Bedford residents notice stench by boardwalk
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CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
The world's oldest chicken keeps surviving everything life throws at her
Life has not always been easy for Pearl, the world's oldest living chicken. She once broke her leg fleeing a raccoon attack. Her fellow hens have tried to kill her. She suffered bouts of chicken pox and pneumonia. And these days, her arthritis tilts her body to one side, and her best friend is a mop. "She's been through a lot," Pearl's owner, Sonya Hull of Little Elm, Texas, told As It Happens guest host Aarti Pole. And yet, the feisty 14-year-old fowl survived it all to become world's oldest chicken, according to Guinness World Records. Or at least, Hull admits, the oldest chicken whose owner bothered filling out the paper work. The fame, says Hull, has not gone to Pearl's head. "She doesn't seem to be fazed by it at all." Young at heart Hull hatched Pearl herself in an incubator, and says she was always a bit of a runt. "Hens have a pecking order and she was the lowest one ever since she was born," she said. In fact, Hull says her other hens have it out for Pearl. So when she started to slow down in her old age, the family decided to take her out of the chicken coop and let her live out her golden years inside the house. Nowadays, Pearl resides mostly in Hull's laundry room, where she likes to snuggle up with the aforementioned mop. But she often scoots her way into the living room to enjoy some television and neck scratches. Mobility issues aside, Hull says Pear seems pretty content. Every morning, she does a little dance when provided with fresh cherry tomatoes and grapes, her favourite. And she loves spending her days out in the yard — supervised, of course — digging up slugs. "I think she just has a love for life," Hull said. "She is still trying to live like she would if she were younger, and she seems to enjoy it." The average lifespan of an egg-laying hen is six to eight years, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's livestock program. But living inside and being doted upon seems to be the key to chicken longevity. Pearl's predecessor in the record books, Peanut, also lived the pampered life of a pet at her home in Michigan until she died at the age of 21 on Christmas Day 2023. "She's always gotten her way and been kind of a spoiled little chicken," Peanut's owner, Marsi Parker Darwin, told As It Happens in August 2023. "I will let Peanut sit in my lap while I'm watching TV or reading, and she just enjoys being stroked, and she will talk to us, make little happy noises. And that's kind of her life." Pearl, too, is beloved among her people. "She is part of the family," Hull said. "The grandkids come over … and they pet her. They're not afraid of her. She doesn't try to peck anybody. She likes to have the back of her neck scratched." She's also still surprisingly productive for an old gal.
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
City of Ottawa ending free dumping of wastewater from RV drivers
The City of Ottawa says this year will be the last year RV users can freely drop off wastewater for disposal at the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre. The RV waste disposal program operates from May to November, allowing people to bring their liquid waste to the water treatment plant and dispose of it at no charge. The City of Ottawa says the program oversees approximately 500 RV waste disposals per year. But now, following a review of operations at the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre, city staff say the RV waste disposal program will be discontinued at the end of the 2025 season on Nov. 30. Staff say security issues, labour costs, and construction are all factors in the decision to stop accepting waste from RV drivers. 'The audit identified that the program poses safety risks to both the public and staff, as well as to the City's critical infrastructure. In addition, ongoing construction and site upgrades are impacting access to disposal areas and contributing to already high vehicle traffic volumes,' a memo from General Manager of Infrastructure and Water Services Tammy Rose said. Rose says the city incurs an annual cost of approximately $2,000 to dispose of RV waste and $43,500 to oversee the program. 'Though it is difficult to precisely quantify the cost savings or the value of improved efficiency at the site, it is estimated that over $450,000 in savings on combined FTE and disposal costs will be realized over the next 10 years by canceling the program.' The city says RV owners have access to alternative local dumping sites where they can manage their wastewater independently.
CBC
12 hours ago
- CBC
This lemon-blueberry cottage cheese loaf is dense and moist in the best way
A loaf cake is my favourite kind of bake. There's no fuss or fancy layers to worry about, just an easy and delicious recipe that you can keep coming back to. This version is bursting with lemon and blueberry, and gets an extra boost of protein from a cup of cottage cheese. It's dense and moist in the best way — no dry, crumbly bites here. Ingredients ¾ cup (150 g) sugar Zest of 1 lemon 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¾ tsp kosher salt 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 cup 2% cottage cheese 2 large eggs ½ cup olive oil 1 cup fresh blueberries ½ cup thinly sliced almonds, to garnish Blueberry glaze: 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 3 tbsp water 1 cup (130 g) powdered sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp milk Preparation Heat the oven to 350 F with a rack in the middle position. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-4-inch loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Place the sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl, and rub them together with fingers until the sugar is fragrant and turns light yellow. Remove 2 tablespoons of flour from the measured 1½ cups and set aside. Combine the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, cottage cheese, eggs and olive oil to a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the sugar and lemon zest. Using a sifter, sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the reserved flour, then gently fold them into the batter. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the loaf is golden, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan and a tester comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Let the loaf sit in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While the loaf is cooling, make the glaze. Combine the blueberries and water in a small saucepan set over medium heat, and stir occasionally until the berries start to release their juices, about 3 to 4 minutes. Lightly mash the berries with a spatula to help break them down. Once the berries are soft and jammy, strain the berries into a heatproof bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids and let the juice cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the blueberry juice with the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and whisk until smooth and pourable. Once the loaf has fully cooled, drizzle the glaze over top. Garnish with sliced almonds, and refrigerate any remaining loaf for up to five days.
