Sandy, the Swamp Creek Dog

Originally uploaded by ♣sarah

Here's a pic from last summer that our Sarah took of our dog, Sandy. I'm afraid making a separate blog post was the only way I could figure out how to post this picture from Sarah's flickr account. She thought I could just copy and paste them; guess not.

When the Wind Blows

Geez Louise, but it was windy today!  The wind was from the North and bitter, too.  We were supposed to go with my sister and her husband to cut wood for Dad today, but it was too windy.  We'll try again tomorrow, but the forecast is for more of the same.  I decided to do the laundry and run some errands:  I took some eggs to my good neighbor, Lynn; took Dad his birthday sweater; and finally, I took the van to Fifield and got some chicken supplies.  Bernie does sell duck starter and feed, so I'll call him before the chicks and ducks come to be sure he has the starters in stock.  I was glad for the heavy load in the van because the wind pulled the van all over the road, and I was happy to get home.

My little red hen in the brooder box is doing well.  She sits so quietly on the eggs, and every so often she'll get up and eat or drink a little.  What I did was remove the divider that separated the two nest areas to make a single large next box, and I put a waterer and feeder in the far corner of the box so the hen has to get up and go to the food and water.  I check on her a couple of times a day, and she is looking good.  I hope she hatches at least six of the 12 eggs she's sitting on.  The single nest area will be plenty big for her and her chicks to start out in.  I figure the eggs should hatch May 5th or 6th.  I will fence of a little area in the coop run just for her and any chicks she hatches until they are big enough to mix with the other hens.

Here are some pictures of the brooder box.  (I don't have the roof shingles on it yet in these.)

I spent some time in the basement repotting and dividing my aloe plants, and I potted up my new hops rhizomes.  I'll take them out to the field as soon as I can.  I wonder when my St. Lawrence Nursery order will come; should be soon.  I'm waiting for my Shumway order, too.  I bought some Victoria rhubarb and loads of onion sets from them.  Hopefully the Victoria rhubarb will grow better than the McDonald has.  I'm very disappointed in the performance of the McDonald rhubarb here.

I hope Dad likes his sweater.

Wisconsin Pickle Bill Changes

Well, I shouldn't be surprised that the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) just couldn't leave the passage of the Wisconsin version of Minnesota's "Pickle Bill" as passed by the Legislature  (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB-229.pdf).  After all, Government can't trust people to act independently without permission, can it?  On March 24th an "emergency rule" was passed that additionally requires:

(1) producers of home canned goods to pH test their products and keep a record of each test for two years;

(2) The producer must register annually with the DATCP at no cost (yet);

(3) The producer must complete a home canning safety course or follow an approved written recipe that reliably ensures the safety of each home-canned product.

A permanent rule to take effect (possibly) in 2011 would additionally allow the sale of baked goods.  I say "possibly" because according to the article from the March 31, 2010 The Country Today -- http://www.thecountrytoday.com/story-news.asp?id=BN0V01330F6 that this information is taken from, "A scope statement to begin (my emphasis) the process for the permanent rule also was approved."   

I think I'm peeved at DATCP because today in the mail I received a contract renewal for accepting WIC-FMNP coupons and while reading over the contract I noted that I now have to separate the items on my farm stand at the farmers market and label those items that are not covered for sale by the coupons so that purchasers using the coupons aren't "confused" by what they may or may not purchase.  I just have to wonder how long people are going to put up with these never-ending ridiculous government mandates.  Anything that helps the little guy is immediately stepped on. 

Think I'll stop frothing and go listen to Tony's show, The Remedy, on The Micro Effect.