Weekend Links & Updates

A regular visitor to the homestead.
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 In which I share my favorite posts from this blog's Facebook page.

"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 6:12


 
* Bear Update: Our neighbors have reported bear sightings, too. Hard to say if it's the same bear, but it's certainly a bold one. One neighbor reports loosing a goat to it (there were bear prints all over the area where the goat was), and another says that when she was walking her dog, she made a lot of noise at a nearby bear, and instead of running, the bear kept walking toward her. Also, we discovered a bear bed right next to our burned down pole barn. So I'm being careful to get the kids inside before dusk (when black bear are more often seen about), and I'm the one who braves dusk for locking up the chicken coop.

* Chicken Update: The chicks are now pullets - basically, teenage chickens. They are very curious about the puppy - and the puppy would love to play with them. But I keep the pup on a tight leash when the hens are nearby. Two funny things: These hens don't roost at night! Instead, they cram themselves into a single nesting box, which results in a lot of squawking until they settle in. I've never seen hens do that! Also, I had no idea chickens liked to eat bamboo, but there's a clump of it in their run, and the leaves are their favorite food.

* Recall of frozen strawberries due to Hepatitis A outbreak.

* GMO potatoes have been here for a bit, but the FDA just approved two new GMO varieties. To avoid GMO potatoes, buy only certified organic. Avoiding russets in favor of other types of potatoes will also keep GMOs out of your body, at least for now.

* "On Daughters and Dating: How to Intimidate Suitors."

* My son is a right brained learner, and I'm busy learning ways to better teach him. One thing I've learned is that while he struggles mightily with phonics, he does much better with sight words. So while he can't read, say, the Bob books, he reads Dick and Jane pretty well. The only trouble is that it's very difficult to find sight word early readers these days. Fortunately, Google Books has a trove of them available for free. Here's an excellent post from Contentedly Humble, which offers previews of what the books look like inside, plus links to the various editions available.
Order my print or ebook in time for holiday baking!

* An interesting article about the dangers of drinking too much water.

* I've done a post of two about whether Pinterest tricks actually work (like this and this). Here's Rodale's Organic Life's take on which of those amazing tips work - and which don't.


Oldies But Goodies:

* 7 Make Ahead Thanksgiving Food Ideas
* Freezing Apple Pie Filling makes holiday pies a breeze
* How to Freeze or Dehydrate Eggs


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