Dirty Snow

March 13, 2011

Below are more entries from Grandma's diary.  I have been putting these entries in an attempt to make entries to the blog on a regular basis but so far hasn't worked very well as I keep having to catch up a week or more at a time.

From Grandma's 1914 diary.
Mar. 6,  Fri.  baked six loaves of bread and thirteen pies, read four last chapter of Proverbs, mended, had four callers.
Mar. 7,  Sat.  done saturdays work, washed the boys sweater coats, baked a cake, read five chapters.
Mar. 8,  Sun.  went to Sunday school anc church in bob sled, then all went to Lucys for dinner, read seven chapters
Mar. 9,  Mon.  done washing, washed ceiling in summer house, set a hen, had 5 callers.
Mar. 10,  Tues.  ironed, mended, Mr. Upp spent the evening here, had five callers.
Mar. 11, Wed.  mended, read the eight chapters of Soloman's song, set a hen.
Mar. 12, Thurs. cleaned summer house attic,, read five chapters, spent the evening at Will Baders.
Mar. 13, Fri.  baked five loaves bread and ten pies, read four chapters, was over home.

In grandma's diary she mentioned "setting a hen".  I had to do a little research about what this meant as I couldn't really remember from my farm childhood days what this meant.  If you wanted to hatch and raise your own chickens there was a process to successfully do this.  I remember that my parents would order chicks from the Hartville Elevator or some other farm supply and they would arrive as very tiny chicks that didn't have feathers yet.  A bunch of little chirping fuzz balls.  In 1914 perhaps grandma and grandpa didn't have suppliers to buy chicks from and hatched and raised their own.

The key player in this of course is the rooster.  He must have had contact with the other hens in the brood for the hens to lay fertilized eggs.  A problem arises if the laying hen doesn't have a large interest in "setting" on the eggs and tending to them.  Help comes from a brood hen who apparently does have an interest in setting on the eggs.  Grandma would watch for a hen that wanted to set on eggs.  The characteristics of a brood hen included one that would peck when you tried to collect the eggs from under her and also one that wanted to set on eggs.  Most laying hens would lay the eggs and then go about their other social activities. 

"Setting a hen" then involved grandma knowing that fertilized eggs were available (probably by "candleing") putting bup to a dozen in an isolated nest and the setting the brood hen on them.  From that point nature would take it's course and the hen would keep the eggs warm and rotate them.  In 21 days her job was done and the chicks would hatch.

Today was my turn to host a family selection meeting at our Habitat For Humanity affiliate for families wishing to apply to become partner families with Habitat.  Driving up to the office I was looking around at the disgusting remnents of winter.  Last week we had another 6 inches of snow and I'll have to admit it was pretty since there was no wind and it was a wet snow so it blanketed the trees and ground making it a winter wonderland.  Yesterday it was around 45 or 50 so most of the snow melted except for the places where the snowplows piled it up.  These piles turn into ugly messes of white mixed with dirt and then lay around for a week.  The roads are full of potholes that will eat a wheel off your car unless you take evasive action.  The surroundings are brown and grey with no signs of life yet.  It's a dismal scene.  But these are the sure signs of spring coming in northern Ohio and that's something to look forward to.

The Journey Continues