What to do first

I feel so overwhelmed this time of year.  Winter is approaching and there is still SO much to be done.  Like I don't have enough on the list, I decided to build my own shed for raising rabbits and growing out young chickens.  I have a brooder house, which my husband and I built from a design I came up with.  It looks nice, but still needs trim on the outside, the porch needs finishing and the inside is not quite there yet.  I swore to myself and hubby that it would be done this summer.  Well, it isn't and here we are.

I have been brooding chicks in my "old" garage, then moving them to the pasture in portable pens all Spring and Summer, however, this time of year I can't do that.  I have been using the big pens I use for breeding for some of the late hatches, but now it is time to move everyone back in to their appropriate spaces and some are already full.  So, it is time to start selling more birds and only keeping what I need to get me set for the coming year.  The first step though, is catching them.  And that is a joy!  NOT!  Some are easy, like my Buckeyes.  I LOVE my Buckeyes.  They are the friendliest chickens ever.  I have Cochins too, peeps, and these have the Cochins beat hands down.  Do you know what I don't like about the Cochins?  When they come up to you and you have to walk, you end up stepping on their feet or on the feathers on their feet and they start squawking or they just stay in your way because they can't move!  I must say though, I do have one big Blue Cochin rooster who is just a sweetheart.  In fact, Daughter just loves him and holds him whenever she goes out to the chicken yard.  I don't have a hard time sending off most of my chickens, but he is one who has a permanent home here.  He is too tough to try eating, and I doubt anyone would want him for anything else considering  most chicken owners are overrun with roosters and cockerels by season's end.  I am especially so.

Back to the topic at hand... So, I now need to have some permanent grow-out pens.  Thus, the reason for the new shed I am constructing.

Middle wants money to buy guitar stuff and snowboarding gear and so forth.  Well, I have the perfect job for my 14-year old son, digging a trench.  You see, I have discovered that I need to have a wire barrier around my coops and buildings to keep rodents and other animals from digging their way under said buildings and coops.  I have to lay this wire 1 foot down and 2 feet out from the bottom of the building to achieve this goal.  Unfortunately, I do not own a "digger" that will mechanically do this for me, so I have to get a shovel and pick ax and start digging.  Well, that is where darling Middle comes in.  He did a good job of getting started, but I must admit, I am not sure where he is going to go from here.  The ground is so hard along the long side of where this is going, I don't know what we are going to use to dig in.  I did try the garden tiller, and it worked some, but much of it is just too darned hard!

Alright, so like this building isn't enough digging, we have probably 200-pounds or more of potatoes that still needs to be dug!  We are GREAT at growing things, but we really suck at using them up and storing them.  We have been talking for years that we need to put in a root cellar to store all these great veggies we grow, but we haven't gotten there yet.  It IS on our list of things to do.  Thanks to a killing frost this Spring, we don't have to worry about where to put all the apples.  Out of 7 trees that were FULL of blossoms (until they all froze) we got TWO apples this year.  We didn't even have plums on our American Plum trees that are basically weed trees and produce bushels of fruit normally.

One thing Hubby has gotten really good at growing is garlic.  Of course, he grows entirely too much for us to use, even though I put garlic in everything.  He planted, I think 1,100 cloves this weekend.  I think there is more to be planted too, but he had to go out of town for work all week.  Yes, for those of you who didn't know this, garlic is best planted in the fall.  It is then harvested in July, and one clove becomes one head of garlic.

Okay, I am out of time to ramble, but I shall return.  As the days are getting shorter, I can only do so much outdoor work and I need to fill my 'dark hours' with something ;)

CC

It Just Goes to Show

So, I was right, first of all.  This year has been just crazy B-U-S-Y!!!
Here a chick, there a chick, everywhere chicks, chicks, chicks!!!!  But it is a good thing, Martha.

I am hatching, or just finishing Hatch (Lucky Number) 13!  I haven't counted, but I am sure I am going to hit the 1 Grand mark soon.  My girls have been good to me.

So, I have to share one very funny story about a customer/group of customers.  I started getting e-mails from a young boy, though at the time this started I was not aware it was a boy, about getting a few chicks.  Impatient is his name.  LOL.  I wish MY OWN kids would get as excited about chickens as this boy and his friends are.  Apparently, they are starting a new business of raising chickens and selling eggs.  How exciting for them, right?  The oldest I believe is 16, and his brother is about 12, I would say, and their friends.  They e-mailed me several times and really, really wanted to come and check out my birds and what I had to sell.  Finally, the day came.  They asked for my address to find me, but then got lost, drove past and got lost again, calling me each time.  At first, I was annoyed.  Then they got here and it started making me laugh.  They had $X.00 and wanted to know how many chicks they could get.  It reminded me of the days when I would go to the general store with my mother and see how many pieces of candy I could get for a dime!  For starters, I would never have pegged these boys for the chicken loving type.  Finally, they went home with about 7 or 8 chicks of various colors and appearances.  They no more than got home and were sending me messages, they wanted to come back and get more.
For the next couple of days they kept sending me stuff, asking if I had one of these or one of those.  Then I had a chat with one on Facebook, and he just cracked me up.  I think I have become a fan of these young entrepreneurs.  They are funny and have gotten so excited about something that isn't something lame.  I don't consider it lame, as some more hip than I would, because they are kids and they are undertaking something that will lead them to learn a great deal about responsibility.  Whether they stick with it, or if they fail or succeed, they will learn something, I just know it.  They just couldn't wait for me, they went to someone else and got a bunch of Banties and they are on a roll.  I think I am going to enjoy watching them get going.  I hope they achieve whatever they are aiming for.  In the meantime, they are having a fun time with their little fluffballs.

This year has also shown us (Hubby and I) that parenting a teen sure is a job in itself.  Parents should be able to take a sebbatical from their regular jobs to take on the one they have with teens.  It is insane some days and we wonder if we are talking to a wall, because the very next day sometimes, we are having the same exact discussion about something that has happened the day before.  It is insanity at its best.  It truly is.  But we do understand that something happens to the teen brain that it goes into sort of a 'coast' mode.  No energy in, no energy out, just coasting.  And we consider ourselves lucky, because we know that he is a good kid.  OMG!  If I had a really messed up kid to begin with?  Just shoot me if that ever happens.  Like I said, we are lucky.  One thing we know, we MUST keep talking with them, no matter what.
Once in a while though, we really connect and have some good laughs.  Today was one of those days. I almost, literally, peed my pants.  I must concede here though that at this point in my life, that isn't terribly hard to do some days.  Too much coffee........Well, I know how to keggle and cross my legs.  it is not like the pregnancy days though where you sneeze and wet yourself to a point of embarrassment.

I remember when I was a kid, my one brother and two younger sisters were all sitting in the kitchen yucking it up.  We got my sister laughing SO hard, she did wet herself.  So, being the kind, thoughtful siblings we were, we kept making her laugh harder.  You know what happens then?  Yeah, Niagara Falls, all down her pants.  Hmmm.  Maybe that is why we don't talk anymore?  We were relentless though.  She was crying from laughing and then crying because she couldn't stop.  And there we were, poking the bear ;)

I don't see my kids having that much fun together often enough, but those golden moments when we all are together and no one is fighting.... Well, duh, they are golden!
We were watching old videos of the kids from about 8 years ago, last weekend.  There were somethings that were just priceless, like Daughter when she was 2 and I was singing her the nightly bedtime songs.  I sang the same ones each night and she was learning them bit by bit.  I would sing the verse and she would fill in the last word.  It was so precious, I wanted to cry.  I will have my slice of nostalgia with a side of more nostalgia, please.  Oh, how I miss those days!  Or Eldest playing air guitar to Jungle Book 2.  How about Middle explaining that the crying in the background was just 'technical difficulties with a 1-year old", and as he said it, he was holding the camera like someone would hold the sides of your head to make sure you were listening to the very important thing you had to say.
To listen to the way they sounded back then is HILARIOUS!  We could hardly believe who was speaking when we heard them.  It was all so fun back then.  It still is now, but life is no longer about Play-Doh and night night songs, it is about learning to drive and getting a first job, and deciding what classes to take to prepare for college.  It is recitals for dance that they are in every show because they are in classes that are advanced enough that it is there turn to be in with the big girls.  It has all gone so fast, and I wish I could turn it all back and go play with my little kids.  Oh, how I miss my three little darlings.  Now, they better hurry the hell up and get me some grandbabies so I can enjoy those precious moments.  Alas, I WILL wait for them to reach a point of being responsible, mature people who are ready for parenting.  Then I will wish for PAYBACK!!!

CC

It has been a while, hasn't it?

Yes, it has.  It is looking like 2012 will be a lot like 2011, very BUSY!  That is a good thing, I can't imagine life ever being boring and not having anything to do.  My kids, on the other hand.... if I had a dollar for every time I have heard "I'm bored." since just New Years, I would have my money for next Christmas in the bank.

I think at least half the country would agree, this has been the craziest winter ever!  You won't see me complaining though.  I have been able to get more stuff done that I would have had we had 2 feet of snow on the ground all season or if we had a month of below zero temps and wind chills.  This is GOOD crazy.

It has been hatching season for me for the last month already.  I doubt I would have had enough not-frozen eggs to put in for hatching if we had a typical Minnesota winter.  I have already hatched over 100 chicks and there are more a cookin'.  This is exciting and fun.  I find it hard to understand how my kids have become the way they have about the baby chicks.  Call me crazy, but I still get excited to see them cracking and popping out of those eggs.  Daughter, who is not quite 10 yet, still likes to go out and hold them, but she doesn't oooo, and ahhhh like she used to, not even over the Silkies.  The good thing though, she and Middle still want to show them in the Summer.  In fact, they still want to show ducks too, which means getting a whole new batch this year.

Ah, that is another good thing about the winter being mild and minimal amount of snow,  the ducks.  I sort of stuck myself with 6 Jumbo Pekins and a Welsh Harlequin drake over the winter.  You see, my processor said he doesn't do ducks until after it gets really cold.  Well, things were busy around here and I kept putting it off until it got to be early December.  I then called him up and he said he was closed for the Winter.  Then I called around, and everyone else was close to ducks for the Winter.  So, then, I was going to do them myself.  I told Middle and Hubby they had to help me since they were the ones who wanted to ducks to eat.  Middle said, "NO WAY! I'm not killing the ducks."  Once I explained I would do the killing (not my favorite thing either, sheesh), he said he would help pluck.  As it turned out, whenever there was a day warm enough to do it, kids were in school and Hubby was out of town.  So, guess what?  I STILL have 6 Jumbo Pekins and a Welsh out here.  The good news?  Well, I am getting Pekin eggs now and I KNOW they are fertile (poor girly ducks, 2 of them and 4 drakes).  I am really hoping that the duck who laid double, conjoined yolks all Fall has her system settled down so she lays normal eggs.  I plan to hatch a few and then start looking for someone to process the whole 7 of them.

Life is always a bowlful of cherries with a couple of teenagers in the house.  Eldest gives me a daily dose of crap like most teenagers do.  It is a good thing I color my hair often because I don't want to see how much more gray hair I have gotten in the last 6-months.  Poor Hubby though, he is getting it like crazy.

Eldest turns 16 in May, and guess what he is wanting to get?  You betcha!  A car.  Of course, when I tell him how I was 18 before I had my own car and I had to buy my own car, he won't hear it.  "Things have changed, Mom!"  Oh, yes, they have changed so much that parents are supposed to just go out and plunk down $10,000 for a car so you can go hang out with your friends whenever you want?  I don't think so.  The nice thing is, he does work.  The not-so-great part of that is that he only gets about 5-8 hours a week.  I can't suggest any jobs though because they aren't cool enough or they don't pay enough or just about any other excuse just because I suggest them.  He was such a wonderful, perfectly wonderful young boy, I had really hoped we would skip this part of being a kid.  I was wrong.  And the extra fun thing, Middle is 13 1/2.  You know what that means?  Here comes pain in the ass number 2.  Middle says he won't act like Eldest, but I know not to get my hopes up.  They do have different personalities, so maybe there is a chance, but I am not putting any stock in it.  The big dread though, Daughter becoming a teenager.  Holy crap, are we going to have our hands full then!

Even though we have had a very mild, very snowless Winter so far, we are getting snow tonight.  I am just hoping like crazy the school isn't closed or delayed in any way tomorrow, the kids had off Friday and today, and the whole "I'm bored." thing is really going to make me snap if they are here one more day.  On top of it all, Hubby was gone to a meeting all weekend.  Isn't that special?

Middle will be happy with the snow.  I swear he has been doing the snow dance (like the rain dance but different).  He has only been snowboarding 3 or 4 times this year, and he wants to be on the slopes SO SO SO bad.  We thought about Hubby taking him to the Rockies to get some good boarding in, but we are afraid it will poison him.  By that I mean that he will never be happy boarding here in Minnesota again if he goes out and finds out what a real mountain slope is all about.  I know it spoiled me from ever wanting to ski anywhere but the Rockies.  The whole idea was for Hubby to take Middle out there, and me take the other two and go to Florida!  We lived there for 5 1/2 years when we were in our Navy days, and I would never want to live there again, but it sure is nice to visit.  Plus, I want them to have a chance to do the theme park stuff at least once before they are off to college.  

Well, time to retire is upon me.  

Til next time....

CC

He's Back!!!

Old Man Winter seems to have been on a hiatus, but today he is back with vengence.  Was it Sunday or Monday it was 50-degrees, and now the temp is 13 with a wind chill of -5.  Like I really want to go out there?  Not really.  But, I have birds that rely on me for food and water and I must go and take care of them.  I have a feeling the ducks are inside today too.  They are so silly, they stay out all the time, but the last time the temps dipped like this, they actually went inside for the first time, voluntarily.

This weekend the temp is supposed to be back to 40, so I think that is when I will be running the electric in the big chicken out.  That way the birds should have water all day long without freezing, and I won't have to break ice every day.  I need to water twice on days like today to make sure they are getting plenty.

I got two pens of bantams up and separated.  They seem pretty happy, or at least my little Frizzles are.  They have been in a large rabbit cage for some time now and though I had a pad in there that gave them solid floor in part of it, they are happy to have an all solid floor and shavings to scratch in.  I still have 5 bantam pens to finish in there, then the construction in that building will be done.  I did say  IN because I still need to get out and get gates on the outdoor runs, and wire over the top for those breeds that love to fly out.

Well, I need to run to the mill for more feed.  It is time to face the awful weather.

CC

2011

Another year is gone by.  I can sum that one up in one word: BUSY!!!!!

There was so much to get done this last year, and we did most of it.  Some of it got forgotten and some is still on our list of Things To Do, but we accomplished much.

Hubby spent a lot of time away from home and it looks like 2012 will be no different.  The company downsizing and losing some employees has made his job more secure, but sometimes I wish he could find a new line of work.  I miss him.

My two boys have both grown so much and have gone way passed me already.

Eldest has been a challenge, but we are still proud of all he is (except those moments when he makes us want to rip his head off).  15-year olds, Oi!

Middle is becoming and awesome guitar player!  He hasn't had a lesson yet, but he has heart and soul that he is pouring into those strings and it is paying off.  We actually ENJOY listening to him play now!

Daughter has her days, but she is the cutest little girl in the world to me and makes me so proud of who she is and what she is becoming.  I wish she was still little enough for me to gobble her belly.  Okay, I still do when she is being stubborn and I want to get her to talk to me, or at least smile.

Well, the chicken house is not done yet, but thanks to the long fall and warm winter so far, I have gotten much done that I might not have if we had normal temps.
 I just finished pens 7 and 8 done tonight and birds moved into them.  They are happier and less crowded.  I will be able to start collecting eggs to hatch soon, that is if they will get laying and quit poking around about it.  I have yet to put lights in to get them going again, but slowly I am getting eggs again.  They needed a break, but now it is time to start cranking them out.
I got 2 portable coops up off the ground where I don't have to worry about mice and rats getting in them.  Face it, if you have as many chickens and ducks and turkeys as I have, there are bound to be rodents coming around.
I counted the other day, and I have roughly 125 chickens right now.  That breaks down to 13 Standard Breeds/Varieties, and 8 Bantams Breeds/Varieties.  I have some crossbreeds too that are not part of that count, those are just the ones I am breeding pure.
I still have 6 Pekin ducks and 1 Welsh Harlequin.  I was hoping to get rid of the WH drake with his two 'brothers', but someone just wanted 2.  So, I may be stuck with this guy until I can find someone to take him or until I can get him butchered.  The Pekins are well passed the point of when I wanted to get them butchered.  I was so busy this fall that by the time I got around to calling to have them processed, my guy closed up for winter already.  I called around, but with no luck.  So, if I want them butchered, I am going to have to do it myself.  I told Hubby and Middle that since they are the ones wanting to eat duck, they need to help me get them processed.  Hubby said, "Oh."  Middle said, "NO WAY!! I am not killing the ducks!"  Well, I told him that it didn't mean HE had to do the killing, but he could help with the plucking and gutting.  He didn't like that either but conceded to help.  Now, to get it all ready and do it before the weather really turns cold here.
I also have to blood test all of my chickens and I don't want to do that when it is below freezing and have everything freeze on me.

We have been SO SO SO lucky with the weather though!!!

Middle is still bummed about not having snow to go snowboarding, but at least he isn't carrying on about it every day all day long like he was.

I have gotten orders started for chicks and eggs.  I am excited about the prospects of what this year will be with my hatchery starting out.  I need to get in and finish the inside of the brooder house before I start putting eggs in to incubate.  I will need to raise about 130 birds for myself, maybe more so I can pick some better (hopefully) breeders for next year.  Maybe I will do more than that, we will see how things go.  I know spring time is going to mean more fencing and digging a pond and getting a proper shelter for ducks up so I can keep some over winter without a huge hassle.

Of course, spring is going to mean gardening too.   This year, if we can get all the preparations done, we are hoping to replace our old ailing farmhouse too.  So, 2012 is going to be another busy one.  But if all we do is sit around, that isn't living.

May all of you have a wonderful New Year!
Til next time....


CC

Holiday Silliness.

It is that time again where the silliness ensues.  I have composed some new songs for the season from a slightly poultry point of view:

O Come All Ye Chickens

Oh, come all ye Chickens

Flying, Running , Flapping

Oh Come ye 

Oh come ye to e-eat your scratch

Come and enjoy it

Eat until your crop is full

Oh Come peck up the kernels

Oh Come peck up the kernels

Oh Come peck up the kernels

And don't forget your grit

Oh come all ye Chickens

Squawking, crowing, clucking

Oh Come and lay eggs for me

So I may hatch them

We will have more birds

Little fluffy chickies

Oh come let us hold them

Oh come let us watch them

Oh come and make me just another

Chicken addict!

A challenge was put to me, so I answered the call:

Ava Maria, you say?
My hen's version-

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Baaaaawk BawkBawk Baaaaaawwwk BawkBawk

Baaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk  Ba-gawk
Baaaaaaaaaaa-gaaaaaaaaawk   Ba-ba-ba gaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Bawk bu-bu-bu-bu-ba-gawwwwwwk


I need her to work on the rest, it is such a long song for such a small chicken.

Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster

Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster

Had a very cozy scarf

And if you ever saw him

You would even say he crows

All of the other roosters

Used to laugh and peck his head

They never let poor Rudolph

Try to breed any of their hens.

Then one windy Autumn eve

Farmer came to say

Roosters who like to peck and fight

Go to freezer camp tonight

The how the hens all loved him

As they clucked around with glee

Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster

Should change his name to Mr. Lucky!

(Along the lines of Silent Night)

Silent Night Chicken Style

Leg-horn White
Gold-en Se-bright

All the hens
In their pens
Coo-ing sounds com-ing
from their roost
Eggs come pop-ping out
In their nests

In the morning Ome-lets we'll enjoy
My pet makes my break-fast

A-mer-au-cana
Black Ja-va

Eggs in Blue
Green ones too
Brown and White, and Speckled ones too
Large and small and Jum-bo too
All my hens are so haaaaa-ppy
Nest-led all in their coop

Leghorn Whiiiiiiiiite
Golden Se-briiiiiiight

Check Your Nest (to the sound of Deck the Halls)

Check your nests or you'll be sorry
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck

Frozen eggs bring you no glory
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck

Heat your nests or collect them often
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck
Cluck
Cluck

Snatch them up put 'em in the bator
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck

Chicken Wonderland

Roosters crow

Are ya listening

In the coop

Where their scratching

They're singing their song

As hens cluck along

Crowing in a winter wonderland

In the meadow we can throw some corn seed

and the Crows will come and chow it down

Bald Eagles with come and circle 'round here

Until the Crows all mob and chase them around

Later on, they'll puff their feathers

To fight off

The cold weather

Dreaming of lawns

As the night lingers on

Crowing in the winter wonderland

Crowing in the winter

Snowing in the winter

Crowing in the winter

Won-der-land

If you can escape them, you start to think like them.

Know they enemy!

Okay, my chickens are not my enemy, I love each and every one of them.  Some I love with dumplings more than in the coop, but I do love them.

The new house is getting closer and closer to being done and I have it almost half full now.  The birdies are appreciating not having to huddle and roost in the portable pens that set on the ground.  They are in deep shavings and out of the wind, or at least the ones that are smart enough to sleep in the back of the pen away from the windows.  Some are just not smart.  Yes, it is true, chickens are not the brightest of the bunch.  I felt terrible for my one Minorca boy, he is already showing signs of frostbite.  It is the downside of having birds with such large combs in this cold climate.  I have read that putting Vaseline or Bag Balm on them helps.  I will have to find me a can and give it a try.  Poor guys.

Even with the extended fall, I wasn't able to get all the preparations done that I needed to for winter, but I  got my snow pants and heavy work jacket, several pairs of gloves and hats to help me continue my quest.  I finally got all the wire on the outdoor runs the first day we really started accumulating snow.  It was tough trying to tack up the wire at the 6-foot level and having to look up into the clumping snowflakes to do it and having them going in my eyes.  I was glad I forgot to wear my glasses that day, it would have been no help if I had.

It has been a cold last couple of days and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst yet for this time around, a high of 14 and the low nearing zero.  Ouch!  I can't say as I like the sounds of that.  In this old house, we feel the cold a bit when it gets like that.  I can't wait until next year when we are supposed to be tearing this old house down and putting up a new, very efficient and comfortable in-ground dome structure.  (Look them up on wwwformworksbuilding.com).  It makes more sense than trying to fix all the problems this 100+-year old house has.  This week it was a drain/septic issue.  We are just praying that it doesn't all give out on us before spring.  I told Husband that I don't think we should hedge on things working through the winter, but we still have not come to a decision on whether or not we should do something different right now.  It all cost $$ and sometimes you just feel like you are throwing it away in these cases to band-aid fix something that is going to be all taken out in the not so distant future.  Decisions.  Decisions. Decisions.

Someone is happy the snow has come though.  Middle.

He has been just chomping at the bit to have snow.  He wants to go snowboarding tomorrow after school.  I hate to break it to him, but in addition to it being colder that a witches nose, he has a bedroom that needs cleaning AND he has been having problems with his back for a few weeks from an injury during soccer season.  I had him in the chiropractor yesterday and have had him in there several time before that to help get over this problem.  We did find out a couple of weeks ago, the boy's feet are as flat as a ducks!  We wondered why it sounded like duck feet slapping down the hall when he would go to the bathroom.  Now we know.

I had suspected this a long time ago and had him show me his feet, but I went about it wrong.  I had him lift his foot to show me the bottoms, to examine the arches.  Well, when you lift your feet it pulls the arch up, therefore appearing normal.  So, this guy we see had him stand with his feet on the floor with no shoes and he has NO arch.  Add that to the almost half inch difference in his leg length, and no wonder he has some issues with standing up straight.  It is hard to get it through a 13-year old, stubborn boy's head that jumping on his snowboard and going up and down hills is probably not the best thing for him to be doing right now.  Any bet on how big of a hissy fit he throws when I tell him he can't go?

Well, the sun is out and there is much to be done.

Let the silliness continue, if for no other reason but to help deal with Old Man Winter's extended visit which has only just begun.

In case I don't get back to say it,

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!

CC

Once Upon a Time

There was a very tired and stressed out mother/wife who just wanted there to be not so much work all of the time.  She wanted to go with her family on a vacation somewhere where they could all relax and have fun together, instead of always working to get this project done or that project done.  She was saddened by the thought of her children growing up and going off into the world and that they would never be able to take that time to get away and just be a family for a while without all the rest of life's baloney.

Okay, I am awake now.  Must have been dreaming again.
I do look forward to hubby and I taking the kids and going to do something fun away from all that we have going on here, while the kids are still kids.  It has seemed like we would still have so much time, but it has flown passed so quickly, and before we know it, Eldest is going to be done with high school and off to college.

Today was spent first running Middle to the chiropractor to get his back adjusted and get my spine in line too.  I wish he lived next door so I didn't have to spend 2-hours running to get that done every time, which is 2-3 times a week now since Middle hurt himself during soccer season.  Then I got back to work on the chicken house (outdoor runs) some more.  I was sure we would get them all up and ready to put wire on before it got too dark, but Daughter had dance and Eldest had work and Hubby had to take them while I kept plugging away.  Then Middle needed help carrying rabbit cages that he was cleaning and I just ran out of daylight for getting the frame done.  Now tomorrow is supposed to be rainy turning to snow and then we are supposed to get 4-6 inches of the white stuff tomorrow night.

How pleasant.

Middle is just chomping at the bit to go snowboarding, so he is yelling "Bring on the snow!"  While I am saying, "Can we just skip winter this year?  Please?"  We have been quite lucky so far though, this fall has been warm and dry and good for getting projects worked on out there when I do have the time away from the family/parental obligations.

When I was a kid, we always had a trip that Mom and Dad took us on in the summer and we ALWAYS went to Florida for 2-weeks.  My grandparents had a house down there and my dad hated being up north all winter.  So, when I was 2, we started going to Florida every year in February for 2-weeks.  The last time I made that trip with my parents, I think I was 13 or 14.  After that, I got to stay home and do chores with my older siblings.  I was glad then that I didn't have to go.  I liked going to Florida, but who wants to go with their parents to a small town that wasn't close to anything to spend 2-weeks?  I did enjoy my grandmother's company though.  We sat almost every night playing cards and laughing about some stupid things, listening to stories of mischief and mayhem.  My Gram was quite the hell-raiser when she was young.  Then she had 11 children and 44 grandchildren to tell stories about.  She was definitely NOT a dull person to be with.  I sure loved that lady.

One summer when I was 7, whole family, minus 2 brothers, went on a trip "Out West".  We loaded up a motor home, towing a pullout camper on the back, and we went from Buffalo, NY to Billings, Montana.  My father had a cousin of some kind out there, so we went on a loooooong trip out there.  There were 13 of us because my grandparents went along too.  Being that I was only 7, I don't remember a whole lot.  We almost always stopped at a KOA Campground that had a swimming pool.  One night, it was near the Badlands in South Dakota, there was a huge thunderstorm and we couldn't stop where there was a pool, and I just couldn't understand why not.  Well, being the hopeful child I was that Mother Nature would surely see I need to take a dip, I believed that once we found the one with the pool, the rain would stop and we could all go swim.  Of course, I was a knucklehead for not realizing that that was no way going to be the case, and we went to a place without a pool.  Funny thing is, I don't remember anything else about that night.
I do remember, most of our trip was a lot of flat plains with nothing to look at.  We listened to George Jones and Dolly Parton a lot on the old 8 Tracks.  There was other country music too, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind that always make me think of our trip "Out West".  There were things that were easy to remember, like this huge game reserve park with bears all over that we drove through.  Those are the places that have the signs that tell stupid people who don't have enough brains in their heads to NOT FEED THE BEARS.  Yes, some other knuckleheads would always come in thinking that these were the real Yogi Bears and they would just steal your pickanick baskets and run.  Let's see....does your pickanick basket include your arm?  Maybe just a hand?  How anyone could be so stupid as to ignore warnings, I just don't know.  But there were plenty of stories that told of how someone would be that stupid.
Probably the most beautiful memory of that trip was the morning we reached the top of a mountain somewhere in the Rockies, and you could smell the flowers and hear the water running off the snow cap that was still there on the mountain tops regardless of the fact that we were WELL into summer.  There was a beautiful lake and it was just so serene.  In fact, when I hear or read the word serene, that is the picture that comes to mind for me.
It was a bit scary though.  We had this big motor home and looking out the windows, everything was straight down.  As we wound our way up and around mountain roads, there was a shear drop on the one side all the way up and all the way down.  I recall being scared half to death that we were going to slide off the side of the mountain.  My grandfather HAD to sit in the front seat next to the window all the way there and back, and when we were going on those snaking mountain roads, you could see the terror on his face.  It is a wonder he didn't have a heart attack on that trip.  He was going through nitro like they were Tic Tacs.
The lucky ones to get to sleep in the pull out camper were my grandparents and 3 of my siblings.  One night, all the rest of us were in bed in the camper (or on the floor in sleeping bags as it were for some), and we heard all kinds of noise coming from the camper.  We had all assumed it was Grandpa telling stories again went to sleep.  The next morning, we found out it wasn't the laughter of Grandpa's storytelling.  Every night the camper had to be hooked back onto the motor home for stability.  We had probably unhooked it to service the motor home or go to a restaurant or something, but it didn't get hooked up again.  My grandparents outweighed my siblings by enough that it had tipped up and my siblings rolled over onto our grandparents and they were screaming and laughing and couldn't get themselves righted.  Grandpa was really in need of his pills then!  The next morning they found Grandma's teeth in someone's shoe and Grandpa finally did find his pills somewhere in the mess.  I am certain that no one forgot to hook up the camper after that.
There was one place that had a fishing pond.  It was a fun for us kids, it was almost guaranteed that you would catch something it was so stocked.  When we ran out of bait and Mom and Dad said no to getting more, we started throwing Cheetos to the fish.  BOY, did they love those!!  We should have used that for bait, but we already turned in our rods for the day.  So, it was just about as much fun watching them go after the Cheetos as it was catching them, and not nearly as messy.  Then the owner/manager/whoever was in charge came out and yelled at us and talked to our parents so we couldn't do that any more.  They were mad because our feeding the fish the Cheetos was making them too full and they wouldn't bite for anyone else.  I think we all spent the rest of the day plotting our revenge for them having spoiled our fun.

There was stop we made along a river where there was a public beach and 'watering hole'.  We got to go in swimming and it was a nice way to cool off in the hot summer sun.  There were a lot of local kids there.  There was a group of teenagers off in a spot down the river a little, and they had some inner tubes to float on.  One girl went floating out into a spot that had a hard current and was a bit deeper than the rest.  A smart aleck boy went and pulled the tube out from under her and she started flailing because she couldn't swim.  A bunch of her friends came to her rescue while that boy dragged the tube up the beach. My grandmother was just livid.  She got up and went over to that boy and was determined she was going to take that tube away from him after that stupid stunt, and she did.  He even tried taking it back and dragged her down the beach a little, but she did not give in.  I think he learned a lesson about how stubborn and strong some grandmothers are.  It was a funny sight to see though as a little kid, your grandmother with her arms wrapped around an inner tube and a teenage boy pulling like they were in a game of tug-of-war.

So, as I spend my days building chicken houses and pens, and cleaning up the yard and cleaning out our closets and picking up clutter inside and out, along with running kids to and from their things they have going on, I think about how it would be so nice to get away.  I think about how nice it will be if we can go on a trip that will give my children stories to tell about the trip they took with their family and the things they remember.  In all the things that I have always thought my parents didn't do right, that was one that they did do that I will always be glad for, the trips we took.  Not all the trips were the best time ever, I can't say as any of them were that great, but I have memories of things that will be with me my whole life.  Some make me laugh still, 38-years later.  That is what I hope we don't put off until it is too late.


CC

Heartbeat

Tonight I was watching Grey's Anatomy with my kids.  We don't get regular/cable/dish television, but we do stream from Netflix, so it wasn't the most current episode.  That doesn't matter though.  The story included one of the cast being pregnant and being freaked out that she was going to lose the pregnancy.  So, the 'doctor' on the case rolls in this 'special' ultrasound unit to find the heartbeat of the baby/fetus/whatever you want to call it at 8 weeks.  They hear the heartbeat and everyone is teary eyed.  When I say everyone, I mean me too.  Yeah, sappy, I know.  But it wasn't that the characters on the show had brought this on.  No, it became a wonderful memory awakener for me.  When I was pregnant with Eldest, we were getting ready to move and I was all nervous - typical first time mommy jitters.  I went in for my first ob/gyn visit, and just for fun they put on an ultrasound.  I was 10-weeks.  At this point in the pregnancy, the baby-to-be looks similar to a kidney bean, but Eldest was a kidney bean with a heartbeat.  It was a little thing and barely visible, but it was a heartbeat that fluttered very quickly compared to the heart of an adult.  At that point, if it hadn't been real to me yet, it became very real right then.  It is an amazing feeling that I think only a first time parent can really understand - that first moment when the realization of a little baby inside of you becomes very, very real.

Now, 16 years later, I think back to that day, that moment like it was just last week.  So much has happened since then.  He has grown into a young man, not quite an adult, but right on the edge of being one.  He is a royal pain in the rear sometimes, but overall, I couldn't be more proud of the young man I have raised with my husband.  A friend told me today that her son who has Downs' Syndrome comes home from school every day and talks about my son and just thinks the world of him.  They have choir together every day, so there is daily contact.  It made me feel very good to hear her say that.  He is an Honors student and in the top 10 in his class.  He has had a job since he turned 14, starting as a volunteer and working into a paid position.  He is well-liked by most every teacher/staff person in the school, adults in our County 4-H too.  What is there to not be proud of?  And to think, it all started as a little fluttering heartbeat.  I look forward to watching him grow more and become a wonderful man, because that is what I know he will be.  Just don't tell him I told all of you so ; )

CC

The Quiet

I love nighttime the best.  I always have for various reasons in my life.  When I was a kid, it was the time the house was quiet and everyone in their bedrooms.  In a family with 11 kids, that is saying something.  Then again, I never had my own room until I was about 12 or 13.  I do remember the only sounds after about 9:00 were the creaking of the boards in the hall when someone was going to the bathroom.  You would have thought there would have been a line, like they used to show on TV shows like the Brady Bunch, but no, it was more like someone in need of using the bathroom would bang on the door and yell, "Hurry up!"  That was about the extent of that.
Then when I was a teenager, I like the night when I could be in my room, listen to my own brand of music and read or do homework.  It was MY place.
When I became a young adult, it was about going out and having fun, followed by going to bed late with ringing in my ears from the night of loud musice, then by getting up much too early and wishing I hadn't stayed out so late the night before.
When we were newlyweds, it was our time (if we were both off work) to watch a movie or television and eat popcorn and split a Coke while lounging on the sofa.
When the kids were little and went to bed all at the same time (8:00), I would pay bills and balance the checkbook, clean up from the day, run the vacuum (since children sleep through white noise once they are asleep, or at least mine did), fold the day's laundry, then read a bit before going to bed.  Occasionally, I would do a project then, like lay new tile or the like, but it was a nice quiet when I knew they were in bed and asleep after mommy sang a little and gave everyone their smooch for the night.
Now, it seems they never go to bed.  Each has a separate bed time, so that is a little crazy, but you can't expect a 15 year old to have to go to bed at the same time as his 9-year old sister.  The ME time has been shortened significantly, and by the time all is quiet, I don't feel much like doing laundry and dishes and vacuuming (which now wakes the beasts rather than soothing them to sleep).  So, it is time when I check out what my friends are doing, via Facebook.  I look at what is new on Craigslist.  I check out what is on BYC, if there are any good auctions ( not that I am hatching at this time) and to see if there is something new I can learn and apply to my flock.  Sometimes it is just fun to see what people need and if I can lend any helpful tidbits.  There is always the game of "What breed am I" or "Am I a boy or a girl"  that people are stumped by, but that is a game that is getting old.
Nighttime is when my brain gets creative and I draw/design new chicken coops or gardens or what I want my new house to look like.  I come up with 101 ideas for our 4-H club to try.  I practice piano a little too, even though I stopped lessons 6-months ago.  I do enjoy actually making music and seeing how much more used to the keys my hands have gotten.  I will never even dream that I could be a concert pianist, it just isn't in the cards, but I like the music I am able to play.

My husband has never bought into the thought that people are morning people or night owls.  Can you guess?  He, of course, is a morning person.  He wakes up on the weekends a picks up a book and reads for an hour.  If I even thought about reading when I woke up, I would just fall right back to sleep.  Then again, I don't have to think about reading to fall back asleep, I just close my eyes and viola!  I'm asleep.  He doesn't get it.  If he is woken up after having fallen asleep, he lays awake for hours.  Me, I crash again, real quick.  It makes him mad too that I can do that.  However, last night Daughter came in at 1:00am.  She could not sleep.  Some kids at school were telling her some stupid story about "Bloody Mary" and if you look in the mirror at night when all is dark and the doors and windows are locked, she will come to get you through your mirror.  Gee, let's see, Halloween is next week.  I asked her if she didn't think it a little coincidental that she is hearing stories like this at this time of year?  Mind you, she is a pretty smart cookie, top of her class, but this thing has got her in a mess.  She woke me up to tell me she can't sleep and she is scared and so on and so forth.  I, of course, being the sweet mommy I am, told her she could sleep with me since daddy was gone overnight for work.  Well, 30 minutes after coming in, she is over there sawing logs and I am wide awake and cannot sleep.  What the heck???  I can almost always sleep anytime, anywhere.  Nope, I was up for 4 hours!!!  Yeah, nighttime is usually a great time for me, but there are exceptions.

CC

Running Short

Short of...

Daylight.  There is no longer long, leisurely days of enjoying the sun and green of summer.  The days are getting short, the nights are cold and the leaves are nearly all on the ground.  That doesn't change anything about the amount of work that still needs to get done.  It actually increases it.  Now, on top of all the regular chores, there is the fall clean-up and preparing for winter to do.

Two days ago Husband started the annual "Planting of the Garlic".  Actually, last year the "annual" part was interrupted and we had to buy new seed stock this year.  My father-in-law had cancer and passed away at the time we should have been planting.  It was more sad to lose him, of course, but not having our 8-years' work of seed stock gone was very sad too.  Life is unpredictable that way though.  But the garlic is nearly done, and then he can get back out to help me finish my chicken house and get the birds in so they can be warm and cozy again.  Okay, so maybe they won't be that cozy since it has 4 big windows that will remain open all winter.  They will be healthier for it though, I am certain.

The garden did not get the attention needed to produce a harvest.  In other words, I grew a great weed patch this summer.  My chickens and ducks are really enjoying the 5-foot tall grass that has grown up all over in there.  I sent Middle in today to collect all the supports and cages I put in when I planted last spring.  I sure hope next year is better.  It couldn't get any worse.  I will say though, Sunflowers did wonderfully this year.  That is probably because they grew anywhere from 7 to 12-feet tall and were way above the weeds.

Daughter is pressing us to have our traditional leaf ride for her.  Every year except last year since we have lived here, we have collect leaves on a huge tarp and pulled the kids around on it with the lawn tractor.  The boys have outgrown it, but Daughter is still trying to hold onto those things we have done with them as little kids.  The tough things about doing this leaf ride is that 1.)  they are Silver Maples, so the leaves, if we use the mower, just disintegrate; and 2.) the wind has already blown most of the leaves away.  Let's not forget to mention the 70 asparagus plants and the 2 huge raised beds of garlic that now take up half the front lawn that used to be where we pulled the leaf tarp.  Just one more thing for her to be disappointed about.  It makes me feel bad, but at the same time. there has been a lot going on in the way of work and projects this year.

As much as I want to keep rambling, I will have to pick up with a second part next time.  The day has ended for me, and still I could fill the night with work as well, but that just wouldn't be a good thing.

CC

Back in the Saddle

Oh, I suppose it is time I post something again.  This crazy summer has been so busy, busy, busy!  I spent the last two days taking Middle to State Fair with his market ducks.  Wednesday was entry day and yesterday the show.  I took Daughter along yesterday and had to listen to complaints of aching feet.  What did she think?  I was going to carry her?  Ha Ha!  She did ask, but I pointed out that I would have croaked trying to carry her all the way.  Had to walk to the dorm where Middle was staying so he could change after he showed.  He was holding one drake and I the other, when his decided to poop all down his pant leg.  I laughed, mostly to myself so as to not make him feel any worse about it.  I set mine on the floor for a bit (they are not lightweight birds!) and while he was standing there, he did his business on the floor.  I still came away from the whole thing smelling like a wet duck.  YUCK!  I prefer chicken poop, it isn't as runny and messy, usually anyway.
He did well.  He got called back for the final judging of market ducks, but there were two outstanding pens that were obvious winners.  He would have come close if there were more placings, I think.  Some of the birds in the class were quite small compared to his.  Surely, Middle's were not as old as some of the others and if they had been, I think he would have been more in contention.  As it is though, it has been a good experience for him, I believe.  I heard a lot of complaining yesterday, but I think he was very tired and not feeling the greatest.  The show, which was supposed to run from 1pm to 5:30pm, didn't end until 10:45.  I am glad I didn't stay until the end.  OH MY!  That was a long day for those kids!  Middle opted to go back to the dorm early and go to bed, which was about the wisest decision I have seen him make in a while ; )

I did partake of the yummy fair fare.  I had a frybread taco, which I have been looking forward to for some time now.  Of course, Daughter and I shared an order of curds, a lemonade, and then we had ice cream from Bridgeman's.  MMM!

We had to check out her posters in the poultry and the rabbit departments.  She got a blue ribbon on her rabbit poster.  The poultry ones had not been judged yet.  I am hopeful that she did well with it.  She has some good ideas and we are working on some for next year.

Hubby has been working on my chicken house.  Bless his heart.  I have been off running around while he works.  He is doing a wonderful job.  I may have my birds in it by next week if all goes well.  Then I can dismantle some of my portable pens until next year, maybe.

I would love to post more pictures with this, but my camera I took yesterday stopped working, and my laptop which contains about 5,000 pictures crashed and I have it in the shop for repairs.  I may have lost everything, but I am still hoping the second diagnostic it is running through is able to extract the info.  Otherwise, I may cry!  I was told that I could send it off to pay a few hundred dollars to have it all recovered, but I am so hoping it doesn't come to that.

Well, much work is waiting for me, and I better do something to catch up from my absence.  I am really hoping to get Middle's bedroom cleaned while he is away too and get rid of all the junk he has kicking around in there.  That boy is a pack rat!

Til Late.
CC

Baby Steps

Yes, baby steps.  It is what I feel like I am taking toward getting projects done here.  Alas, there are steps at least.  I did get some boards cut tonight.  I will get more tomorrow so that I can get the pens in the big chicken house done and get my birds in there to live.  Then there is the painting of the
 boards, and there is the laying of the linoleum.  Then building of the nest boxes and the doors for the chickens to go in and out.  Really exciting stuff, huh?

I started letting my juvenile birds, almost grown and the girls almost to breeding age, out onto pasture this week.  They love it, of course.  There is room to flap and run and plenty of grass to peck and bugs to eat.  Who or what wouldn't enjoy that kind of freedom after being cooped up the first few months of their life?  I hate penning them, it seems sad, but it is not to be mean or anything of the sort.  It is for their protection from things that would eat them for a late night snack.  So, after their romping around, they go back into the pen at night and get locked in for the night.

I have this one very tiny pullet (girl chicken under 1 year of age, ask Daughter, she can quote it to me ;) ).  This pullet is a Bantam Modern Game chicken.  She is the cutest little thing, but is about the size of a Robin with extra long legs.  I didn't intend to get this breed, but as luck would have it, I got her with a mix of chicks that I needed to keep a lone hatcher company last winter.  Of course, being tiny, and sweet and cute, and the only one of her kind in the flock, everyone loves her.  Her name is Birchy, so called because her color (or variety) is Birchen - black body with yellow/gold around her neck.  She really is funny to comprehend as being a chicken.  She spends most of her time in the feed can or on top of waterer.  I got out to check on things or feed them and she is right there cheaping away.  She doesn't even sound like a chicken.

I had to smile, a big mommy, warmed my heart kind of smile the other day, or should I say about 3 weeks ago?  Daughter had to go out and play with the momma broody hen and her little chicks.  We had to pull them from the pen with the other adult birds because they were pecking at the poor little chickies.  We started her in a fold-up puppy pen
 where she bawked, and clucked, and showed them how to drink and scratch and peck around in the grass and dirt.  I looked out from the kitchen window to see... me?  No, but I immediately thought, she is just like me when I was her age:  In her boots, blue jeans, sitting in the pen with baby animals.  It is so funny how in an instance you can get flung back 36-years to "when".  Wow! 

At night we put Momma and babies into the cage on the right and set them in the garage for safe keeping.  I finally decided it was time the chicks joined the others their age and Momma did the same.  She probably won't lay eggs for a little while yet, but she is back to being a grown up.  Does that make her and  empty nester?

We picked out the birds the kids are going to take to the fair, or intend to take.  I don't know, some don't have feathers yet in places they should.  We had to get them later than intended due to incubation difficulties.  They have something to take, we just aren't expecting Grand Champion this year.

So, it is late once again.  The house is quiet where I am the last to head to bed.  It is my favorite part of the day.  I must rest though, tomorrow is building of chicken domiciles and information booth for the fair.  Since it is to rain the following day, or so I see online, I better get things done outside tomorrow, or is it today?  Yikes, 1 A.M.

I bid you ado.

CC

Too Much Too Little

Too Much

Isn't it true for most of us, there is always too much to do?  My kids went to camp this week, Eldest for the straight 2 weeks for a leadership group, Middle and Daughter are both in resident camp for 6-days, will come home tomorrow evening, then go back on Sunday.  Daughter goes back for horse camp, which she is upset about and doesn't understand 'why did you sign me up for that?'.  Well, first of all, she will most likely come home afterward and ask if we can get a horse or two or three, to which the answer will be a firm NO!  Not that I don't like them, but we don't have the space a horse needs or that is needed to grow the food to feed it.  My hubby and I don't believe in just having pasture pets that would create such an ecological footprint, especially when all its food would need to be purchased.  Eventually, most horses get neglected and are not properly ridden or exercised, which is not very humane in my book.  The reason that we are sending her to that camp is for a new experience.  That is also why Middle is going back to do the sailing camp.  Neither of them may want to have anything to do with those activities when they leave, but they got the chance to try it out.  Eldest had a royal fit about having to go, even though last year when we picked them up, they all wanted to go back for the rest of the summer, and he wanted to go back to work in becoming a counselor.  So, we will see what he says when we pick him up next weekend.
But where the Too Much comes in, is there is just too much that I wanted so desperately to get done while they are gone.  Here I am down to one day left until their return for the weekend, and I have barely scratched the surface of projects I have on my list.  Our downstairs bathroom is half demolished since the chain of events that began with a toilet that wouldn't stop running, which had to be broken to move it out and be replaced, which resulted in also removing the rotting floor underneath, which also lead to tearing out the old broken tiles around the toilet, which turned into a full out demo for Eldest when we thought giving him a good, tough job would teach him about how hard it is to get everything done.  Well, here we are, I think it has been 3 months since that one began, and it is still in the demo stage due to the 101 other things that are constantly popping up to be done.
I did manage to start getting dividers in the new chicken condo yesterday.  Why is that important?  Well, because that is where I need to move many of the birds that are living in my garage in brooders at present.  I am tired of building new, portable pens when I have a new building sitting there for them but needs to get the finishing details done to it.  Arg!  It gets overwhelming sometimes.

Too Little

There is too little time in a day to get everything done that one wants to.  Again, here is no exception.  We have been trying to plan the huge project of tearing down our house to build a new one.  It seems like we barely have time to get the day to day things done around here, much less tackle the monstrous project of what we speak.  I am sure it didn't help that I got rabbits for the kids that turned into a rabbit breeding and raising hobby.  It didn't help that we had puppies last summer that took up a tremendous amount of time.  It didn't help that I started this endeavor of having a small chicken hatchery either.  But in my defense, I have been a stay-at-home mom for 15-years and I need more than cleaning house and raising kids.  I need to do things that interest and inspire me.  I love the way you can breed animals and then compare their offspring to their parents and see the different genetic differences that pop up because of genetic crossings for color and size and temperament and all that neat stuff.  As crazy as it sounds, my animals bring me the kind of joy I used to feel when my kids were little and everything was new with them.  Not that I am tired of my kids, though they make me VERY tired of late.  It has changed.  They are their own persons, and it is not an adventure for them the way it was when they were little.   The amazement of every little thing is gone for them.  When they are little even a bug or a blade of grass can be a treasure and something to investigate.  Now, they squash the bugs and complain if they have to even think about anything to do with grass. (because it usually involves mowing or raking it).

Ah, what is that?  The chickens are calling again.  They say, "Bring us more food and water, please."  and it is a call I must heed.


CC

From One Extreme to Another

On Monday, it was 102˚F here in Southeast Minnesota.  The heat wouldn't have been as bad had it not been for the high humidity to go with it.  It was what my husband calls a 'Survival Day'.  We just do whatever we can to survive on those ones short of stripping down naked and running through the sprinkler in the yard.  I am sure someone would call the police if that happened, probably my kids for scarring them for life! 
Then, Tuesday was 101˚F with a hard wind that made it a little more bearable, but it was still classified as a Survival Day here.  Luckily, the town swimming pool opened on Monday and we partook of its coolness.
The next day, Wednesday, was about 85˚F according to my van's thermometer.
Yesterday was mid 60's.
Today we won't get out of the 50's.
Anyone who wants to debate on if the climate is changing, step right up.

I just had a little message exchange from a fellow native New Yorker.  He lives about 30 miles south of where I grew up.  That is what got me thinking about this weather thing.  "Back home" it never got so hot or so cold as it does here.  I have learned to love it here, but it sure is a beautiful part of the country back there.

So, I have gotten my duckies in their new home and built another duck house for the Pekin meat ducks as well.  I still have a long way to go before all the poultry housing is done.  This week I am working on getting my garden in, finally.  I have never planted the garden this late before.  I wasn't even going to have a garden because of all the other projects I have to finish, but I just have to grow things.  So, the tomatoes and peppers, sunflower, carrots, some of the onions, and sweet corn are in the ground.  Well, most anyway, I bought more pepper and tomato plants yesterday.  I said I wasn't going to do a huge garden, but here I am....

I got my 50 Cornish Rock cross chicks yesterday.  I am hoping by next year or the one after at least, I can start having just my own meat birds that I am working on from crossbreeding.  I know that I will never get those 6-pound breasts on my own birds (yes, I am exaggerating), but I like a chicken that acts like a chicken and is evenly developed.  It is funny how much more I like dark meat now that I am raising my own chicken.

The kids have been out of school for a week.  It hasn't been as hard as I had anticipated.  There hasn't been nearly the fighting that we have had in the past few months.  I think it is a matter of keeping them busy and apart.  Now, if I can just get them to go to bed and get up on a routine schedule, it would be good.  Eldest has a job at the library, so he is there now and will be tomorrow.  He doesn't start very early, but it has just been a week.  He is starting French Horn lessons too, that will have to be earlier than we have been rolling out.  He has been taking trumpet for four years, skipped this year though.  Now, he wants to get back in band and they need horns, so he is stepping in, or should I say stepping up?

Speaking of stepping up, I need to get up and get more of my projects worked on.  My garden is getting dug and pecked over by my free rangers, so I better get that fence up.

CC

I'm Getting Closer

I did manage to get out and work on my duck hutch more today, despite the cool weather that rolled in for a couple of days.  I would have had the roof done except that my metal blade on my circular saw was worn down too much.  So, tomorrow after Daughters soccer game (and I must mention Eldest co-coaches), I will have to go to the hardware store for a new blade.  Then I will be back to making progress.
My husband came over from his lawn mowing to see how I was doing and snapped a shot.  He just loves his new iPhone.
I had a heck of a time putting the vinyl flooring on the inside.  I was going to just lay it on the floor and flange it up the sides for 6".  That was crazy to try doing since I didn't make it exactly square (never claimed to be a professional).  So, I ended up putting it on the floor and the piecing it onto the sides too.  Then I used quarter-round on the corners and bottom edges with caulk to seal any cracks and keep it from ruining what is underneath.  I must admit, I am terrible at caulking, and it shows.  I have the siding on 3 sides, and I still need to make the doors, but I will get there.  Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be crappy, so I may not finish until Sunday.  My ducks are growing like crazy and need to get out of the garage!
I will be the proud owner of new baby bunnies by morning, I think.  One of the girls pulled a load of fur and made a nest for doing so, so I hope she completes her task by morn.  She sure was looking a bit uncomforable this evening.  I will have to go out and check on her before I turn in.
Middle is learning to do laundry.  It is part of his Home Ec assignment this week.  Now I am going to start making him do his own every week.  This is ridiculous that I have to do so much of it.  I am so glad the teacher assigns this to them.  They have made  her classes so big now, she isn't able to have the kids do the cooking and sewing projects that she used to.  It is sad.  So, as I dropped off Middle this morning (he had a track meet and didn't get to bed until late, so getting up was a bit difficult), I popped into the Home Ec room and got directions for him to make the pillow case that they would normally be doing in there.  Eldest did his with Owls on it, and it is a very nice one, and unique.  Then I bought this guitar fabric last year for a different project Middle had to do, and thought I could buy a couple of different kinds and he could make his pillow case out of it.  He still can and should.  Besides, what else am I going to do with guitar fabric?  I would like to make a quilt for him, but he will probably have kids before I have time to do that.
Maybe tomorrow is the day that I clip Zeke.  That poor boy is beyond shaggy and needs it bad.
Well, I guess I have enough to keep  me busy over the weekend.
Til next time....

CC

I Am Getting There

I have been working on my duck hutch for 3 days now.  Well, really about 1 1/2 because they were only half days.  I have it close.  I have to put siding on three sides still and put the purlins and the roof on, and make the two doors.  It rained a little today while I was working, but not enough to send me packing up my tools.
It is so funny, but this is a duck hutch, and the chickens are all over it!  They love to roost on the frame, I can't blame them, it is a good vantage point for them to watch things.  My big rooster, Dumbledore (soon to be Dinner) watches from a safe distance.  He is such a booger.  He comes charging up behind me when I am carrying out feed to them, and ducks under the bucket, bumping my leg, then wants to challenge me.  He must have never heard that old saying, "Never attack the human who feeds you."  or something like that ; )  Especially while she feeds you.  Daughter has to carry a stick with her when she goes out or he comes after her.  I told her to not be afraid of hurting him, he is tough.  I may have to put him in chicken jail and let him chill out.
The weather is sweltering.  The kids were complaining that 'We HAVE  to get A/C."  Well, I lived my entire childhood without it, so I think they can last one more summer.  I would love to have air and humidity control in the house, but it is just wishful thinking at the moment.  One day we will have something better.
My doggies need baths and to be clipped once again.  Now that the weather is getting warm, so are they, and Zeke still had his winter coat on.  They must be bathed first, and that may happen when I get done here.
My other dogs (feet) are tired and need a good soaking.  Maybe tomorrow will be the day the duckies get to move outside for good.

CC

What the hell happened?

So, last week, we were getting snow flurries in the morning.  Today it was 86˚F and the humidity was up in the 70% range.  Give me a break.  We were starting to get Spring, and then we took a jump to this!  No fair!  I want Spring! 
Global Warming?  Maybe, or maybe just some crazy phase the Earth is going through.  Does it matter, I am tired of it at the moment.
Oh well, I will survive it.

My poor chicks and ducks and bunnies on the other hand....
I have two momma bunnies that should be having their babies tomorrow.  The poor things having to go through that in this steam.  Wait, I had to go through having babies twice when it was hot and steamy.  I just wasn't wearing a fur coat while I did it.  When I gave birth to Eldest, it was 99˚ and we were in Virginia in May.  When Second was born, it was 98˚ and it was August on the north side of Minneapolis.  Daughter came during an ice storm in March.  I guess hers made up for the heat of the other two.  :)


I better get to bed soon, I know half the night will be spent laying under the ceiling fan thinking about how much better our new house is going to be when we build it, and we have it climate controlled.

CC

Winding Down the Year

We are in the last month of school for the year here in Minnesota.  The kids didn't have too many snow days, so they won't add any on this time around.  The kids are getting a little anxious, and with tomorrow's summer like weather projections, I think they all will be just giddy and fidgety and some fit to be tied.  I can't say as it makes me too happy though.  I have been getting tired of the cold and all, but to jump from snow last week in the mornings to 85˚ tomorrow is just plain crazy.  Who ordered this weather?
Actually, I am going to be glad it is not cold tomorrow so that I don't have to carry jackets all day on the field trip with my daughter's third grade class.  I am so lucky to be able to chaperone. :\  It is not that I don't like going on these things, it is just that I have a million other things to get done.  I understand why they have their big trips at the end of the year, as it brings to a pinnacle the learning from the year.  But spring is a time for much outside work for us rural folks with furry and feathered critters.
I think I have easily passed the 200 mark for poultry, and I have had a couple of litters kindled in the rabbit cages.  Yes, kindled is the term used when a rabbit births its young.  I have two more that I think are due tomorrow if they are pregnant.  They are tricky little buggers, and not as easy to proliferate as most people believe.  "They breed like rabbits." is an expression used by those who have  never tried breeding rabbits.  I have had one doe I could not get 'in the mood' until it was 85˚.  Hey, maybe tomorrow is her day for nookie!  Seriously, I think I have her re-bred after giving birth to a stillborn litter the other day.  This is only her second litter ever and the first one was such an awful experience for her.  She is a small rabbit, a Netherland Dwarf, and they only are supposed to be 2- 2 1/2 pounds.  She had 4 kits the first time around and they were not so small as to pass easily and ended up losing all of them after it took 3 days to have them.  The poor girl was in such a state, I could not breed her again for a while.  But, rabbits can be re-bred almost right away.  It depends on your prespective.  Some people go right ahead and breed the same day they kindle if the litter is lost.  I like to give them at least a couple of days.  But I would only do that one time and then give them a while to rest up and get back into shape, even if the second litter were lost.  I just can't see asking one to go 3 rounds of being pregnant right after the other, that would be just too much.  And it does depend on the condition of the doe as to whether I would breed again the second time anyway.  You have to use your senses.
So, I will have a few cages full again by next month at this rate.
Have I mentioned anywhere that I am now the proud 'Momma' of 23 ducks?  Yes, I am so entirely, undoubtedly, certifiably insane.  I know this and can admit it, so I must be on the path of recovery, which is to expand my poultry dwellings to accommodate all my poultry.  Easy peasy.

I went to a friend's house who has all sorts of poultry: ducks, chickens, geese, turkeys and lots of them!  I wanted to see about getting a few for my kids to show at the fair this summer.  The boys said they would show meat ducks, and since Daughter is too small to handle carrying big old meat ducks, I got her some little, cute as a button Call Ducks.  They are so stinking sweet!
 
Now a week and a half later, they are about 3 times this size.  The Pekins are getting to be a handful already, though they still have their fluffy down and will have for a while yet. 
But you know what happened?  I took Middle to a farm and fleet store with me on Wednesday, and they had newly arrived, baby ducklings!  Yaaaaayyyyy!  So, he looks at me with his sweetest little boy look and says, "Oh, Mom, pleeeeease?"  I couldn't say no.  We came home with 3 Swedish Harlequins and 5 Khaki Campbells. God, I must be crazy.  To top it off, I have duck eggs in the incubator!  I still have 4 Call eggs and 3 or 4 Crested duck eggs too.   Let's not forget a couple of turkey eggs too.

So, as my kids and their school year are winding down, I am just cranking it up.  We will have plenty to keep them busy over the summer months.  But how is it I know I will still hear them saying, "I'm bored."?

CC

Constitutional rights

I read a thread today on my favorite backyard chickens forum (backyardchickens.com) that this veteran in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania got some chickens that help him deal with having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  His idiot neighbor protested him having them because his coop was 4 inches too close to the property line.  Give me a break!  4 inches?!?!  Here vets are coming home from these damn wars going on over in no man's land, and they are messed up to the nth degree.  One of them finds comfort and peace from all the baggage they are left to deal with by keeping a few chickens, and his dumb ass neighbor has the balls to complain about it????  I apologize for the language, but really????
So, a fellow veteran and his wife hear about this and build him a chicken tractor (portable coop to you non-chicken folks) and now he can keep his chickens.  Thank Goodness!  Isn't that just awesome that someone would do that for him?
I am confused, I understand why we have laws regulating the keeping of animals in towns.  But I don't understand the restriction of keeping chickens in your backyard within a reasonable number, of course.  What happened to our Constitutional right of pursuit of happiness?  To some people like this one vet, it is truly about the pursuit of happiness.  It seems like more an more the government is taking away the rights of people to actually pursue happiness.  There are extremely stringent laws on how dairy products are handled for raw sale and consumption, like just because we don't want to go cook I mean, pasteurize all the goodness out of our milk to then fortify it to return the goodness back into it that was there naturally in the first place that was killed in the heating process, that raw milk is all bad and carries e-coli.  There was a farmer who was selling raw dairy to consumers here in my own state, who was blamed as part of a small e-coli outbreak because someone he sold to got e-coli.  Uh, there were other people in that same outbreak who had never had any of his products, so how can it be his fault?  I am confused.  So, something like that comes up and the first people to get blamed are the ones doing it raw or natural or organically.  That is proposterous!  The fact is, that our food that we buy in our grocery stores is mostly shipped from over 1,000 miles away at a minimum, and it isn't all that fresh either.  SO, isn't it just possible that the really bad food stuffs are not from the local farmer trying to sell good, wholesome (key work WHOLE) and fresh foods is the one to maybe NOT worry so much about.  But, oh yeah, the neighbor selling the raw milk isn't to one lining the pockets of the lobbyists so that bills can get passed to help out those big guys who cook the milk and spray our fruits and veggies so they can ship them across continents and across the country, so they can arrive in our grocery stores nice and fresh(?).
I know, how did I go from a rant about chickens to this?  Well, it all goes together.  This is getting insane.  Like someone has to legislate what we can and cannot buy to eat because we are too stupid to decide what is good for us?  Is that what this is about?  I don't think so.  I think it is more about  money and the little people trying to do what is good and what is good for us trying to eek out a living by doing so, getting in the way of big food corporations that won't stand for some little guy getting in their way of monopolizing the supply of food. 
What is next?  Am I going to be breaking the law if I plant my own vegetable garden?  Are my chickens going to be taken away?  What?  I don't understand how the lawmakers use the Constitution to tell us what we can and cannot do, but they blatantly disregard the rights that same document gives each and every one of us to make our own choices.
It just doesn't seem right.

A Fool Waits...

And I am that fool today.  I don't think I have ever waited until April 15th to get our taxes done, but I did this year.  I just couldn't bring myself around to getting them done until I finally looked at the calendar and said, "Holy Crap!".  So, because of my procrastination, I am now sitting here with my stomach hurting and churning and gurgling, because I probably put myself under more stress in the last 6 hours than my kids have put me under in the last month.  That is really saying something too, by the way.
I swore, I was not going to do this this year.  So, what happened?  You don't want to hear every excuse why, lame or valid either one.
BUT I wasn't the only one waiting until D-day.  My husband is trustee over his parents estates/trusts that now have to be enacted and distributed and taxes done.  We sent everything off to the lawyer/tax man a few weeks ago, but we didn't receive any of the paperwork until today, well yesterday now.  Even the pros wait until the last minute sometimes, I guess.

CC