- the bill of rights

I have to admit that I simply don't understand why this is even an issue that has to be argued, but never the less it is a tremendously important case.  The hearing will be about the 2nd amendment, but it has much larger implications.  It will determine if all 50 states have to abide by the "Bill of Rights".  Again, I cannot believe that this is being argued, but it may be good for us all; so many levels of government have trampled and ignored our founding documents - it many situations, it is as if they simply don't exist.  Sad, but true... Our nation has progressed in several ways, but has degraded in many others.  I will be hoping and praying for the proper outcome.

Supreme Court Guns Case Preview

February 28, 2010 - 5:33 PM | by: Lee Ross

The battle over the meaning of the Second Amendment returns to the Supreme Court Tuesday when the justices hear a case that is a follow-up to their historic ruling in 2008 that individuals have a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. On Sunday, Fox's Shannon Bream spoke with a couple of key figures in the gun rights debate: lawyer Alan Gura and Dennis Henigan of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Gura argued and won D.C. v. Heller two years ago and will appear before the Court Tuesday.

Even though the Supreme Court ruled two years ago that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, that historic ruling overturning a Washington D.C. gun ban doesn't apply to the 50 states. On Tuesday, the justices will be asked to do just that. The legal term is called "incorporation" but all that means is extending the federal protections of the Bill of Rights--including the Second Amendment--to the states. The case challenges Chicago's restrictive gun law. Dozens of groups have added their voices to the case including the National Rifle Association and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.

Gura represents Otis McDonald who is challenging the Chicago law. "Virtually the entire Bill of Rights has been applied against states and local governments. The Second Amendment is a normal part of the Bill of Rights. It protects a meaningful individual right which is very important to people in this country and throughout American history," Gura said.

Henigan says the case is Gura's to lose based on the premise that the same five judges who were part of the Heller majority will join together and carry the day in this case. But Henigan emphasizes another part of the Heller decision where he says "the Court implicitly recognized that there is still broad legislative authority to enact reasonable laws to reduce the risk from that right. And we hope the Court gives similar assurances in this case."     

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/02/28/supreme-court-guns-case-preview/

- egg mobile

A couple weeks ago, I posted about another crazy project that I had began.  Well, after a whole lot of work, it is finally finished.   It actually still needs some tweaking; I am not very happy with the feeders I built inside, but it is in the field and working well.  The enclosure is 13' long, 6' wide, & 5.5' tall in the middle (I couldn't make it any higher, because it had to fit out through my garage door.)  I originally planned on have 3 roosting bars on each side, but realized I had room 4.  As you can see I used 9 5-gallon buckets as nesting boxes in at the rear of the trailer.  I wasn't sure how the chickens would like them, but in the beginning they jumped right in and have been depositing their eggs regularly.  I figure my egg-mobile can comfortably fit 220 chickens, though I don't plan on putting any more than 50 right now; it will also house some turkeys and meat chickens.

- juvenile Red Tail

A few weeks ago, I killed an opossum that ventured too close to the house.  Usually a carcass will not last more than a few days around here, but due to the cold weather and some snow it laid untouched for several weeks.  Last week a full size, but juvenile, Red-Tailed Hawk decided to come down and check it out.  Over a period of two days, the same raptor (I assume) spent more than 7 hours eating the carrion. only 30 feet from our window.  At one point a mature Red-Tailed came, sat on the fence, and watched him for a while; it was like mom was checking on him.  This is just another example of why we love living where we do; we have so many opportunities to watch God’s wonderful creation at work.

- a new project

Anytime I start one of my crazy projects I always have pretty good blue-print in my head, but getting it to turn out correct is another story.  A couple weeks ago I bought an old trailer and a few days ago I began another odd-ball project.  I am not going to reveal what I am building, but it should be interesting to see how it develops.

 

- bantams

Last week I was contacted by a lady who had commissioned me, in the past, to build her a chicken tractor.  She informed me that she was moving and could not keep her chickens.  When she asked if I would like to have the birds, I quickly accepted and picked them up a few days later.

In addition to the Barred Rock, Rhode Island Reds, and Black Star hens; we now have 3 beautiful (White Japanese Bantam?) hens who have settled in nicely.  They will be our only white egg layers and, as you can see in the photo, their mature egg size is quite a bit smaller than the typical hen, but it is nice to have a little more variety on the farm.  I'll include some photos of the birds in a future post.

- white-tailed visitors

Deer are not exactly an unusual sight around our home, but they still cause us to stop and take notice when  they get close to the house.  When these two came within 50’ of the house we all simply stood and watched them as they ate a little grass and then moved on.

- the life cycle of our turkey

Last summer we purchased 3 turkey poults; only two made it out of the brooder to the field, and only one made it to adulthood.  While we enjoyed having her around, we never lost sight of her real purpose for being on the farm - food.

I had processed quite a few turkeys in the past, but I had never done it at our home...  I knew our lack of proper processing equipment would make things a bit more challenging for us.  I opted to skin her rather than scald and pluck; it went ok, but I hope I don't have to do it that way again.  She turned out fine, but didn't look quite as nice and it took me much too long.

My wife opted to put her in the stock pot and let her simmer for about 6 hours.  This method of cooking allows us to get EVERY scrap of meat off the bird and also makes great stock to be used in other meals.

I must admit that I miss her a little bit; it was always fun to see her come running (along side the goats) when I was moving them to new pasture.  She followed us around sometimes, like a pet and was all-around entertaining, but she is in the freezer now and we are all looking forward to eating her.

It is hard to explain, but it is very gratifying to have raised an animal, taken care of it for its whole life, and then used it to provide for my family.  Knowing exactly how it was cared for, what it was fed, and how it was processed.  One of our goals for this year is to provide all of our own meat, which will be mostly chicken, with an occasional goat and turkey.  I encourage you all to raise/grow your own food if possible; if not you should at least make an effort to find out how your food is being raised and processed - if you want you can come visit our farm and purchase some from us.  :-)

After just arriving at Liberty Pastures

Running free in the field

Protecting the farm against a new "intruder"


Getting ready to "say goodbye"












Beginning to skin













Almost finished processing

The finished product in the stock pot













The 6 quarts of "stock" she produced for us