Farm Eggs

Well, let's see.  What would you use to take a family vacation?  THIS...









OR THIS...





                        It's a no brainer, right?

For me, the choice of eggs is the same no brainer.  FARM eggs or grocery store eggs?   My sweet chickens sing their happy song as they browse all day long hunting and pecking for worms, bugs, grass, herbs, seeds and the occasional hapless  kitten snoring in the sun.

And, the nutrition in true free range eggs is OFF THE CHARTS.  AND, if the eggs are fertilized, as ours are, they are even better for you.

Some folks may take issue with the bulked-up body builders, but the TRUE-to-the-art (and it is an art) fitness gurus steer clear of drug short cuts and go for the real deal--natural foods.   And, this includes free range fertilized eggs.    Take a look at THIS article about the nutrition of an egg--and yes, the author LOVES Rocky Creek Eggs.

 

Rock Body Fitness is a die hard proponent of the nutritional superiority of raw (farm) eggs (do not eat raw grocery store eggs.  Buy only from LOCAL TRUSTED FARMERS.)  Dr. Mercola is also an advocate for eating raw eggs; check out his article HERE.

 I eat a lot of eggs, many of which are raw; I have at least one in my smoothie every morning.  My annual physical stats are stunning: NORMAL cholesterol.  NORMAL blood pressure.  NO prescription drugs needed.

 If you want some quick smoothie ideas try my website (Rocky Creek Valley Farm)    HERE.

   
                                            WHATCHA WAITIN' FOR?!

Remedies

When I was a little girl I always spent part of the summer with my grandparents--Grandpa Henry and Grandma Lizzy. It was the highlight of my life. Kittens. Cousins. Featherbed. Outhouse. Adventures untold. It's where I fell in love with farm life.

This is Grandma Lizzy. Isn't she beautiful?

And chickens. I loved Grandma's chickens. Grandma let us girls gather the eggs and by some magic known only to seven year olds some of the eggs landed in our "kitchen" instead of Grandma's.

Eggs are good for a lot of things such as stuffing tiny halter tops just to see what being grown up feels like. (Wonder of all wonders, not one egg ever broke in our clothes.)

Dorothy and her infectious smile.

My cousin Dorothy and I through much trial and error created the best recipe for using eggs:

2 parts fine dirt like the kind chickens love to dust bathe in

1 part well water, hand pumped and ice cold.

1 small handful leaves torn into bits--these always work better if they are gathered in a fit of giggles.

Mix thoroughly and vigorously with Grandma's borrowed spoon. Or, if caught before we got out the door, two sticks work almost as well.

Blend well--a few lumps are acceptable--then add the crowning touch. That magical part that transforms a muddy concoction into the perfect culinary masterpiece: one egg. Or, if we were feeling particularly adventurous and brave, two eggs. Bake in sun for 15 minutes. Five minutes will work if you are really busy or if you see Grandma filling the old galvanized tub with water and you know "swim" time is imminent.

Garnish with an acorn. Wah-la: the perfect Kansas Pie.

I've often thought that maybe this is why I love to mix up herbal concoctions. I dig in the dirt. I mix and measure by parts. I get that same feeling of satisfaction. Healing comes in the making as well as the remedy itself. Thank you, Grandma, for those experiences. And, thank you, Dorothy, for all our adventures.

If you like to stir things up once in a while and like the idea of healing naturally then you'll love my herb classes. Next Tuesday in the herb cottage here at the farm we will be learning to make creamy herbal salves for all those little owies and herbal extracts that nudge the body into wellness. No eggs involved. So, come on out-- we'll sip herb tea, talk and make magical mixtures of wellness. There may even be a giggle or two.

Tuesday October 9

10 AM to noon

Rocky Creek Valley Farm 37009 W. 156th St Rayville, MO 60484

$20

Call or email to register. 816-853-0440 or lizzy@rcvfarm.com View the entire herb class schedule on our web: HERE.

Today...

Farmers talk about the weather and the weather. When it's HOT and DRY like this summer, they talk about the WEATHER. Everyone at my farmers markets is trying to just keep the garden alive until the heat lets up by watering as much as they can. We are fortunate to have a well, plus I hate putting chlorine on the plants. The stuff in all my raised beds is doing quite well--here's a photo of the French Tarragon.

Here is an excerpt from Jungs Seeds newsletter that explains WHY my beans have no beans and WHY my tomatoes are not ripening: "Tomatoes are the most widely planted garden crop, so many of the calls we receive relate to them. First of all, an abundance of blossoms on tomatoes doesn't always result in a bumper crop. Temperatures above 85 degrees F. can affect pollination and fruit set. Studies have shown that daytime temperatures in excess of 95 degrees and night time temps of over 75 degrees may cause flowers to fall off. Temperatures over 100 degrees can make the plant go into survival mode, causing red pigments in tomatoes to stop forming, while the yellow and orange ones continue. If this is the case, it's best to pick the tomatoes when they begin to turn red and allow them to ripen indoors at cooler temperatures. It takes about 5 weeks for a tomato flower to become a ripe fruit - the first 3 weeks to get to full size and the last 2 weeks to fully ripen. Temperatures above 90 degrees will slow fruit growth and ripening, so if you've planted a large-fruited variety, you probably won't harvest the big tomatoes you are expecting. This is not the fault of the variety - it is a result of the heat. Once the excessive heat is over, it will most likely take five more weeks to begin harvesting tomatoes again. Tomatoes that have developed to full size in spite of dry weather may suddenly grow again if watered or rained on, and the result may be split fruit. " You can see the entire article here: http://www.jungseed.com/GardenLibrary.asp and click on Hot Weather and How It Effects Your Garden.

This is my spearmint and elecampayne in April BEFORE the drought. Our 2 year old Alpine doe that we acquired a few weeks ago "June Bug" had perked up quite a bit. She was feeling poorly when we got her as she had a stillborn this spring. Then this weekend she took a turn for the worse. FarmBoy Gary nursed her with hourly carrots/apples while I was at farmers market; she was weak, lethargic and off her feed. I dosed her with herbs and the goat-keepers Miracle Cure of molasses, corn syrup and corn oil, a high dose of vitamin C and pro-biotics. She snapped out of it this morning, ate all her breakfast and even when up on the mountain to forage with me and the rest of the goats. She still is not up to par, but at least she looks like she will live. I had my doubts on Saturday. June Bug as a baby. Isn't she adorable?

Wiley Coyote has been visiting us each day. He is straggly, skinny and looking for chicken dinner. Rocky has been great at chasing off the Miss Foxy so we haven't seen her for weeks. And, he chases Wiley when he sees him. Today he was so cute he ran up and down the mountain trailing the coyote in the high heat of the afternoon. When he finished he just collapsed in the shade. Anatolian s are not known for their stamina in a race!

My egg customers have been disappointed for a few weeks, but my little hens are starting to lay again. Guess they decided the heat was here to stay so they might as well get with the program.

This morning I was preparing pots for rooting some perennials and a hummingbird landed on my work table. She just sat there for a minute watching me. It was one of those delightful moments when one forgets the heat, forgets the coyotes, forgets the egg problems. For one minute it was just she and I alone. Bliss.

Wiley Coyote

Poor little Jack cannot catch a break. A few weeks ago his beautiful plumage and his ability to walk were greatly diminished when a dog attacked him and killed several of his Mables. He hobbles around on one leg resolutely maintaining his top of the pecking order status. My heart goes out to him.

Two days ago I glanced out the window in response to the "chicken alarm" and a brazen HUGE coyote was in the barn lot. Earlier it had been storming so I had kept an eye on Jack to make sure he got in out of the weather and had watched him go into the barn... now ten feet from the coyote. I ran toward the back door, slipped on my shoes and grabbed my gun; Cassie hot on my heels. She now jumps up and looks out the window anytime she hears the chicken alarm. I flew out the door yelling like a crazy person. Wiley Coyote had grabbed Jack but upon seeing a deranged and demented farmgirl brandishing a weapon he dropped Jack and took off toward the woods. Jack furiously flapped his wings and hopped as fast as his one leg could carry him into the yard toward me. I fired a shot for good measure knowing there was no hope of hitting the would-be chicken killer but wanting to send a message. Chicken thieves shot on sight; questions later.

The next morning Jack wouldn't come out for breakfast until mid-day; I expect he was feeling the pain of the mauling. But, this morning he hopped out to eat with the others. He's short a few (ok a lot) more feathers, but seems to be ok. I've opened up the brooder house so he can bed down easier and his three remaining Mables and one Tilly sleep with him at night; the rest of the chickens go into the big chicken house.

Yesterday Wiley came out of the gardens which is quite a ways from the main chicken hang-out area around the chicken houses and pens. Again, I fired a warning shot to keep him his distance. As I have mentioned before, this is one of the perils of true free ranging so I will continue to stand guard over my flock. Farmboy Gary built a great pen for them around the chicken houses, so when I leave I put them in their pen; otherwise they are out catching worms, bugs and foraging herbs and other greens. It's the stuff good, no GREAT eggs are made of.

GAP

Today I begin the GAP course for product safety--Good Agricultural Practices-- offered by Cornell University. GAP Certification is not yet a requirement and is still only a suggestion from the USDA but many restaurants/grocers require it. In all probability it will become the standard and trickle down to the farmers' markets and individual farm sales. I am being proactive here and trying to stay ahead of government mandates. I hope it proves helpful and informative instead of boring and useless. After all, I am sacrificing quality garden time!

Mable is so much better today. She is perky and gobbling food right in there with her sisters. I may let them out of their confinement later today...test them to see if they remain on our own property instead of meandering over into the great abyss where the chicken-eating dragon lives-- aka the neighbors yard and German Shepherd.

All of the young Mables (20), Millies (22), Tillies (10) and Lillies (4) have reached egg-laying maturity--20 weeks. I am confident that when this hot weather breaks (yesterday we registered 111) I will have eggs to eat and share. My customers are getting restless and I fear they may wander over to other chicken havens to sample their offerings. However, there are NO eggs like Rocky Creek eggs and my customers have attested to this on numerous occasions. Perhaps it would be a good thing for them to try other chickens eggs; it will make them appreciate Mable's all the more.

And, I have had nothing but rave reviews on our garlic. This is the first time I've ever grown it and am so happy folks love it. It is a robust garlic and not for the feint of heart and just full of healthy nutrition. Life is Good.

Gardens Galore

Yesterday it was hot hot hot and today it's blustery frigid. Mable is saying hey, what's up here? In spite of Mother's Nature's spring show of I-can-do-it-all-in-one-day weather (yesterday: hot/cold/rain/wind/hail) egg production is at an all time high: 9-10 a day. And, the chicks are getting so big. I may have to put a "no-fly" guard above their cardboard corral as the outside brooder is not quite ready for them.

Take a peek at this great little book: The Backyard Homestead. All the how-to's you'll need to grow your own food. If you don't have a garden yet, come on, you can do it. Even if it's just one pot...BEGIN. You cn also click on my Amazon widget on the right side of this blog.

We have been working on (paper plotting) Rocky Creek's gardens FOR MONTHS. We are planning gardens with the intention of getting high tunnels. Gary attended a working seminar and learned some valuable info about installing them. And, as is true to our nature, we decided to change the size of the gardens from 42 feet long to 72 feet long. So, instead of nine gardens we will have six that will accomodate three moveable high tunnels. (We missed out on the high-tunnel grant this year-- DRAT) Plus, we moved our raised garden (which has nine 8x4 beds) out of the high tunnel configuration. I am updating my Garden Planner--GROW VEG
today...that will take several hours. But, then I think we are good to go! I have boxes of seeds waiting quietly in the dark to be planted.

If you are thinking about gardens, try out GROW VEG It's an on-line garden planner--I love it. Plant to your heart's content and change your mind as often as you like! It tells you all the pertinent info about plants and even has where you can buy them.

HOW-TO-TUESDAY - Calcium

It's that time again....

You can probably see a pattern to my posts lately: chickens and eggs. Maybe it's spring, maybe it's the farm speaking to me, maybe it's all my new chicks arriving, maybe it's because I adore Mable (my 12 laying hens) or maybe I just like eggs. Today's HOW-TO is about calcium and how to actually get it inside so your body can use it. So many of the calcium supplements cannot be utilized, broken-down or put to good use inside you. As an herbalist, I have a couple, three actually, good ways to get calcium. Good usable calcium. Calcium that will actually affect your bones by making them stronger and yes, even help to relieve that old-fashioned aching in your bones.

Chances are you have been throwing yours in the trash or grinding it down the garbage disposal, or, if you are really "green", you are tossing your calcium on the compost pile. What the heck am I talking about?

E G G S H E L L S

This first tip is so stinkin' easy your first thought will be that it can't possibly work. Well, it does! When making your next recipe that calls for eggs (please use local farm-pasture-raised eggs!) just follow these simple rules:
1) Save your eggshells.
2) Wash your eggshells.
3) Pour boiling water over your eggshells.
4) Let them cool.
5) Add some lemon. (1/2 tsp per 6 shells)
6) Strain.
7 Use or freeze. Ice trays work wonderfully.

How easy was that? A "dose" is about 1/4 cup of eggshell water. You can just drink it, add it your favorite juice or fruit smoothy. (I have great recipes for smoothies on my website)

Second tip: Instead of water, cover the eggshells with apple cider vinegar DO NOT USE WHITE VINEGAR or I'll have to come out there and get cha! (that's "farm" for get you), organic is BEST. Let it sit at least 2 weeks, 6 weeks is better. Dose is 1 tsp per day.

Third tip: Calcium Tea. If you want to make it yourself the directions are on my website HERE in the Library section under Calcium Tea (Also called Calcium Tisane-I'll explain THAT another day!. It has delightful herbs that are chock full of a lot of minerals, not just calcium. Or, if you want it "ready-made" I also have it for sale in my on-line store HERE

Just in case those "HERE" links don't work (I did just learn how to do it) here's my website: http://www.rockycreekvalley.com

Which Came First...

the chicken or the egg? In my case, the chicken. My Mables are doing quite well. They LOVE this nice weather and even when we have a "set back" as is often the case in Missouri, they are out there scratching and pecking to their hearts content. Jack is so cute to watch with "his ladies". He calls them over to inspect an interesting tidbit in the ground, warns them when the hawks fly over and worries if they all do not stay right with him. There are some independent Mables who like to wonder around on their own and ignore his callings. Mable eggs have gotten progressively better these past weeks and oh so yummy. I think of my chickens as free-range, but, as usual, the names farmers have used for generations have been high-jacked by the commercial "farms" and no longer mean anything. If the egg-carton in the store says free-range by law it means chickens are "given access" to the outdoors, it doesn't mean they actually go outside. Some industrial "farms" have one small chicken door per thousands of hens. The outdoor facility is almost always a fenced dirt yard void of anything green or living. The new marketing term for REAL free-range chickens is pasture-raised. I suppose it is just a matter of time before corporate "farms" call their crowded dirty dead dirt yards (as opposed to living organic soil) pastures. Then, once again, true farms will have to change their description of true free-range, pasture-raised chickens. Just to be safe, BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL, and ask questions!

Snowbound

Now this is a snow I can relate to; one measured in feet not inches! That's the kind of snow I remember from my girlhood. We received two separate snowfalls here in the Valley each about 17-23 inches--depending on where I poked the yard-stick probe--with several small snowfalls of 1-3 inches. Then in addition we have the winter lasagna: snow layered with ice. February, the love month, has given us several days of 50-60 degree weather.

Although we still have plenty of snow, we also have a few grassy patches where the snow had been plowed thus allowing the sun to beam through with hot laser-like-snow-melting power. So, now we have wide avenues of ice-free-walking meandering purposefully throughout our farm. Mobile home to cottage. Mobile to barn. Cottage to barn. Mobile to mail box. We look like a veritable village. Cassie is appreciative of the pathways but still leaves them to do her business...such a thoughtful dog.





Jack and Mable (rooster and hens) LOVE the grassy walks. At last GREEN! Jack, the ever present provider, struts and calls his girls to first one spot of grass then another in a most delightful spectacle of male bravado. He completes his show by flying onto the highest gatepost and crowing with passionate satisfaction.



Chickens showing off their warm-weather antics have more than aesthetic appeal. Even though Mabels have never ceased egg production in spite of sub-zero temperatures and short dark days, the new green vegetation and the shinning sun will enhance the eggs with more nutrition. Mother Earth News did an interesting study about five years ago proving what my Grandma Lizzy always said: fresh air and sunshine for man or beast. Compared to the anemic grocery store eggs from caged hens, free-range chickens produced eggs with half the cholesterol, twice the vitamin E, 2 to 6 times the beta carotene (vitamin A)and 4 times the omega 3. Just crack open a Mabel-egg; it's so beautifully orange you'll think it's the sun shining in your bowl. Life is good.