New additions to the coop

One of the most important things about keeping chickens other then the normal care and feeding is insuring their safety. Its very common that people will lose them to predators over time because animals like foxes, raccoons, etc will work very hard at figuring out how to get them. We lost a few to the local foxes this year because of a flaw in the coop, it is now fixed and they are totally safe and protected while inside.

When its time to get new chickens we like the idea of getting chickens that other people don't want anymore and we will take them and give them a lifetime home. We found just that this week, three chickens and moved them here with the others. There is a pecking order which means that one chicken will take charge of all the others, this was seen right away with the new hens. Lola didn't like the new birds in her territory and had to show them who's boss and keep them in line, it took about a week for them all to figure out there place and now they get along with each other just fine.

"Queen Lola"

The new additions, Buttercup, Bella and Iris.

Panama Trip

The house lake side bar and dock

Secluded Lake on property

Main and guest houses

Downtown Panama City

Panama City Skyline

 The huge capital city with high rise buildings everywhere. Sadly I found it not too much of a food city or even country, it seems like most of the people just want to eat and they don't care too much about what it is, it seemed like half the food was some form of burger or fried chicken. Small road side markets are mostly owned by Asian families and there was always a display of hot pork buns, pot stickers and other dim sum.

Dim sum in every market

The local beer, always welcome on a hot day.

Housemade restaurant hot sauce, really good with the fried fish.

Side of the road produce market. Great for stocking up on fresh produce.
The big markets don't have much of a produce section.

Coffee beans drying in the sun, coffee is big business up in the mountains.

Coffee beans roasting.

Known as "Tipico" the small road side meals that are served by families. Stewed pork, rice, beets and  plantains.

In the small towns and along the highway the restaurant scene is normally small and family run. The menu will have a couple of choices, chicken, pork or maybe locally caught fish. Its always served with rice and plantains. Really good and the price is cheap, anywhere from $5 on up. locals will get a cheaper price.

Small open street cafe

Our water taxi on a secluded beach

Island paradise

Boca Chica region of western Panama is a vacation spot for travelers and locals. The many islands are accessible by boat only and water taxis are easy to get. We had a hired a private boat to take us from island to island to visit restaurants and beach side bars.

Local moonshine rum

Rum is the drink......

My drink is rum, dark and aged on the rocks with fresh pineapple juice.
We of course went through a lot of this while sitting on the deck at night looking at the millions of stars. We also had access to really good Cuban rum as well.

Fresh eggs from the girls

The girls "Lola, Cookie and Lucky"

Barking Crow Farms

We give these away to our lucky friends and family

Not all eggs are created equal 

We got these local hens from a family that were no longer able to keep them because of summer vacation plans, their loss our gain. We had a new chicken coop that was just built and waiting for a opportunity like this. They quickly moved in and adapted to their new home, much bigger and with lots of room to explore during the day. They produce on average a egg a day during the summer and will slow down during the darker colder winter months. They are fed organic grains and ground oyster shells (for calcium) They hungry birds eat any other food that is given to them and they love to peck at corn on the Cobb and watermelon.

Long time away

I took a long break from this blog but now with more free time I will start back sharing what I see and do.