Sink or Swim

We knew rain was expected this week, so we prepared by moving all the coops to fresh grass.  There seemed to be plenty of room between the chickens and the ditches, so we thought we were okay.

However, the rain began around 8 this morning and continued for another 7 hours, until the rain gauge registered 3.2" of rain.  On our way home from therapy at 11 am, in the midst of the endless pouring rain, I passed paved roads through town that were underwater.  When I reached out outskirts, I found the road to our neighborhood flooded twice.  By the time I turned into the road that ends at our neighborhood, I called my sister to help me decide if I should turn back.

I continued on, and the scene I discovered at home made me nauseous.  The three laying hen coops at the bottom of the property were knee deep in water.  These pictures don't even express the full severity of it, but know the chickens had to either swim or be on their roosts.  I called James home, and I don't think he comprehended the severity either until he drove the tractor down into it.

Thank God for the tractor and a skilled operator.

 This coop was by far the worst off.  James unfortunately found the rooster dead in the water as well as one soaked hen.  We've been able to revive the hen, but here ends the days of A.J., a beloved one-eyed rooster.

 See that water behind the strip of green grass?  That's the road.  Where James and the coop stand was usually on dry ground even in the wettest of weather.

The water is finally receding, but we are tentatively expecting 2+" of rain today and chances of rain over the next three days.  We will do our best to provide plenty of dry bedding for the hens and extra food, and then we will all have to sink or swim.

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

Ice, wood, and furnace

My breaking ice for the last two weeks has resulted in piles of "ice pucks" near each coop in the yard.  I'm ready for a few of the piles to melt away in the comparitively sweltering highs in the 50s for the next ten days. I don't know how other people manage water for their chickens in cold weather, but heated waterers aren't feasible, so, depending on the severity of the cold, I haul water four (or more) times a day.

 I am grateful that these chickens seem to suffer less frostbite than our turkens.  I think this improvement is a result of both breed and superior coop construction.  James is definitely stepping up his game with each coop.

In addition to chicken chores, I've been streamlining my wood hauling.  Our wood burning stove insert is in the basement, so our wood piles are under the deck.  The challenge is, however, to sort the wood.  Our upstairs fireplace can fit quite long logs, but the stove is significantly smaller.  While I'm loading my wood cart, I find myself creating a new wood pile of logs that won't fit downstairs.  I'm interested to see how much would was usable, especially since we rarely use the upper fireplace.

Oddly enough, in between the original draft of this post and the finishing of it, our electric heat pump failed.  Funny the things I learned about my AC/furnace when it stopped working.  The wood hauling served me well, as the primary heat to the house for 48 hours has been the stove.  I've done pretty well, if I do say so myself, but the new furnace, to be in place tomorrow, will be welcome for bedroom heat!

Some part of me would love to not have a furnace, but the reality is this: I can't chop wood right now.  When I'm pregnant or caring for a newborn, I can't haul enough wood.  We need the AC in the summer, as our house is not built to circulate air efficiently.  Still, this was a worthwhile experience in knowing that I can heat the house in a "disaster" with very little interruption to our lives.

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

Winter Storm Preparation

When threats of heavy snow/ice/rain are in the forecast, winter storm preparations take place here at Yahweh Jireh Acres.  Our first thought and last thought are about water: water for animals, water for us to drink, water for washing.  You see, we have well water, so if the power goes out, the water stops.  We filter our drinking water through a Berkey filter, give the animals water straight from the well, and have a softener in the house since heavy minerals destroy our plumbing.

Yesterday and today, I filled water storage containers.  We're checking for dirty dishes, and I'll run three loads of laundry before I sleep, just in case.  Ten years ago, at this time of year, we had an ice storm of epic proportions, such that sme of my students (I was single and teaching) were without power for a week.  We might make it a week on current water storage; I prefer not to find out.

There are plenty of mundane tasks that occupy my in between thoughts, like emptying garbage cans, making sure tools and containers are put away as they will disappear under the snow, and charging the DVD player.  I've plotted out where we would spread mattresses, if I have enough disposable dishes to keep us a few days, and what sewing projects I can do by hand.

The other major consideration for power loss is heat.  We fortunately have a wood burning stove insert in our downstairs fireplace, so the wood is stacked and ready to work for us.

It's time to switch out the laundry and convince the kids to sleep.

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

Wednesday's Storm

Why does all of our bad weather come on Wednesdays lately?  The kids and I spent the evening battening down the hatches in preparation for severe wind, possible hail, and hopefully rain.

This time, I woke at 10:40.  My first thought was that James should be home soon.

My second thought was the wind sounded fiercely terrible.

My third was that the plastic on the Meatmobile was flapping.

I got up to peer out the window, only to see the Meatmobile 2/3 uncovered with shivering chicks inside the metal tub.  Then the power went out.  I grabbed a jacket, panicked that I couldn't move 60-odd chicks alone, and found a flashlight.

As I ran outside, I realized James had come home, proceeded to scare him by demanding his immediate help, and we speedily moved the frightened chicks into the barn, where we had to cover them to keep them from predation by Andromeda, our chick-stalking cat.

Back inside, we moved the kids to the basement as the trees all around us were bowing mightily in the wind.

In the morning, we discovered plenty of damage, including 1/2 of another Bradford pear as well as a large limb from the tree we feared would punch through our roof.

And no rain.

Better yet is the knowledge that worse weather is due to arrive Saturday and Sunday.

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

Winter Observations

There is nothing quite like waking to the smoke alarm.  James and I searched the house for the source of the horrible burning plastic smell but never found it, so resorted to dialing 911 at 2 am.  After response from three nearby towns, an hour of searching the house from top to bottom, and some wildly exhausted kids, nothing.

Having firefighters troll through your house makes you want to clean everything and then get rid of everything.  At least that's how James and I feel.  It's not even that our house is so dirty... I don't clean every room every day, we have four kids, and... Well... The storage and art rooms are last on my list to clean.  Of course that's the smoke alarm that was having the hiccups.

We have too much stuff.  Too much.

It's officially bitterly cold when the heat has been running since about 10 pm last night.  With windchill, it's -17 F.  My fingers were numb upon returning from chicken chores this morning.

We ordered meat and egg laying chicks.  Although I requested delivery around April 18, it would appear that Purely Poultry had chicks they needed to ship earlier than that, as our egg layers will be arriving around March 8.

We are currently nestled under an ice and snow layer approximately 3" thick.

Off to take warm water to the chickens!

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

Misty Morning

Temperatures remained above freezing last night, for the first time in a while, so the air was heavy with moisture on my way to deliver Spunky to her ride to school.

The Assistant is suffering from a nasty persistent and prolonged cough, so she's home for the day.

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

December 1

Thanksgiving was late this year and Advent early, so the Saturday after Thanksgiving we ran out for our Christmas tree.  Since it's a fairly local tree farm, we could it pick it out and still be home in less than two hours.

Our Advent custom is to hang our Jesse tree ornaments on our actual Christmas tree.  While others use a stick or branch, we decided this is the best way to incorporate our Advent traditions into Christmas.  So the tree is bare... lights, since they have to go on first, one Jesse tree ornament, and an ornament for each child to hang.  Tomorrow, another few will be added.

 We decorate the house in the same manner... slowly, deliberately, and as a crescendo that will reach its high point Christmas eve with a fully decorated tree and everything ready for Christmas.  Even our Nativity scene comes out piece by piece, starting with Mary, Joseph, and the donkey.

This gives me a chance to clean as we go and gives my husband a little closer to his childhood tradition of Christmas being out all Advent.  In my family, the tree was decorated Christmas eve and not before.

After a few weeks of unseasonably frigid November weather, it's nice for December to start out pleasantly:

 The end of the week will be more chilly weather, but this gives me time to make further preparations for the cold, as one of our roosters suffered minor frostbite on the tips of his comb one of the last "under 20" days.

 The guineas are still busy finding bugs and seeds to eat, as they aren't interested in their feed (which is just fine with me!  It was attracting mice to their coop.)

Happy Advent!

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

Another One Bites the Dust

 Bradford pear trees, although beautiful, may be my least favorite tree.  Why?  The smell horrible in the spring and drive our allergies bonkers.  They also fall apart in a stiff breeze.  Our last loss was in August, so to lose another so soon is nothing short of frustrating.

 Because the winds were due to change direction the evening this happened, with the wind due to knock down the next third quite possibly onto the deck, we decided to act quickly.  James mowed down the remaining sections with only a near miss or two (tree felling is not for the faint of heart!).

It took us two days to clean up, with James cutting into fireplace lengths and splitting as necessary, as well as loading limbs onto the trailer to take to the green waste dump (no fires this time; we simply don't have time.  JoJo has been out of sorts, so his neediness slowed us down significantly.

The second day, (Sunday... not our favorite day for labor), we geared up in the afternoon with overalls for the kids.  They were so cute it required a photo.  Overalls were great because the kids wanted to climb in the limbs and were getting scratched up.

 One trailer and one truck bed load later, we realize the trailer hitch for the truck is missing.  This is the way it often goes.

Approaching the end.  Throughout the experience, we were reminded of the phrase "two is one, one is none."  Two trailer hitches would be nice (or not losing the first one... it's a long story as to why it's not on the truck), and two chainsaws were necessary, as well as two axes.

 As the last wagon loads of firewood were loaded and stacked, it was necessary to check out the age of our failed tree.  33 years, which would make it as old as the house.

 We only have another... 10 or so... Bradford pears to eventually split.  James thinks we may be able to save them in the future.  Depending on the requirements to save one, I'm game, especially since all our pines have pine wilt and will be requiring removal in the next few years.  And there's two dead trees waiting for us.

Ugh.

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

Autumn

Some part of me wishes I could craft a wistful blogpost about the changing of seasons, but I find that most of all, I am exhausted in the fall.

 With the changing of the leaves comes harvest after harvest, each demanding its own type of attention. Corn cobs and sunflower heads still hold their bounty, and when the more perishable food is put up, these will be addressed.   Three afternoons of sweet potato digging have yielding a happy harvest, although thinner than I expected.  This afternoon, I will be stripping sorghum heads.  This is new to me, so I anticipate plenty of problems and slow going.

 Most of the neighboring farms have harvested their sorghum as well (albeit on a much larger scale than my own), although I think a few were caught in the rain and have to wait for the fields to dry.

 After the frost of last week, the garden is done.  I have been tearing out tomato refuse and piling it for burning.  All but two rows of fencing are down.  Cooler weather makes this task easier, but I also find the mornings are already too chill for the boys to accompany me, which makes outdoor tasks hard to accomplish.

When the sun rises and sets with less and less daylight, my body responds by reminding me how little sleep I got in the summer.  Summer was a time of up at dawn and to bed after the sun.  Necessary, but the body can only take it for so long.  Now I still have plenty to do, but am feeling slower and slower.

Not only are there plenty of harvest chores to attend to, but with the arrival of frost comes cold weather considerations: how will we over-winter our chickens, what can be left outside to the elements, dealing with dead trees, preparing ourselves with plenty of firewood.  The list goes on.

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

Rain, Sleet, and Snow

... with the first frost due in by morning.

I spent this morning filling gaps in the white whale (our white/PVC chicken tractor).  We'll see how the chickens come through this light freeze!

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.

No Idle Hands Here

"I don't know what that deer's thinkin', but she's thinkin' crazy."

The Assistant made the above comment about a deer that persists in running into our vehicles.  James has actually "love tapped" it once, and we've seen it repeatedly, usually far too close for comfort!

I think we might be "thinkin' crazy" around here too, as we have put far too many things on our plate!

There's corn to dry and separate for cornmeal.

A chicken coop to complete.

Neighbor's apples to harvest, juice, and can.  (I might try fruit vinegar this year as well!)

 Weeds (and more weeds) to pull.  At least I freed the mailbox from the volunteer mulberry tree and the chest high weeds.

 The same cannot be said about the flagpole bed.

 And then, in case we weren't busy enough, this lovely catapas tree was struck my lightning.  This was (and is) traumatic on many levels.  Firstly, it will have to be cut down, as the entire center is dying.

 Secondly, there is a large field of debris.  We are SO blessed that no one or no animal was near the tree, and that James' truck windows weren't burst.

 Unfortunately, said lightning strike fried a breaker in our house and I am having trouble getting an electrician.  We did get power back in a reasonable amount of time, and AT&T replaced our modem by midday, giving me the freedom of internet and phone access again.

There are bushes and weeds running rampant.

 At least I finally cleared the table of harvest mess.  You can still see the bucket of sunflower heads waiting me to the left, but all the peppers, beans, and tomatoes are corralled or preserved (for now!)/

With a grateful heart for the food and shelter around us, I'm back to work!

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