Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

[tortoise]

Mostly pullets and 2 year olds here. The 2 year olds just came out of molting and are laying HUGE double-yolkers. The pullets are laying tons of small eggs. @NH Homesteader , our "coop" is a corner of the barn that has 2 windows and there's a lamp in there too. DH switched it to a heat lamp now - I don't know if red light makes a difference for laying hens.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I don't know either. We've never used heat lamps, I'm kind of nervous for my dorking roo's comb this winter. The Dominiques have rose combs so we haven't had to worry about that!

We put 5 hens in the freezer this year, they're all cooked and portioned out for the dogs. I quit on canning them. Slacker!

 

[tortoise]

I impulsively got 3 white leghorn chicks at the feed store this past spring. They have ridiculously huge combs that flop over. I'm worried about them. We haven't lost a bird to frostbite, but I've never seen such huge combs. I don't have high hopes for them. DH says wait and see. thankfully, they're my only white egg layers so their eggs are easy to identify and we won't incubate any of them.

We've had RIR roosters get frostbite. Their own stupidity for refusing to go under the heat lamp. Whatever, freeze then. Sorry I wasted the electricity on the roosters' heat lamp last winter!

I am selecting roosters for comb type starting this year! Our Dark Cornish is living another year. We're keeping cornish x rock hybrid rooster also. Not a hatchery bird, just from our own experiment. I'm so mad at DH! He butchered the best hybrid rooster we'd been talking about keeping back for breeding. The one he didn't butcher is the worst of them.

 

[tortoise]

I'm just going to leave this right here because I'm itching to tell someone and I don't have anyone I can tell!

I read a book about microbiome. The book is written about a GI doctor and the focus of the book is on the guts. There is a chapter about skin microbiome, which I found to be thought-provoking. I was curious, read some blogs of people experimenting with their microbiomes and decided to join the fun.

There is a particular type of bacteria that I'll simplify as an odor-eater. It's very susceptible to detergents. One wash with a sodium laurel sulfate can wipe out 2/3 of this type of bacteria, and then the smellier bacteria take its place. There is a body spray that contains this particular strain of bacteria, but it's too expensive for me to play with. My life is microbe-rich, so instead of populating myself with this bacteria, I thought the experiment of not wiping it out would be interesting.

I have not used shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, lotion, deodorant, or toothpaste for 18 days. (I'm using hand soap for hand washing though) DH hasn't noticed. He noticed I had cornstarch in the bathroom and asked about it. I said I used it for a waterless shampoo - which didn't raise his suspicions at all considering I've been unwell the last couple weeks and showering is strenuous for me. He did take a moment then to notice my premature white hair. (He thought it was cornstarch stuck in my hair until he looked more closely and was surprised how much white hair I have. )

I've used baking soda - more at the beginning for odor after going to the gym, and for tooth powder. Cornstarch for that silky glide I'm used to feeling from deoderant and for dry shampoo. Coconut oil for dryish skin. I'm still using hair spray for my frizzies.

I can feel my perspective changing. I don't know how long my experiment will continue. Winter seems like an easy enough time to do it. Would results differ in summer? Will DH ever notice?

 

[sumi]

tortoise, that is very interesting! A friend of mine started using an alternative to toothpaste some time ago (I can't remember what though ) and told me her dentist couldn't believe how healthy her teeth and gums are. So there you go. Soda is great for washing skin with, I heard that recently.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Please keep us updated on this! I've often thought we do our bodies such a disservice by slathering it with so many chemicals...but I'm too chicken to stop, lol. Maybe when I retire..

 

[tortoise]

We had Christmas #1 with my parents today. Very low-key, 1 gift each, except we let the kids open a couple. Little consumable things. Froot Loops for the kids (family tradition). Snacks for both of them - Oreos, crackers, and fruit snacks - stuff we normally wouldn't have. DS10 got music CDs of his favorite trumpet player and soundtrack of his favorite movies - Harry Potter. Also origami paper and cross-stitch supplies. DS2 got another book in his favorite series - Little Blue Truck - and a model pickup truck similar to the one in the stories, also a sticker book about his favorite movie.

I made my garden plan and ordered seeds. I finally figured out (after 15 years) to organize my seeds by planting date and put the planting dates into my calendar. I don't think I'll miss any this year! I spent double our usual garden expense by trying a lot of new things from Baker Creek and adding some seed starting supplies from a greenhouse supply.

I bought sprouting seeds too! I have failed at indoor winter gardening (mostly just trying it), but I like sprouts and have grown them in the past.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I made my garden plan and ordered seeds. I finally figured out (after 15 years) to organize my seeds by planting date and put the planting dates into my calendar. I don't think I'll miss any this year!

What a great idea! Mind if I copy it?

How you feeling? How's the 'experiment' coming along?

 

[NH Homesteader]

Little blue truck is adorable, he has good taste!

Sounds like a good plan on the seeds-that's kinda what I do, and I sort the seeds by planting date and keep them together so I can just grab what I need. I have garden OCD.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Dang ya'll are all organized and all I do is look outside and go....hmmmm....suns out, maybe I'll go plant something!