Vegetarian Hens

The chickens always get excited when I give them treats, but they get frantic when they see that I am giving them meat. I don't know how they know immediately just by looking that is it meat but they do. I think the point of the"vegetarian fed hens" label on egg cartons is that they are not being fed downer cows, but chickens are not meant to be vegetarians. They love worms, bugs and prime rib! They are getting the scraps from Christmas dinner here:

In case you didn't catch it, Buffy is a total spazz. When food is involved she gets tunnel vision and frequently falls on her face running towards it. The other day I was watching out the window when she found a bug or something and began to run around which triggered the others to chase her. Bert got the bug from her and Buffy was not happy. She actually walked up to Bert after the fact, pecked her and pulled out a beakful of feathers! Don't mess with Buffy's treats or you will get her wrath!

Hiking!

I think we might just live somewhere with the prettiest hiking trails in Oregon...We have spent our spare time in the snow so far because it's been cold and snowy. But with unseasonably warm (sunny even!) weather I got out to do some hiking this weekend.
Friday Jason, Megan and I hiked about 8 miles at Eagle Creek. To hike the full length of the trail would have been 12 miles round trip. We passed beautiful waterfalls, the greenest forests, foggy mists, and narrow cliff trails that made me feel like I was in China.






Saturday we all checked out Bonneville Dam then hiked Wahclella Falls. It is only two miles round trip, but part of it was pretty steep. GORGEOUS.





Sunday Aaron and I hiked 5 miles at Herman Creek. The last 1.5 miles were on the Pacific Crest Trail and we turned around at Pacific Crest Falls. The uphill hike in turned into a downhill hike out (fancy that) and my knees were not too happy. Still a pretty hike.




SO many places left to explore. All of these places were so big and pretty, there was no way to take a good photo. I think that might be a sign of a good hike. I can't wait to get out some more, 50 degree weather all week!

Flavor Trippin'

Our friends Megan and Jason came out to visit from SLC. Last night we had a flavor tripping party. A few months ago I got these miracle fruit tablets from Amazon after reading about the effects. The tablets are much less expensive than the actual fruit, and they were effective. Miracle fruit affects how your taste buds perceive acids, sour things taste sweet. We placed the tablets in our mouths and let them dissolve while moving them around our entire tongues. The tablet tasted pleasant, fruity. Our line up: Chewy War Heads, Sour Patch Kids, grapefruit, lemon, lime, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red and white wine, tomatoes, goat cheese, cream cheese, kiwi fruit, blueberries, apple, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, Supplication - a sour beer, tequila, and several types of chocolate.


I tasted a few thing before we started, but wish I had tasted more, just for comparison. I did lick a lemon slice before and could barely stand the sourness. Lemon was the first thing I tried and I couldn't believe how delicious it was! Sweet and flavorful like candy, very little tartness came through. Everyone was excited by my reaction and grabbed something to try!
Megan enjoying a lemon:



Lemon was the best thing by far, but other things were good as well. Vinegar was surprising - it smelled like vinegar, but it tasted sweet, then burned a bit on the way down the throat. Things that started with some sweetness were TOO sweet. Tomatoes tasted like over ripe tomatoes starting to go bad, but sweeter. Goat cheese still tasted like goat cheese. Guinness tasted a bit like chocolate milk. I did not try wine because my stomach could only take so much, but Jason said it tasted like spoiled grapes. Balsamic vinegar was good, Aaron says "It tastes just like honey!". I didn't think it tasted quite like honey, but quite palatable. Tequila tasted like tequila, and on top of all of the weird things did not sit too well. Luckily I just had a few drops off a spoon. The War Heads were very good. White, out of season strawberries are supposed to taste like sweet homegrown summer strawberries after miracle fruit, but I couldn't bring myself to pay $6 for some. Rhubarb is also supposed to be very good, but we couldn't get our hands on any this time of year. I think the moral is, anything that starts out purely, or mostly sour tastes really good. Most other things were sickeningly sweet.
Aaron trying some Worcestershire sauce: Worcestershire sauce was interesting, not bad - so many layers of flavors coming through.



Jason trying balsamic vinegar.



Besides a bit of heartburn (nothing a little Prilosec couldn't take care of) and Jason's raw tongue the next day, we had a great time experiencing familiar foods in a new way. I think I would do it again to try new things; rhubarb, strawberries, plain yogurt and lemons again!

Mosier Tunnels

Sorry I have been MIA. My computer died. Then I went out of town. Oh and I have been planning this little thing called a wedding.
Last week we went on a walk through the Mosier Tunnels. We got lucky with beautiful weather.




This is Chicken Charlie Island, it is directly across from the tunnels, which can't be seen easily from highway 84. When you pass Chicken Charlie Island, you can look over and see the tunnels if you look closely. There is a house on this island, but it is on the backside. There is a dock a few miles up the river, we assume that that is where the owner would park and keep their boat. I think it is a vacation home now. They would get some pretty brutal weather in that location.


The trains are always going by in both directions.



We spent last weekend doing some exploring, lots of special spots around here!

One of These Things is Not Like the Other...

Can you spot a tiny egg amongst the others?


Camilla laid her first egg today!


Look at that sweet little thing! I don't think the pictures do it justice to show how small it really is. We were on our way to the gym and knew she was trying to lay all day. So we peaked in the nest box on our way out and found her with her tiny egg. I wish I'd had a camera. She received lots of praise and a treat. I sure do love that little chicken.

New Year's Eve Date

Aaron wanted to start a New Year's Tradition of snowshoeing, so he took me to Trillium Lake, about an hour from our house. It was a beautiful cold, sunny day. It's a popular place for Portlanders, so it was pretty busy. We took a side trail right away and had the place to ourselves for a little while.



We joined back up with the main trail, which loops around the lake with a nice view of Mt. Hood. There were a lot of people at this point and a man offered to take our picture. We started talking about camera settings and he helped me set my camera for the snow. After a few minutes he asked if we were headed back. He wanted to walk with us and mentioned that he didn't want to walk back alone. At this point Aaron quickly said we were going a different way and walked off. It was a bit awkward, but I followed him.


The view from the edge of the lake:


We walked on another side trail that ran along the lake. We stopped to eat and drink. I was just about to put my gloves back on and get ready to go when Aaron dropped to his knee in front of me and reached into his pocket. My mouth was still full of peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I think I said, "What are you doing?". He said, "Erin, I love you very much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?". Of course I said, yes, yes!
Aaron knew that I didn't want an engagement ring, just a wedding band. So he found a jeweler/artist from New York whose work is sold in Hood River. Her name is Saundra Messinger. This ring was thinner than what I had envisioned, so when we got home we picked out a thicker band together. I can't wait for it to come in!! Two more weeks. I love the simple rustic look of her jewelry.


Aaron's snowy knee


I was hoping that we would see that guy again to tell him why we had run off, but we didn't. Aaron was worried his plan was going to be ruined!
We drove a few miles away and had a woman take our picture together.


Mt. Adams on the way home.


We went home to shower, picked out a ring and went out for sushi at Kaze's in Hood River. Aaron got the spicy tuna rolls.


We shared a bento box. It was all delicious.


We then went to Brian's Pour House to get cheesecake, but theirs has hazelnuts in the crust. So we ordered dutch apple pie to go instead. Aaron wanted to check out Full Sail, he got a Wassail and we split a marionberry creme brulee. We ate the pie the next day, everything we ordered was excellent. Hood River has some very nice places to eat.

Onto the wedding dilemma...I don't want one. If we went to the courthouse tomorrow, or eloped to Thailand, I would be ecstatic. I know, I'm not a normal girl, but the whole thought stresses me out. But Aaron wants to do something with friends and family, and I feel the guilt too. So dear readers, I don't ask you for much, but I need your help! If you could pass along your thoughts, ideas, previous experiences with non-traditional, and/or small weddings I would appreciate it. I keep running around in circles in my head and I can't find a solution that is inexpensive but not tacky. Dropping thousands of dollars on something I could do without does not appeal to me. What to do??

But I am excited to get married and thrilled for this next stage in our lives and for a honeymoon!

Christmas for the Chickens

Now, this may not look like much to you...


But my chickens have been dying for a dust bath since we moved here. I got them a kitty litter pan and filled it with ash from our wood stove and put it in their run. It took them a few days to figure it out, but Bert was bathing away in it today.


They get into this weird zone when they dust bathe. I wish it were big enough for more, they like to do it with each other. You can see Olive (I just named her) hanging out next to the tub. She was flopping around on frozen ground, going through the motions. Here's Bert coming back to reality.


In a cloud of dust.


Her mellowness stayed long enough for me to get some pictures of her. They are usually moving so fast they all turn out blurry.


I think her colors are so pretty. She visited the nest area today - twice! I think she's getting ready to lay too. I can't wait to see what color egg she lays.


My little miss also stood still long enough to get a few pictures. I think it's the cold! They have been getting warm mash twice a day to try and keep up with their energy expenditures. She has been letting me put her in my coat to warm her up. If I leave her head out and she can see her friends she is quite tolerant - I think she may even enjoy it.


Only one more day of below freezing highs and we are back to normal and that means happy chickens!