Totally Henpecked

Fight hard for the things you love. Like being picked up and carried around so you can see the world from the vantage point of your dinosaur ancestors. Peck legs until you get what you want. You deserve to be happy. — Heebeejeebees

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

I am afraid I have been replaced by Todd when it comes to Heebeejeebees’ affections. As a chick, Heebeejeebees loved me best. Her nickname, almost from day one, was “Snuggle Chicken” because she has always loved to sit on my lap or snuggle into the crook of my arm.

But, since Todd has arrived, she’s realized there’s an even softer heart who cannot resist giving in to her chickie demands. The second Todd stops moving, Heebeejeebees is at his shin, pecking his leg until he picks her up. From what we can tell, all she really wants is to be walked around the farm, getting a literal bird’s eye view of a world she usually only sees from 8 inches off the ground.

This week brought our first hard freeze, which is always bittersweet. By now, I’m tired of tending the garden, so it’s with a bit of morbid relief that I watch the squash and tomato plants wither and die. On the other, though, it’s the end of daily Caprese salads and zucchini everything. I’ll be aching for a sun-ripened tomato in about 3 weeks.

I spent Halloween picking the green tomatoes, every last pepper, a few underwhelming watermelons, and all the winter squash. FYI, green tomatoes will ripen surprisingly well on your counter! If you don’t feel like frying them, take heart in knowing they will eventually come around to red.

This weekend we’ll clear out all the now-dead plants and stack the tomato cages and bean trellises in the garage. We’ll put down cover crop seed—a mix of winter peas and crimson clover for nitrogen, radishes for breaking up compacted soil, and winter wheat for organic matter—and then thank the garden for its service while looking forward to the slightly less laborious fallow months.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

An ode to the extremely undignified but oh-so-comforting HamBeens (which, btw, is neither ham nor beens) 15 bean soup mix. Follow the recipe on the bag with the lemon and tomatoes added at the end. I use veggie stock instead of water, and top my bowl with hot sauce and sour cream. The dubious “ham” flavor packet is optional (it’s mostly salt), but for $2.72, this little puppy will keep you satiated for a week. It’s what I always want in my crock pot when the weather first hits freezing.