The first clue was the pile of five dead chickens.
Kenny Okorowski found them behind his Oatland Island house.
Looking further he discovered his sixth chicken buried nearby. His seventh backyard bird was just gone.
“I was walking my dog Saturday morning and when I came around to the backyard, the chicken coop was full of feathers but no chickens,” Okorowski said.
He dug up the buried bird and used it to bait a large animal trap he borrowed from nearby Oatland Island Wildlife Center. He knew the predator would be back for leftovers.
“I wasn’t sure whether it was a bobcat or a coon but I knew whatever it was needed to be caught,” he said.
The next morning the wire cage held a full-grown male bobcat.
“It wasn’t too angry,” said Okorowski, who’s lived on Oatland for more than two decades but who hadn’t seen a bobcat in years. “But if we went too close he’d stand up and look at us.”
Okorowski took the 20-pound cat to Oatland where veterinarian Lesley Mailler has since been doctoring what she believes is an approximately 10-year-old bobcat that probably tangled with a large dog about a month ago.
Its left shoulder blade was crunched apart and the floating pieces of bone had fostered a nasty infection that made it hard for it to hunt.
“I think the wound forced it to find easier prey,” Mailler said.
The bobcat might also be responsible for killing one of Oatland’s turkeys, Darryl, the week before. (Turkey lovers can take consolation in the fact that the other Darryl was unharmed.)
Mailler knocked the cat out and cleaned the wound, pulling chunks of loose bone out then closed it up again. Several days later she knocked him out again for phase two of the wound care. She didn’t have to remove the stitches; he’d already done that.
“Naughty boy,” she said to the drugged cat laying on his side, tongue out, anesthesia mask on.
Mailler removed two surgical drains, tubes of latex that channel pus and fluid out of the wound. Then she stitched him up again, finishing three layers of internal stitches with a surgical glue for good measure. The inch-long piece of bone she removed in the first surgery won’t affect the cat’s mobility, Mailler said.
Named for their short tails, bobcats are the most common wild feline in the U.S. with a total population estimated at more than a million. The males are solitary with overlapping territories estimated at about 10 square miles, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. They are not threatened or endangered.
Mailler has had recent practice on this species because the center last year acquired three adolescent bobcats that had been discovered as babies in South Carolina and nursed by a house cat. Mailler had to neuter them before they were put into their permanent display.
“We’ve had a bobcat bonanza going on,” Mailler said.
But the wild patient won’t be staying at Oatland permanently. Bobcats can live well into their teens, so at 10, this one is middle aged. He’s thin, but the Oatland staff is fattening him up with frozen rats and the same meatballs their captive cats regularly dine on. Just two days after the last surgery he was already feistier, growling at his captor and swatting when they came close to his cage.
“He’s discovered he’s a bobcat again,” Mailler said. “He must be feeling better.”
Mailler plans to get the cat healthy and then relocate it to an as yet undetermined location away from traffic and the temptation of backyard chickens. She’s hopeful for his future.
“He’s a tough old guy,” she said.
2012年1月16日星期一
2012年1月8日星期日
Time actually does move slower in Wet Mountain Valley
New Years was spent visiting the family ranch of my son-in-law Cody in the Westcliffe/Silver Cliff area, which is located in Wet Mountain Valley between the spectacularly scenic Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west and the Wet Mountains to the east.
Cody told us that time moves slower in the valley. Can't be, as physics teaches that time travels at the same pace everywhere and anything else is merely a perception. Still, when we first entered the ranch house, I had the sense we were visiting a place that time had long since flowed around and I found myself awash in memories of days spent on my grandparents' farm as a child.
While the house was not lacking in modern conveniences, the furnishings left one with a sense of practicality. Unlike many urban residences, nearly everything had a use. This was true of the property, sporting an earthen cold cellar, chicken coop, tool and work shed, bunk house, clotheslines, barn and oversized garden. All features long lost in the city setting.
Our bedroom was one of three attic-style rooms at the end of a steep, narrow stairway no longer found in modern houses. The bedroom, like the rest of the house, was obviously added on to meet the needs of a growing ranch family. This house, like many older ranch houses, started as a single room, steadily growing via add-ons over the years.
The sun shining through our window woke us to a blustery day. Our view of the lofty mountain peaks showed large snow clouds, an indication that the day's winds were not isolated to the valley floor.
During breakfast preparations, the high winds knocked down several power poles, leaving us without lights, water (wells run on pumps) and a slowly cooling house, as power was needed for the wood pellet stove. So we headed to town for a visit while waiting for Cody's uncle to call when the power was back.
Turns out we spent most of the day visiting nearly every open store, having a leisurely lunch and ultimately spending the afternoon at a bar nursing drinks and whiling away time playing the dice game Farkle. While we waited, we never stressed over the power outage, as indeed time seemed to move at a much different pace that day.
Originally, we'd planned on fishing Saturday, but the strong, icy winds cutting through us every time we stepped outside quickly killed the urge to be on the ice. We decided to wait until New Year's Day in the hopes of a calmer day.
Sunday was perfect weather for a day on the ice - sunny, clear and calm. Operating on "mountain time," after a leisurely breakfast, Cody and I made our way to the reservoir where we found a thick icecap that was responding noisily to the prior night's cold. Growing ice is a lot like rice cereal after adding milk; it snaps, crackles and pops.
Our first hole revealed more than 12 inches of clear, hard ice, which was plenty to bear our weight. But I'll be the first to admit to a strong desire to run for shore as a new crack formed near us accompanied by a loud crackle. Surprisingly, as nerve-wracking as the ice was to us, it didn't seem to bother the fish, as we managed several nice rainbows over the course of the next few hours.
As the afternoon sun settled over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we sadly called it a day. It was time to head to the ranch, pack and go back to a world where time travels at its normal helter-skelter pace.
Cody told us that time moves slower in the valley. Can't be, as physics teaches that time travels at the same pace everywhere and anything else is merely a perception. Still, when we first entered the ranch house, I had the sense we were visiting a place that time had long since flowed around and I found myself awash in memories of days spent on my grandparents' farm as a child.
While the house was not lacking in modern conveniences, the furnishings left one with a sense of practicality. Unlike many urban residences, nearly everything had a use. This was true of the property, sporting an earthen cold cellar, chicken coop, tool and work shed, bunk house, clotheslines, barn and oversized garden. All features long lost in the city setting.
Our bedroom was one of three attic-style rooms at the end of a steep, narrow stairway no longer found in modern houses. The bedroom, like the rest of the house, was obviously added on to meet the needs of a growing ranch family. This house, like many older ranch houses, started as a single room, steadily growing via add-ons over the years.
The sun shining through our window woke us to a blustery day. Our view of the lofty mountain peaks showed large snow clouds, an indication that the day's winds were not isolated to the valley floor.
During breakfast preparations, the high winds knocked down several power poles, leaving us without lights, water (wells run on pumps) and a slowly cooling house, as power was needed for the wood pellet stove. So we headed to town for a visit while waiting for Cody's uncle to call when the power was back.
Turns out we spent most of the day visiting nearly every open store, having a leisurely lunch and ultimately spending the afternoon at a bar nursing drinks and whiling away time playing the dice game Farkle. While we waited, we never stressed over the power outage, as indeed time seemed to move at a much different pace that day.
Originally, we'd planned on fishing Saturday, but the strong, icy winds cutting through us every time we stepped outside quickly killed the urge to be on the ice. We decided to wait until New Year's Day in the hopes of a calmer day.
Sunday was perfect weather for a day on the ice - sunny, clear and calm. Operating on "mountain time," after a leisurely breakfast, Cody and I made our way to the reservoir where we found a thick icecap that was responding noisily to the prior night's cold. Growing ice is a lot like rice cereal after adding milk; it snaps, crackles and pops.
Our first hole revealed more than 12 inches of clear, hard ice, which was plenty to bear our weight. But I'll be the first to admit to a strong desire to run for shore as a new crack formed near us accompanied by a loud crackle. Surprisingly, as nerve-wracking as the ice was to us, it didn't seem to bother the fish, as we managed several nice rainbows over the course of the next few hours.
As the afternoon sun settled over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we sadly called it a day. It was time to head to the ranch, pack and go back to a world where time travels at its normal helter-skelter pace.
2011年12月27日星期二
The Real Cost of Backyard Chickens
It sounded like a killer let loose in the chicken coop, so I jumped from the couch in hot pursuit. With my bare hands—and still nearly napping, though my feet were suddenly flying—I was apparently going to have to best a raccoon or a fox, though perhaps I’d get lucky and merely have to duel a vole. Point is, my wife loved those chickens and it was her birthday, for God’s sake. Gallantry was in order.
I had to outrun—then outfight—this demon.
For those new to this column, let me chronicle how I arrived at a surreal point when a nap was punctured by a flat-out sprint toward venal killers—and in my backyard, no less.
Earlier this year, Lori and I surprised friends, neighbors and probably even ourselves by deciding to raise chickens. Never mind that we already had 3 kids and 2 dogs and 2 cats. And forget that we hardly have a farm, barely even 1/5 of a suburban acre. Fact is, we’re not alone in feeling a pull toward chickens. Chickens were referred to in The New Yorker as the new “it” bird and Alice Walker just came out with a book called “Chicken Chronicles,” essays of her thoughts while gazing at her navel in her chicken coop. (Yes, I bought it for my wife. No, I won’t read it, even at gunpoint.)
But I digress. The point is that there was an apparent massacre in my midst—Helter Skelter meets hens--and, hold on, I’m getting there. But first let me just say that our decision to jump onto the feathery bandwagon was easier said than done. I suffer from a bad case of nonchalance about how hard new projects will be, but even Lori was taken aback about how much it cost to build a chicken run and small coop.
We stopped counting at $1,800. There goes the economic justification for raising your own livestock.
But life stretches beyond the ledger. And chickens are (and I apologize for this ahead of time) odd ducks. Their necks bob with comic regularity even as their habits—reliably going home to roost every night—add a certain gracious, timeless cycle to a suburban life, otherwise too far in the hold of school bus arrivals and departures, a violin lessons here, grocery shopping there.
Was it all over before it had barely started?
Luckily, no. Despite the battle cries emanating from the chicken run, my tussling services were not needed, nor were the skills of a forensic specialist. All the hens were totally fine. The only sight out of the ordinary was Loretta Sopressata, one of our five, who was simply activated like never before. Clucking loudly, something had given her a shot to the spirit. Inspecting the run and its perimeter, I found no trespasser, or even an attempt at a breach.
I went to their coop: also, all quiet. And that’s when I saw them: a pair of eggs. They were the first the hens had laid. That we had effectively paid $1,000 for each could be brushed aside, at least for the moment. These were our first eggs. They came a month ahead of schedule and right on my wife’s birthday.
I stared at the perfect pair of brown eggs, one elegantly spotted, for a few minutes, posed them for photographs and as soon as my wife came home, we called up the neighbors, who came over to gawk.
Both timeless and an idea of the moment, only chickens can turn the production of two simple eggs into a collective revelation.
I had to outrun—then outfight—this demon.
For those new to this column, let me chronicle how I arrived at a surreal point when a nap was punctured by a flat-out sprint toward venal killers—and in my backyard, no less.
Earlier this year, Lori and I surprised friends, neighbors and probably even ourselves by deciding to raise chickens. Never mind that we already had 3 kids and 2 dogs and 2 cats. And forget that we hardly have a farm, barely even 1/5 of a suburban acre. Fact is, we’re not alone in feeling a pull toward chickens. Chickens were referred to in The New Yorker as the new “it” bird and Alice Walker just came out with a book called “Chicken Chronicles,” essays of her thoughts while gazing at her navel in her chicken coop. (Yes, I bought it for my wife. No, I won’t read it, even at gunpoint.)
But I digress. The point is that there was an apparent massacre in my midst—Helter Skelter meets hens--and, hold on, I’m getting there. But first let me just say that our decision to jump onto the feathery bandwagon was easier said than done. I suffer from a bad case of nonchalance about how hard new projects will be, but even Lori was taken aback about how much it cost to build a chicken run and small coop.
We stopped counting at $1,800. There goes the economic justification for raising your own livestock.
But life stretches beyond the ledger. And chickens are (and I apologize for this ahead of time) odd ducks. Their necks bob with comic regularity even as their habits—reliably going home to roost every night—add a certain gracious, timeless cycle to a suburban life, otherwise too far in the hold of school bus arrivals and departures, a violin lessons here, grocery shopping there.
Was it all over before it had barely started?
Luckily, no. Despite the battle cries emanating from the chicken run, my tussling services were not needed, nor were the skills of a forensic specialist. All the hens were totally fine. The only sight out of the ordinary was Loretta Sopressata, one of our five, who was simply activated like never before. Clucking loudly, something had given her a shot to the spirit. Inspecting the run and its perimeter, I found no trespasser, or even an attempt at a breach.
I went to their coop: also, all quiet. And that’s when I saw them: a pair of eggs. They were the first the hens had laid. That we had effectively paid $1,000 for each could be brushed aside, at least for the moment. These were our first eggs. They came a month ahead of schedule and right on my wife’s birthday.
I stared at the perfect pair of brown eggs, one elegantly spotted, for a few minutes, posed them for photographs and as soon as my wife came home, we called up the neighbors, who came over to gawk.
Both timeless and an idea of the moment, only chickens can turn the production of two simple eggs into a collective revelation.
2011年12月21日星期三
A roost of one's own - now available in Muncie
Muncie might not be a major automaker anymore, but we've established a toehold in another key manufacturing domain.
Chicken coops.
Brook Linton, who runs Solid State LLC out of a cavernous 90-year-old warehouse on the city's near south side, recently explained what got him into it.
"Nobody around here was doing it," he said. "Nobody was making chicken coops. A lot of people are getting into chickens again."
Tall and lanky, Linton was bundled against the cold air flowing through his drafty building at 800 S. Liberty St. last week. As he talked, everywhere you looked in its western end were stacks of old doors, tumbled sinks and bath tubs, framed windows reclaimed from walls and felled porch posts waiting to rise again.
All this, he noted, was salvaged from old houses razed over the past couple years.
Can't find an eight-foot door? This is your place.
"All the components of the house, we resell them," Linton said. "A lot of people who can't find anything in the box stores come here."
It was at the far eastern end of the warehouse, though, where employee John Halsey was hard at work, building a new chicken coop from recycled wood.
"We have a pretty set pattern," Linton noted, of his coops' design.
The young businessman launched this part of his enterprise about eight months ago. Halsey was working on the seventh coop, and four have been sold. A couple of the others sat outside the warehouse, looking like big doll houses, their weathered blue and yellow paint schemes determined by the color of the reclaimed wood that went into their manufacture.
"We really don't paint them," Linton said. "Whatever reclaimed color the wood is, that's on the walls."
So, what will a chicken coop cost you?
If you'd like the large coop, one that as many as 25 chickens would be proud to call home, it will be about $1,000.
On the other hand, if you are more of a 10-chicken man (or woman), that will run you only about $550.
The smaller coop, by the way, was specially designed with ease of hauling in mind, Linton said, it being small enough to fit in the bed of a compact S-10 Chevy pickup truck.
Of course, if your chicken ambitions far exceed 10 or even 25 fowl, don't despair.
"We can make bigger coops," Linton said. "It's custom sized."
By the way, each coop contains a roost inside.
"That's because chickens like to sleep up off the ground," Linton explained, just that quickly doubling the scope of this reporter's chicken knowledge.
Who are the folks buying his chicken coops? It's probably too early to have accurately identified a market demographic yet, but he said one customer was a new retiree.
"He just wanted something to do," he said.
More power to folks like that, he continued, and their dreams of raising chickens.
"We're hoping that it catches on," Linton said.
Chicken coops.
Brook Linton, who runs Solid State LLC out of a cavernous 90-year-old warehouse on the city's near south side, recently explained what got him into it.
"Nobody around here was doing it," he said. "Nobody was making chicken coops. A lot of people are getting into chickens again."
Tall and lanky, Linton was bundled against the cold air flowing through his drafty building at 800 S. Liberty St. last week. As he talked, everywhere you looked in its western end were stacks of old doors, tumbled sinks and bath tubs, framed windows reclaimed from walls and felled porch posts waiting to rise again.
All this, he noted, was salvaged from old houses razed over the past couple years.
Can't find an eight-foot door? This is your place.
"All the components of the house, we resell them," Linton said. "A lot of people who can't find anything in the box stores come here."
It was at the far eastern end of the warehouse, though, where employee John Halsey was hard at work, building a new chicken coop from recycled wood.
"We have a pretty set pattern," Linton noted, of his coops' design.
The young businessman launched this part of his enterprise about eight months ago. Halsey was working on the seventh coop, and four have been sold. A couple of the others sat outside the warehouse, looking like big doll houses, their weathered blue and yellow paint schemes determined by the color of the reclaimed wood that went into their manufacture.
"We really don't paint them," Linton said. "Whatever reclaimed color the wood is, that's on the walls."
So, what will a chicken coop cost you?
If you'd like the large coop, one that as many as 25 chickens would be proud to call home, it will be about $1,000.
On the other hand, if you are more of a 10-chicken man (or woman), that will run you only about $550.
The smaller coop, by the way, was specially designed with ease of hauling in mind, Linton said, it being small enough to fit in the bed of a compact S-10 Chevy pickup truck.
Of course, if your chicken ambitions far exceed 10 or even 25 fowl, don't despair.
"We can make bigger coops," Linton said. "It's custom sized."
By the way, each coop contains a roost inside.
"That's because chickens like to sleep up off the ground," Linton explained, just that quickly doubling the scope of this reporter's chicken knowledge.
Who are the folks buying his chicken coops? It's probably too early to have accurately identified a market demographic yet, but he said one customer was a new retiree.
"He just wanted something to do," he said.
More power to folks like that, he continued, and their dreams of raising chickens.
"We're hoping that it catches on," Linton said.
2011年11月17日星期四
Tour highlights Savannah's urban chicks
As an old farm boy from Wisconsin, Jake Kawatski is matter of fact about the four hens in his urban backyard in the West Victory area of Savannah.
“I grew up having chickens,” he said.
He spouts tips as he shows off his two “Easter egg” Araucanas and two white leghorns scratching around their enclosure:
Put chicken manure back into your garden for fertilizer.
Stick to one breed so they don’t fight.
Pick up crushed shells from Tybee for a cheap way to aid digestion and egg production.
Such advice and more will be coming at visitors Sunday on the third annual Tour de Coop, a guided tour of local chicken coops sponsored by the nonprofit Savannah Urban Garden Alliance.
The tour is the brainchild of Kelly Lockamy, SUGA’s founder. It meshes well with her vision of providing “local, healthy food one garden at a time.”
“It promotes the idea of being more self-sufficient in feeding yourself,” she said. “It’s along the lines of a backyard garden but also having protein.”
Plus, the tour is a chance for chicken enthusiasts to get together.
There are plenty of such fowl friends in Savannah. A Facebook page devoted to Savannah Backyard Chickens boasts 161 members. The chickens’ popularity is part of the reason a county task force is working to re-write and clarify ordinances about keeping livestock.
Shannon Willhite, whose apple-green coop is also on the tour, is exhibit A of the group’s enthusiasm.
The Ardsley Park resident got her chickens in July. When her favorite hen, Cora, began crowing on Monday, he was renamed Carl and quickly relocated. Now she’s down to four hens who eat their oyster shells from a tea cup, dine in their own screened porch and feather their nests in what she calls the “Chick Inn.”
“I should get an egg any minute now,” she said. “I’m beyond excited.”
“I grew up having chickens,” he said.
He spouts tips as he shows off his two “Easter egg” Araucanas and two white leghorns scratching around their enclosure:
Put chicken manure back into your garden for fertilizer.
Stick to one breed so they don’t fight.
Pick up crushed shells from Tybee for a cheap way to aid digestion and egg production.
Such advice and more will be coming at visitors Sunday on the third annual Tour de Coop, a guided tour of local chicken coops sponsored by the nonprofit Savannah Urban Garden Alliance.
The tour is the brainchild of Kelly Lockamy, SUGA’s founder. It meshes well with her vision of providing “local, healthy food one garden at a time.”
“It promotes the idea of being more self-sufficient in feeding yourself,” she said. “It’s along the lines of a backyard garden but also having protein.”
Plus, the tour is a chance for chicken enthusiasts to get together.
There are plenty of such fowl friends in Savannah. A Facebook page devoted to Savannah Backyard Chickens boasts 161 members. The chickens’ popularity is part of the reason a county task force is working to re-write and clarify ordinances about keeping livestock.
Shannon Willhite, whose apple-green coop is also on the tour, is exhibit A of the group’s enthusiasm.
The Ardsley Park resident got her chickens in July. When her favorite hen, Cora, began crowing on Monday, he was renamed Carl and quickly relocated. Now she’s down to four hens who eat their oyster shells from a tea cup, dine in their own screened porch and feather their nests in what she calls the “Chick Inn.”
“I should get an egg any minute now,” she said. “I’m beyond excited.”
2011年10月30日星期日
Guests nest in old coops
For a trip to visit my daughter at Angelo State University, I explored various hotels before landing at the Chicken Farm Art Center, a funky art colony on a former chicken farm.
The quick getaway turned into a fun adventure my husband and I look forward to repeating.
Back story: Until the 1950s, people bought packaged chicken at local farms, before corporate producers and refrigerated trucks put them out of business. In 1971, Roger Allen bought an abandoned 3-acre farm north of downtown San Angelo.
Gradually, he and two artist friends transformed the coops and other buildings into an eclectic enclave of artists' studios, galleries and apartments that's become a destination.
“Yeah, we've created an institution here, but it wasn't by design,” Allen says. In 1999, artists Jerry and Susan Warnell bought half the property and turned the farm's grain silo into a gourmet restaurant and upstairs guest room.
Artists in residence: Seventeen artists keep studios at the farm, working in mediums from clay to copper to digital film. Some, such as Allen and wife Pam Bladine and the Warnells, live there, too.
Allen is best known for his brightly colored StarKeeper stoneware pottery.
We visited with Jeremy Bundick, who collaborates with wife Millicent to create whimsical goblets, bowls and other dishware, along with ceramic sculptures. “We're just trying to do something different,” he said.
Cool digs: A curved staircase led to the Artist Loft upstairs in the Silo, where we slept in a round room without windows. “This feels like a castle,” my husband observed.
Sections of renovated chicken coops house two more rooms, the Santa Fe and the Country French. Overnight guests have access at any time to the breakfast nook, stocked with fruit, yogurt, juice, cereal and other breakfast fixings. Jerry Warnell leaves homemade muffins or scones at 8 a.m.
Farm events: First Saturdays are a tradition at the Chicken Farm. Local musicians — collectively called the Chicken Pickers — perform during the day, and dozens of artists set up booths with their work. On second Thursdays, visitors plunk down in lawn chairs and enjoy outdoor concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In November, thousands turn out for the farm's annual open house, held Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Live music plays round the clock while folks shop wares of 60-plus artists.
Dining ops: The week's posted menu at the farm's Salt @ the Silo House restaurant sounded enticing: Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Ribeye, Flounder en Cartocio or Braised Lamb Shank, with four-course dinners ranging from $46 to $52. Too bad we had other plans.
On our way out of town, we ate beef enchiladas at El Mejor Taco Bar and Patio Café.
Parting laugh: “I tell everyone that I'm gonna find me another chicken coop outside of town, and this time I won't tell anyone where it is,” said Roger Allen, Chicken Farm founder.
The quick getaway turned into a fun adventure my husband and I look forward to repeating.
Back story: Until the 1950s, people bought packaged chicken at local farms, before corporate producers and refrigerated trucks put them out of business. In 1971, Roger Allen bought an abandoned 3-acre farm north of downtown San Angelo.
Gradually, he and two artist friends transformed the coops and other buildings into an eclectic enclave of artists' studios, galleries and apartments that's become a destination.
“Yeah, we've created an institution here, but it wasn't by design,” Allen says. In 1999, artists Jerry and Susan Warnell bought half the property and turned the farm's grain silo into a gourmet restaurant and upstairs guest room.
Artists in residence: Seventeen artists keep studios at the farm, working in mediums from clay to copper to digital film. Some, such as Allen and wife Pam Bladine and the Warnells, live there, too.
Allen is best known for his brightly colored StarKeeper stoneware pottery.
We visited with Jeremy Bundick, who collaborates with wife Millicent to create whimsical goblets, bowls and other dishware, along with ceramic sculptures. “We're just trying to do something different,” he said.
Cool digs: A curved staircase led to the Artist Loft upstairs in the Silo, where we slept in a round room without windows. “This feels like a castle,” my husband observed.
Sections of renovated chicken coops house two more rooms, the Santa Fe and the Country French. Overnight guests have access at any time to the breakfast nook, stocked with fruit, yogurt, juice, cereal and other breakfast fixings. Jerry Warnell leaves homemade muffins or scones at 8 a.m.
Farm events: First Saturdays are a tradition at the Chicken Farm. Local musicians — collectively called the Chicken Pickers — perform during the day, and dozens of artists set up booths with their work. On second Thursdays, visitors plunk down in lawn chairs and enjoy outdoor concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In November, thousands turn out for the farm's annual open house, held Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Live music plays round the clock while folks shop wares of 60-plus artists.
Dining ops: The week's posted menu at the farm's Salt @ the Silo House restaurant sounded enticing: Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Ribeye, Flounder en Cartocio or Braised Lamb Shank, with four-course dinners ranging from $46 to $52. Too bad we had other plans.
On our way out of town, we ate beef enchiladas at El Mejor Taco Bar and Patio Café.
Parting laugh: “I tell everyone that I'm gonna find me another chicken coop outside of town, and this time I won't tell anyone where it is,” said Roger Allen, Chicken Farm founder.
2011年10月23日星期日
C.F. man fighting same kind of cancer Jobs had
Gary Gute considers himself among the lucky ones.
In May 2010 Gute went to the doctor for what he thought was kidney stones. A CT scan revealed something else completely. Gute had a tumor on his pancreas. Further tests revealed the growth was an islet cell, or neuroendocrine, tumor --- the same kind of cancer Steve Jobs was diagnosed with in 2004 and died from earlier this month. Only about 5 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses are islet cells, which are more slow-growing than the more common adenocarcinoma tumors, which are very aggressive and fast growing.
"I didn't have any symptoms. I am extraordinarily fortunate that it was picked up incidentally on that CAT scan," he said. Without that scan the tumor, which did not secrete any hormones, likely would have gone undetected for much longer. "There is no mechanism for screening the general population for pancreatic cancer. That's a big reason why the death rate is so high."
According to the National Cancer Institute the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 6 percent. And that hasn't changed in more than four decades, Gute said. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was founded in 1999 to "advance research, support patients and create hope," according to the organization's website.
Gute and other local volunteers recently began working with the organization to develop a local chapter. The group meets four times a year to plan events and "get involved in the fight against pancreatic cancer," Gute said.
Ethan Fischer's knowledge of pancreatic cancer was limited to Randy Pausch and his infamous "last lecture" given at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 just months before pancreatic cancer claimed his life. Then his father was diagnosed with the disease in November 2009. He died in February 2010.
"We searched the Internet and all indications were that it was a very serious form of cancer, but there was little known about it and little funding for research," said Fischer, who is working with Gute to organize the local support network. "I said I would do whatever I could to help with raising money and awareness."
In May 2010 Gute went to the doctor for what he thought was kidney stones. A CT scan revealed something else completely. Gute had a tumor on his pancreas. Further tests revealed the growth was an islet cell, or neuroendocrine, tumor --- the same kind of cancer Steve Jobs was diagnosed with in 2004 and died from earlier this month. Only about 5 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses are islet cells, which are more slow-growing than the more common adenocarcinoma tumors, which are very aggressive and fast growing.
"I didn't have any symptoms. I am extraordinarily fortunate that it was picked up incidentally on that CAT scan," he said. Without that scan the tumor, which did not secrete any hormones, likely would have gone undetected for much longer. "There is no mechanism for screening the general population for pancreatic cancer. That's a big reason why the death rate is so high."
According to the National Cancer Institute the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 6 percent. And that hasn't changed in more than four decades, Gute said. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was founded in 1999 to "advance research, support patients and create hope," according to the organization's website.
Gute and other local volunteers recently began working with the organization to develop a local chapter. The group meets four times a year to plan events and "get involved in the fight against pancreatic cancer," Gute said.
Ethan Fischer's knowledge of pancreatic cancer was limited to Randy Pausch and his infamous "last lecture" given at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 just months before pancreatic cancer claimed his life. Then his father was diagnosed with the disease in November 2009. He died in February 2010.
"We searched the Internet and all indications were that it was a very serious form of cancer, but there was little known about it and little funding for research," said Fischer, who is working with Gute to organize the local support network. "I said I would do whatever I could to help with raising money and awareness."
2011年10月10日星期一
Chooks poached from St James Primary School
BRAZEN thieves targeted a Ballarat school, hair salon, trout farm, bakery and a garden store at the weekend, in five separate incidents that cost business owners thousands of dollars in lost goods and equipment.
Six chickens were taken from St James’ Parish Primary School in Sebastopol on Saturday, upsetting pupils on their first day back after the holidays.
Deputy principal Peter Fahey said it was the second time thieves had targeted the school in the past 12 months.
Late last year six other chickens were taken from the school and never recovered.
After that incident, pupils installed a lock, sensor lights and heavy wire on the chicken coop, in an effort to deter thieves.
Grade five pupil Ella Kendall said her classmates were finding it hard to deal with losing the chickens for a second time.
“It’s pretty upsetting because we’ve taken all of these precautions and the chickens were almost ready to lay eggs,” she said.
Ballarat Garden Supplies owner Brendan Lovell said thieves made off with more than $5000 in tools and equipment from his business.
He said they also “went through” two offices at the Mount Clear site.
“It’s pretty hard to recover from something like this – it is a massive set-back,” he said.
Staff arrived at the Alfredton Bakery yesterday to find the building ransacked.
Thieves broke through two locked doors to steal a set of knives, an audio system and to ransack the building, casing a major headache for the owners.
A Mount Clear hairdressing salon was also hit, with thieves breaking in about 3.30am yesterday.
Upper Cutz Hair Studio owner Emily Tripp said the back door was forced open before thieves helped themselves to more than $1000 in cash and equipment.
“They’re pigdogs – I’d like to get my hands on them,” she said.
Ballarat Trout Hatchery president Dennis Ventley said his organisation’s Lake Wendouree office was trashed during the weekend break-in.
“Any break-in is always a set-back,” he said.
“We’ve been rolled quite a number of times actually – at least they didn’t take too much this time. We’re a volunteer organisation, all run by volunteers so something like this really hurts,” he said.
Ballarat Police Sergeant Jo Graham said police did not have reason to believe the thefts were linked.
Six chickens were taken from St James’ Parish Primary School in Sebastopol on Saturday, upsetting pupils on their first day back after the holidays.
Deputy principal Peter Fahey said it was the second time thieves had targeted the school in the past 12 months.
Late last year six other chickens were taken from the school and never recovered.
After that incident, pupils installed a lock, sensor lights and heavy wire on the chicken coop, in an effort to deter thieves.
Grade five pupil Ella Kendall said her classmates were finding it hard to deal with losing the chickens for a second time.
“It’s pretty upsetting because we’ve taken all of these precautions and the chickens were almost ready to lay eggs,” she said.
Ballarat Garden Supplies owner Brendan Lovell said thieves made off with more than $5000 in tools and equipment from his business.
He said they also “went through” two offices at the Mount Clear site.
“It’s pretty hard to recover from something like this – it is a massive set-back,” he said.
Staff arrived at the Alfredton Bakery yesterday to find the building ransacked.
Thieves broke through two locked doors to steal a set of knives, an audio system and to ransack the building, casing a major headache for the owners.
A Mount Clear hairdressing salon was also hit, with thieves breaking in about 3.30am yesterday.
Upper Cutz Hair Studio owner Emily Tripp said the back door was forced open before thieves helped themselves to more than $1000 in cash and equipment.
“They’re pigdogs – I’d like to get my hands on them,” she said.
Ballarat Trout Hatchery president Dennis Ventley said his organisation’s Lake Wendouree office was trashed during the weekend break-in.
“Any break-in is always a set-back,” he said.
“We’ve been rolled quite a number of times actually – at least they didn’t take too much this time. We’re a volunteer organisation, all run by volunteers so something like this really hurts,” he said.
Ballarat Police Sergeant Jo Graham said police did not have reason to believe the thefts were linked.
2011年9月26日星期一
Umno's non-stop political games go into overdrive
And there are many who think that Dr M has thrown a fox into the chicken coop or set a cat among the canaries by
bringing up the Hudud issue to throw Pakatan into disarray and break the momentum of public support for Pakatan.
Dr M is sharp but not sharp enough. For the Pakatan leaders are now alert to his cunning ways and mind-bending schemes
and know that his main motive is to destabilise Pakatan.
With this in mind, no one in Pakatan is going to embark on any foolish move as all Pakatan leaders can read his ploy
and will not do anything silly to jeopardise the good working relationship and co-operation between all three Pakatan
component parties.
Therefore, the raising of the Hudud issue will not break-up Pakatan. Fullstop. It is just a storm in a teacup.
Another reason for Dr M to raise the Hudud issue is to assist in the revival of MCA as this issue presents an excellent
opportunity for MCA to be a Chinese hero by voicing out the so-called Chinese fears of Hudud.
The Chinese, for that matter is not so perturbed over Hudud as logic dictates that it is only a law affecting the
Muslims and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Chinese. Of course if the Chinese is a Muslim, then it is his
religious duty and religious obligation to support Hudud.
Thus, the raising of the Hudud issue is only a shadow-play to woo the Chinese vote, the last bastion of votes which so
far have eluded Umno's grasp and continues to be as elusive as ever.
The Chinese are not concerned with Hudud as with the issue of the rising cost of living especially the price of basic
necessities and foodstuffs. Housewives in the wet market are complaining that the price of everything have gone up by
leaps and bounds and that the Ringgit is getting increasingly smaller these days.
The Hudud issue is non-existent in the minds of the Chinese. Therefore, the myth that the Chinese are very afraid of
Hudud is only just that – a myth. What the Chinese are afraid of is the prices of goods continuously rising higher
and higher by the week and this shrinks the money in their pocket.
Be that as it may, the attempt to drive a wedge between DAP and PAS via the Hudud issue is a good ploy by Dr M, good
but not brilliant. It is to be commended of course, from the strategy point of view, coming so dangerously close to
the general election.
But in the era of new politics, the citizens are not as gullible as during the old days. Umno has to realise this and
while it can be said that they never tire of throwing spanners in the works of Pakatan, their actions are futile as the
citizens can detect Umno's never-ending games while the management and administration of the nation is running on
autopilot.
Although the mainstream media tries to play-up the non-existent feud between PAS and DAP over the Hudud issue, their
efforts will prove to be in vain as many readers of the mainstream media take the news with a pinch of salt.
Of course the rural folks will be deceived but in the end truth will prevail as the issues raised by Umno die out one
by one. A case in point is the issue pertaining to the Christian Prime Minister because till to-date, there is no
Christian Prime Minister or even the semblance of one forthcoming. And so this issue has died a natural death as it
has run its course and outlived its usefulness.
In the end, there is only one way for Umno to win the general election: via the power of money. Umno has no other way
except to buy their way through and enlist the aid of foreign workers.
This then is the hallmark of a dying regime trying to extend its lifeline on the seat of power. Week in, week out,
there will be issues raised by Umno to attack Pakatan. They go into overdrive and work overtime trying to topple
Pakatan and so the management of the economy goes on the back-burner. All these came about due to the political
tsunami of 2008.
Why is this so? A Chinese saying comes to mind: When you kill your enemy, make sure he dies properly. This is so that
he does not recover to cause chaos later. This then is what happened in 2008.
If Umno was annihilated in 2008, there would not be these problems today. But Umno was not wiped out and so they have
recovered to cause trouble for the Opposition. This means that the sorry state of affairs today is due in no small
part to the Malaysian voters who did not annihilate Umno totally in 2008.
bringing up the Hudud issue to throw Pakatan into disarray and break the momentum of public support for Pakatan.
Dr M is sharp but not sharp enough. For the Pakatan leaders are now alert to his cunning ways and mind-bending schemes
and know that his main motive is to destabilise Pakatan.
With this in mind, no one in Pakatan is going to embark on any foolish move as all Pakatan leaders can read his ploy
and will not do anything silly to jeopardise the good working relationship and co-operation between all three Pakatan
component parties.
Therefore, the raising of the Hudud issue will not break-up Pakatan. Fullstop. It is just a storm in a teacup.
Another reason for Dr M to raise the Hudud issue is to assist in the revival of MCA as this issue presents an excellent
opportunity for MCA to be a Chinese hero by voicing out the so-called Chinese fears of Hudud.
The Chinese, for that matter is not so perturbed over Hudud as logic dictates that it is only a law affecting the
Muslims and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Chinese. Of course if the Chinese is a Muslim, then it is his
religious duty and religious obligation to support Hudud.
Thus, the raising of the Hudud issue is only a shadow-play to woo the Chinese vote, the last bastion of votes which so
far have eluded Umno's grasp and continues to be as elusive as ever.
The Chinese are not concerned with Hudud as with the issue of the rising cost of living especially the price of basic
necessities and foodstuffs. Housewives in the wet market are complaining that the price of everything have gone up by
leaps and bounds and that the Ringgit is getting increasingly smaller these days.
The Hudud issue is non-existent in the minds of the Chinese. Therefore, the myth that the Chinese are very afraid of
Hudud is only just that – a myth. What the Chinese are afraid of is the prices of goods continuously rising higher
and higher by the week and this shrinks the money in their pocket.
Be that as it may, the attempt to drive a wedge between DAP and PAS via the Hudud issue is a good ploy by Dr M, good
but not brilliant. It is to be commended of course, from the strategy point of view, coming so dangerously close to
the general election.
But in the era of new politics, the citizens are not as gullible as during the old days. Umno has to realise this and
while it can be said that they never tire of throwing spanners in the works of Pakatan, their actions are futile as the
citizens can detect Umno's never-ending games while the management and administration of the nation is running on
autopilot.
Although the mainstream media tries to play-up the non-existent feud between PAS and DAP over the Hudud issue, their
efforts will prove to be in vain as many readers of the mainstream media take the news with a pinch of salt.
Of course the rural folks will be deceived but in the end truth will prevail as the issues raised by Umno die out one
by one. A case in point is the issue pertaining to the Christian Prime Minister because till to-date, there is no
Christian Prime Minister or even the semblance of one forthcoming. And so this issue has died a natural death as it
has run its course and outlived its usefulness.
In the end, there is only one way for Umno to win the general election: via the power of money. Umno has no other way
except to buy their way through and enlist the aid of foreign workers.
This then is the hallmark of a dying regime trying to extend its lifeline on the seat of power. Week in, week out,
there will be issues raised by Umno to attack Pakatan. They go into overdrive and work overtime trying to topple
Pakatan and so the management of the economy goes on the back-burner. All these came about due to the political
tsunami of 2008.
Why is this so? A Chinese saying comes to mind: When you kill your enemy, make sure he dies properly. This is so that
he does not recover to cause chaos later. This then is what happened in 2008.
If Umno was annihilated in 2008, there would not be these problems today. But Umno was not wiped out and so they have
recovered to cause trouble for the Opposition. This means that the sorry state of affairs today is due in no small
part to the Malaysian voters who did not annihilate Umno totally in 2008.
2011年9月8日星期四
Tour de Coop planned for Saturday
If you are considering raising chickens in your yard but have many questions about the process, several local experts on backyard chickens can help you during the third annual Tour de Coop organized by the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension and Laramie Local Foods.
Cole Ehmke, founder of the event, decided to start the tour to give other local chicken enthusiasts an opportunity to share their experiences.
“We wanted to get a sense of what chicken coops in this town look like because they do have to be fairly well insulated and protected from predators,” Ehmke said. “It’s not often that you get an opportunity to see someone else’s chicken coop unless you know them and go to their house.”
The tour proved to be a big hit, Ehmke said. About 30 people attended the first tour and about 50 came to the second one. This year, the tour will include people from Longmont, Colo., who plan to attend the tour, Ehmke said.
A session on how to butcher a chicken in the last year’s tour also proved to be successful, but it won’t be included in the tour this year.
“Almost all people around here raise birds for the eggs and they keep the birds around for a number of years, so those birds are typically either raised specifically to raise eggs or they are dual purpose, which means they are big enough that they would have some meat as well.
“But you can raise birds that are specifically for meat, and last year we showed people how to (butcher) chickens. And 30 people stayed for that which I was impressed at,” Ehmke said.
The 2.6-mile bike tour will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at 1223 Sanders at Jeff and Nancy Beck’s house. From there, the tour will visit Andrea and John Summers’ house at 1110 Flint and Jolene and Jim Giese’s property at 716 Renshaw.
“I hope that people will take from the tour that raising chickens is fun. It’s not that difficult. It also adds just a little bit to our quality of life to have chickens in your backyard. You raise some of your own food. You are a little more self-sufficient,” Jeff Beck said.
Beck has had chickens in Laramie for three years and has eight hens in his coop now. He said he likes having chickens because they are “utilitarian” animals: They produce fresh eggs every day, they can be raised for meat, they eat scraps from the table and they also fertilize the garden.
Diane Saenz, food and nutrition educator at the UW Cooperative Extension Service, will give a presentation on egg nutrition and safety.
Bren Lieske, owner of Bren’s Hens, will discuss poultry health and wellness.
Cole Ehmke, founder of the event, decided to start the tour to give other local chicken enthusiasts an opportunity to share their experiences.
“We wanted to get a sense of what chicken coops in this town look like because they do have to be fairly well insulated and protected from predators,” Ehmke said. “It’s not often that you get an opportunity to see someone else’s chicken coop unless you know them and go to their house.”
The tour proved to be a big hit, Ehmke said. About 30 people attended the first tour and about 50 came to the second one. This year, the tour will include people from Longmont, Colo., who plan to attend the tour, Ehmke said.
A session on how to butcher a chicken in the last year’s tour also proved to be successful, but it won’t be included in the tour this year.
“Almost all people around here raise birds for the eggs and they keep the birds around for a number of years, so those birds are typically either raised specifically to raise eggs or they are dual purpose, which means they are big enough that they would have some meat as well.
“But you can raise birds that are specifically for meat, and last year we showed people how to (butcher) chickens. And 30 people stayed for that which I was impressed at,” Ehmke said.
The 2.6-mile bike tour will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at 1223 Sanders at Jeff and Nancy Beck’s house. From there, the tour will visit Andrea and John Summers’ house at 1110 Flint and Jolene and Jim Giese’s property at 716 Renshaw.
“I hope that people will take from the tour that raising chickens is fun. It’s not that difficult. It also adds just a little bit to our quality of life to have chickens in your backyard. You raise some of your own food. You are a little more self-sufficient,” Jeff Beck said.
Beck has had chickens in Laramie for three years and has eight hens in his coop now. He said he likes having chickens because they are “utilitarian” animals: They produce fresh eggs every day, they can be raised for meat, they eat scraps from the table and they also fertilize the garden.
Diane Saenz, food and nutrition educator at the UW Cooperative Extension Service, will give a presentation on egg nutrition and safety.
Bren Lieske, owner of Bren’s Hens, will discuss poultry health and wellness.
2011年3月27日星期日
Nonprofit's financial, management struggles have taken a toll
A 35-year-old Austin nonprofit that operates education and job training programs for youths is struggling with severe money problems that have led to layoffs, sporadic employee paychecks, bad debt and trouble with the Texas Education Agency.
American Youthworks recently laid off 14 of its 90 staffers. Employees have gone weeks without paychecks, and some have agreed to pay cuts .
The TEA , which gives the nonprofit about $1.5 million per year for its charter school and routinely reviews its performance, has tagged the school with a "warned" accreditation rating for the past two years because of its high debt.
The rating doesn't affect the school's state funding, but it is a red flag to families and donors that the school is on shaky financial ground,chicken coop said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe .
"They've been really good about checking in, informing us about what's happening and asking for advice," she said. "You can tell they're really trying to get the school back on track."
But the road back has been bumpy. Several months ago, student attendance — which always fluctuates — dropped lower than expected, which meant less state money. American Youthworks had anticipated an 80 percent attendance rate in one of its charter school programs between September and November 2010. Instead, it hit only 65 percent. That meant the school received $120,000 in TEA funding instead of the $190,000 it had anticipated, said Chief Operating Officer Chester Steinhauser .
Also, some state and city payments, which can take 90 to 120 days to arrive, had not appeared.
American Youthworks suddenly found itself in a cash crunch, Chief Executive Officer Parc Smith said . With no line of credit cover it, the nonprofit ran out of money to pay its employees. Staffers stayed anyway, he said, some at lower pay.
The nonprofit is doing everything it can fix the problems, Smith said. It is slowly paying off its debt, bringing in new financial leadership, working closely with the TEA and cutting expenses. Some of the buildings from which it once operated — a 17,000-square-foot office building and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on Fourth Street in downtown Austin — are on the market for $9 million .
But unraveling financial problems that were years in the making has been a complicated, time-consuming process, Youthworks officials said. Founder and former Executive Director Richard Halpin retired in 2009 . Finance officers have come and gone. Board members say they don't have a clear memory of the series of events that led them here. And the nonprofit has a labyrinthine funding structure that involves dozens of grantors.
"Everybody has trouble parsing it out," said Steinhauser, who has been chief operating officer since 2010. "Unless you were there when they were weaving it, it's hard to understand."
Decades of involvement
American Youthworks was started in 1976 when Halpin, a one-time social worker, launched the Creative Rapid Learning Center , a nonprofit that offered job skills to youths and adults in East Austin. Over the years, it evolved, changing its name and broadening its mission to include General Educational Development classes, an energy-efficient home-building program and environmental projects such as water quality testing.
In 1996 , the nonprofit started one of the first open-enrollment charter schools in Texas. Its students were the kinds of kids who often abandon traditional education: homeless, pregnant, struggling with learning disabilities or saddled with criminal histories.
By the mid-2000s, American Youthworks programs were reaching about 500 students a year through the traditional charter school and job training. As the nonprofit grew, its finances became more complicated, with its roughly $7 million annual budget coming from dozens of federal, state, local and private funders, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the TEA. The nonprofit also made money through its service learning job programs, in which students are hired by state and local governments to perform tasks such as restoring grasslands, removing trees or doing stonework at local parks.
But by 2006 , American Youthworks was struggling to stay afloat, according to the nonprofit's board minutes in December of that year.
"Serious financial problems," the documents state. "We do not have the resources to do what we are doing for another year or two."
American Youthworks recently laid off 14 of its 90 staffers. Employees have gone weeks without paychecks, and some have agreed to pay cuts .
The TEA , which gives the nonprofit about $1.5 million per year for its charter school and routinely reviews its performance, has tagged the school with a "warned" accreditation rating for the past two years because of its high debt.
The rating doesn't affect the school's state funding, but it is a red flag to families and donors that the school is on shaky financial ground,chicken coop said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe .
"They've been really good about checking in, informing us about what's happening and asking for advice," she said. "You can tell they're really trying to get the school back on track."
But the road back has been bumpy. Several months ago, student attendance — which always fluctuates — dropped lower than expected, which meant less state money. American Youthworks had anticipated an 80 percent attendance rate in one of its charter school programs between September and November 2010. Instead, it hit only 65 percent. That meant the school received $120,000 in TEA funding instead of the $190,000 it had anticipated, said Chief Operating Officer Chester Steinhauser .
Also, some state and city payments, which can take 90 to 120 days to arrive, had not appeared.
American Youthworks suddenly found itself in a cash crunch, Chief Executive Officer Parc Smith said . With no line of credit cover it, the nonprofit ran out of money to pay its employees. Staffers stayed anyway, he said, some at lower pay.
The nonprofit is doing everything it can fix the problems, Smith said. It is slowly paying off its debt, bringing in new financial leadership, working closely with the TEA and cutting expenses. Some of the buildings from which it once operated — a 17,000-square-foot office building and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on Fourth Street in downtown Austin — are on the market for $9 million .
But unraveling financial problems that were years in the making has been a complicated, time-consuming process, Youthworks officials said. Founder and former Executive Director Richard Halpin retired in 2009 . Finance officers have come and gone. Board members say they don't have a clear memory of the series of events that led them here. And the nonprofit has a labyrinthine funding structure that involves dozens of grantors.
"Everybody has trouble parsing it out," said Steinhauser, who has been chief operating officer since 2010. "Unless you were there when they were weaving it, it's hard to understand."
Decades of involvement
American Youthworks was started in 1976 when Halpin, a one-time social worker, launched the Creative Rapid Learning Center , a nonprofit that offered job skills to youths and adults in East Austin. Over the years, it evolved, changing its name and broadening its mission to include General Educational Development classes, an energy-efficient home-building program and environmental projects such as water quality testing.
In 1996 , the nonprofit started one of the first open-enrollment charter schools in Texas. Its students were the kinds of kids who often abandon traditional education: homeless, pregnant, struggling with learning disabilities or saddled with criminal histories.
By the mid-2000s, American Youthworks programs were reaching about 500 students a year through the traditional charter school and job training. As the nonprofit grew, its finances became more complicated, with its roughly $7 million annual budget coming from dozens of federal, state, local and private funders, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the TEA. The nonprofit also made money through its service learning job programs, in which students are hired by state and local governments to perform tasks such as restoring grasslands, removing trees or doing stonework at local parks.
But by 2006 , American Youthworks was struggling to stay afloat, according to the nonprofit's board minutes in December of that year.
"Serious financial problems," the documents state. "We do not have the resources to do what we are doing for another year or two."
2011年3月13日星期日
Interactive Workshop at Millstone Farm Draws a Crowd
The temperatures outside are finally mild enough to start thinking about getting out there
and into the garden. This year, some folks are considering adding chickens to their
gardening repertoire and going a bit into small scale farming.
Millstone Farm in Wilton was ready to help teach those willing to venture into chicken
raising territory and held an interactive workshop on Saturday appropriately titled Raising
Backyard Chickens.
For a nominal fee of $30, Master Farmer Annie Farrell led the three hour class and for the
latter half of it took guests on a tour of the entire Millstone property and especially the
chicken coops.
During the lecture portion of the class, Farrell explained everything about raising chickens
from where to get them and why to dealing with disease and pests.
"Part of what we do here is being a model," explained Farrell. Millstone Farm has one
hundred and twenty chickens and sells the eggs to local markets such as the Village Market
and also to the Barcelona Restaurant Group and The Schoolhouse at Cannondale restaurant.
What's the difference between the organic eggs collected at Millstone and other varieties at
the grocery store?
"Grade A eggs in the stores can be up to thirty days old," said Farrell. "Here at
Millstone Farm, we collect eggs two to three times a day. Our eggs are never over 2 days
old."
So besides the luxury of eating the freshest possible eggs and chicken meat on a regular
basis, why would one want to raise chickens?
"They are terrific rototillers," said Farrell. Having natural tick control is another
reason to let chickens graze your yard, especially with so many Lyme's Disease diagnosis in
Wilton.
At first raising chickens may seem like all fun and games. Who can resist smiling when tiny
peeping day old chicks arrive at your house? They're so fluffy and adorable, it's hard to
believe that there is actual work that goes into their care. For this reason, Farrell placed
special emphasis on planning out the placement of outdoor coops relative to access to
electricity, water and convenience. It's no fun lugging fresh water in heavy buckets across
your yard in the snow on a daily basis.
For those wanting to raise chickens from eggs, proper incubation techniques are required.
The eggs must be turned carefully by hand two to three times per day during the first
eighteen days of incubation.
For day-old chicks, Farrell suggested getting them from Murray McMurray Hatchery out of Iowa.
They too require their own specific set-up and need to remain indoors for the first month,
under a heat lamp, decreasing the temperature from 95°F for new hatchlings to 82°F over a
four week period.
"Use common sense," Farrell urged. "Drafts are what kills them. It's not rocket
science."
As chickens grow their space requirements also grow which is also dependent on the number of
chickens and roosters there are in an outdoor area. Each town in Connecticut has its own
regulations regarding livestock; Wilton has no restrictions on keeping chickens on personal
private property.
A single adult chicken eats two pounds of food per week and yields 2 eggs every three days.
They require proper calcium supplements in their food and their coop must be secure and
predator proof. The coop should also be moved on a regular, weekly basis, so that they are
not feeding on the ground they have been defecating on for the past week.
All this hard work though can bring some spectacular culinary rewards. When chickens first
begin to lay eggs, they are called pullets. These eggs laid by pullets are similar to quail
eggs and in high demand. "They're really delicious," said Farrell smiling. "All of our
pullet eggs go to our chefs."
and into the garden. This year, some folks are considering adding chickens to their
gardening repertoire and going a bit into small scale farming.
Millstone Farm in Wilton was ready to help teach those willing to venture into chicken
raising territory and held an interactive workshop on Saturday appropriately titled Raising
Backyard Chickens.
For a nominal fee of $30, Master Farmer Annie Farrell led the three hour class and for the
latter half of it took guests on a tour of the entire Millstone property and especially the
chicken coops.
During the lecture portion of the class, Farrell explained everything about raising chickens
from where to get them and why to dealing with disease and pests.
"Part of what we do here is being a model," explained Farrell. Millstone Farm has one
hundred and twenty chickens and sells the eggs to local markets such as the Village Market
and also to the Barcelona Restaurant Group and The Schoolhouse at Cannondale restaurant.
What's the difference between the organic eggs collected at Millstone and other varieties at
the grocery store?
"Grade A eggs in the stores can be up to thirty days old," said Farrell. "Here at
Millstone Farm, we collect eggs two to three times a day. Our eggs are never over 2 days
old."
So besides the luxury of eating the freshest possible eggs and chicken meat on a regular
basis, why would one want to raise chickens?
"They are terrific rototillers," said Farrell. Having natural tick control is another
reason to let chickens graze your yard, especially with so many Lyme's Disease diagnosis in
Wilton.
At first raising chickens may seem like all fun and games. Who can resist smiling when tiny
peeping day old chicks arrive at your house? They're so fluffy and adorable, it's hard to
believe that there is actual work that goes into their care. For this reason, Farrell placed
special emphasis on planning out the placement of outdoor coops relative to access to
electricity, water and convenience. It's no fun lugging fresh water in heavy buckets across
your yard in the snow on a daily basis.
For those wanting to raise chickens from eggs, proper incubation techniques are required.
The eggs must be turned carefully by hand two to three times per day during the first
eighteen days of incubation.
For day-old chicks, Farrell suggested getting them from Murray McMurray Hatchery out of Iowa.
They too require their own specific set-up and need to remain indoors for the first month,
under a heat lamp, decreasing the temperature from 95°F for new hatchlings to 82°F over a
four week period.
"Use common sense," Farrell urged. "Drafts are what kills them. It's not rocket
science."
As chickens grow their space requirements also grow which is also dependent on the number of
chickens and roosters there are in an outdoor area. Each town in Connecticut has its own
regulations regarding livestock; Wilton has no restrictions on keeping chickens on personal
private property.
A single adult chicken eats two pounds of food per week and yields 2 eggs every three days.
They require proper calcium supplements in their food and their coop must be secure and
predator proof. The coop should also be moved on a regular, weekly basis, so that they are
not feeding on the ground they have been defecating on for the past week.
All this hard work though can bring some spectacular culinary rewards. When chickens first
begin to lay eggs, they are called pullets. These eggs laid by pullets are similar to quail
eggs and in high demand. "They're really delicious," said Farrell smiling. "All of our
pullet eggs go to our chefs."
2011年3月9日星期三
GOP makes bid for redistricting
For the first time, Democrats control the committee that will draw new county commission
districts for the next decade. But Republican state lawmakers hope to change that.
Legislation introduced by state Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake, would give responsibility for
drawing the commission districts to the county commission, which is currently controlled by
Republicans.
Predictably, Democrats are crying foul.
"The notion of having the county commission drawing their own districts is a little bit like
the fox guarding the chicken coop," Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner, a Democrat and
member of the five-person committee, said Tuesday.
"To my knowledge, no county commissioners in the state draw their own districts," Meisner
said. "There's a reason why we have that structure. It's designed to be an independent body
and
that's what we've got."
The legislation specifically applies to counties with more than 1 million population and
which have an elected county executive. The two counties that meet the criteria are Oakland
and Wayne.
"It would certainly seem that Oakland County is their target," Meisner said. "This proposal,
aside from being a little late in the process, I think violates the spirit of good faith that
has existed and it's a pretty brazen partisan move. I think it raises a number of legal
concerns."
County commission districts, like state legislative and congressional districts, are redrawn
every 10 years following the U.S. Census.
County commission districts are redrawn by a committee made up of the county clerk, county
prosecutor, county treasurer and the chairs of the county Republican and Democratic parties.
districts for the next decade. But Republican state lawmakers hope to change that.
Legislation introduced by state Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake, would give responsibility for
drawing the commission districts to the county commission, which is currently controlled by
Republicans.
Predictably, Democrats are crying foul.
"The notion of having the county commission drawing their own districts is a little bit like
the fox guarding the chicken coop," Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner, a Democrat and
member of the five-person committee, said Tuesday.
"To my knowledge, no county commissioners in the state draw their own districts," Meisner
said. "There's a reason why we have that structure. It's designed to be an independent body
and
that's what we've got."
The legislation specifically applies to counties with more than 1 million population and
which have an elected county executive. The two counties that meet the criteria are Oakland
and Wayne.
"It would certainly seem that Oakland County is their target," Meisner said. "This proposal,
aside from being a little late in the process, I think violates the spirit of good faith that
has existed and it's a pretty brazen partisan move. I think it raises a number of legal
concerns."
County commission districts, like state legislative and congressional districts, are redrawn
every 10 years following the U.S. Census.
County commission districts are redrawn by a committee made up of the county clerk, county
prosecutor, county treasurer and the chairs of the county Republican and Democratic parties.
2011年3月7日星期一
Petoskey's chicken policy up for referendum
Following the Petoskey City Council's recent approval of a zoning-ordinance change
allowing chickens in residential areas, a local resident has taken an initial step
toward putting the policy on the ballot for voters to accept or reject.
City clerk-treasurer Al Terry said Friday that Petoskey resident Timothy Strauss had
filed a notice of intent to petition for a referendum on the matter. With the filing
of this notice, Terry noted that the policy allowing for chickens will be delayed
from taking effect at least until March 25.
On Feb. 21, the city council voted 3-2 in favor of changing Petoskey's zoning
ordinance to allow for chickens to be kept — with restrictions — in single-family
residential areas, provided that a city permit is obtained. The policy would allow up
to four hens to be kept at a residence, but roosters would be prohibited.
A covered enclosure would need to be provided for chickens, with the birds required
to be kept in the covered enclosure or a fenced backyard area at all times. Chicken
feed and other items that potentially could be attractive to rats, mice or other
rodents would need to be protected against contact by those animals. Residents would
need to keep the chicken habitat in a clean and sanitary condition, free of offensive
odors, excess noise or other conditions that would be viewed as a nuisance.
A Michigan enabling law for local zoning specifies steps to be followed when a
referendum is sought on a zoning ordinance change. The minimum number of petition
signatures needed to qualify for the ballot is equivalent to 15 percent of the total
ballots cast in a given jurisdiction in the last Michigan gubernatorial election.
With 2,206 ballots cast in Petoskey for last November's gubernatorial vote, Terry
said 331 signatures of registered city voters would be needed to arrange the
referendum on the chicken policy.
To place the matter on the ballot, Terry said these signatures would need to be
submitted to city officials by March 25 — 30 days after the city published its legal
notice of the new ordinance.
If the city doesn't receive the necessary signatures by that date, Terry said the
ordinance would take effect immediately. If enough valid signatures are submitted for
a referendum, Terry said the new chicken policy would be delayed from taking effect
until voters decide its future in the next available regular election — in this
case, November's.
An ad placed in Friday's News-Review urged readers to "protect your property rights
and property values" and help in the repeal effort, and provided contact information
for those interested in signing a referendum petition.
Strauss declined to be interviewed about the referendum effort.
Farming for Our Future, a local education organization focused on farming and
gardening, has sought the ability to make chicken coops available for rental through
local schools, and the proposed zoning updates pertaining to chickens would allow for
this.
When she learned that initial steps had been taken toward a referendum on the new
chicken policy, Farming for Our Future executive director Toril Fisher said, "my
first reaction, to be honest with you, is, I was amazed and saddened."
At the same time, Fisher said she respects the democratic process involved in the
referendum effort.
Prior to the city council's vote on the new chicken policy, supporters of that change
circulated petitions locally, with more than 90 people expressing their support in
writing and online for allowing the backyard coops.
"It was really evident to me that people who have had exposure to hens or chickens
all have supported the ordinance change," Fisher said.
"It's obvious and evident to us that we need to continue to educate our community on
the benefits of having urban pens," she said, noting that the opportunity to produce
one's own food can be a part of sustainable living.
Fisher said the educational efforts wouldn't be intended to divide the community over
the chicken issue. As one educational step, supporters are looking into the
possibility of screening a documentary film, "Mad City Chickens," locally.
"Maybe people on both sides of the fence, pun intended, will come and learn more and
discuss it," Fisher said.
Noting the permitting requirement, the limit on the number of chickens at a home and
other restrictions, Fisher doesn't expect that some of the worries voiced about
chicken coops would materialize if they're allowed.
"If you're looking at a coop that has four hens in it, you're hardly going to know
its there," she said.
allowing chickens in residential areas, a local resident has taken an initial step
toward putting the policy on the ballot for voters to accept or reject.
City clerk-treasurer Al Terry said Friday that Petoskey resident Timothy Strauss had
filed a notice of intent to petition for a referendum on the matter. With the filing
of this notice, Terry noted that the policy allowing for chickens will be delayed
from taking effect at least until March 25.
On Feb. 21, the city council voted 3-2 in favor of changing Petoskey's zoning
ordinance to allow for chickens to be kept — with restrictions — in single-family
residential areas, provided that a city permit is obtained. The policy would allow up
to four hens to be kept at a residence, but roosters would be prohibited.
A covered enclosure would need to be provided for chickens, with the birds required
to be kept in the covered enclosure or a fenced backyard area at all times. Chicken
feed and other items that potentially could be attractive to rats, mice or other
rodents would need to be protected against contact by those animals. Residents would
need to keep the chicken habitat in a clean and sanitary condition, free of offensive
odors, excess noise or other conditions that would be viewed as a nuisance.
A Michigan enabling law for local zoning specifies steps to be followed when a
referendum is sought on a zoning ordinance change. The minimum number of petition
signatures needed to qualify for the ballot is equivalent to 15 percent of the total
ballots cast in a given jurisdiction in the last Michigan gubernatorial election.
With 2,206 ballots cast in Petoskey for last November's gubernatorial vote, Terry
said 331 signatures of registered city voters would be needed to arrange the
referendum on the chicken policy.
To place the matter on the ballot, Terry said these signatures would need to be
submitted to city officials by March 25 — 30 days after the city published its legal
notice of the new ordinance.
If the city doesn't receive the necessary signatures by that date, Terry said the
ordinance would take effect immediately. If enough valid signatures are submitted for
a referendum, Terry said the new chicken policy would be delayed from taking effect
until voters decide its future in the next available regular election — in this
case, November's.
An ad placed in Friday's News-Review urged readers to "protect your property rights
and property values" and help in the repeal effort, and provided contact information
for those interested in signing a referendum petition.
Strauss declined to be interviewed about the referendum effort.
Farming for Our Future, a local education organization focused on farming and
gardening, has sought the ability to make chicken coops available for rental through
local schools, and the proposed zoning updates pertaining to chickens would allow for
this.
When she learned that initial steps had been taken toward a referendum on the new
chicken policy, Farming for Our Future executive director Toril Fisher said, "my
first reaction, to be honest with you, is, I was amazed and saddened."
At the same time, Fisher said she respects the democratic process involved in the
referendum effort.
Prior to the city council's vote on the new chicken policy, supporters of that change
circulated petitions locally, with more than 90 people expressing their support in
writing and online for allowing the backyard coops.
"It was really evident to me that people who have had exposure to hens or chickens
all have supported the ordinance change," Fisher said.
"It's obvious and evident to us that we need to continue to educate our community on
the benefits of having urban pens," she said, noting that the opportunity to produce
one's own food can be a part of sustainable living.
Fisher said the educational efforts wouldn't be intended to divide the community over
the chicken issue. As one educational step, supporters are looking into the
possibility of screening a documentary film, "Mad City Chickens," locally.
"Maybe people on both sides of the fence, pun intended, will come and learn more and
discuss it," Fisher said.
Noting the permitting requirement, the limit on the number of chickens at a home and
other restrictions, Fisher doesn't expect that some of the worries voiced about
chicken coops would materialize if they're allowed.
"If you're looking at a coop that has four hens in it, you're hardly going to know
its there," she said.
2011年3月2日星期三
Charred Cauliflower
As a child, I remember going out to the chicken coop with my grandma when I visited
her and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We’d walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken
coop. Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and
watched with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out
large eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from
the garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with
whole grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams
were just a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised
chickens from area farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of “Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole.” One look at the charming
cover of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole’s book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own
few hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole’s first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a
sweet treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although
“Chicken and Egg” is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is
filled with tips that can help you decide if you really do want to make the
commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own
chickens, you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole
shares in the book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally,
because chickens are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in “Chicken and Egg.” High-temperature roasting brings
out the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I’m wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway
into a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out
with me to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
her and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We’d walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken
coop. Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and
watched with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out
large eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from
the garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with
whole grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams
were just a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised
chickens from area farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of “Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole.” One look at the charming
cover of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole’s book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own
few hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole’s first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a
sweet treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although
“Chicken and Egg” is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is
filled with tips that can help you decide if you really do want to make the
commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own
chickens, you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole
shares in the book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally,
because chickens are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in “Chicken and Egg.” High-temperature roasting brings
out the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I’m wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway
into a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out
with me to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
2011年2月28日星期一
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers
As a child, I remember going out to the chicken coop with my grandma when I visited her
and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We'd walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken coop.
Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and watched
with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out large
eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from the
garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with whole
grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams were just
a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised chickens from area
farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of "Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole." One look at the charming cover
of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole's book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own few
hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole's first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a sweet
treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although "Chicken and
Egg" is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is filled with tips that
can help you decide if you really do want to make the commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own chickens,
you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole shares in the
book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally, because chickens
are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in "Chicken and Egg." High-temperature roasting brings out
the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I'm wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway into
a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out with me
to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We'd walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken coop.
Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and watched
with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out large
eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from the
garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with whole
grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams were just
a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised chickens from area
farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of "Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole." One look at the charming cover
of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole's book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own few
hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole's first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a sweet
treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although "Chicken and
Egg" is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is filled with tips that
can help you decide if you really do want to make the commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own chickens,
you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole shares in the
book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally, because chickens
are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in "Chicken and Egg." High-temperature roasting brings out
the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I'm wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway into
a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out with me
to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
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