Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

Our Life in Maine, My Craft Projects, Quilting, Recipes, Book and Media Reviews

Turkey Tracks: Visit to Pete and Rose’s Farm

Turkey Tracks: June 10, 2010

Visit to Pete and Rose’s Farm:  a Dolce Vita

The eggs Rose has been incubating started hatching last night.  Rose called me right away.  John and I left first thing this morning to go see them.

Here are the first 6:

The little black one is a Maran/Wheaten Americauna cross.

Many of the eggs in the incubator have big pecking holes in them and the chicks inside make them rock back and forth as they move around in their efforts to get out of the shell.   We stayed for along time watching two in particular that we thought might hatch while we were there.  But, no luck.  Rose will call later today to tell me how many more have hatched.

Rose has about 6 guinea hen eggs in the incubator.  They are much smaller than even our Americauna’s eggs.  And, they take about six days longer to hatch, whereas the regular hens take 21 days.  Rose’s guinea hen is sitting on a pile of eggs in a stand of tall grasses in the middle of the large chicken enclosure.  Merlin, the husband, stays with her and says sweet things to her all the while.  She will not leave the eggs, rain or shine, until they hatch.  Guinea fowl easily fly into the tops of trees, so it’s interesting that they nest on the ground, which is a very vulnerable place to be for a chicken with eggs.  Here is a picture of Rose’s Merlin–named so because he is an escape artist.  Rose got the female not long ago, actually.  Merlin is much smaller than William, Rose’s Americauna Rooster, but William is scared to death of Merlin.

Our meat chickens are 9 weeks old now, and you can see they are getting close to harvest weight.  We are planning on June 27th, probably.  Everyone who got part of the order of over 170 chicks will gather to help each other process the birds.

I will be curious to see if their livers will be good.  The livers of commercially raised chickens are not healthy at all.  That’s why you don’t see them in the stores anymore.  We will also keep the chicken feet, which are fabulous additions to the chicken broth we make from every chicken we roast.  In Italy, one always gets all the chicken parts, including the feet, when buying a chicken at any market.

Rose  recently got some adorable rabbits.  They are true pets, though she uses their feces to make a tea that she uses on her plants.  She calls these rabbits “floppy ear rabbits.”

Jenna, who is part of a program that places young people who are interested in farming with farmers, told Rose yesterday that this pair of rabbits will be having babies in the near future…  Rose and the friend who gave her these rabbits thought they were two females.  Oh well…

Lupines are blooming everywhere now.   The lupines are one of the prettiest wildflowers in Maine.  They are everywhere–all along the sides of the roads, in the ditches, in fields.  I like them best when they have pink and white mixed into the blue.  There was a stand of them back of Rose’s house.

It’s the best I can do today, which is a soft, rainy day.

Turkey Tracks: Baby Chickens

June 9, 2010

Baby Chickens

Rose called today.  The eggs we’ve been incubating at her house are hatching!!  We have three out already.  We expected them tomorrow.   These are Marans, Wheaten Americaunas, Maran-Wheaten crosses (which will lay an olive colored egg), some guineas, and I’m not sure what else.  Rose said one of the crosses is black!!

I’m going to see them first thing tomorrow!

Life happens!!

Turkey Tracks: Finished and Ongoing Projects

June 9, 2010

Finished and Ongoing Projects

The garden is all planted now.  We have more tomato plants than I’ve ever planted.  We planted 14 winter squash and pumpkin mounds down in the meadow, and all seedlings there are up and have been thinned.  The potatoes are poking up through the dirt in the upper garden.  The strawberries are full of berries.  Ditto, the raspberries.  The beans are up.  I’ve planted extra Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and kale.  And, we’ve gotten some much-needed rain.  Everything is very green and lush.  I have only to plant some more flower seeds.  And, weeding.  There is always weeding to do. 

Inside, during the rain, I finished two other projects.  Here is Blue Moon December 2010, which is now hanging outside my quilt room.  Roxanne’s lovely art piece moved up to my writing room.

The camera didn’t pick up the moonlight beading that shimmers across the water in the upper pond and along the water, center front to right.  Not many beads, just a hint of silvery light.  This moon was quite spectacular, and I wanted to do something with it from the moment I saw it while going to a local Christmas party. 

And, here is a knitting bag, long enough for knitting needles.

 

 

The lining is the polka dot, and the inside pockets, a toile:

This was a very fun project.  Prudy Netzorg had the idea to do it, and we took a class at Quilt Divas together.  Thanks Prudy.

I have Talula’s paper doll quilt all cut out.  Those fabrics came in a kit, and they sent 1 yard of the doll fabric.  It’s impossible to get a variety of dolls without a bit more fabric, so I’ve sent for that.  Meanwhile, I’m working on what I can.  Hopefully, both Wilhelmina (whose quilt is finished) and Talula will both have quilts when they come in July.

I’m knitting an afghan at night.  It’s a lovely shade of soft spring green.  Maryann is knitting one in yellow.  We have size 13 circular needles, and the project was billed as a weekend project.  HA!!  No way, Jose.  And, I’ve already had to undo about 10 inches as joining this very soft yarn in the middle distorted the pattern. 

And, my carry around knitting is a pair of socks for Corinne in a bamboo and nylon blend that should work in Charleston, SC.  Mothers to be need to be pampered!!!!

Turkey Tracks: Napolean, The Quilt Room Mascot

June 9, 2010

Napolean, The Quilt Room Mascot

Carol Boyer visited Coastal Quilters, and did a workshop on Friday, May 14th before our Saturday meeting.   Carol is one of the most creative people I have ever met, and spending time with her is so freeing.  Carol taught art in the public schools, and she is willing and able to try anything to see how it might work.  She is an inventive quilter, but she also makes dolls.  Our workshop was to make a “funky chicken.”  And, she had prepared a hen pattern for us to use.  I had it in my head that I wanted to do a rooster.  No problem.  With a few snips and inserts into the pattern, the hen got a longer neck, bigger comb, and so forth.  A rooster tail?  No problem.  Go home and get some wire…  Here’s what came home with me.

 And, here are his feet, with his awesome toenails:

The real Nappy boy and all his hens are penned now.  He doesn’t seem to mind.  Neither do the Maran hens.  The Wheatens are completely affronted.  And, they escape forthwith is there is any garden weeding going on.  They aren’t too hard to catch as they do get worried when they are separated from Nappy for too long.  It’s fairly easy to pen them against the fence somewhere.

Here is Nappy with some funky chickens:

Here are some of the dolls Carol brought for her trunk show on Saturday:

Thank you Carol for a lovely time!

Turkey Tracks: Coastal Quilters 2010 Challenge Quilt

June 9, 2010

Coastal Quilters 2010 Challenge Quilt

I finished the Coastal Quilter’s 2010 challenge.  Here is the challenge fabric:

We were to create a 9 by 12 quilt using this fabric in some way.  The orientation was landscape, so the 12″ side would be on top.  We chose this size in case anyone wanted to donate their quilt to Ami Simms Alzeimer’s Quilt Project.   You can see these quilts at http://www.alzquilts.org.    Ami, whose mother died of Alzeimers, has raised almost half a million dollars that she donates directly to research by selling these donated quilts in on-line auctions and at major quilt shows.

Here’s my challenge quilt:

From the beginning, I saw a rooster tail in the fabric.  John printed a picture of Napolean for me in black and white on 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper.  I cut out the shapes, fused them to fabric, recreated the rooster, and quilted it.  As various people came and went and commented, the piece evolved.   Linda McKinney said I needed a white line of stitching between the sky and the land.  Prudy Netzorg said I needed a moon.  (I later changed the moon thread to white.)  The buttons came from buttons collected by my Great Aunt Margaret Phillips, who lived through the depression in Reynolds, Georgia.  She taught in the primary grades in the Reynolds school and walked everywhere as she had no car.  I inherited her button jar sometime over the years, and I use those buttons all the time.  I have added to it, and friend Gina Caceci added her mother’s buttons to it when she passed away.     

All our challenge quilts will hang together at the Pine Tree Quilt Guild show in late July.  I’ll take pictures so you can see what other people did with this fabric.  Each and every quilt is amazingly creative, as you’ll eventually see.

Turkey Tracks: Chicken Fenced Garden

May 17, 2010

Chicken Fenced Garden

We spent the day in the garden.  This time of year, vegetable gardens can look pretty bleak.  But, things are going on nevertheless.  The garlic is doing well.  Beedy Parker’s kale is up and running.  The asparagras–oh my!  It’s second year, and we decided not to cut any.  It’s all come back and seems to be spreading well.

In the upper garden, the strawberries have big fat blooms on them.  And, the raspberries are looking bushy in the front.  They have a lot of sprouts coming up as well.

I’ve planted carrots, beets, and three kinds of peas.  It’s the first time for peas for me.  The radish are up.  The lettuce is looking good.  The onion sets are in.  But, the garden is waiting for all those big, lush plants that look so exciting:  beans, tomatoes, cukes, squash of all kinds, cabbage, broccoli, leeks, potatoes, Brussel sprouts.

We bought annual flower plants today and potted until we ran out of potting dirt and compost.  We hung three hanging plants in the usual places.  The hummers are back; they will be delighted to see a hanging plant near their feeders.  No sight of the Baltimore Orioles yet, but it’s time for them.

Here’s what the garden looks like now.  You can see the new pea trellis behind the dreadful chicken fence that really works.

It’s very dry, however.  We are watering daily in May in Maine!!!  Very bizarre.

Turkey Tracks: Two Quilts

May 17, 2010

Two Quilts

John and I both volunteer at The Community School in Camden, Maine.  The C-School is a private alternative high school. 

This year, I worked with two students, both girls.  I have accompanied them through many academic endeavors, watched them grow and grow up, and celebrated with them their awesome success.  Both will graduate May 28th. 

Along the way, the three of us decided they would, or could, make quilts.  Ok.  I decided, and they went along with me.  They are both cool that way.  And, I was honored that they trusted me saying they could make a quilt, especially since neither of them had ever sewn, used a rotary cutter (VERY sharp, can cut off fingers), done fabric math, and so on.

Well!  After 5 months of working almost every Friday afternoon, their quilts are done.  And, on the spur of a moment, I took them to our April quilt meeting.  One of our quilters works for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.  Later, she got in touch with me and suggested the girls and the C-School hang the quilts in the annual student show beginning May 1.

We finished their bindings, I put on hanging sleeves, John and I worked out hanging rods, and both of us worked on signage.  John did most of the signage and all of the hanging. 

Here are the quilts:

 

 I am so proud of both girls.  I wish for them all the best in this world.   I will miss them so much.  But, I know that they will always have these quilts and that the quilts will remind them what they can accomplish in life.   

 

Turkey Tracks: Kathy Daniels Comes to Coastal Quilters

May 17, 2010

Kathy Daniels Comes to Coastal Quilters

Mercy!  Where does time fly to?

Our April 10 meeting of Coastal Quilters featured Kathy Daniels, who is an amazing quilter.  Best of all, she may be moving to Camden in the near future.  Kathy did a trunk show for us which included her quilt journey.  She started with traditional quilts, but quickly moved into art quilts.

I loved most of her quilts.  They are so inventive.  But here is one I particularly liked.

Kathy is on the left and Sarah Ann Smith, a nationally known quilter, is on the right.  Kathy and Sarah are friends and members in Frayed Edges, their art quilt group. 

Kathy’s blog is  http://studiointhewoods.blogspot.com/.  Take a look.  It’s really fun.  And, colorful.  Lots going on here.

Sarah’s blog is http://sarahannsmith.com.   Visit it to see her beautiful quilts.  Her galley is on the right of her opening page.  Also, she just published her first book:  Thread Work Unraveled.  AND, it has been given a second printing.  GO SARAH!  Be sure to visit her blog.  If you’re a quilter, you can learn a lot.  If you’re not, you’ll still be intrigued.

So, here’s another of Kathy’s quilts that I liked a lot.  It’s a tribute to a beloved dog who died.

  

Finally, here’s another one I liked.

 Kathy!  Thanks so much for coming to Coastal Quilters!

Turkey Tracks: Book Club, Dewey

May 17, 2010

Book Club:  Dewey, the Library Cat

I love my book club.  We are six members, and each year, we each propose a list of 5 books.  The members choose two books from each members’ list, for a total of 12 books.  So, that’s our year of reading.  What I love, in addition to the members themselves, is that I frequently read books I would not have chosen for myself.  My life has been richer for those experiences, even when I don’t like a chosen book, it is interesting to hear if others did and why. 

I hosted in May.  It was a beautiful spring day.  I pulled out my yellow tablecloth, the matching tulip and bird napkins, and got out the Royal Tara shamrock tea set AND TEAPOT that John’s mother, Norah, gave me.  I made one of Julia Child’s lovely cakes–the chocolate and almond Queen of Sheba cake.  I put a chocolate ganache icing on it, then drizzled a dark chocolate butter cream over that.  Yummo!

I was able to pick some flowers from the garden.  It’s the first bouquet I’ve been able to organize from our spring garden.  I did pick some of the daffodils in the meadow for a friend’s birthday, but they are naturalizing so well that I just leave them alone.  It is enough to see their jaunty heads bouncing on the wind or turned up to the sun.  I was able to cage a few daffs from the upper gardens. 

The viburnum will only last one day as their woody stems won’t take in water.  But, they brought in the most heavenly sweetness with them.  The blue blossoms are from a pulmonaria (lungwort), and it is doing very well in the yard.  If you don’t know, the tiny blue blossoms turn pink with age.

As you might have noticed from the picture, our book this month was Dewey–a tale of a library cat.  I even heard the author interviewed on Diane Rehm a few years back.  None of us liked this book.  We thought it confused between the narrative of Dewey (a short narrative) and the narrative of the author’s own life.  Some of us wanted more on one or the other, which was interesting.  I was unable to finish it.  I ran out of time because I just couldn’t get into it.    

So, on to the next:  Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna. 

   

Turkey Tracks: Nancy’s Dirt Bath

Turkey Tracks:  May 7, 2010

Nancy’s Dirt Bath

Nancy is an Ameraucana Wheaten chicken.  She is one of two Wheaten hens we have.  The other one is named Sally.    Nancy was Martha Washington.  But, she isn’t a Martha.  She’s a Nancy.  And, Sally was Sally Ross until we recalled that the flagmaker was not Sally Ross, but Betsy.  We already have three chickens with “B” names.  We don’t need another one.  Anyway, Sally is a Sally.  The Wheatens lay medium-sized blue eggs that are as smooth and shiny as polished rocks.  These girls needed American names because their flockmates are French Copper Black Marans.

Both of the Wheatens love dirt baths and take several every sunny day.  It’s something to watch.  Here’s something of a sequence though this dirt bath thing goes on for a long time:

Then, there’s always the moment when the Wheatens go so into the moment that they look like they’ve died, which can really give you a start if you’ve not seen them do it.  Oh my God, you think.   Something’s killed one of the chickens!!!