Holy Smokes, Thanksgiving Already?

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!

death and life

The "family issues" that Spouse delicately referred to in the earlier post was a funeral for my grandmother. She'd been in a long, slow decline for almost a decade, but it's still hard to imagine that such a force of nature is no longer with us. May she be at peace.

Spouse was unable to go with me, as we still don't have a backup for critter care. But looky what he found - the Frau has been one busy girl! We hadn't expected eggs yet, but yeah, it's about the right time. Life continues onward.

Thanks, Mom!

Dear Mom: I got the check. You shouldn't have, you know. You've got bills to pay, too. But thank you. *HUG!*

Everyone: the beautiful lady in the photo is my Mom, and she just sent me the money to buy a new iPhone, replacing the one that got washed by Spouse. I'm a happy, happy girl. New photos coming soon!

the big @#$! stapler

To the left is a STAPLER. Not just any sort of stapler; this one will put in a super big staple into a log or other "soft" substance of your choosing. All it requires is one mighty hammer "thwack!" on the top knob, and you'll slam a staple home-run! So the theory goes.

On the right is an example of what these types of staples are made to do. Generally, these types of staples can be knocked into place with nothing more than a plain ol' hammer and a steady hand. But with a STAPLER, boy howdy, think of how much easier and faster you could put these into place! Again, that's how the theory goes.

On the left again is an example is a bunch of staples that jammed, bent, missed, or just didn't work when used with the STAPLER. I'd say this is about the average wasted for each fence post we tried to use the STAPLER on. This, my friends, is the reality of the mighty STAPLER.

This is Spouse, unjamming the stapler yet again. Isn't Spouse cute? The STAPLER, however, is not cute. The reality is that the STAPLER is @#$! useless. Stupid STAPLER.

(Spouse's uncle took one look at how the STAPLER worked, shook his head, and continued manual placement and hammering of staples. Spouse continued using the STAPLER purely out of Italian mule-headedness by that point, since he was the one who bought the d*mn thing in the first place.)

p.s. we're 3/4'rs done with the fencing at this point. W00t!!

in honor of Spouse's nephews

Respond to "Because what...?", with "What?"
Wait for the response: "CHICKEN BUTT!!!"

• Now fall to the floor, laughing.
• Repeat from the beginning.

[ahhh, the humor of young children. Chicken butt pic: the Frau. Respect the Frau!]

Counter O' Plenty

If you invite any of us over for a social, and don't want us to bring anything, your wishes will probably not be honored. Sorry 'bout that. We'll at least bring a bottle of wine, or maybe some ripe fruit. If you do say "bring a little something to share", we'll bring entire bags of food. I don't know what it is, but this family has a thing about making sure there's plenty to eat for all. Except for the boxed goods, all the countertop goodies you see in the photo was from yesterday's shopping trip to Whole Foods. We'd all split up, made our purchases, loaded up the van, and then once home, discovered we'd all thought the same thing. Duplicate purchases of plums, grapes, breads... wow. I don't know how the heck we're gonna eat all that. Summer's bounty, indeed.

In addition to all that plenty, Spouse's Dad brought us a basket of fresh tomatoes from his garden. I've been sneaking them out of the basket, standing over the sink and scarfing them down, letting the juices drip from my chin to the drain. The tomatoes still taste like sunshine. Mom made an Italian "fresh sauce" from a bunch of those yummy tomatoes last night, with fresh basil, garlic, and oregano. Mmmmm....

Today's weather will be bringing another Texas scorcher. Sister and I will take the two nephews to a local swimming hole for the day. We'll take along a picnic basket of sandwiches and fruit. I can't think of a better way to spend a hot summer day.

gotta get crackin'

It's a groggy, bleary-eyed morning. Spouse and I put off cleaning yesterday for some, ah, quality time together, and now we gotta get crackin'. His folks are driving down for a week-long stay, and should be here in a few hours. I'm procrastinating. Just one more cup of coffee, pleeeeeeaaaaaaase!

I like my in-laws, and am grateful that they seem to like me as well. High energy folks, however, so I usually have to take an extended nap break by the second or third day. Three adults, and two boys aged 5 and 8. I just can't keep up. So updates may be a little slow for the next seven days. Pray for me.