Herding Chickens and Pumpkin Curry

Today marks the first snow since arriving on the farm. The snow comes down in big, fluffy flakes and is much wetter than the snow I grew up with in Ontario. I am beginning to get into a good routine of feeding and giving water to the ducks and chickens each morning. This routine includes Sammy the dog (a Jack Russel) accompanying me. Every morning he positions himself under the chicken house and barks very loudly. This morning, for some reason, Sammy wasn't with me and when I opened the door and entered the chicken house, I didn't shut the door, thinking the wood step would be too high for the chickens to get out. Turns out it isn't too high, and five chickens made an escape. Feeling foolish and immediately realizing Sammy's barking prevented this from happening in the past, I realized I had to do something. I refined my chicken herding skills and managed to get all the escapees back into their home.

Chickens and rooster safely back in their house

Chickens lay about an egg a day, and they lay these in a separate spot in the house than they eat and poop. The chickens very much live by the daylight and go into their house by the time it is dark. I come down each evening and let them in. The eggs need to be washed very well before being put into cartons, as they have poop and wood shavings on them. 

Eggs that are ready to be washed and sold



Andrea, the gardener extraordinaire mentioned in the post a few days ago, came by today and shared her expertise in another area with me-cooking. We made pumpkin curry (delicious!) for lunch and buns for market day tomorrow. The buns have molasses in them and are amazing in taste and texture. I look forward to learning more cooking tips from Andrea in the future.

Locally milled flour used to make the buns

Pumpkin about to be made into curry (and roasted seeds!)

Tomorrow I will transform from farm helper to mountaineer for a day and climb up to the saddle (between Mount Arrowsmith and Mount Cokley) with friends of friends who live here and are avid mountaineers.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post some snowy mountain photos tomorrow.