Author: Caryn

Wet hen again

On By CarynIn chickens
Twilight soaked from the rain

The rain. The rain that just keeps coming. I know it is springtime in Texas, which means rainstorms, but this year feels different. It isn’t Harvey bad, we actually have seen the sun and blue sky, but the ground is so wet and has been soaking wet with little chance to dry out. The chicken’s run has been wet for so long it is growing algae. Twilight couldn’t care less, and wanders out into the downpour, coming back looking bedraggled. In the picture above she is not mad about being soaked, she is mad that I am chasing her around with a camera (and also, since I’m there, is there another round of grubs?) On the plus side, the drainage I dug continues to keep the area around the coop door dry, so their food is dry and they have some dry dirt for dust baths. Everything else in the runs, though, is damp and soggy.

What is that.

On By CarynIn Fungi

We have a weight set out on the back porch. I saw something bright underneath and bent down to look and was greeted by a mushroom. The fruiting body of a fungus was erupting from the fabric under the bench. I guess it really has been quite damp lately.

The underside of the bench press bench is growing mushrooms

Quadruplets

On By CarynIn Wildlife

We were eating lunch and saw some nine-banded armadillos foraging in the back woods during a cloudy afternoon. These are probably last year’s litter, as they seem to be full grown (the cats are 10 pounds, and they look about the same size).The two cats (Big Orange Tom and Sophie) prowling the area completely left them alone. Nine-banded armadillos are insectivores and these are digging for grubs and worms. I recorded for 5 minutes, within 6 feet at times. I’m not sure they even knew I was there. Sorry for the shaky footage, the mosquitoes were eating me alive. Totally worth it!

Nine banded armadillo quadruplets

Favorite family recipes

On By CarynIn Bread

My mother-in-law makes wonderful cinnamon rolls, which I haven’t been able to eat for 17 years. We have both tried the recipe with gluten-free flours, and tried gluten-free recipes, but it just isn’t the same. So next on my list of “things I want to bake” with heritage wheat (I am using Sunrise Flour Mill’s Heritage Bread Blend), was her overnight cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon rolls prepped and ready for the fridge

I did use my dough hook and my stand mixer to prep the recipe, and I only made one pan of rolls instead of two, but otherwise followed the instructions! Rolling out dough with developed gluten takes a little more effort than gluten-free types, but it held well and made such lovely spirals of cinnamon. (Spirals and cinnamon are also two of my favorite things.)

Baked cinnamon rolls, in the process of getting browned butter frosting

The next morning I took off the foil and baked the cinnamon rolls. I even made the browned butter frosting! And they were good. So good that even my youngest ate them! With frosting! My GI tract also has had no complaints with this blend of wheat so far. As much as I love cinnamon rolls, and these were definitely the best I’ve had since going modern wheat free, it is the ability to make family recipes again that is even more meaningful.

Another shell-less egg

On By CarynIn chickens, eggs

I found an egg under the roost with no shell again. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened multiple times since they started laying. The egg membrane is intact, so it is possible to pick up, but it certainly has an interesting texture, much like an egg that has been soaked in vinegar to remove the shell, but without the bouncing. I recorded a video to show the squishiness, if you are interested. These eggs typically go to the dogs!

Shell-less egg