Abby

We have a new smiling face in our goat lot. Her name is Abby and she is Angel's mother. A neighbor called us Sunday evening and asked if we wanted her because the people who owned her had sold all of their goats and had taken down all of their fences. She was wandering the neighborhood with nothing to protect. One of their neighbors was threatening to shoot her and the neighbor who was making the threat thought that she was just too good a dog to be shot.

So, I got the call and went directly to my DH, something strange happened, I am still in shock. He said that I could have her. It may have been because I was told that she was probably bred to Angel's father and he thought that we could sell the pups but when we went to pick her up, it was obvious that she isn't pregnant.

The goats and chickens took to her right away, but Angel was not happy. They didn't remember each other and there was no happy reunion. At first Abby was afraid of Angel and didn't want a conflict but then she started snarling and growling every time Angel got close to her. Finally they fought tooth and toenail, Angel is bigger but Abby has more experience, so she prevailed. When dinner was served, we found out who has probably been missing some meals and won't be missing anymore. Abby will not share food under any circumstances.

Abby is the dog closest to the camera in these pictures. She is very friendly, even with strangers which is a quality that Angel does not possess, she does not like strangers in any form or fashion. However, we were told that Abby will not tolerate anyone messing with her goats.

In researching Great Pyrenees as Livestock Guardian Dogs and getting expert advice, I learned that it is best to have two. Since I was lucky to get one, I never asked for a second one. But I can already see why two is best, since Abby has arrived, Angel is already less keyed up, her stress levels are way down. She felt that the goats were totally her responsibility and she wouldn't let them out of her sight. She has started leaving the goat lot now to do some patrolling and checking on Cooter, the billy goat, who lives up the hill. She is also coming to the barn/house for some cuddling. I think that she will be more of a guard dog for the whole farm now.

Deviled Eggs

Leaving nothing to chance, this was my final experiment. I brought the water to a full boil in a small pan with 1/2 tsp. of salt and a splash of vinegar added. Then I placed all of the room temperature, old and new, extra large eggs in the boiling water with tongs. I boiled them for 5 minutes then removed them from the heat and covered them with a lid. I let them set for 20 minutes before removing them from the water with tongs and placing them in ice water for 10 minutes. Next I placed them in the freezer for 10 minutes, then peeled them under cold tap water.

The results were these; some of the eggs were overdone, some of them peeled perfectly, some of them wouldn't peel at all and the older eggs were no different from the fresh eggs. I give up!

Experiment #2

I tried bringing the eggs to a boil in salt and vinegar water, then removing from heat, covering with a lid and letting set 20 minutes, then rinsing in cold water and placing in the freezer for 5 minutes method this morning. The first egg that I tried to peel was impossible. So I left the other egg in the freezer for 20 minutes and it wouldn't peel either.

But all was not lost, I tried peeling them under cold running tap water with a strainer underneath to keep the shells from going down the drain and that really helped.

I am going now to try something different.

Boiled Eggs

I haven't had the time to blog for a couple of days, my dear neighbor bought a new computer and I had to spent several hours at their house yesterday setting it up and installing things. Today I made pear jam, I canned 10 pints. The pears were wonderful this year, very abundant, healthy, worm free and sweet.

I finally got around to trying my fresh boiled egg experiment tonight. I read over my notes and tried a mixture of several methods. The eggs were very fresh, I boiled a pan of water with a splash of vinegar and a pinch of salt added. Then I added two large eggs to the already boiling water with a pair of tongs. I boiled them for 12 minutes, then removed them to a bath of ice cold water with the tongs. After several minutes I removed them from the cold water and attempted to peel them.

The first egg was picture perfect, except for the fact that it needed another couple of minutes in the boiling water. It peeled very easily and looked nice, no discoloration and the shell had not cracked. I was thrilled that it had worked until I tried to peel the second egg. The shell did not want to let go this time. This was a great disappointment for me.

I am too tired to try it again tonight, so tomorrow I will try bringing the eggs to a boil and then removing them from the heat, covering them with a lid and let them set for 20 minutes. Then putting them in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Spinning Wheel

I brought my spinning wheel home from my Mother's last night. It belonged to my great-grandmother, I believe. We bought it from my Uncle many years ago and took it to a wood craftsman who refinished it and repaired some of it.

It did have one spindle on it that had been replaced by my Grandfather, he had whittled a replacement for it with just a knife. That is what makes it extra special for me, because I stayed with my Grandparents a lot as a child and I remember my Grandpa whittling. I told the man who repaired it not to touch that spindle.

I loved my Grandfather very much and I loved spending time with him, he was an incredible man. He taught me so much about everything. My Mother worked, so my Grandparents who lived right across the road, babysitted me. I helped with their garden, helped do laundry with the wringer washer, my Grandmother taught me clothesline etiquette. Knowing the proper way to hang one's laundry on a clothesline was very important back then. Knowing how to witch a well was also important and my Grandfather taught me how to do it.

I played with this spinning wheel when I was young, all of the time and I am just thrilled to be able to own it and spin with it. My oldest Granddaughter's favorite Princess is Sleeping Beauty, and since the spinning wheel is such a part of the Sleeping Beauty story, I plan on passing this one down to her someday. I also hope to be able to teach all of my Grandchildren how to spin.