More signs of spring up north.  Yesterday I woke up to a musical sound.  Wolves?  Nooooo…  It sounds like geese.  It IS geese!  I threw open the window and the air was filled with the musical honking of Northbound Canadian geese flying low over the house, heading for the beaver pond.  Of course it is still frozen, but they landed, nevertheless.  I’m sure they’ll go on to one of the bigger rivers that is open now, but they’ll be back.  We have at least three pairs nesting on our creek and ponds.  What a wonderful sound!

And when I was walking out in the front yard to inspect the flower beds that have just cleared of snow, I spotted little red pointy noses poking up through the soil.  Tulips!!!  Unbelievable.  Three days ago, there was a foot of snow on that bed.  Spring happens pretty quick up here sometimes.
 
You really notice it on our mile long driveway.  The winter ice pack is melting and breaking up in huge chunks.  Dirt.  Puddle.  Eeek HOLE!  I think they call it "breakup" because you break up your vehicle on the rough roads.  But it makes you go so slow you notice the swelling buds on the popple and birch trees, the catkins on the alder.  Gee I’m already wondering when I’ll hear the first frog.  Now THAT’S a little premature….
 
The triplets are doing fine and are starting to bounce around.  I’ve got to disbud them tomorrow.  I don’t like doing it, but I’ve seen too many injured goats and people from leaving on the horns.  The smallest doeling has blue eyes!  I have never seen a goat with blue eyes before, and wonder if she’ll keep them.  (Now she would be the one to name "Blue Velvet"!)

Readers’ questions:

Moving canned goods to higher altitude

I have canned some strawberry jam where I live during the week, at sea level. I want to bring my jars of jam to my weekend cabin in the mountains at 7,000 ft. Is this ok or will the change in altitude
cause the jars to crack or break?

Sara Lauridsen
Big Bear City, California

I don’t think you’ll have any trouble.  When we moved from Minnesota to Montana, we moved from 900 feet to 7,200 feet and I took all my canned goods in a stock trailer.  I had no problem with jars, whatsoever.  The whole bunch, both jams and jellies to meats, sauces, tomatoes and vegetables made it just fine.  I wouldn’t worry. — Jackie

Ladyhawk, Moose, and Beauty

LadyHawk is gorgeous. And you’re looking pretty sharp yourself Jackie! What’s your beauty secret? I’m guessing – Lot’s of fresh air, hard work, healthy diet, and luuuuv.

Joanna Wilcox
Boone, North Carolina

Gee, you’re making me blush!  Maybe it IS love.  Heck, I’m happy to be alive.
 
Ladyhawk, Moose and Beauty will be used, as well as enjoyed.  We’ll eventually be hauling wood from our woods with them and driving them on various farm implements and vehicles.  If the price of gas keeps going through the roof, we may be driving them to town, too!!!
 
Also, they are terrific manure makers.  We need lots of manure for not only the garden, but also the flower beds, pastures and orchard!  One can never have too much manure!!!
 
And, yes, our animals are all pets, too.  We work harder than they do, so no one could ever accuse us of animal abuse!  Ladyhawk is fitting in very well, and she’s a very personable little girl.  She loves hugs, petting and attention. — Jackie

Glasstop stove canning problem

Jackie, thanks for the milk re-processing times. I’d love to have your recipes on ice-cream; yogurt and cheeses. I’m game to try anything to save a buck. A lot a people scratch their heads at why I do it, but, living in hurricane country, my family doesn’t want to become a future "Katrina" statistic. We’d rather fend for ourselves. So, all recipes and tips are always welcome.

Andrea Del Gardo
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

That is a possibility.  But one reason that canning on a glasstop isn’t recommended is that some canners have cracked the glass top on the stove, doing irreparable damage to it. — Jackie

Gasketless canner

Where can a steel on steel presure canner with no gasket be purpused? Have checked around and no one here has heard of one.

 Arthur Price
Jacksonville, Illinois

Actually, it’s "aluminum on aluminum", but you can buy several sizes at Lehman’s Hardware on line or through their catalog.  I’ve used one for over 30 years and have only had to buy a gauge when water got in mine when we moved and I left it sitting outside where it froze.  Not bad, considering the thousands and thousands of jars that I’ve processed through it! — Jackie

Chicks have curled toes

This is my first year as a chicken owner and 2 out of 15 Rhode Island Red chicks have curled toes. They are about 4 wks old. Have you had this problem in any of your chicks? Were you able to fix it or do you put them down? What breeds of chickens do you keep?

Stacie Lancaster
Manhattan, Kansas

Curled toes in chicks is generally thought to be a genetic problem.  Sometimes they grow out of it; sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes if they don’t it doesn’t seem to bother them; they adjust.  Other times it does and they are lame and don’t do well.  You can try taping the toes straight, if they will manually straighten out without undue stress.  Wrap adhesive tape relatively loosely around each toe to make a soft spling.  This often does the trick.
 
Right now my chickens are mostly Araucanas and banties with a Araucana/Cornish rock rooster.  I love the colored eggs and the way the chickens rustle for their own food like wild fowl.  We do raise Cornish rock broilers for butchering; you can’t beat them.  They’re huge! — Jackie