Ickle Me, Pickle Me

I have to say I am completely enjoying this cucumber bounty I kind of have going.  Bounty, of course, is a relative term.  Many would look at my bounty and say it's not much at all.  And they'd be right, I think.  But compared to the years where I got 3 cucumbers total--IF that-- this is a boon. 

I've already made dill pickles with many of mine (and some supplementary cucs), and now I had enough to pickle again.  This time, Bread and Butters.

All my own cucs this time, and it made 5 pints, which is ok.  There are plenty of cucs and cuclets left on the vines, so I may make some more, or try another recipe.  I haven't decided yet. 

They turned out well, as far as I can tell, but with pickles, you need to let them sit in the jars for a while before you taste them.  All the spices and vinegar need to soak in for a while before they are really pickley. 

And we all want pickley pickles, right?

My daughter was bopping around when I was working on this, and she said that if they were Bread and Butters, then they "smelled right".  "Good for you, mommy", she said.  High praise, indeed.  I think.

Went out to the garden later on yesterday, just to look around.  This is why I shouldn't go into the garden--ever--without my hod.

Luckily, I had a dress on, so I just put it all in there.  But still, I should know better.  It's August, and that's when things tend to explode.

I also found this

in the tomato jungle.  They are mostly guinea hen eggs from Violet, our one guinea hen (believe me, she's plenty), but there are a couple of chicken eggs in there, too.  The girls know a good thing when they see it.  Never mind that there are 12 nest boxes in their coop.  Using them would just be silly.  Luckily, most of these eggs were just fine.  I think they were all laid yesterday, actually, as I evicted several chickens from the garden this afternoon.  Most likely, this is what they were doing there.

And the duck update?  Well, Maple (the stink-eye duck) is still sitting on her nest fit for a queen.  I have to go into the duck house every day to take back all the new eggs, because she adds them to her pile and she'll be setting until 2014 at this rate.  Enough is enough already.  Suzie lost one of her babies, I believe it suffocated, so she's been relocated with her 3 remaining children and 3 remaining eggs to the garage-barn brooder, where she's settled in nicely.  The babies are getting around well, and she's sitting on her eggs, with access to food and water and no one to bother her.  I'll be glad when they all can move out, but she doesn't cause too many problems.

And the girl's duck?

The little one is living in an old laundry basket in my sewing room/office, stinking the place up.  It used to smell like curing soap in here.  Now it smells like curing soap and wet duck shavings.  Ugh.  But he/she's funny as hell.  Watching the little one dash after my daughter and hearing the little feet slap on the ground is priceless, and it's funny to be in here with him/her as he/she talks to him/herself and the little yellow puppy my daughter gave him/her.  It almost makes up for the smell.  Almost.

Yep, that one has got quite the life.

I will be charging my camera and then I'll post some pictures of the tomato jungle and the garden, and many soap pictures--I've been busy.  Until then!