Modern Outlaw

By Michael

There is a part of me that is a little bit of an outlaw. I think my parents would tell you that I was a good kid and didn’t cause them a lot of problems. I am a god fearing man and try to live my life following the two great commandments of loving God and my fellow man. However, I also have a natural urge to rebel against the status quo. I listen to anti establishment punk rock and folk music. I like the idea of vigilante justice a la batman. That being said, I have a confession to make in this article about my outlaw tendencies but before I make my confession I wanted to share a story that my Aunt Carolyn shared with me about one of my distant Kirkham ancestors. I share this so that you all know that breaking the law runs in my genes. Maybe it isn’t all my fault

The following story along with a picture of the grave appeared in the Leadville Chronicle Summer Guide (leadvillenews@cmnm.org) in 2007.

“In 1879, it is said that Sheriff Kirkham was facing a slew of stagecoach hold-ups along the route between Leadville and Buena Vista. It was the work of one bandit who seemed to have inside information on when the gold shipment would be on board, as that was the only time he struck. The sheriff came up with an idea to capture the crook, only this time he kept his plan to himself. He didn’t tell his deputies. He didn’t let his close friends or even the banks in on his scheme. He didn’t even tell his wife!

On March 7, Sheriff Kirkman (spelled differently this time) put his plan into action and dressing in a disguise as a woman, boarded a stagecoach carrying some very precious cargo. Just as he suspected, when the stagecoach near the Twin Lakes junction, the lone bandit appeared ordering the gold to be handed over. The sheriff sprang into action, ripped off his disguise, and drew his weapon. “Halt!” Sheriff Kirkham yelled. “In the name of the law!”

The bandit was clearly surprised, and took off running, ignoring the lawman’s order. Sheriff Kirkham brought down that stagecoach robber with one bullet in the back. When he reached the body, he anxiously turned it over to discover the identity of the brazen bandit. It was his wife, dressed in disguise as a man!

Sheriff Kirkham could not bear the shame and embarrassment of his wife’s actions. So instead of bringing her back to town for a proper burial, he laid her to rest along the old stagecoach road. The epithet reads: “My Wife – Jane Kirkham – Died March 7, 1879-Aged 38 years, 3 months, 7 days”.

Now for my confession. Marisa and I have been breaking the law for the last 4 years. We have had illegal chickens living in our yard. Yes, you heard correctly, it has been illegal for us to have chickens in our city until recently. Thankfully some law abiding citizens took it into their own hands to make owning chickens legal. I am glad they did and we already have some neighbors who bought some baby chicks.

I feel like a burden has been lifted as I make this confession. Maybe now I will start using all of my talents for good instead of evil. I would urge those of you who want chickens , or those of you that have them illegally to do what was done in our town and get them legalized. Raising chickens for eggs is one of the easiest things that I can think of that will help us all be more self sufficient.

Freedom Ranger Videos

The Freedom Rangers are Here!

Today, April 2, we received our shipment of 50 Freedom Ranger broiler chicks from J.M. Hatchery in Pennsylvania. They are an energetic single breasted meat chicken in comparison to the lethargic Cornish Cross double breasted meat chicken. The Freedom Rangers should be better at foraging the pasture to reduce feed costs but they won’t get as big as the Cornish Cross. The breeding stock is imported from the regions of Burgundy and Brittany (France). The genetic stock is derived from the American and European old heritage breed of chicken and was developed to meet the standards of the French Label Rouge Free Range program. Currently, the Freedom Ranger genetic stock is used by most non-factory farm production models across Europe and also by small pastured poultry producers like us in search of a traditionally raised farm chicken. We will grow our Freedom Rangers for 10 weeks and process them on June 12. 

On April 16 we will receive our shipment of 50 Cornish Cross broilers. We will grow them for 8 weeks and process them the same day as the Freedom Rangers. We will keep track of mortality, feed consumption, dressed weights, and have a taste test to compare the two breeds to see which ones we like the best. This is an exciting research project for our backyard farm. It will end when we drive across the United States from Maryland to Utah on the week of June 13 to conduct the taste test with Michael & Marisa’s family. I can’t wait to put the first Freedom Ranger and Cornish Cross on the barbecue spit. Get ready to fire up the grill Michael!

Dale M. Johnson

Easter Story Cookies

by Jennifer

 

A couple of years ago I discovered a recipe for Easter Story Cookies. I was intrigued with the idea and decided to try them out. What a wonderful opportunity this presented to further teach the truth of Easter.  I'll admit, this type of cookie is a little too ... ahem! exotic for my children's tastes (they'd much rather devour chocolate chip!), so the real value to me is in the making, not the munching. I love object lessons, and this is a great one. Make this at night to see the end result the next morning.

Easter Story Cookies -- this makes a meringue-type cookie

by Rachel Keller 

Courtesy of AllHomemadeCookies.com 

Read through all instructions first.  Makes about 2 dozen.  (My note: Ingredients may be reduced by 1/3, to make 6 to 9 cookies.)

1 cup whole pecans 

1 teaspoon vinegar 

3 egg whites (make sure there is absolutely no trace of yolk)

pinch salt 

1 cup sugar 

zipper baggie and wax paper

wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer 

duct tape or packing tape 

Bible 

Preheat oven to 300*F. This is very important; you don’t want to get to the end and not have your oven warm!

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces. 

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3. 

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl. 

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30. 

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. 

Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11. 

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl. 

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’s followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27 

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl. 

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16. 

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes or until stiff peaks form. 

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3. 

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper-covered cookie sheets. 

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’s body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60. 

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door. 

Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66. 

Leave the kitchen. If you’ve been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED! Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they’ve worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus’ followers were sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22. 

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow! 

Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. 

HE HAS RISEN!

Plastic jug Easter basket

by Jennifer

 

Do you love celebrating holidays? 

But ...

Do you hate finding storage space for something that only gets used once a year? (No wonder the Easter bunny is so eager to unload all those eggs!)

Try this super easy way to make Easter baskets out of plastic gallon jugs. Not only is it a fun activity with the kiddos, it's a space-saving solution. Just throw it in the recycling bin when the dust settles from the hunt. I learned this idea from my friend Nora, who made them for her preschool students. We make a new batch every year, and we always get comments at neighborhood egg hunts. I must say, the "wow factor" is extremely high for such a simple project.

Here's how to do it:

First, rinse a plastic jug. Fill jug with hot water up to label line, wait a few minutes, and effortlessly pull label off. Let dry.

These are so foolproof, I generally cut them freehand. For this post I drew on the jug to illustrate the cuts. Cutting the ears away leaves a basket bottom, with the jug handle intact.

 

 Front view (one ear drawn)

 Side view. Line is parallel to handle, following the contours of concave area, then roughly to side seam of jug.

 Back view (both ears drawn)

Use a short blade knife or very sharp scissors to make your first opening, then scissors to complete. Please, please, please -- make sure only an adult does this job!

Bend ears inside out. At this point you've created a lop-eared bunny, and your basket is ready to decorate. If pointed ears are more your thing, follow this extra cut:

Turn your helpers loose to decorate the baskets. You can glue googly eyes and a cottony tail, or thread pipe cleaners for whiskers. (Remove before recycling.) We used permanent markers. Crayons, believe it or not, also work, albeit offering a more subdued palette. 

 Lop-eared bunny basket is on the left. An extra cut provided the different ear shape on the right. 

Miraculous Promises

I can't tell you how often I find myself just sitting and staring at my seedlings.  They are full of the promise of summer and of good eating.  Last summer was the best summer of eating I have ever had.  I learned to appreciate eating in season and enjoying so many fruits and veggies at the height of perfection.  So I've expanded my own garden - I've started so many things - basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, black beans, green beans, snap peas, watermelons, acorn squash, onions, carrots, rainbow chard,  peppers, lettuce, and the list just goes on and on.   I bought the seeds with my friend Callie.  We went through a seed catalog and ordered ones that sounded good to both of us - all heirlooms.  We both like cooking and veggies so it worked out beautifully.  I'm so excited.


Last year I had 10 basil plants and it still wasn't enough to supply our demand for all things basil.  So this year I'm doubling that - including 8 purple basil plants.  Can you see my cute purple seedlings?



Did you know herb seedlings smell good? I don't why but I figured they wouldn't start tasting/smelling good until they got older. Nope, not so, they are deliciouso from birth.



I am also hoping to have upwards of 30 tomato plants which means that if they all produce as promised I'm going to be swimming in beautiful tomatoes. We use TONS of canned tomatoes around here so I was hoping to be able to can them like crazy at the end of the season. We'll have big red ones, medium sized yellow ones, huge purple ones, and tiny yellow and red ones. Yum yum.

What about you? Have you got a garden on the horizon? If not, it's a lot easier than you think. Seeds just wanna grow - it's really miraculous. And once you plant some, you won't be able to keep your eyes of them either.

Punk Rock Chicks

Brook found out about our chicken photo contest a little too late, but still wanted to share her adorable picture with us. Thanks for sending it!