Chickens, Goat Cheese, Winter, Great Danes

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You might be wondering what in the world do goat cheese, chickens, great danes, and winter have in common?  Well, the goat cheese is something I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time but just haven’t done.  Yesterday, a friend and I did our grocery shopping together (it’s  more fun to do this deed with a friend) and we decided to split a package of goat cheese because neither one of us had ever tried it.  Today I made the most awesome salad for lunch with spinach, a thin slice of onion, about 4 sliced up mushrooms, a small handful of walnuts, 1/2 apple sliced up, and about 2 TBS of goat cheese crumbled over the top.  I like honey mustard dressing, so that’s what I used.  It was very tasty.  The cheese has a very strong flavor and is somewhat salty; I’m anxious to find a recipe to use the rest of my half package.  It’s really pretty good–you ought to try it if you haven’t. 

The chickens have to do with winter, as does the great dane.  I’ve got a light bulb on in their roost (upstairs part of the tractor pictured above) to keep them warm during these frigid days.  I’ve also had to swap out their waterers twice a day because they have been freezing pretty quickly.  Chickens drink a lot of water and take extra time during frigid temps!   I’ve also not been able to move them around the pasture very much the last few days ( like there aren’t a lot of bugs out right now anyway!) 

Today it reached 33 degrees; the first time it’s been above freezing since New Year’s Day.  I know other parts of the country get that cold every year, but we usually don’t get that cold for that long.   The great dane is very old (his name is Buck) and he shivers and chatters his teeth (he does it in the summer too), so I feel sorry for him even though he has a nice warm doghouse.  I’ve been letting him stay in the house during this really cold weather, along with Reuben the Catahoula, Angus the Boxer, and Cooper, the bad-haired terrier (he’s a shelter rescue).  We’re all snug and cozy in the house waiting for warmer weather—oh, and waiting for eggs too!  Yep, that’s why I got chickens 🙂