IT’S COMING
The fall frost date is “scheduled” for November 15 here in Zone 7. However, freezing temperatures are arriving this week.
I’m certainly happy I pushed to get the plastic on the greenhouse this weekend.
Bring on the winter weather! We’re ready!
DRAT THAT ROOSTER!
As fall progresses, there are not many opportunities to let the chickens out for a walk-about. In summer and early fall, when I get home from work, there are a couple hours of light remaining before the sun goes down. So, they can spend an hour or two happily scratching through the grass, leaves, and compost pile for bugs and other yummies. Now, though, dusk has usually arrived by the time I get home and they are ready for chicken bedtime, so I generally only let them out on Saturday or Sunday.
Friday, I managed to leave work early. I was happy because it meant I could let the chickens have some time to roam after a week of being cooped up.
After everyone left the run and made a beeline to the compost pile, I noticed Oscar had not fed them in the morning. I put my pitchfork down (used as armour to keep the rooster at bay when he decides to be onery) and turned away to open the feed bucket.
BAM!
Road Runner, the rooster, had snuck up behind me and took the opportunity to flog me!
I was not pleased. (You’ll want to read that with a voice dripping with sarcasm).
I started flinging things at him and yelling my opinion about his life choices.
Unfortunately, I don’t have good aim. I flung a scoop of food with all my might at him. It missed. That made me madder. I flung a rake at him, and … it missed. I threw a bucket at him and, you guessed it, it missed.
Through all of this, the rooster is just standing there looking at me like he’s trying to figure out what is wrong with me. Or maybe he was just enjoying the entertainment.
By now I am outraged. I picked up the pitchfork and chased that dratted rooster around the yard shouting, “You do not do that to me. Do you understand???”
I stopped when I saw the neighbor’s car pull up in his driveway. I certainly didn’t need witnesses to that little bit of insanity.
The
Bruises
are coloring
nicely
BACK TO WORK
My travels are complete and it’s time to get back to work so today I purchased what I need for my next project.
I bought Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples from my favorite apple supplier, Millstone Creek Orchards.
This year, I’m planning to can my applesauce instead of freezing it. It should go quicker than ever with my new “secret weapon.”
MORE PREP FOR WINTER
Outdoor activities have slowed down significantly over the past few weeks. Several days after the green beans were picked, we went in to clear the Three Sisters Garden. We found another gallon of green beans.
I processed 16 pints of green beans from the Three Sisters Garden. Ten were pressure canned, five were failed canning (my error) and were put into the freezer, and one was just blanched and frozen. For a crop I figured was going to be a flop, I certainly got a nice harvest.
Since the last update on upgrading the greenhouse, we managed to get the hardware cloth over the hoops. After Oscar finishes putting the hardware cloth on the ends (in the next two weeks), I’ll watch the weather to determine when it’s time to put the plastic on. The first frost date is expected around October 31st so we could have most of October to get everything finished.
Today, we moved all the containers we want to spend the winter in the greenhouse.
As ever, I haven’t accomplished as much as I wanted to do but I think this looks pretty good!
PRESSURE CANNING INSTRUCTIONS – NESCO SMARTCANNER
As I worked on canning the green bean harvest this weekend, I encountered a problem I have had before with my Smartcanner.
It’s not the Smartcanner’s fault. When I flip back and forth between water bath and pressure canning, I get confused between the instructions for each. There is enough of a difference that it will cause canning failure so I had to come up with a solution.
Part of the problem is the font size and formatting in the instruction book. So, I created my own sheet for each set of instructions.
The new instruction sheets are in a larger font, that doesn’t require reading glasses. The important aspects are in bold type. I added boxes that I can check off as I work through the process so I don’t lose my place. I slipped them into a sheet protector so that I can erase the check marks, ready for the next use.
I keep the easy to follow instruction sheets in the drawer of my canning table for easy access.
PRESSURE CANNING – NESCO SMARTCANNER
□ Put jars in canner
□ Add 8 CUPS HOT WATER
□ Valve @ “EXHAUST”
□ Press “HIGH”
□ Press “TIME” to set to number of minutes required in recipe
□ Press “START”
□ Digital chase will rotate until correct internal temp reached (up to 30 minutes)
□ One BEEP – Control Panel will read “E10”
□ Will countdown to “EO” and BEEP 3x
□ Change Valve to “AIRTIGHT”
□ Will chase until pressure reached and BEEP 1x
□ TIME will count down
□ BEEP 3x when countdown done – display will read “OFF”
□ Let canner set for minimum 1 HOUR before opening lid and removing jars
Two Chickens Homestead 
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