Carla Burke

I want what I want, when & how I want it. I'll make my own, thanks!

Same. If I'm rushed, I me up. Messing up on a high priority project can get expensive, frustrating, and dangerous. I'd MUCH rather relax with a low priority one.

I think when it's all done, we need to celebrate!

Paul, I am in full agreement. I've actually tried this - granted, it was in a room with a very high ceiling, and even sitting right next to it, the difference it made was negligible, with only 1 - 4 (beeswax) candles. That's just not going to do it, for me. I tend towards being cold, so I'm just better off bundling up or using an electric blanket or a hot water bottle or two.

It would also be wise to use beeswax candles. They burn hotter (warming the clay better) and cleaner than other candles, so the "only" gasses to be concerned with would be the carbon dioxide & carbon monoxide. They also won't coat the inside of a tent(or whatever) with soot and/or petroleum residue.

Josh Hoffman wrote:Wow, those temps are really something. Thank you, Carla. I really appreciate the information you shared with me. You may as well come on down to MS and have a mild winter if you are having those hot summer temps. Unless you like the cold weather .....

LOL! I've often said we didn't move far enough south, but I was born in MO, and the state has a special place in my heart, so I don't see me voluntarily leaving. That said, there IS the possibility that I could eventually give up this big (29+acres), rocky, clayey, hunk of ridges & ravines for something a bit smaller (3 - 5acres), smoother, and warmer, a bit closer to the state's southern border and a major airport (the closest, right now, is still about 2hrs away, keeping travel to family quite the undertaking). I do like having all 4 seasons, but I could easily be happy with less of this cold nonesense, too.

Josh Hoffman wrote:The ones you listed that you like and have experience with, do they seem to be heat tolerant? I would guess I am 2 zones above you from what I can tell.

We've never had trouble with any of them, weather-wise. They've all done very well, here, and our temps range from the coldest being about -20°F on those (thankfully) fewer severe winter nights to about 114°F, with the hottest summer 'feels like' temps. The actual heat here often hangs out in the mid to upper 90s, occasionally going over 100°F for several days at a time. But, even with that added misery of the humidity, they've all been fine, simply seeking out shade.

Cornish Cross are specifically bred for factory-style farming. They grow so fast their legs give out, and they can't walk, so they sit in front of their food in their own excrement, and left to their own devices, will die of heart attack or disease, in a month or two, after reaching maturity. We tried raising them ethically, and while they survived much longer - maybe 4months? - allowing/ encouraging them to forage, free-range, not allowing them to simply eat themselves to death, before slaughtering, the meat, in those extra couple months, became tough and... rangey. The reason we harvested them, then? They were, despite our best efforts, all becoming crippled. Their legs, even with the exercise, and slowed growth, didn't develop enough to keep them upright, but their breasts grew disproportionately, so they became horribly top-heavy. It was heart breaking to see.  I can't ever, in good conscience, recommend them.

Instead, we keep Orpingtons (or favorite), Austrolorps(2nd favorite), Barred Rock(haven't been great mamas, for us), and hope to someday be able to afford another heritage breed - Red/Freedom Rangers. They're slower developing, but supposed to be hardy, great foragers, and excellent meat, with decent egg production. But, they're pricier, around here.

I know people who just get in the shower to stand there, and let the water run over them, not even trying to get clean, until they've been in there long enough to relax all their muscles, and people who are in, out, and thoroughly scrubbed, in less than 4 minutes. Some folks wash their hair in the shower every day, some weekly, some not at all. Some bathtubs are HUGE, many showers are stand-alone, with no tub... Needless to say, I give little to no heed to 'averages', because they mean nada.