What I did on my Summer vacation?

After a long, crazy summer that shows in my neglect of posts, and the lack of planting any pumpkins for a Fall harvest, I finally have some time to catch up!

Actually, I may need to add a disclaimer to my blog; for I am no longer horseless, and a bit less of a housewife! I had suddenly found myself on the doorstep of two great opportunities. The first was a weekend summer job at a major Thoroughbred racetrack here in Chicago, and the second was the chance to finally instruct students again at a local riding school. Eventually, if you work around horses, you are bound to take one home, and that is what happened at the "Track". Having a second job at a lesson barn with an open stall: well, that's just karma.

So, without going into further details, here's Orion V: a 4 year old, dark bay Off Track Thoroughbred gelding- who will hopefully be my next Hunter!

He is the opposite of what you would expect from a 17 hands high, 4 year old "baby" whose whole life, up to meeting me, was to go fast at a mile distance. But, he has proven to be a lovable barn favorite, with a sensible head on his shoulders and a huge appetite! I got lucky.


 More to come soon~
Cheers!

Happy Independence Day!

Remember the old adage for field corn: knee high by the 4th of July? Well, in Wisconsin, all the rain has bumped it up to waist high!

Here's to a wonderful and safe 4th of July everyone!

Quick Tips for Tick Prevention

     Although, I love what all this rain has done to invigorating my garden and including the hay fields on The Farm, it has also increased the tick population by default. The last time I checked on the bees at our property, I also had a few unwanted small Deer ticks clinging to my bee suit. Ewww. In the years that we have owned The Farm, we have never had a tick encounter. But now that the rain-fed grass has shot up underneath the Walnut stand, the tell-tale matted beds of the White Tail Deer have also increased, along with the ticks. Great.

     We already have begun the process of knocking down the grass, but I wanted to know what else I could do. Only deer ticks carry Lyme disease, and approximately 50% of female ticks are carriers, so how do I lower our odds? So I did some research, and found this great site from the University of Rhode Island named, Tick Encounter Resource Center: http://www.tickencounter.org/ which is dedicated to ticks and their prevention across the U.S.

Here are some quick referenced Tick facts:

www.tickencounter.org

-Ticks do not jump, or drop from trees, but rather lay in wait for a host on grass or shrubs up to a foot off the ground.

-Ticks always crawl up once they get on you. One preventive measure is to tuck your pants into your socks so that they can't get under your clothing.

-Although ticks can't swim, they can survive a trip in the wash machine or a hot shower. If you find a tick, flushing it down the toilet is the most successful route.

-Ticks can survive a frost and winter. 

-You have a 24 hour window to remove a feeding tick before any infections take hold.

-Most ticks are sensitive to humidity levels. Lucky for you, if a tick that finds it way into your car, it won't survive a hot, dry Summer's day.

Also, you can now buy treated clothing for tick prevention at many big box outdoor stores or online. These garments remain effective up to 70 washings. Or, if your a hiker or camper, you can ship your clothes/gear to be completely treated by T.E.R.C. recommended and E.P.A. registered company: Insect Shield (click here)

I, on the other hand, will be treating my boots and clothing with a soak/spray combination of Sawyer's, an E.P.A. approved permethrin insecticide designed for such; targeting the lower half of my body so not to accidentally expose the honey bees. 

Here's to a tick-free Summer... Cheers!

No Bees? An End to the Beginning.

If I was a cigarette smoker, I guess this would have been the perfect time to puff and ponder over my little white hive. At least in my head, it would have been some romanticized image; like the Marlboro man on horseback-puffing trails of smoke as he watched over his herd from a grassy bluff...Except, I scarcely had a herd to watch over.  I wasn't going to submit to failure: I needed to get this operation to work, and I needed to do something about it now. I could buy a new Queen and have her here in about 2 days. But, the amount of work that they needed to accomplish in building the strength of the hive-before the Fall set in? The odds were against them for survival. The next best thing to make up for my lost time was to buy a nucleus hive or a "Nuc". Beekeepers create Nucs by using an existing Queen and her workers and sell them as a package. They are sold with 3 to 5 frames of their mini hive which consist of an equally balanced proportion of honey, pollen and capped brood (cells containing eggs and emerging workers) and the promise of a successful hive. These honey bees already function as a family; committed to their Queen and her brood. So, transplanting them from their small Nuc box, to a larger hive, only adds to their expansion and production.

As the bumpy roads bordered by Dairy farms and rolling acres of corn traversed to smooth pavement greeted by small vacation towns on channeled waterways, the entire drive home from The Farm was consumed with my thoughts. Is it too late to get in on buying a Nuc? ...Most of these are pre-ordered months ago. Maybe I could email around?...I had maybe three connections at the most, to guide me. As I pulled into our driveway, and placed the truck into park, I felt no impulsion to move from the leather driver's seat; I was glued by a mixture of concentration and anxiety. I ended my thoughts with, "You need to get on this now" and promptly jumped out of the truck and headed into the house, leaving my Beek equipment settled in the back.

Two days later, I found myself pulling out of my driveway at 7:00 AM, with sleepy kids in tow, and a full cup of to-go coffee, on an hour and a half journey to the Kettle Moraine area of Wisconsin to pick up my Nuc. Once I had the Nuc safely nestled in a plastic bin the back of the truck, I programmed the navigation on my smart phone to take me directly to The Farm. I had a time crunch to deal with, but the Beekeeper gave me plenty of advice to act on, and I wasn't going to let an ounce of it slip away to time. The transfer from Nuc to hive went smoothly, as I carefully placed frames thickly laden with Italian honey bees into their new home. Lucky for me, I had easily found the Queen on the brood frame, as she was busily tending to her business. On the outside frames of the hive, the original stranded bees had surprised me with their lackluster movement; meandering around in circles as if they were hopelessly melancholy without a Queen. Upon learning of my situation, the Wisconsin Beek was concerned about the stragglers, and he advised me before to just merge the two hives immediately. 


As a precaution for a few days, I stapled insect screening to the front entrance of the hive, with a small access opening large enough for workers, but not the Queen. I studied my work, and concluded that this was IT for the year. If it works, it works. If not, well...if you fall off the horse, you always get back on...but never without a lesson learned.

Cheers!

No Bees? (The Plot Thickens by Rejection)

So, I have been dumped...rejected...by my honey bees. After 8 full days after setting up shop in The Farm hive, my bees have flown. And let me tell you how it went down:

I set up my little house of honey facing South by South East on the edge of our Black Walnut grove overlooking our Alfalfa hay fields. The babbling of the creek that crosses our property was just a straight shot and in line with the honey bees range; it was a perfect spot. The weather had unseasonably changed to cooler temps hovering around 60 degrees, and it seemed to rain almost every day. But, I managed to get my package of Italian bees in their hive without a hitch during a break in the weather...and was pretty confident with my first time out. I fed the little babies, and tucked them in their darkness; leaving them to work on freeing their Queen from her cage and building honeycomb.

photo credit: Dadant & Sons Inc.

More cooler dips in temperature with rainy days, left me worrying about the bees. But, I knew that it would take about 4 days for the bees to release the Queen from her 3 cell cage (including eliminating the dead attendant bees trapped with her) so, I waited, not wanting to disturb their process. Finally, it was time to go in for an inspection...

Upon pulling up to The Farm, we saw that the first cutting of hay was down and raked...awesome. Cutting hay, like installing bees, is completely dependent on dry weather. Walking the path through the Walnuts, I noticed that some wild black raspberries sprung up along the old wire cow fence...awesome. The birds must have helped with that last year, and those berries will add to my jam supply. Then with my smoker in one hand, and my hive tool in another, I approached my hive and saw: zero activity at the door. Not good. Holding my breath, I removed the outer cover, a few bees were hanging out on the inner cover, so I removed that one carefully. Then just between the two frames, where the Queen cage hung, there was a cluster of bees. A few other bees were walking around on the outside frames, but the majority of the hive was gone. Raising the Queen cage out from between the frames that it had been resting on; bees clung to it like a lifeline..the Queen's scent was all over it. I half expected to find a dead Queen inside but, it was completely the opposite. The Queen had indeed been released, and the entire cage was scrubbed clean by the nurse bees. On the two frames that bordered the Queen cage was fully drawn out clean honeycomb. Puzzled, I searched for a Queen, but knew the outcome already. Feeling sorry for the bees left behind, I topped off the feeder with sugar water, and closed up the hive.

Looking out towards the mowed path of hay, that started to crossed out 20 feet in front of me, I wondered if the machinery was the reason. Or, the new "smell" of the hive, or even the call of the wild from the 'back forty' trees in conservatory? I was keenly aware that I was overdressed, and unzipped my veil, when my mind kicked into action: 'What to do now?'

Farm Chit Chat Blog Giveaway!

The Horseless Housewife is now apart of a great farm, gardening and homesteading blog called Farm Chit Chat! Stop by for some coffee and cake, but stay for the wisdom and Blog giveaway! Enter here

Cheers!

No bees?

So...I was hoping that I would be able to show you my fun and exciting undertaking with starting my first hive on The Farm...this week. Unfortunately, I received an urgent phone call and email from my package supplier, that the bees won't be ready to ship until the 22nd of this month. The explanation?-the rainy weather. The excessive wet weather had caused the bees to be underdeveloped, and therefore not ready to start a new hive. A very late start for a great honey crop, but I can be hopeful, right?

Cheers!

Barn and Property Fire Prevention: Fire Breaks

Photo credit: The Daily Herald

My heart always sinks when I hear word of a barn fire; especially so if I know if it's a boarding barn full of horses. Whether it's reported as breaking news, or by word of mouth, the panic and devastation associated with the fire always extends beyond the actual incident. Although most barn owners, either backyard or big facilities, have precautions in place to prevent fires inside the barn, what happens if the fire comes to you?


Having a barn (and your own residence and property) that is surrounded by pasture or woods, is in need of a fire break. A fire break is defined as a large road-like clearing of vegetation that stops or slows a fire from proceeding past it by eliminating it's fuel. Granted, a large roaring fire combined with a windy day may be able to "jump" the break, the clearing of the vegetation for the road itself, allows the firefighters and equipment the access they would need to control the flames.

So, where do you start? Begin at the building itself, and clear away any dried leaves/debris from your roof and gutters. If there is any unwanted vegetation growing along side the building itself, clear that away also. Remove old pallets, wood piles, tires or other combustible material that is likely to be discarded behind an out building or barn. If needed, eliminate any fuel for a grass fire by mowing tall grass, and trimming away dead branches in landscaping.

Photo credit: unknown (AUS)

When it comes to creating a fire break, a minimum of a 20 foot gap is recommended by most fire services. If you have naturally occurring creeks, streams or ravines close to your barn or property, you are one step ahead of a grass or forest fire. Extending the fire break on either side of the banks by clearing any vegetation, small trees or bushes. Otherwise, closely mow your fire break around your barn and property with a tractor mower or brush hog; bare ground is the desired result. If you have large trees, trimming up the lower branches also reduces ground fires from climbing the trees.

Fire Flapper

If you would like to go one step forward, purchasing some specialized equipment for grass fires may be well worth the investment one day. I would recommend a few fire flappers (click here). These heavy, rubber "mud flaps on sticks" were standard equipment in Police cars back in the day. I can personally tell you these are the best tool in a pinch when smothering grass fires; just don't use them while wearing polyester uniform
pants!

Lastly, when all your hard work is done, don't forget to call your local fire service and request an inspection. Not only will they give you some suggestions on places you may have overlooked, but you will be making them aware of your easy to access (and protect) property.

Cheers!

Mother's Helper Tip: Puzzles

When your children have various puzzle versions of Disney Princess, Dora, Thomas the Tank Engine, etc. etc...it's definitely a chore when it comes to clean-up! Why not label or stamp the back of each whole puzzle's piece? It definitely becomes a time saver, and aids in clean-up participation! Cheers!

DIY Kentucky Derby / Special Event Hat (Part 2)

Hopefully, after reading Part 1 you have developed a vision for your hat creation. You may or may not have a clear and detailed plan; which is perfectly fine also. Minimally, you should have selected your colors, and any number of embellishments that when placed together, they make sense and harmonize. What I mean by this is: if you envisioned an equestrian theme in black, red and gold, adding a jungle animal print or butterfly fairies wouldn't "make sense". It is quite alright to experiment with these embellishments as you go, and as you will see by the end of this post, my vision had changed slightly in my creative process!

I had a simple creme hat base to start with, and I knew I wanted to develop it for use on the casual side. I envision the hat to be used during the day; perhaps for a future Leadline pony class with my Daughter. I had picked up a few old burlap coffee bean bags, and I knew that the natural colors, and rustic material would achieve the look I was going for.

Additionally, I liked the simple burlap to be the focal point of the piece, and opted to create fabric roses from the material. Continuing with the simplicity, the complimenting colors I chose for the creme hat base were: coffee brown, black with grey as the accent color.


To create your own fabric roses, follow these steps:

1. Cut long strips of material, one for each rose. If you would like your roses to be of varying sizes, either cut wider strips, or longer lengths (or both!) for each. I recommend keeping the width no less than 2 inches.

2. Tie off one end with a simple knot. This will be the center.

3. Hold the small "tail" end of the knot between your fingers and with your other hand, grasp the start of your remaining material, keeping the material naturally folded in half lengthwise. Now, start to wrap the material around the knot, twisting the material clockwise every half turn or so. Every few laps, add a drop of glue between the layers with a hot glue gun to keep the "petals" straight.

4. When you reach the end, turn the remaining piece to cover the flat bottom of your rose, add some more glue and trim off the excess.

Here I made three to use.

Design tip:
If using a similar object in repetition, 
odd numbers are more visually appealing.


Moving on, I knew I wanted to trim around the hat in a simple creme ribbon, and fortunately had some leftover ribbon that matched perfectly. I recommend tacking the ribbon down with a few simple running stitches. Using a hot glue gun stains the ribbon and leaves unsightly ripples. 

Make sure you tack a stitch in the back of the hat...hidden on the bottom works best to keep the ribbon from shifting.

If you keep your extra buttons that accompany a new shirt, like I do, then you have a great resource for details! A large grey sweater button that fittingly belonged to an old maternity sweater, was chosen for the accent color.

To create a faux button tab, follow these steps:

1. Using about 6 inches of ribbon, starch and iron the frayed end back.

2. Finding the center, fold one half back, starch and iron. Repeat for the other side.

3. Flip the ribbon over, which is now the front side and iron again.

4. If your button has a hidden eye, then place the button bottom on the ribbon where you would like it to sit, flip the ribbon and make a small hole with a scissors. Press the eye through the hole so that the front of the button lays flat along the ribbon. Sew the button in place, incorporating the folded tabs with a tack stitch along the way. After you have your button sewn in place, tack stitch or glue the faux button tab in place onto your hat band.

From this point on, I experimented with the placement of my fabric roses. Eventually, I went against my original vision of using three roses in a cascading fashion, and liked the look of two; the smallest over the largest. Using just a hot glue gun, I firmly glued the roses to the hat.

This is now the point where your creativity kicks in. Using individual feathers, I added small black plumes around the outer petals of the larger rose, to emphasise the black burlap lettering. For the smaller, daintier rose, I snipped (5) 1 inch pieces of brown ribbon, folded them in half, glued the ends together, and then glued them into place around the outer petals. To fill in the void space where the roses meet the hat, I individually glued small brown feathers in an offset radiating pattern to create a back round of visual interest. Finally, I made three more larger 3 inch loops of brown ribbon, and glued them where the larger rose meets the smaller rose; tucking the glued end in firmly.

Once you are happy with your completed project, try it on! Don't be surprised when a complete stranger comes up to you on the day of your event to ask, "Where did you get that beautiful hat!"

Cheers!

DIY Kentucky Derby / Special Event Hat (Part 1)

If you follow Thoroughbred racing, or not, it seems that when the first Saturday in May approaches, everyone gets into the Derby. And by "Derby", I mean the Kentucky Derby; the Grand Dame of the them all...well, at least here in the States. And, if you are lucky enough to hold a ticket to the fanciest pomp and parade that Churchill Downs has to offer, then my Dear, you need a hat!

    In this two part series, I will first show you how to become inspired and develop your ideas for your hat creation. In the second installment, I will assemble a hat, and show you some simple and easy embellishments.

Although, I have attended my share of Arlington Million and Illinois Derby races, both in which women adorn themselves with beautiful and elaborate Derby-style hats; I had always made my own hat to fit my dress for the day. Your inspiration should start with what style of hat best suits your face, the weather, and the formality of the occasion.  Then, decide on your color combinations; pulling colors, tones and textures from your dress or outfit you chose to wear. Lastly, think about whether you would like to make a bold statement piece, or keep it simple and classic.

Now, I believe finding the perfect base hat will be the hardest decision you will have to make in this process! The hat is the foundation, and ultimately has to be comfortable and frame your face well. You can grab a honest friend (or perhaps your Mother, right?) and try on varying styles of finer Department store hats. You may buy one there, or just try on a variety of styles to get an idea of suits you. Another option that I prefer, is to shop online at a Millinery supply store. Millinery's are persons who build and design hats from scratch, real artisans, as well as a time-honored profession. Keep in mind, your choice should be stable and stiff enough to support your embellishments, but "breathable" if you need the hat during hotter weather. 

                                                                                                        Some creative elements can be taken from your chosen accessories. Look at the natural textures or patterns of your jewelry, shoes or belts...is there a theme? Would you rather compliment these items with a similarly colored solid or tonal designed ribbon? Or on the contrary, would you like to call attention to say a particular piece of jewelry, by emphasizing or repeating the pattern in your hat? I love a little bit of "movement" in order to draw attention up to my face, and almost always add feathery plumes in my creation to achieve this. Again, Millinery supply stores offer a variety of add-on embellishments, but your local craft store can be just as productive with faux flowers, birds and feathers, butterflies, beading, buttons, netting, ribbon, leather...anything can be decorative if you have a theme! Additionally, I usually stick to three to four colors in my theme, total. I chose one of these colors as an accent straight away. The remaining colors can include the shade of the hat, or body, and the other colors are complimentary. If you are unsure if your colors will "go together" an easy way is to squint and visualize the color as a shade of grey. Dark, medium or light tones of grey will naturally complement similar dark, medium or light tones of grey. 

Lastly, I like to add a touch of personality: something that only I may know its meaning, or people who know me contribute it to my style. If I am creating a hat for an Equestrian event, there will always be a nod to that fact. It may be a pony bit, a piece of braided rein, stable colors or horse tail hair braided as decoration. Otherwise, I would add a subtle monogram, or use vintage buttons or costume jewelry. Either way, it helps to have your ideas narrowed down before you accomplish your shopping trip. That way, you won't end up frustrated and empty handed! 

Coming in Part 2: Creating fabric roses, simple stiching and gluing, and creating a focal  point.

Cheers!

The Bee Hive: Take a Look at what's Inside!

After much anticipation, my first bee hive arrived at my front door this week! After popping open the series of cardboard boxes, I quickly assemble the components to show you what's inside...

I ordered my hive already assembled and painted from Mann Lake (a beekeeping supply company) and was very pleased with the construction and quality. You have two options in size with bee hives; 8 frame and 10 frame, which denotes how many frames the box holds. After attending beekeeping classes, and hearing the argument for the benefits of either, I personally choose the larger 10 frame.

From the bottom up, Bee hives are completely based on stacking each component. This way, a beekeeper can remove parts of the hive to tend to the bees and honey. When full, a bee hive of this size can weigh up to 200 pounds. The bottom most component, in which the entirety of the hive rests on, is aptly named the "bottom board". Bottom boards serve as the floor, and entrance into the hive, and can be solid or screened. Screened boards are more widely used for the improved ventilation into the hive, and the ability for unwanted pests and debris to fall out through the bottom.

 

The amount of bees coming in and out of the hive during the Fall, Winter and early Spring can be controlled with a entrance reducer. This device also helps to defend the hive against intruders when the bees are clustering in colder weather, and unable to monitor the entrance effectively.
                                                                                                                             
Working our way up, we have the body of the hive. The amount of boxes, or Supers can vary depending on the production of your hive. Normally, the bottom two deeper boxes are reserved for Brood boxes. This is where the Queen bee lives with her workers, and spends her days laying eggs to replenish her work force. The boxes above the Brood boxes are shallower and are ideally used for honey production.



Inside each of these boxes, the Beekeeper provides the bees with frames to make honeycomb on. There are various types of frames for this, which I won't go into, but I choose plastic frames for my bees. These frames have a raised  honeycomb pattern imprinted on the plastic sheeting, and are coated with a thin layer of bees wax to help my bees get started on making comb.



The spacing between the frames are sized to allow the bees to work throughout the hive, depending on their job. If you remove a few frames, you can peer down into the hive...at least while it's still empty!




The roof of the hive consists of two parts. The flat, metal covered outer cover shown above, and the inner cover. The inner cover serves several purposes: it tops the uppermost Super as a ceiling, and has an oblong hole cut into the center to allow the Beekeeper to feed the bees during Winter. This cut-out also allows for ventilation to reduce condensation, and allows a secondary bee escape.



In a few more weeks, the Italian honey bees I ordered will find themselves in their new home on our Farm. Hopefully by then, the weather turns a bit warmer so I can have a honey harvest, and of course I can blog about it!

Cheers!

Soil Amendment: Using Wood Ash in Your Garden

We are elbows deep into a full-blown Spring cleaning at my house, literally! With tools and a paper bag in each one of my rubber-gloved hands, I stare into the very sooty mess of a well-used fireplace. I only hope that we are done with this unseasonably cold weather, so that I may finally close the damper, and harvest the remaining hardwood ash for the garden beds. The benefits of wood ash to plants, and its contributions in the replenishment of the soil, are nothing new to the well-tuned Gardener.  If you think about it, even Mother Nature replenishes itself with more vigor after a forest fire, right?

Why Add Wood Ash?

When amending your garden soil in the Spring, the purpose is to replenish nutrients lost during last year’s growing season, and over the winter. Besides using organic matter like compost and manures, have you considered using burned wood ash? Wood ash is beneficial for increasing soil ph. Depending on the hardness of the wood used; its ash will fall between 9 and 13 on the ph scale. For all us who have been out of school for a while, this places it on the alkalinic side, giving it properties similar to using a 0-1-3 fertilizer. Wood ash also contains a minimal reserve of phosphorous and potassium, but is also void of nitrogen; which also makes it comparable to adding lime to your garden.  A simple soil test can determine if your soil is acidic, and in need of the benefits from wood ash. As a rule of thumb, areas with high concentrations of rain (about 20 inches per year) tend to have acidic soil. On the contrary, if your soil is already at a 7.5 ph or greater, wood ash would not be beneficial.

 

How and Where to Apply

In either the early Spring or Fall, apply up to 20 pounds per 100 square feet, working it well into the soil to a depth of 6 inches in areas where you will be locating plants with acidic tendencies. You can lightly sprinkle the ash around your established plants, but avoid new seedlings and sowed seeds as the concentration of salt is harmful to young plants. Keep in mind, if working it into your soil; allow 2 weeks to pass before setting seeds or transplants.

A few examples of plants that benefit from wood ash:

Exceptional health and growth of tomatoes, cabbage, asparagus, peas and beans especially. Likewise, root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips also benefit by the ash’s ability to repel carrot flies and root maggots. Lightly apply to any garden flowers and yard beds containing sunflowers, carnations, daffodils, asters, poppy, clematis, spirea, boxwoods and yews. Additionally, any fruit trees on your property can use a light sprinkling.

A ½ to 1 pound of wood ash per year is recommended for your shrubs or roses. Additionally, if your lawn is lacking lightly spread on the grass and gently rake in, applying no more than 10-15 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

But, always remember…Never leave lumps or piles of wood ash on or near your vegetation, as the concentration of salt from the ash is toxic to plants!

Plants to avoid:

Make sure you check the ph numbers of your plants if you are unsure whether or not to apply, but junipers, pines, firs or spruces, holly, azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, calla lilies, delphinium, crocus, camellias, phlox and ivy should be avoided.

It is also good to know to avoid your potato patches, in which wood ash will encourage the fungus that contributes to potato scab.

 

Pests, Composting and Ponds

Wood ash can be used also as a deterrent to surface feeding pests. Especially effecting slugs and snails as it draws water from their bodies, killing them.

If using wood ash in your compost pile, a light sprinkling after adding organic matter such as dried leaves, pine needles, or fruit waste will help the balance. Additionally, wood ash loses its benefits once it gets wet, so keep your supply covered or in a dry area.

Have some extra wood ash, even after adding it to your garden? If you are lucky enough to have a garden or fishing pond, go ahead and add one tablespoon to every 1,000 gallons of water. The potassium in the ash slows algae growth and aids the aquatic plant life.

Now, you if you are going to be hungrily looking at all that ash produced by the outdoor bonfires this Summer, go ahead and get sooty! But, you may want to avoid the ash that was left over after Uncle Ned threw his red Solo cups in the fire…

 

Cheers!

 

Why Chicks Dig Rock, and Horses like Country Music

 

Chillin' to Classic Rock

I think my chicks are into Classic Rock.
I don’t know if it has anything to do with them being young and living out of a basement; or that they are all feathered in black and sport ”eyeliner”. But when we plugged in a small radio for them this week, the spotty reception gave us two choices: Talk Radio and Classic Rock: the clear choice was Rock. It was like a musical trance as they noticeably set aside their pecking order battles, cocked their quizzical heads to the side, and settled down to listen. One of the girls must have even like Freddy Mercury’s voice, because she soon dozed off in the middle of a Queen song.

Maybe it is human nature in which we personify that our animals would feel alone without us. Or, that they might find comfort in human voice and song in a way that we do. But, who hasn’t left the television or radio on for your dogs or cats when you knew you would be gone all day? Likewise, we had always left the radio on for the horses in the barn, and of course, it was set to the Country station.  I believed they enjoyed it...as it seemed that they would keep time to Toby Keith as they munched on their morning hay.

With a little bit of researching, I found that I am not the only one who wondered about this:
 
To the North of me, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Animal Psychologist Charles Snowden has conducted research into species-specific music. His theory tests the pitches, tones and tempos of music that are familiar to each particular species. His findings suggest that they enjoy music that matches their species likenesses. Humans additionally like music that fall within our vocal range, and similarly use tones we understand. Further research also suggests that we follow music that progresses at a tempo similar to that of our heartbeats.

With that knowledge, I now began a little experiment on my part with my “Rocker” chicks.
A normal heartbeat for a baby chick is 350-450 beats per minute, and for comparison, a normal adult chicken it is 250-300 beats per minute. Music with a faster tempo should easily be compatible for fowl, right? Our problem with a faster tempo arises when this music scarcely exists for human consumption, and better still, I doubt it would be on a radio stations play list!

Ok, so you are with me so far? Backtracking I look into different kinds of music that are in a regular radio rotation. A simple examination into the beats per minute (BPM) of select popular Classic Rock songs will get us a little closer to the Chicks preference:

Pink Floyd,  Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) ------------ 104 BPM

Guns 'n' Roses,  Sweet Child O' Mine -------------------------- 125 BPM

Queen,  We Will Rock You -------------------------------------------- 163 BPM

The beats are up there, but perhaps I can find an old “Head banger’s Ball“ airing on MTV, or some crazy fast Techno dance music to sooth the chicks! On second thought, I don't think that it won't get too far in my house!

For comparison, a Human has 70 heartbeats per minute, but if you are also curious in comparing the heartbeats of dogs, horses and humans to beats per minute performed in music; here are a few different variations for your consideration:

Dogs: Heartbeats Per Minute                                 Horses: Heartbeats Per Minute

 60 – 100 BPM for Large Breeds                                         30 to 50 BPM for Mature Horse

100 – 140 BPM for Small Breeds                                        45 to 65 BPM for 2 Year Old

180 BPM  for Puppies up to One Year of age               80 to 100 BPM for Newborn Foal

Country Music
Somewhat more suited to the small dogs and foals, maybe?

Toby Keith,  I Love this Bar ----------------------------------------- 115 BPM

Carrie Underwood,  Good Girl -------------------------------------- 130 BPM

Alan Jackson,  Little Bitty -------------------------------------------- 163 BPM

 

Rock/Pop
A wide wide range in this genre, but here's some good picks~

The Beatles,  Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)-------90 BPM

Coldplay,  Clocks ------------------------------------------------------- 131 BPM

Black Eyed Peas,  I Gotta Feeling ----------------------------------200 BPM

photo courtesy of Rocknoaksranch.com

Interestingly enough for horses, if you have seen Mexico’s legendary crooner and film star, Vincente Fernandez performing on his beautiful Andalusian stallions, you would now think, "Hey, he’s onto something!"

Vicente Fernandez,   Por Capricho ----------------58 BPM

Vicente Fernandez and Tony Bennett, 
Return to Me (Regresa A Mi)-------------------65 BPM

I added the above link because it's a beautiful song, and the video shows Vincente's collection of horses~just a little partial here!


Finding a song's beat per minute is fairly easy since DJ's and music producers compile this information for the purpose of mixing songs, and there are many Internet sites dedicated to these numbers. Additionally, if you like to work out, produce your own play list loaded with with BPM's to match your desired heart rate.

As far as my lack of radio selection is concerned... I don’t know about these chicks being Groupies yet, but time will tell if my girls will swoon and lay well for a good Bon Jovi ballad!

Cheers!

Buying Local Beef / Our Annual Flip-Steak Road Trip

If you're like most, as soon as the first warm day breaks, you uncover the grill, attach the gas or load up the charcoals, and get to grilling. Nothing tastes better than those steaks or burgers with the grill marks, right?

How about driving four hours round trip to pick up those steaks, roasts and burgers?

 

Yep, that's our annual Beef Road trip...sometimes, there's an annual Pork Road trip also, but that's a different animal with a different pick-up date! Every year around January, our Farmer gives us a friendly call to ask if we are still "in" for our quarter, and then again about a month later to let us know he has dropped off the cattle at the Processor. A few days later, I call the Processor and order my cuts. It's a very satisfying process knowing where you beef comes from, and who is butchering it.

The Processor will call us the very day the beef was processed, and after it has aged. There is always a mandatory 24 hour freeze, then we load up and take the drive out to Seward, Illinois and Eickman's Processing; a small scale, but award-winning abattoir that has thick-cut smoked bacon to die for!

Besides having the resources to pay for your Year's worth of beef up front, there are no downsides if you compare your Farm raised beef to Supermarket beef. Inside those neatly wrapped bundles of white butcher paper, is farm fresh beef. No red dyes, no plastic wrap, no styrofoam trays. Take these points into consideration when shopping for your family:

* You know exactly where all your beef comes from, and there is a Farmer attached to the welfare of your steer or cow. Supermarket beef may be a mix of meat from different animals, from different farms.

*With buying straight from the Farmer and ordering exactly what you need from the Processor, it is cheaper on average when you cut out the Supermarket middle man. Our 1/4 of beef in total (Farmer's price for cow, and processing with extras in packaging) cost us $2.15 a pound for 170 pounds hanging weight. That includes everything from hamburger patties, short ribs, roasts, brisket to prime steaks.

*And most importantly, by buying from your Farmer and Processor, you are sustaining your local economy, and supporting the all-important small-scale family Farmer.

                                                                             A    nice Rib Eye steak, still frozen from the Processor
 

Lastly, if you think you need a separate freezer for all that beef, it all depends on your family consumption. A quarter of a cow, or 60-70 pounds of beef will need about 3.5-4.0 cubic feet of freezer space, and will store for 6-8 months in butcher paper, or 10-12 months if vacuumed packaged. An average family of four, two adults and two children, will have enough of that beef to last about 6 months. If you are considering buying into a quarter or side (1/2) of beef, start by looking locally at U.S.D.A. Inspected Processors. They would certainly have pre-packaged meat, or may have Farmers looking to fill slots for beef...though many already have waiting lists!  Good Luck, and Cheers to grilling season!                                                                                             

 Pictured right: This is our quarter cow tucked away in our old side-by-side freezer.