4 MILLION CHICKENS?

Turkey chicks just say NO!

Yes, its true.  The local paper says that Hillandale Farms is going to open a new egg-normous  chicken facility with 4 million laying hens!

That's a lot of omelets!  Too bad they are going to be the tasteless stuff that we see in all the grocery stores.  Of course us bears are a little "Chicken Proud" of our girls, and the way they are cared for.  And, our blue turkeys have every right to say "not in my back yard!"

When you think of big industry, you can tell we really live in the country when our front page is about corn, soy beans, & chickens!  Besides, we love our heirloom chickens, and the yummy brown eggs they give us to bake with.  Straw Beary

Always something baking here on the farm

Chicken Alfalfa/birdseed/raisin bread

Supper moist Cherry Confetti Cake

This one is a little over the top.  I made a souped up version of my chicken alfalfa bread, just to see how they'd like it.  My normal recipe is 1/2 wheat flour 1/2 alfalfa tops.  This time, I went 1/3 w.f. & 2/3 alfalfa. Plus, I added a cup of wild bird seed, and a small box of raisins.  Its not as pretty as my regular "chicken bread", but they sure did inhale it!

And, since I had the oven going, no reason not to make a cake for us bears to eat,.  Now you can almost always find something baking here on the farm, pumpkin bread, muffins. cookies, pies....But this one really "took the cake"! A full jar of cherries diced up and mixed in with the juice.  Moist, couldn't wait for it to cool before grabbing the knife! Our cakes have trouble hanging around long enough to get frosting.  And the breads never need butter.

One tip that I want to share with you, is to line your pans with wax paper.  Clean up is a breeze, and I'd rarely bake without it any more.Straw Beary

NEWS FLASH

Please check out No Kids Hungry on Twitter @nokidshungry they are trying to break the 60,000 follow mark, and they can be a great sounding board for helping to end hunger.  Please add your voice!  And, we are in need of seed to give to food pantries, and to gardeners that will grow for them & their local meal programs.   Carrot, peas, green beans, lettuce, & radishs etc.  Last years seed is probably great, if you didn't throw it away!  We have plenty of pumpkin and squash seed, from our own seed production, so any one that needs some , please email me @ Blubearyfarms@Gmail.com Your Pal  BLU BEAR

Blu Bears Garden Web Traffic

Choo Choo Monitors Web Traffic

January to Date Visits

It might not seem like much, but us bears love to check out who is reading Blu Bears Garden ! Amazingly, Russia comes in second at 202 visits!  Thank you Russia! Germany @ 51 is pretty cool as well.  But, when we noticed that South Korea, Argentina, Malaysia, & Brazil also joined in, it became clear that we've circled the globe for the first time this month.  Keep comming U.K.!

My job as Traffic Manager here on the farm, is more than shipping, I also get to keep track of seed inventory and visits to this web site.  I couldn't wait till the end of the month to show everyone the current totals....especially my pals at the Wauseon Public Library.  Please keep spreading the word about us.  Luv U All.....Choo Choo

Alright already....

Everyone has been asking for more pictures of the hen house.  This is a day time photo.  At night it is lit up with silver & white, the porch is in blue light.  Yes, they have heated water, and no they don't share with the banties or the turkeys.  This is just one of the places they can go to lay eggs, or lately, to keep warm during the Arctic blast.  The pens behind the house are all covered with bird netting, and extra protection to keep out a hungry wolf or coyote looking for a free "chicken dinner" The girls can fly, perch, or just tease Molly (the dog).  Molly is probably the best protection they have, because her pen is near by, and she's not about to let anyone mess with "her chickens" Straw Beary

What is this strange building???



Give up?

I'll give you a few hints.  1.  Its been here for around a 100 years.   2.  It was originally powered by: a. horses es, b. steam tractor,  c. any means but electricity.  3.  The top part is the same as when it was built, but no longer is in use.

Guess what it is?  Well, if you ever seen the big water towers that usually have your towns name on them, then think of this as a mini version of it.  The top section holds a tank that was pumped full of water.  Then, when you needed water in the house, it came from here....no electric pump needed.  Gravity created the water pressure!

Now it houses the water pressure tank, filtering and softening equipment.  And, we also use the below ground area of it to store our most important potted plants....Straw Bearys' Roses & Carnations!  We leaned a lot about this area when we lost water into the house.  Nope., the pipes didn't freeze...the 100 year old well did!  The well itself is about 20 yards away from the well house.  The pipe that runs from the well to it froze up!  With 18 animals to care for, us bears were really worried.  As cold as it has been (-0) warm water is vital to their health.  But, the same place that keeps the flowers safe, held enough clean water to keep the hens, blue turkeys, banties, molly, & the cats happy.  Us bears had to suffer with bottled water for our coffee!  Of course, some of the bears like tea with honey! (really I think they just like the honey)

Blu Bear

New precision scale 4 our farm

Yep....fresh pie pumpkins in winter!

Digital read out!

 

One.Eight Pounds?  Hey, bears really don't like to spend much time measuring things, but when you bake as much as we do, it's much easier to use weight, vs. measuring cups.  Also, when it comes time to properly portion each batch, or value our veggies, a good scale is really important.  And you probably thought we just hibernated all winter!  Your Pal    Blu Bear

FRESH BAKED BREAD 4 CHICKENS?!!

Hot from the oven....

ALFALFA BREAD


 

This  2 pound loaf of bread was baked fresh for my chickens!  But, even though it smells good, I don't think you'd like to eat it, unless you happen to be a cow, horse, or turkey!  It is 1/2 wheat flour, and 1/2 alfalfa "tops" (the seed loaded, non-stemy part).   The recipe is a basic no-kneed yeast bread.  Instead of the seeds getting lost in the snow, or straw, they get to gobble em down.  Whats even better, is that you can get some seed-oil into their diet, add raisins, crushed nuts, pumpkin... 

We collect about 200 lbs of "tops" and tightly pack them for part of our birds winter feed.  Need some?  Just e-mail me Attn: Blu Bear   Blubearyfarms@Gmail.com/

"Seasons of Dreams"

A harvest of smiles

A hot dry July

A warm spring day

SEED CATALOGS HIT MY MAIL BOX!

1-877-564-6697 Johnnys Seeds

Seed Catalogs keep comming in almost every day.  We also get many gardening & chicken catalogs.  With a garden as large as mine, you can guess why!  But, for a really detailed catalog that tells you more about growing your favorite seed, I suggest Johnny's (1-877-564-6697) 

WOW....That musta hurt!

No, this is not a turkey egg!

 

Somewhere in Time

A hundred year old barn window here on the farm

This last year, we took a bunch of pictures in black & white to show a different view of life here on the farm.  That 's because so much here hasn't changed for a long, long, time.  Unless, you want to count the number of Bears that live here!  Your Pal  BLU BEAR

Be a BACK YARD FARMER !

O.K., so we could have trimmed these back!

Yes, we let these plants grow up a little too much.  But, as any bear will tell you, we just couldn't resist seeing how big 3 tomato plants could get!

We finally trimmed them when they reached 7 feet tall.  But, these are called indeterminate tomato plants.  That means that left untended, they will sprawl (attack of the killer tomato) and never stop growing till it frosts.

Beef steak tomato's, and most cherry tomato plants fall into this group.  They require staking, or supports like the deck rails you see here.  Trimmed back, they will produce just as much food, and look allot prettier.

The reason we like growing Tiny Tim Tomatoes for gifts, is that they are the easiest to start indoors in the winter time.  They don't get "leggy" (caused by too little light) and die, like indeterminate plants can.  Instead, they grow thick healthy stems right on you window sill.  They are called a determinate plant.  That means that when they reach a certain point, they stop growing.  And, the fruit ripens more at the same time. Everyone should try this mini tomato plant.  I promise on my honor as a Back Yard Farmer Bear, you'll be glad you did!  Blu Bear

LETS GET STARTED!

Starting seeds is childs play !!!!

Now, just for a moment....pretend its almost spring.  Birds chirping, trees budding, and seedlings popping up from that hard "work" that you planned last winter.  But, before that can happen, you've got to get some seeds to plant!

I usually start with my favorite cherry tomato plant "Tiny Tim".  If you're a regular reader, you know that they are the worlds smallest tomato plant that yields full size sweet, juicy, cherry tomato's.  And, they can grow on any sunny window sill.  They make great gifts by Easter time, and I always make a point of sharing them.  I usually use a plastic ice cream container (Blu Bunny) that I drill holes in about an inch from the bottom, fill with potting soil & a seedling.

You can do the same with a plastic cup!  Or, you can get fancy & build your own "self watering" pot.
like the ones I showed you last year.  The most important thing is to start thinking about what you'd like to grow this year.  Some stuff you have to start inside before its warm enough to plant in the garden.  That's why its really important to have a plan!  You can get lots of seed catalogs for free.  And now is the best time to get busy.  Take any extra seed to the local food bank, or give to friends that might grow some food to share.  Also, don't forget, anyone that wishes to grow a garden for your local food bank can e-mail me, and us bears will be glad to give you as much seed as we can spare.

Your pal  Blu Bear

LETS GET GROWING!

Amazing...snow on the ground....Ho ho lights still hanging on the hen house and I want everyone to think about what they are going to grow this year.

I've been Tweeting all the big food people about how a little seed can make a difference in someones life.  Just think of the smile your mother, friend, teacher, or neighbor would get from a beautiful plant you grew just for them!

Or, if you can, how about growing something for your local food bank?  Fresh produce is really lacking in most peoples diets.  And, when you grow it yourself .....ahhh....now thats something to be proud about.  Your pal Blu Bear

The best part about winter....

Well, its been really cold this last week on the farm.  Only the chickens (laying hens) have heated water, so every morning we have to take out warm water for Molly (the dog) the "banties" (Our boy and girl mini chickens) and of course the Blue Turkeys! 

Caring for 18 animals can keep you busy...especially when they have different pens and houses.  We try to keep the birds diet a healthy variety.  Having stored alfalfa, corn, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers for them, they can count on something besides what comes from the grain elevator (feed store).

We are really looking forward to the warm- up the weather man is calling for.  That gives us a chance to clean the pens and put in fresh straw bedding.  But the best part about the cold nights is that Straw Beary & I get to cuddle in a warm blanket!    Blu Bear

2012 FAVORITE PHOTO DRAWING !

Produced for local food bank grown by us "bears" !

Last springs gas price....for a day!

our hens as baby chicks

Gift "Tiny Tim" plant gets published!

Wow, with so many photos and so many memories it really is hard to pick my favorites.  How 'bout a little help???  Just go through some of the older posts and pick some out....maybe its the snowmobile converted into a motorcycle, or a Transformer in the Wal-Mart parking lot...  With almost 300 pics, posted, you can have some fun with it!  Use the comment section, or E-mail me @ Blubearyfarms@Gmail.com     Then, at the end of January, I'll have Straw Beary draw a name from the readers who respond. THE LUCKY WINNER will recieve a premium seed selection from our breeding program including our very own "STRAWBEARY" pumpkin!  I'll be watching for your comments.   And, thats all you have to do to enter the drawing....Just pick you favorite photo from "Older Posts"   Can't waite to hear from you.  Your Pal  Blu Bear

The start of something wonderful !

Just one little seed can make a world of difference in someones life
 

CLICK ON THIS PHOTO TO SEE OUR COMPLETE PHOTO ALBUM!

Blu Bears' Garden: The Holidays Remembered

Blu Bears' Garden: The Holidays Remembered:    The last week of holidays   When everyone else was out at parties and other gatherings, us bears wanted to take one last look ...

The Holidays Remembered



The last week of holidays

When everyone else was out at parties and other gatherings, us bears wanted to take one last look at the ho ho lights...especially now that there is snow on the ground.  I snapped this photo at a local park on New Years Eve....Boy was it cold out side...and worst yet, the snow plows weren't out to clear the roads!  Now the only thing to brighten the days will be the many seed catalogs that come to us.  We open each one almost like a Christmas present....hoping to find something new and exciting to try in the garden this coming spring.   We hope you had a great Christmas, and that this new year is one of your best ever!  Blu Bear & Straw Beary

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!

Straw Beary