Farm Natters

Links & Pics

2012-01-21T09:37:00.000-06:00

Sharon Astyk may be restarting her Independence Days Challenge, which is a public challenge to perform and report back a weekly check-in on the following:

Plant something
Harvest something
Preserve something
Waste not
Want not
Eat the food
Build community food systems

The point of the challenge is to encourage folks to keep up with their homesteading skills, whether one lives in the country or in the city. I did it for awhile (see/click "independence days" tag on lower right), and am considering doing it again.
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Oh, and the SOPA and PIP bills have been temporarily shelved! Hopefully the bills will be re-tooled in such a way that artists will be fairly compensated for their work while also protecting Fair Use and access to the Internet. Profile pic text courtesy of http://www.blackoutsopa.org

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A disturbing development, and if the theory is true, our climate is in for a world of hurt. Basically, "global dimming" (from the way pollution particles interact with moisture in the atmosphere, reflecting "out" a percentage of solar energy) may be not only temporarily holding back some of the worse effects of global climate change, but also diverting weather patterns. A one-hour documentary from the BBC, available for viewing via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8RyNSzQDaU
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Okay, now we need something to smile about. The other week, one of the geese let me pick her up, so I brought her inside the house for a quick photo shoot. Here's me and "Dr. Girlfriend" (so named due to her honk). I've been using this pic as a new avatar/profile pic on Twitter and Google+.

Dr. Girlfriend nibbled on the keyboard while I was mousing open the PhotoBooth app. Didn't crap on me at all. A very calm goose. They usually are when you can get them away from the rest of the gaggle...
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A girlfriend who got to know Miss Cecily while Miss C was convalescing in our house was so touched by the goose's personality, she commissioned a painting by an award-winning folk artist to commemorate Miss C's (aka Squeezlegoose) life. Yes, I cried when I saw the artwork. Thank you Ms. Katie, from the bottom of my heart.

Anti-SOPA & PIPA Blackout Starts Now

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

No chickens, geese, ducks or dogs: today's farm post is blacked out in protest of the current SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP) bills that are currently being considered in Congress.

SOPA: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/show
PIPA: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show

Fixed: Project: 2x4 Basics "Easy-Up Enclosure" - Greenhouse Version

2012-01-10T16:25:00.000-06:00

When I last wrote about putting together this small greenhouse project in early December 2011, an important piece had busted in the process, leaving me flummoxed as to how to repair or salvage the project. Spouse to the rescue! While I was out running errands one day last week, he put on his thinking cap and fabricated a part to replace the busted piece. He used a scrap of flashing, duct tape, some screws, and mitred two of the 2"x2" boards to align with the roof peak board (I know there's got to be an official name for this part of a roof - I'll figure it out someday). He then planed down some of the other 2"x2"s so that he wouldn't bust any of the other pieces like I did. Smart. He put it all together, and it was waiting for me when I got home. *swoon* I think I'll keep him.

The metal part, with screws and duct-tape (duct-tape holds the universe together):

The actual greenhouse roof connectors. The plastic connecters allow you to use un-mitred boards, just put the square boards into the square plastic openings. There are screws underneath to hold 2x2's in place. Easy peasy (if the wood is sized properly. Hmph.)

The side roof-to-wall connector:

Tough to see, but the bottom connector is down there.

The greenhouse cover is zippered on both sides, and the material is fairly sturdy. I don't know what percentage of light it lets through, however, so when I start seeds I may install a full-spectrum bulb to ensure proper germination. If you're interested in putting together one of these structures, you can find the kit and the greenhouse cover online (nope, I don't get paid for this review or for the link). Do some shopping around, as price varies. Amazon still has the greenhouse cover at a discounted price, but no longer appears to carry the connector kit at this time. And remember to factor in that you'll need to purchase the lumber. I think it's a good deal for the size of the structure (8' high x 8' long x 6 1/2' wide), but you could probably find a smaller greenhouse that's sturdier for the same amount of money. I also like that this structure is moveable (Spouse and I carried it with relative ease), and we can re-use it for different purposes in the Summer.

In another flash of brilliance, Spouse remembered that a dark barrel filled with water can act as a passive solar collector/heater (if it gets enough sunlight during the day). Picked up a used 55-gallon food-grade barrel at the local feed store, and filled it up. Bonus: this will also act as an emergency backup water supply.

Next: moving all the over-wintering plants into the greenhouse. I can take down the rigged wood structure under which our plants currently reside, and put away the overnight tarp. Yay!!!

Project: Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener (ongoing)

2011-12-31T14:06:00.001-06:00

Spouse writes:

Getting up to “manage” the animals is a time-honored, if sleep-interrupting tradition. The usual time for this is the crack of dawn. Unfortunately our sleep habits make this too #$%^ early. The animals disagree but I firmly believe that if our animals had a snooze button they would be getting up at a civilized afternoon hour like the rest of us.

Letting the chickens out of the coop is the priority, since they fuss about knowing that the lazy geese and ducks are eating up nature's bounty that must have sprung up overnight while they were locked in their cell. In order to free them from their sleeping quarters (and allow me to stay in mine) I have tried several methods of automating the chicken coop door. The first was a process control system that was cool but expensive and rejected after an expensive part failed.

The cheaper alternative we used for several months was based on an inexpensive power screw driver and an outdoor timer. I modeled it on the one shown here. The screwdriver displayed is no longer available and I had to adapt it to the cheapest cordless screwdriver Harbor Freight had available. This solution worked well but would commit suicide unless we kept the area under the door free of debris. The chickens seem to sense this and deposited as much “debris” as possible. It would take a couple of hours to remove the burned-out relay and solder in another.

Finally I read about the drapery motor. Yup - d.a. re-decorated the coop with roman shades… uh no. There is a drapery motor that will run one way and then the other as power is applied. It is a little pricey but I was tired of inhaling solder fumes and it was worth a try. It worked great all summer, but when it got cold the rubber wheel that the rope travels on started to slip. I tried fixing it with a thinner, rougher twine. This worked for a few days until the twine got wrapped up in the roller and the motor fried itself. The replacement twine was too thin.

We ordered another motor. I changed the design to include some pulleys and a counterweight so the motor wasn’t doing all the hard work. The result is shown below. I have since added a sheet metal cover to keep the chickens from bombing the drapery motor with more “debris”.

Picture of mechanism:

Picture of timer.

Flash movie of the door in action:

stupendously huge skillet breakfast & a haircut: two bits!

2011-12-27T18:41:00.000-06:00

pic: the stupendously huge skillet breakfast.

Fell asleep around 1:00AM, woke to the alarm at 3:00AM. Took Spouse to the airport so he could see his folks for a few days (we're down to one car at the moment). Stopped at Major Chain Diner after drop-off - was inexplicably ravenous at 4:30AM. Forgot how these diners serve stupendously huge entrees. The skillet breakfast was filling, and more than two-thirds was still on the plate when I finished. Boxed it up for the chickens.

Once home, briefly napped until dawn chores called. Gave the chickens the still-warm skillet breakfast (chopped up into smaller bits). The chickens couldn't finish the skillet breakfast either. The dogs selflessly worked cleanup detail.

Having had real caffeinated coffee with the stupendously huge breakfast ensured that a goodly nap would be elusive for the rest of the day. Decided to chance going into the city to get *cue dramatic music*: a haircut. Getting a haircut has become a Very Big Deal, full of Angstyness and Gnashing of Teeth. My local stylist left the area almost two years ago (d@mmit!), and every stylist since then has either given me a bubblehead cut or an 80's Rick Springfield 'do (not being as cute as '80's Rick Springfield, I can't carry that look). Summertime is no problem: give me a #6 guard on an electric hair trimmer and a pair of thinning shears, and I can wrangle a basic short style. It's the Fall and Winter where I run into trouble, letting the hair grow out for warmth. So I pulled up my Big Girl Britches, dusted off the credit card, and went back to Ritzy (Yet Still A Chain) Salon. It'd been what - over three years since I last went there? Since I last had a salaried IT job, anyways. Painfully expensive, but for reason - they give great cuts. They're now giving free trims between cuts, probably due to the economy but still, thank goodness - it makes their prices a bit easier to swallow. I've now a growing-it-out, grownup modern 'do that is presentable enough for upcoming client-facing work.

pic: Moe the Duck. She probably
designed the flag.

Home again home again, jiggity-jog, and look at the time: need to muck out the 4'x6' duck pond. [Funny, it used to be "the goose pond", then it became "the goose & duck pond", now it's "the duck pond". The ducks have definitively taken over. They have a flag.] The ducks vacate the duck pond by late afternoon for the pools on the other side of the house - they love their routine. Can almost set your watch by it, if your watch is a sundial. Anyhow, presented my new hairdo to the chickens, geese, ducks & dogs. They had no comment. I don't think the birds looked past my knees, to be honest. The dogs were probably hoping for more stupendously huge breakfast goodies. My, how one's ego gets checked on the farm! Clad my glamorous self in work clothes and rubber boots, and got to mucking.

Project: Ugly Drum Smoker (holiday blog bonus edition)

2011-12-23T13:03:00.001-06:00

d.a. writes: I've been waiting for Spouse to write an article on how he made this amazing smoker. He finally did. Consider this a holiday gift to all of you, our half-dozen readers who make the time to grace this humble blog. Thank you!

Spouse writes:

Pic: racks of ribs

We have had a side firebox smoker that I have written about before.I have stopped using it for smoking except for Thanksgiving when there justisn’t enough room in my new smoker for two turkeys, a prime rib, and threeracks of ribs. That is right: newsmoker. I got tired of the side firebox because it used a lot of wood andneeded to be watched constantly to keep the temperature right. I did a lot“research” (a.k.a. clicking links on the web that were sometimes tangentiallyrelated to what I was looking for). I stumbled upon a pre-made big drum smoker that looked right. Itused very little wood, kept an even temperature and had great reviews. Theprice was a bit more than I wanted to spend but d.a. approved it, figuring shecould not afford to buy any more ladders after my last repair of the sidefirebox smokers. [If you can’t make the connection then you must be new here.]

I did some more clicking, err... research and found this: the mother of allUgly Drum Smoker threads. Ugly drum smokers are the DIY version of the BigDrum Smoker I posted above. The thread has been actively open for 4 years andthere are thousands of posts. I read the whole thing over several weeks. Idecided that this is what I wanted to do. In fact, I have done it three times, withthe first two being given as gifts to family and friends. I love this smoker. Althoughthe temperature inside is 225℉, the outside is not nearly as hot as the old sidefirebox. I have asbestos hands due to childhood labor issues (thanks Dad), andcan move the grill even while it is running.

It makes good smoke on just a small amount of wood and doesit for a long time. I can get 12 hours of smoking with just the initial load ofwood (actually, the only load because I have never needed to smoke anything longerthan 10 hours). I'll smoke two or three different things during the day.The first three hours I will smoke 5 to 10 lbs of beef teriyaki jerky. The next6 hours are for three racks of baby back ribs. And if I time it right, I can puton chicken for dinner.

You can read the thread to get your own ideas but after thethree different builds I have refined what works well for me.

pic: firebox

Take a 55-gallon food-grade steel drum - thoroughly cleaned using fire inside the barrel (a big fire), then steel discs and wirebrushes.
Build a firebox – something that holds the wood while stillallowing air to circulate. Here is my current one made out of expanded steel and a Weber grill grate, bolted to an aluminum pan that catches the ash.
Drill holes in the bottom to allow air into the smoker. Since all but one of these is closed after the smoker comes up to temp, I use press-in caps that fit the holes, but some people use flexible refrigeratormagnets to cover the holes as needed.
I also have a valve installed in one ofthe holes to regulate the air. You can see it at the bottom of the smokerbelow.

I also drill holes – lots of holes. You need holes for thescrews that hold the grates, holes for the temperature gauge, holes forhandles, holes in the lid to let the smoke out, etc. I found that a steppeddrill bit was the best way to drill different sized holes in the thin metalwalls of the barrel. I used to think these kinds of bits were a toy but theyreally work for this application.

pic: completed smoker

It just so happens that a Weber kettle grate fits perfectlyinside the barrel, and if you have a full size weber kettle barbecue you mightalso find that that the lid fits your barrel (but your mileage may vary as itdepends on the barrel you use). I use either the original lid to the barrel or acommercial wok I got at a restaurant supply store for $25.

The things to remember if you decide to do something crazylike this:

1. Wear the appropriate safety gear. I have been to thehospital several times in my life because I thought that safety goggles weren’tfashion-forward for the tragically (un)hip youngster I was. There are dangerousthings involved with this project:

Fire (a big one and possibly lots of littleones)
Flying hot metal bits
Power tools with sharp things attached
And in our case – hormonal geese (which shouldalways be treated with caution and a good pair of heavy welding gloves.)

2. Keep the distance from the food and the fire at least 24inches. My firebox is a little tall so I actually have the grates within aninch of the lip of the barrel and have to use the domed lid.

pic: wok lid with holes

3. Clean the barrel very well. A lot of food grade barrelshave a phenolic coating that has to be removed to prevent bad things getting intoyour food. You might be able to get a new steel barrel without any coating. Ifyou have a local source that is what I would recommend. It takes a lot of workto prepare a 25-dollar used barrel and it might be worth the extra 40 for a newone.

4. Do not use galvanized metal in any of your internalfittings. Galvanized metal starts to off-gas once it reached 400℉. Iuse black iron or stainless steel in all the fittings.

5. Do some research: there are lots of web pages that showyou how to make a ugly drum smoker for anyone at any skill level. Go learnfrom their mistakes and figure out ways to make new ones. d.a. says I am the king of finding newmistakes. Did ya hear that? I am the KING…wait a minute.

Project: Domestic Goose Nesting Boxes

2011-12-17T15:14:00.002-06:00

Pic: these ain't "love" bites.

Soon it will be time to dust off the Kevlar arm braces and prep for egg gathering season! Depending on the weather, our geese start egg-laying anytime from Winter Solstice to late January, and will continue to lay eggs anywhere from April to late May. It's a dangerous time... if you're not a goose. The geese get wicked crabby, extremely territorial, and will gang-up, bite & wing-beat ANYTHING that gets anywhere near a nest. Our geese like to nest in areas they can defend from other animals (including each other), and wherever they're not supposed to be. We don't let this batch hatch little ones - too many genetic problems from the commercial breeder we bought them from - but we do gather and sell their fresh eggs. If Maggie didn't steal so many before we can get to them, one season's-worth of eggs would probably pay for their entire year of feed.

Pic: A-Frame nesting box.

Dave Holderread briefly discusses goose nesting options on pages 96-97 of his book "The Book of Geese". We decided to try out the A-frame nest box this year. The author also suggests setting the nesting boxes out several weeks early so the geese can get used to them - ahh, we may be cutting it a bit short.

We put the new mitre saw to work on this project. Two pressure-treated 2"x4"s, cut ~~24"~~ 30" long at the base and at a 30-degree angle. Two pieces of ~~24"~~ 30" x 28(?)" outdoor plywood for the angled walls. We traced the outline of the back of the nesting box onto plywood to get the backing. A couple screws, some holes drilled into the backing for air flow, some caulking at the top to keep out water, and that was it. I staked down the front of the boxes with some bent rebar Spouse had laying around to keep any gusts of wind from tipping the shelter over. Dave Holderread suggested one box for every six to eight geese. We only have six females, but we went ahead and made four boxes - we've seen how our girls fight over nesting spots.

Pic: modified again goose shelter.

We also modified the big goose shelter (yet again). It's gone from having one opening, to three openings, to now having two openings. It is consistently ignored by the geese, although the chickens like huddle inside when it's raining. Spouse closed up the the middle opening and put in a divider wall down the center, so two geese can (hopefully) feel snug enough and private enough to nest in peace. Now there's six nice nesting boxes for them to use this year. Anyone care to take bets on whether they'll use these boxes or not? Anyone??

Guess What Mama Got For the Holidays?

2011-12-15T14:46:00.000-06:00

Aww h3llz yeah!

The company I work for part-time asked Spouse what I wanted for Christmas. The company has a nice holiday dinner at a local restaurant, and hands out gifts to all their employees. I wasn't expecting anything because of my part-time status. "Well," Spouse said to his boss, "I'll tell you, but you're not gonna believe this...". He worried that the company would think it was actually for him. He said my reaction surely disabused any notion of that being the case. I think I actually yelped "Mama got a compound mitre saw!" Must have, as everyone was laughing... [Spouse made out well, no worries - they got him an XBox.]

On the way home, I received an email from MY Momma, who let me know that a mitre saw was going to be delivered for my Christmas gift from her... wow! I was bummed to tell her that I had just received one, but she laughed and graciously offered to send the receipt so I could exchange for another power tool of my choosing. Diggity! Looking at some table saws now...

Project: 2x4 Basics "Easy-Up Enclosure" - Greenhouse Version

2011-12-09T09:05:00.001-06:00

It was a slow start to the temporary greenhouse project. First I moved the side yard 10'x20' shade structure over next to our shed, so Spouse and I could have a protected area to do our construction projects, rain or shine. That led to cleaning up and organizing the wood piles (they were in the way), adding more shelves to the temporary shed (to hold the tools and other stuff that was in the way), and carting off two bags of junk and detritus. It was a roundabout way of getting started on the greenhouse project, to be sure.

Here's the box that contains the Easy-Up Enclosure parts...

...and here are the parts. You provide the cut wood, and slide the parts into or through the various pieces, then screw the plastic parts to the wood to ensure a stable connection.

Goggles on, safety first!

The chopsaw Spouse modified to cut wood. He swapped out the metal cutting blade for a wood cutting blade. Probably not what the manufacturer intended, but don't laugh. It works. (Mama still wants that compound mitre saw for the holdiays, ya hear?)

The required wood, all cut to specification.

The pieces would not easily slide onto the 2"x2"s, so I had to (gently, gently) tap with a rubber mallet to get the pieces onto the wood. See the groove marks the piece is scratching into the wood? Those are from little nubs on the inside that are supposed to help the plastic piece(s) grip the wood tightly. It's doing a dang fine job.

Next?

One of the pieces busted. There are no spare parts.

Even if I put together the rest of the enclosure, there'd be some serious weakness in the structure. I no longer have my receipt from Amazon, so I can't even return the box, nor the greenhouse cover (which was a separate purchase).

I am flummoxed.

Waiting for Spouse to get home to see if there's a way we can rig up a fix. Regardless, there's no guarantees that the other plastic pieces won't break as well. Aiiieeee!!!!

I get the hint

2011-12-01T14:40:00.001-06:00

- @dasparky Cleaning out the coop, a #hen let me know in no uncertain terms that a quiet nestbox was needed. Taking break while she lays her egg.

The Barred Plymouth Rocks are bossy like that.

Cleaned out the duck & goose pond, too. More work on the pond is waiting, but am on an enforced break as the ducks are busy doing their own cleaning:

The geese, not wanting to be left out, have decided to clean themselves en masse as well. In every water container they can find.

Just too danged cute.

One of those days where one can't rush the river.

Holy Smokes, Thanksgiving Already?

2011-11-22T20:59:00.001-06:00

Where has the time gone? Oh, now I remember: Section off a portion of property. Rake out dead grass and rocks. Lots of rocks. Scratch up soil. Seed. Scratch again to cover. Reseed. Cover with manured/rotted hay. Water. Watch it grow while I ice my back. I imagine it's similar to having a Chia Pet, but on a much larger scale. So far I've regrown five large sections of lawn. The poultry & waterfowl are so happy to have grass to graze upon once more. I've a few more sections to grow to ensure erosion control over the Winter, and the temperatures look like they're going to stay fairly warm at least through the end of December. Come Spring, I hope to develop larger sections of pasture bermuda & native grasses further down the hill.

Pic: a Thermo Cube

Other projects: we don't get alot of long-term freezing here during the Winter, but last season we had a week of below-freezing overnight temperatures, which were enough to freeze the well pump. Nothing will put you into a full-scale panic like having livestock and NO WATER for their needs. This year not only do we have a brand new 4'x3'x3' enclosure for the pump (nicely built this past week by Spouse), but we're also experimenting with heating it via a fairly low-cost method: a temperature-control plug (Thermo Cube) and a lightbulb. The cube will turn on the electricity to a 60-watt light located within the enclosure when the temperature dips below 35℉, and then will shut off the light when temps reach 45℉. Between the heated enclosure and the rainwater collection from the chicken coop roof (temporarily delayed due to other pressing projects, but hope to get to it next week), I'll feel much better about having accessible water available over the Winter.

Pic: Gertie bathing in a drinking bowl. The pond simply
isn't good enough for His Majesty. Pic has nothing to do
with this blog post. He's just cute.

(Speaking of the Thermo Cube - we also use it to power on/off an Eco-Heater in the chicken coop. Works nicely! If the light-bulb method doesn't work for the pump enclosure, we'll shell out the cash for another Eco-Heater.)

Then there was a rash of duck egg disappearances that needed solving. Maggie the dog, of course, was figured as the culprit. We found one way she was getting into the pen (using some hay bales to get over the fence), fixed that, then put up electric fence wire around the top of the pen. We got a full complement of eggs for two days, then the disappearances started again. Found that Maggie had been pushing up a section of the duck fence and going under. Secured the bottom of the fence, and set electric wire around the bottom of the pen. No more egg disappearances. I don't know who's more determined: Maggie for eggs, or the chickens for the compost pile.

Pic: Gertie again. Can anyone guess his breed?
I'm flummoxed, and really would like to
get more of his type - he's a sweet boy.

And now that the cooler temperatures are in full swing, so are the container tomatoes. Tomatoes. In November. We could barely keep them alive over the summer, even with afternoon shade and regular watering. Now the cherry tomatoes are going nuts. I'm not complaining, I swear. I toss any bug-eaten fruits to the chickens, and toss the others into salads. The fig trees that we covered against the last two overnight freezes are putting out a few fruits as well, but I consider those bug treats at this point.

So, two pressing projects in the queue before Winter temperatures settle in for the season: install the rainwater collection system, and build the temporary greenhouse. These projects will have to wait just a few days, however, as we've got family coming into town and a whole lot of gratitude (and libations) to be had. Spouse is smoking two turkeys and a prime rib (I really need to get him to write a blog post on how he made his metal barrel smoker, and how he smokes meats). Me, I'll be drinking wine with Spouse's Italian father. Lots of wine. And icing my back. To those who celebrate, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Chicks Behind Bars

2011-10-31T11:46:00.002-05:00

Pic: Maggie, the unrepentant egg-stealer.
At least she doesn't eat the hens.

Over the Summer the chickens, one by one, started laying eggs in secret places outside of the coop. Maybe there were too many broody hens taking up the favorite laying boxes over the past few months. Maybe they started laying eggs elsewhere due to the stress of the heat. All I knew was there were less and less eggs to sell through the co-op, and Maggie's coat was getting softer and sleeker (she has a keen nose for finding errant eggs... and eating them). As of the past few weeks, I've been lucky to get three eggs a day from 25 laying hens, when closer to a dozen is the norm. Hrmm.

We've been waiting for the weather pattern to change to consistently cooler temps, and it's finally done so. At dusk last night, after the chickens were all snug roosting inside the coop, Spouse & I stealthily erected a temporary fence around the chicken coop. By fencing in the chickens for a few days, it should retrain the chickens to use the nesting boxes instead of their favorite hidey-holes.

This morning's reaction to the fence situation? Let the photo speak for itself:

Unamused, I think it may be safe to say. I'll let them out to run around after 2:00PM, so they won't be cooped up all day - just long enough so they'll have to uncross their legs and lay an egg in the proper location.

Stopgap Erosion Control

2011-10-25T16:38:00.001-05:00

Summer lasted way too long, with sustained record-setting heat killing off all the grasses around the house. As we were in a drought anyways, watering seemed not only wasteful but useless to boot. The only survivors were a few tough weeds and wild salvias, which I refuse to dig up out of respect for their will to live. Bonus: they're still green! Anyhow, Fall has finally arrived, bringing cooler temperatures and (we hope!) seasonal rains. Now's the time to plant cool season grasses and nitrogen-fixing legumes and grains, especially before the seasonal rains start in earnest, else our downhill neighbor will receive even more of our soil...

Pic: Ducks at the buffet.

First planting test was around the young orchard trees. Grasses can be nutrient hogs, but the trees are close to going dormant for the season anyways, and the need for erosion control is paramount at this point. Rye grass was planted in a circumference around the base of the trees, then covered with old rotted/manured bedding hay. [I smelled reeeally special after spreading that stuff around.] The first week the areas received spot watering to keep the soil moist for germination. Then the trees received their usual scheduled watering - recycled duck/goose pool water - about every 5-7 days in rotation. The grass continued to grow, and is doing fine. The trees all have a wide circumference, short height wire fence around their bases to keep the geese from chewing on their trunks, but am now opening one tree-fence at a time to let the poultry & waterfowl graze.

Pic: Geese take a turn at the buffet table.

Next test: fenced off & seeded a 6' x 12' section of upper "lawn" with a combination of rye grass and bermuda. The bermuda grass is a warm weather grass, but it was leftover from previous plantings, so tossed it in with the rye seeds. Soil temperatures should sprout both. Recycled a rotted bale of hay, loosely covering over the seeds so the still-warm sun wouldn't fry their sprouting efforts. In two weeks time, there was a lovely patch of green. This patch should anchor the soil, and hopefully stop any runoff from sections that don't have grass yet. I'll only open the grassy area every other day or so, lest the birds eat the grass to the bare soil. They do receive regular greens - I feed them heads of romaine or other lettuces every morning - but it's not the same as grazing grasses on their own.

Pic: Now some of the chickens get their feed on. OMG, BUFFET!!!!

Yesterday I fenced off an 8' x 12' section (overlapping a small part of the original 6' x 12'), and have seeded it not only with annual rye grass, but with cereal rye, leftover bermuda, leftover native grasses, and a trio of clovers. Kitchen sink planting! Clover doesn't do well here in the summer - too hot & dry - but it just might be okay as a cool season annual. I overseeded the rye grass by comparison to everything else, as that's the one thing most likely to sprout at this time. Plus, rye grass seed is cheap. The native grass seeds will hang out just fine until Spring.

Today I am working on seeding the slope in front of the house. Raked out the majority of the rocks and dead thatch, and am getting ready to fence off and start seeding once I finish typing this entry. [If I finish typing this entry. Strangely, my arms are kinda tired!] Come Spring 2012, will seed all these areas again for the warm season with bermuda, buffalo grass, and as much native seed as we can afford. What the heck, let's throw in some wildflower seeds too, I think there's some leftovers in the back closet...

Two Shelters, One Day

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

The winds can blow pretty hard up here in the Hill Country:

Both of these shelters - the first pic is the shade structure, the second, a temporary shed - were trashed in one single cold-front moving into the area yesterday. The shade structure got blown so hard it pulled metal fencing stakes - to which the shelter was anchored - right up out of the ground. I was able to put the shelter back together, but it took some duct tape on the pole joinings to keep the poles from twisting about. I'll have to drill holes through the joints and thread bolts through them if I want to continue using this structure for any length of time.

The temporary shed's roof split its entire length. Don't think duct tape is gonna fix that one! I had already purchased a big tarp to go over the shed to act as a secondary roof, as I'd seen some of the edges getting worn. Guess I'll be putting that tarp up sooner than anticipated...

[The entirety of my day was pretty much like those structures - twisty and blown about. Hope a good night's sleep will reboot Wednesday into a much better day.]

Plastic Zip Baggie Opener Holder Thingie

2011-10-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

Spouse was eyeball-deep into some computer issue or another, and I needed to get the big vat of chicken stock put away stat. We had decided not to can this time, but to freeze instead. I pulled out a box of quart-sized freezer bags, and was stopped short - how the heck was I gonna get the stock into the baggies all by myself without a huge, complicated mess? I needed some way to keep the baggie open so I could pour the stock inside.

Not sure what exactly created the "Eureka!" moment, but here's the outcome: a 44-ounce plastic soda cup from the local gas station will quite handily hold open a quart-sized freezer baggie, without need for clips or other manipulation. The "how to":

1. Have the 44-ounce cup and quart-sized freezer baggies ready. Check!

2. With clean hand, push the bottom of the baggie into the cup.

3. Example of what the baggie will look like in the cup...

4. Fill with whatever you're processing. Here's a 16-ounce measure cup pouring stock, for a total of four cups of liquid.

Due to being made of thicker plastic, the freezer baggie held up easily without assistance, even while being filled with liquid. I don't know if a thinner sandwich baggie would hold up as well, but maybe one could try using a paper/binder clip of some sort to hold one side (or more) of a baggie to the rim of the cup. I could see this technique being used for any type of filling needs - liquids, solids, etc. Anyhow, though I'm sure someone on the interwebs has to have already thought of and posted this idea, this was the first time the idea occurred to me, and it worked so well I'm passing it on to you. Hope you find it useful, too!

The Usual Day of Destruction

2011-10-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

I spent some time on the porch with the geese... you know, hanging out, taking pictures, being buddies. Before I could do that, they had to make sure I wasn't bugging them. They gave me a good stare down.

Figuring I wasn't going to bug them (too much), they got comfy and started doing their usual routine: chewing on things.

Babs chewing on the porch chair. These chairs are the only ones we've found that have stood up to the destructive powers of the geese.

Not for lack of trying, however.

Geese chewing on an electric cord. The cords don't stand up as well as the above chairs to the chewing. See example below:

This cord was previously plugged into an electrical outlet. Goose was lucky not to have been cooked. I'm lucky to have a Spouse that knows how to repair these kinds of things.

Goose attempting to chew on wall plate screw. Because it's there, you know?

And now, chewing on the window trim. The grating sound will get you up from a sound nap, I assure you from experience.

Eventually they'll move on, perhaps bullying Emma the dog away from her dog food, or complaining loudly about something or another that is invisible to the naked human eye. It's a goose thing, you know.

Power Washer for the Win!

2011-10-06T12:06:00.001-05:00

Spouse purchased a low-end consumer power washer to try out a few weeks ago. The input connector, made of plastic, broke off immediately (I did say "low end", right?), but it was fixable with a few hose repair parts, and has been chugging along ever since. It does give me pause now & then when I contemplate that it runs off electricity, as we all know how well water & electricity get along with the human body... regardless, there are excellent water-saving benefits using this machine. It quickly powers off the morning Apocalypse of Poo that the geese leave on the porch overnight, and yet it's not so powerful that I have to worry about flaying skin off my body if I accidentally mishandle the nozzle.

I've also used this power washer to clean out the tenacious algae on the waterfowl kiddie pools and all the drinking bowls. What took serious elbow grease, a stiff brush, and a bit of bleach (which I try to avoid using as much as possible), the power washer takes care of in seconds flat, and does a much better job.

One other cool job it does: cleaning shoes. I like to clean all the warm-weather flip-flops, water shoes & clogs at the end of the season, before they go into cool-weather storage (also known as the "back end of the closet"). The shoes with nylon webbing or a bit of cloth on the straps can be especially tough to clean. The powerwasher got all the dirt out and off with two passes of spray. The toughest part was keeping the shoe in place - the pressure sometimes would knock the shoe out of the way. By the way, watch carefully the footbeds of your shoes when pressure washing - a softer plastic footbed may tear a bit.

Eight pairs of shoes cleaned in just a few minutes. I feel like a 1950's housewife with a newfangled washing machine!

Pic upper left: Pacific Hydrostar electric pressure washer (no, we're not affiliated with Habor Freight, we just spend alot of money there.

Pic upper right: shoe getting washed - impressive!

Pic below: some of the shoes drying in a safe place. It's not the dogs we worry about chewing the shoes, it's the geese, and that's another post coming up...

Potato Tower Wrap-up - Out with a Whimper

2011-09-23T17:38:00.000-05:00

Lucky the Roo, surveying his domain.

I ended up harvesting the last of the potatoes within two weeks of the initial harvest. I never got around to writing about it, as the yield was okay, but nothing to write home about (although others have had better results). That said, I like the compact growing method of the tower, and will try again next year. Definitely want to try growing sweet potatoes, and I think our weather here will support the process. In the towers themselves, will probably try a 50/50 compost/soil mixture next time, with a bit of organic phosphorus added, instead of using pure compost. Some day I'll test the compost we make here on the property, but I imagine it's fairly high in nitrogen due to the large amounts of wood shavings and chicken poo from cleaning out the coop.

Another thing I learned: if you want fresh potatoes to last for more than a few days, you need to cure them. Whodathunkit? Not I, and I was hoppin' mad at myself for letting the spuds go to waste like that. Tsk!

Project: Entry-Level Rainwater Collection

2011-09-13T17:31:00.000-05:00

I've been jonesing for a massive rainwater collection system. I dream of freedom from the 40-pound salt bags, and no more heavy mineral smells. I long for squeaky-clean shiny dishes, clothes that line-dry soft, and hair that doesn't need a weekly vinegar soaking to be rid of mineral buildup. I've promised Spouse, however, that we'll get ~~his~~ the garage-slash-pottery studio built first. It's been a slow process saving up the money for the build, but I'd much rather build as we can afford than to take out a loan in this economy.

Anyhow: rainwater collection. Right. There's a bit more involved than one would think at first glance. Our neighbors down the road have a wonderful system, and they've graciously pointed out some of the issues and pitfalls we need to know. But in the meantime, I've decided to ease that rainwater collection jones a bit by doing something much smaller in scale, and out of my own discretionary funds: fitting our chicken coop with a miniature rainwater collection system.

Our chicken coop is a 10'x10' modified big-box hardware store pre-fab shed. The measly 100 square foot roof could potentially collect 1500 gallons of water a year (with below-average 25" annual rainfall) according to Tank Depot's online calculator. The roof is made of corrugated metal, which is a good medium for rainwater collection but has its issues like any other roofing material. Some are of the opinion that to be absolutely safe for drinking (potable), metal roofing should get an approved protective coating of paint to guard against oxidized runoff, but for the chicken coop, I might hold off until/if we decide to get our house roof covered. If an emergency comes up, we can always use a commercial filter like a Brita to get any possible metals filtered, and then for pathogen deterrence either do solar pasteurization in our Sun Oven or use a bit of chlorine bleach.

Some of the bare bones of initially gathering the rainwater: gutters, debris filter (to filter out leaves and such), and "first flush" diverters (which divert the "first flush" of roof-caught rainwater away from storage in the rain barrels. The first flush usually has dust, pollen, bird poo and the like that has collected on the roof since the last rain). Our hardware store has the gutters, no problem. The debris filter and "first flush" diverter I would have to either make on my own, or purchase online. I've opted for the latter, and have ordered
Rain Harvesting Pty 3" First Flush (model WDDS99) and the Rain Harvesting Pty Original Leaf Eater Downspout Filter (model RHLE99). There's a couple of all-in-one filter and first flush models, but am thinking I'd like to get to know the basics before getting fancy. Once the filter and diverter are received, I'll purchase the gutters and start installing on the coop. Of course, I'll have to get rain barrels acquired and set up as well. More on this project to come...

photo: metal chicken sculpture getting soaked during a rare Summer 2011 rain.

Texas Fires

2011-09-06T09:05:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let folks know we're okay here, but we're keeping a close watch. All it takes is an unattended BBQ/smoker or a carelessly tossed cigarette butt to potentially start another fire, so please be careful, no matter where you are! Here's a rundown of links that will help you stay up-to-date on the latest:

A map showing all the current fires in Texas: http://www.wunderground.com/ [...]
A blog page from local NPR affiliate KUT Radio: http://www.kutnews.org/ [...]
A Google News link that puts together all current headlines on the Texas fires: http://news.google.com/ [...]

For constant information deluge, go to Twitter #centraltxfires

Pic: Molly's brave little chicks exploring the front porch.

Too Danged Hot: New Chicks & Link Edition

2011-08-21T11:31:00.000-05:00

It's been too danged hot. The animals fur & feather colors have all been bleaching out due to the sun. Black has bleached to brown, brown to tan, tan to blonde, and blonde to white. If Maggie or the white chickens aren't careful, they'll just fade into "clear"...

The recent experiment with ordering fertile Penedesenca eggs (with Welsummer egg bonus) was a bit of a wash. It may simply have been too hot: the broody hens would nest hop, and then forget their original clutch. Eventually, two eggs DID hatch: both Welsummers. Molly the Jersey Giant hatched one, and Cinnamon the Cubalaya hatched one. I had to transfer Cinnamon's chick to Molly, as Cinnamon wasn't "getting" that the new chick was hers to care for. She kept pecking the heck out of it, and the chick was starting to limp. Molly accepted the new chick, and she's being an excellent mother to both (pic on right). Cinnamon continued to be broody for almost two weeks after the hatching.

In the meantime, just so you know the blog is still alive, here's some link love until we all recover from the heat:

Make your own nose pore strips: youtube video. I haven't used pore strips in years, but this looks super easy to make. Might have to try it again!

A frugal dinner meal plan from Green, Blue, Brown. Thinking about trying this as well. Makes fantastic use of a whole chicken and rotating ingredients.

A quick guide on how to make herbal tinctures with both fresh and dry plant matter. I've the beginnings of a medicinal herb garden, and will definitely use this technique. Never been one much for herbal teas - just give me a few drops of tincture, thank you very much.

A tool to blow out eggs, so you can use the intact empty eggshells for crafts. The tool also lets you blow out the egg with only one hole, so there's more continuous shell to paint. I've done everything from using a bicycle pump to lung power, and let me tell you, none have worked all that great. Goose eggs are big, strong, and great for crafts, sometimes going for $2.00 an egg. Nice way to re-purpose shells for those eggs that are past their freshness prime.

Potato Tower Update - July

2011-07-14T15:04:00.001-05:00

I've been helping out at the Bountiful Sprout co-op this month, filling in for the gracious Cindy while she takes a well-deserved vacation. I noticed that several of the farmers were selling fresh potatoes, and it got me to wondering, are mine finally ready for harvest?

The tops have taken a beating with the sudden & continued onslaught of heat this season, but keep re-greening. Despite the remaining green, figured I'd go ahead and check out at least one tower. If the contents looked good, I'd harvest the rest.

The growing medium - nothing but pure compost - has done some settling, like a box of cereal or bag of chips. It was easy to dig through with my bare hands (like I'd take the time to find gloves anyways, right?). Besides, using hands to harvest the tubers would be much gentler on the potatoes - much less chance of nicking or gouging the tender 'tater - than if I used a garden spade.

The harvest itself? Kinda disappointing. Two large and one small seed potato yielded slightly less than two pounds of potatoes, of which most were very small. Looks like I should have left this tower alone for a few more weeks yet. I'm also wondering if I should have blended some topsoil into the compost. Potatoes can be heavy feeders, but too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorous might have affected tuber development, and I really don't know what the balance is/was in that particular batch of compost. Ah well, two more towers of 'taters await in the wings, and we'll see what the harvest is like for those in a few more weeks.

An enterprising chicken, digging through the remains.

Duck versus Chicken

2011-07-12T13:44:00.003-05:00

The chickens were unsure of the ducks when we first let the ducks range the property unattended. There were attempts to assert some sort of pecking order, which was at first befuddling to the ducks ("hey, why is this bird pecking on me??") to then outright annoyance (duck: *chomp!*). The Pecking Order Fallout faded within a few weeks with the ducks holding no grudges, and the chickens giving it up but remaining a bit confused over these short, squatty little birds.

The one grudging exception: Moe ("she's The Queen!") Duck. She remembers Feisty (The Bloodthirsty) Chicken. Feisty is a flighty, ornery little Egyptian Fayoumi who even our veterinarian doesn't like. [Once while getting checked for an illness (yes, I take my girls to the vet), Feisty attempted to tear into the veterinarian, and in the process tore a chunk of latex glove off his hand. She also tore a chunk or two of skin from my own hand during the illness recovery, but heck, I'm used to goose bites, so no biggie.]

The Queen, Tugboat Moe

Feisty the Bloodthirsty.

If Moe sees Feisty approaching within three feet, Moe gives chase. Moe will chase Feisty across the yard, under bushes, through flowers, past trees, on and on until Feisty finally gets out of eyesight. I've seen Moe chase Feisty a good 30 yards, full-out and non-stop, which is pretty impressive for a tugboat on webbed feet. If Moe ever gets ahold of Feisty, there will be a massive CHOMP! and feathers flying. "Pecked to death by ducks" indeed.

One thing I learned while practicing martial arts, of which Feisty never had the benefit: NEVER underestimate the short ones. They have a lower center of gravity, and WILL hand you your @ss on a platter.

New Chicks and Vertical Leaps

2011-06-20T14:26:00.001-05:00

Our two Golden Phoenix hens - oh, let's call them Cagney & Lacey - both went broody within a week of each other, and by combined effort hatched three fuzzy peepers about three weeks ago. Ever since, both have claimed ALL three chicks, and I've gotta say from the looks of it, co-parenting rocks.

Twice the vigilance, twice the defensive power against curious geese and chickens (these girls have SPURS), twice the teaching opportunities. Oh, and twice the effort I don't have to put into raising a new batch of peepers.

The new chicks are learning the ropes fast, and the moms introduced them to many chicken pleasures quickly, including the roost.

Now let's pull back a few feet, and show you how high that roost is...

Yeah, the human mama-hen about had a cow when she saw them all up there!

The chicks maneuver quite well, actually. They climb up the ramp (which you can't see in the pic), then walk over the middle support beam that holds the perches, right on up to the top perch. If they want down in a hurry, they simply jump - their light weight and the deep sawdust litter below makes an easy landing. If they want to take their time, they'll jump from perch to perch. Their vertical leap is astounding. Is there a Chicken NBA?

Tree Collards

2011-06-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

I first heard of Tree Collards on Growing Your Greens, an inspirational food gardening YouTube series. I saw the tall, graceful form and wondered, "hmm, could I grow these here?". The more easy-to-maintain perennial foodstuffs I can grow, the better!

Photo: Tree Collard, credit to Perennial Tree Collards blog.

From the Perennial Tree Collards blog, I found out that Tree Collards are a perennial shrub/tree grown in the sub-tropics & tropical highlands. We might get just a tad too cold here, but I'm hoping if I put it in a protected spot with a South/South-West exposure (or at least protect it from North winds) it just might work here. Folks are growing it all along the Southern US states, and in California as well. I've seen small snippets of back-history to the tree collard - how African Americans in the South passed these on from family to family - but haven't seen any more details yet; will keep researching. I love the stories of how plants travel...

Tree collards don't seem to bolt like other greens, rarely flowering and going to seed. The seeds also don't germinate "true", so any propagation will need to be through cuttings. Found a bit more information on how to grow & maintain tree collards from Richards Farm. I've ordered some cuttings through Bountiful Gardens (along with some Kakai pumpkins that make hull-less seeds), and look forward to trying these out.

More Fun with Power Tools - The Pressure Washer

2011-05-25T19:10:00.003-05:00

The front porch has been a long-time repository for tools, lumber, garden equipment, tarps, more tools, more lumber, and of course, goose & chicken poo (which was sprayed off regularly, of course, but you knew that... right?). The temporary shed - up and in place since January - has been patiently waiting for all of our chaos, and we finally got the goodies transferred these past few days. The moving of all our white-trash goodness, however, left behind a very dirty porch.
I have a pressure nozzle on the garden hose, but this was three years of ground-in dirt, kiddies. It wasn't going anywhere:

Rented a small pressure washer from the feed store, with "small" in their mind being 2700 PSI (the "big" pressure washer they also had available would have needed a trailer to haul to our place). The pressure washer needed gas, and I needed a refresher course on how to use the choke (snickeringly provided by Spouse, who said "Don't worry hon, I'll make a man out of you yet!"), but eventually the machine got to going, and started revealing that it was grey-colored concrete, NOT tan, under all that dirt:

Not only did the concrete get a power wash, I also sprayed down the windows, screens and the doors. During the spray-down, we quickly found out that whatever weatherstripping the doors may have had at one time was now long dead and gone. As I washed, water sprayed through the top, the sides, and the bottom of the door. Spouse had to stop the process at one point, as the water almost reached the floor computers in the office. Yikes!

Still, only a couple hours worth of work, less than $20 for the half-day rental, no scrubbing, and look at how clean... w00t!

Wish we could use one of these things on the inside of the house!

Volunteers in the Compost Pile

2011-05-08T18:08:00.000-05:00

Last Fall, the chicken ladies got a nice treat: pumpkin and squash meats and seeds, which had the bonus of costing not a red cent as they were "old" Fall decorations being thrown away at the feed store. Not everything was hoovered up by the ladies, however, and what was left over was pitched into the compost pile.

Fast forward to Spring. We now have several squash and pumpkin volunteer vines in the compost pile. Not sure what we're gonna harvest come Fall: will it be Blue Hubbard squash? Princess Pumpkins? Pie pumpkins? Kinda nice to have the volunteers, as I still don't have our raised beds finished (mea culpa!), and am scrabbling together a large container garden instead (just got in a bunch of tomatoes & herbs - more on that later).

Besides a growing medium of rich compost, the vines are also getting recycled duck- and goose-pool water. There are a dozens of flowers on the vines at the top of the pile, indicating that if all goes well, we'll have a bountiful supply of Fall and Winter fruits.

[A moment of solemnity for the other volunteer vine that didn't make it: a sweet potato that had been growing in the second compost pile. The chickens squeezed their way into that particular bin, and ended up tearing out the plant in their hunt for tasty bugs. Our compost bins continue to be locked up like Fort Knox, but never underestimate the determination of a bug-focused chicken.]

The Morning Lie... err, Incentive

2011-05-02T08:20:00.002-05:00

pic: the morning greeting during
mating season.
Usually a hiss or a series of fast,
ear-splitting high-pitched
squawks. Lovely!

BZZZT!-BZZZT!-BZZZT!-BZZZT!-BZZZT!

[slap alarm clock]

*grooooooan*

[repeat if necessary, up to 2x]

The usual dawn sounds - outside of the Lucky the Roo crowing the quarter-hours, that is.

I tell myself to get up, that all I have to do is the bare minimum of chores then I can come back inside for a nap. I cling to this seductive promise every time - bare feet on concrete floors, pulling on clothes in warm & muggy or chilly weather - holding it close to my heart. I've never been a morning person. It has taken a lot of work to get my backside into bed before 11:00AM at night - my old tech, night-owl proclivities are tenacious. And though lately my eyes may open before dawn (the joys of getting older), it doesn't mean I'm ready to get out of bed yet.

And I could come back and take that nap, if I wanted to, sure thing. By the time I get into the routine of chores, however - pump dirty pool water to fruit trees, refill pools, watering bowls, feed for the birds, the dogs - I've come awake enough that my stomach rumbles for breakfast and coffee. There's no sleeping once that starts. And in a way, I'm glad: if it's nice outside, I'll get that cup of coffee, sit on the porch, and watch the animals do their morning routines. If the dogs aren't mugging me for attention at that point, some of the chickens might even come and perch on my lap. Who would want to nap throught that?

'Taters, 'berries, and more...

2011-04-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest photograph of the potato towers:

The plants are about busting out of their towers! One thing I'll do differently next time: either find one big piece of cardboard for the liner, or duct-tape (or otherwise attach) the cardboard pieces together before filling. As you can see, the pieces are shifting. I topped out the compost fill at around 18 to 24 inches high. No wonder the leaves and flowers look so lush...

For a bit of perspective, here's Bandit with Billy-Bob and a couple of the ladies...

The strawberries survived the slapdash planting they received (and the above average heat we've been having), and are putting out flowers. Maybe - just maybe - I'll have some June berries!

In other events around the farm, we've planted another apple, two pear, two nectarine, another peach, two cherry, and two almond trees. Left to go: two more cherries, two white mulberries, two elderberry bushes, and two pomegranates. I've also a bunch of blackberry canes (a wonderful trade with Joy, for goose & duck eggs) and grape vines awaiting their support structure to be built (*ahem*). Oh, and some good old-fashioned rugosa roses, for their vitamin-C packed seed hips.

There has been some non-food planting going on as well. I've given up trying to get healthy blackberries and grapes to grow in the southwest-facing garden beds in front of the house. The garden beds abut a three-foot high concrete foundation (the house is on the side of a hill), and it gets too danged hot in the Summer. I'll leave the current scraggly vines and canes in place for now, but in the meantime have planted another variegated privet (to match the mature one on the other side of the steps), two "Sangria" esperanzas, and will put in some "Dallas Red" lantana flowers under the esperanzas - all perennials, and all adapted or native to this area. On the northwest side of the house, the Japanese barberry bushes just couldn't cut the combination of Winter's bite and the constant nagging at their roots by the chickens, so I've planted a couple of Texas Sage bushes in their place to match the single Texas Sage in the same garden bed. The dang thing is bullet-proof - geese, dogs or chickens, nothing bothers it.

Whew!

Another Potato Tower Update - Plus Container Strawberry Goodness

2011-04-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken on March 31st, and the potato greens are now a good couple inches above the tower tops! I ran out of home-made compost, and had to buy a couple bags to continue filling the towers. Not sure if I'll do a pure compost potato tower next year. I realize potatoes can be heavy feeders, but thinking maybe a half-and-half mix of good soil & compost might do just as well.

Miracles upon miracles, the chickens have stayed out of the towers so far, and the geese have not destroyed the potato leaves.

I also (finally!) received the order of low-chill cherry and white mulberry trees. I'll write more about those later, but with that order came 50 (yes, 50!) FREE bare-root strawberry plants, which I had totally forgotten about. Eep! The raised beds hadn't been filled with the custom soil mix yet, and I needed to get those strawberries planted ASAP. I grabbed a bunch of three- and five-gallon recycled plastic plant pots, filled them with a robust potting soil, and covered with well rotted (and poo'd upon) straw and hay for insulation and moisture retention. Good thing the straw was there, as we had an unexpected freeze just a few days ago. The berries (and potatoes) survived just fine, probably with a radiant-heat assist from the slope they're on, which faces southwest. The last average freeze here is March 15th, but some veggie gardeners won't put anything into the ground until after Easter.

In the picture below, about two-thirds of the strawberries are potted - there's even more pots on the ground now. The wooden boards you see below the pots are to keep the pots level for watering. The three-gallon pots have three strawberry plants in each, and the five-gallon have four or five plants each. I don't even know what kinds of strawberries these are; I'm guessing annuals of some sort.

This is the first time I've planted strawberries, and doing so in containers is another grand experiment. Hoping this works out - it would be so lovely to have fresh berries for eating and jam this year, and right from my own back yard!

The 'Taters, They're Growing!

2011-03-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

Progress pics of the 'tater towers:

I've been piling up more compost as the potato leaves grow, and the bins are now about half-filled with the mix. In an unplanned 'tater tower - one of our working compost bins - there's a sweet potato going gangbusters, and in a third compost pile, squash and pumpkin. Since those compost piles are in the "settle & digest" stage, I'm going to let the new goodies grow and see how they do. Pics forthcoming!

New Project - Wire Potato Towers and Compost Scratching

2011-02-18T18:22:00.003-06:00

I went 'round and 'round trying to decide which to do: potato buckets, or potato towers? As the soil here in the Hill Country is not amenable to growing potatoes in the traditional manner - heck, you need actual SOIL for that - settled on growing potatoes in buckets (seemed easier all around). Other projects came along, taking away the buckets I wanted to use. Rather than buy more buckets, decided to make do with the materials I had on-hand and create chicken wire mini potato towers instead.

Photo: potato towers, and ducks. Ducks!

Photo: tower contents

The mini-towers are about two feet wide, and stand about 30" tall. Used some old chicken wire for the form. Lined the interior with recycled cardboard so the hens can't peck out the contents as easily. The cardboard will also help keep the soil cooler and hold in moisture better - a big consideration 'round here, especially as we're already experiencing days in the mid 70's ℉. Also added an extra layer of straw around the sides, and filled each tower part-way with nothing but pure compost (and a bit of straw to "lighten" the mix). Not all folks have luck using straw - someone (I forget who - what do they say is the first thing to "go" when you get older?) mentioned that using straw led to more problems with disease in her spuds. I'll be keeping a close eye during the growing season.

Photo: Cinnamon, proving my point.

Growing the spuds: according to different web sites, what you do is plant a seed potato, sprouting-side up, into the compost (or soil mix). As the potato puts forth a stalk & leaves, begin mounding up soil/compost to the bottom of the leaf structure. Keep mounding up as the potato stalk/leaves grow taller, and keep the soil moist! The potato will then send out more root shoots through the stalk which will then become tubers through the now soil-covered stalk. I'll add another lining of cardboard to the mini-tower once the soil level gets higher.

I'll be planting the spuds this Sunday after work, as that's when the Farmer's Almanac claims is a fortuitous time for spud-planting. Call me superstitious, but gardening can be such a crap-shoot that I'll take all the advantages - real or imagined - that I can get!

Photo: the girls getting serious about their job.

Speaking of compost: the hen ladies were quite helpful in getting the compost ready to use in the potato towers. I cleared out one of the pallet bins of ready-to-go compost, shovelling loads into old/damaged kiddie pools we've hung onto. The hens then scratched through the compost in the pools, digging out bugs, eating seeds or any wild shoots, and breaking up mix. Got the idea from Redneck Mother, a Texas gardener who is no longer blogging (bummer) else I'd link her brilliant idea. For her compost "sifting" container, she used those low/wide underbed plastic clothes bins you can get inexpensively at a dollar store. The kiddie pool method seems to work best (and most frugally) for us: our ducks & geese (and dogs) use the pools until they bust, then we use the busted pools for other projects later on. Bonus: the pools are highly UV-resistant, and won't break down after a summer in the sun. Win!

Photo: The girls finishing the job in the compost bin.

Dinosaur Descendents

2011-02-17T10:58:00.000-06:00

I'm outside, pruning the fruit trees, and notice several sets of beady eyes looking at me from a short distance away. Undaunted by the stares, I continue trimming, and then start pulling up the weeds from the base of the young fruit trees. Before I can blink twice, I'm surrounded by voracious, determined chickens, tearing up the ground where the weeds once were. Any sleeping worm, pillbug or grub is instantly gobbled up.

Spouse and I once idly discussed: if we were to drop dead on the pasture, who'd be the first to start chewing on our carcasses? Dogs, geese, ducks, or chickens? We both agreed, hands-down: the chickens.

Pic: the chickens in a feeding frenzy.

First Goose Eggs of the Season!

2011-01-29T10:46:00.000-06:00

I've placed a duck egg and an extra-large chicken egg next to the goose eggs for comparison. The geese are much later laying this season than last - last season, the first egg was laid on the Solstice! I'm wondering if the extra warm winter we're having (compared to the cold one last year) has been affecting their inclinations. Will have to do some research. Anyhow... woo-hoo!

From Sick to "Zoom"

2011-01-27T19:28:00.002-06:00

Sick for a whole frakkin' week. Drove me nuts. Allergy-aggravation from forced air heating (and air blown through dirty filters that hadn't been checked before turning on the heat for the first time this season). The usual routine - sore throat, sinus congestion, sneezing, then coughing. The good news is that it DIDN'T develop into bronchitis, DIDN'T trigger asthma, and was over in SEVEN DAYS. A new recovery record! (and the crowd cheers!)

Last Saturday was the first day I felt up to doing chores around the property. The bones of the new 12'x20' tarp shed were up and ready, so decided to finish the job. Spouse helped me move the 4'x8' plywood sheets from the porch to layer on top of the pallet-based floor ("oooh, mice are gonna love this!" he crowed), and then throw the main tarp over the top of the shed (too heavy/cumbersome to do on my own). As I joked to friends, it seemed the writer of the instruction manual for the shed got distracted on the last few pages, as there were quite a few important steps skipped on how to secure the tarp to the frame, but managed to get everything squared away. The shed was finally completed.

That's a six-foot ladder in the back.

Angels sang hosannas, light poured from the sky... I can move all the tools, lumber, garden supplies, fencing, carts & dollies, you-name-it-we-haz-it from the porch and around the property into ONE ORGANIZED LOCATION. All our white-trashy goodness, all tucked away... listen... the angels are singing again! ♪AAAAAAAAHHHHH!♫ And even more important: it's all tucked away from the ever-rampaging destructo-geese!

Sunday was my first day back at work in the garden center. Sundays are fairly laid back during winter - water if need be, but never any plant deliveries, rarely any customers, and just be sure to cover the plants & turn on the heater in the greenhouse before you leave if there's gonna be a freeze overnight. Six easy work hours, then home. That day, however, I also had to return ten fruit trees, as we've dug about every "easy" hole there is to find near the house, and there just ain't enough holes for all the trees I'd like to plant*. Came home at the end of the day with... two more trees. To be fair, these trees are newly available almond tree varieties specially bred for our area of Texas, so of course I must have them! I'll just have to send back... some other trees. (sigh)

The geese deciding whether or not my
boot is evil. Consensus: yes, evil.

With the remaining credit from the returned trees, brought home the fixings for growing potatoes in buckets**, and making a lighter soil mix*** to fill the new raised, terraced 4'x4' veggie beds. Also brought home bags of pine-bark nuggets to fill the muddy swamp holes the recent rainstorms have created, 50 lb bags of goose/duck chow and chicken scratch grains, plus two bales of hay for the duck and goose egg-laying areas. Loading up the car, then putting it all away, I probably worked harder AFTER work than during my time at the nursery.

*We'll do more test-digs further down the property, but if we do find decent soil down there, it'll mean clearing out brush and trees, as well as trenching and laying water pipes. Maybe next year.

**Growing medium for bucket potatoes: straw and compost. See this Google Search for plenty of info on how to grow potatoes in a five-gallon bucket. I'll post more as the project begins.

***Modifying a recipe suggested in Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. [I refuse to link directly to his web site because it's completely Flash-based. I'm a geek, I can be unreasonable about bad implementations of tech, lack of accessibility, and those sorts of things.] Oh, the soil mix? A combination of compost, peat moss, vermiculite, and some topsoil. I'm making the soil mixture a bit "heavier" than the original recipe so it won't dry out as quickly in the Texas heat, but still light enough that the veggie roots can grow quickly and deeply. Will also post about that project as it comes along.

Backhoe Weekend, Project 1 - Gooselandia

2011-01-09T19:02:00.000-06:00

The backhoe came in late, but can't complain too much as we get to use it for the entire weekend (plus part of Monday) for the price of one day's rental. So Spouse and I did something rare: after animal chores, we went back to bed! Ooooh, so nice... sssnzzzzzzz.

Once the backhoe finally arrived, it was time to rub the sleep out of our eyes and get to work. First priority: re-dig the pond for Gooselandia. We were originally going to use a stock tank set in the ground. We had the hole dug, and the tank situated and leveled. The more we thought about it, however, the more it seemed like it would be a royal pain to create the appropriate berms and ways to get in and out of the stock tank: not just for the geese and ducks, but for any small fry they might hatch. Plus with the ducks, the tank was now going to be too small for everyone to swim in peace. Round two: take out the stock tank, then dig out and slope the sides.

The tank was partially full of rainwater, and had a nice thick layer of algae and sludge at the bottom. We'd also a large branch half in/out of the tank before the photo, so the frogs and snakes could get out as needed. No frogs or snakes this time... anyhow, bailed out the water, shoveled out the sludge, then pulled out the tank. After a break and a quick side project of moving a big pile of soil up the hill where our raised veggie beds will be (another post), Spouse started sloping out the sides of the pond area.

The old hole was approximate 10'x10'x2'. The new hole, with sloping sides, measures about 20'x16'x2'.

Pond liner - the good stuff, heavy rubber, fish safe and all that - ain't cheap, but with my Awesome Employee Discount™ at the feed store, we can probably line this hole for about $200. We'll also need to shell out for a heavy duty pond pump and filter, due to all the poo. The ducks out-poo the geese, and the geese are no slouches by any means. Together, they create MEGA-POO, killer of puny pond pumps and filters alike. Our poor 3'x5' side pond! If we don't clean the filters every other day, the water quickly becomes a mess.

So, slowly but surely, progress on the Gooselandia pond proceeds apace. Once lined, pumps installed, and filled with water, we can move the duck and goose shelters to the new pond area. What will be next: trenching so that electric and water lines can be routed to the area. We can currently stretch two connected outdoor extension cords to the area, and ditto for water hoses, but this is not a viable long-term solution. Yay, we get to rent more heavy machinery!!!

DIY Duck Shelter

2011-01-07T20:04:00.001-06:00

Although I'd never claim mastery, I have gotten to the point when using tools - such as power drills, circular saws, staplegun, etc. - that I no longer have to really think about how I'm supposed to use the tool. This development makes fixing or creating new things around the property much more fun (and faster, too!). With this new ease, I was able to bang together a duck shelter out of all scrap materials in a single afternoon.

The design idea came from "Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks" by Dave Holderread. Two challenges with the original design, however: it would be too hot in the summer, and as designed, the geese and dogs could get into it. The geese get territorial during egg-laying season, and I didn't want the ducks to get booted out of their shelter. And the dogs, well, they're a bunch of egg-stealers. Rotten dogs. Then there was a third consideration: the shelter would need to be moveable. Gooslandia's pond is being dug out this weekend, and we hope to move all the waterfowl to their much larger digs by next week!

The shelter is three pieces: the roof, the main area, and the egg-laying box. The egg-laying box in the back is not attached, nor the metal roof. Both will be after the move. I've also put a piece of tarp across the wired front (which faces North, but not shown in the above photo) to act as a windbreak. I thought the crossbars on the two sides would be enough to keep out the dogs and geese. Nope. Both just "duck" under it :-). Will need to add some vertical bars at approximate 8-inch intervals to keep the interlopers out.

The laying box will get a divider at some point. The laying box roof is covered with recycled pond liner to keep rain out. The metal roof may get a small gutter and downspout attached for rainwater collection at a later date. Oh, and that black stripe down the center of the roof? The metal corrugated roofing pieces I had weren't quite wide enough, so I used a piece of smokey clear corrugated roofing that was laying about to make up the difference.

The only new thing purchased were the hinges for the laying box roof. I probably should have bought a few new boards - working with twisty lumber isn't much fun - but the ducks haven't complained about the design. In fact, it hasn't been very cold, so they've not used the shelter much at all!

The Khaki Campbell males (drakes) have bright green bills, orange feet, and black-green feathered heads. I love the little curly feather on their hindquarters!

It's a Lull

2010-12-27T20:02:00.000-06:00

Pic: Yeah, you WISH you were this talented!
Flopsy's progeny, Generic Peeper, at bottom.

It's been unseasonably warm this Fall/Winter, and I'm doing my best to take advantage of this fact by catching up on odd projects. For example, the photo left shows the goose hutch, recently modified by adding new left and right openings. Our geese like to have a clear view out, and the hutch as it was before would rarely be used by more than one goose. Hopefully that will change. Cutting out the new entrances was my first experience using a circular saw doing unguided "plunge cuts" (kids, don't do this at home -- or at all). The result looks a little like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The geese, opinionated though they may be, have never had anything to say about architecture. Thankfully.

Pic: Left is Gertie, middle is ?, right is Billy-Bob.

The geese should start laying eggs any time now, but there's no sign yet that they're even thinking of doing so. Last year they started dropping eggs by Winter Solstice. This year? Not even a hint of territorial crabbiness. No pairing for "snuggles" in the Pool of Woo. No cheering on of others "snuggling". Nada. We've lost four geese this year - Godzilla, Princess, Gina, and Miss Cecily - and have gained a new Buff Pilgrim goose, adoptee "Purdy" Gertie. I've been wondering how Billy-Bob, the lone gander, is going to handle having a whole harem to himself. I'm sure he's not worried.

Learn to De-Worm

2010-12-08T13:31:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year when the hens slow down their egg-laying proclivities - the less light available during the day, the more they slow down. Commercial farmers get around this by using timed, artificial lights to keep the production high, but the drawback is this method also shortens the lifespan of the hen. Not something I'm interested in doing, as most of our hens are pets. [There, I said it, I admit it. If it wasn't blatantly obvious, I love our squawky, fussy little fuzzybutts.] Thankfully, our girls are still laying enough eggs to sell through the co-op and to individuals, which in turn buys their organic feed (and a bit more to make up for those slacker geese).

Fall or Winter is also a good time to de-worm. The problem with the usual deworming method is that it requires you to destroy any eggs laid during the deworming process. Pretty intense chemicals are used. On one hand, you KNOW that the girls are going to emerge from the process "clean as a whistle" when using these chemicals. On the other hand, I wonder if such heavy-duty chemicals are really necessary every year, unless there's a major infestation*. So this year, I'm trying out Verm-X and pumpkin seed smoothies.

You can read more about Verm-X at their site. Basically, Verm-X is an herb/spice combination that is supposed to have deworming properties. You can get it in liquid form, or feed pellets. One challenge, however: the girls drink and forage in so many places that I can't guarantee they're ingesting enough (or any) of the formula. Tried soaking bread scraps in the liquid Verm-X as an alternative suggested by their site, but the girls wouldn't touch the stuff - it has that potent a scent! After chatting on Twitter with a couple other hen-addled folks, came up with a solution: pre-soak scratch grains in Verm-X. This gives the Verm-X time to "off-gas" some its scent, making it more approachable. The girls are now eating the grains.

I also took home a bunch of free pumpkins from the garden nursery a few weeks ago -- one person's old Fall decorations are another person's home canning project -- of which the pumpkin seeds can be used as a dewormer. Grind fresh seeds in a food processor with some unsweetened bio-active yogurt, and serve. This recipe is what the girls REALLY love. Figure I'll make this smoothie recipe for the remainder of the six-week de-worming process (the Verm-X will run out before then), and see how it goes.

Supposedly back in "ye olde days", those who worked with animals on farms were also encouraged by country doctors to do a regular de-worming regimen (and of course, I can't find the links where I first read this). There are plenty of herbal parasite cleanse methods available to humans over-the-counter. It's been three years of owning animals, so I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt if I were to do one as well. And thankfully, I don't need to worry about throwing out my own eggs.

*NOTE: [start legalese] Be sure to talk to your vet or doctor (whichever is appropriate) before undertaking any parasite cleanse. This blog article is provided for information purposes only. [end legalese]

Growing Ducks & Chickens

2010-12-01T16:16:00.001-06:00

Remember these little fuzzballs? Look at how they've grown:

Ducks are so. freaking. adorable. Adorable, I tells ya! They squeak, quack and waddle. They swim like seals, speedy/sleek through the water. They think I'm evil, but I hug 'em and squeeze 'em when I can. I can't wait for the big waterfowl pen & pond to be finished, just so I can pull up a chair and watch them swim and play. "If we had adopted ducks first" Spouse bemused, "I don't think I'd ever have wanted to get geese." [Blasphemer!!]


Pic of Maggie. Would this sweet face steal eggs? Oh yes, in a New York minute.

It will be a few months yet before the new ducks start laying eggs, but when they do, this particular breed can lay at least four eggs per week, oftentimes more. Whether we can gather that many eggs to sell is dependent on how quickly we can find them on the property before Maggie does. Since we've tightened up the entrances to the hen house, Maggie no longer has easy access to the laying boxes, and has missed her daily egg snack. Woe was Maggie! She finally figured out, however, that the eggs the one mature duck lays - Moe - are NOT those fake porcelain eggs we put into the egg boxes to encourage the chickens to "lay local". They are quite an acceptable substitute. It's a race in the mornings between canine and hominid to find Moe's latest laying spot. Moe likes to keep us all guessing and switches up her laying spots often.

Now, for the chicken update: Flopsy and her baby are doing well. We had to set them up in their own quarters, as some of the other hens weren't too clear on the fact that the chick wasn't a new squeaky toy (no worries, the chick was/is unharmed). We set up one of the chick brooding kennels for their nighttime digs - a big plastic dog crate with an adjustable heat lamp affixed to its ceiling - and lined it with hay. Since it's been dipping below freezing temps at night here, the crate's heat lamp keeps the girls cozy. There's also a goodly amount of protected, fenced-in space for Flopsy & chick to scratch and sun in peace during the day. The chick is already sprouting wing and tail feathers, but since I'm not handling her much, she shies away whenever I'm around. Feeling dang lucky to have caught these photos:

As Protective As A Manager...

2010-11-19T07:30:00.006-06:00

...of a young starlet against the paparazzi, Flopsy the Hen is brooking no nonsense from me or anyone else. That's HER baby, and don't you forget it:

"Is there something you need? No? Then please to be leaving now."

"Careful there, cowgirl... I peck hard!"

Photo success!

Buster, aka Butch, aka "@#$! rooster!"

From the coloration, I'm thinking Buster is the father. Not quite sure if this is Flopsy's biological progeny, as I didn't check the color of the egg she was sitting on, and there was no leftover shell that I could find after the hatching. I'm very happy that Flopsy was successful, as I hope to have our hens brood and raise any new chicks in the future. Of a few rare breeds I'd like to try, it can be easier to get fertile eggs instead of day-old chicks. Plus, having a mama around to show the chicks the ropes, keep them warm, clean any pasty butts, etc. - I'm all for it!

Link Love

2010-11-18T10:32:00.003-06:00

Things I'm laughing, doing, thinking about lately:

Hyperbole and a Half: Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving. Seriously, I laughed until I cried. Her graphics really capture the story. If I need catharsis for any reason, I'll go read one of her entries.

Made this recipe recently, and love it soooo much I wanna crochet a sweater for it: Cider-Braised Kale with Sweet Cherries. I ate the contents of the entire pan.

Getting ready to re-build the compost bins. The chickens have become very adept at getting into the compost contents, leading to more compost laying about the bins than inside the bins. Will continue to use pallets, but will line with chicken wire to keep the girls from pecking the contents out from between the pallet slats. You can find different ideas for putting together pallet compost bins online, like, here.

If you live in zone 8 or hotter, growing certain stone fruits like cherries is near impossible due to the scarcity of chill hours. There's now low-chill cherry trees available for sale. I pre-ordered mine from Raintree Nursery for March delivery. The trees are named Minnie Royal Cherry and Royal Lee Cherry; both are needed for cross-pollination (i.e. you won't get many cherries unless you have a second, somewhat unrelated cherry tree nearby with which to share pollen). I'm so excited! Do note that birds love cherries just as much as we humans do, so I've also ordered a few Silk Hope Mulberries and some Blue Elderberries in hopes of distracting the birds away from the cherries. Yeah, wish me luck with that...

Security Theatre: what the latest TSA intrusive body scans and pat-downs are accomplishing. Know your rights, and know where you can complain. (thanks Christine!)

Coming up soon: pictures of our Barred Plymouth Rock hen, Flopsy, and her new baby chick. Yay, another successful momma in the flock!

A Two-Dollar Chicken...

2010-11-03T09:29:00.001-05:00

...just received three-figure dollars worth of surgery yesterday. Red, the Ameraucana hen, is a pet. She's a bit addled - she thinks the geese are big roosters - but she's scrappy, and lets us pick her up and snuggle her. So when I picked her up the other day and noticed a foul smell and the golf ball sized lump of her crop, I knew something wasn't right. Research narrowed her symptoms to a sour and impacted crop. Brought her inside the house and tried some of the suggested home remedies, but the crop wasn't getting any better (nor the smell... yeesh). Called the vet the next day, who took Red in immediately. Lavaging her crop wasn't budging the contents, and so they asked - and received - permission to open her up.

Red had stuck in her crop: her regular feed, grasses, larvae, seeds, grains, bugs, other greens. She's definitely got a varied and healthy diet! What has caused the lack of crop motility is now the question of the day. There were a few flagellets found in samples taken from her crop, but it's hard to say for certain what's going on. In the meantime, she's our housemate for the week. She needs some time to recover from the surgery, grow in some feathers on her chest where she was shaved, and receive regular medication. On the list: antibiotics, de-wormer, and other anti-parasitic drugs. Soft cat food with probiotic powder to help her gut achieve balance again. Electrolytes in her water to help rebalance any possible dehydration issues. And hopefully getting some rest, which means holding back much fussing on my part. Get better soon, lil' chicken gurl!

DIY: Big Dog Feeder Stands

2010-10-27T11:08:00.000-05:00

Emma is a bit arthritic, and so the thought was to build a feed stand* for her. Having the dog food bowl a bit higher would be easier on her shoulder joints. Then, of course, we'd need to have feed stands for all the dogs, as we wouldn't want any jealousy going on during the morning chow-down. Happy discovery: the dogs' current food bowls fit perfectly atop five-gallon plastic plant pots.

The bowls, with lip, measure about 11 inches across, and the plastic pots slightly less (so as to support the lip of the bowl, natch). The pots stand about a foot tall.

While these pots were left over from recent plantings, you could probably pick some up for free or spare change at any garden nursery center that recycles their plant containers. Throw some rocks in the bottom of the pot for stability (or bricks, or whatever heavy refuse you have laying about) and voila! Feeder stand!

[* Please note: there is some controversy over feeder stands, as some believe it contributes to bloating. See article on GDV here.]

Mystery Revealed, or The Yolk's on Us

2010-10-16T22:24:00.001-05:00

Not that we have problems with gender indeterminate species around our place - see Miss Cecily - but we were curious as to what Mo might turn out to be. Neither Spouse or I had experience with ducks, and we didn't know squat about Mo when we rescued her. Not her breed, nor her age. Research on the web gave us an idea about her breed (a crested Khaki Campbell), but her coloring at the time we first got her looked as if she could go either way. Fast forward to now...

I started finding eggs in the night pen a few days ago. They were big hard eggs, left in the middle of a soft green weed patch. First thought was perhaps the dogs had poached the ceramic "dummy" eggs out of the hen boxes, and upon discovering the ruse, dropped them in disgust. (Ha! Rotten dogs). After picking up a total of three eggs over the course of a week, I started getting curious, as most of our dummy eggs are now marked with blue dashes (so as to easily see the difference when gathering from the laying boxes). I finally cracked open one of the mystery eggs tonight. Spouse suggested cracking open one of the largest hen eggs on hand, and compare the yolks side-by-side. I think it's safe to say that yep, the mystery egg is a duck egg! Woo-hoo!!

Now the next mystery: why haven't the dogs snarfed down these eggs yet? Talk about easy pickin's, right there in the open and all. Hmmm...

[Top photo: Moe. Photo lower right: the eggs. The duck egg is on the far right, if you're not sure.]

Ducklings!

2010-10-14T10:56:00.002-05:00

Little brown fuzzballs of attitude and cuteness. They arrived the day after Miss Cecily was euthanized, as if Miss Cecily and the Universe knew what was about to happen, and conspired to keep me busy. The ducklings have moved from house pen, to porch pen, to yard pen in two short weeks. They are messy, messy, messy. I love them to pieces.

Day old duckling.

One week old, and first day in the Big Blue Room.

@virgotex remarked "What are you doing, feeding them MiracleGro?" Nah, just organic duckling chow. Thank you McMurray Hatchery!

And then Michelle asked in the comments section "You don't mention what kind of ducks they are... inquiring minds want to know these things :)" Well, that's just the mind-bending power of cuteness overload, Michelle - one forgets to mention these things! These little squeezlings are Khaki Campbell ducks. They're to keep Moe, our recently rescued (and lone duck) company.

Almost two weeks old.

Avian Leukosis

2010-10-08T18:53:00.001-05:00

This is what Miss Cecily, and one other animal on the Big Softie Ranch - Hoppy the Chicken - had contracted: Avian Leukosis. It is a vertically transmitted virus, from infected mother to embryo chick. Miss Cecily's body was riddled with these tumors. All her major organs were affected (especially her liver), and her skeletal muscles as well. There is no cure. It was a minor miracle we kept her alive for this long.

With two separate birds/breeds post-mortem diagnosed with Avian Leukosis, this means the poultry breeder from whom we bought these girls has some problems. To be fair, however, no breeder is completely free from this issue. There's no way to tell if a young bird is infected other than biopsy. Regardless, because of other problems we have encountered with birds from these folks, we have already started buying from another breeder.

Photo: a retrovirus, courtesy of The Full Wiki.

RIP Miss Cecily, aka Squeezlegoose

2010-09-29T17:12:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite photos of Miss Cecily

She couldn't pick herself up from the floor. If I was able to help her onto her feet, she was at most able to take three steps before she was back on the ground again. I was helping her stand to drink water, to move around. Her eyes were still bright and alert, but the rest of her body was no longer willing to continue. It was a hard decision, but in the end, it made sense to have her euthanized. I know, I know - for animals, the term is supposed to be "put down", but you know what? She'd become such a part of this family that I just can't use that term. My apologies to the purists.


Squeezlegoose doing the limbo under the (supposed) anti-goose barriers for the dog beds.

Spouse said that I always doted on Miss Cecily, even when we first got her as a gosling. Something about the tilt of her eyes, her Very Small Tuft, her calm demeanor, her insistence on sleeping on the dogs' beds, always finding a way around or under any obstruction we'd put in place. How she and Godzilla were sweethearts, even though Tufted Romans are harem-minded by breed. And in the house: how she'd grunt in front of the refrigerator when she wanted greens, or would stand by the stove when she wanted her smoothie. Then how she'd tug on the hem of our shorts or pants, as if stamping her foot impatiently, while we got her food ready. And don't you dare forget to let her have her daily nap on your chest. If you missed the regular nap time, she'd stare you down with those beautiful, beady blue eyes until it felt like a laser piercing your skull. Must. Obey. The Squeezle.

Miss Cecily as a gosling, looking at Billy-Bob as if
to say "dude, you're doing it wrong..."

We're having her autopsied to see if some sense can be made of what she went through, in hopes it can help other birds in the future, and I'll be sure to post results here as well. We can't get her intact body back, but can get it back cremated, so that's what we'll do. Some have said that very few people would have gone to the lengths Spouse and I did to keep Miss Cecily going, in hopes she'd heal from this strange malady. I don't believe this makes us either heroes or fools - it's simply something we did for a beloved pet who gave so much to us. I daresay others would have done similar.

I found a bit of her goosedown on the floor today (amidst many other feathers, as she was going through her Fall molt). In time it will be put into the compost bin, like all things, even eventually our own sweet selves. For now, however, it's on my desk. I pick it up and give it a kiss now and then. Much love to you, Sensei Cecily, Guruji Goose. You taught me so much about life, illness and death. Sweet breezes and fair journeys.

What Was That Word Again?

2010-09-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

"There's a little word I'm gonna teach you", my neighbor said. "It begins with the letter 'N', and ends with an 'O'." But-but-but.... it was an abandoned pet goose! With a duck buddy!! How could I say 'no'? I imagine my neighbor would snicker, then patiently attempt to show me how to shape my mouth to make those sounds.

With that said, let me introduce two new additions to the Big Softie Ranch: Gertie the Pilgrim Goose, and Moe (short for "mohawk") the (as best I can guess) Crested Khaki Campbell Duck. We've had them for about a week now. Gertie is slowly winning over the crabby geese already on the property, starting with Billy-Bob the gander (of course). Moe is getting to know the chickens a bit better, and is no longer stuck like glue to Gertie's side. Lest Moe have problems with species-identification issues, we've ordered ten more Khaki Campbell ducklings to keep her/him company. You know, because it's not right to have one of any particular animal on the farm. Yeah... (ahem). Besides, getting the new batch of ducklings will get Spouse and I off our backsides to finish up the Gooselandia pond. What was going to be an in-ground stock tank has now morphed into a small, slope-sided pond with fish-safe pond liner. We'll throw in some minnows and goldfish to keep the mosquitoes and algae down to a minimum, and... what?

Speaking of "no" and lack thereof, Emma the adopted dog is now definitely "one of us". She proved it by refusing to budge from her napping space, forcing me to work around her as I finished installing lattice on the side porch for the evergreen wisteria. Just like Maggie and Bandit, she figured I'd work around her. Yep, one of us!

Submit to the Chicken

2010-09-02T08:34:00.000-05:00

"My, what big teeth you have Grandma!" I thought as I was giving Emma a look-over a few days ago. Not only are her teeth bigger than our other two Great Pyrenees, but her paws are larger as well. Online research has found that between her Anatolian genes and the Great Pyr genes, she could get up to 130 pounds. Holeeeee smokes! That makes now the time, while she's still under-weight, to get any lessons on submission done.

Emma, as she's coming out of her shell, is showing herself to be very playful, energetic, and curious in the mornings. Not that this is bad, it's just a bad combination while she's tailing me on the morning chores. I'd open the coop doors, and Emma would want to sniff, pounce and chase those fluffy, squawky things around. Uh-oh, not good at all. Firm orders of "no!" were unheeded, and distractions didn't last for long, so it was time to make her Submit to the Chickens.

I picked up one of the more docile hens - a fluffy Brahma. Then I grabbed Emma. Underweight though she may be, it took all of my weight shoved against her to bring her down, and even with my 155 pounds it took a good thirty seconds of wrestling to get her onto her side: one arm around Emma, trying to get leverage, and one arm holding the (now very annoyed) chicken.

Emma still has her spirit, I'm happy to say. She did not submit quickly, but she did "get it" once she was down. She relaxed, I kept the chicken in her face, and she looked away. I may have to do this a few more times to get the lesson sunk in thoroughly, but I think she's teachable.

Dog wrasslin'. I reeeeeaaaaly hope the security cameras on the property have recorded over that morning's takedown already.

New Addition: Emma

2010-08-29T19:15:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed an edit, an addition to the list of animals on the upper right of this blog (under "what this is all about"). Meet Emma - a Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shephard mix, a joint rescue by WAG and Wimberley Veterinary Clinic. Emma was dropped off for euthanasia by an owner who couldn't care for her anymore. WAG & Doc Sheffield, however, thought Emma deserved a second chance. And Doc thought Spouse and I would be pushover enough to take her in. He was right on all counts.

I was concerned about bringing Emma to our place, as not all dogs - even livestock guardian dogs - are cut out to guard poultry. So far, she has only a passing interesting in the chickens (just a bit of butt sniffing - you know, to make sure they are who they say they are*), and NO interest whatsoever in those noisy, bite-y, nasty geese.

She's not without issues. Emma and Maggie had a bonding moment when a summer thunderstorm passed through, huddling nose-to-nose in fear on the dog beds on the front porch. Emma also has more than a wee bit of food possessiveness - a trait not unknown to Great Pyrs. She's too dang skinny. Her coat was shaved close to help deal with mats and skin issues, and what's left of her coat is dull and rough. Her nose is still sloughing off some old, calloused skin. And she should fit into this farm of misfit animals just fine.

*John Callahan, cartoonist. Couldn't find a copy of the original cartoon, but it's basically two dogs in an office situation, with one dog saying to the other "I'm sure you are who you say you are, but I'm gonna have to sniff your butt anyway."

Generosity and Larvae

2010-08-16T08:00:00.030-05:00

I'm constantly amazed and humbled by the generosity of the people in this community. A chance remark to an acquaintance brought an introduction to a local who has recently started breeding Black Soldier Flies for their larvae. BSF larvae are used to compost kitchen scraps and other waste, and their leavings can be used as a simple soil amendment in the garden. Better yet, their leavings can be fed to worms, who in turn create double-plus good castings for the garden (as well as bait for the person who fishes in your family). And last, but not least: the larvae makes for fantastic chicken feed!

John invited me to his property, and showed me his setup of a half-dozen breeding boxes. Met his lovely partner Liz, and had a great time just chatting about life in general. I didn't offer to buy a batch of grubs at the time, mentioning it would be a few weeks before I could set up a proper brooder. Fast forward a few weeks, to an email from John:

"I've had some pretty heavy crawl-off since [we last chatted] and I'd be happy to drop off a bag at the feed store if you'd like..."

Oh heck yeah, the hens would LOVE some grubs! I arrive at work, and not only does John have a can of mature grubs for our girls, but a box for breeding, a chicken-wire box top, nesting medium, and a tub of young grubs to grow! He gave me a quick rundown on how to attract local, mature BSF's for more grub breeding, and was on his way. [Spouse, we have GOT to feed these folks some of your amazing pasta as a "thank you"... ]

Got the grubs home, and quickly threw together a temporary setup for the young larvae. A hole was cut near the box bottom, and a piece of hardware cloth guard affixed over the hole via duct-tape. (I'll take off the tape and use proper bolts and washers to secure the hardware cloth this week.) The sawhorses and box platform have been placed underneath a grove of shady oaks, so it will keep the grubs at a comfortable temperature. The platform is on a slight downward slope, and the box opening facing the downwards slope, which will encourage mature grubs will crawl out through the hardware cloth-covered opening and any excess moisture drain out easily. The bucket below will catch the grubs as they leave, who will then become high-protein, live chicken feed.

I've set out a batch of corn to ferment in order to attract mature BSF's to breed. The corn, as well as the scent of the grubs, should bring enough flies for a healthy breeding colony. Cardboard pieces have been set inside the box as temporary breeding cubbies for the flies to lay their eggs. To feed the young pupae in the box now, I've thrown in a batch of wilting lettuce and some goose poo generously donated by Miss Cecily. Tomorrow morning, they'll start getting regular meals of feed that has been knocked to the ground by the chickens and geese - feed which formerly was dumped into the big compost pile.

I've also placed a pet fence around the whole setup - John mentioned that the grubs can sometimes attract raccoons and other grub-loving creatures.

Next things needed: create a covered shelter for the brooder - don't want rain to drown the grubs - and a more secure structure to hold the breeding box. Oh, and make permanent breeding cubbies by drilling small holes in a couple pieces of wood, and attaching to the sides of the brooder box.

I feel like such a geek to be so excited over breeding larvae!

Side note: "Maggots are not Black Soldier Fly Larvae", in case you wanted to know the difference.

[Pic top: mature grubs, ready to either become flies, or get eaten by our girls. They feel dry and leathery. Second pic: details of the temporary setup. Pic bottom: the current setup.]

Re-Purpose and Re-gret

2010-08-10T08:00:00.008-05:00

Our side-firebox smoker has served us well over the last couple of years, but the firebox finally rusted off and I was faced with one of two options: get a new smoker, or memorize the phone number for the Salt Lick takeout. D.A. was ready for the first option ('tho not averse to the second - d.a.). I stopped to do what passes for thinking and figured I could fix the smoker. There were some "issues", however, in ordering the replacement parts. Mainly, the manufacturer website was not available. So instead of waiting for them to get their website fixed, I went ahead and sourced parts locally that I could re-purpose. In the process of "fixing" the smoker I learned a few tips that I would like to share.

Things you should NOT do while fixing your smoker:

1. Do NOT order the proper replacement parts from the manufacturer (i.e. think globally - purchase willy-nilly. ). Those parts you procure at greater cost locally might ensure that you can get the job started (if not completed) quickly, but who needs matching bits on a smoker anyway? The tack-welded parts give the replacement character, and the unsealed parts where smoke leaks out provide visual cues when you need to add more wood. After awhile the parts will all be the same shade of burned, regardless.

2. Do NOT test fit, mark, or otherwise take a methodical approach to your "modification" (a.k.a. butchering) of the new parts. Let's face it - when you get these non-similar and not-made-for-each-other parts finally together, you better leave 'em that way because ad hoc engineering is like a redneck divorce. If you let it drag on for too long there is a high likelihood of violent injury and something suspiciously catching fire. Anything that can can be bent, persuaded, or otherwise mangled in such a manner to achieve "good enough" results means you are that much closer to being done. Doing things the "right" way is overrated. I want the smoker working "right now" so I can sit back and take my time while the brisket gets warm and my beer gets cold. Wow - I miss beer.

3. Do NOT identify any possible hazards behind the items you are sawing through. Stopping to look means you might have to clear some stuff out of the way. Besides, it is called a SAWZALL for a reason. ("Sorry about the ladder, dear. I didn't know that fiberglass could be cut through that easily".) And if the reciprocating saw can't cut through it then you're just using the wrong blade.

I Am Well Trained

2010-08-07T18:10:00.007-05:00

Dreaming: a chiropractor is giving me an adjustment. His technique is a bit strange, as he's...

*grunt-grunt*

...making this weird toning sound. The adjustment is working, however, and...

*grunt-grunt*

...the sounds are buzzing louder as he finalizes this particular adjustment, then he...

*GRUNT-GRUNT*!!

My eyes fly open. At the edge of the couch, not six inches from my face is Miss Cecily, giving me an impatient, beady-eyed stare now that she has my attention. Oh, I know what this look means: "where the h*ll is MY nap, human?"

I pick her up and place her on my chest promptly, of course. She has me well trained.

Art Exhibit - "Lifeboats"

2010-08-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

There's only two days left of Heather Carter's exhibit "Lifeboats" at Texas State University. Short notice, but if you're gonna be in San Marcos, go see it. Many of the pieces gave the impression of pulling a person inward towards protection, while at the same time putting another "hand" out to bring more in. The base of the sculpture "One Straw Revolution", made with old baling wire, reminded me of Fibonacci spiral. "A Pattern Language" looked fantastical and yet at the same time as if it could have been grown and chopped down from the artists own land. All of the pieces were created with scavenged project cast-offs or materials gathered from nature.

Sculpture rarely moves me like these pieces did. Go see.

These Dogs

2010-07-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Why do we have these dogs, again? Well I know why we have livestock guardian dogs. They are supposed to guard the chickens, geese, D.A., and whatever follows D.A. home this week (you not getting off the hook for those peahens, hon). What I don’t know is why we have these dogs. Yes, they are Great Pyrenees from a working farm. Yes, they are very active at night, presumably scaring off foxes and raccoons (but not little bunnies because we see them at night within 30 feet of the house and the dogs). And yes, we have only lost one chicken to predation since they have been here.

However, all dogs have their idiosyncrasies and these two are no different. Maggie hates thunderstorms. She hates them so much you can tell how bad a storm will be just by watching how quickly she retreats to her bed on the porch. Bandit is the brave one until she gets to the vet, and then it's Maggie that becomes the happy dog without a care in the world. Bandit dutifully watches after the livestock, and is the first one to come running when the geese start squawking. She even paws at Bob, the rotten gander, just so he will chew on her: she reacts like his nips are love and affection. Maggie, however, watches the gates and not to intercept any interlopers. Nope. She is looking to escape and the last two times she left Bandit behind – so much for thick-as-thieves littermates.

And then there is the car. The first year with us we could not get the dogs into the car. It was a virtual battle requiring heaving, pulling, and cajoling, and that was D.A. just trying to get me out the door to drag the dogs into the car. That has all changed in the last 12 months. If there is a car door open, then there is at least 110 pounds of drooling dog inside and possibly 220. Normally, it is not a big deal since you can call them and they get out. Today, however, was different.

It was starting to rain, which meant Maggie was up on the porch. The rain happened to coincide with errands for D.A. and I, who were getting in the car. As we headed out, Maggie appeared to think that we were leaving and that the weather might be nicer out beyond the eight acre fenced-in prison we call home. She followed us to the gate and before I could close it she was dashing to freedom. Bandit being the smarter (or slower) one stayed behind and barked encouragement. I am still not sure if Bandit’s barks were in support of D.A. who has started pursuit, or for Maggie who is looking for a lack of thunder and lightning somewhere two states over.

Did I mention the rain? It was a good Texas rain. The kind that made D.A. shield her eyes so she could see where she was going while running after Maggie. I think it was heavy enough to slow down Maggie because she stopped about 50 yards from the gate, where D.A. could grab her. I had D.A. put her in the back seat of my little Subaru Impreza and we drove back to the gate, where D.A. jumped out and corralled Bandit before she could get out the gate as well.

Once through the (now secured) gate, D.A. opened the rear door to let Maggie out. Maggie was fine to continue soiling my back seat, and stayed put. Bandit thought that looked like fun so she jumped in, too. Apparently this looked entirely too cozy for D.A. who by this time is completely soaked, and sent me back to the house while she walked back. She should have run to watch the spectacle that was about to come.

I drove up the driveway and parked. The dogs looked to me as if expecting a trip to the drive through for double cheese burgers or, at minimum, a trip to Dairy Queen for that new pecan pie Blizzard. When I opened the door they weren’t going anywhere. I pulled Maggie out and then went back for Bandit, who saw what was in store and jumped from the back seat to the front for my keys and a clean getaway. But since dogs can’t operate clutch (lucky for me and the local Dairy Queen) I was able to collar Bandit and drag her out. It was at this point I realized that I had either left the back door open or Maggie was able to open the door with her paws because now Maggie was sitting in the back seat right where she was when we started this story. As I went to get her, she also jumped to the front seat, which Bandit had also just reclaimed.

Now I am completely soaked and there are still two wet and muddy dogs in my car who, according to the mud splatter on my dash, prefer a lot of air conditioning and don’t like NPR on the radio. I finally get them both dragged out and then D.A. walks up and has no idea what happened until I explained and showed her the inside of the car. The dogs tried to tell their side of the story, but decided they were tired and laid down on the porch instead. I think they were thinking the same thing we were: "why do we let them live here again?"

[pic top: Bandit in the front seat during dryer times. Pic bottom: Maggie being a storm barometer]

Biological Imperative

2010-07-27T07:47:00.000-05:00

Butch wasn't supposed to be a Butch. He was supposed to be a Barbara, or a Bonnie, or even a Bedelia. Sexing baby chicks is an art, not a science, so once in awhile you'll get a male with your pullet order. (Don't ask what chick hatcheries do with all those unwanted males. You don't want to know.)

Butch the baby roo has not only discovered his crowing voice, but the fact that he has boy parts. Boy parts that desperately need to make additional lil' Butch babies. So strong is this biological imperative that I'm able to snatch him up & away from any hens he's fixated upon before he comes to his senses and runs away ("Ack, stinky human alert!").

Adolescent roosters are absolute terrors to hens, especially in the morning (guys, you know what I'm talking about). Butch, unfortunately, is no different. Hopefully he'll outgrow his ham-fisted ways soon, else his last "date" will be with the stock pot.

[pic: Butch the hormonal]

Flattery and Links

2010-07-13T22:34:00.003-05:00

Lucky the Rooster. He loves being hugged, yes he does!

Joy's blog, "A Well-Armed Laura Ingalls Wilder" posts lots of good things, and one of the neat things she does is post links to interesting articles she's found. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I'm gonna steal her idea and start doing the same...

Homemade laundry soap - with some HE (high-efficiency washer)-safe recipes. Some of the recipes might require things you gotta order online, but the end result is a mix of scents & chemicals that you control, often for much less than what you'd pay at the stores:
http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2010/07/homemade-laundry-soap.html

How to grow soap-nut trees - this came out of the discussion from the post linked above. Soap-nuts can be bought on-line or at most eco-product stores. Soap nuts have high amounts of saponin, which can be used as a gentle cleansing agent. Just throw a few in a loose-weave bag, and put into the washer with a load of clothes. Naturally, I'd like to grow these. Nothing on the page talks about soil requirements, or if the plant could tolerate the natural alkalinity of the soil here... any ideas on where I could find out something like that? Anyhow, here's the link:
http://exeterra.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-grow-soap-nut-trees.html

And last, but not least:

Continuous lettuce harvests - something I hope to figure out how to do, as we currently feed store-bought greens to the geese, and it can be a drain on the budget. When we have a lot of wet weather, the grasses currently on the property do them just fine, but the dry seasons are tougher. Until we can get enough of the land "pasture-ized" (grow enough green grasses and fodder for the geese and chickens), growing our own might be the best bet. Plus, it'd be lovely to have constant salads for the table, too!
http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2010/07/continous-lettuce-harvests.html

And no, we do NOT spoil our geese and chickens. Nope!

Wildflower Season Forever!

2010-07-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

It's been the longest wildflower season I've seen in the whoppin' three years I've lived here. Salvias, verbenas, daisies of all sorts - they've been nurtured by the cooler temps and extra rain we've had in South Central Texas.

Our lawn-slash-pasture was decimated last year by the Summer drought and a hard-freezing Winter. There really wasn't much left but a few straggling weeds. I had plans to reseed with a pasture Bermuda (forage greens for the geese & chickens), plus native grass on the edges, but lo and behold: Wildflowers started popping up in profusion, in quantities never seen before! I'm guessing the chickens, in their foraging last year, "deposited" the wildflower seeds and the wet Spring did the rest.

As long as there are blooming wildflowers, there'll be no mowing on this property. Let the great re-seeding begin!

[pic: not a wildflower, but a zinnia from the garden nursery where I work.]

State of the (Goose) Union

2010-06-18T20:18:00.000-05:00

The Twain is Meeting! The younger geese are starting to hang out with the older geese, and vice-versa. Billy-Bob the gander prefers to hang out with the younger girls, but does his level best to keep all the ladies happy ("it's good to be the King!"). There's one mature female, however, who hasn't warmed up to the new girls yet. Duchess was broody & sitting when the youngers were battling it out with the rest of the geese. It finally got way past normal goose laying time, so I blocked off her access to the egg-laying shelters, which forced her to start socializing. Thankfully, Duchess is only giving the young ladies a nip now and then when they get too close for her liking.

Miss Cecily, aka "Squeezlegoose": Today's vet visit showed minuscule weight gain. Her bodyweight should be thug-bruiser at this point - she's getting four tube feedings a day, along with all the game bird chow she can eat. Doc is wondering if liver function is impaired, as she's improving in all other areas (hooray!) but not putting on the pounds. As of today we're trying a daily dose of Denosyl® to help with liver function. [Denosyl® is SAM-e but formulated for dogs & cats, and has been off-label used for avians for awhile now.] It could take up to thirty days for any effects to show, but am keeping fingers and toes crossed. Four force-feedings a day - prep and goose wrangling - is hard work.

In the meantime, her stamina and energy are improving, and she's following Spouse and I around the house like a puppy dog. She grunts in front of the refrigerator when she wants something to eat. She'll even poke her head into the 'fridge if the door is open. She doesn't quite have the coordination to pick up greens off the ground yet, but if you hold a leaf of lettuce in front of her face, she'll tear into it like it just insulted her mother. Her beak and neck strength is fierce; just ask the hapless tube she attacks at every feeding. And she's finally developing the coordination and flexibility to scratch the side of her face! If progress keeps going at this pace, we can boot her out of the house by late Fall. I'm sure she'd prefer the company of other geese rather than us smelly humans, although I might still pick her up for a hug now and then. Momma loves her goozle, yes she does!

We changed her smoothie recipe about a month ago when she lost more weight. We've worked this recipe out with our vet, but I'm posting here for your information - always check with your vet before force feeding your goose with an annoying rubber tube four times a day.

Miss Cecily's Green Smoothie

1/3'rd block of firm or soft tofu
1 C Purina Game Bird Startena
1 tablet glucosamine/chondroitin, pulverized
1/8 t probiotic powder
2 fish oil capsules (mixed fish blend)
kale, a good hand full or more
quarter cup corn - canned or fresh

In a one-quart mason jar, put in the greens and fill almost half the jar with water. With a stick blender, grind the greens in the water until the water is a goodly green color. Strain the liquid through a mesh colander or cheesecloth, squeezing out any remaining liquid from the ground up greens. Set aside liquid. (If you like, save and use the leftover ground-up greens in soups or human smoothies).

Combine the game bird chow, gluco/chron tablet, and probiotic powder. Pulverize in a coffee grinder or food processor until the mix becomes a powder. Put into clean mason jar.

In mason jar with the chow powder, add the corn, the oil from the fish oil capsules (just make a knife slit at the end of the capsule and squeeze contents into the jar) the greens juice, and the tofu. With the stick blender, puree the ingredients together. You can add a bit more water if the smoothie is too thick to pull into the feeding syringe. Refrigerate. Shake before pouring out a serving, and reheat individual servings to lukewarm before feeding. [Tip: to reheat, pour a serving into a Pyrex glass measuring cup, and heat the cup in a saucepan filled partway with water on the stove. The Pyrex won't shatter with the cold/heat combo. Once warmed, pull up the chow into the feeding syringe, then attach the feeding tube.]

Miss Cecily gets about three ounces of smoothie at each feeding, so this ends up making about 10 servings.

[pic top: the young geese having a good time with some mud. pic bottom: Squeezlegoose and I on the couch, pic self-taken with phone.]

Tomato Surprise!

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ugly plants don't sell, and that's a fact of life at a garden nursery. Some of the plants with the shortest beauty & shelf-life are vegetables, especially tomatoes. Tomatoes grow fast and gangly real quick, and when they're just too far gone to re-pot them, management directs us to toss 'em or take 'em home. Although I already had about a dozen tomatoes planted, I went ahead and volunteered to take a half-flat of tomatoes a few weeks back. Hey, they were free!

The tomato plants sat on a back porch rail, and were buffetted by rain and wind, knocked off the railing, and taste-tested by the geese a few times before I had time to get them planted. At that point, all the markers denoting what kinds of tomatoes I had were long gone. I think the new plants are Green Zebras, Celebrity, Better Boy, and Yellow Brandywine, but I'm not positive. So come July, we'll just have a nice big pile of "Tomato Surprise!"

[pic: our first harvest - Early Girl, Roma, VF San Marzano, and Yellow Pear tomatoes]

P.S. Did you know? Take a gangly tomato plant, snip off its lower leaves, and plant it deeply into the soil to where not only are the roots in the soil, but the stem and covering the snipped off lower leaves as well. Doing so, the plant will then develop new roots where the bottom leaves were snipped off, and be even stronger for the growth of a deeper root system. Learned that from one of the horticulture staff. Pretty cool tip!

Review: Lehman's Leather Flyswatter

2010-06-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

@dasparky: Dear flies: while you're in my house, know that I don't want you to suffer. I just want you to DIE. Sincerely, me.

I recognize the worth of flies in the ecosystem, the cycle of life. They play a very important role in decomposition of various materials, and their young are a food source for other animal species. In fact, as I've mentioned here before, we don't even own a can of bug spray in the house. We catch and release as much as possible. Flies, however, are not amenable to "catch & release", and act like a herd cats when attempting to shoo them out a window or door. Just. Ain't. Happening.

Spouse and I have gone through numerous plastic flyswatters. None lasted more than a month or so before breaking. Terro has an aluminum mesh flyswatter which lasts much longer than the plastic ones, but uses a sewn paper border which frays quickly. Once the paper frays, the mesh starts to unravel with further swattings.

Which leads to the subject of this review: Lehman's leather flyswatter. A piece of leather, tanned on one side, punched through with holes for faster swatting ability. Sewn & riveted onto a handle of twisted, thick wire. It's been getting quite the workout lately, as the newly repaired screens on the windows have been ripped out once again by the geese, which then let in the flies. Time to figure out some protection for those windows...

Flyswatter pros:

Leather - it ain't gonna break.
Repairable - I can hand sew it back onto the wire handle if the thread wears out.
Wire handle - can be replaced with a twisted, thick wire hangar if need be.

Flyswatter cons:

Leather is only tanned & smooth on one side. The other side is "raw", so fly guts don't clean off as easily.

The swatter is $4.95, and dang well worth the money. We bought two.

[pics: the leather swatters, natch]

Hen Haus - Version 2.0

2010-06-05T15:00:00.003-05:00

[Many images, this will take some time to load.]

What can I say, we’re a couple of geeks.

“Beta” was the big box hardware store 10'x10' shed, delivered in a flat pack.
Version 1.0 was the strengthening of the shed infrastructure with additional lumber, plus the initial modifications of doors, roosts, and added windows.
Version 2.0 is the current Hen Haus as it stands.

Here's the breakdown of the coop...

Doors: The original shed doors are solid - well, as solid as pressboard and 2x3's (original hardware) can be. We added latches to the outer shed walls to attach & keep the outer doors open when desired. On the inside entry right is a recycled screen door; had to shorten it to 70”, then used hardware cloth instead of regular screen cloth for durability. The second screen door on the left was made from scrap lumber and various pieces of hardware cloth remnants. There’s a small entrance in the bottom middle of the left door; we’re hoping it's small enough to keep our egg-poaching dogs OUT. If not, easy enough to put in another piece of wood to make even smaller - it would still be plenty big for the chickens to get through. Anyhow, the screen doors swing outwards as well, so the sawdust litter stays in place, and we can easily sweep everything out when it’s time to clean. The inner & outer doors latch snugly together in various configurations, to guard against predators trying to squeeze into the coop from this direction.

Windows: the window covers flip down, as there’s no easy way to have the covers open & stay upright. Plus, with the strong winds we get around here, making the covers into some sort of awning is just asking for them to be ripped off the building, I kid you not. The window openings were cut open with a Sawz-All, and the cut-outs were attached and reinforced with wood, hinges and latches. The window openings, like the screen doors, are also covered by hardware cloth - more expensive than chicken wire, but much sturdier. The windows that go across the length of the back of the coop face South. The wall that has the smaller windows face East, which is the same side that has the second (main) entrance.

Main Chicken Portal: this is the entrance where we let the chickens out in the morning, facing the Eastern rising sun. Currently a manual opening system, but Spouse has plans & parts for a solar-powered automated door (which I’ll make sure he posts when the project is installed).

Inside... Roost & Ramp: the roosts are made from pine rounds (look like closet poles, but less expensive). They thread through 2x4's on the sides of the coop, and are supported in the middle by 2x4’s, attached to a 4x4 upright that is toed-in to the floor. The ramp & “young chicken” roost below the main roost is one piece. It is removable for cleaning, and connects to the main roost via rubber-coated bicycle hooks. Non-skid tape was used on the ramp, and cedar branches roosts. Legs are 4x4’s.

A skylight was cut out of the roof on the East (left) side, and covered with a piece of blue-tinted corrugated roofing. This will provide additional light in the Winter, when the girls are inclined to lay less during the shorter days. It also keeps the inside from looking gloomy. All things in beauty for the ladies!

Laying boxes: picked up a ten-cubicle laying unit at a roadside antique store for a third of what we would have paid for new. The cubicles are roomy: even the Jersey Giant hens have no problems sitting comfortably inside to lay. You can see the east-side entrance in the back.

Food & water: hung from ropes attached to the ceiling, and with the food/water containers attached to the ropes via spring hooks. Easy-peasy to remove/refill.

Feed storage: on the right of the coop is where the feed is being stored. Still trying to decide if we want to put metal cans beneath the cabinet space for open bags of feed. That same space could also be used for a chick brooder, or to store bags of pine shavings for floor litter. There's a screened door covering the feed cabinet, but there’s also still enough room on top for one particularly determined pullet to fly up & roost. We’ll need to put a wide piece of wood across the top opening to keep her from doing so.

Yet a few more mods are in the queue:

A flip-down cover for the front screen door opening. The more breeze we can let into the coop during the summer, the better. Or if the automatic door works out on the East entrance, perhaps make a second one for the screen door...
Rainwater gutters, with water directed into an aboveground metal cistern. Rainwater would be used for the animals - much nicer tasting than our mineral-heavy well water. Mmmm, cloud juice!
Pergolas/arbors on the East and South sides of the coop, with deciduous vines. This would keep the coop nice & cool in the Summer, but allow sun to warm the coop in the Winter when the vine leaves drop. The vines could be grapes, honeysuckle, or maypops/passionflowers.

Between Spouse’s construction know-how, Uncle’s assistance, and my over-engineered projects, this ticky-tacky shed has turned into one solid coop. And now, after all this construction, I want a compound miter saw. Serslay.

[Addendum: Chickens in photos not scaled to size - except for the one Sicilian Buttercup, these are all seven-week old pullets, just introduced to the coop last night. Still too scaredy to go foraging with the big girls yet.]

Ripening!

2010-06-03T23:07:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to get some photos (in good light) of the Hen Haus, but time or rain have prevented. In the meantime, I've discovered that our apricot trees mean business when the fruit is ripe: you either pick the fruit and eat/process that very day, or else the fruit will start decomposing by the next day. Found that out the hard way: picked a bunch of ripe fruit, and left them on the counter while I went out grocery shopping. Picked up a bottle of brandy in which to preserve the apricots, and got lazy, thinking "eh, I'll do this tomorrow". All tomorrow brought were mushy fruit and fruit flies. Yiiick.

I understand better why I rarely see apricots on the market farm tables around here. Too challenging to get out the door in a timely fashion!

Can This Twain Meet?

2010-05-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

Geese are geese, right? Yep, and they're also territorial and averse to strangers, even those of their own kind it seems. Unless our geese are just special...

The goslings are about 2/3'rds grown already. I remember when one of them would fit in the palm of my hand. Barely five weeks later, they're almost the size of our two-year olds! As you might guess, Tufted Roman Geese have been breed to mature quickly. Small as this breed may be (10 to 12 pounds max), they're considered meat birds. Although we bought them as "guard geese" and think of them as pets, there's been times when thoroughly annoyed by their antics I've thought of them as "meat birds" as well... but I digress. Ahem!

Anyhow, I've been trying to integrate the goslings with the mature geese for three days now. A few hours at a time these past few early evenings. Nothing doing. The mature geese see the new girls as interlopers, and run the goslings all over the pen. Once in awhile the group of young'uns will charge back, frightening a solitary goose, but then the older geese will group up and charge back. There's only the occasional chomp on a wing, otherwise it's mostly posturing and bluff.

Maybe once the goslings get a little older, Billy-Bob will realize these are new females for his harem and broker some sort of peace agreement. As I look out the window right now, there seems to be a cease-fire of sorts: the mature geese are on one side of the pen, resting, and the goslings on the other side, doing the same. Perhaps from this will come a détente, then a relative peace - as far as "peace" and "geese" go. I certainly hope so!

[pics: Top left, the goslings. Bottom right, three of the mature geese, with Billy-Bob on the far right.]

"Honey?"

2010-04-23T12:28:00.002-05:00

I called from the porch into the house, "Why is there dog food in the birdhouse?" When geeks live together, it's best to ask questions first before messing with something that appears to be an experiment or otherwise out of the ordinary. I was hosing bird droppings off the front porch, a.k.a. "the poop deck*", when I lifted the birdhouse and food started coming out.

"Why is there what?" Spouse looked outside the door. "Dog food? Oh, I thought you said dog poo!"

I poured the rest of the kibble out of the back of the birdhouse. Scratch grains came tumbling after the kibble, and then a small, abandoned mud-dauber's nest. "I bet there's a bird hiding away this food," says Spouse. "Can you imagine how long it took to load all this?" There were at least three cups of kibble stored inside.

"We should set up a web cam, see who's doing this work", he says. Shouldn't be too hard to do, as there's already two web cams up: one monitoring the night pen, and one looking out over the front yard. Between the cams, the dogs, the geese, and the electrified poultry netting, we have the best protected pasture-raised, free-ranging chickens in the county. Now it looks like the local wildlife is taking advantage of that protection (and the feed) as well...

*phrase courtesy of Natalie, who has a chicken and a wonderful geekly family, and writes about them over at Chicken Blog.

[pic: stored food & birdhouse. Birdhouse was made by Spouse's dad - gorgeous!]

Pootles and Tootles

2010-04-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

Life keeps moving, even if I'm still recovering (aiiieee! slowly, but recovering) from surgery. A few goings ons:

The emergency generator is now fully installed! It may have taken longer than I would have liked, but thankfully there was no need for it during the winter freezes.

The side yard goose pond's old pump has been replaced with a pump that can (hopefully) keep up with the poo-producing capacities of our geese.

Attended our first chicken show, where our neighbor's daughter had four entries. So many cool-looking breeds! Glad I didn't bring a carrier, as it would have been tempting to purchase a few to take home. Spouse saw a Golden Phoenix/Ameraucana cross-bred rooster (gorgeous!), and is idly considering getting an Ameraucana roo to breed with our new Golden Phoenix pullets.

And speaking of chickens: the new chicken coop is almost complete. Pics will be forthcoming. The plan is to put the chickens into the coop at night, so they wake up in the new domain. We'll keep a large fence around the coop - and the chickens in the pen/coop area - for a couple of days, so they get used to the new digs. We'll have to hide the old coop somewhere, although Spouse keeps threatening to give it, and some chickens, to his Uncle who doesn't want chickens...

Then last, but not least: we're renting the backhoe/digger again for an upcoming weekend's worth of projects. There's fruit trees to plant, trenches to fill, paths to re-gravel, and much mulching to be done. I feel rather geeky to admit I'm looking forward to working with heavy machinery :-). In the meantime, however, I need to rest up. I'm sure Miss Cecily will oblige my efforts.

[pic: Miss Cecily having her afternoon rest, and making sure I stay on the couch as well.]

Spoiled Goose is Spoiled

2010-04-13T14:20:00.003-05:00

If bossiness is any indicator, Miss Cecily may be on the mend.

If the feeding tube is within beak's reach, it is attacked.
If there's something of interest on the coffee table - and within beak's reach - it will get nibbled.
If her soon-to-be-patented "Put me on your chest, it's nap time, human!" stare is not acted upon by one of us, the other human is then set upon. Repeat until one of the humans give in.
It's not enough to let her out with the other geese - one of the human pillows must be there as well, or caterwauling will commence.

On a more serious note, she's walking more, and keeping her head upright for longer periods of time. She had a four week run of taking DMSO, and has been off for almost two weeks without relapse. She's not only molting, but is growing in new feathers. She's yet to put on weight - the stress from molting and new feather output takes up a lot of calories - so her smoothie feedings* are now four times a day. I've been able to space out the vitamin shots to 72 hour intervals without noticeable energy lag on her part. Hoping that once the new feathers are in, she'll quickly start recovering full flexibility and strength.

In the meantime, however, if being spoiled rotten is any indicator of health, Miss Cecily is well on her way to full recovery.

*Miss Cecily's Green Smoothie - makes four or more 2 ounce servings:

Stick-blend a handful of kale in a cup of water; strain & save juice.
Approx half cup+ of chick feed, ground into a powder.
Contents of two fish oil capsules
1/8th teaspoon of pro-biotics
One powdered glucosamine/chondroiten tablet

Mix together, and let sit for at least an hour so the grains can soak up some of the liquid. Stick blend again, adding more water if necessary to obtain a soupy consistency.

New Additions

2010-04-09T17:42:00.006-05:00

We didn't plan it this way, but perhaps it's a blessing for it to happen so soon after Godzilla's passing. We just got in our order of new goslings and chicks. Four more Tufted Roman females, six buff Wyandottes, and the "surprise pullets" were two each of Brahmas, Fayoumis, and Gold Phoenix. Love them fuzzy butts!

Of course, this means Billy-Bob the gander is going to have a total of nine female geese to mind, but I don't think he'll "mind" at all.

R.I.P. Godzilla

2010-04-05T17:58:00.003-05:00

Miss Cecily's sweetheart, Godzilla, passed away early this afternoon. I had noticed him breathing a bit heavily on Saturday, and made plans to take him into the vet on Monday. Monday, his breathing was much worse. While at the vet getting tests done, he passed away. An autopsy will be performed to find out the cause, to make sure what happened isn't a disease that is/was communicable to the other geese.

Godzilla was one our two first hand-raised goslings. He was a sweet, sweet boy (except during mating season, of course). Although Tufted Romans are harem-minded, not mate-for-life types, he and Miss Cecily were always close. He and Billy-Bob both liked to come inside the house to visit Miss Cecily in her recovery area, or hang outside the porch next to the screen door and nap close by.

Billy-Bob has some big webbed feet to follow. Rest in peace, Godzilla.

[pic top: Godzilla in the mist. pic bottom: how Godzilla got his name - he was HUGE compared to the chicks!]

Special note to Ma Nature: enough illness and death for now, okay?

Project: The Hen Haus (halfway there)

2010-04-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

It begins as a flat-pack, do-it-yourself shed from a Big Box Hardware Store. It ends up costing almost half as much again in paint, additional lumber, accoutrements, and making it sturdy enough to handle the high winds we get here in the Hill Country...

I had originally snagged around twenty used wood pallets to build the hen house. Thinking that perhaps a pre-fab shed might be easier and cheaper. It definitely looked easier when I checked it out at the hardware store:

It took Spouse and Uncle almost a full day to to trim space under the oak and make a level foundation. Okay, that would have been the case for the pallet shed, too. Still, an ugly surprise: I hadn't noticed that the shed used 2x3's instead of 2x4's, and the terrible thinness of the plywood siding. Spouse and Uncle were up to the challenge, however, even if the budget wasn't prepared. Off to the hardware store for more lumber!

The geese generously offered their supervisory direction, as well as "customizing" the look and feel of some of the plywood with their poo...

The shed with skylight cut in. Two window openings will be cut into the west and east sides each, with the northern front (door side) to remain closed against winter rain and wind. The south side may receive windows as well, but we'd have to attach some sort of awning to block against southern rain. The coop will receive eastern morning sunlight, but by noontime, the shed will be shaded against the afternoon heat on the west side by the oak tree under which it resides.

Next: corrugated roofing, and painting the inside.

A Goose After Our Own Hearts

2010-03-30T17:39:00.001-05:00

Miss Cecily loves to hang out in the computer room. I wonder what it is about that space that is so attractive. Is it the warm flow of air from the five-plus computers Spouse and I own and run? (Oh, and that's far fewer than what we use to run, believe me). Is it Spouse's taste in music? The movies he watches? Both at the same time? Or is it the small space itself?

Sometimes she makes her way to the computer room when there's no one in there. It may take her a minute or two - she's meandering kind of slowly these days - but once she's there, she finds the towel we've laid out for her, and plops down. Spouse or I will clean up the trail of poo she leaves behind in her travel, bring in food and water, and keep an eye on her. She'll hang out there for hours.

Unless a miracle happens, these may be Miss Cecily's last few days. [And boy howdy, am I open for a miracle, okay Powers-That-Be?] For her mental well-being and comfort, I'm happy that she's found a room that she enjoys as much as Spouse and I do.

[pic: Miss Cecily herself, in the computer room. Note the small form computer case box. Spouse still enjoys "rolling his own".]

Miss Cecily just crapped in my boots

2010-03-27T11:10:00.002-05:00

I kid you not.

She was standing on my belly as I was laying on the couch (we take naps together). She turned to the side, grunted, and let out a spurt of wet feces that arced about 12 inches long. My boots were next to the couch. KASPLOOEY! Crap on my boots, IN my boots... I about scared the poor goose with laughing.

Finally, an animal has made good on their threat to sh*t in our shoes.

An Army of Chickens

2010-03-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

Remember that previous post where I noted which chickens we were not going to try again? Mom (who came out to help while I've been recovering from surgery) went with me to the feed store, saw a batch of those very same chicks and Fell In Love. Three hours before her plane flight, we had four tiny fuzzy-butt Barred Plymouth Rocks and two Ameraucanas, one of whom is Mom's self-appointed namesake, "Frances".

We've still an order of four female goslings and 10 pullets (female chicks) coming in next week. More ladies for the ganders, and some buff Wyandotte chickens and "Surprise Special Pullets" mix just for the fun of it. I've also promised a neighbor's child that I'd buy a few of her pullets as soon as she knows for certain their gender. We're gonna be up to our armpits in chickens around here!

Spouse is frantically building the new 10'x10' chicken coop to house the hen army. Progress pics upcoming soon.

[Pic: "Frances". Oh, and I'm doing fine, just part of the "hyster- sisterhood" now (thanks for the term, Bonnie!)]

Imperfect Farmers and Misfit Toys

2010-03-03T20:13:00.008-06:00

We are imperfect farmers. We fail to regard all of our livestock as such. Maybe it’s because both of us adore underdogs so much. The weakest of our flock get the most care from us. There is Red, the "short bus" Ameraucana chicken. She is not very smart but very tame and therefore the first one to get picked up and loved on. Anyone harasses poor little Red then they go in the stock pot. There is Billy Bob – the scoliosis goose - who was a packing peanut in the shipment of female geese. He came out of the box with a cut on his head and a chip on his shoulder. He will come after D.A. to prove he is the head gander (at least when Godzilla, the real head gander, can’t be bothered) and she just grins at him and says how cute that is.

Then there is Miss Cecily, the goose with a slow heart beat, indeterminate gender (we got x-rays to prove it), and arthritis. There is no such thing as a free puppy and the same goes for a $12 goose. Her arthritis was preventing her from keeping up with the rest of the flock. As such, she became the goose who got left behind and therefore became the goose we had to pick up and hand deliver to the non-stop goose party. At first she would try and run but the arthritis made that hard, so then she'd just sit and wait for us to pick her up. Last Fall she developed an illness whose effects included weight loss and a inflexibility that prevented her from sleeping normally or preening herself. She is definitely part of the underdog clan and now has the healthcare plan that the rest of us can’t get through Congress.

We tried many remedies and several vets. It finally came to the point where we decided to put her down and D.A. took her to our primary vet for the last trip. The vet in question knows us and we have even rubbed shoulders socially (it is a small town) so he asked for a one-day reprieve for Cecily while he called a newly acquainted university specialist. The result? Our $12 goose is on a strong free-radical scavenging drug* and getting fed extra calories & supplements through a tube 3 times a day. Now you understand the picture. Cecily is in our version of the semi-private hospital room with the requisite TV privileges and noisy neighbors (us).

We are running the island of misfit toys but for geese, chickens, and peahens and, before you ask, we have no vacancies. That is the official answer but even that answer is imperfect just like us.

*DMSO - used by humans, horses and dogs but Cecily is the first goose test case.

[pic: Miss Cecily watching the History Channel.]

Progress. It IS Happening, Honest.

2010-02-22T19:23:00.001-06:00

What's that saying about construction projects? Figure twice the cost, and three times the amount of time needed for completion? I had hoped to get the emergency generator installed and ready by the time Winter hit. At the rate we're going, it looks like we'll be doing well to have it ready by Spring. That's all right, tho, as we're making progress bit by bit.

The most recent mile-marker was getting the generator unit onto the property and installed on the foundation pad. "Sorry, we don't do the physical install", the electrician said "due to insurance reasons." The unit is over 500 pounds, so I can't say that I blame him. "You could hire a bunch of day-laborers, or rent a forklift." On repeating the suggestion, Spouse replied, "If we could just get a couple of furniture dollies and maybe a ramp..."

So I spoke with the guys at work. Turns out, they DID have a ramp and a couple of furniture dollies we could borrow. Spouse traded his car for the use of his Uncle's pickup for the day, and we got the generator forklifted onto the truck from the feedstore warehouse. Once home, Spouse found a bunch of round metal poles, levered the unit up and slid the poles under, then was able to roll the unit onto a furniture dolly.

Down the ramp the unit was pushed, then rolled over to the foundation pad. Once more, the unit was levered up, poles put down, and the unit rolled over onto the pad. Just us two. No forklift, no day laborers, no professionals of any sort. Darn proud of Spouse for coming up with this idea. He gives credit to his Dad, who moved a concrete picnic bench in the same manner.

[pic: proof of process & progress]

Bisphenol-A and Canning Lids

2010-02-06T09:00:00.001-06:00

I was reading Organic Gardening magazine the other day, and ran across an article that stated “Canning jar lids from the brands Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin are coated with bisphenol A”. Wait, isn't that every brand of canning lid made in the USA?

Furthermore, Consumer Reports found BPA in 19 name-brand canned foods (that you can get off the shelf in any grocery store), and even in some cans marked "BPA Free". The FDA is now expressing concern (as of January 2010) about the potential effects BPA exposure may have, which mimics the hormone estrogen and may cause reproductive abnormalities and increase the risk of cancer and diabetes.

Well, sh*t. You try to eat right, exercise, and do a little home canning, but you still can't get away from the crapola.

Started researching whether there were any other canning lids that were BPA-free. Wecks has gorgeous jars with rubber gaskets and glass lids, but are only good for water-bath canning (jams & high acid food processing). If you want to can meats or other things needing pressure-canning, Wecks won't work. Quattro Stagioni lids (which I don't even know if they'll work with standard Ball or Kerr jars like I have) are also BPA-free and can be used in a pressure canner, but cost a $1.29 for a measly two lids.

Then, a miracle happened - @joykohl reminded me of the Tattler re-usable lids, and asked "are these BPA free?" Yes, yes, YES THEY ARE! They fit regular- and wide-mouth mason jars, and to top it off, they're REUSABLE! 3 dozen lids at $23.00 works out to about 66 cents per lids, and these can be re-used many, many times over. Some folks have used their original Tattler lids for over 20 years. Of course, the lids are plastic, so who knows if there's some other danger lurking in the plastic that won't be found out until several years from now, but, hey! It's better than storing foods in animal stomachs and burying in the dirt somewhere...

[pic: the Tattler re-usable lids]

No Respect

2010-02-04T20:50:00.001-06:00

Spouse snapped these photos of Frau the Barred Plymouth Rock hen resting herself upon Bandit, the much put-upon Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog. I mean, heck - the birds eat her food, poop on her bed, and now have the temerity to perch upon her very body! No respect, I tell ya!

Chicken Choosing

2010-01-27T19:59:00.001-06:00

"If you're going to continue selling eggs" groused Spouse, "then let's get at least a few more egg layers so we don't run out here at home." Good point. The girls produce just enough medium & large-sized eggs to sell in order to keep them in feed ('tho not quite enough to cover those slack-@ssed geese & peahens). Time to get a few more chickens, woo-hoo!

Current thinking: a few more Cubalaya hens. Cubalayas don't mind the Texas summer heat, being a Cuban breed. They're smart, calm, friendly to humans, and yet don't take any guff (see blog entries on Nutmeg and Cinnamon, our pecking order enforcers). The Red Cubalayas are easiest to get, but there are other colors as well. They lay medium-sized eggs, which don't sell as well as the large, and so means a few more eggs to keep for ourselves. That's a young Cinnamon on my shoulder in the pic to the right.

We're also thinking about trying Red Sex-Links (aka Red Star). We saw these chickens at a farm doing rotational pasture-grazing, and the girls were friendly and productive. If I can get my hands on some, I'd also like to try a few Buckeyes. Their mouse-catching prowess sounds intriguing!

One chicken we don't plan on getting again: Barred Plymouth Rocks. Don't get us wrong, they're terrific hens and we love them, but as Spouse put it, "Barreds have bad luck with us". Outside of Frau, the head honcho whose pic is on the left, all other female Barreds we've tried to raise have met their Maker by getting mangled by some farm animal here. The male Barreds were such jerks that, well, they're currently residing in our freezer. Let us give them mercy and not try to raise any more.

R.I.P. Specklebutt

2010-01-24T19:55:00.000-06:00

Spouse found Specklebutt dead in a small oak and cedar grove behind the house. Spouse believes she was a victim of a hawk attack that got interrupted, and looks like it was a (thankfully) quick kill. The dogs, geese and roosters are usually good about warning and scaring off predators, but sometimes a chicken will wander off on her own, out of sight of the safety of the group. It looks like Speckle did just that. Spouse and I have accepted the risk of an occasional predator kill in exchange for the knowing that the chickens - and their eggs - will be much healthier for the freedom to roam and forage where they will.

I'd like to think Speckle had a good life here. Greens, table scraps and organic scratch in the morning, and free-ranging throughout the property during the day. Organic laying feed available whenever she felt like eating. Sleeping high in the cedar boughs at night. She even got to lay and raise her own offspring. Not many laying hens get the opportunity to any or all of these, though it is my wish that all may get to do so, soon.

Her remains have been buried under the big oak tree, where all our other beloved feathered critters lay. Rest in peace, Specklebutt.

[Pic: Herself, with Specklebutt Junior, aka "Peeper" the beta roo.]

Tool Review: Lutz 15-in-One Ratcheting Screwdriver

2010-01-22T06:16:00.000-06:00

For once, it was Not My Fault. The knobs had been falling off the kitchen cabinets since we moved in. Bad case of contractors (I assume it was contractors) over-tightening and stripping the knob threads. Tsk-tsk! Too bad, as the knobs looked like they the cost the original owners a pretty penny. They don't call cabinet knobs "kitchen jewelry" for nothing. Ah well!

With my Awesome Employee Discount^TM at the hardware/garden center I bought a boatload of new cabinet knobs, and then broke out Spouse's holiday gift, a Lutz 15-in-One Ratchet (Torque) Screwdriver.

Oh, my. The screwdriver handle holds a variety of flathead, phillips and torx bits on the handle with an easy view - no need to unscrew the handle to see what's available, or fumble through/drop the lot to find which bit you need. The switch to flip the ratchet motion from left to right is on the barrel, easily reached by your thumb while the rest of your hand is holding the handle. As a person who can sometimes be a little clumsy with tools - ahem - this made the whole removing & installing of knobs quick and very, very easy.

So the knob replacement project is almost complete. Need to go back to the store for six more knobs - forgot a cabinet. What can I say? Under-counting: that one is definitely my fault.

[Pic top: the screwdriver. Pic bottom: the knobs. Knob on right: old & busted. Knob on left: the new hotness.]

The Peahens Have Returned!

2010-01-17T09:45:00.000-06:00

They came back, bright & early the next morning. The peahens hung out with the chickens, and were even woo'd by Peeper the beta roo (who was chased off by Lucky, the alpha roo - guess the roos think the peahens are really big female chickens).

I still don't know where they go off to at night to sleep, but they've got 8 acres to roam and plenty of trees to perch upon, so it could be just about anywhere.

Hooray!

[Euterpe on the porch railing. They were munching on the dog food earlier. Yep, definitely part of the flock now. All the birds love the dog food. ]

The Peahens Have Escaped

2010-01-15T20:17:00.001-06:00

Oh word, one of those days...

At 1.5 inches of rain this morning, found the peahen kennel tarp roof completely bowed inside from rain collection. The supports set up the night before massively failed - the rainwater was too heavy. The plan: get a bunch of 12-foot 2x4's and corrugated metal roofing, and put up a properly supported roof.

Two sets of wet, muddy clothes and rain gear later, the roof was up. I also set up some sturdier roofing for the goose enclosure while I was at it, picked up all the extraneous tarps & clamps that the roofing projects replaced, and left to get groceries for the humans and feed for the animals.

Get home, at 2.5 inches of rain later... and it looks like we had a minor squall of some sort on the property. The new roof was completely blown off the peahen kennel, and the peahens long gone. Can't say that I blame them - if the roof blew off my house, I'd split right quick as well.

Wherever they are, I hope they're okay.

[pic courtesy of facepalm.org]

Peeper is a Rooster...

2010-01-04T08:39:00.005-06:00

...and shall soon be renamed "and Dumplings" if he doesn't quickly move past the @sshole adolescent stage. He tries to mate with the hens by force, but thankfully Lucky the top roo has learned to chase Peeper off - that is, if I'm not already there & doing so. Sometimes Lucky and I will tag-team: I'll do the initial scaring off, while Lucky runs Peeper away a few (dozen) yards.

Peeper also has an unfortunate preference for the Cubalaya hens, who not only have not returned the preference, but will fight him tooth and nail. Small but mighty, Cinnamon & Nutmeg are the pecking order enforcers of the hen flock, and brook nonsense from no one. Including Peeper. Can't fault him for his good taste, however.

[pic left: Peeper getting ready to crow. pic right: Nutmeg, not amused.]

Miss Cecily is a Very Special Goose

2010-01-01T21:25:00.002-06:00

It's been a couple of weeks of goose trauma around here. Miss Cecily, who had been having problems keeping her wings high on her back, appeared to be getting much worse - sometimes even dragging her wings on the ground. Our primary vet had no idea what the problem could be, so put her on prednisone to help ease any pain or inflammation there might be. As Miss Cecily worsened, a friend at work encouraged me to get a second opinion. I took her to a bird hospital in Austin, where the vet there has been working with our primary vet. With testing, she has found out the following:

1. Miss Cecily has a slow pulse.
2. Miss Cecily probably has arthritis, and
3. Miss Cecily looks like she has testes. Yep, she's intersexed.

We knew she was a very special goose, but wow! [Auntie Karen asked if we're going to let Miss Cecily choose whatever clothes she wants for school. But of course!]

Cecily was stepped down off the prednisone, and given a course of antibiotics. She seemed to be improving until she was completely off both the steroids and the antibiotics. Her wings started drooping again, and she started having trouble getting up. Interestingly, this coincided with a cold snap. Then one morning I found her chilled and shivering - she had gotten stuck in one of the kiddie pools, and couldn't get out. Got her out of the pool, dried, and onto a heating pad & under a heat lamp. Called the vet hospital, and was told to bring her in right away. They got her temperature back up, and ordered another round of antibiotics (as steroids can supress the immune system, and she may have had an infection). It took Cecily a few days to get her strength back, but she still had trouble getting up from a sitting position.

Recently found a homeopathic remedy that matches her symptoms (Rhus Tox. for those who also use homeopathy for their pets). I've started her on a course, and it seems to be helping. She's now starting to fight me when I try to pick her up or give her the remedy, which is an excellent sign. Just to be on the safe side, however, she has an appointment with a homeopathic vet this Wednesday. I'm hoping we can find a way to help her have an enjoyable life. Yes, I love this sweet little goose. I'm looking forward to having her become as healthy and cranky as the rest of the gaggle.

...and the dogs shall share a meal with the chickens.

2009-12-25T09:38:00.000-06:00

Good tidings to you this holiday season! May the returning Sun/Son bring you joy this coming New Year.

A Wee Bit Early

2009-12-20T17:50:00.002-06:00

Last time, it didn't start until February 2009. This time, it starts today, December 20 2009. What's the occasion? The first goose egg of the season!

Battling Ganders

2009-12-16T18:38:00.003-06:00

Or, "it's waaay too early for this sh*t, guys." Godzilla and Billy-Bob had been growing more & more agitated whenever I was around the girls these past few weeks. Princess and Duchess started wooing each other two days ago. This morning there was a three-some in the Pool of Woo when Duchess got annoyed that Billy-Bob was on top of Princess, and decided she should be on top of them both. Then tonight, the first of what will be many fights as Billy-Bob and Godzilla battled for the alpha male position.

The lead gander can change between battles. Billy-Bob was lead for about a month last year, with Godzilla taking over for the remainder of the breeding season after one huge Battle Royale. This year, Billy-Bob is once again taking the top spot early on, but one can't count out Godzilla. If the boys duke it out when the gals are around, the gals will circle and cheer on the fight. Tonight, the boys ended up half-flying, half-rolling downhill while they both had beak-holds, trying to wingbeat the other into submission.

Egg-laying season should be starting around the end of January. Huh, I guess it isn't that early after all...

Which Smells the Worst?

2009-12-07T19:11:00.004-06:00

Alrighty, pop quiz: which smells the worst?

chicken feces
goose feces
peafowl feces
dogs who've been rolling in carrion

Answer?

e. whichever is plastered all over you at the moment.

Last night was peafowl feces. We moved the girls out of quarantine, as after five days there were no signs of obvious diseases, coughs, sneezes or feather loss. They weren't going voluntarily from the larger quarantine quarters into the smaller carrying cage we'd positioned at the quarantine door, so I had to crawl into the quarantine quarters and herd them out while Spouse held the carrying cage. By the time they had been scooted out, my jeans, arms & hands had managed to squish into every fresh pile of poo that was available on the straw bedding. Peafowl poo alot when they're concerned, it seems.

The Muses are now housed in a brand-spankin' new 10'x10'x6' chain-link kennel. Once they've been in there a few weeks and have acclimated to our property and its rhythms, they'll be released into the general population. Then the kennel will be used to corral the (currently stinky) dogs and keep them out of the way whenever we have contractors or the propane delivery guy on the site.

The girls settled in well. Personally, I had to wash my hands before taking a shower afterward.

[pic: one of the girls... Euterpe?]

Flies, Mailboxes, and Rescued Peahens

2009-12-01T18:52:00.007-06:00

Flies: We just had a cold snap, and the plague of flies are now (fingers crossed, hopefully, please-gawd-please) dead, dead, DEAD! They'd been horrid this Fall, hanging out on the screen doors in swarms, and getting into the house constantly. We don't use bug spray (we're "catch & release" folks whenever possible, even with scorpions), so were swatting throughout the days and into the evenings. I would have preferred to shoo them out, but you can't shoo out a fly. It's like trying to herd cats: just ain't gonna happen. One night, I killed over two dozen flies just in the kitchen alone. On the upside, all this swatting really improved my hand/eye coordination, so I'm hoping to parlay these skills into whatever next PC game I pick up.

Mailboxes: our mailbox must have really pissed off someone. I was bringing home the peahens, and decided to check the mail on the way in. Usually have to lean over the passenger side to get to the mailbox, but couldn't quite lean far enough over to get to it this time. Not only was it beaten flat, but it had been knocked completely off its post. No getting the dents out this time, the box is toast. Next question: should I go the thrifty-yet-time-consuming route and make a cement-lined mailbox (you know, for the surprise factor next time the Mailbox Baseball team takes a slug at it), or go the lazy/expensive route and buy a Veeders Carbon Steel mailbox? Decisions, decisions...

Oh, and those rescued peahens mentioned: yep, got three of them this afternoon. A local breeder was hoping the feed store I work at would sell them, but the store only sells chicks. These poor adolescent girls were wet, cold, and huddled together in a way-too-small cage that was being hauled around in the back of the breeder's pickup truck. In the rain. The neon "SUCKER" sign on my forehead started to flash and overheat. The breeder really wanted to be rid of them - "we've got too many females" - so I said "I'll take them off your hands, since the store isn't willing to buy them." "You got'em." Free. [Although there's really no such thing as a free pet, is there?] Brought the girls home, and set them up in a quarantined area. They appear to be settling in just fine. Have named them after three of the Nine Muses: Calliope (poetry), Euterpe (music), and Thalia (comedy). They're just now getting some of their colored feathers. Should be beautiful green ladies by Spring. Bonus: they like to eat scorpions! Perhaps they can keep the population around here down enough so we won't find scorpions in the house anymore, as in: on our clothes... on the bed... in the bathtub...

Goose Pool, Version 2: Success!

2009-11-28T07:00:00.001-06:00

We weren't sick. It wasn't raining. There was nowhere we had to be. At long last, time was made to finish the goose pool on the side yard. For those who haven't been following along: the original goose pool, built into the side of the hill, didn't take into account the fact that water runs downhill. Mud and mucky runoff would fill the pool after each rainstorm, which then required draining the pool and shoveling out the muck each time. This time:

More of the hillside was carved out, and a "retaining wall" of sorts put in the side facing the hill. In a four-inch wide, six-inch deep gap/trench between the hill and the wall, the pond liner was draped to line the gap, then filled with rocks and gravel. This will act as a French drain, and redirect water away from the pool. There's a lip over the drain, which will hopefully keep water from flowing over into the pool in case the drain isn't working as quickly as the runoff. Pic below is before we added the gravel & leveled...

The inside of the pool was lined with hard, corrugated plastic sheets cut to size, to keep the geese from gnawing holes in the pond liner like they did on the last one.

Cement and rocks were added to create steps for the entry and exit. We then filled the pond, and put a couple of wheelbarrow's worth of mulch down to help smooth out the surrounding area that had been churned up by the construction.

And the geese... well, they weren't too sure about Goose Pool Version 2 at first. Am thinking they'll probably give it a gander (ha! ha! humor!) in the morning.

Go for Two Outta Three?

2009-11-25T07:00:00.001-06:00

The dogs thought it was time for human interaction. The ganders thought that the human ought to stop all that interaction. With one hand trying to set down a previously lost goose, the other hand trying to keep the dogs at bay, and one leg trying to keep the pissed-off protective ganders back (who thought I was manhandling one of their lady-loves), the human had only one leg to stand on, and lost. Miserably.

Pics of the bruises after I, uh, shave my legs.

[pic: Billy-Bob, one of the #@$!! protective ganders]

Sorta Like Daycare

2009-11-22T17:38:00.004-06:00

Spouse brings home more than a paycheck from his Houston job. He also brings home various illnesses on a regular basis. Sorta like a little kid coming home from daycare, there seems to be something new every week. Last weekend he brought home a cold, getting sick the next day. I came down with it about 36 hours later.

The latest illness has meant lack of forward motion on Goose Pool ver. 2 (a.k.a. the New Pool of Woo). We've dug an area in front of the hillside pool that will act as a french drain, and have replacement pond liner that the geese shouldn't be able to chew through as easily. Delay on the revised goose pool means further delay on the new chicken coop. Nothing we can do about either except allow ourselves to rest and get better as soon as we can.

Hoping to find Spouse nearby employment soon so we can practice disease locavorism like everyone else.

[pic: Spouse with "attention-starved" Bandit]

Little Peeper: Still Indeterminate

2009-11-18T08:35:00.004-06:00

It's been almost four months since Specklebutt Jr., aka "Little Peeper", was born. We still don't know if Peeper is a hen or a rooster. A crossbreed of an Ameraucana hen and a White Leghorn rooster, s/he's flighty and wary, made all the more nervous by the fact s/he's at the bottom of the pecking order. S/he usually sleeps away from the rest of the chickens, although the second-to-the-last chicken in the pecking order - one of the Sicilian Buttercups - will often roost with her/him.

Peeper hasn't crowed yet. The Leghorn roos were crowing at six weeks of age, but since we don't have an Ameraucana roo for comparison, it's hard to say if this is normal or not. Peeper does have some of the long-ish feathers like the Leghorn roo, but since I've not seen a Leghorn hen, can't say if this determines Peeper's gender or not either. All I know right now is that I'm gonna have to get a ladder into the tree to grab Peeper & the Sicilian companion tonight for a thorough head-lice powdering. Wish me luck.

Independence Days Challenge: November 11

2009-11-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

Haven't done an Independence Days check-in for a few months now. Well, since I started the new job anyways! For those not familiar, Independence Days Challenge is an ongoing experiment in learning to live a less wasteful, more self-sufficient manner, started by my favorite "doomer", Sharon Astyk.

The usual check-in outline goes something like this:

Plant something: We planted our Fall garden, and the mesclun-mix lettuces are going gangbusters. The brassicas are thriving with regular applications of organically-approved Bt. Two weeks ago I planted shallots, and once it gets a good ten-degrees cooler during the days, I'll get the garlic in. Onion slips should be arriving in December. Am running out of room in the garden!

Harvest something: As always, eggs from the girls, and now lettuces from the garden. There's a "volunteer" cherry tomato plant at the nursery I've been harvesting the past few days, leaving the harvested tomatoes on the employee kitchen table. Hated to see those gorgeous tomatoes just sit and rot on the vine... oh, and they're tasty, too.

Preserve something: Have been pressure-canning jars of Spouse's homemade pasta sauce and just last Sunday, chicken stock. From one of our butchered roosters, we'll get at least 12 broth-based meals: risotto, donburi, soups, stews, pilafs. I think stretching cuts of meat is not only prudent, but also respectful of the animal's life.

Reduce waste: Coming up with a plan to re-use old wood pallets to create an open-air chicken coop. The chewed-up goose-pond liner will be re-used to make a cover for the smoker/griller and to cover the current chicken coop's leaky roof.

Preparation & Storage: Purchased 3 cases of Mrs. Leepers gluten-free dinner kits that go well with tinned meats - one for chicken, one for tuna, and one for beef. Also bought a case of Annie's gluten-free mac & cheese. We are also finally, FINALLY moving forward on getting the emergency propane generator in place! A contractor gave us an estimate on moving the electric and water pipes (long story), we've an estimate on the transfer switch install, and we've got a line on a generator we want.

Build Community Food Systems: Continuing to sell the eggs through the co-op, and doing more shopping at the local Farmer's Market. If I need the packaged stuff, I'll hit Austin and go to Central Market for Udi's bread (not exactly local, but OMFG gluten-free bread and muffins to die for!) or Wheatsville Co-Op for raw nuts, dehydrated organic fruits, goat's milk, etc. Yes, I am still avoiding Whole Foods, and believe you me the budget is thanking me for it.

Eat the Food: You betcha. All of the above.

[pic: butterfly on a shrimp plant, taken at the nursery]

10-point-5 Cans of Pasta Sauce

2009-11-03T07:00:00.001-06:00

I tried to make a deal with Spouse: I'll can his cooking if he can get it done on a Friday or Saturday night, when I don't have to worry about a long day of work the next day (Sundays are short workdays), or have to mess with a load of dishes by myself afterward when he's gone away on business. This weekend's schedule being what it was, we tried a compromise this (Sunday) evening: he gets the pasta sauce cooked early, so I can get it canned and cleaned up early.

So why is it 10:00PM on a Sunday night, and I've still a pile of big pots to clean? Not Spouse's fault, he followed his end of the deal. Pasta sauce was ready to jar at 4:30PM when I got home from work (see, dear? A public proclamation that It's Not Your Fault). After cleaning the chicken coop and spraying down the chickens (that's another post), I started reading email, Twitter, RSS feeds, blogs, and... sorta lost track of time. Yeah. *sigh*

Still, it's worth the effort. Ten pints (and one tiny half-pint) of pasta sauce, pressure-canned and preserved for those evenings when even defrosting something seems like too much effort. Grab a jar off the shelf, plop the contents into a saucepan, heat & serve. Hoping I can bribe Spouse into cooking a big pot of chicken stock next weekend to can. Unfortunately, it's looking like Sunday night will be the best night yet again to can... perhaps this time I can stay away from the computer, and get the job done in decent time!

Adventures With Electricity

2009-11-01T18:35:00.005-06:00

Spouse writes: Ben Franklin ain’t got nothing on me, at least in the electricity test-subject arena. I don’t even have to fly a kite in a thunderstorm to test electricity. I just need to walk out to the side yard where we keep the electric poultry netting/fence. The electric poultry netting is 4 feet high and surrounds the chicken/goose night-time pen in a rough circle 250 feet in circumference. The fence is battery powered and solar charged. The energizer (marketing-speak for the thing that zaps the hat off your head) is made specifically for securing chickens from predators. Of course this means it costs twice as much as your garden-variety cow/horse/stupid-nephew fence zapper. [Yes, Uncle Lynn – I am looking at you. I will NOT test a fence for you ever again.]

There is one downfall to this electric fence. Since it operates by shocking anything that completes the circuit (i.e. anything touching the ground), grass and weeds will short out the fence and reduce the hat-knocking-off effectiveness. So we need to mow or weed-whack the area under the fence regularly. To check the fence at the furthest point from the zapper to see how well it is working, I usually test with the back of my hand. Since I usually wear rubber soles shoes the zap is mostly harmless.

Last night, however, was a different story. We had come back from our neighbors’ wonderful Halloween party (D.A. can write that post) around midnight. While checking on the geese and chickens I noticed that the zapper was not turned on, so I flipped the switch. Bandit, our faithful yet attention-starved dog (from Bandit’s point of view anyway), came up next to me and nuzzled my hand for some scratchin’ behind the ears. As I obliged I guess I brushed up against the electric fence. I say "I guess" because all I remember is blinding pain and then loud yelping from Bandit. It appears that four dog paws on slightly wet ground is a good conductor. The shock went from my hand - that grazed the fence for testing - through to the other hand scratching poor Bandit. After yelping several times in surprise and pain, she took off running.

When I found her later she did not appear amused.

My dog glance translation is a bit rusty, but I think she said that if she ever finds my shoes without me in them, she will deposit a generous amount of processed dog food in them.

The Little Trailer That Could

2009-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's been one of my favorite pieces of equipment around the homestead. This lightweight trailer - it's fold-able, believe it or not - has more than made up its purchase price. It hauls stuff to the junk yard. It hauls hardware and tanks. It hauls mulch, like you see in this photo. Coming soon, it will be hauling fruit & nut trees home from the nursery.

The wheels are tiny, and the railings were definitely a weekend warrior project, but it does the job we need it to do. The weight is just right for the car. I can even pick up an end - easily - and move it/attach it to the car. It's the Little Trailer That Could, and it is well loved. Of course, now there's this used truck I've got my eye on...

[pic top: Spouse loading up the trailer with mulch. Pic bottom: Bandit warming up the gravel pile while we offload the mulch. Don't worry about us, Bandit! You just stay right there and relax, okay?]

Moving via the Nailbiter Express

2009-10-27T07:00:00.002-05:00

The stock tank: 8' in diameter.
The trailer: 8'x4', with 4' high rails.
The winds: coming out of the SouthWest at about 5-10 miles per hour.

A complete stranger came up to Spouse and asked "how far do you have to drive to get that thing home?" "Ten miles", Spouse replied. "Wow. Be careful."

Spouse drove the car and trailer, white-knuckled, all the way home. He probably would have bit his nails too if he didn't have to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

Average speed before the tank started tipping and pivoting: 40 MPH.

We - and the stock tank - made it home all in one piece.

[pic: Spouse recovering from the trip]

Holy Smokes, It Was A Busy Weekend!

2009-10-25T21:31:00.010-05:00

So, what did we do this weekend?

We purchased an air compressor for power tools, and an impact hammer with a half-dozen chisels.
We purchased the 8-foot round stock tank for Phase One of "Goose-Landia".
We purchased a better pond liner and other materials for a re-do of the hillside goose pond (version 2).
We purchased 7 cubic yards of pea gravel.
We rented a backhoe/loader for the weekend.

And what did we do with all that stuff, pray tell?

We re-dug the hillside goose pool so that there will be a lip and "french drain" on the side of the pool that faces the hill. No more muddy water!
We leveled and lined the Goose-Landia stock-tank hole with the pea gravel. (Leftover pea gravel will be used to re-line our walkways).
We used that blessed, blessed impact hammer to chisel rocks out of the side of the 1st goose pool, so that we could better arrange the interior/exterior design.
We used the backhoe to
- dig holes for two more pomegranate bushes,
- level, load and dump gravel into the stock tank hole
- push back soil around the newly installed stock tank, and then
- load a massive amount of mulch onto the tow trailer so I can move it to & re-mulch the many areas in need around the house.

Spouse says he wants a backhoe/loader for Christmas, and I don't think he means the toy John Deere ones we have at the local feed store. Anyhow, there are a boatload of stories to go with each project, and I'm gathering the photos to back them up. More posts, soon!

[Pic left: me with the impact hammer/chisel. Bless those air compressor tools! (Note to "Auntie" Jan: yes, those are safety glasses I'm wearing, I promise.) Pic right: the John Deere backhoe we can afford right now. Probably not much power at 1:50 scale, but it'd be a start, eh?]