In the Garden

Backyard Poultry

"Chicken Tractor"

Can you guess what’s inside this unusual structure in the garden? Yes—of course—chickens! Inside portable runs (covered with sheets for shade) the chickens till up the soil without being able to gobble up the rest of the garden plants. They act like they’re at the amusement park! The only difficulty was getting the runs in there—you should have watched us maneuver them in between the garden rows, with chickens inside!

Scratch Away!

Here are the chickens inside their palace. They turn over, aerate, weed, and fertilize the soil for the gardener while searching for the insects and earthworms they love. On the downside, these early outings taught my flock to love the garden; now they always make a beeline for it when I let them free-range!

Striking Gold

Now we see, even when confined the chickens would rather eat plants than dirt! From underneath the run covering, Puzzle and the hens discovered those lovely bean leaves were within reach. By the end of the day, all the leaves within six inches of the wire were gone. Oh well, maybe it will get those eggs coming sooner!!

Puzzle Grows Up

Backyard Poultry

A Beautiful Rooster

Well, I had better get back to the chickens, since that rooster is growing faster than you can imagine! In this photo, at 10 weeks of age, the white barring is really coming out beautifully. Tail feathers are just starting to grow, and the small comb is still pink.

Protector of the Flock

We were in for a surprise on the morning Puzzle turned 13 weeks old: a squawky er-er-er-er-er! resounded from the henhouse! The rooster was a real crower (up to 6 or 8 times at once, all through the day!). Puzzle also took on the duty of watching over the flock and was always first at the wire to “protect” its hens from intruding fingers with a hard peck!

Watch That Beak!

Here, 15-week-old Puzzle looks proud to be the king of the flock. The bright red comb is almost full size now, and that beak is very sharp—I was cut more than once! Scratch was Puzzle’s favorite treat; I always like the repeated cluck-cluck-cluck the rooster made to call the hens over when we threw some in!

Autumn Pastorale 5

Artist's Gallery

Finishing Touches

What do you think of the white I added to the pond and sky? It transformed the scene into a windy day, with clouds blowing and water rippling. I think I went a little overboard with waves, but it is a neat effect. Also, by brightening up the closer trees even more, I lost a few nice shadows. But overall, this is a lovely picture of a beautiful fall day, especially as we watch the leaves fall this autumn, three years later!

Autumn Pastorale 4

Artist's Gallery

Trees Take Shape

Now the autumn colors are really blossoming. I worked golden yellow, bright red, and emerald green highlights into the forest, with sepia brown for the shadows. I sharpened up the buildings a lot too. Also notice the cows, fence, and birdhouses; they’re harder than they look! This is actually my favorite stage of the painting, with the brilliant colors and perfect mirror reflection. But I thought the scene needed a little more activity, so I went on and messed with it a bit more.

Autumn Pastorale 3

Artist's Gallery

Texturing the Hillside

Not much has changed here, but I wanted to show how I wrinkled up the grassy hill. I used all different shades of green, blue, and yellow to get the effect of sunny hills and shadowed recesses. This is the most dramatic stage of the painting for the grass, as the colors become more blended together later on. I especially like the shading on the area to the right of the black barn. The canvasses are going to be hung about an inch apart like this when they’re finished.

Autumn Pastorale 2

Artist's Gallery

Defining Scenery

Now it’s time to sketch in the farm spread, forest, and preliminary shadows on the hill. As I did the scenery, I painted it upside down, and a little lighter, in the pond at the same time (this is the easiest way to do reflections). The trees don’t look very natural at this point, as I was concentrating on placement and used very dark shades of color. In fact, I’ve been told that the farmhouse trees are all floating off the ground—which they actually are!

Autumn Pastorale 1

Artist's Gallery

Setting the Scene

I loved painting with acrylics, and, soon enough, plunged into a big project! These two 18” by 24” canvases will be painted side by side with (hopefully) a picturesque farm scene. So here’s the base coat. This layer not only establishes the hue range and shadow areas of the grass and pond, but also sort of seals the canvas so future paint goes on smoothly and brightly. I applied most of the paint with a fine sponge.

Tropical Dreams

Artist's Gallery

Tropical Dreams

Here is my first acrylic painting. It was actually a kit, so all I had to do was follow the directions like a paint-by-number. It was a great study of light and shadows, though, and taught me a lot about acrylics. Here is a poem I wrote about the picture later on:

The sun shines warm on glowing fruit,
Even the shadows echo the light
From pineapple fronds and curly scales
That vividly shimmer yellow-white.
While, hidden in shadow, the tropical hues
Of papaya and kiwi are vibrant with green;
The mango and kumquats, golden and orange,
Finish off this radiant scene.

Tuna Pizza 5

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Ready to Eat

Yum—this mini-pizza is so cute! The tuna and egg give it a nice, summery flavor compared to regular pizza. And those dried tomatoes add much less sugar than tomato sauce with even better flavor. I suggest trying this with your favorite type of canned fish, and vary the kind of cheese to match. It’s amazing what you can put on a pizza crust!

Tuna Pizza 4

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Adding the Cheese

Now sprinkle a generous layer of shredded cheddar cheese over the tuna. Yes, it’s okay to use plenty of cheese, since, unlike milk, most cheeses are low in sugar. Then you're ready to bake it at 400° for another 10-15 minutes. You just want to heat it through and melt the cheese. Overbaking it can cause the crust to dry out and buckle, so watch it closely. I’m sure you will as you smell the mouth-watering aroma!

Tuna Pizza 3

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Tuna Topping

Next we’ll do the tuna layer. Drain one can of light tongol tuna and crumble in a bowl. Mix in one stalk chopped celery, 2 T. chopped onion, 1/2 t. salt, 2 t. dried basil, and 1 t. oregano, then sprinkle it on top of the eggs and tomatoes.
Maybe I should note here, the meals our family eats are most similar to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). It excludes all refined sugars, some starches, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and most grains. Although we don’t eat as much yogurt, fruit, and nuts as the SCD suggests, we do use rice and oats in limited amounts. We’ve found these meals work very well for our family.

Tuna Pizza 2

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Eggs and Tomatoes

To start the pizza topping, hardboil 3 eggs (I love to use fresh ones from my backyard flock!). After peeling, slice them as thinly as you can and layer on the crust. Then boil 3 dried tomatoes in water to soften, cool, dice, and sprinkle over eggs. I choose dried tomatoes over tomato paste since they add a much stronger, richer flavor with less tomato. You can find them in most large supermarkets.

Tuna Pizza 1

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Basic Pizza Crust

Most people don’t realize that food can taste great even without white flour, sugar, and processed foods. That’s what I found out as I developed a repertoire of delicious, gluten-free recipes! We grind our own flour using brown rice and oat groats (half and half). For this mini pizza crust, sift the flour through a strainer to get it very fine. To 1/2 cup of sifted flour, add one egg yolk, 1/2 t. salt, and about 6 T. water to make a spreadable dough. Spread into a 12” circle on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes till lightly browned. This is a very versatile crust.

Grant House

Ohio History

Grant Home Fireplace

We have just one more stop yet before the end of this exciting trip! This is the large, simple house, located in Georgetown, where Ulysses S. Grant grew up. His father was a butcher and worked in the rear of their home. Mr. Grant became supreme Northern commander in the Civil War, and then was elected 18th President of the United States. As the story goes, an unsuspecting officer caught the President speeding in his carriage; Mr. Grant insisted on paying the $20 fine—his cart was impounded and he walked to the White House!

River Ferry

Ohio History

Here Comes the Ferry

Now it’s time to cross back across the Ohio—but this time not by bridge! When this ferry arrived, we drove on with our car. It was a really neat ride, though it felt funny to be so close to the water! The boat runs all day taking passengers both ways across the river; it’s used by local residents, not just tourists. What a beautiful river!

Across the River

Ohio History

Rankin House from Kentucky

Here’s one more view of the Rankin house. Did you spot it up in the clearing on the hill? We’re now in Kentucky fields on the other side of the Ohio, and not right across from Ripley either. The house was visible for several miles as we drove along the river. It was easy to imagine escaping slaves watching from their hiding places for signal light to come out. John Rankin sure picked this spot out well!

Rankin Mural

Ohio History

Path Across the River

And now, we’re back to the Underground Railroad! This mural portrays slaves on the verge of crossing the river to freedom. The quilts guide the safe way across the river to the “beacon on the hill” (see the Rankin house at the top?). These amazing murals were painted on the Maysville floodwall! The towering cement wall has protected the town from many river floods while, at the same time, showcasing some vivid historical scenes.

Maysville Murals

Ohio History

Limestone Landing

Maysville Riverfront

Leaving Ripley behind, we’ve now crossed the Ohio River into Maysville, Kentucky. Can you guess on what we saw these amazing paintings? I’ll give you one clue: they’re huge!! And they all show a bit of Maysville’s history. Scenes range from Indians hunting buffalo to steamboats on the river. “Limestone Landing” (above) portrays settlers first arriving here in flatboats in 1780. In the lower scene, Maysville bustles with steam-driven trains and coal barge towboats of the 1900s. What creative history!

Parker House

Ohio History

Riverfront Stop

This is the home of John P. Parker in downtown Ripley. Mr. Parker was born a slave and, after repeated attempts to run away from his master in Alabama, finally bought his freedom. He started a successful iron foundry in Ripley (right beside this house) and was one of the first African Americans to obtain patents for his inventions. An active conductor for the Underground Railroad, he took runaway slaves across the river in his skiff and guided them through Ripley to the Rankin steps. Can you see the Rankin house up on the hill to the right?

Eliza's Story

Ohio History

Eliza Doll

This is the legendary slave Eliza from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She ran away to save her young son from being sold to a slave trader. As she waited here to cross the Ohio River, which was swirling with melting blocks of ice, she saw her master pursuing her. Eliza leaped from one treacherous ice floe to another, falling in several times but still clutching her son, and made it across to the Rankin house. Harriet Beecher Stowe used this story she heard from John Rankin in her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This stirring novel exposed the cruelty of slavery previously unknown by many Northerners.

Rankin Steps

Ohio History

Stone Stairway

These original rugged steps were below the rebuilt stairway in the last picture. We followed them to the bottom of the hill, right to the outskirts of Ripley and the river beyond. It took a good ten minutes of hard climbing to get back to the Rankin house—imagine doing it at night! The runaway slaves faced many dangers, but the conductors had their share, too. If a fugitive was found hidden in your home, you could have all your property (including business) confiscated!

Hilltop View

Ohio History

Down the Rankin Stairs

Here is that awesome view from the Rankin house—five miles up and down the Ohio! Runaway slaves waiting to cross the river at night could easily see the hilltop signal light. If the candle in the window was lit, the river was clear of slave hunters and slaves could safely cross. No light meant wait til another night. After crossing the river in skiffs, the fugitives were led through Ripley to these stairs leading up the hill to the Rankin house. Here they would be fed and hidden till they could move on to a station further north.

Rankin House 2

Ohio History

Rankin Dining Room

Can you imagine raising thirteen children in this house? And putting them all to work helping the runaway slaves! John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister, strongly opposed slavery and organized several anti-slavery movements in Ohio. He built this house in 1825 with the Underground Railroad in mind. There was a secret cellar under the front porch to hide slaves. But the real plus was the vantage point over the Ohio River, as we’ll see in the next photo!

Rankin House

Ohio History

Underground Railroad Station

The setting of this trip is on the Ohio River again, but now we're in the divisive era of slavery. The invincible Rankin House stands on the hill overlooking Ripley, a key station on the Underground Railroad. This secret network helped slaves escape from the South to freedom in Canada. John Rankin was an active “conductor” on the Underground Railroad and hid a total of 2,000+ slaves in his home. Ripley was the first stop after runaway slaves crossed the Ohio River into free territory. However, they could be still be returned to their masters even here; only in Canada were they really free.

Puzzle

Backyard Poultry

Mystery Chicken

Meet Puzzle, the Barred Plymouth Rock. It started to look so different from the others, we began to suspect that the hatchery sent a rooster by mistake! Here at six weeks of age, you can see a bigger comb and more white on its feathers. This chicken was really a puzzle for a while. We’ll know for sure when we hear er-er-er-er-er from the chicken house!!

Pophole

Backyard Poultry

Trying out the Door

This is the door (called a pophole) on the end of the chicken house, with the run door against it. The chicks, now five weeks old, had a ball running in and out of the door! The grass in the picture soon got scratched up and turned into a typical dirt chicken yard. The large door is also on this end of the house, which means the run must be moved every day to do the chores inside. This is an inconvenient flaw in the house design, but we’ll get it fixed!