Hi friends! I’m back with another eggciting homestead update for you! I know you are just waiting for these updates every week. HEHE. It does help me see what all I have going on on the homestead. This past week was busy with behind-the-scenes Chicken Librarian activities. I’m still trying to find my way in this new-pandemic world. So it’s a lot of brainstorming, sending emails, meetings, and finding ways to collaborate. So that’s a quick update on the business end of things.
Eggs
I always like starting off with our egg count. I collected 18 eggs from 2/13-2/19/21!! That’s the most so far since I started keeping track. And if you recall from my chicken update post, I think Gracie the Barnevelder started laying eggs! You can see her egg in the photo above and the dark egg in the back is Maran’s (that I’m 100% sure of!). I’m not sure that I mentioned this in the chicken update, but Maran’s will lay a very dark, chocolate egg, but they get lighter as they get older. Since my girls aren’t even a year old yet, I don’t think that’s Maran’s egg (yes, she’s named Maran the Black Copper Maran. What can I say? They’re the ones that tell me their names. Who am I to argue?). Anyway, I think Maran might be molting so I am almost 99% sure this is Gracie’s egg. You can read more about it here.
Surprises
Don’t you just love a good surprise? Our misfits box showed up on Thursday, a day late due to the weather, and just as we were unpacking it and deciding on what to use for dinner, another box showed up. Dear friends of ours sent the Mister a goodie package from Momofuku. We’ve been there before and the Mister raves about the pork belly sliders! So our friends sent him a box of ‘make your own Bo Ssäm dinner’ kit. It even comes with ‘make your own fried rice’ kit too! YUM! So, I like to say if you can’t get to Momofuku, Momofuku comes to you. Boy, I miss the City.
Tap those trees!
It is time to, finally, tap those maple trees! I have my buckets all cleaned and ready to go. We’ll tap trees this weekend. If you want more information on how to tap your trees and turn the sap into maple syrup, you can join me on the homestead on March 6th for a full day intensive on all things maple.
Scenes from around the house
So. I have a reason that I have random pictures from around the house. You’ll have to check back for my next ‘The Good Things‘ list to find out why. If you follow me over on Instagram, you might already know why. All in due time, my friends. hehe.
And then there was a book group
In other news, I do have an exciting update for the website. I finally made a page just for the book discussions! It’s just a page where you can find out the latest book that we are reading. I might add more to it as we move along. I don’t know why I didn’t do this before! I’ve been running all the book discussion off of Facebook events, but from now on, it will be here on the website. And I’ll advertise it over on my social media. I’ve also come up with a name for the group: CLUBR: Chicken Librarian Unites Book Readers. It’s a take on the name Tracy came up with about a year ago. So if you want to be a ‘CLUBR’, all you have to do is read the book and then join me on the second Sunday of the month at 10AM via Zoom and we’ll discuss! We could even have a little discussion here if you’d like.
I’m working on some other updates for the website. Hopefully I’ll get to those soon. My article has been submitted to the newspaper and it’s making its way up the ladder. I’ll keep you posted. It won’t be published until the middle of March or so. I’m busy booking classes and working on other collaborations. Things are good. I have some other life updates headed your way as I find time to sit and write. I hope you are doing well! Leave me a note letting me know how you are. What’s new and exciting in your life? Were you hit with the cold, ice, and snow? How did you make out. I’ve been thinking about the people who have had to endure that kind of weather in areas that aren’t prepared for it. I don’t have any words of wisdom to add to what has already been circulating on the internets, other than I hope you are okay and I’m thinking of you. That’s not really helpful, I know. But it’s true. I’m thinking of each and every one of you. xoxo
’til next time
-k
xoxo
Tracy
CLUBR is a perfect name! 🙂 (I totally forgot about CLUCKERs, *snicker* ) And the CLUBR chicken logo = awesome!
There might come a time I re-join your reading group. I’m sure it is so much fun! I just need to get a grip on my schedule. I am reading a bit here and there, but I should be WRITING. 🤨 More on that in a post at GCER in March. By the way, thanks for the shoutout and link in your post above! You are fabulous! 😀
I can’t wait to hear about your life updates and changes. I have a post (still writing it) that will be a part of the March blog drop with some big announcements. Maybe 2020 shook up everything and what we are experiencing now is the creative fallout. (I don’t know who said it, but there’s a quote that is something like: in the midst of chaos, creativity is born. Or, something like that.)
I’m excited for your article to be published. Definitely keep us posted! By the way, that Momofuku dinner looks delish. What a nice gift! (I just decided Mr. Gordon needs better friends…) We’re skipping our Misfits box this coming week. I’m actually a little ticked at them: in our last order, the potatoes were very, very tiny. And there were only two of them. Each veg portion is supposed to be a two-person serving. This was not. It was like holding two tiny seed potatoes. The broccoli crown was so small, too. I was like, c’mon, Misfits! Anyhow, I decided to skip this week.
Loving the photos from around your house. You seem to have really good lighting, too. (Just a thought that went through my head.) The photos look fantastic. 🙂 Looking forward to all your CL news coming up. You are doing such a great job and really know how to inspire, Kristin! (Maybe sell some bottled “Chicken Librarian Energy”?) 😀
chickenlibrarian
Ah, yes! Better friends! Well, it actually helps that the Mister manages the fly fishing lodge. We meet most, if not all, of our friends that way or through people we know because of the fishing. Our friend that sent the Momofuku box…well, we’ve been friends with him and his family since we moved here in 2001. And they spoil us! They’re so good to us.
I do hope you can join the book discussion at some point. I took some time off last fall and I think it lost a little momentum, but I like having everything here on the website rather than ‘all over the place (internet)’. I don’t know why I haven’t consolidated things before now (if you get around to reading my Good Things 2/21 post, you’ll see a little more of a glimpse into things). Anyway, I think having consistency and consolidating it will definitely help in the long run.
As for my energy, I have a post planned about some of that. Stay tuned. I can’t wait to read all about your updates that you’ve been alluding to. I still need to catch up on your February blog post drop. It’s on my list!
Oh. I guess I should have mentioned the potato situation with Misfits. I made the mistake of ordering potatoes a couple of times thinking it was a fluke that the potatoes were that small. But nope, they’re really that small and you only get a couple. Wasn’t worth it. But I ordered sweet potatoes (or they subbed something out) and I got THE BEST purple sweet potatoes this past week. They were so good. And I didn’t even know that there was such a thing. I really want to grow purple sweet potatoes now. They were so different than the orange ones. They still tasted like sweet potatoes but they were…thicker, creamier? I don’t know how to describe it. But I’m with you on the small potatoes.
Okay. I’ll keep you posted on everything. I have so many plans of how I want to use the CL website. It’s exciting! xoxo
Bekah
My son would be jealous of that dinner! Maybe I should encourage him to look up some recipes and make his own version. It’s surprising what he comes up with and wants to attempt.
I happen to be listening to your next book club selection. But if I were to join the book talk, I would still be in my robe and jammies 🙂 We’ll see.
I hope your maple syrup class went well. I wished I lived closer and could have attended. I wonder if you can tap trees here in the PNW? Or, if the time of year is slightly different? We don’t typically get the cold temps like you do, but I am sure there is still a time where the sap runs in the trees, and it would be time to tap them. Something to look into.
Hope you are well!
chickenlibrarian
Hi Bekah! Yes, I think you should have your son find a suitable recipe!1 It was sooo good! I don’t think it would be terribly hard to replicate something like what we had. It was sooo good. I can’t say that enough.
The maple syrup class is coming up, but unfortunately I think I will end up canceling it. This is one of my struggles with my business (and probably due to the pandemic) people just aren’t up for in person classes. I guess? I don’t actually know. Anyway, I’ll still be tapping trees and making maple syrup. I think you can still tap trees, you would just do it earlier. The time to do it is when the weather is over freezing during the day, but below freezing at night. So if you are still having temps like that you can totally tap away!
As for the book discussion, PJ’s are welcome! We’re pretty informal but have a good discussion. I’m looking forward to reading the book and then hearing what everyone has to say! I hope you’ll join in.