Feather Collection

It started with me thinking they were pretty.  I collected feathers dropped by my birds from time to time.  Then I found where one guy was selling them for $1.25 each.  Crazy.  So, I thought I would try.  I never posted them, I just felt plan silly doing it.  Selling chicken feathers??? 

I had a lot of feathers...a LOT of feathers.  I had so many they were starting to weigh down and crush those on the bottom.  One or two grace my hat.  They're special.

 My basket, now empty, sighed in relief.

What do you do with a bunch of feathers?  Yes, they're gorgeous, and many are sentimental, (Merlin, George), but what do you do with feathers??  You make a feather tapestry for the wall.

Take material (an old sweater I bought for a dollar at a yard sale), cut it to one layer thick and sized for hanging, and start poking feathers in it. (those are from Bluefoot)

I got better at it as time went on

The white are mainly Pekin duck, the grey are guinea and Tom, the golden laced (Wyandotte) are from Bluefoot, and the shiny on the right are from the various roosters.
Hang on the wall for easier access.

 Add the Royal Palm turkey feathers....

I can continue to add to them as the years go by, and their numbers increase.  We have a great deal to process tomorrow, so I will probably restock my supply.  I know to most this must seem stupid, but I think it's pretty and a wonderful way to remember all my birds.

I just made my own pastrami

Bit of background-We don't go out to eat.  There's only so many ways I know to fix beef, eggs, and milk.  So, I am constantly looking for new ways to fix things.  We don't do roasts, we just don't like them.  I would always just slow roast and BBQ them.  But that can get old.  Egg sandwiches for lunch everyday gets a bit old, and lunchmeat is not cheap!  So, I decided to figure out how to make my own, and I did.

1-I used a tip roast, 3 pounds

2-I didn't trim any fat off, as there wasn't really any to trim, but you will need to trim down to 1/8 inch if needed. 

3-Put in a bowl of water and add salt.  I used 3/4 c Kosher salt and I don't know, 2-4 quarts water?  Place this is the fridge for 7 days to 3 weeks.  I did it for 8 days and it was perfectly salted.

4-When its time is up, remove it from the fridge and bowl, rinse it off, and make the rub
RUB:
3T freshly ground pepper
2T ground coriander (I ground it fresh from what I grew.  Coriander is cilantro seed)
dash of cayenne (not really needed)
1T paprika
1T veg oil
good sized tsp of chopped garlic without the juice (I use store bought pre-chopped)

Rub this all over the outside liberally.
Wrap three times in alum foil and seal WELL!

5-Bake at 240 degrees F one hour per pound (although I'm sure there's a minimum)

6-When done, place in the fridge over night

7-The next morning, pour off the juice, unwrap (rinse the foil to use again-do NOT rinse the meat) and plop in on the cutting board

8-Slice THINLY (OH the smell, the SMELL MWAH ha ha ha ha haaaa!)...ahem, sorry...

It was very tasty.

My animals are weird

(All pics are thumbnails that you can click on for the full size.)
My dog really likes melons...that's weird.

My dog likes to ride Booger-that's even weirder.

My ex-pet bantam rooster liked to say howdy through the window.

Daphne (female duck) is presently molting.  Poor thing.

My pet spider

WHY does someone like me have a pet spider???  Well, I learned from a nice young lady that these spiders are nice to have around.  (This one resides next to my kitchen sink)
And eats bugs

(There really is a dead insect in there)
But the funny thing is, this spider is not maintenance free.  I didn't know this, but spiders poop.  And I have to clean his poop almost every day.

My pet cow loves a good horn scratching.

And my turkeys are just asking to be eaten. (you think the bird poop on your car is bad?)

(I throw in this last one just b/c it's pretty)