Mind-reading Chickens

After several months of receiving one egg a day from our seven hens, Mr. Man and I had a serious discussion about the cost of organic layer feed and a stock pot, and lo’ and behold the girls are suddenly laying.  Last week I was greeted with 3-4 eggs per day, and this morning there were five!  Even Letty, my White Leghorn who hasn’t laid in over a year is producing—I know when she is laying as she is the only chicken I have that lays white eggs.  I’m so happy they read my mind and are once again earning their keep.

We have had a tremendous pecan harvest this year.  Our one tree has produced so many pecans that we’ve had difficulty keeping up with them.  In all honesty we haven’t been all that interested in harvesting them in the past. We’ve had friends come over to harvest, and our old lawn guy always took home a couple bags, but for us they’ve always been more of a pain in our asses—some years the squirrels will pick them while they’re still green, take a couple bites and throw them down, making a huge mess of the patio.

The first few pecans to fall along with the last of the Shitake mushrooms and peppers from the garden

This year I started thinking about what a welcome source of additional protein pecans would have been during a hard winter to people before the days of supermarkets.  So, I started collecting them; first just filling up a bowl or two.  Then we had a good storm and the next morning the ground was literally covered in pecans.  I collected two big baskets, and between my brother and I, shelled them all, resulting in nine quart-sized bags.

After sharing some with family, I pulled out the food saver and threw the rest in the freezer.  The next storm had the same result, with big gusts of wind sending pecans down on our heads while we harvested.  Over Christmas, my daughter collected a big bag for her girl-friend’s father and I collected a big bag (about 5 pounds) for freezing.

It took me several days to shell them all, not that I mind; it’s a good excuse to watch a couple of episodes of “Friday Night Lights.”  Marley has taken to hunting out any that have cracked open upon hitting the patio—I usually leave these for the squirrels.  And, just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be any pecans left on the tree, this morning I walk outside to yet another small crop.

Off to shell pecans…

The Loire Valley: Chateâu de Chenonceau

The air is crisp and chilly this morning, and we scramble into our warmer clothes (we knew we brought them for a reason).  After a quick breakfast of pastries and coffee, we head out for Chateâu de Chenonceau.  Built on the River Cher in the 16th century, it is stunningly beautiful.  We walk its stone floors for well over an hour trying to picture what life must have been like here.  The Chateâu is built over the river with a magnificent hall built by Catherine de’Medici and is embraced with formal gardens on either side.

The gallery built over the river

My favorite rooms are the kitchens with all the copper pots hanging from the walls and huge fireplaces for cooking and roasting meats.  There are several rooms: the pantry with a large fireplace and bread oven, the larder which would have been filled with grains and produce is off to one side, and the butchery with its hanging meat rack is off to another.  There is a small dining room beside the pantry where the staff would take their meals and a bridge to the larger kitchen with roasting spit through a small bridge. 

There are of course the rooms for the King (Henri II), the Queen, and the King’s “favorite lady,” Diane de Poitiers, who had the bridge build upon which Catherine de’Medici built the gallery.  But the most interesting room is that of Louise of Lorraine, who, after the death of her husband, King Henri III, took up residence at Chenonceau surrounded by nuns, and spent the last 11 years of her life in mourning.  Always dressed in white, the protocol for royal mourning, she was dubbed the White Queen.  Her room is black: ceiling, walls, drapery, even the linens upon her bed. 

There is also a 16th century farm; a great example of how growing food can be beautiful as well as practical with flowers and vegetables growing side-by-side.



For more pictures of Chateâu de Chenonceau, the gardens, and farm click here.