every day is a good day
Few things are more fun for a growing chicken than taking a dirt bath with sisters and brothers. Over time, chickens will dig holes even bigger than themselves. This has been a great summer for dirt baths, day after day of sunshine has provided the chickens with plenty of dry dirt to dig into. These chicks grew up enjoying unseasonably warm and dry weather. They’ll be in for a shock when the fall rains come.
It’s mid-morning and Lucky is taking a break from sitting on her eggs. She hops up onto a woodpile to preen and strut her stuff. With a pose like that, she deserves a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, don’t you think?
This is what real food looks like. With produce so fresh and colorful, not eating your greens is never an issue. We were in Seattle today and happened to see a store called Eat Local, which sells prepared dishes which are hand-made in their kitchen, from scratch, using traditional cooking methods and house-made stocks. Customers can purchase the frozen dishes in their stores or have them delivered.
But buying a frozen, pre-made dish is nothing like gathering fresh produce and taking the time to make a meal out of it. With produce like this, processing is minimal and you can have a wonderful meal on the table in ten to twenty minutes, less time than it takes to go to the store and buy something or have it delivered.
And running to the store, you’ll never run into a hen and her chicks curious as to what you’ve picked for supper.
August is ending on a cool, wet, very fall like note. The lettuce are happy. And so is the Rucola Arugula, a slow growing, spicy arugula with deeply lobed leaves. This is a arugula which adds a touch of beauty to any salad.
The Tennouji Kabura are forming their showy white roots which will grow to three to four inches across. You can eat every part of this beautiful turnip. They have a long history and are named after the area around Shitennoji, a temple built in 593. Tennouji is now a ward of Osaka.
The last row of potatoes I planted are in full bloom. In the meantime, the earliest potatoes I planted are ready for harvest. The plants have died and look like nothing, but underneath their shriveled stalks are plump, colorful potatoes. They taste better when you get to dig them up for yourself.
The colors of some of the roosters this year are dazzling. Do hens find such brilliant plumage irresistible? Do roosters enjoy strutting around? With duds like this, who wouldn’t strut?
