods are not equally as guilty of faux food.

Today kids will be suiting up for trick/treating and moms will be scurrying around trying to make it happen. The perfect time for fast food. In my mind I see little ghosts clutching french fry packets, the undead gobbling down a burger and Justin Bieber look-alikes guzzling a diet coke.

It makes my stomach tighten. The lists of BAD things you are eating along with that #1 are no secret. But, we get busy and we forget. We are in a hurry so we justify.

Please, moms. THINK about the horror that years of fast food will do to your child.

A good way to keep reminding ourselves of the damage hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oil will do to our bodies is to read, Read, READ. The research has been done for you folks. GMO and high fructose corn syrup are villains masked as nutrition; not just for Halloween, but every day.

And, if you want to see a real fast food HALLOWEEN HORROR go HERE

GMO Ticking Time Bomb - Gary Null - Part 1

I used to love Star Trek...well, heck, I still do. They obtained their food thru a vending-type machine that manufactured your choices on demand. OMGSH! They are eating fake food! I was shocked and appalled at what it was doing to the health of the Star Trek crew.

Well, now thanks to GMO engineering we are doing the same thing. Fake foods line the shelves at the grocers. We opt for convenience over healthy choices because we have crammed our lives so full of activities.

Our bodies are gloriously and wondrously made. There are millions of interactions happening at lightening speed to keep us up and running. Do we really want to toy with these intricate mechanations? Do we want to interfere with the marvelous interactions of our body systems that are responsible for all of the body's functions?

Our bodies are designed to run on food from the earth--animal and vegetable. When we alter that food there are bound to be consequences. We are upsetting the delicate balance required to fuel and replenish our bodies. The results may be slow to develop but you can be assured that the changes to your body will happen and they will not be of a positive nature.

Take time to get informed about GMOs. Learn about the food you are feeding yourself and your loved ones so you can make intelligent decisions about health. Take a few minutes to watch this film. hh

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

THIS is why I slap my hands if I even think about putting some serious seed into the ground...it was 29 this morning in the Valley. Every time I woke up last night I thought about my baby plants and chicks.

The chicks are in their new diggs-- a brooder house complete with a completely enclosed yard. Farmer Gary took our old brooder house (after we moved Jack and his Mables to their new diggs)and outfitted it for the new little babes. He used broom handles for tiny little roosts...it is so stinkin' cute.

They just love it. They scratched around in their yard just like they'd been doing it forever.

Gary designed the outside enclosure in panels so we can take it apart and REuse it for other things. We tried our best to varmint-proof it; time will tell.

They have been in it for several days and have only had one incident. I had to build an "isolation" pen for one Little Mable; the others had pecked her 'till she bled. So, I cleaned her all up and applied some handy, dandy Herbal Aid Salve that I made from dandylions grown here at Rocky Creek! It stopped the bleeding immediately and the next day she was ready to join her sisters in the main pen. So far, they have left her alone.

Gary installed two heat lights but it had been so warm I only needed one. Until last night. Jeepers. Really? 29 degrees? And, the wind whipped around like a crazy person. Since the main structure of the brooder is old it has a lot of cracks. True to farmer-mentality, I stuffed it all around where the top meets the sides with straw, then after the door was closed, I stuffed around the door with straw. It looks like a square-pants-straw-house. Odd looking but effective. Inside there is about 6 inches of straw on the wooden floor and "leaves" of straw around the walls. Actually, very cozy. But, still, it got 58 degrees in there last night...too cold for the age of the chicks. They should have 70-75 degrees.

But, they seemed chipper and ready for breakfast this morning. They always clean out their feed bins during the night and when I fill them Cassie is right there wanting her share of chicken starter! I didn't open the door to their yard and they weren't too happy about that, but it needs to warm up considerably before I let them out.

As you know, our Red Star laying hens are, well, red and we named them Mable. So, our little New Hampshire Reds are, you know, red, too, so we named them Mable as well. We call them Little Mable now, but that is changing fast! Our black Jersey Giants are Milly. For giants they sure aren't giant. The Little Mables are much larger. The Aracana's are Tilly..can't wait to see their colored eggs. And, the Cochins are Lilly. They are incredibly cute with their little feathered leggings!

Mable and Jack love their new big chicken house. It took a couple of days before they could "give up" their little brooder house. Every time the door was open (Gary was working inside) one of them would sneak in and lay an egg on the floor as the nests had already been removed. But, now, they are all aclimated and appear to love their new condo. They have room to spare--little do they know that they will be invaded by all the Little Mables, Millys, Tillys and Lillys when they grow up!

On the garden front...as you can see by my count down ticker at the top of the page, the BIG planting day is fast approaching. My herb refrigerator, cold frames, future herb kitchen and garden room are full of seedlings, seeds and bare-root plants waiting for the day.

Since we REplotted our garden sizes (what a job that was) I transplanted a third of my garlic so it wouldn't be in the "path", over a hundred plants. Whew. I hate DO-OVERS.

So, I'd better get crackin'. But, before I go a word about GMO's. You know how much I loathe them. HERE is a template letter to send or give your grocery store(s) requesting the LABELING of GMO food. I want to know what's in my food and so should you.

In spite of GMO's....hey, Life Is Good. :)