I think the chickens are mad at me.

Well, they would be mad at me if it hadn’t been for the sunflower seeds that are keeping their attention.  A sunflower seed eating member of the household has been sharing the seed bounty.  Every time he goes outside, they run up, delighted to see him!

At first, it sounded like this…

“Hi!  We love you!  Do you have sunflower seeds?”

He would put the seeds in his hand and they would gently peck.  Everyone would laugh and the backyard was a happy place, full of sunshine and seeds.

But every day, the addiction grew.  Their cravings drove them to more and more demanding behavior.  If he goes outside now, he is accosted by anxious chickens who try to grab the bag and peck hard enough that he’s taken to sprinkling them on the ground to avoid injury.

I’m sure there is a lesson in this for us somewhere.

At least this is distracting them from the fact that I stole some of their crabapples.  I took them off the tree before they were ripe enough to fall and become chicken feed because I needed pectin for the “Water Bath Canning – Jelly” class tomorrow.  It took three tries to get it right, but I now have some crabapple juice and we are going to manufacture our own pectin, right there in the Gotta Love It! Kitchen!

We won’t eat that pectin because we can’t wash out the alcohol, but it’s a cool experiment.  I’m looking forward to the class, which is now full.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of Mad Kitchen Scientist experiments and canning classes, check out the Class Schedule page.  I’ve got two more classes scheduled for this summer or, alternatively, I’m happy to come to your house to teach you and several friends how to can or make fermented foods (like pickles or yogurt), Mad Kitchen Scientist Experiments and all.

It’s not eight grade science class.  It’s more like being seven years old with free run of the kitchen.  Ask any seven year old, it’s great fun!

Specklehead anxiously awaits crabapples