Snow Days

I apologize for abandoning descriptions of our journeys to growing and raising more of our own food.  Life has been busy, and crazy, and at the same time, routine.

Early in the day, as snow accumulates.

Neighbors.  Guineas.  Problems.  Enough said.

We lost a rooster.  I still don't know why.

Our dog, Hope, still steals the food of our cat, Andromeda, at every chance she can.  Hope now howls when a particular train rolls past with its whistle tooting.  I could do without this quirk, thankyouverymuch.

During our unusually long and bitterly cold cold snaps, I struggled to keep water thawed and clean for the chickens.  We switched to hanging waterers with nipples, which has helped in all but the longest and coldest stretches.  Sometimes I still carry out hot water to pour in basins several times a day.  Tomorrow will likely be one of those days.

Kids and snow!

James is building a mini greenhouse and a meat chicken coop.  Pictures will eventually appear here on the blog!

There has too much illness and death in our extended families and acquaintances.  Perhaps it is our age or our awareness, but I feel a little as though are a collective Job!

God has been good to us.  We have avoided major illness in our immediate family.  We've ordered seeds for the summer garden, and plenty of new fruit bushes and plants to fill the insatiable hunger in our children for fruit.  We are at that time of year in which I will only buy a few fruits from the store as everything else is too expensive or disgusting.

Avalanche off the white whale.

It had been snowing all day.  We have over 6", and the snow is still falling.  Since we need moisture, we are praying for several more inches.  (At least I am.). Today is a snow day.  Tomorrow will be as well.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Chicken Trauma

Having a single flock of free-ranging birds (12 guinea fowl and 2 chickens) regularly establishes exactly why we DON'T free range our egg-laying flock.

Tuesday night, James raced into the house with a seemingly incoherent account of birds, dogs, and missing ears.  I asked him to be quiet as the baby was asleep, not really registering his actual words, and he said,  "She's missing.  I need you outside right now."

J&J's bird dog had escaped her leash.  Again.  Another neighbor's son, seeing the dog headed for our yard, tried to get his dog to distract the dog.  Even in writing that sounds like a bad plan, and it was even worse in reality.  Their dog, Sophie, is loathed and despised by Hope.  J&J's dog and Sophie went after our guinea flock.  James saw one bird at least potentially dismembered, then Hope went after Sophie and tore off part of her ear (and, might I confess, later went back to the field of battle and ate said missing ear after we couldn't find it?).  James traversed the neighborhood in search of the neighbor's errant bird dog.

And that, my friends, was the beginning of a two hour search for my birds.  I was initially able to locate 11 guineas, no chickens.  All appeared to be uninjured.  After another 15 or so minutes, I found Darkest Winter, our gimpy chicken, hiding behind the barn.  She was uninjured.  After another 20-30 minutes, I found 12 guineas huddled on the neighbor's roof.  No Stew.

Stew's feathers littered our yard like a rained out TP party.  Searching, searching, searching with a sick feeling in my stomach.  I really didn't want to find a bird bloodied and needing to be euthanized, nor did I really want to find a dead bird.  Finding a live, healthy chicken seemed to be an impossibility.

James eventually came back and joined the search.  He invited neighbor boys with a bribe of money to help.

Still, given my record at finding things, I finally found Stew.  Alive.  Unbloodied.  Missing a lot of feathers, but otherwise okay.  She had hidden herself in a clump of decorative grasses and looked like an old weathered log.

She cursed us roundly for cooping her up, but she needed to be monitored for a few days.  We did add bedding and food to the dog crate.  She didn't move for almost 24 hours, but this morning was up and at 'em when I took the kids to school, so I released her back to her flock.

Poor girl.  James is right.  Is this poor chicken lucky to have survived or unlucky to get picked on so much?

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

P.S.  She had finally started to lay eggs again.  I'm thinking she'll have stopped again for quite a while.

Fall is Here

I've cooked down the last of the tomatoes worth eating.  From here on out, until I finish tearing out the last two rows of tomatoes, anything left on the vines can go to the chickens.

Oh, to have nothing to do but snap random pictures while someone else does my work.  Instead, Bear Cub Q took a few for me, including this of of the dog.

 We've finally... finally... finally... begun gathering eggs from our Turkens.  I must say, the sight of those two little eggs in the nesting boxes was enough to make me whoop for joy.  If you know me, you know not much makes me whoop!

The eggs made for a particularly rich rice pudding, as evidenced by the fact that two little girls ate an entire batch, leaving only the rice stuck to the sides for DH and I to eat when we came in from chores!

 These are luffa sponges.  When harvested young, they can be eaten, but I'm hoping they survive a week or two more before a frost and mature enough to form the spongy interior.  The one below should almost definitely be successful, but after harvesting one too early, I am loathe to cut anything off!

 Finally, here is the {mostly} tidied asparagus bed.  I won't be pulling out these fronds until they die back.  The new plants are not nearly so sprawling, but look rather pathetic in their smallness, so I skipped taking a picture.

Onions in storage are beginning to sprout, so I guess it's time for another round of onion-chopping!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

YJ Acres Updates

Fowl pox is clearing up nicely.  There have been no deaths.  Some chickens have thus far been unaffected, so I understand we have a reoccurrence/continuance of the unpleasantness.  Appetites seem good, as does general health.

This poor hen has had two neck injuries from fights.  They heal up, but it does leave her with a strange neck.

 Andromeda and the chickens aren't sure what to do with one another.

The guinea flock has remained stable since the fox attacks.  The babies have grown so much that, at first glance, they are indistinguishable from the adults.  Their faces don't yet have the "painted" look, but I can see it developing.

Behind them, the orchard is doing well.

 I am slowly redeeming the strawberry patch.  There is a distinct emphasis on the word "slowly."

 We're having the obligatory fall "odd" weather.  The wind, clouds, and animals all indicate that mischief may be afoot!

I'll leave you with our happy Hope!  She loves to bark at school buses, coyotes, foxes, and neighborhood dogs.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Chicken Update

The girls and I have been excited to collect our first eggs from the adopted chickens (not our original Naked-Necks... yet).  Knowing that I may not have to buy many eggs at the store in the near future is a rewarding feeling for all the hard work and trauma we've put into this chickens.

 Dinosaur legs!

The chickens have such different personalities.  We know exactly which two hens will be the last in at night.  Only one rooster (of three) crows of yet, and he starts early in the the morning.  Since their turken tank is directly outside our bedroom windows, I get to hear the symphony!  In reality, the noise is not yet as bothersome as some people make it out to be.  Since nearby neighbors have had adult roosters since before we moved in, the early crowing is a normal noise.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Hope

Much to my husband's delight, we have another animal on the job at YJ Acres.  We accepted Hope when her owner could no longer care for her.

She is a Great Pyrenees-something mix.  Andromeda is not sure what to make of her, but Hope has thus far taken no notice of Andromeda.  Hope is gentle, calm, and patient with the kids.  She is a beautiful and useful addition to our homestead.  She certainly warns off all dogs from our property, which has been an ongoing problem.

We hope that Hope will allow us to forgo the necessity of confining Andromeda in the barn at night to protect her from a bobcat that delights in attempting to devour her at sunset or shortly thereafter.    Andromeda is perfectly willing to let James feed her and shut her up for the night, but she frequently ignores my attempts to do the same when James is absent or ill at nightfall.  What can I say?  She's a cat.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.