March was a blur and Garage sale mania

March was a busy month at the Backcounter and I have no idea where the time went and no blog posts....ridiculous......Life in the world of the Backcounter Buffet reflects the world at large...too much to do..too little time and a sense of shock about the economic meltdown we are all experiencing.
One of the most fun but tiring activities was the Mother of all Garage Sales. We are fundraising to send the kids riding team to national competitition. It was a success but we have enough stuff left over to do it again. I would love to hear your suggestions on how to maximize the profits on a fundraising garage sale. Please leave your comments. People who frequent at garage sales are a study in diversity.It is all about the shopping experience and the cutthroat vicious bargaining. Some of the shoppers were hilarious...driving up in their BMW's while vociferously voicing their displeasure about the prices of the used clothing....."Not a dollar...will you take 25cents? If you don't ...we leave...." My friend and I took the high road and didn't get into it with the poor sports who were obviously ignoring the fact that the garage sale was a FUND RAISER!!! We let them leave without a comment and watched them drive away in the way more expensive than a year of college car. I suppose that they can afford the car for just that reason...they are willing to bargain down to the last 25 cents. Books...don't sell....used clothing sells, golf clubs...no way....kitchen items flew off the shelves and shoes were a big hit...Chime in with your garage sale stories and let me know about your best bargain purchase.

Chickens are growing and our stealth technology is working...not a hint that we have been discovered by the neighborhood HOA

Peace,

Julia

Fish Fry

Reflections from the Backcounter

It is once again time for the annual Lenten Fish Fry. Ladies and Gentleman start your engines and drive on over to the closest Catholic parish hall for another greasy but delicious fish fry. Every Friday during Lent Catholics flock to the church for a festival of fish and fun served up by our favorite knights...the Knights of Columbus. My family is a little leary this year (mom and sis) about bellying up to the table as last years fabulous plate of fried fish was a gastrointestinal fiasco....enough said...use your imaginations.....But undaunted, I will forge ahead and find my fish fry tonight...moderation is the key..remember it is all you can eat but maybe we should say change that to all you should eat!!!
Chicken update

Chickens are now teenagers and are happily clucking, eating, drinking and doing the unmentionable in their new cadillac coop which is predictably in my garage given my level of schoolgirl guilt about their illegality. I am confident that the neighbors know we are harboring fugitive fowl on our property. My husband continues to assure me that his carefully constructed cadillac coop really looks like a dog run and so it should remain under the radar. Can a chicken be taught to stop clucking? The newest additions, the Aracauna chicks are now two weeks old and are losing their peep fuzz...Looks like they will be brown ...all I care about is the blue egg potential. This weekend the little red hens (4 Red Stars) will be graduating from Chick starter food to Chick grower....They tried some chopped Kale and didn't really like it ...maybe too small yet or on the other hand ...there could be something about Kale...my sis seems to have a weak constitution where Kale is concerned....a little visit to the ER this week but that is another story for another day. Suffice it to say she survived and has been rescued by a dear MD friend who it appears has been reading my blog and is NOT a supporter of the chicken project. You know who you are....send Good Chicken Karma my way please.

Peace, peeps and fried fish,

Julia

Coop construction and Coyotes

Reflections from the Backcounter

Coyotes are on my mind. Last night we had a coyote chorus right outside our window that went on for a half hour. The finale was the cacophony of the yip yapping victory screams that accompany a kill. Yikes...I think they have hit on the scent of the chickens in the garage. Construction on the camo coop began in earnest today and we are modifying the design as we go. The coyotes last night were rather centering. Function over form at this point. I do not want to have to run outside in my underwear to fend off marauding coyotes. This will be interesting. But...time is of the essence as the chicks are peeking over the top of the rubbermaid container at this point.

More on the peeps later

Julia

Time flies as the chikens grow Week 5 for the Red Stars Week 1 for Aracauna

Reflections from the Backcounter

And so the story continues....the economy worsens, jobs are scarce as hen's teeth and all the while my little stealth flock safely grows in the warmth of the heat lamps in their rubbermaid containers in the garage. Hope for brown and blue eggs remains foremost in the hearts of the chicken growers who eagerly ply the little peeps with chicken grow, fresh water and carefully constructed temperature ranges to encourage growth ane rapid feathering. And speaking of peeps, our latest little peeps, Lola and Penelope are purportedly Aracaunas who will grow up to supply the most beautiful green blue eggs. We can hardly wait. They are brown peeps who are hearty and hale in the incubator in the garage where we feel like we are watching time lapse photography show the sprouting of the wings throughout the day. As far as pets go, these are the least problematic in my long history of animal collecting. Much easier than cats, rabbits or guinea pigs and just forget about fish or hamsters. Dogs are a little too curious about the peeps and the teenage soon to be hen pullets in the container next store. These pullets are supposed to be high egg producing and quiet
Red star hens;. We will see...Gwendolyn, Henrietta, Josephine and Tallulah are quite the little talker squawkers. Now all human conversations surround best practice coop construction and gathering of inexpensive but effective materials to meet the three tenets of the coop project:

1. Stealth (illegal chicks must reside in a camoflauge coop)

2. Silence (squawky chicks will blow the cover of the operation)

3. Protection ( high predator risk in our area separate from domestic dogs on property. We need to be prepared to prevent predation from coyotes, owls and bobcats. If a mountain lion shows up....I may have to shelve the chicken project.!!!)

And so the story goes. I hope to provide ongoing pics of the project to document our progress. We have had very few slip ups yet and have not lost one chick to predation, escape or inadverdent broiling/roasting or freezing. Those heat lamps are tricky!

Peace and peeps,

Julia

Backcounter Chicken Project Day 1

Reflections from the Backcounter







Thanks to Polly and Alisa for commenting on the chicken post. It is so great to hear from you! Polly wants me to repost the no knead bread recipe


No Knead Bread

4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ tsp of dry yeast
½-3/4 cup coarsely chopped olives
1 clove sliced thin garlic (roasted in olive oil)


Mix dry ingredients

Add 2 cups cold water

Mix with hands for 30 seconds. Let rise covered for 12-24 hours. The slower the better

Knead for 30 seconds on floured board add flour to keep from sticking.
Put in greased bowl, cover and let sit for 2 hours

Drop into preheated dutch oven (450 degrees) Bake for 30 minutes with lid on and 15 minutes with lid off.

Chicken project

My family and friends think that I have taken leave of my senses but truly the chicks are darling and no trouble at this point. We had a few dramatic moments yesterday while we were trying to sort out the height at which to place the heat lamp. The chicks were alternately huddling for warmth and panting for mercy as they were being slowly roasted by our overly zealous efforts to warm them up! Pictures to follow, slight technical difficulty today as I cannot find the cable for my camera to transfer the pics to the computer. (Kids!)

Chick chick chicken?? Backcounter chicken project

Reflections from the Backcounter

Many of you have realized through my postings that I am a frustrated homesteader. We make homemade yogurt, no knead bread, yogurt cheese and grow our own lemons, figs and tomatoes. But is it really enough? Those of you who know me, know that last year I received a set up for raising my own chickens but before the little darlings were delivered, I chickened out (no pun intended) and cancelled my order. Well, I have taken the plunge. Later today I will pick up my redstar chicks and begin my chicken adventure. Of course, this project is on the "down low" as I am concerned about neighborhood issues but....the little darlings will be carefully housed in the garage until they can brave the elements and hopefully by then we will have designed and built an appropriately camouflaged coop! I have connected with my personal chicken mentor Laura and look forward to meeting her today

Here is her information on the chicken project

Julia-
LOL I hear you...thanks for inquiring. Red Star chicks get their name because it's a guarantee they are all females. When they are hatched, the white chicks are
roosters and the red ones are females. They are the brown egg layers and very hardy. How many chicks you want as laying hens is up to you :). When they start laying you will have eggs everyday. Maybe some will skip a day, but will make it up either in the early morning orafternoon. So if you get 5 chicks, you will have five eggs a day. I will be getting White Leghorn chicks this next week and they will be a couple days old. (So cute) They're still cute even when they grow older. They follow you everywhere. You are like their mom. They are the white egg layers. They are a smaller bird and very hardy as well. They aremostlyused for commercial eggs. Anyway if you are interested I do have starter kids that include: heat lamp, water dispenser, feeder, 10 lbs of chick starter feed and wood shavings for $60. I keep all my chicks in the garage or laundry room in a dog kennel of some sort until they get around 3-4 weeks of age. Put the wood shavings on the bottom inside the kennel for absorbing their messes. Very easy and fun. Feed is usually free for all and make sure they have clean water at all times. If they are in the garage, the heat lamp will be either on top of kennel or near the door entryofwarmth. They will start getting their feathers in a couple of weeks. I will send a pic of my set up.
When they get older, they will be fed chicken scratch or chick starter and grower feed. It's bigger granuals for them to fill up faster on. They need to protein in their young systems. As they become adults which is within a few months, they will love to eat anything. We usually feed them are bread scraps, fruit scraps, any grass they you grow they will love, noodles, anything that's not meat. Layer feed pellet form is a must when they are laying age. This helps them produce and it has the vitamins they need. They need calcium also. What ever you need to do to get calcium in their diet is up to you. They are very quiet except when they lay an egg. Which usually last like 20 seconds. They start cackling (bragging) that they have laid an egg.
Anyway, let me know :) what ever you decide.
Thanks!
Laura

So I look forward to the project....we will see how it goes and will keep you updated. We are probably twenty weeks away from home grown eggs

Peace,

Julia

Light rail system: Phoenix

Reflections from the Backcounter

We actually had a fun adventure on Sunday.. Two of my children decided to brave the crowds and run in the P.F. Changs 1/2 marathon. This was a feat of varsity organizational magnitude for parents who desired a return of their children ( or what was left of them after 13.1 miles) Multiple roads were closed and crowds were unbelievable. I wasn't sure how or if I would find my children or get within three miles of the event that ended at Arizona State University. Anyway...we decided to try to ride the recently opened light rail system. What a fabulous option and what a surreal experience. For a girl who remembers cruising Central avenue as a teenager it was nearly an out of body experience to glide through downtown Phoenix on a train! We arrived in Tempe no worse for wear and enjoyed the experience immensely. Our children were easily located in the well marked family reunion field dutifully sitting under their designated letter. We collected them, returned to the light rail and smoothly rode back to our car in North Central Phoenix. A good time was had by all. and of course Ceres the wonder CCI puppy rode the train without a complaint and entertained the fellow passengers with her butterscotch coat and mild mannered pleasant personality.

Progress made for a perfectly wonderful afternoon

Peace

Julia