Nobody Here But Us Chickens

When I was a kid, my mom used to buy fresh eggs from a woman in Essex Fells who kept chickens.

Like, Ms. Grund says, as long as you keep it in check and keep it clean, it's cool. In this recession, it may be the way to go for many folks.

Didn't know about the rats, though, I have to admit.

Well, I have to admit, not sure I would be thrilled with the lure the chickens bring to rats and racoons. Seems like I have enough problem with the coons without live animals to entice them.

But hey, if its cool with her nieghbors on Dodd street who am I to say.

One must go by their store, they have eco friendly and fair trade items from around the world..helping many get a 'fair wage' for what they do...a great addition to the neighborhood....

and

why did the chicken cross the street?

I've visited her yard during a few Open Gardens and am very impressed with how she blends beauty, utility and productivity seemingly so easily--with an extra helping of gracious hospitality for sharing her wisdom with everyone. I love and patronize her store.

What fond memories of fresh eggs in a wire basket in the kitchen....they had the date written in magic marker and we could eat them after they had sat for two days....(I think that this waiting period had something to do with safeness against salmonella)...they seemed smaller, heavier and had a nicer flavor....to cook them, we brought them to a boil in water and then just took the pan off the flames and left them covered to finish cooking for a few minutes so that the yokes wouldnt turn greenish....the Italian country fruit was different too...the smaller uglier spotted fruit was the sweetest and most delicious...

I love the chai at Terra and am thoroughly jealous of her ability to raise chickens in this town (I think my landlord may frown upon an attempt to do so in my apartment).

So right, simpte: "very impressed with how she blends beauty, utility and productivity seemingly so easily" - not just her garden, but a good description of Grace. She is certainly not a "Martha Stewart wannabe" - they are not even in the same category.

What's the big deal? I've been keeping sheep in my backyard for years! No need for a lawnmower, make me own sweaters and socks, fresh chops every spring.
And my good Scottish friend Hamish comes over to visit them.
A lot.

Brawk Brawk!

I had no idea that Montclair residents can harbor chickens. Yet another reason to sell my Bloomfield estate and purchase a chicken farm in Montclair!

Rats?
Are you serious?
How many and they wouldn't be there but for the chickens?

For the past year there has been a rooster on my block. It crows a LOT, all day long and night..sporadically though. I have at times wanted to call in about it. The thought that there could be a burgeoning rat population on my block...VERY scarey..

Hot red pepper powder sprinkled on bird feed is good for keeping squirels, rats and rodents away. It burns their little mouths and they stay away.....birds cant taste or be irritated by this hotness. It seems to work too to keep the deer from eating new plantings.

And I assume, croiagusanam, that you can tell exactly what Hamish has been up to by whether or no his "Wellies" are buckled when he comes back into your croft.

Agree with all the kind words about Grace--she is such a gem of a human being! She and Carla have done terrific work with Terra and are such an asset to the community.

And Grace is a heck of a good baker, too!

Frank -- get some very frsh organic eggs (maybe from Grace), bring them to room temperature and poach them very, very gently in red wine -- Vino Toscano will do nicely. Serve them on pane crudo with some prosciutto, cooked sausage, or fried pancetta on the side. Mangia, mangia...

Actually, there is more to the recipe:

Heat a shallow saute pan over medium heat and saute a finely minced shallot in a little butter and/or oil until it is soft and transparent. Add about an inch or so of red wine and bring it to a simmer -- not a full boil. Crack two eggs and carefully slide them into the simmering wine. Use a spoon to splash the hot wine on top of the eggs to help cook them. When they are barely poached through (or more firmly cooked, if you like them that way), remove them with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and serve over toasted or warmed Italian country-style bread. This is really a dish from Southwestern France -- oeufs en meurette -- but I have had a very similar dish in Italy and Switzerland. It is a nice breakfast, but if you want to have the rest of the wine you opened with it, call it brunch... :)

LS: "Do you get rats?"
GG: "Yes, of course. Rats have been on the earth longer than we have. When I have to, I use poison. That's one nonorganic thing I do. But we also have hawks come by and help."

Poison? Come on, Grace. Wise up. Here's my recipe for dealing with rats:

rats

We used to shoot at rats in our bunkers in Nam. They were the size of well-fed housecats, with the aggressiveness of pit bulls, too.

That guy referring to them as a "cultural taste treat" sounds quite misguided, however. No Vietnamese I ever knew ate rat. (Dog, yes, sometimes.)

Rat tart? Rat sorbet?

Grazie Conan.....Buonissimo!

Italian chefs never struck me as being whimsical with recipes like the French. Italian cooking always seems so straight forward. They like to boil eggs that way because..."non fa male al fegato"....it wont hurt your liver.....apparently the green coating that forms around the yoke when you boil an egg too much is unhealthy.

Italians place a simple, runny poached egg on boiled asparagus as a main course. In Naples there is an aristocratic egg dish, "Uova alla Monachina"...(Little Nun's Egg)...they take apart a boiled egg, paste it back together with béchamel sauce and then bread and fry the thing!... Molto delicato....but not too good for the liver....

...menaggia!....I ment to write "bechamel"!

Can't wait to hear the experts on National geographic's take on rats as food.

Thanks for the tip about the red pepper powder as a critter repellant, Frank. A family of squirrels have ravaged the bird feeder and sunflower seed bell I just put out a few days ago. Now I have a way to strike back!

Speaking of which, anybody attract goldfinches, purple finches, et. al. around here? My sister gave me a thistle seed feeder but I'm wondering how likely my intended guests are to accept my invitation.

Pork Roll,

While thistle feeders are great for attracting goldfinches, pine siskins and even redpolls in winter, during the spring and summer, there's no need to put out a feeder. During days like these, any type of feeder will most likely attract nothing but squirrels. If you want to attract goldfinches (which are our latest nesters--not until early August), as well as purple finches, try growing something like coneflower or sunflowers. Coneflower is amazingly easy to grow and you'll get goldfinches coming to the husks all the way until November. And save the thistle for next winter.

Pork Roll, for what it's worth--I'm still filling my thistle feeder, and I do get the occasional goldfinch still. And I saw what I think was a purple finch yesterday morning.

I also put out mixed bird seed and get a nice mix of mourning doves, cardinals, titmice, sparrows, juncos, and more--yes, squirrels too. But I find them pretty amusing, so I don't mind at all!

Enjoy your feeder.

Thanks for the advice. I've been here now for just about two years, and I've finally gotten around to thinking about plantings that will attract our feathered friends.

I get a kick out of watching the squirrels also (the chipmunks too), I just wish they weren't so gluttonous! Then again, they don't know where their next nut is coming from. I think many of us can sympathize with that these days!

It took about a month and a half for the birds to discover the birdfeeder, hanging from a high soffit under the roof. (I gain access to it from a window) I almost gave up and intended to move it. First came the squirrels. They were able to climb two stories, turn around and leap onto it and once satisfied, dive 25 feet to the ground and run back up a tree. They ate the pricey seed mix and loved the suet plugs in the fake branch that hangs under the feeder. Flocks and droves of wild birds began to come but rodents and other creatures that I cant even identify would nicely intercept any seeds fallen to the ground. Poison was not a solution because hawks would swoop down every now and again and eat a rodent or two. A nightmare! Now everything is serene (and without rodents!)because I serve safflower seeds that the squirrels apparently won't eat, hot pepper suet plugs and sprinkle some hot pepper powder around as a deterrent.

"other creatures that I cant even identify"

Walleroo, have you been skulking about Frank's bird feeder again?

Yes, Frank, thanks for the hot pepper tip...didn't know that.

We, too, had a problem with squirrels robbing the bird feeder. Didn't mind so much that they were eating the seeds but they would frighten the birds away. Sadly, we had to move the bird feeder off our deck (squirrels jumped from the deck fencing onto the feeder) and to a place in our yard where they couldn't reach it. We also greased the pole on which it was situated, which helped. Granted, if you have $80 to spare, you can buy a bird feeder that has a platform on it that will not support the squirrels' weight. But we didn't feel like spending the money.

The squirrels were coming to our bird feeder but then they started to get 'greased' in the street by speeding motorists. I'd toss the fresh meat into the park for the crows and they all loved me for it. I'm kind of a crow 'folk hero' now.

Is'nt it strange that the little "squirrel pancakes in the road issue" seems to happen in seasonal cycles? You don't just see one, but several, and then you don't see that happen for a while. Perhaps its in the squirrels' zodiac cycles.....Its also funny to see those big crows marching up and down the road from one pancake point to another! Ick!

Lucky me, as I was standing in my kitchen this afternoon sipping my tea, I looked out the window and there he was in all his yellow-and-black glory, a male goldfinch feasting at my thistle feeder!

This despite the feeder resting on my patio table, the squirrels having broken the plastic hanger the other day.

I think the "new hippies" that took over the old hippie joint Over The Rainbow are great! Such a nice place. The tea sandwiches are very good.
If they are serving these eggs at the shop, I'm there for breakfast!
I considered raising chickens but I don't think I can deal with the rats.