Entree Choices.

 Entrée Choices.

 

Just finished frying some chicken livers. Wow! Those suckers can pop worse than bacon ever hoped to pop! Oh well. The first batch is finished and the second batch is cooling so Sylvia can have it when she finishes barking at the $@#& squirrel. It cusses, she barks, it cusses some more, and she tries to climb the freaking tree! Someday maybe the trap might be taken down there and set up to catch squirrels. Unlike the movie UP where the dogs all looked in the same direction, we have multiple squirrels that run in several directions at the same time. Right now, the squirrels are at the end of the east lot in the Western Soapberry trees. Earlier two were in the yard by the carport. One squirrel ran across to the neighbor’s fence. Thompson went after that one while Sylvia barked at the one that made it to the nearest tree.

 

Went outside to check for eggs and found about ten doves inside the coop enjoying fresh scratch. Thompson grabbed one before it could get out the door, so now there is a trail of dove feathers all over the side lot. He never eats them—just kills them and spits feathers for about thirty minutes.

 

The hens are laying again on a somewhat regular basis. Got eight eggs today. One was from a Black-laced Wyandotte because it was that light brown color—and quite small at that. That hen may be getting ready to quit laying completely. They are close to three years old now. Guess it is time for me to make up my mind whether or not to raise more chickens or let the Wyandottes go to see BillyeRuth. They are such sweet hens that will follow me around and talk to me. The Marans will follow, but they are more stand-offish. Keep your hands to yourself, thank you very much. Just really don’t want the backyard to be empty of critters. And no, a horse, a goat, a rabbit or six, or any such creatures don’t count. Well, the rabbits would be gone goslins in no time at all. These dogs kill cottontails as quickly as they see them in the yard. And a milk goat would have to have a kid with her. Have had a donkey, thank you very much, when the old woman was a child and able to ride anything! Had that donkey trained to run and jump with me. Finally, got a cart for him to pull. Sir Clyde was sweet, but noisy and expensive. We don’t have that much grass in this area when it is dry, and not sure the old woman could afford a donkey any more than hens. And donkeys DO lay things, but not for breakfast. Great fertilizer, but it never stops producing!

 

Liver is supposed to be good for a person. Mom fried the stuff with onions and made a gravy with it. My abilities never have developed along those lines, so fried crispy is how it turns out. Besides, she seldom made chicken livers—just beef liver. Pretty big difference. Seems to me that beef liver is better, but a pint carton of chicken livers will be less than $1.50. Beef liver is in larger amounts, so either has to be shared with the dogs or made into two meals. Liver times two meals is a bit much.

 

Have not done much today at all. Could not sleep last night, so at 3 a.m. tried going back to bed. Woke up at nearly eight and felt so very guilty. Poor hens were ready to get out of that coop!! Very unreliable help for hire around here, ya know.

 

Thinking of some of the things that were slithering around inside my memories last night, it seems to me that the things that we don’t like in other people are often the things that pop up in our own personalities too often. Never wanted to be spiteful or unforgiving toward other people—having seen some very sad family situations involving those characteristics. Then it dawned on me that the situations that really torqued my temper were nearly always the kind where—at any age in my life—having a say about what was happening to me or my family was totally disregarded by the ones that forced me or my family into actions that were not of benefit to anyone whatsoever. From the day we got married, we had the grandmother of the family in our back yard. It took a little while to convince her that she needed to knock before she came inside. Grandma Dickerson was not a problem to me for the most part. She never griped at me or scolded. But my in-laws made it obvious that it was not a matter of choice about where she lived. My mother-in-law did NOT want her MIL in her back yard ever again. THIS house was the home that my in-laws had lived in for over 20 years. So, in mother-in-law’s estimation, it was HER house. Try changing something in someone else’s house and see what happens. Eventually, after several years and lots of gritted teeth, this really did become MY home with MY family. It just seems to me that it must be the hardest thing in the world to BE a mother-in-law who does not step on toes or otherwise make someone else grit their teeth. Have about decided that watching my mom, grandmothers, and in-laws has been a pretty good lesson if it can be taken that way and not allowed to become a source of bitterness. At least it does not have to involve politics or religion—the other two torches that make life and limb ooze toward the crevice of bitterness.

 

Tomorrow Patty wants me to take her dogs—and maybe her—to the vet’s office. We talked for a bit and she reminded me that we may very quickly end up with a rail strike and some major problems with supply and demand. Think Biden et al plan to “make” the rail workers accept the plan that they have already rejected. Unless he plans to put military units on the rails and risk blown bridges and lines, can’t see how trying to force this rail union into anyone else’s plan can work out even a little bit. As if we don’t already have enough problems with inflation and lack of materials for certain industries, closing the rails will be like shutting down the garbage trucks. We are going to stink to high heaven so quickly it will make our heads spin!

 

Have to think about something positive—other than being positive we have some idiots in government. Americans tend to take care of themselves—especially those who live on the land. The biggest problem right now is that too many of us live in the cities and have no idea how to deal with old-fashioned problems. More and more you will see on FB the books about how to survive an EMP or whatever. Foraging is nothing new, but most Americans living in cities would not have a clue how to find purslane or lambs quarter, much less how to cook it to eat. Well, if we can keep clean water where we need it, maybe worrying about what we eat is not that big of a deal. Compared to some of the nations in this world, we are so blessed. Water, food, housing/shelter, and a certain amount of civilization with protection from criminals makes all the difference in the world to how we can approach life. For these things at the very least, we should be quite thankful.

 

Pray for peace and common sense among those whose decisions affect us. God alone gives peace, but He can also change lives.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.