Vintage Home and Farm

In this first of a three-part series, we introduce several hens in our flock. Our entire flock includes nine mature chickens, six young chickens, and four ducks.  Miss Prissy Fuzzy Bottom May I introduce to you Miss Prissy Fuzzy Bottom, a very special Wyandotte hen with a deformed crop and crooked toe. But don't you worry about Miss Prissy, as these issues don’t slow her down! She is the first to arrive when there are treats. Her crop swings like a pendulum when she runs, almost knocking her over. We find her enthusiasm for life absolutely delightful. She no longer lays eggs, but that's okay. Tony Soprano This beautiful Maran hen’s feathers are super silky, and she even has feathers on her feet. She’s rather timid, so is hard to catch if you want to pet her. She lays dark brown eggs that have a pattern on them. As she is one of the newer members of our flock, we are still getting to know her. Amy A Rhode Island Red, Amy is a good egg layer of brown eggs nearly all year long. Sh...

 I've been experimenting with fermenting again, this time making a ginger bug so that I can make various kinds of ginger ale. In addition to making basic ginger ale (ginger beer) with it, I plan to make cranberry ginger ale during the holidays, as well as strawberry-rhubarb ginger ale and turmeric ginger ale. There are so many possibilities! It took about 10 days to get the ginger bug going. Once that step was done, I was on to making ginger ale. The ginger ale recipe I'm using only makes a small batch each time. To make the ginger ale, you scoop out a bit of the ginger bug (the "mother") from the jar and put it into a bigger container. Then, and to it some water, sugar, grated ginger root, and lemon juice. Cover it with a cloth and rubberband, and let it ferment for a while. Last, you strain it into bottles with swing-top, gasketed lids. The bottles sit a couple of days until they are delightfully fizzy. Once a day, though, you have to open the lid so the air can esc...