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| Goshawk seen last fall, across the street. |
Had a mighty scare with the chickies early this morning...I had gone inside to change into gardening clothes and came out to find a small hawk or some other smallish bird of prey perched on the electrical line that connects the house to the public pole, right above the girls in their run. (Very possibly the handsome gentleman to the left.) The hawk immediately flew away as I came around the corner, and I could see only Roxanne (!!), pressed into the closest corner of the cage. I had known from the minute I stepped outside that something was abnormal--it was prime birdsong time of day, and there was silence, except for one unfamiliar call. I blinked at the run a few times (lid is shut and locked...where could they be??) and started toward it, finding to my relief that Ramona, Betty, & Fern were crowded as tightly as possible into the same corner as Roxanne, and she was sort of puffed up and apparently standing over them as lookout.
Oh thank the baby jesus. Or perhaps the patron saint/goddess of chickens.
Formerly still and silent girls were now peep peep peeping like mad, and came running when I opened the door and leaned over to reach in the pen. Everyone, even shy Betty, had to bump up against my hands or run over my palms as I babbled sweet, soothing nothings like an idiot and we all took deep breaths. I don't understand how people have human children, honestly they must be crazy...I can't even bear my love for my animals. The cats, my boys, are bad enough--and now fowl?? Really?
Having thought it all over, I am:
a) glad to see that my design & construction did their jobs & resisted a predatory attack,
b) going to be extremely careful about keeping the lid of the run closed (my books say chicks are at much higher risk than full grown),
c) am now feeling leery toward any outside adventures, like letting the girls out into the garden as I did a few days ago, even if closely supervised,
d). and am happy to discover that Foxy Roxie has moxie. (These are the giddy realizations that come from postmortem texting frenzies with horrified Aunties Christiana & Amy. Don't hate, I was under great strain.)
We gradually settled down and resumed our normal chicken and human routines, shaken but in charge of our senses and logic again, and have had since a very productive day. I finally tackled the garden: cleaned up and re-draped the tomato insanity, staked up some peppers, tore out the decimated collards and brussel sprouts--nasty wormy things; I need to get Bt--and pulled out the long row of buckwheat and spread it out to dry into hay. I encountered some hefty tomato hornworms--yet another thing to think about accidentally grabbing (ew) while reaching into the innards of my garden jungle to harvest--and have saved them for my four year old friend Teagan to see. Once I get the potatoes harvested (they are along the fence, the weedy, ugly bed in the picture below), I will be ready to plant the fall stuff. Carrots, cabbage, broccoli, scallions, beets (what the heck), and possibly still some more sunflowers--I've probably left all of this too late, but I think it is still worth a shot.
I also managed to thread my soaker hose through the tomato bed and the squash & bean row which should have been done ages ago when everything was less tangled and enormous. We had such regular rain for the majority of the summer that I have been very spoiled.
And then, Jason came home! The weekend has begun! After a long, full day outside in the sun and breeze, working hard and making progress, it is so nice to have him home and able to enjoy it all with me. It is strange, being at home and having Jason off at work; his comings and goings punctuate my day. There is a proprietary feel to waving him off in the morning with a freshly packed lunch that is satisfying (and yes, a bit threatening and Donna-Reedish,) and I reassure myself that this is part of pursuing sustainability and cheaper & healthier than grabbing fast food or something equally hideous.
I need to be better about planning meals and keeping up on dirty dishes, although there is logic to my prioritizing of the to-do list: the garden is at the top until I have everything planted, and then chickens will need their coop in the garage as soon as I can get it done. I also confess to a certain compulsion to be outside as much as possible while I can be; the winter ahead is a bit daunting to me presently. I am sure it will be fine, but I can imagine my tendency toward cabin fever will be something to actively avoid.
In any case, I had accidentally pruned off several large green tomatoes while I was cleaning up the plants, and so I made fried green tomatoes for the first time as an accompaniment to BLT's. When I am in need of a new recipe, I usually start online (allrecipes.com is pretty good) and go from there. If I am feeling pretty comfortable, I don't follow along very closely--the fried tomatoes were one of these scenarios because I have breaded and pan-fried fish many times & already had a gist of the process. So, without any terribly defined measurements, here is the recipe:
Fried Green Tomatoes ala Maggie
3-4 good sized green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick
-set up three medium sized bowls or baking dishes in a row
Bowl One: combine 1 1/2 c. flour (whole wheat works) with lots of ground pepper and Cajun seasoning and a little salt. If Cajun isn't hot, add some cayenne as desired
Bowl Two: 2-3 eggs beaten with a few tablespoons of milk
Bowl Three: 2+ c. bread crumbs or cracker crumbs ( I used Panko crumbs from Trader Joe's)
-Dredge the tomato slices first in egg, then in flour, back in egg, then in bread crumbs. Tongs are helpful, or a fork. Press the flour and crumbs on both sides and then shake off excess.
-Heat up some type of fat in a skillet over medium heat. I used the meager amount of bacon grease that we had after cooking our farmer's market bacon and added a little canola. Fry the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes per side, checking to see how brown they are getting. Drain on paper towels & cover to keep warm while the rest are cooking.
For dipping, I used my last few tablespoons of sour cream and ranch dressing and whisked them together with probably 10-15 drops of Sriracha chili sauce.
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| Collards, a bit holey, but still yummy |
Food and summer are a wonderful blend; I used our own "Old German" heirloom tomatoes for the BLT's and homemade bread as well--I have a new whole wheat sandwich bread recipe from the magical folk at King Arthur Flour that turned out really well. We also like to thickly slice an avocado and at that to the BLT's...mmmm. Truly, the time and effort required when cooking from scratch are equally rewarded by the end results...we eat very well (when I'm not feeling lazy), and it is a satisfying ritual from garden to kitchen to plate to tummy, at least for me.
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