Roberts Roost

Makes me wish we had Maple trees here in OZ!

2010-03-12T17:30:10.713-05:00

Makes me wish we had Maple trees here in OZ!

One of my favourite childhood memories is of tappi...

2010-03-12T00:01:10.926-05:00

One of my favourite childhood memories is of tapping maple trees. My friend's father used to tap random trees along a wooded, secondary road, gathering only enough sap for their own use. She and I took dance lessons together, and when it was her father's turn to drive us to town, we would always stop and check his tin buckets. I was always surprised at the sweetness of the sap, expecting it, I suppose, to taste more like balsam. :-) Sounds like a fun day out!

So will this be another product to add to the kill...

2010-03-09T21:45:43.409-05:00

So will this be another product to add to the killer fudge line?

We finally made these last night, but without the ...

2010-03-09T16:58:32.587-05:00

We finally made these last night, but without the sesame seeds. They rocked our house! Hubby even said that they rival the Pita Chips that we're all addicted to.

It does sound a special thing to do. Lucy

2010-03-08T16:59:51.693-05:00

It does sound a special thing to do.

Lucy

Looks like you had a lot of fun, even if you are e...

2010-03-07T22:31:06.919-05:00

Looks like you had a lot of fun, even if you are exhausted!

We're having a GREAT time sugaring here at Chiot's...

2010-03-07T11:21:06.611-05:00

We're having a GREAT time sugaring here at Chiot's Run. We're a little smaller scale I think, with glass jars. Last year we boiled over a fire, this year we're waiting for our fire pit to thaw out, it was covered in a few feet of snow at the beginning of the season. I'll make at least one batch of kettle syrup, the smokiness is perfect for bacon & ham.

We haven't eaten any of our finished syrup yet, must make pancakes soon.

Wonderful photos! I enjoyed the maple syrup journe...

2010-03-07T01:24:25.715-05:00

Wonderful photos! I enjoyed the maple syrup journey.

I was waiting to see how your crackers turned out,...

2010-03-05T22:11:48.052-05:00

I was waiting to see how your crackers turned out, Alan...they surely look delicious. You've inspired me to give them a try...I'll post pics when I do. :)

I'd wanted to try this recipe. I'm glad you found ...

2010-03-05T21:35:46.322-05:00

I'd wanted to try this recipe. I'm glad you found something that everyone agrees upon!

I feel sort of incompetent. I'm a city dweller and...

2010-03-05T11:26:33.717-05:00

I feel sort of incompetent. I'm a city dweller and I don't grow any food; my gardening efforts sonsist of flowers and a few herbs. I do shop at our local farmer's market during our rather long growing season. my sister and her husband have a small garden in the summer with tomatoes, squash, watermelons (my personal favorite) and spicy peppers. I steal liberally from their garden.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy your blog how muc...

2010-03-05T11:16:08.497-05:00

I had forgotten how much I enjoy your blog how much I enjoy reading about your life. I get inspired by your culinary efforts but then I chicken out at attempting to replicate them. The crackers sound like the perfect accompaniement for my favorite snack food--cheese!

I'm looking forward to the details of the syrup making.

Oh, no, Alan! I'm so sorry about the lost kid, but...

2010-03-04T09:59:54.546-05:00

Oh, no, Alan! I'm so sorry about the lost kid, but am so glad Patty's recovering and you've found the problem and are bringing the rest of your flock to perfect health. I couldn't agree more that we humans confront the same sorts of issues, even here in the so-called "land of plenty." What a disgrace.

Little Patty is so cute! Glad she is improving. T...

2010-03-02T21:47:10.034-05:00

Little Patty is so cute! Glad she is improving.

Thank you for the information is this blog. We are getting two baby goats in late April-I have never had goats before so have lots to learn. Will be following your blog even more closely.

We are in a selenium deficient area so I feed my g...

2010-03-02T21:26:56.624-05:00

We are in a selenium deficient area so I feed my goats feed that has selenium and wondered if it really mattered. Apparently it does. I am glad you found the problem. I'm sorry you lost the kid but Patty is darling. Best of luck. Live and learn and just think of all the people that learned something from this...me included.
You wrote earlier about stepping in and trying to help instead of letting nature take it's course but you learned more by working through this than by just letting her die. It will benefit the whole herd because you cared.

I find it so amazing how much imbalance we've crea...

2010-03-02T09:13:45.266-05:00

I find it so amazing how much imbalance we've created and how hesitant people can be to try repair the damage or spread knowledge. This really puts it in perspective why my own farmette initially did so badly while trying to undo the practices of the previous owners.
I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties, but am glad to hear of the progress the rest of the kids are making.

Good post and good reasoning. I am so glad she got...

2010-03-02T00:20:12.525-05:00

Good post and good reasoning. I am so glad she got better. So many times difficult labor and delivery is simply mineral deficiencies that owners just don't recognize.

Love the video! She's beautiful. Glad she's doin...

2010-03-01T15:31:49.500-05:00

Love the video! She's beautiful. Glad she's doing better.

Your blog is actually encouraging me not to give u...

2010-03-01T11:04:37.385-05:00

Your blog is actually encouraging me not to give up on the whole finding my own property thing... seeing the animals gives me a boost every time. ^_^ That wee kid is adorable.

(Fixed due to inability to spell lol!)

So adorable! I am glad your kid is doing better. ...

2010-03-01T10:38:30.625-05:00

So adorable!
I am glad your kid is doing better. It is heart breaking to watch them struggle.

Could it be a weakness that is actually due to sel...

2010-03-01T00:40:53.035-05:00

Could it be a weakness that is actually due to selenium/Vitamin E deficiency, White muscle disease?

Good luck. She is so pretty.

2010-02-26T19:10:53.850-05:00

Good luck. She is so pretty.

Goatgirl, I thought that too, but Floppy Kid doesn...

2010-02-25T19:16:07.610-05:00

Goatgirl, I thought that too, but Floppy Kid doesn't usually show up at birth. It usually hits after they have been up and about for a while. She never was. Floppy Kids also don't suck, and she drinks like a trooper. I'm not sure what it is. She is quite a bit stronger today. She stood for 16.5 seconds. Doesn't seem long, but it's quite an improvement from not even holding her head up.

Could it be Floppy Kid Syndrome?

2010-02-25T18:57:33.639-05:00

Could it be Floppy Kid Syndrome?

I have faced this (on a much smaller scale, of cou...

2010-02-24T15:46:00.554-05:00

I have faced this (on a much smaller scale, of course) with a few of my chickens. Each time it happens, it's just as you describe, eating up larger amounts of time and resources.

Compassion is an interesting line to walk---to decide whether it is more compassionate to let nature take its course or more compassionate to intervene.

I often regret it in the end when I intervene. Tonight I am reintroducing two hens from such an intervention. I am interested to see how they fare.

Thanks for the post! She's a cute floppy kid.