January 2014: Click-a-Day Photo Challenge

Welcome to the Click-a-Day Photo Challenge! 

 For those that have never done a photo challenge, it is simple! 

The Unofficial Rules:

• Each month there will be a list.  
• Every day you will take a photo using the list to inspire you.
• After you have taken your photo,  post your photo to Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram using the hashtag #clickadaychallenge
• Happy clicking! 

To see other participants photos, simply click or search using the hashtag #clickadaychallenge 

If you would like a daily reminder, you can sign up for our "Click-A-Day Photo Challenge" Google Calendar. Google Calendar ID:

clickadaychallenge@gmail.com

SEE THE MOST RECENT CLICKS HERE

Waldorf Inspired Acorn Calendar

There are so many beautiful Waldorf inspired calendars that I have come across both in magazines and online.

Like this one:

Click to Purchase

And this one: 

Click to Purchase

Today while AG and I were setting up her seasonal table for winter, I thought it would be so nice for her to have a calendar similar to the ones pictured above but not quite as involved. So with just a dozen of saved acorns, some paint, a small plate and some table salt we made this! 

What you'll need:

• twelve acorns
• acrylic paint 
• table salt 
• a dish of your liking 
• a sentiment for the center

How to make it:

Paint your acorns the colors that you think are appropriate for the months of the year where you live and work your way counterclockwise around rainbow.  I started with a deep green for March and ended with a bright blue for February.  When your acorns have dried, pour some table salt on a dish to keep the acorns from rolling around and place them in the order which you desire.  Finally, place your sentiment in the center of the circle.  

Homemade Bread Recipe

I can't believe this was the first time I have ever made bread.  It was SO SO SO easy and it tasted like a giant soft pretzel. Yum.  We ended up eating the entire loaf....so much for resolutions!!

Homemade Bread Recipe from Instructables :

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 3 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 egg beaten 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a stand mixer on low speed mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  While mixing, slowly add in the water and butter until the dough has formed.  
3. Roll your dough into a ball and allow to rest for approximately 10 minutes. 
4. After the dough has rested, divide the dough into two equal parts and roll into two rolls about 15 inches long. 
5. Put the two rolls next to each other and "braid" them together. 
6. Place your bread onto a greased pan and brush your beaten egg evenly over the top. 
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. ENJOY!

Its the Holiday Season....so whoopty doo and dickery doc....

As 2013 comes to an end... thankfully, 2014 brings promise for hopefully a much better year.  Without going into too much detail, it has been a very difficult year for our family. Mainly with Emily's Grandfather now in Hospice care with each coming day of uncertainty and her Uncle dealing with cancer which was found this year in the form of a lump on his neck.  Emily herself had heart surgery last May which was also very stressful, but fortunately went well.

The chickens have been spending much of this winter inside their coop. 

 Besides these few major events, there has been numerous others that life has thrown at us and really deserve no mention. I mean aren't the Holidays for just being merry, spending time with family and appreciating what you have? In that case we have a lot to appreciate.

The day after Thanksgiving this year, as has been tradition, we joined my brother and sister in law in picking out the "perfect tree".  The day after that, I received my early Christmas present in the form of a fury ball of dog we named Lola. She is a Victorian Bulldog and has complimented Beckman greatly.  

My new baby Lola out doing some ice fishing with me!

Our daughter Autumn Grace napping with Lola our Victorian Bulldog pup.

Christmas Eve is usually spent with Emily's family at her moms house, but this year everyone decided last minute it would be more appropriate for us to host it and relieve some stress from her mom.  We had a wonderful time.  Appetizers were served and roast beef sandwiches were the main dish.  We all drank too much egg nog and wine. Emily's parents decided to spend the night, and that was a Christmas present in itself for the kids.  

Christmas morning was snowy and bright.  My family joined us around 10 a.m. for our annual Christmas morning feast which included a ham I roasted on the grill, Emilys famous french toast casserole, my moms breakfast strata and a few other little extras.  The kids were spoiled as were the dogs, and I became a terrible host after we ate. I decided to  kick back in the lazy boy while everyone finished eating and accidentally passed out for about an hour.  

Luckily no one seemed to miss me. HAHA

Grandpa watching Devin do the " Christmas morning dance"

The plan for New Years eve is pretty simple.  My family will join us and all will participate in board games, a little drink, and a lot of eating... well isn't this the last chance before we all start our diets!?!?

Cheers & Happy Holidays!

Kevin

Merry Christmas 2013 From Our Little Coop To Yours!

Christmas 2013 from Emily McGrath on Vimeo.

Solstice Sowing Celebration

Photo Credit Ryan's Winter Solstice Survival Guide 

The Winter Solstice is upon us my friends and just so happens to be one of my favorite days of the year! This year the Winter Solstice falls on Saturday,  December the 21st which is not even a week away!  Each year the winter solstice marks the day when the sun will appear at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon resulting in the shortest day and longest night of the year.  Not to be confused with the "first day of winter," the winter solstice is based entirely upon the season significance of the lengthening of days and the shortening of nights. 

The importance of the Solstice dates back as far as the neolithic times and is still celebrated today around the world with ceremonies custom to the different beliefs of many cultures. To some, the winter solstice symbolizes the rebirth of the sun and during ancient times the Solstice symbolized fertility and harvest. Traditionally winter sowing begins on the day of the Solstice. Trudi Davidoff developed a beautiful way to celebrate the beginning of your winter sow by planting four symbolic sets of seeds honoring remembrance, life, Mother Nature and faith. For more information about winter sowing CLICK HERE.

Which seeds to choose:

Seeds of Remembrance: Choose a flower seed at reminds you of someone you knew and loved but has since gone and is no longer with you. 

Seeds of Life: Choose seeds from a plant that produces fruit or nectar.  One that will invite birds and butterflies to your garden.

Seeds of Trees: Choose seeds of trees.  These seeds should be sown in honor of Mother Nature.

Seeds of Faith: Choose seeds of plants that would grow in a zone beyond the warmth that you live in.  This seed is sown to accept "the leap of faith" in or hearts and remind us of the miracles that Mother Nature is capable of.  

Winter Sowing

Seeds Pictured: Hudson Valley Seed Library 

It is at about this point every year when I am officially OVER winter.  It's cold, it's dark and at times can really leave me feeling a bit lonely and isolated from the outside world.  While I do love the ocassional snow, the excitement of the holidays and all of the fun that comes along with winter, I miss being outside, the sunshine on my face, the warm breeze of a summer night and most of all, working in my garden.  Every year I wait anxiously for the stores to put their seed packs on display and when they do, an instant wave of giddiness comes over me.  Seeing the seed packs after a long winter brings me hope and a promise that there will be new life again.

But what would you say if I told you that you didn't have to wait until that magical spring moment to start your seeds?  What if I told you that you can in fact begin sowing the seeds for your summer garden right now? If you are familiar with the method called "Winter-Sowing," invented by the brilliant Trudi Davidoff than you aren't at all surprised by this news.  But if you are anything like me having never heard of winter sowing up until this point, my guess is that you are feeling pretty excited aren't you?  

So here's the deal.  You're going to need three things in order to complete this project.  

1. Empty gallon jugs.

2. Seeds.

3. Mother Nature.  

First you will need to make your mini greenhouses.  I am using empty gallon sized milk and water jugs for my mini greenhouses, but you can use any plastic containers as long as the sun can penetrate the walls.  Start by punching drainage holes in the bottom of the jugs and a few at the top to help ventilation.  The easiest way to do this is to heat up the tip of a screwdriver on your stove.  After punching the vents, cut the jug from side to side just below the handle, leaving about two inches to act as a hinge.

Fill your greenhouses with soil.  Any type of soil will work just fine for this project!  Add enough soil to the bottom of your greenhouse so that the soil is approximately two to three inches deep.

Wet your soil.  Water your soil and let drain.

Sow your seeds.  Trudi Davidoff advises that you should sow your seeds twice as deep as the seeds smallest dimension.  Sow your seeds on the surface of the soil, covering the seeds with more soil in order to achieve the proper soil planting depth. 

What Can I Winter Sow? 
Common Flower Garden Perennials for Winter Sowing

Vegetables For Winter Sowing 

Herbs For Winter Sowing  

Winter Sowing Zones 2, 3 and 4 (Native Seed List)

Winter Sowing Zones 5, 6 and 7 (Native Seed List)
Winter Sowing Zones 8, 9 and 10 (Native Seed List)

Seeds Pictured: Hudson Valley Seed Library 

Label. After you have finished sowing your seeds, slap a piece of duct tape across your container and with permanent marker write the date and seed of the variety sown. 

Put Your Greenhouses Outside and Let Mother Nature Work Her Magic! This is the part of the project that I find fascinating.  While most of us are so accustomed to forcing our seeds into germination by using indoor lighting and heat, winter sowing allows Mother Nature to control the germination process resulting in hardier and healthier stock!  After you put your greenhouses outside in a safe and secure spot where the wind won't blow them away, your work is done until spring! 

Come Onnnnnn Spring!! Small seedings will begin to emerge as spring arrives and it will now be time to tend to your tiny plants.  Be sure to check the soil daily and water your seedling as needed.  Don't forget to close up the tops when you are finished!  

This picture was sent to us by one of our readers. Look how amazing this is!! 

We will be documenting the progress of our sweet little seeds so make sure that you check back often!  

If you are interested in Winter Sowing with us, Hudson Valley Seed Library has offered Our Little Coop readers FREE SHIPPING on any size order when you use the word COOP at checkout. Click HERE to check out their BEAUTIFUL seed packs that are pictured in this blog post!  

What Can I Winter Sow? 

Common Flower Garden Perennials for Winter Sowing

Vegetables For Winter Sowing 

Herbs For Winter Sowing  

Winter Sowing Zones 2, 3 and 4 (Native Seed List)

Winter Sowing Zones 5, 6 and 7 (Native Seed List)

Winter Sowing Zones 8, 9 and 10 (Native Seed List)

Mason Jar Snow Globe Nightlight

The Art of Doing Stuff recently posted THIS on their Facebook wall.  I loved the idea and thought it would be an awesome little holiday decoration for the kids rooms at night.  Last night while Kevin and I were at Menards looking for battery powered LED lights for his ice shanty(hmmmm....), I was suddenly reminded of said post and with little effort at all found the perfect lights and Christmas trees to complete the project (thirty precent off too)! It took less than 5 minutes to put together and cost just around $3.50 per jar.   

1.  You'll need epsom salt, a large wide mouth mason jar, a strand of battery powered lights, and little fake Christmas trees...you know the kind people put in snow villages.

2.  Wrap the lights around your fingers to create a contained ball of sorts.  I might advise not unwrapping the lights at all, although I didn't try this so can't promise its the best option here. I do however not recommend putting them in the bottom without any kind of order.  You will need to use half a bag of salt to bury the strands and your tree will end up not fitting in the jar.  Moving on.

3.  Place your large tree(s) on top of the strands of lights.

4.  Cover the lights with epsom salt and screw on the lid!

Now you have yourself a pretty little snow globe that you can put virtually anywhere in your home!  Enjoy!

December 2013/January 2014 Issue of From Scratch Magazine is Here!

The holiday issue of From Scratch Magazine is here!

FREE Arithmetic Village Books Download

To celebrate their one year anniversary, Arithmetic Village is offering he downloadable version of their books for… FREE! Simply follow the link below and sign up for their free newsletter! But what is Arithmetic Village you ask?

From the Arithmetic Village website:

Polly Plus collects jewels slowly and methodically.

Linus Minus is carefree and loses jewels.

Tina Times is impatient and quick, she adds jewels in groups.

King David Divide is fair and equitable, he shares jewels between villagers, if there is a remainder they go to his little dog, Rover.

Purchase the five short rhyming books, create a treasure chest (math kit) and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division!

Children then pretend to be different characters and play games and activities offered on this website and Arithmetic Village’s Pintrest page. 

Introducing math creatively helps to develop a deep understanding of core concepts, and supports a lifelong love for learning.

Click HERE to download your FREE books!!

The most recent "clicks" from our Click-a-Day Photo Challenge

December 2013: Click-a-Day Photo Challenge

I have wanted to create a monthly photo challenge for over a year now and I finally sat down this morning and did it!  For those that have never done a photo challenge, it is simple. Each month there will be a new list, every day you take a photo using the list to inspire you and if you would like, share your photos with us on Facebook or Instagram. That's it!   The photos you take as a result of just a word or two of inspiration will amaze you.  These challenges are great for sparking creativity!

Welcome to the Click-a-Day Photo Challenge! 

 For those that have never participated in a photo challenge, it is simple! 

The Unofficial Rules:

• Each month there will be a list.  
• Every day you will take a photo using the list to inspire you.
• After you have "clicked," post your photo to Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram using the hashtag #clickadaychallenge
• Happy clicking! 

To see other participants photos, simply click or search using the hashtag #clickadaychallenge 

If you would like a daily reminder, you can sign up for our "Click-A-Day Photo Challenge" Google Calendar. Google Calendar ID:

clickadaychallenge@gmail.com

SEE THE MOST RECENT CLICKS HERE

Challenge begins December 1st 2013! Can't wait! 

Our 2013 Holiday Photo - The BIG Reveal

Wishing you a holiday season filled with joy, blessings and LOVE. 

From Our Little Coop, to yours. 

Thank you Kate, from Farmhouse 38 for your help, creativity and for being one of the greatest friends.  We love you! 

Burlap Bag Christmas Advent Calendar

One of my favorite holiday memories as a child is waking up in the morning, running to my advent calendar, prying open the tiny little doors and seeing what surprise awaited me.  The last door was always the largest which meant one thing, Christmas was only a sleep away!  Today, with two children of my own, I wanted to create an advent calendar that would bring the same excitement to their holiday season mornings that I felt as a child.  With this simple DIY, you too can create a tradition for your family that will last for years and years to come.  Stuff the bags with ornaments to hang on the tree, little pieces of candy, notes, or create homemade coupons for adventures that you will take. The possibilities are endless,  the memories will last forever.  

What you will need:

-24 burlap bags.  These can be purchased online or sewn at home.  Size is of no importance unless you plan on packing the bags with larger objects such as ornaments.  Keep in mind that you will be hanging them and if you plan on doing so above your fireplace or other small area, you may want to keep them on the smaller size.  

-Red and Green fabric paint.  

-Number stencils 0-9

-Two stencil brushes

-Twine or rope to hang your bags from.

-Clothespins to hang your bags with.

Directions:

1. Lay your number stencil on top of your burlap bag.  

2. Using your stencil brush, apply a small amount of paint to the inside of the stencil until you have achieved the desired amount of coverage.  

*Take note that the paint will probably soak through the bag and onto the other side.  If this is bothersome to you,  you may want to put a plastic bag inside to prevent the paint from soaking through.  

3. As you paint your bags, alternate between the red and green paint. 

4. Paint your bags 1-24.

5. Allow your bags at least a few hours to dry before hanging.

6. When hanging your bags,  begin with the number 24, counting backwards. Don't forget to remove each bag after it has been opened to allow your children to see how many days are left until Christmas!   

DIY Montessori Sand Writing and Drawing Tray

Yay!  This was such an awesome DIY for our family.  Our son just turned four years old has been showing a very strong interest in learning his letters and after struggling with the traditional pencil and paper method, I knew this would be a lot easier for him to learn with.  Lucky me, we own almost every Melissa and Doug product on the market so I had absolutely no problem finding the perfect tray for this project! 

    

     

What You Will Need:

• Sand, salt or rice.
• Alphabet cards.
• A shallow box.  I used an old Melissa and Doug box from a wooden pie set.
• A writing tool (finger is actually best)

How To Make It:

There really was nothing to this and the only step I feel I should share is that I painted the Melissa and Doug box black, but only because I felt the box would be less distracting.  

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How To Keep Chicken Waterer From Freezing

As I watch the few remaining leaves from our Maple trees fall to the ground, I am again reminded old man winter is knocking on our front door.  This is my "last call" to ensure everything is in tact for another midwest winter.  There is nothing worse than finding out too late you should have, forgot to, or something isn't working as expected when the snow is flying and its blowing cold out of the North.  Remember the story about the Ant and the Grasshopper?

For probably as long as man has kept chickens on his/ her homestead, there has always been the question of how to make sure the water doesn't freeze for their flock.  Fortunately for us now 'a days there are many new heaters and gizmos to lend a helping hand, and one which will probably fit your application.  

All summer long we have thoroughly enjoyed the ease in using the Chicken Fountain which has been hooked up to our garden hose and had eliminated any need for the "fill and spill" game.  As mentioned this automatic watering system is great, except it falls short (here) come winter.  The Chicken Fountain used to sell a heater for their system but for reasons unknown to me, no longer do at this time... 

So back to the starting board:

Some companies offer these plastic fountain type water fountains that have a heating element built into the base.  Do they work? You bet they do, but the question is for how long.  This waterer as like any other made from plastic have a short life span.  

If you are using a metal style fountain which can be placed on the ground, there is an option for a metal base which has a heating element.  If you think of it like a hot plate for your metal waterer, you will get the idea.  I have even found blog posts in years past that show you step by step how to make one of these using a lamp fixture and a metal cookie tin.  

The last option I will mention is the trough saucer shaped heaters.  These basically work by placing them in a bath style type of waterer that your birds normally drink from.  It works by keeping at the very least a small area around itself free from ice allowing your flock access to water in the frigid cold months.  

So as you probably have already noticed, all of these heaters require one thing.  Electric!  So how do you keep your water from freezing if you don't have electric out in your coop?  You don't!  For years and years and years, electricity was only a luxury for most.  Having electric and running water in your house was a rarity so you sure as heck didn't have it in your chicken coop.  

So what do you do? You let it freeze.  In the winter our chickens have free access to our backyard.  I allow them as much space as they want.  Every day or sometimes every other day, I go outside and grab my metal waterer, bring it inside and thaw/ wash it out under hot water, refill, add a little salt (maybe a teaspoon for 2 gallons), and repeat as needed.  What I find is when there is snow on the ground, the chickens are usually content with eating the snow.  Think this is cruel?  Ask yourself what birds in the wild do?  

One thing different I am going to try this year, is painting the outside of a metal waterer BLACK with some spray paint.  This "should" act as a natural heater when the sun comes out to help thaw a little of the water.  

Update:  I found a similar article on our friend Lisa's blog Fresh Eggs Daily.  Here is a snippet you can click which will bring you to her article. 

"Large Black Rubber Tub - The first and easiest way to keep water unfrozen longer is to switch from a traditional metal waterer to a wide, deep black rubber tub set in the sun. These metal waterers freeze up so fast because the metal gets cold and there's so little surface area. Conversely the black rubber tub absorbs the heat from the sun to keep the water warmer. Even more imporrtantly, the larger surface area will help keep the water from freezing as fast." ~ Lisa - Fresh Eggs Daily

I hope this helps some of you out.  If you have any questions or wish to share what you do I would love to hear!

Cheers! ~ Kevin


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Pumpkin Seeds Done Five Ways

I'm a little late getting this post up because this year we carved our pumpkins on Halloween and I didn't get around to roasting the seeds until the day after.  Below are five recipes that we made and tested 

Directions: 

1. For each recipe you will need two cups of raw, washed, gooberless pumpkin seeds.  
2. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 
3. In a sauce pan melt the butter, add the ingredients, remove from heat, add the two cups of pumpkin seeds and mix until all of the pumpkin seeds are coated.  
4. Spread the pumpkin seeds evenly over a foil lined baking sheet and bake, stirring every so often until the seeds are golden.  About 25-30 minutes.    

1. Buffalo 

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds 
• 1/4 cup of wing sauce 
• 1 teaspoon butter 
• 1 teaspoon salt 

2. Maple Spice

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon of allspice or pumpkin pie spice 
• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup 

3. Sweet & Savory

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds 
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 4 Tablespoons brown sugar 

4. Dill

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds 
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon dried dill 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 

5. Sugared Honey

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds 
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 honey
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 white sugar 

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How to Fold Your Clothes the Right Way

I'm not too proud to admit that finding this post completely changed my life. I can not tell you how many times I fold and refold my kids tshirt drawers because they have decided to tear through every perfectly folded shirt in search of what they are going to wear. So imagine my excitement when I saw this and realized "I have been doing this wrong my entire life!!" Now both the kids and I can see what is in their drawers, no demolition needed.

So to achieve this awesomeness it's really very simple, but I've included pictures and steps...just in case.  

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