A perfect evening...

I know I said my last blog was the last one for the year, but tonight is such a huge part in my little life that I have to share.
Tonight was the graduation ceremony for my cultivating success class. We all met at Xinh's, an incredible restaurant in Shelton. There were about 20 of us...the people from class, the sponsors of the program, and several of the various guest speakers we had during our twelve weeks. I had quite the entourage supporting me in my endeavor. Mariah was there, and so were mom and super steve.
The food was incredible. We had oysters, mussels, deep fried geo duck...(pronounced gooey duck.) We had pork eggrolls, and rice with chicken curry and prawn linguine. It was all some of the best food I have had in a long time!
After we ate, it was time for presentations to start. We were supposed to present our "Farm Plan", and we were supposed to take 10 minutes. Well I've worked on mine for 4 days. Literally, 8 hours a day.
I did a folding display board of the property. Very detailed showing the pasture, forests, wetlands, shrubbery areas etc. I even made the folding flaps in front into barn doors with my farm name on the front! It looked marvelous! (In a 4th grade science fair kind of way).
My great plan was to go after the guy in our class who hums to himself and smells like cat pee. Surely if I went after him, my presentation would be stellar, and any nervousness would disapate after watching his presentation. Well...he didn't show. So I planned on going somewhere in the middle...but definitely not first.
Well right before one of the ladies went, Super Steve pulled me aside and asked me if I could go second because my mom wasn't feeling well... How could I deny that? So I volunteered to go second.
As soon as I got up and started my presentation, cameras started flashing like the damn paparazzi from my right. I stopped my speech and said, "As you've probably guessed, these are my parents." Everyone laughed and I continued with my presentation. When I opened my board to reveal my property diagram, everyone oohed and aahed....literally...it was kind of cool. About half way through, I noticed you could have heard a flea fart in the restaurant....Every one...at EVERY table was watching and listening....yikes. I did great! I was a little nervous...but I was talking about my farm! One of my favorite things in the world!
I felt a lot better when I was done....and then noticed mom and Sneaky super steve didn't leave....for another hour and a half. Way to go steve! I've got your number!
The other presentations were great... It was so nice to sit with a huge group of people and discuss fruit trees, compost and animals without having one person raise their eyebrow at me... Mariah actually didn't seem bored either!
SO I am an official graduate in cultivating success. I have an official certificate I am going to frame and hang in the barn!
I've met some incredible new friends and some wonderful contacts and resources. This 12 week class has been a wonderful and fun start for me.
I'M A REAL FARMER NOW!!!! Well...at least that's what the paper says...
So...what's next? New Year's Day I will post goals for next year for the farm. But for now...I think I'm going to go order some turkeys....
Thank you again to mom, Sneaky super steve, and my Mariah for supporting me in my dreams, regardless of how grand and elaborate they are. I love you all.
-Becky

Silent Night....NOT!

At Thanksgiving my sister sang me a wonderful Christmas carol...that I thought I would share with you all....
"Silent Night....NOT! Holy Night....NOT! All is calm....NOT! All is bright....NOT! Round young virgin....NOT!" It was at this point she stopped. It gave me the giggles, and I hope it did the same for you....
It's a week before Christmas, and outside the snow is falling again. I hope it doesn't stop.
It's been awhile since I have blogged, and there have been tons of changes here on the farm.
P has decided her farm girl boots are made for walking, and that her time out tree just isn't far enough away from here. So she is gone. I wish her fair weather, sunny pastures, and tons of butterflies to chase...
Fortunately, friends and family members have rallied around to help where needed. Especially mom, Mariah, (Jun) and of course Super Steve. The show must go on.
And then there was flooding....last weekend it rained and rained and rained, and I knew that damn natural spring would be flowing again. So I got up last Saturday and ran down to the coop. Sure enough the water was running over the sandbags I had placed, through the wall of the coop...and when I opened the coop door there was 4 inches of water in it...the poor girls trying to make their way through it. My mom was with me helping, and while she was trying to sweep water out of the barn, I shoveled through the shavings to allow a path for the water to flow out. The water drained out of the coop in a little tidal wave. I then went around to the run to throw apples to the girls that had fallen off grandma's tree. Well have you ever seen a chicken bob for an apple? It was that bad...and I felt defeated...there was nothing I could do for them. Fortunately they were smart enough to stay on high ground and their perches... Days later the coop was one huge mud hole...I didn't want to change out the shavings until I knew it would be awhile before we had a rain like that. I am still worried about their feet and foot rot. To prevent this next year, I have already thought up a plan. Fortunately that was one of the walls we hadn't replaced, so I will keep the flooding in mind when I rebuild it.
The property looks so incredible with a light snow all over...
I sold my 92nd dozen of eggs this past week! The girls are definitely paying their rent...and I've thought of hanging 26 little stockings on their coop. :)
I have one more farm class, and then I graduate the "Cultivating Success" Program! They are scheduling tons of workshops this summer and I look forward to taking those too! I have definitely learned a lot in the last 12 weeks...but my favorite part of the class has been learning the rules and regulations of the farm world. If I am going to do this, I want to do it right!!!
A quick note on why cowgirls and farm girls REALLY wear chaps. I have a favorite pair of jeans....who doesn't? Actually I have like 3 pairs of favorite jeans. They are all "sweethearts" from Old Navy. They are the only kind of jeans I'll wear....Well after awhile they get worn, or "well loved" as I'd like to say...considering I am typically in jeans 7 days a week. Well I've noticed all of my wonderful jeans are starting to wear on the inside of the thighs. (Shutup Jenny Craig!) I'm sure I am not the first farm girl this has happened to...and probably won't be the last. So how did farm girls and cowgirls of the west solve this problem? They invented chaps to prevent wearing holes in the thighs of their favorite jeans...I need to get some.
Merry Christmas to all.
Becky

Not even kidding...

I know most of you who read my blog read some of this stuff and think, "She can't be serious," but tonight is a perfect example of what happens here on the farm...
It's been raining...pouring all day long...
When P and I got down to the coop after work to check on the girls and collect eggs, she mentioned to me from outside the coop that there was water everywhere...
I was in the coop gathering eggs and I noticed the floor was wet. Now for a second I saw the puddle outside of the chicken door, and I thought the little darlings were bringing the water in on their feet... We just cleaned the coop and put new shavings in it yesterday, and after further detective work, I noticed I was walking on a sponge...the whole F@&$#!* coop floor was soaked! I tried moving around the shavings to see where the water was coming in...and even looked up at the ceiling to make sure it wasn't leaking. I could hear P stomping around outside cursing to the Gods...(One day the sky is going to open up and someone with a crown of lightning bolts is going to lean down and pop her on the nose!!!) I saw along the bottom of the outside wall was soaked....the water was coming through the wall... :(
So I ran outside, and sure enough, there was a huge puddle...probably about 6 feet around...residing at the corner of the coop. In some places it is up to 3 inches deep! We both looked around at the sky, the roof of the coop, around at the landscape, and could not figure out for the life of us where the water was coming from. Then Patty noticed movement in the water, and we both bent over to look. "Did we hit a water line?" she asked. Well, I know enough that there is no water line where we were looking, and I've been in Washington long enought to recognize an underground spring when I see one. Sure enough....water was bubbling up out of the bank, and wasn't slowing down. Patty stabbed at it with a shovel, and the hole she made quickly filled with water. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! OUT OF ALL PLACES FOR A SPRING ONE ERUPTS OUTSIDE OF THE DAMN COOP?!!! I AM TRYING TO BE FREAKING GREEN BY INSTALLING RAIN BARRELS TO CONSERVE WATER, AND OLD FAITHFUL MOVES IN NEXT TO THE FREAKIN COOP?! REALLY?!?!?! Knowing we couldn't do anything, and because I had an egg delivery to make to town, we walked to the car. I couldn't help but look up to look for a crown of lightning bolts.
I made my egg delivery, and couldn't help but call my mom, to see if Super Steve was home. I honestly don't know what I expected to hear..... Perhaps, "Hey Beck! Oh sure, they sell natural spring plugs on aisle 7 at Ace!" Well, Steevareeno wasn't home, so I told my mom what was going on. Besides agreeing that I should get some sand bags at Ace, you know what she told me? "YOU ARE A FARM GIRL!!! YOU CAN HANDLE THIS!!!" (Thanks for the vote of confidence mom! :D So I ran to Ace, and without even thinking, bought 10 sixty pound bags of sand, and had them loaded into the back of Patty's subaru. Yep...600 pounds in the back of her car. The back left tire complained...and I knew it wouldn't make it. So I ran over to the 76 station to fill it up. Well in the wonderful world of debit, I had no change. I was about to go charge a dollar on my card, when the kid came out and said he would turn it on for me....(THANKS 76 STATION KID!) I filled the tire, and headed the 15 minutes home, realizing that I had both sets of keys with me, and if I had a blow out, I wouldn't have a phone signal and would have to walk. I hoped the crown of lightning bolts realized it was always P who cursed him, and I was just guilty by association...
I called P, (yes while I was driving) to tell her of my plan. She protested it was dark, and there was nothing we could do...but I knew if I didn't do SOMETHING, I wouldn't be able to focus at work tomorrow...I couldn't just let the coop flood and do nothing.
I fortunately made it home, and slowed at the house long enough to pick up my farm girl in crime...
We drove down, and I plugged our super duper work light in. We checked our spring and sure enough...it was still flowing. So what did the love of my life do? She started to dig at it...pulling rocks and weeds up. I told her, "I swear if that erupts into a geyser, you are in so much trouble!!!" She then put her finger in it and said she felt the hole....So technically she was plugging the dyke. Hehehe...
ANYWAY, we started grabbing sand bags, now in the dark...and piling them against the barn. P cut open two of them, and spread the sand in front of the chicken door to control some of the damage. I know we didn't stop it, but I really think we slowed it down...
We headed back to the car looking forward to the bean and hamhock soup we had in the crockpot...only to get up to the house and find that the new crockpot didn't work so great...no soup....and it's only Monday...

Not ready to quit our day jobs...

We have officially sold our 50th dozen of eggs! Thats 600 eggs! It's not enough to quit our jobs, but the chickens are paying for their own food, shavings, and contributing to their own vet bills! ;)
Over Columbus day weekend we rented a billboard in town to advertise our eggs. It cost 15 bucks for 3 days. So to break even, we would have needed to sell about 4 dozen eggs. I was surprised that I only got one call during the 3 days, but the woman who called wanted 7 dozen a week for her prayer group!
So our first attempt at advertising more than paid for itself!!!

Re-wiring, a new compost bin and Fuglyanna

On Sundays, (our only day off) we've been working on the barn. A week or two ago, our county finally lifted the burn ban we had all summer, and the primitive urge in P once again rose to the surface. She started burning in the firepit, and I started ripping all of the old wiring down in the barn. In several areas it had been chewed through, and in others it was crumbling. The wiring couldn't have been more than 30 years old, but its a good plan to start new. Every now and then I peaked my head out of the barn, and P was dragging dead branches around, and gathering some of our smaller lumber scraps. She looked very happy. :)
When all of the wiring on the ground floor was ripped out, I started laying the new wiring back in. Being an electrician at the shipyard, I am sure my wireways are above and beyond what is normally expected, but I am pretty happy with them so far!

At work, I am lucky to be around people who enjoy talking about composting, farming, gardens etc. Most of them buy eggs from me on a regular basis, and they always ask me how my classes are going, etc. A few weeks ago, we were talking about the joys of composting, and one of the guys, John, told me he had just finished building a compost bin for his wife. I have been looking at plans for quite awhile, and haven't found one that was just right...but when he showed me the plan he found, I knew it would be perfect for us! Here is the link: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM683.pdf
So I showed it to P, and she thought it was great! The article shows it made of pressure treated wood, but since we didn't want that leeching into our dirt, we made ours from cedar. It is roughly 3 feet by 9 feet, and has 3 separate "bins". The back, sides and bottom are screened, and the front is 1x6 cedar slats that slide up and down so you can take them out. Next time we clean the pine shavings and chicken poop out of the coop, we will have the perfect place for it!

One of the black australorps we have, (may be the surprise addition) has lost all of the feathers on her neck and down along the top of her butt. She is obviously one of Jun's favorite's, but she looks absolutely ridiculous. Patty has named her Fuglyanna. Maybe I should make her a little scarf since winter is coming...

Cultivating Success

On October 14th, P and I started taking a Farming and Ranching course called "Cultivating Success". It is for 3 hours every Thursday night, and the topics are:
Module 1: Starting with Whole Farm Sustainability in Mind
 Understanding “sustainability” and “whole farm” concepts
 Applications of sustainability and whole farm concepts on the farm

Module 2: Successful Whole Farm Planning
 Applying the “Whole Farm” concepts to develop a farm plan
 Whole farm planning tools
 Assessing personal (and family) interests, skills, and values
 Developing your whole farm goals

Module 3: Evaluating Your Whole Farm Resources
 Introduction to the whole farm plan layout
 Resource inventory and assessment
 Mapping the farm property

Module 4: Enterprise Assessment
 Enterprise ideas for small acreage farms/ranches
 Production requirements and feasibility of enterprise

Module 5: Direct Marketing Strategies
 Exploring methods to market direct to consumers

Module 6: Sustainable Crop Production
 Implementing farming practices that promote sustainability
 Growing organic

Module 7: Ecological Soil Management
 Soil characteristics important to plant growth
 Building healthy Soils
 Soil testing

Module 8: Integrated Pest and Weed Management
 Basics of Integrated Pest Mangement
 Ecological weed management


Module 9: Sustainable Livestock/Poultry Systems
 Sustainable animal production
 Grazing management on small acreages

Module 10: Sustainable Grazing Management
 Grazing management methods for small acreage farms
 Principles of rotational grazing.
 Setting up paddocks and pastures for rotational grazing
 Manage for multi species grazing

Module 11: Facilities and Equipment
 Selecting Appropriate Equipment
 Irrigation Systems for small acreage farming
 Meeting the building and fencing requirements

Module 12: Assessing the Potential for Profit
 The basics of farm economics and record keeping
 Enterprise budgets as decision making tools

Module 13: Enhancing Success of Your Whole Farm Plan
 Tools for tracking success
 Assessing Sustainability
We've been to our first two classes, and besides getting home at ten o'clock at night and the classes being an hour away, we love it! It's a good group of about 12 people who want to start their farms at various levels.
Through the extension agency for our county, we are getting a "farm planner" who is going to come out to our property (for free). He is going to look at our land, and assets, and tell us the best way to use the land. He is going to help us work around our seasonal creek and wetlands and help us do soil testing.
The county extension office also has grants for fencing and other materials!!!

Mighty Sparrow

***caution***Don't read this if you just ate a grilled cheese on sourdough with fries....or if you ate anything else good for that matter..
So the next day we checked on Wynonna. We let her walk around the room to see if she was still limping... I've never seen so much poop come out of something so small! And it STUNK SO DAMN BAD!!! She was waddling around the room and shooting like she had a rocket launcher attached to her ass! By the time I caught her, there were 3 green piles in our room. Patty was swearing to the Gods, "WHY THE HELL IS IT ALWAYS IN OUR ROOM?!" I cleaned up the mess, and P removed the little cast from Wynonna's toe. We soaked her feet in Epsom salts again, and Patty tried to slightly squeeze. More pus came out of the toe. She tried again and Wynonna sqwaked. We put on more hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and re-wrapped her toe.
After another day or two of this, it was obvious we were only healing the top of the wound, and that the infection was still thriving inside her toe. I told Patty we needed to cut it open to get the infection out. After consulting with a couple other chicken lovers, we agreed we should attempt it.
This time I held Wynonna and P tried to open her wound. I was cooing to Wynonna that she would be ok, and P yelled, "Stop saying that! She's not ok!!!" I explained to her that I was trying to soothe Wynonna, not tell her lies. The surgery was unsuccessful...all we managed to do was make her toe bleed. So we wrapped her back up.
The next day I called the local vet and made her an appointment. We agreed on the way in on a monetary amount we were willing to spend for Wynonna. We took her in and explained everything to the Dr. He said he would see if he could clean it out, but amputation of the toe would cost between $600 and a thousand! I blurted out if that was the case, I would just amputate it myself. He looked at me like I was crazy, and P assured him I was kidding... (But we all know better.)
After waiting over an hour, the Dr. came out and said, "We have a problem". The first thing that crossed my mind was, "If you killed my chicken you mother $&@!*#, you'll be next!" Good thing for private thoughts.
He took us into a back room and told us Wynonna's infection went down between the knuckles. His guess was it originally was a small scratch or thorn, and the other chickens may have pecked at it if it bled, and the dirt got into it and it got infected. He told us they were able to clean it out, but since she was a "Commercial chicken", meaning we sell her eggs, he was limited to the medication and topical ointment he could give her. As an egg consumer that was nice to hear. She could not receive any internal medication, and only a topical to clean and heal her toe. I felt better for taking her to the vet. P and I would have never been able to clean her toe out down to the knuckle!!!
The total damage came to $150. I took it all from the egg money jar.
I know most people would have made Wynonna soup several days prior, but we couldn't. I wouldn't kill one of my kids because they had a toe infection, and I can't help but feel the same way about our chickens. :( Not a true farmer...I know.
Anyway, Wynonna was under distress when we left. I bought her some meal worms and she ate them right up when we got home. I sang to her, and she seemed to calm down a bit.
Wynonna is suppose to be separated from the flock until her toe heals. Could be up to a month!
At least she doesn't snore....

Is there a Doctor in the house?

Every time we've been down at the barn, we let the chickens out to forage. They stay around the barn, and it's funny to see them chase bugs, dig up worms, and waddle up and down the dirt road. The only problem is they love to be near us...so if we are working IN the barn, they feel they need to be in the barn too, instead of foraging out in the pasture. So several times, when we go to grab a tool or a 2x4, we find a chicken has been there and left a treat for us. Yuck.
Last week when we were down there, we noticed one of the Partridge Rock hens was limping. I noticed on one of her toes behind her toe nail, a marble sized abscess. After a few rounds around the barn, we were able to catch her, (ridiculous a limping chicken is faster than we are.) P felt her leg and it was hot. She had a pinky nail size scab on her toe. I tried to lift it. It was thick, and was pulling off easily but it started to bleed. After a brief debate, we grabbed the small dog kennel and food and brought the hen up to the house. Patty named her Wynonna. And of course that automatically makes the other two Partridge Rock hens Ashley and Naomi.
***CAUTION**** If you have a sensitive stomach, don't read the rest of this!!!!!!
So we bring Wynonna into the house, and put her in the kennel lined with newspaper, in our bedroom. I immediately went on line to see if I could find anything on chicken toe injuries on my chicken threads I read every now and then. The one common thing I saw was cleaning and soaking the foot in Epsom salts.
We obviously knew the important thing would be to remove the scab and clean and dress the wound.
We laid a towel on the bed, and Patty grabbed us both latex gloves. I picked up Wynonna from the kennel and tried to lay her down...well...chickens don't like to lay down on their sides. I had read on line that it is best to cover them and their heads with a towel. I'm not sure if it calms them, or just distracts them that they are playing fort, or maybe makes them think they are chillin in an egg again. But we tried it with Wynonna and it seemed to work. P was holding her and only her legs were sticking out. I easily pulled off the scab, and it had a cheesy pus attached to the back of it. Patty yelled, "You're hurting her!" and I think I saw her try to sway a little bit. "Do I need to put a towel over your head too?!" I said to her. The toe started to bleed a little. We picked Wynonna up and unwrapped her from the towel. We soaked her feet in the Epsom bath we had prepared. She wasn't amused. I tried explaining to her that all the other little hens weren't getting a manicure, and I'm pretty sure her little eyebrow raised at me....she gets that from Patty.
So we dried off her feet and poured hydrogen peroxide on it. It bubbled a little. It was a pretty deep wound. She had a good size hole in her toe, in the middle of this marble size abscess. So we packed it with neosporin and P made her a little toe cast. We put her in her kennel with lettuce and let her rest.

Maybe not so ingenious...

Well...I did some research...I know, the story of my life. Everything starts with research, and when I tell P I'm doing or have done research, she slaps her hand to her forehead.
I've mentioned to quite a few friends about my grand plan for the chicken roof and the rain barrels. One of them mentioned concern about the galvanized roof releasing zinc into the water I intend for the chicken's to drink.
So I spent a whole day looking up the safety of drinking water from rain barrels. Who thought drinking rain water could be dangerous? Isn't all water really rain water? Here is what I found... Drinking rain water from any roof surface is not recommended. The whole water conservation rain barrel thing is for the intent of watering your garden or your lawn...not yourself or animals. There were tons of conflicting articles about water off of galvanized roofs also. I know you are all just thinking that it's water for chickens....what's the big deal? Well, I am selling their eggs...and I don't want to be responsible for deformed future generations!
So I contacted the local water department, and they directed me toward the local lab to discuss my situation and what exactly I should test for. She cautioned me that if I test for water drinkability, (like a well test) that it costs quite a lot of money and if there is any chlorophorm in the water at all, (which there probably would be in rain water,) the test would fail. Now if all I tested for was zinc and copper to assure all the chickens were getting just rain water, then it would only be a small amount of money. So that's my plan...the chickens haven't been able to drink any of the rain water, and we are still hauling it in buckets. When I can verify they would be getting no zinc or copper contamination from the roof, then I will continue with the rain barrels. For now we are just throwing the buckets of water off into the woods. :(

In the daylight, and with the rain behind us....

A day or two later we went to check out the roof. Besides not being square, it wasn't too shabby...I mean it's for a chicken run for crying out loud. It definitely looked a lot better than the tarp! P put some final screws in, and we both agreed we would need a few more cross pieces between our rafters to support future snow fall...
Next on our grand list was the gutter install. My grand plan in my little head is to install a gutter at the end of the roof, and then have it run into two rainbarrels. Then we can attach a hose to the rainbarrels and be able to provide water for the chickens without hauling water in buckets.... Green, earth friendly, and ingenious I know...
So we installed the 24 foot long gutter, (a little too low on the fascia I think,) and went to install the end caps but they were the wrong size. So we moved on to other projects in and around the barn. About an hour later, it started to rain...
I ran over to the chicken run to see how the new roof and gutters were working...or not. We watched the rain shoot off the roof into the gutter, (and sometimes missing it completely.) I felt like a kid watching their science fair project for the first time to see if it would work or not. A few minutes later, water began trickling out of the two gutter ends. SUCCESS!!! We high fived eachother. And watched our creation for a few more minutes before going in for the day.
We went down to the coop the following day and to our dismay, the sides on the inside of the run were pretty wet. The rain from the gutters was running into the coop. So we took our two buckets and put them at the ends to use as mini rain barrels until ours come in. FYI...a 5 gallon bucket fills up really quickly when used to collect rain water run off....

Raise the Roof

Well the wind started comin' and the Washington rain made it's way to our 5 acres. For several days we went down to the coop, and found that the blue tarp we temporarily put up for a roof was starting to sag and fill with water...
We knew we had to get the roofing on, but because of long work hours and fewer day light hours, we were running out of time.
I ordered 16 foot by 3 foot lengths of galvanized roofing from our precious hardware store Ace. Because of the size of the sheets, we had to have them delivered. (I decided 16 foot anything hanging out of the back of our truck should be a once in a lifetime thing, and we had already done that once.) Our favorite Ace employee Aaron, (the one who keeps promising us our own parking space,) was the one to make the delivery...he had been curious about seeing our "chicken coop" after the dozens of trips we had made into his store collecting odds and ends...insisting it was all for the chickens.
Well...we weren't there when he made the delivery....but when we saw him the next time at Ace, he fondly referred to it as the bomb shelter.... He said he was impressed, and then looked at Patty and jerked his head toward me, "She really likes those treated 2x12s doesn't she?" P just rolled her eyes in agreement...
Bomb shelter huh? Well I considered that a huge compliment!!!
A few days later, after work, we got one of the pieces up. Considering the run is 10 ft tall at it's highest point, we had to bust out the big ladder. The girls didn't like the ladder in their run, and it ruffled them enough that they started laying their eggs outside! One minute nothing would be there, and the next, a damn egg. So we let them run around outside to forage while we took on the roof.
After the first piece went up, it was obvious that our glorious chicken run wasn't exactly square...(I know, we were shocked too!) For the sheet to line up on the side, it was crooked hanging off the bottom edge. The right side hung off about a half inch, and the left side hung off about 2 inches. Well that's kind of close right? So we continued. Fortunately the sheets weren't heavy but it was absolutely pouring! P was up on the ladder screwing the sheets into the 2x6s, and I was holding the ladder, helping with the extension cord, handing up hardware or standing outside of the coop, holding the sheet. Which was awesome because it was like standing at the bottom of a waterslide....all of the water flying off the roof and landing in my mouth, my face, or down my shirt.
Well, as we all know from past experiences, P's patience went down the toilet by the end of the first sheet. I don't blame her really...she had the shitty job, and the fact that the sheets weren't lining up square pissed her off even more. (I thought it added a modern art look to the run...which didn't help matters either.) It was at about this point that some forest sprites joined in just to see how bad they could %&@$ with us...
By this time we were about half way done...it was getting dark...absolutely pouring...and P would get to the top of her ladder, and her drill would unplug from the extension cord...or we would go to move the tarp over to slide another sheet up, and it would release gallons of water on us...or she would go to screw something in, and the screw would fly off the end of the drill and off into the dark. At one point P came flying backwards off her ladder, and I was able to catch her enough that she landed on her feet but she still jarred her back. It was literally pitch black at this point, and the deluge, (As Bear Grylls would say,) was not letting up. We were working by a small lantern.
We went to put the last piece on...and how unsquare our Taj Mahal is was crystal clear. At the bottom it was flush, and at the top it seemed to hang off a foot and a half. That can't be right can it?! I had to move the ladder around outside of the run so P could get the last piece up. Well, for anyone that knows the "Little Giant", they are great, but heavier than hell. So in the dark I tried to maneuver the wet ladder around to the other side. I opened it up to about 12 feet, and tried to bring it upright...At this point P was past her threshhold, and left whatever ounce of patience she had left in the coop. She watched me lift the ladder, and watched as it started to come down for me... I must have squeaked or something because she helped grab it just as my head made it through one of the spaces and it came crashing down on my shoulder. Fortunately...it didn't hurt as much then as it did later...
We managed to get the last piece up by enough screws that it would hold until daylight. We closed everything up, made sure all of the chickens were safe and sound and headed back up to the car. We were both soaked, dirty, in pain and grouchy.
Eat that Bear Grylls....

The Farm Tour

Last year we went to the Whidbey Island Farm Tour. It was a tour of about 20 farms on an island, that raised various animals and produce. It was so much fun, we couldn't wait to go again this year.
P packed up her camera, I grabbed the Farm Tour Map, and we headed out for our weekend adventure.
I scoped out the map for about a week before our trip. I was excited to see that the majority of the farms being featured this year were new, and there were some we visited the year before too. The one I was most excited to see had Berkshire Pigs and Heritage turkeys. Two things I am interested in taking on in the next year or two. I couldn't wait to go learn all I could about the raising of these animals!
We grabbed our pumpkin spice lattes, (decaf) and 3 hours, and two ferries later we made it to the beginning of the tour at the bottom of the island. We checked out a few alpaca farms, a new winery that also has grass-fed beef, a few lavender farms, and some CSAs with organic or naturally grown produce. We enjoyed exploring a farmer's market or two, and the weather held out perfectly.
The first day we crammed in about 10 farms during a 6 hour period of time. Patty got some wonderful pictures for her photography and I got tons of great info on fencing, animal shelters and the raising and selling of animals.
We stayed the night at Fort Casey Inn. They turned hundred year old officer's houses into places to stay. The houses were pretty cool, and the photo ops for Patty were great, but I must admit, the house was downright creepy. Before heading to bed, we looked at flyers we gathered all day, and I went on and on about how excited I was to see the pig farm the following day. Patty looked at the map and said, "Oh no." I looked to see what she was talking about, and she pointed out the fine print under the farm's name that said it was open Saturday only. I was so upset...the one farm I wanted to see...and I missed it because I missed the fine print. P suggested we call, and I accepted the fact I would be missing it. I figured I could maybe email when I got home or visit in the future but I won't lie. I was crushed.
I can't believe we slept at all. We convinced ourselves the place was haunted, and the bed was so incredibly hard, I actually contemplated going to sleep in the car...
The next morning we groaned over body aches as we headed out again. We saw a garlic farm, a raspberry farm and a blue berry farm. We were pulling into a lavender farm and I decided to try my luck and call the pig and turkey farm. I had recited in my head what I was going to say over and over... I explained that I didn't notice they were only open one day and that we had traveled a really long way to see her farm. I told her I was interested in raising Berkshire hogs and Heritage turkeys for my own meat source, (I'll explain more about that later,) and after a few more minutes she agreed to let us come see her farm and answer our questions. YES!!! We rushed throught the lavender farm and headed to Karry's farm. She was wonderful! We spent almost two hours there! She walked us out to her pig pen which appeared to be empty. She clapped her hands together and said, "Cmere Willie!" Patty about peed herself. The pig that trotted out was over 600 pounds. Willie truly had a face only a mother could love, but the way she was "laughing"/snorting was addictive. What a beautiful animal. Karry shared with us the breeding process, why Berkshire meat was so incredible, and showed us the basics of pig housing. We talked about breeders, advertising and selling, and even watched Willie eat an egg.
Then we checked out Karry's heritage turkeys. She has Slate Heritage Turkeys, various chickens and ducks. We talked about potential predators, incubating eggs, selling turkeys and turkey saddles, (I'll explain those later too...it's not what you think.)
She then took us inside, and copied us article after article of pig information. After leaving Karry's farm we felt our adventure was complete. Three hours and two ferry rides later we were back home on our farm.
Thank you again Karry for your time and all the info!!!

Goodbye Serengeti

Long live SUPER STEVE!!! I've been working tons of overtime at work...ten hour days, 6 days a week, and it has really put a damper on my farm building free weekends. Labor day weekend my sister came to town to visit for a few days. She helped collect eggs...which was slightly traumatic for her... She reached into a nest box, and a low growl/hiss came from the box. She just about peed herself and ran out of the coop! I peeked inside the box, and one of the rhode island reds was busy sitting on the eggs. :)
My mom and Super Steve came over to visit with Amy, and Super Steve was only there for about 10 minutes before he insisted on mowing the field. I told him several times it was ok, and that I would get around to it...but he insisted...and it really needed it...so I let him. I filled the tires on the John Deere, and added some gas treatment. With it's brand new blades he took off into the abyss. I followed him for awhile picking up huge armloads of grass clippings and throwing them in the garden cart to take them to the chickens. I took them 3 full loads. They dove into it...scratching through it, eating it...looking for bugs. They LOVED it! 3 hours later, Steve pulled the lawn mower into the barn. The field looked amazing! He wanted us to be able to see coyotes or any other wild life in the yard for our protection, and that of the chickens.
Thank you again Super Steve! You're the best!!!

Wiley Coyote strikes again...

One evening we went down to the barn like we do every night after work. We let the girls out to graze and explore for about 45 minutes while we cleaned waterers, filled food etc. They made their way through the tall grass, and all I could see was the grass jerking right and left wherever a chicken was. They stayed together for the most part, and it didn't take more than a handful of Sun flower seeds (in the shell) to get them back into their coop. We gathered up eggs, and drove up to the house.
I went to the sink to wash the eggs, and looked down to the field...There was that damn coyote! 50 feet from the chicken run! I had no idea where he had come from or where he had been hiding while we were down there! I yelled to Patty, and she went and grabbed her gun. I grabbed the bowl of dinner Mariah had made for me and stood at the window watching the coyote. Mariah came and stood by my side holding her bowl and eating. Patty flew out the door onto the back porch with her 9mm and fired a shot off at the coyote about 300 ft away. The dirt about a foot to the right of his hip exploded into a cloud of dust and he ran. She fired off 3 more shots. Mariah and I just watched, eating our pasta. "It's like watching a movie mom," she said. "The sun setting behind the mountains. The breeze blowing through Patty's hair. And Patty shooting her gun." I smiled, "All we need is popcorn." We could hear P cursing at her near misses while she picked up her shells, and lined them up on the railing. The coyote was long gone..and we haven't seen him since.

Eggs for sale!!!

Holy moly...We are getting 18 eggs a day now, and we can't hold on to them. We have been sold out for the last 2 weeks and have a waiting list. Who would have thought? At least the girls are providing for themselves now! We keep all of our egg money in a Ball canning jar on our dresser. Last I counted we have over $80!
I told P that I am going to earn a special farm girl patch when I sell my 20th dozen. She wasn't as thrilled because she has sold 2 dozen. Maybe I am the salesman of the family? After the first week or so, they are selling themselves! I carry them to work in a "Going green" canvas shopping bag, and everyone knows I have an egg delivery. :) We have tried some ourselves too! Scrambled eggs, deviled egg sandwiches, omelettes, and hard boiled eggs. They are incredible! I love how they are all different sizes and different colors. We even have a chicken, (not sure which one,) that regularly lays double yolked eggs! I call those Baker's Dozens. :)
We write down every day on our chicken calendar how many eggs we get, and I keep a log of who I sell eggs to and when. We even have a customer who wants a dozen every Monday! Eggs for sale! $3.50 a dozen!!!

Pet Cemetary and Plan B

A few days after I put the ant killer on the hill, I noticed along the dirt road were some of the ants. I bent down to see what they were doing, and they were all carrying dead ants and dropping them in the road. There were little black spots all over the road. SO maybe I got more than one! I watched one carry a little ant body on it's back...for a moment, very faintly I heard the funeral march. I imagined them crying over their lost loved ones...perhaps a brother...or cousin... It reminded me of what it must have been like during the Plague...family members dying...piles and piles of rotting bodies. Great sadness and yet great dread of who may be next. I pictured one leaning over to another..."Sam was skipping through the pine needles one moment, and then after eating that great buffet of white powder that fell from the sky, he was gone." It lasted a second...just one teeny tiny second I felt bad for the little guys...and then it was gone. I jogged back down to the barn, grabbed more of the magical buffet, and sprinkled it all over the road and on the hill again. After all, if it's so painful for them to lose loved ones, they may as well all be together...
A few weeks later I talked to my neighbor Bruce who has the same kind of ant hill in an old log on his property. His plan is to pick up the whole thing with his tractor, and drop it on his burning pile.... I knew I liked him...

What did you eat for dinner?

I just watched an amazing movie. If you've seen it, you know where I am coming from. If you haven't, then you should. The name of the movie is Food, Inc. It was a rude awakening, and a slap in the face to what exactly I put in my mouth everyday. Now on some level, I knew it was bad. And that's why P and I are starting our farm, and next year our gardens. To have more control over what we eat. And to provide the opportunity for others to have more control over what they eat, and what they feed their children.
I am not a vegetarian...never have been, and probably never will be. But I can make the conscious choice every day of where my food comes from. Now, my small scale farm will not be built to keep up with demand of any product. All of my animals are, and will be treated with the utmost respect, and if anything are a tadbit too spoiled. But I can honestly say that if I couldn't get my food from my own farm, I would be seeking out another local farm. The following came from the end of Food, Inc.
“You can vote to change this system….three times a day.
Buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect.
When you go to the supermarket, choose foods that are in season. Buy foods that are organic. Know what’s in your food. Read labels. Know what you buy.
The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to the supermarket. Buy foods that are grown locally. Shop at farmer’s markets. Plant a garden. (Even a small one.)
Cook a meal with your family and eat together.
Everyone has a right to healthy food. Make sure your farmer’s market takes food stamps. Ask your school board to provide healthy school lunches.
The FDA and USDA are supposed to protect you and your family. Tell Congress to enforce food safety standards and re-introduce Kevin’s Law.
If you say grace, ask for food that will keep us, and the planet healthy.
You can change the world with every bite.
Hungry for change? Go to: takepart.com/foodinc"
Please take the time to go check it out. It's not too late.

The Love Machine and the Feathered Floozies

SIGH...I knew this would happen...and P is absolutely disgusted. Jun is trying to mount the girls. He pecks their heads (karma), until they submit, and then he climbs on them and flaps his wings. Fortunately that's it for now.
Last time we were down there, Patty called me over and told me Jun was being a jackass and attacking the girls. I explained to her what he was doing, and she couldn't believe it was such a violent act. I asked her what she was expecting...a moonlit walk on the beach? Dinner and a movie?
When I went down to see them today, some of the girls were squatting down and waving their butts in the air at him...sluts.
Today I collected 3 eggs. Not one of them was in a nest box. :/ Better luck tomorrow.

Is there an exterminator in the house???

I hate bugs....I'm sure on some deep level that is way over my head, all bugs have a purpose. But I'm tired of them...The biting flies, the yellow jackets, the mosquitos etc...
So last week I was pulling weeds and scotch broom along the dirt road... I went to take down a 4 foot Christmas tree, and I noticed the branches were moving. I looked closer, and it was ants. Big ones, all over the damn tree. They were even making little chains from branch to branch with their bodies. I followed the path on the ground, across the dirt road to the other side. About 6 feet off the road is a huge ant hill! It's probably 2 feet wide, and 2 feet high and it's made of pine needles. I took a close look at the ants so I could look them up online. They are red with black butts, and are similar to carpenter ants. They are "formica obscuripes". I went to the hardware store, and they recommended a liquid and a powder. I put a couple ounces to a gallon of water in our sprayer, and went to save the world...
Well the stupid sprayer didn't work right...and the ants were laughing at me and flipping me off...so I did the only thing that came to mind. I unscrewed the top off of the sprayer, and poured the whole thing out on top of the anthill. Laugh at that you little bastards!!! I then poured the white powder around the base of the hill, and all over the dirt road.
When P and I went down to the barn the next day, I saw one of the little beasts carrying a dead one across the road. Good...at least I knocked out one of them! P threw a rock at the ant hill, and HUNDREDS of them swarmed to the top of the hill. I guess next is PLAN B....

The dump

It was time again....Dixie had been parked on the side of the barn for so long that the vines had started to grow up inside her door. (It has only really been about 6-8weeks, but weeds are one of those things I'm freakishly good at growing.) We filled Dixie up with our junk from our various projects and headed out. On the way down the back dirt road I felt something cold and wet on my hand. I flung it toward Patty, (reflex I swear) and she screamed and slammed on the breaks. It was then that I saw she had a green tree frog on her knee, and I started yelling, "It's a frog!" over and over so she didn't think it was a tarantula or something. Poor thing had probably been living in the truck. So she caught it and let it go out the window, and we continued on our way.
We stopped at Starbucks, (duh) and went to the dump. It smelled quite ripe when we pulled into our spot. I started to pull the tarp off the truck when the guy next to me got out of his Chester Molester van and said, "Wow! If I had one of those camera phone things, I would take your picture! I have never seen a woman at the dump before, and my wife won't come with me, and she won't let me bring my sister..." (I didn't ask...the whole thing was too weird for me.) So P and I kept unloading the truck. One of the bags was huge, and when I threw it, it splashed me in the face. I about gagged. I wiped my face with my sleeve and tried not to think about what just hit me in the face. We kept goin and when we were done we went to get the oil changed. It had been 2 years, but Dixie was still within the 3000 miles! The guys at Oil Can Henry's said she was quite the farm truck. Everything in her was top of the line. We looked at each other and shrugged. P asked if they would check her belts...she screeched all the time turning and starting. It didn't bother me...and old truck is an old truck. P said it was embarrasing....I figured she (Dixie) thought she was on Dukes of Hazzard....
After the oil change we headed home...

A little help...

Well, instead of paying to fix the lawn mower, P had faith we could take it on ourselves. We ordered new blades, and last Saturday when I was working, she called me and told me that she had taken the deck off the lawn mower. (She knew better than to take that on when she was home alone, but she never listens!!!) She couldn't get the blades off...no matter what she tried. My friend from work Arnie offered to come help. He tends to feel a little fatherly, and since I had given him 3 huge bags of chicken poop the weekend before, I think he figured it was a nice way to pay me back.
So he came over and brought my other old friend Howie to help! Howie retired from the shipyard over a year ago, and it was so good to see them!! So they swapped out the blades, and then Arnie beat the crap out of the deck with a sledge hammer to get out the dent Mariah had put into it when she drove it into the creek bed... :/
It was quite a production to put the deck back on...and at the end there was an extra cotter pin. We looked at the manual and found a spot that was missing one.
Patty then gave it a test drive, (I figured the safest place to be would probably be riding it...) Considering it had old gas in it...it kept dying. Every time it died Patty would yell at the top of her lungs, "*$!@ JOHN DEERE!!!" Howie and Arnie thought it was quite funny...Me, well I'm used to it. :) We came to the conclusion that with a little gas treatment, the lawn mower will be as good as new. I hope to be able to mow this weekend!!! Thanks Arnie and Howie!!! and Patty Lou too!!!

In the palm of our hands...

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGGS TODAY!!!! 2 OF THEM!!! On our way home, Patty said, "I think today is the day we get our first egg! I wasn't feeling as certain. In fact, I was becoming a little worried because they hadn't started laying yet....
But when we went down there to fill the waterers, I peeked inside of the 6 nest boxes, and sure enough, in two of them the little wooden egg I had placed in there (to show them where to lay), had been pushed aside and there was a little egg in the middle. So I gently picked them up, and carried them out to P in my cupped hands. Her mouth fell open, and we both got a little teary....all our hard work was paying off! They weren't as small as I expected them to be...and they weren't misshapen at all! One is a slightly darker shade of brown than the other, and they are perfectly beautiful!
I let P carry them up to the house, and we took several pics of them. We've already discussed blowing out the insides so we can keep them forever....Kind of like bronzing baby shoes. :) Besides...soon...there will be more eggs than we know what to do with!!!

Not all who wander are lost...

I am so incredibly lucky...The other day I walked down my dirt road down into the field. My workboots kicked at the gravel and I took in a deep breath (probably activating my allergies). The 4 foot tall grass gently waved in the breeze, and the busy bees hovered from clover to clover and occasionally swarmed around my head. I heard the crow of Jun, acknowledging my arrival. I looked to the tops of the pine trees toward the puffy clouds, feeling the rare Washington sun on my face. After tossing the corn to the girls (and Jun), I braved my way through the tall grass and headed toward the orchard. I watched a mama quail and her brood run through the grass and saw other birds dart in and out of the trees...(hopefully eating all the damn mosquitos). I checked each fruit tree over...looking for any sign of fruit or disease. I crossed the field and checked my walnut trees, and the little silver maple my grandpa sent me that is now two feet tall. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed out here...I don't know if I feel like I am 5 again, on the coolest adventure of my life, or if I feel 33 and all grown up...on the coolest adventure of my life...
The thought crossed my mind of laying in the grass...hiding from the world, and watching the clouds go by...but then again, ever since the whole tick event, I am not going to make access for them any easier than it has to be!
I realize every day that not everyone gets to live this way. I know it isn't "normal" that someone can step outside their back door, and pluck a blueberry off their own bush and pop it in their mouth. Or be able to look out their living room window and see a mama bird feed her chirping babies in a bird house I put up last year.
I've decided I want to make this available for everyone...I don't want all of you camping in my backyard...but I would love people to come visit...Someday I want elementary school classes to come visit and pet farm animals they've never seen before...for them to pick their own apples and sample some juice made from them. I want families to come pick out their pumpkins every year, and make my farm one of their family traditions.
I could die tomorrow...and I would be so satisfied that I have lived and have had what I always wanted....except for the new kitchen...and to make my own cider and trail mix...to have one of my own turkeys for thanksgiving....oh and to fix up my old truck...and to publish that damn novel...ok...maybe I'm not ready to die tomorrow... ;)
And I am so lucky to have P and my family to share it with...there is nothing better than having a hand to hold on my way back up that dirt road...

Chicken Fried and Sic 'em on a chicken

Two of my favorite songs lately are by the Zac Brown Band. I try to listen to this first song as often as I can. It makes me tap my toe, sing at the top of my lungs, and it rejuvinates me for whatever may come my way. It's a simple summary of how life should be. The second song is just funny. We don't play either song in front of the girls though. We don't want them to get the wrong idea, and we think if they did hear it, it may affect their "raised humane" certification. Besides...raised anxiety may cause their eggs to taste funny. Hope you check out these songs and enjoy them as much as I do....

CHICKEN FRIED
You know I like my chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
I like to see the sunrise
see the love in my woman's eyes
feel the touch of a precious child
know a mother's love.

Well I was raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia pine
And that`s home you know
Sweet tea pecan pie and homemade wine
Where the peaches grow
In my house it`s not much to talk about
But it`s filled with love that`s grown in southern ground
And a little bit of chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love

Well its funny how it`s the little things in life that mean the most
Not where you live, the car you drive, or the price tag on your clothes
There`s no dollar sign on a piece of mind this I`ve come to know
So if you agree have a drink with me
Raise your glasses for a toast
To a little bit of chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love

I thank god for my life
And for the stars and stripes
May freedom forever fly, let it ring.
Salute the ones who died
The ones that give their lives so we don`t have to sacrifice
All the things we love
Like our chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love


SIC 'EM ON A CHICKEN
Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken and watch them feathers fly


Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken.

Bring out the butter and the flour we're ready to fry.


My dog Pete is the smallest dog of all the dogs in my yard

He's a mean son' bitch

Drinks Beam and water from a broken mason jar


Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken and watch them feathers fly


Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken.


Bring out the butter and the flour we're ready to fry.


I heard this awful noise coming outta the woods

I heard chicken screams and

Know it ain't gonna be good


Well I think we lost the chicken

Think we lost the chicken

Think we lost the chicken because I just heard a cry


Think we lost the chicken

Think we lost the chicken

but you can get another one for a dollar 79


In a couple of years his spurs have grown

He wasn't safe to keep around the house

When he almost took an eyeball from Lonny's son

Now I was sitting at home making fig preserves

And I'd heard that youngen get kicked in the face

And I knew that that was the day that chicken was going to get what he deserved


So I chased the chicken

I chased the chicken

I chased the chicken and Pete hit 'em from the side


I chased the chicken

I chased the chicken

me and Pete suppered on a home made chicken pot pie


Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken.

Sic 'em on a chicken and watch them feathers fly


Sic 'em on a chicken

Sic 'em on a chicken

I can smell the kitchen and it's almost supper time.

The Wiley Coyote...

The little jackass...who the hell did he think he was messing with?! Does he not know whose farm he trotted on to?! I mean, I understand where he could have made the mistake...because the lawn mower is broken, the field does look like the outback...or the African planes....with the grass and bushes being 4 feet tall in some parts...but there was no way I was going to let that dingo eat my babies!!!
Last week I was at the sink, and looked down toward the barn and saw a coyote about 50 ft from the coop. It was about 6pm, and he was staring in their general direction. I called for Patty, and she ran for her camera. He must have heard a little coyote voice in his little coyote head that told him to keep trottin', because he turned in the opposite direction and started trotting toward the other end of the property.
Well, Jun being a little delayed, started crowing at that moment...when the danger was over. So we headed down to the barn to make sure they were all ok. Everyone was ok! Our first predator avoided! Bring it! (I shouldn't say that...next it may be a damn bear...)

The crow heard round the whole damn neighborhood...

Well...he won't shutup now. Most mornings he starts at 5:45 in the morning...and then he crows...for about 15 minutes...and then he stops for about ten minutes, and crows for about another 10. It's like hitting the snooze button.
We don't mind it...we can't hear it if the windows are closed. My only concern was my neighbors Bruce and Chris. They have been so good to us...and we look out for them...and they look out for us...and I would have hated it if Jun was keeping them up all day and night. So this past week I invited them over to see the girls and the coop. They knew we were getting chickens a long time ago, but when you have acres between you and your neighbor, you don't always see them. So I brought them over, and they fell in love with the girls right away. And they LOVE Jun. They love listening to him all day long.
I have to admit some days when he doesn't stop, I hope he will get little rooster laryngitis. But I think he does it when he is happy, and when he sees or hears a potential predator. AND he is walking perfectly now. Completely back to normal. But his head is still completely hen-pecked. We got a new treatment for his head that is suppose to taste bad. If that doesn't work...he is going to need to join a little feather club for roosters.

26-1=25....right?

Well, ever since we lost Alice (RIP), we got in the habit of always counting 25. The 24 girls, plus Jun= 25. So when they have been out for awhile on their own, when we are trying to get them all together, we count them.
Last weekend, when Patty was counting, she yelled to me, my mom, Steevareeno, and Mariah to come help her count because she swore she was counting 26. So we all started counting...11 in the coop and 15 outside...that's 26...wait...that's not right...count them again. This went on and on for about 5 minutes, and I said let's check them by breed. How many whites do we have? 3...ok that's right...how many buffs? 3...ok...that's right... How many blacks? 4....huh? Check again....yep, definitely 4 black ones....Well I only ordered 3....we didn't have more than 3 of any kind. So we looked at the black australorps, and sure enough, one of them had a larger comb, and wattles. How the hell?
So either this extra chicken was dropped off, or it ran away from home...but we have no idea how in the world it ended up IN the run. She looks healthy...so we don't really mind....at least no one dumped puppies or something in our yard. But as for the story of the 26th chicken...the world may never know...

One legged Jun, and the crow heard 'round the farm...

Our poor Jun. Several weeks ago, when my mom was visiting, she noticed our "free exotic chick", Jun, was limping. I picked him up and looked at his feet and legs and saw nothing. After a few days, it got a lot worse. We have no idea what he did, but he wouldn't walk or stand. I was really afraid we were going to lose him...that the girls would take advantage of the fact that he couldn't get away, and peck him to death. But there wasn't anything we could do. I hoped whatever was going on with him would heal itself, and he would be back to normal. He didn't move for about a week. Patty kept putting food in front of him, and dipping his beak for water, but he just laid in the corner of the coop all day and night...couldn't move to go outside or eat or drink. It's been about 3 weeks now, and he is back to hobbling around. He doesn't seem to be in pain...and he moves around pretty good...but he will probably have this bad limp for the rest of his little life...And yes, he is still bald...but we don't point that out to him because he is self-concious about it...
And the little guy crows....I think we have come to the conclusion that he is our only rooster, but a rooster he definitely is! When we go see him, he puffs up, and then lets it go with everything he has! COCKADOODLE DOO!!! It's so cute. We turn away when we giggle, because we don't want to insult his little masculinity...but it's so darn cute. And he loves being held...he falls asleep. It's probably from all the times he was held when the tar was being put on his head to protect it. But he is a real sweetheart, and I hope he is around for a really long time. :)

The saga continues...

I am so sorry! I bet you guys have been worried sick out of your minds! Last I mention the crazy Canadian Pig Farmer...and then nothing....silence....I bet you were all thinking that I met the back of my own shovel...but don't you worry your pretty little heads! All is well here. Just tremendously busy...so I will try to catch you up the best I can.
The chicken run is done...TA DUM!!!! Well except for the roofing. It's just a tarp right now. But at least they can be outside...but let me back up.
It got to the point that as long as the little bubble was between the lines it was perfectly level. Toward the end, we were dreading our days working on the run. It seemed it would never end. The chickens were getting bigger...and their coop, even though perfect for evenings, was too small for all day long.
After the frame was up, we attached two layers of fencing with a staple gun...yep...sounds like bad news....
P was shooting staples, and wondering why no staples were coming out...and the next 60 seconds happened in slow motion...She turned the staple gun, and was holding it by the wrong end...I'm not sure how it happened, but the handle was squeezed, and a staple ended up in her hand. She yelled and dropped the stapler, and held her hand out. Fortunately, she was wearing a rubber glove. But we both just stared at her hand, kind of in shock. I swear I may have even said, "Hey, did you know there is a staple in your hand?" ;) So she pulled it out and we were both dreading her taking the glove off...I knew it had to have gone in almost a half inch. She pulled her glove off, and the palm of her hand looked like she had been bit by a snake. I ran and got the first aid kit, and after some deep breathing exercises, she was doing pretty good! We cleaned her hand, and put some gauze on it. And then...being the total bad ass she is...put a latex glove on, put her rubber glove on, and then insisted we go back to work. I guess that's why she gets the Xena the Warrior Princess hammer and I get the lame one that might as well squeak...because I would have been paralyzed. I would have probably dropped to my knees, shook my bloody hand at the sky and yelled WHYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! and passed out yelling for someone to suck out the poison...And then when I woke up I would have insisted on a cast that all my friends and family could sign and an ice cream to ease my pain...So we worked for about another hour, and as a prize, I bought her duct tape bandaids to wear on her puncture so she could maintain her badass image...
So we eventually finished the run after several long days and the occasional friendly disagreement. :) On the big day we opened the little chicken door....the voices of angels were heard...and....they wouldn't go out. I had to pick up every single one of them individually and push them through the little chicken door while P had to keep them from running back in on the outside. And then to get them back in was a joke. We literally had to chase them and herd them back in. That was the first time. Now, their little chicken door is on a timer. It opens at 5am, and closes at 9pm. We can see them from our bedroom with the binoculars. It is so cute to watch them run like little football players, and try to fly. They are 18 weeks now, and should be laying in a few weeks. Eggs anyone?

The Pecker

If any of you are mothers, you all dread the day when you go pick your kid up at daycare, just to be notified that your child...your precious angel, is the daycare "Biter". Knowing all little children toddle away in horror from the gnashing jaws of your baby. Just as bad, is finding out your child is the "Bitee". The victim with the half moon marks in random places on their skin. And you want nothing more than to smack the "Biter" and meet his/her mom out in the parking lot...
Well...Patty and I soon came to realize that one of our children was a "Pecker" and one...a "Peckee". Now I personally would rather be a biter than a pecker, and I am pretty sure I speak for most of us out there....anyway, back to the situation at hand...
"Jun" our free exotic chick is black with a white dandelion afro on his, (we think he is a rooster,) head. We have started calling him "Papa Steve" because he looks like my stepdad. Bald on top, with a halo of white hair...or feathers in this case. Several times we have gone down to the coop and Papa Steve's head is bald/bleeding. Someone...the Pecker...has pecked his poor little head, and pulled out all of his head feathers. We have been treating his head with a tar/aloe/teatree oil black goop that we have found....and the pecking has seemed to stop...but then again, he has nothing left on his head to pull out. Now its hard to tell who the pecker is. I personally think its Lucy or Ethel, our two Rhode Island Reds....I have seen one of them peck another in the head....but no one actively pecking Papa Steve....So how funny is it that our Cock is a Peckee...and not a Pecker?
Hopefully, once they can be outside, the pecking will stop since they will have more to do, and can stay out of eachothers way.
So...hopefully after what happened to Alice, Papa Steve will be ok...we check on him every day...And be thankful if your kid is just the biter....at least they aren't a pecker...

The Stalker

A few weeks ago when we ordered scaffolding from a local rental company, the creep...I mean gentleman, who worked there helped Patty unload the truck. He enquired as to what projects we had going, and she told him we were refurbishing our old barn and building a chicken coop and chicken run. He said he would love to come see it one day, and my Patty who trusts everyone said, "sure! Come on out sometime." When she got in the truck I asked her what her new best friend had said. She told me and I told her that was creepy. For the record, she called me paranoid...
3 weeks later we rented the hydraulic auger again from the same company. And guess who dropped it off?? Creepy McCreeperson. I can't even describe him...he reminds me of someone I've seen on TV....Not sure if it was Lawnmower Man or on The Muppets but it still bugs me... I was in an extreme hurry because we had to get Mariah to her track meet...and Norman Bates wanted a freakin tour of the farm. "Aren't you going to show me your projects?" he asked. I felt like dragging Patty down to deal with him, but since we were in a hurry I pointed..."barn", "chicken coop" etc. He wanted my help getting his truck out of the field, but I told him I had to go. I left him there...greatful the babies were padlocked in their coop.
When we got back home, Jeffery Dahmer was gone, and we were able to start putting our holes in the ground. We expected it to take a few hours...but 13 holes took us all day. After a quick visit from my mom and Steve we called it a day.
On Sunday morning we went out to breakfast leaving the gate open so Ted Bundy could come get the auger. When we got home it was still there. We started putting our posts in the ground and I got an "URGENT" message on my cell phone around 4 o'clock from Jack the Ripper. So I called him back and he said he hadn't come out to get the auger because I hadn't called to say I was done. I told him he said he would be back at ten that morning. He assured me I wouldn't be charged for the extra day, and that he would come get it Monday, the following day. He then asked me what time I left for work the next day, and I said, "early".
I was really proud of the work P and I did that day. We got 3 posts in, and the 2x12planks connecting them. It looked like the stocks people were kept in during the wild west except without the holes. We were badasses!
The next morning about 10:30, Freddy Kreuger called me on my cell phone at work. The conversation went a little something like this...*____* Names and businesses are made up...all though I don't know why I am giving the courtesy...guess I don't want to provoke Pennywise anymore than necessary...
ME: "Hello?"
PSYCHO: "Hi this is *Loser* from *Fisher Price Rentals*. I'm just calling to let you know I picked up the auger, but you knew I was getting the auger, and when you get home tonight, and see its gone, you would have probably guessed I got it, so I guess I didn't have to call...."
ME:"Ok...Thank you."
PSYCHO: "I really like the job you guys did this weekend...it looks great..." (he had to walk around to the other side of the barn to see what we did,) "and the chickens look happy and are doing good today..."(Had to peek into a window in the barn to see them) "and I guess I just wanted to let you guys know, that I really want to be a part of this out here! I am off Wednesdays and Thursdays and Friday evenings...and I want to offer my physical labor to help..."
ME:?!?!?!?!?!"Thanks, but we've got it..."
PSYCHO: "I had a heck of a time loading the auger by myself...good thing I lost all that weight...it would have been nice to have a hand though...Well do you want my cell phone number? Wait, you already have it because I am calling you from it..."
ME: (Note to self)
PSYCHO: "Soooo...give me a call, you have my number...and I really want to give you a hand..."
ME: "I really need to get back to work..."
PSYCHO: "Ok...well um...goodbye."
I immediately text P to let her know we weren't going to be renting from *Fisher Price Rentals* again. She asked why and I filled her in on the phone call. It freaked her out and pissed her off equally, and we both agreed the only thing Michael Meyers was going to be a part of was the back of our fucking shovel. I mean, if he is going to peek in our barn, is he going to peek in our house windows too? Would he call again? Or show up? We agreed to keep the gate to the property locked, and the alarm on the house set. I called my neighbor who is retired and home all the time, to let them know what happened and to call if they see a *Fisher Price Rentals* truck. P wanted to call the company, but I didn't want to give Candyman a reason to call or visit again...We agreed we would call the manager if he made an attempt to contact us again...which he hasn't...
I explained to P that although I am extremely proud of the fact that its all women who run this house...we don't need to advertise to perfect strangers that we're alone out here.
Since The Boston Strangler visited, P has been answering the door with the gun....we rarely have visitors. Funny that we've had more in the last few weeks than in the last year. Patty almost took the census taker out last week.
As for me? I don't think the Canadian Pig Farmer will be back....but I am ready with my shovel...and it's not too late to bury someone behind the barn....

Vegetarian Patty

Oh my poor Patty...it was fate...destiny...what happened to her. I went out to sea for 8 days for work...no contact with the family. When I got home, I had been off the boat no more than 20 minutes when she texted me that she had to tell me something...and did I want her to tell me then or when I got home. Good Lord...things were racing through my head...Mariah got in trouble, Bubba got away and was hit by a car, the barn collapsed, she enjoyed her free time so much she was moving on....I had no idea...but I sure as shit didn't want to wait till I got home.
"One of the chickens died..." she had texted. And then the texts started coming one right after the other..."It was the speckled one"..."She hadn't been doing well"...
Before I had left one of our Speckled Sussex who I named "Alice" (after the vamp in Twilight duh) hadn't been doing well. It seemed she hadn't adjusted to the coop very well, and was just lethargic. She ate and drank with the others, but didn't seem to want to join them in their clucky games. We had big rocks in the corners of the coop holding down the linoleum, and every time we went to check on them she was roosting on a rock, all puffed up...so I figured she was broody...early puberty maybe. While I was out to sea, when P went down to the barn she was just laying in the corner on her rock. The next day she came down she was dead, in the middle of the coop, under the heat lamp. The chickens had taken it upon themselves to peck all of the feathers and skin off her head. Now Patty can kill any bug for me, and can scoop our dogs kennel or the cat boxes without batting an eye. But the sight of Alice was too much for her...She still won't talk about it, but after much gagging she managed to get Alice in a bag and into the garbage. She is still traumatized, and has refused to eat meat...especially chicken, since I got home. Hopefully that will eventually change....kind of hard to run an organic farm and not be able to feed her some of the fruits of our labor. My poor Patty. :(
RIP Alice...we are down to 25 chickens now.

CATCH UP!!!

Sorry it has been so long! Life and a business trip have intervened with my blogging, but I am here to jump back on the wagon so to speak...
5 weeks ago, after we finished putting up the siding with the scaffolding, it was moving day for the girls. They were 5 weeks old and out growing their little tub in our extra room. So P, Mariah and I got up early and went down to the barn. We filled their feeder and their water, and threw new pine shavings down, (about 4" deep). I came up to the house to get them...my plan was to put them into one of our old dog kennels. I got the kennel, put a towel in the bottom, and started putting them in one by one with Mariah's help. A few tried to "fly the coop", but it only took about 15 minutes to get all 26 of them in there.
Our plan was to put them in their new coop and then continue working on the back of the barn for the day so we could monitor them. And everything went great! They huddled together for a little while, and I was afraid they wouldn't be able to find their new water....so I dipped a few beaks (I guess I shouldn't have done that at their age...) but I wanted them to know where it was at and to tell the others!!!
So we watched them for about 30 minutes, and then Mariah and Patty climbed up the scaffolding to paint the barn. There was no way it was going to be safe for the 3 of us to get on the scaffolding, so I pulled up a lawn chair and watched them. It looked like a Norman Rockwell painting...two girls painting a barn red...butt cracks peeking out over the tops of their jeans... And it was such a perfect day...the chickens in their new coop...my girls and me...a beautiful day, sun shining...and my dreams coming true seeing the barn turn a beautiful red. Patty kept complaining that the red looked pink, and Mariah managed to get the paint all the way up her brush, her hand and up to her wrist. Thats my girls. :) After the paint dried it was perfect barn red...( "Cherry Tart" at Home Depot).
They ended up painting the top half of the barn, we closed up the coop and returned the staging. Later that night, we both looked at the barn from our window. It was pitch dark, and we were both worried, but not wanting to admit it. We knew they were secure, and they had their heat lamp that was also secure... Wait...was that a flame? I cupped my hands to the sliding glass door and strained my eyes at the tiny orange glow which seemed to flicker in the black barn. I asked Patty if she could see it as I started to pull my jeans back on. We grabbed the binoculars (the barn is about 300 feet from the house,) and I located the orange glow. I called Mariah, (her young eyes are better than mine) to determine what the orange glow was in the barn. My only solace was that I had been staring at the barn for 5 minutes, and it hadn't erupted into flame....were they being abducted by aliens? Was somebody down there? I was about to walk out the door to go check on my children when Mariah and Patty said almost at the same time, "Isn't that the end of the extension cord? The cord you used to plug in the heat lamp?" Oh....I didn't want to go down to the barn anyway... :/
In the past 5 weeks, "The Girls" have grown tremendously. They know where their water and food are, they show off by jumping up on their 2nd and 3rd perches, and a few of them cluck now, but most of them still peep. We give them vegetable scraps, (they love tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries the most. They also love grapes, but we have to slice them in half because the skins are too tough for them to peck through.) A few weeks ago we gave them their first treat of cottage cheese which is suppose to be really good for them...It was gross to watch them try to scratch in it, but I imagine the cold felt really good between their toes? We also started them on grit. We give it to them in a separate feeder.
Next is the chicken run. It is 24 ft, (the length of the back of the barn) by 15 feet. It is going to be made of pressure treated posts which will be set in concrete, pressure treated lumber, a combination of horse fence and chicken wire, and will be fully enclosed with a slanted roof for rain/snow run off. Now I know this is excessive. Most people build their chicken runs with pallets, a couple branches and some wire. But this house and property was a junk yard when I bought it, and the last thing I want to see when I look at my barn is a pile of pallets and junk housing animals. So we are going the extra mile!!!

Saturday, April 10, 2010 "YOU ARE A FARM GIRL"

This was going to be the big weekend. The girls were 5 weeks old, and way too big to be in their little tub we had made for them. The house smelled like a coop, they "flew the coop" every time we lifted their screen cover and the dust was like a crematorium had exploded. It was gross. They finally had their feathers, (mostly), and we decided we were going to do whatever it took to get them to the barn this weekend.
We got up really early on Saturday, around 7am, and headed to the local rental place to pick up scaffolding. Dixie's running lights still don't work, (it's not the bulbs), so we had to wait till the sun was up to leave the house so we wouldn't be pulled over again.
About an hour later we were down at the barn, setting up the scaffolding. It was a little bit windy, but at least it wasn't raining. We got the scaffolding up...surprisingly it wasn't too difficult. We then finished stapling up the tyvek wrap and started putting up the top row of T1-11. By the time we hit the second piece, we knew something wasn't right. P was getting pissed, swearing it was the flashing we had put up. The bottom right corner would fit, but to make it level the bottom left corner had to be lifted about a quarter inch. We knew the bottom row was completely level, so we began to wonder if it was possibly the sheets of T1-11 that weren't cut straight. We decided to move on, lining up the grooves and keeping the sheets level, and gradually the problem got worse. By the time we put the second to the last piece up, the bottom right corner fit tight, but the bottom left corner was raised almost an inch. We decided that we could cover the seam with a 2x6 when it was done, and make it look like "trim". "Trim" solves many problems.
At this point we were only 5 feet up. The contraption was huge, and we were both stalling on putting the second level up to reach the peak of the barn which is 17feet.
We decided the best way to finish the day was to finish the inside of the coop so we could get the girls in there Sunday morning.
Patty got to work cutting out the vent hole in the wall, and I started the platform for their waterer to go on. Both jobs went fairly quick and once again we were very impressed with our skills. All that was left in the coop was to wash the walls with vinegar water, (I read somewhere it was safer for the chicks than using bleach, but just as effective,) and to recaulk some of the seams in the walls and ceiling of the coop. Well, after searching for about 45 minutes, high and low, we realized our caulking gun was missing. Damn it...guess we have to go to Ace.
So we jumped in my Tahoe, and on the way to town, decided to get chai's and run by the feed store for some more pine shavings for the girl's coop. While walking around the feed store, I went to scratch my belly...(oh come on! who doesn't do that?!) and I felt what felt like a scab or like a drop of sap or something about an inch below my belly button. So without thinking I began to pick at it...only half wondering how I could have gotten sap on my stomach, because it was really stuck there. I came around the corner behind Patty when I managed to pull it off. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! (sorry if that offended anyone) it was a %&#$!#^ tick!!! And it was alive! I dropped it and the room began to swim. I somehow communicated to Patty (not sure if it was grunts or sign language) that I just pulled the tick out of my stomach and probably more out of reflex, she stomped on it as the little mother %^#$*@ tried to make a quick get away. I felt my saliva glands began to overwork, and my eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to be sick, I think I'm going to throw up." I told her. She must have believed me by the look on my face because she pointed her finger at me and said, "YOU ARE A FARM GIRL! YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I was applying pressure to my stomach where the tick came out, because it hurt so bad, and I followed her to the counter to pay. By the time I got there a new wave of nausea overcame me when I began to think about if the head was still in my stomach. I grabbed her by the arm. "If the head is still in there you have to pull it out for me." I said. "Oh my God I'm going to be sick..." and I told her I would meet her out at the car. I went to the Tahoe and opened the door to shield me from any on lookers that may pass by, and I lifted my sweatshirt and looked down at my stomach half expecting to see another one waving at me or flipping me the bird. All I saw was a red spot of blood...ok ok it was tiny...but it was still blood and it hurt like hell. No little tick head to mount in my barn as a trophy. P came out with our purchases and asked me if I was alright. "No head" was what I managed to get out. We headed to Ace and I know we were both thinkin the same thing. You know how when you hear someone has head lice and just hearing it makes your head itch?? Well just knowing there was a tick that somehow found its way to behind the button of my jeans made my skin crawl...gave us both the downright heeby jeebys.
In Ace my stomach began to cramp pretty bad. I was nauseous and tried to do some deep breathing exercises moving down the aisle. I started thinking I should have captured the tick. What if I had to go to the doctor? What if it had lime disease? Or rabies for cryin out loud? Stupid tick. I thought about the time Bubba had the tick for over a year, (we thought it was a mole.) When we realized his mole had little legs and pulled it out did his stomach cramp too?
I was determined to move on with the day...refusing to let the now dead tick ruin our mojo. Patty came across a roll of linoleum and had the great idea to put it down on the concrete in the bottom of the coop. The existing concrete was stained with something that looked like oil and we were worried about the babies having access to it and getting sick. Plus, the thought of just being able to pull the linoleum out and spraying it down and putting it back was a plus. So we got the roll of linoleum, a caulking gun and some other goodies and headed home.
When we got back to the barn, we got the bucket of vinegar water, and began scrubbing the walls. After what seemed like forever, Patty used the caulking gun and filled the seams and small gaps in the walls and ceiling.
We checked the time. It had been ten hours since we left the house to get the scaffolding!! We headed up to the house, undressed and checked each other for ticks.
Fortunately, there were no more, and my stomach cramping was gone by morning.

April 3, 2010 Every little bit helps...

It was pouring...but the girls are 4 weeks now, and not fitting very well into their tub anymore so we have to keep going. We headed down to the barn and looked at what we had left to do. The top row of siding was still looming ahead of us, but we still had no idea how we were going to get up there or make the complicated cuts to form the gable roof of the barn.
I started hooking up extension cords and hooked up the brand new tri-pod work light I got us. "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" The spotlight showed on our work table and lit up the inside of the barn. I already felt like something was accomplished....
Patty was determined to get the measurements for the first upper row piece...
We went out into the rain and I held her ladder while she went up to get the measurements. She kept her body as close as possible to the barn, and I lowered my face to keep the rain from hitting it. After about 5 minutes of measurements she came down.
We went back into the barn and grabbed a fresh piece of T1-11. Measuring and cutting was a piece of cake under our new work light! We took the piece back out into the rain and almost killed eachother trying to get it up the ladder and in place. IT FIT!!! We brought it back into the barn, deciding that we would wait until better weather to do the top row.
About 20 minutes later the rain eased up a bit, and we ran out to put the flashing on top of the bottom row of boards. (Something the Great Oracle told me we needed.) We argued the whole time about if we really needed it, if it fit right, and if it would mess up the top row of T1-11. I told P the Great Oracle doesn't lie and that he knows better than we do so she finished nailing it up...growling under her breath.
I knew we were both irritated at this point....With the rain, how cold we were, how much we had to go, that the house still had to be cleaned, grocery shopping and laundry had to be done, etc etc etc.
But we had to keep going...had to make some kind of progress besides flashing and cutting one board.
So we decided to build the perch inside the coop. We bickered about that too. I was trying to calculate in my head. I had brought our "Barnyard in your Backyard" book down with me so I wouldn't have to memorize measurements and so I could show P the picture. 8" of perch per bird x 26 birds, 12" between each perch vertically and 18" between them horizontally. I drew a rough sketch and P started cutting 2x6s. We bought 2" diameter railing for perches and cut them each 64" long. We had 3 of them, which made enough for 24 birds. Oh well, they would have to take turns. Besides, chances are we have at least one rooster, so it would probably be perfect. I was still trying to calculate in my head when P grabbed the nail gun... Ok...we'll put them up now. I bit my lip and pointed where I wanted the perches. POW POW POW and the first one was on. It actually looked pretty good. POW POW POW POW POW POW POW and the other 2 were on. It actually looked pretty good. I wanted to grab the tape measure, (and did when she walked out). I wanted to verify they were 12" and 18" blah blah blah. It didn't matter anymore....they weren't going anywhere. It looked pretty good anyway.
Before we called it a day we added a perch and a front rail to the nest box we made. We then hung it to the wall. It looked so cute!!!
We didn't bother cleaning up since we were planning on coming down the following day. We headed up to the house arm in arm. It had been a long, but good day.
Around 6 o'clock that night I felt a sharp pain in my throat and felt it starting to swell... By the time I went to bed I could barely swallow. I was on my second week of antibiotics! I couldn't be getting sick!

March 29, 2010 Visiting the Great Oracle...

It was a blustery day at work, but I knew I had to go see him. The Great Oracle, also known as our pal "Fibbs". Fibbs is the smartest person I know in the whole wide world about all things construction, landscaping or HGTV. P and I were absolutely perplexed on how to do the roof for the chicken run...and Fibbs is great at breaking things down Barney style, and topping off all conversations with a pep talk, so it was off to see the Great and wise Oracle I went.
I walked almost a mile I think...in and out of buildings, across bridges, against the pouring rain...barefoot...backwords...just kidding.
The smell of saw dust let me know I was close...I opened his office door and saw his wise face...happy to see me.
I pulled an office chair up to his wheelchair (gang fight)...(kidding), and pulled the wrinkled piece of paper out of my pocket. I made him a crude drawing of what we planned. Where the barn was, where we were planning on putting the run, dimensions etc. The Great Oracle got the look on his face that he ALWAYS gets when I share my ideas. Something along the lines of "Becky why the hell do you always want the biggest, craziest most difficult contraptions?" BECAUSE IT'S FOR YOUR 26 NIECES FIBBS!!! They need the best!
So he began to tell me what it would take to build my chicken run...I heard the words "lagbolts", "supports", "load supporting", and "every 6 inches". And that was only the first paragraph. My head began to swim and I asked for plan B. He said we could build the run and roof free standing so the posts held the weight and not our old barn. That sounded like a better idea. So I put in my order for a drawing and some Barney style directions and he said he would get on it.
I gave him a hug, and he said he was proud of us.
I headed back out into the weather feeling super smart....just because I knew someone super smart. Thanks Fibbs....for all you do, all your support, and for just being you. :)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Rain rain go away, come again some other day...
The girls (chickens) are 3 weeks old now and are so ridiculously ugly! They are half feathered and half fuzz and I think this is their ugly teenager stage that we all go through. It takes both of us to change their food and water because the second we lift the screen they start flying everywhere...it's like the movie chicken run. :) They are a reminder everyday that we need to keep on trucking on the chicken coop!
It was raining way too hard to work outside, but we decided to set up inside the barn anyway. I was so thankful the barn roof didn't leak! We ran the extension cord into the barn and set up our cutting table. The only problem was I haven't yet re-wired the barn, so we only had the one outlet coming from the extension cord. So the inside of the barn was pretty dark, and after a few cuts with the circular saw we decided we weren't working safe.
I texted Mariah up at the house, and asked her to bring a splitter down to the barn and an extra light bulb for the droplight we had down there. A few minutes later I looked up the hill and down came my daughter in the pouring rain, in shorts, tennis shoes with no socks, and a dinky hooded jacket. I joked with Patty that we should make her a poncho. So while we waited for Mariah I grabbed a contractor garbage bag, and Patty cut a hole in the top for her head. When she reached the barn I showed her the new poncho. I wouldn't say she was excited about it, but she put it on and it went down to her knees. The head hole was a little too big, so I grabbed some florescent orange string that was for marking the fence line and Patty laced it up the back of Mariah's new poncho.
We plugged the splitter in and quickly hooked up the droplight. What a difference!
Before Mariah left, I asked her to take a picture of the back of the barn with her phone so we could have some record of our process. Patty gave her an arm hole and Mariah walked around to the back of the barn swishing in her garbage bag. She looked hysterical trying to photograph the back of the barn from within her tent. She headed back up to the house and we continued with our work.
It was coming down pretty hard, and even hailed for about 15 minutes so we decided to take on the nest boxes for the chicken coop. We had left the picture of the sample up in the house, so we guessed the measurements and used scratch pieces of plywood and T1-11. With the little stapler that came with our air compressor we quickly put together the two nest boxes. It turned out awesome!! We have four more to go and I think it will be a snap!!!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

We had agreed to watch our friends' baby Tyler for the morning, so we spent the morning entertained by him. It was weird having a baby around considering our kids are grown. But babies must be like riding bikes because Patty was a wonderful baby sitter and little Tyler just loves her! (He doesn't really like me, but I think that's because Patty told him I bite or something so she could hold him the whole time.) He is the sweetest baby ever and looks like a little turtle and he kept scooting around the floor trying to catch the cats. Aunt Patty has already promised him his own goat and has bought him his own carhart overalls for workin on the farm. Becca and James came to get him at one o'clock and we changed into our work clothes.
Rain Rain Rain....Barn here we come.
We quickly set up our tools and the radio. We put in Patty's new cd she got for her birthday, (the Zach Brown Band) and hurried to put the bottom two pieces of ply wood up on the barn. We used our framing nailer hooked up to the air compressor, and it went really quick! We then used the left over house wrap from when the house was resided, and put up the bottom sheet of wrap. We looked like we knew what we were doing! We pulled out the ladder and Patty climbed up so she could start putting up the second layer. I heard a rustling in the woods and I saw Buddy, (Buddy James when he is in trouble,) our neighbors unnaturally large yellow (more white) lab. Buddy is always happy to visit and is the sweetest thing. Him and Bubba are best friends and neither one of them can figure out how to stay on their own 5 acres. Buddy's dad Bruce (one of the best neighbors ever) came to retrieve Buddy and admired our residing job. Bruce helped originally build the barn almost 30 years ago so he appreciates our efforts to bring it back to it's full potential. After a short visit Bruce headed home with Buddy James in tow, and we continued with the house wrap.
We didn't lose any speed as we put up our first piece of T1-11. POW POW POW and it was up. Before the day was over we had almost the entire bottom row up. We stood back to admire our work and couldn't even see where the seams were. Not sure how we were going to do the next row up, and since it was starting to rain, we cleaned up and headed up to the house to have some of my home made split pea soup! It was a very successful day!!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I stayed home from work today because I had a few appointments to take care of, and it was coincidentally suppose to be 70 degrees!
I dropped Mariah off at school and the headed to Home Depot. I was worried they wouldn't be open yet when I pulled up, but to my surprise they open at 6am!!! How freaking awesome is that?!
I kept my head down when I walked in...not wanting to be recognized from the flashing incident from the week before, and headed for the gardening section. It was P's birthday and she wanted the Topsy turvy tomato plant thingy "as seen on tv." Wanting her to have the best I grabbed it for her and threw the strawberry topsy turvy thingy into the cart too. I cruised around and grabbed some birdseed, a new feeder for down by the barn and some landscaping borders.
I ran a few other places for last minute gifts for Patty, (otherwise she peeks and looks) and headed home.
After wrapping her presents, (in case she decided to head home early), I headed down to the field. The orchard trees had been neglected since last year, and the bases of them were overgrown with weeds. So I plopped down in the grass by the first tree, (A is for apple), and began pulling the weeds.
The sky was blue, the clouds were huge and puffy and there wasn't a spider to be found. I threw quite a few rocks in the river bed, donating to the cause...
After weeding a 4 foot diameter around the tree, I put down fertilizer and put a ring of landscaping border around the tree. I then filled it with about 2 or three inches of mulch. Lastly, I sprinkled this special stuff I found around the tree that is suppose to keep away rabbits and deer. We'll see if it works.
I got the first three trees in the line done before I had to head to Mariah's school for a conference. I did notice before I came up to the house that our fig tree "Fig Newton" was pretty much dead...rigamortis had passed. I'm pretty bummed considering that was the only tree that gave us fruit last year, but it was still tiny. :( The fig was suppose to be cold hardy but something about the winter was too much for it. I think I will just leave it in the ground for now, until I decide if I am going to put another one in it's place or not.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TSUNAMI LOU!!!!