Harvard Beets with a Kick

Look what I saw on my way out to the garden

And these :)

And when I got to the garden, this is what I found :(

Damn mice have been snacking on my produce.  They tore through my patch like a kid in a candy store.   This photo was taken after I dug them up...the mice couldn't reach my shovel thank Waldo, or they probably would have eaten all my corn too.

The good new is, if I hadn't so few beets to preserve, I wouldn't have thought up this crazy idea of kicking Harvard in the pants with a little bit of Cayenne pepper!  

I found my old recipe for Harvard Beets and stepped it up by adding a few more spices

Approx. 3 lbs of beets cooked skinned and cubed

1 cup of white vinegar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp ginger powder

1 TBSP cayenne pepper (or to taste pending on your wimp level)

1 Tbsp butter

In a large saucepan, add vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, spices and butter  Boil until it starts to thicken.

 Throw in prepared beets and mix thoroughly.

 Makes about 10 cups. 

 I  put two cups into each freezer bag to pull out for a quick addition to any meal.

  This is a very strong tasting beet recipe.   If you would like to tone down the sourness, you could use half vinegar, half water.  I like the boldness of sweet to sour.

CHEERS!

Party With My Friends

KFC Chicken Spa-Hotel

The weekend brings us part two of the KFC coop!
If you are wondering why I would be crazy enough to build a Daycare or Hotel for chickens,
 you can read all about it  HERE!!
It was formerly known as miss Karen's Finishing Coop, but I don't think it's appropriate as I am not fattening them up for the nearest KFC restaurant.

 A new name will be introduced, but still staying with KFC of course!
Karen's Feathered Care 
Karen's Feathered Caravansary 
Karen's Feathered Conservatory
Karen's Foul Corner

Or maybe someone has a better idea????

 Just waiting for the girls to come so I can debut their visit.  That's right, you will be first to see the only chicken daycare/hotel/spa ever,
 here at the Feral Turtle

A roost was constructed

I got a wee bit fancy and put an angled roost in too.  It will hold two birds.
 I just cut each end at a 45 degree angle and nailed them in place.

  After scouring decorating magazines,
 I discovered  white is the "IN COLOR"  this year.
 Wanting to keep things high end, cuz that's how we "fly,"
  I mixed the rest of my cheap paint from the oops section at our local hardware store with some slaked lime and water.   Here is  the real whitewash recipe right from
Mother earth News
This paint definitely sticks to everything.  Kinda like an olden days version of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
  Hmmmm  maybe that's where the chalk paint idea was born.

I didn't feel the need to paint the outside as my guests won't see it from this view, and really, isn't it all about your guests?  Plus I ran out of paint :(

I heard, the girls are peeping and chirping about their upcoming trip to KFC.  

 Because this is their first holiday from home, I am hoping to treat them to something special.   I may pickle  beets this weekend and lavish

 the chickies with beet tops!

I also needed a quick door for the center of the nest boxes.  I scrounged an old piece of barn board, cut it in half lengthwise, and  cut the board to the precise measurements as you will see when it's hung (hehe)

Two 4"x4" pieces of 1/4 inch plywood were cut into triangles.  These are for the corners of the door.

A bit of wood glue was applied to the rails and stiles in the corners  and the pieces were held together with clamps and brad nails

Corners plywood pieces get a generous application of wood glue....

and placed at each corner and brad nailed.  I wouldn't recommend this method to build a kitchen cupboard door, but for a quick cover to a nest box, I figured it would suffice!

I added a bit of chicken wire to the back with staples.

And with the precise measurements of the opening, a door is born.
 Unfortunately the barn board was a little shy of what I needed, but because it's a chicken hotel, I just "winged" it.

A "stunning" knob is added to the door of the cupboard.........

and for a little continuity, and that designer look, the exterior door gets a stunner  too!

The moment we have all been waiting for,
 our guests arrive!

Check out their homemade feeder.
A bucket with a lid, a plastic plant pot used for the bottom, and some chain!
 Genius!!

Holes are cut along the bottom edge for feed to seep out as needed!

A fancy water server.  Nothing but the best here at KFC!

She's looking pretty satisfied!

And one more payment for staying at the KFC....

I must apologize for the explicit picture but this is like gold!

If you are in need of some quality chicken care, this coop's for you!  KFC is a step above the others, (are there any others?)
In  fact,  our guests are our first priority (and I don't mean in the deep fryer)

Oh Oh, I better go.  HGTV is at my coop door looking for a feature on

 "Lifestyles of the Rich and Feathered"

One more episode of Chicken Hotel/Daycare/Spa left.
  The name of the coop.
 The final reveal will happen as soon as I get my butt in gear and come up with a name!

Cheers!

Party with the best at

A Chicken Coop Built for Chicken Sitting the KFC way

I can assure you, no chickens were harmed or sat on in this post!
  This coop was built for chicken day care.  Some good friends of ours (chicken owners) tend to be worldly travellers. They also enjoy fresh eggs.
Hmmmmm....  I bet when they are away, they rob birds nests or perhaps farmers' chicken coops for eggs.
  Anyways, when they are off on one of their many adventures, they need someone to watch their flock.  As they only have a handful, I decided to build a "chicken daycare" for them.  This saves me the commitment of my own, but the joy of fresh eggs while they are off robbing other chicken nests.

  I built the pen around an old chicken exit as this was originally a barn that housed many a chicken in its day.    I had a few rolls of mesh that I got in the clearance bin of our local hardware store.  Armed with 2x4s, an air nailer and a staple gun, I went to work.  I had to cut and assemble while I went as this barn is old and crooked.

  I found myself just "winging" it  

 Here are some photos taken with my I-Phone.   Too bad I didn't have a before picture of all the junk I had to move.

Still missing some mesh on the upper left opening.  I ran out so I may have to scrounge some old chicken wire from somewhere.

My plan is to use an old cupboard for the nestboxes.  I will close off the top with chicken wire and use the bottom for nests.  The wall on the right side is OSB as there is no window on the other side of this new wall.  I kept the rest open using mesh, as I wanted the light from the only window to shine in.  See the old exit door on the bottom left of the pen?  Eventually I will build an outdoor run too..

I built the door using a 2x4  ripped into a 2x2.  Reinforced the corners with plywood triangles and covered it in mesh. 

After all this was done, I finally went in and grabbed a real camera!

I used a simple lock for the door.  I drilled a clearance hole through a sanded piece of plywood cut to fit the door and side of the coop and secured it the to frame of the coop using a lag bolt and washer.   This lets it spin over the door to keep it closed.

I scrounged an old piece of barn board....

cut the ends and brushed a quick coat of watered down white paint....

And came up with this using my Cricut!
KFC
I named it "miss Karen's Finishing Coop"
 I am thinking instead of it sounding like a snobby school for elite birds, it sounds like I am finishing them for the butcher house, so that will definitely have to be changed. 

One of my new grape vines for our zone 3 climate.

Time to make pickled beets again

I still have some finishing touches, like constructing a roost using safety glasses and maybe some paint on that back wall to brighten things up!  Oh and for sure a new name for my coop....of course staying with KFC.  I am not sure if everybody is familiar with Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).  They are a fried chicken restaurant chain here in Canada and the US.

 Thursday will be my guests first stay here at KFC.  I will share some pictures this weekend!

 Just to give all you egg producers out there a heads up, watch out for the worldly travellers cuz they are off on another adventure!

Cheers!

To see part two of  a luxury resort, 

where only the finest feathered holiday at,

CLICK HERE