Brooder Box Success

Our boxer is fascinated by the chicks.

David's video of our first quail chick.

The brooder box Robert built. We put a 60 watt bulb in the heat lamp, which has been working perfectly, and we're up to 18 chicks so far . . .

Still Hatching!

First Quail Chick!

Rat Snakes Rule

Being a psuedo-city girl before our ranching adventures began, I knew some about snakes but nothing like I do now after having met with about 50 or so of them personally in the last 5 years, including a super long one under our truck yesterday - and the reason for this blog. We let it live. I always appreciated a snake's role, but now am a HUGE FAN of one particular species: rat snakes. 

In the country, rat snakes become your best friend. If you have them, you avoid the infestations of mice and rats. They also occasionally eat other snakes, poisonous snakes. In short, you want these to live in or near your barns and houses, unless of course you have livestock such as chicks, which they also love to eat. 

When we lived at the other property near Houston I remember not having mice for a while. After waking up one morning to a rat snake in my kitchen, I realized what to thank! I politely threw a towel over it, grabbed the snake and tossed it in the yard near our house in the hopes it would continue being our personal mouse police.

The following year, we accidentally killed a rat snake in that same spot, mistaking it for a possible water moccasin, and guess what we got after that? Yep. Mice.

Think twice before you kill a snake, and learn to identify the rat snakes. It's pretty easy. They have wedge-shaped heads, round eyes, and can be black, red, or have patterns of browns. They are longer than most snakes - up to 72 inches, so they look scary but will often avoid confrontation by staying still. If confronted, however, they WILL rise up and will move very quickly, hence their bad reputation - but they are actually very docile and just scared of YOU. To learn more, see this site.

Edible Wild Plant Course

Our son, David, and I recently took the course Edible Wild Plants by Dr. Mark "Merriwether" Vorderbruggen who hosts the website www.foragingtexas.com. I am excited to say that, with the exception of areas where sprays or fertilizers might have been used, we are SURROUNDED by food out here! 

We have Turk's Cap (which is DELICIOUS - flower and leaves), yaupon trees (caffeine in the leaves, ohhh yeah), and wild plumb trees to name a few. Of course we also have some pretty poisonous plants and David accidentally ate a portion of a leaf of a tree that is basically cyanide, so BE CAREFUL if you forage. It was my fault, but he lived, so it's okay.

Quail Eggs

Well, it's official - I have fallen in love with our quail. Robert understands.

Because of this, you see below my latest joy - 104 quail eggs incubating peacefully at a perfect 99.5 degrees with Mama Christie turning them twice a day. They were collected on July 9th and quail take about 23 days to hatch, so their DUE DATE will range from July 28th to about August 2nd! 

The glowing image below is one of the lil darlins in my hand with a flashlight beneath him/her. I was "candling" the eggs to see which ones are fertile and get to stay. This one is obviously fertile as you can see the vessels. It was moving too! We just bought some medicated chick feed, a small waterer, and a small feeding trough tonight. Mama is ready...

 

Ranchin Recipe Fried Green Tomatoes

5-10 green tomatoes

1/2-1 c. oil

2 c. corn meal

2 c. flour

1Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper

1-2 tsps. salt

3-6 chicken eggs (we used 2 dozen quail eggs)

shot of milk

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Slice tomatoes to desired thickness - we like ours at about 1/4 inch thick. Mix milk and eggs in a large bowl or pie pan. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Have a fork designated to each bowl, and place bowls side-by-side. 

Do the following with each tomato slice, one at a time: dip it in the egg mixture, drop it in the flour mixture, shoveling the dry mix on top with the other fork. Switch forks again and gently submerge the lightly battered tomato slice into the egg mixture for a second dip. Quickly lift and transfer it back into the dry mix, (switch forks) shoveling flour on top and flipping it to press more of the mix on that side too to complete the double dip. Gently place it into the heated oil with the flour fork or with floured fingers. Continue adding slices while checking the undersides of those frying. Flip them when they are that delicious, crispy brown color. When a slice is done, place it on paper towels to drain. I use a cookie sheet covered with plenty of paper towels. 

Be sure to try the first one to see if your mix needs more salt or pepper and to treat the cook! Enjoy!