I'm a cement mixer, baby, a churnin' urn of burnin' funk

We are the proud owners of a completed foundation. To say we are excited is a bit of understatement. To have even one step of this process completed feels like a major accomplishment. I've never really given much thought to the process involved in building a foundation, so it was neat to see the stages. First the footings were poured in forms (you can see them inside the stem walls in the second picture) and then the stem walls. 

stem wall in forms

It's quite a process and a lot of setup, before they're able to pour, and then again to remove all of the forms once they've finished. They also had to set in all of the ventilation, stub outs (for electricity, water, and sewage), and rebar. Even at this early stage, everything has to be set and precise.  Apparently, the process really gets going from here, so I'll try to be really vigilant about taking photos and documenting the work as it happens.

completed foundation

ready for floor joists on Monday

I know where treasure is waiting for me

Is there anything more wonderful than pulling out a long hoarded, out-of-season treat when you are at the end of a long winter? I am a notorious hoarder, hanging onto favorite items often until they are past their prime (thinking of the time that the last bag of my favorite tea was mistakenly drunk still chokes me up a bit),  so this is a big deal for me. The satisfaction of making something delicious from something you've preserved, generally in the summer when the weather was lovely and freshly grown food abundant, is (at least for me) one of life's greatest (if also simplest) pleasures. Last week, I busted these babies out.

They are morels (dried and then frozen - a preservation method we have found most excellent, by the way) that we picked two years ago and have slowly meted out to various dishes. I used them to make this sauce: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/03/in-the-kitchen-with-susanne-schanz-kropps-bread-dumplings.html and it was DELICIOUS. I wasn't entirely happy with my dumplings, but I would happily eat this ridiculously decadent sauce on just about any savory food item. While we always eat well, it's such a special treat to eat something we've been saving for the right moment.

I'm down in a hole

A most momentous occasion has (finally) occurred. Our foundation is dug and they are scheduled to pour it on Monday. Construction has officially begun.

I had written a rather lengthy description of our trials and travails with getting this done (yes, even digging a hole comes with unexpected setbacks, at least when we do it), but decided it wasn't terribly interesting. It's been just about a year now, since we first came to see the property and began the initial planning stages.  At the end of the day, we're just really excited to finally be entering the construction phase and to have an end in sight. 

Well, probably in retribution for my righteous blogging on the welfare of chickens yesterday, the neighbor's dog came over and killed 3 of our hens this afternoon. I'd still say that their short lives were of higher quality than those of the battery hens.

Had a little hen, she had a wooden leg; best old hen that ever laid an egg...

I read in the Capitol Press agriculture news last week that people are collecting signatures in Washington for an initiative to ban the use of battery cages for laying hens. For those who are not familiar, the battery cage is the means by which the majority of eggs are produced in this country (6 million laying hens in Washington state). Each cage is about the size of a filing drawer and contains 8 birds. That's right; each bird gets an 8" x 8" space, in which it lives it's whole life. The floor is slanted so that eggs roll onto one conveyor, and droppings fall onto another conveyor. In the Capitol Press article, two arguments were presented for the maintenance of the current system: 

1. "How do they know what the hens think?" asked Duane Olsen, a veterinarian for egg producer Briarwood Farms of Rochester, Wash. "I do not believe those chickens are unhappy or they would not be laying at the rate they do."

2. Eggs will become more expensive.

I find it hard to believe that Duane Olsen received a DVM, given that he is unable to distinguish between a physiological process like egg-laying, and psychological process like 'happiness'. The truth is, I don't think my hens enjoy laying eggs. My evidence for this is that their "I've just laid an egg" vocalization is remarkably similar to their "I'm pissed off and I want others to know it" vocalization. 

For those who may not be in touch with what makes chickens happy, I'll break it down. 

Chickens have several instinctual behaviors that they will engage in if it is possible:

1. They will find a high place to roost at night

2. They will lay eggs in a concealed location. 

3. They will dust bathe and sun bath

4. They will scratch and peck

5. They seem to have some social needs, but I haven't figured out exactly what they are yet. 

Of these behaviors, the need to scratch and peck is probably the most powerful. If you keep birds that are used to ranging and hunting, they will get frustrated if you keep them inside and may peck at each other. This also happens if you keep birds that have never been outside in tight quarters without anything to sate their instinctual need to hunt and peck. This is why most birds that are kept in high density operations (caged and cage-free) have their beaks cut off when they are young. Cannibalism is not a 'normal' chicken behavior. 

Since we can't know how a chicken feels, their is a lot of room here for philosophical argument and, shall we say, 'moral flexibility'.

 - Can a hen that has never known anything else, be unhappy in a cage? I'd answer yes, because their instinctual needs are not being met.

- My backyard flock is exposed to temperature extremes, predators, potential diseases, while the battery hens are kept in a climate controlled environment, with constant access to fresh food and water. Doesn't their physiological well being make up for their psychological deficit? Again, no. While I'm not advocating physiological neglect for any domesticated animal, I think most people can look to their own lives, or observe the animals close to them (dogs, for example) to see that in many cases physiological stress is easier to endure than psychological stress.

- Are cage-free egg production systems any better than caged ones? This is a tough one. Cage free birds have more room to move, but are still kept at very high density and have to be debeaked. Birds in cage-free systems may be more prone to disease, because they mix with each other more. There is also something to be said for the fact that chickens don't really like being forced to be around a lot of other birds they don't know, and this is one point for which there is an advantage to cages.  

- Chickens do not have feelings/are not conscious. We were given dominion by god over the birds of the air. I like cheap eggs. There is no good counter arguments for these. I think you'd have to be willfully ignorant to believe that animals do not feel pain. I don't believe in a mandate for cruelty from the almighty.  

I have to think that anyone who believes that keeping 8 birds in a 2'x2' space is acceptable, just hasn't thought about what that means for the 6 million birds kept this way. The proposed law would decrease the density at which birds can be legally kept. I'm in support of anything that does that. Environmental enrichment would also be a huge help. We're not talking much here... perches, eggs laying boxes, stuff to peck at, dust baths.  

My bottom line is this: any system that requires debeaking is not a humane system; not because of the debeaking itself, but because chickens that resort to cannibalism are obviously not psychologically healthy. 

As to the problem of eggs getting more expensive if battery cages are banned; I make no argument against this, but I'd make a couple of notes:

1. Backyard hens are recession-proof

2. There are cheap sources of vegetable protein available for those who can't afford eggs and don't have a backyard.  

All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground. . .

This weekend was our official first planting! There are now shallots, camelina (a seed crushed for oil), quinoa, black salsify, barley, rye, wheat, oats, barley, garbanzos, lentils, buckwheat, russet, yukon gold, and red potatoes, cabbages, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, collard, kohlrabi, mizuna, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, radishes, turnips, spinach, lettuce, peas, carrots,  and fennel planted in the garden, with additional companions to follow in a month. I wussed out partway through, as it was raining, but Tres stuck with it and got through his entire list for March planting.

the weather did yield a lovely rainbow on Saturday

This song kept popping into my head as we've been planning and preparing for the garden and this video (which I hadn't seen previously) seemed a necessary addition.

When I hear that robin sing, well I know it's coming on spring

We've been having our first spring-like weather around here this weekend and the animals seem to responding right on cue. First, this from our chickens:

It's hard to get a full sense of scale, but it's super tiny, maybe half the size of a large egg you would buy at the grocery store. Suffice to say, we're super excited and hope this means we'll be starting to get a regular supply soon. Next, the neighbors' first pregnant goat (of 3) had twins on Saturday and we got to see them when they were about an hour old. Unfortunately, I did not think to bring my camera, but you have my word, they were the tiniest, cutest goats I have ever seen.


Tres and I planted the first plants in the garden on Saturday - garlic we had started up by the pump house. He also put up an electric "fence," to keep out the jackrabbits and next weekend we will get serious and plant our first seeds. We should also get our building permit this week, which means we can start pouring the foundation in the next week or two.

I won't lie, a small part of me wanted to title this post after a certain

"Ren and Stimpy" song, for those of you who came of age at that time

Hooray for new beginnings!