Newest Freeloaders

The big white duck on the right was previously the only duck living at Prairie House.  We have a hard time keeping ducks here as something in the night finds them delicious and they disappear, sometimes without even leaving feathers behind.

The one who had managed to survive had figured out it was best to go into the chicken house at night where it was safer than out under the stars.  It was rather cute to watch when these 4 were added.  I originally put them into the chicken house.  They carried on quacking and fussing, as did the original duck on the outside.  Eventually the new additions found their way outside.  When it was time to go in to the safe area of the chicken house it was cute to watch the original one lead them inside.  It reminded me of the pictures so often seen where the Momma duck leads her babies across the street all in a row...only on a much larger scale.

I am guessing I have 2 drakes and 3 hens but only time will tell.  Hopefully we will have some duck eggs in the spring for eating, baking and hatching.

Foster Kids

We are fostering several newborn kids today.  Thor is really good at giving them a bath but he has very limited success at feeding them.  He can't understand why the milk is for the kids and not for him too.

 

This little guy is The Man from LaMancha.  He barely has any ears. This is a common trait of the LaMancha breed.  He is really a sweetheart and the temptation is there to keep him, but I am using all my willpower to refrain from that.

Grandma Again

I just got a call informing me I am a Grandmother again.  Cream, the Nubian that had the breach requiring the vet's assistance last January went to stay with Sherry when I sent her kids away. (Sherry will milk goats and I won't.)  She had 3 little ones this time with no problems.  Sherry didn't say if she was going to let Cream feed the kids or if she was going to take them to be bottle babies so she can milk Cream again.  Since she has another goat who just recently had kids and Sherry is feeding them I suspect Cream will get to keep hers with her.

One of Sherry's billy goats is staying at Mark and John's house performing a "service".  He will be dropped of at my house in about 3 weeks.  John caught me at a weak moment and said he and Mark would come and band the bucklings and help me get the extras to market so I said I would let the girls have kids again.  It probably wasn't very hard on his part to get me to agree because those little kids are just so doggone cute when they are young.  They would arrive sometime in June so I wouldn't have to be out in -20 degree cold making sure they won't freeze to death this time.

What a great little community where everybody shares and helps each other out.

Dry dog food? I won't eat no dry dog food!

Thor somehow managed to chop off a chunk of his toe.  He got blood all over the yard after the snow storm which is just oh so in keeping with the holiday decorating scheme.  Unfortunately he spread it around the house quite a bit as well.  He wouldn't let me look at it and I was beginning to wonder if he would die from loss of blood before I could get it taken care of.

I felt sorry for him so I mixed his dog food with warm water for him.  It made a tasty looking broth and he obviously found it quite tasty.  I fed him this tasty porridge a couple more times while his toe improved.  Alas! Another good idea gone bad.  He now looks at his dry food with great disdain. 

When he gets hungry enough he will eat it...unless he outlasts my stubbornness and I give in and feed it to him the way he thinks he deserves it.

 I

I'm not fat....

SUMO PETE

I'm just big boned. And really really tough.  Don't cross me or I will sit on you.

AA for dogs?

I've mentioned previously that we often find things which do not belong tossed in the easement beside the highway.  Frequently these include beverage cups and tin cans along with an occasional bottle.

The bottles have become a problem.  Today I caught Thor carrying a Budweiser bottle around the yard.  It was empty.  I'm not sure if that was the case when he first picked it up.  He was more than a little reluctant to part with it.  I sure hope my dog doesn't become an alcoholic.  Since he refuses to get into any vehicle it will be so hard to get him to those AA meetings.

"Hello, my name is Thor and I'm an alcoholic."  On the other hand, maybe I can teach him to say, "Hello, my name is Thor and I'll be your designated drinker tonight."

Nah, I don't see that happening.

I just hope they don't start tossing out hard liquor bottles!

Cane bales

The cane bales for the winter season were delivered and it was hard to determine who was happier about their arrival-the chickens or the goats.

Two bales weighing a total of 2300 pounds were brought here by our certified organic farmer Bob on a flat bed trailer.  The smaller one probably only weighed about 900 pounds and the two of us (Bob is slightly older than I am, making him the age of rocks instead of dirt) managed to roll it off the trailer rather easily.  He repositioned the trailer and it was time to attack the big bale.  It is characteristic for the bales to have a "flat spot" which develops from them sitting in the field after baling.  This comes in handy for transport as it keeps them stable on a trailer.  It is not handy when it comes time to move them off the trailer without the aid of machinery other than the human body.  We huffed and grunted and shoved and pushed putting all of our backs, legs and shoulders into the task.  We finally got it off the flat spot and it was pretty easy rolling after that.  I'm sure it was a sight to see for anyone passing by on the highway.  Encouragingly enough, neither of us noticed any aching or sore muscles the following day.

The goats have already spread a nice thick layer of cane in the barn to sleep on when it isn't their turn on top of the bale.  They have a comfortable place to escape the cold winds coming this winter.  I feel better about that.

peppers are done

It got down to 27 degrees in the greenhouse the last couple of nights (low was 11 degrees outside) and the pepper finally gave up for the season and became goat and chicken food.  The tomatillos weren't looking all the good anymore either and weren't growing, merely surviving so the ripe ones were added to the stash with which I am going to make tomatillo/lime jelly and the plants and remaining fruits went to the goats.  They thought those were some pretty good things this time of year since pickins are slim in the pasture.

There are still things growing in the greenhouse.  The radishes have nice tops on them and the lettuce and other greens are all very happy.  The peppers which were next to the heat sinks (black buckets filled with water) and under the remay (woven lightweight fabric) are still doing okay as are the roses and most of the herbs except the basil.  Black, frozen basil isn't a pretty sight.

It is supposed to be in the 50s here tomorrow so I plan on putting more greens in the dirt for me as well as planting some wheat and/or triticale for the chickens to have this winter to keep their egg yolks that golden color all my customers rave about.

Hot Pepper Brittle Season

It is that time of year again when we offer Hot Pepper Brittle on the coop.  I'm always surprised at how many orders we get for it on the coop.  This year my jalapeno crop was a dismal failure but the cayenne peppers were over achievers.  As the flavor is different as well as the scovall units (heat) in the peppers I'm hoping it still turns out well...not too hot but hot enough.
I love watching the expression on folks when they taste it for the first time.  It is deceiving as initially it tastes just like my regular, ordinary peanut brittle.  Then that subtle surprise hits your tongue and thoughts of "what's going on here?" register on the brain.  That surprise usually only causes the hand to reach for another chunk to try.

Chicken feet

It was chicken processing day at the Mahlburg farm.  Mark and John pardoned some pullets for me to give sanctuary.  I loaded two kennels in the back of my car.  My new car's hatch opening is about 2 inches higher than the Vibe was so the kennels actually fit into the back of the car.  I was happy about that.

I took their new kitten with me.  He was not a good traveler and cried most of the way there.  He has an excellent set of lungs and I may have an eardrum still suffering trauma.  His siblings have not missed him.

I came home with a much higher ratio than 2 to 1 on chicken vs chicken feet.  Most of the extras went into the freezer but a few of them have been processed into broth. The feet have to be blanched and peeled before that can be done.  Most are easy to peel, but if they haven't been in the hot water long enough or have been in the cold water too long it is a challenge.  They make nice, thick, flavorful broth which is destined to have noodles added to it for lunch today.  mmm mmm good!

I gave Thor one of the feet still raw.  He also thought that was doggone good.  Much better than those lousy pig ears.

kittens are so cute

Four little kittens arrived at Prairie House in September.  Annabelle is the only cat we have here with reproductive capabilities.  She is an indoor cat.  However, when the instinct is there, keeping a cat in the house is nearly impossible.  She could be out the door before I even had it fully opened.  Of course, the neighbors don't bother to have their male cats neutered so numerous opportunities for Annabelle to become heavy with child present themselves.

The little ones are about 2 months old now and are at that really cute but really obnoxious stage.  It is always fun to watch their personalities develop.  As I type this, two of them are on my lap sound asleep and one is on the back of the chair keeping my neck warm while also fast asleep.  They all climbed to these locations on their own power unassisted (although unhindered either) by me.

The 4th little guy has the appearance of a dwarf.  He is only about 1/3 the size of the others and has the large head and big tummy with short legs.  He is somewhat of a loner since his siblings have a tendency to beat up on him.  Thor dearly loves the little guy whose name is Brutus.  The only problem there is that Brutus looks like he fell into a tub of water after he has been around Thor.  He doesn't seem to mind however because he usually ends up being wrapped in a nice warm towel and held on my lap until he dries.

The little boy has been claimed by the Mahlburgs and will be going to live with them before much longer.  (If the name sounds familiar, those are the young men who gave us Ginger the goat years ago.)

I still have 3 available if anyone is interested.  One is a very pretty calico with a feisty personality who will probably end up having long hair.  The other female is very pretty black and grey with just a hint of gold on her.

Okay, maybe there are only two still available.  Brutus may have to remain here just to see how he turns out as he gets older. I'd hate to give away one of Thor's favorite toys.

Thor

Thor is no longer a puppy.  He is large enough now that I can easily pet him without even bending.  He would have made a perfect service dog.  He has an extremely gentle nature and is a smart dog.  As with all dogs he has a bit of a stubborn streak but not bad.

He doesn't like coyotes and has chased them away several times.  The coyotes are bold this year.  I checked on Thor's barking one day and a coyote was less than 30 feet from me on the other side of a fence.  He stared as if to say "I know you are unarmed and I'm not afraid of you."  When given permission to leave the property, Thor went after him and chased him toward the highway.  Thor knows he isn't supposed to go on the highway and returned to me, as did the coyote.  Thor went after him again, this time chasing him to the north across the creek bed and up into the other neighbor's pasture.  At that point in time additional dogs started barking, Thor returned to me and I heard the sound of a .22 going off, followed immediately by the sound of a much larger caliber gun.  I thought to myself, "I hope they killed that sucker."  Shortly I heard a 4 wheeler start and saw the neighbor heading out on it at a rapid pace, then heard another neighbor shout, "I saw it in the ditch."  Apparently at least one of the shots was on target.

The following day there was a coyote on the highway who had obviously lost a battle with a vehicle.  I can't say I was sorry to see it there.  I hoped, although I knew it was most likely in vain, that the end of the coyote problem was neigh.

Alas, the problem is not over.  And the remaining coyote(s) are equally bold.  I came face to face with one behind the barn.  He didn't stand and stare for long, however, as Thor was behind me and the race was on.  I don't think Thor would stand a chance in a fight because his mouth is so gentle but I'm hoping the sheer size of him makes the coyotes think twice about coming very close.  Thor is very upset when anything (hawk, owl, coyote or opossum) messes with his creatures.

As near as can be determined, Thor is a cross between a Great Dane and some kind of herding (shepherd) breed.  He does like to try to herd his goats and chickens.

The summer season is over

Summer is over so in theory I should have more time so I can devote some of it to updating the Chronicles.

A winter storm warning was in effect for this area starting yesterday afternoon with snow depths of up to a foot and blowing winds.  National weather service was way off this time.  It is rainy, dreary and cold but not a flake of snow.  So far this season we have not had any snow which as stayed around for more than a few hours.  I'm not complaining...I know what is still to come when winter does finally arrive.

Updates to the Chronicles should be  more frequent now that the garden and yard doesn't take up so much of my time.  Thanks for your patience and please check back often.

Chronicle Updates Suspended

Updates to Prairie House Chronicles are temporarily suspended, hopefully to resume again in the fall season.

Saving money on excavation costs

I need to offer the services of Thor to our plumber, Kelly.  Kelly could save a lot of money on machinery and gasoline if he just took my dog with him to his job sites.

Thor has excavated an area under the fence out front about 8 feet long, 4 feet across and well over 2 feet deep.  I keep putting barriers there to stop him and he keeps increasing the size of the hole to escape his front kennel area.  If you drive by while he is busy at work, you can see dirt flying faster and further than the machinery tossed it when they were burying the pipeline across the road.

Listen to the Mockingbird

Decades ago there was a popular song with the lyrics "listen to the mockingbird singing all day long".  Until recently I didn't truly appreciate those words.

There is a mockingbird (or maybe 2 or 3) residing at Prairie House.  He starts his imitations early in the morning. Sometimes he is kind and waits until 7AM, but usually he starts in around 4AM.  Initially it was amusing.  Now it is annoying.  He tweets, chirps, trills and squawks ALL DAY LONG.  I don't know if they are migrating birds or if he (they?) will take up permanent residency.

To make matters worse, he is now imitating emergency vehicles!  Maybe I can trap him and get him booked for a show in Vegas.  He would put those ventriloquists to shame.

No Mean Roosters

You may recall that a while back someone gave me three roosters to add to my rescued creatures menagerie.  One of those roosters was rather mean.  All three looked alike so it was hard to tell which one was the culprit or if they all had that tendency.  I did notice that the tail feathers were various lengths on each of them.  At last there was a way to tell them apart.  I determined that the mean one was the one at the bottom of the pecking order as he had the fewest and shortest feathers.

Although we had several confrontations both verbal and physical, he was a slow learner.  After attacking me one day while I was trying to rescue another creature who was stuck in the fence, Mr. Mean Rooster got put into a cage.  He had a harem gathered by this point and at first his hens would all gather 'round his cage at night.

One day a man stopped and asked if I had any roosters for sale.  I said "No, but I have a mean one you can have for free."  He said he didn't have anything with him to put the bird in and he would be back.  I wrote him off and didn't expect to see him again so Mr. Mean Rooster stayed in his cage.  A couple of days later the man came back wanting to buy a rooster.  (slow learner like the rooster?)  I told him I still had the free one but still nothing for sale.  Again he said he didn't have anything to put the bird in. (again, slow learner?)  I made up a box, caught the rooster, stuffed it into the box and sent Mr. Mean Rooster and Mr. Slow Learner on their way.

At least three of this years chicks which were hatched by hens are roosters.  There won't be a shortage and so far, no one seems to be missing Mr. Mean Rooster.

Wanda turkey is serious

Miss Wanda has decided she wants to be a mother again.  The sad part is, there is only one turkey egg left for her to hatch and it is doubtful it is fertile.  She is totally and absolutely serious about that, and she isn't nice about it either.  The chances of stealing an egg out from under here are very slim without bloodshed...and it wouldn't be her blood!

There are 3 other hens also setting and the eggs have been equally distributed between them and Miss Wanda.  Doesn't seem fair that the three newbies will only have to sit on the eggs for 10 days when the original momma-to-be has already been sitting on them for 10 days.  It will be interesting to see how many, if any, actually hatch.

In addition there is another one with momma tendencies which appeared yesterday.  Unfortunately, there aren't any eggs available to put under her as I need all the rest of them to meet the sales on the coop delivery this month.  She is currently sitting on two golf balls.  It would truly be a miracle if either of those hatched.  Perhaps some eggs can be obtained from other sources for her to have.

Prairie House has had 7 chicks hatched and surviving so far this season.

garden update

The garden has been disappointing this year.  With the rain coming right before the hot weather the weeds got a good foothold and it is challenging to keep up with them let alone get ahead in the eradication process.


The tomatoes were late going into the ground and are still pouting about that.  Now the tomato hornworms have decided to visit.  Last year we had very few of them.  They apparently are making up for lost time this year.


There is one jalapeno pepper on the plants so far and a couple of cayenne.  The habanero plants are alive but struggling.  Peppers apparently are one of the grasshoppers favorites.  


The few turnips that sprouted are doing okay, as are the kohlrabi but the amount of seeds planted does not nearly correspond with the few plants which grew.  The beets in the planter bucket are doing well.  It is almost time to replant each of these for a fall crop.  Hopefully that will be more successful.


We did get a good crop of bush cherries but the birds got most of the cherries on the trees and the majority of the mulberries.  Like raccoons in corn, they know exactly when things are ripe.  We still have some choke cherries which hopefully can be harvested as we put a net over the tree as far as we could reach.


The turkeys are eating most of the currents as they ripen.  There haven't been enough of them to bother picking for jelly anyway.  The raspberries have done better than in the past, but still not enough to do much with other than snack while weeding.


The goats feasted on the plums and grapes when they went on one of their frequent walk-abouts.  No time to goat proof the rest of the fence and not enough pasture in the front to keep them adequately fed so they still get to go to the back pasture.  The garden is fenced on four sides and they haven't figured out how to breech that yet.


At least we have gotten rain.  There are parts of the country burning up from the drought and other parts flooding.  Based on those facts, complaining about the weather here seems selfish.  And as all gardeners and farmers say, next year will be better.

Mosquitoes vs. Mulberries and Jo

This morning was overcast, somewhat cool but humid.  Still it seemed like a good day to get started picking the mulberries that are ripening quickly.  I ambitiously headed out to the big tree with my container in hand only to be attacked by a hoard of voracious mosquitoes.  The mulberries really need to be picked before they are wasted and only the bugs (and perhaps the roving chickens) get to enjoy them.

I returned to the house and traded my tee shirt for a long sleeved denim shirt.  Then added my beekeepers headgear and veil.  My hands were the only skin exposed.  I picked about a quart of berries before I gave up.  Even though the nasty biters couldn't have a snack on my blood, their incessant buzzing was beyond annoying.

I am thinking the best option now is the old "spread the table cloths on the ground, shake the tree, fold up the table cloths and take the loot elsewhere to be cleaned and sorted" approach is going to be required this year.  Since the destiny of the berries is juice for jelly, appearance isn't as important as quantity and I will never have enough quantity if the mosquitoes have their way!

I ended up with only one bite and it was inflicted early in the battle.

Snake season again

Two snakes in two days (or maybe the same one twice).  One slithering along heading in the right direction to go where it belongs out back.  The other comfortably sleeping in a drawer in the chicken house.  I dropped moth balls on it to no effect.  20% vinegar solution obviously made it uncomfortable but I doubt it killed it.  Had it been in a more accessible spot it would have suffered a more definite and permanent fate.

eggs

As hens age, their egg production decreases.  I only have 7 hens residing in the big chicken house and collect 4 or 5 eggs a day from them.  Since they are older, this seems about right.

A couple of days ago my nephew came to visit.  He has had a fascination with chickens since he was a child.  When he asked to go into the chicken house to look for eggs I said "Go ahead."

He returned with over 2 dozen eggs.  Since it was early in the day and I knew the hens weren't through laying eggs yet I was totally surprised with this collection.  I asked him where he found them and he said they were in the big chicken house...most of them in one nest?  I collect eggs every day from there so this was definitely an anomaly.  I asked him to show me where he found them.  Sure enough, the girls were using an old nest which I thought was abandoned and therefor I didn't check it daily.  Most of these eggs were well past the fresh stage!  All but a couple of them failed the water test miserably.  (Older eggs have a larger air sack and therefor turn upward when put in water.  The older the egg, the larger the air sack, the more they float.)

I know how a rotten eggs smells.  The smell lingers if one is broken accidentally.  I hard boiled these to minimize the smell and fed them back to the chickens.  They were far from first quality, but the chickens cleaned them up nicely.

raccoon Page 3

The raccoon has left the building.

Let us hope he had such a miserable time on his visit he never returns.

Raccoon-Page 2

When I came home from work yesterday, the raccoon not only had not departed the bus, he was curled up snoozing away, totally unbothered by the fact I was there.  By evening, his position had only changed slightly and he was still sacked out.

I decided to block the pet door to keep the cats out, set the hav-a-hart-or-not-trap, bait it with cat food and when I had him trapped to dispatch him in an appropriate manner.

Bad mistake.  The bus is even more trashed than yesterday.  Any shelf he had missed the night before, he got last night.  In addition, he really wanted to get out of there and pretty much destroyed the pet door.  Obviously gave up after creating mass destruction and climbed back into his comfortable spot by the ceiling and hunkered down for another day of sleep.  The trap and the cat food were untouched.  It has a sensitive trigger on the closing mechanism and it wasn't even tripped.  (It did, however slam shut when I touched it!)

Thor discovered him this morning.  He is not happy that creature is in the bus.  He knows the raccoon doesn't belong.  Hackles up and barking, he tried to roust it without getting too close.  Since he already had to deal with porcupine quills, I really don't want him dealing with Mr. Raccoon.

Tonights' plan is to place the trap immediately in front of the pet door on the outside of the bus and hope he enters the trap and doesn't just destroy it.  We have already lost one trap to some kind of creature who actually chewed through the end of the cage to escape.  Hopefully the cats will leave the trap alone to allow my idea to have a chance at working.

Stay tuned for updates.

Keg Party!

When I went to open the door on the bus to let the cats out for the day I couldn't get it open.  Somehow they had wedged something in the way.  After much effort, inch by inch, I got it open enough to get inside.  The entry area was totally trashed with lumber and containers everywhere.  As I proceeded further in it got worse.  The bus looked like the inside of a frat house after a keg party:  bedding tossed every where, food bowls scattered along with the food, kennels on their sides.  In the area where we store the canning supplies there were jars and broken glass the entire length of the room.

There have been arguments in the bus overnight in the past, but never to this degree.  Apparently someone was really ticked off.  Since I'm working at the restaurant over the lunch hours and this is Coop distribution week I really don't have time to deal with a mess of this magnitude.  Grumbling and cursing the cats under my breath I happened to look in the eave above the table saw where (previous to last night) we store trim boards.  Hunkered down as close to the wall as possible was the creature who had entered the bus overnight, undoubtedly by the pet door and obviously caused the disturbance.  Looking at the fur my thoughts were "Oh, crap.  The opossums are back."  I pondered what to do about the situation for a bit and discounted the gun idea, tossed out the trap option as in the bus I'd more likely catch a cat or two, erased the thought of stabbing it from my mind and walked out the door.

When I returned to the scene of the destruction it was still hunkered down where it had been cornered, but now I could see the tail.  Not a naked tail like opossums but a striped tail instead.  This huge furry trouble maker is a raccoon.  You may recall I trapped one of these in the big building a couple of years ago.  They are so cute and so destructive as well as obviously unpopular with cats when territorial issues are at stake.

Last time I checked he had progressed from his fetal position to the point where his face was visible...sure enough, 'coon eyes looking back at me.

I'm leaving the big door open and hoping he will quietly leave during the day while I'm at work and his experience was so traumatic that he won't return.  Keep your fingers crossed he'll be gone when I get home and won't come back so I won't have to deal with him.

Good Momma Annabelle

It has been a prolific year for mice.  Betsy has had one for dinner 3 nights in a row.  Last night she was playing with a mole she had caught.  The cats don't eat the moles, they only play with them and then abandon them.  Carl showed up with half a pack rat a few nights ago.  They are great hunters, but still there always seems to be more rodents out there.

Somehow a baby mouse managed to make it into my house.  I was unaware of it, but this morning when I let Annabelle and her kittens out of their kennel, Annie was staring intently under the table in the corner.  After having seen a rather large, very squashed snake on the road by the mailbox yesterday my initial thought was, "Oh no! If that is another snake I will just die."

She remained motionless for several seconds, then slowly crouched forward.  I looked around for something that could be used as a club.  She sprang.  She came out from under the table with a small tail hanging from her mouth.  I watched closely.  She cried for her kittens to come to her.  And then she dropped the little baby mouse on the floor in front of them.  JoJo quickly grasped the situation and grabbed the mouse, snarling and guarding it as he dared his sibling to take it from him.

I went outside to take care of chores and when I returned Samson had the little mouse and was snarling and guarding it as fiercely as his brother had.  Samson, however knows what mice are for. Breakfast!  There is no more baby mouse.

mmmmmm goat milk soap is delicious

While preparing an order for delivery through the coop some tell tale signs that a 4 legged visitor had been in the shop appeared in the basket where the soap is displayed.  Fortunately, this was noticed before the product was shipped as the bottom of the bar of soap previously packaged which looked perfectly fine on top was already half eaten from the bottom.  Looking at the others in the basket, several of them had been sampled.  After searching and finding enough untouched ones to fill the orders, the remaining soap was removed from the shop with the exception of two bars which were already at least 1/3 gone.

Sure enough, upon checking again there were more signs of "tampering".  This stuff contains lye which one would think would kill the nasty creatures, but alas the effects of the pure goats milk obviously cancel out that effect.

After considering that a cat would catch the creature in no time, visions of products scattered all over the shop and broken jelly jars with their contents leaking and strewn around the floor caused that idea to be abandoned.  The answer was a mouse trap.  Previously there were 3 mice who met their demise in traps in the mobile home.  Unfortunately, those traps were put away in a safe, logical place and may be found in the future when someone does an archaeological dig but they are no where to be found now.  However, one trap was still available.  It was baited and carefully set beside the soap.  Next morning, the bait was gone but the trap was unsprung.   The creature had once again partaken of the buffet of soaps available as well as the bait in the trap.

Being aware of the effects caused when one of these traps spring shut, a pencil was used to set it off so new bait could be added.  Nothing happened.  It seems the plastic was too soft to trip the trigger and the trap would not slam shut.  After some adjustments it now works.  The trap was set between the two types of soap without any bait this time.  The following morning a customer came to buy eggs.  The stench in the shop was horrendous.  Immediately the cats were blamed however unfairly.  Upon checking the trap, the mouse was undoubtedly dead with his body nearly sliced in half in the trap with bodily fluids oozing.  It was a very large male field mouse.  If there are Sumo Wrestlers in the mouse world, this guy could have been one.  With the judicious use of tongs, the trap and the mouse were removed from the shop.  The mouse was so nasty the cats declined to have anything to do with it when offered to them.  Picky cats.

Oh, by the way, I prefer the goat milk soap with tea tree oil.  It makes my skin feel wonderful.  The mouse, however, had no preference whatsoever and was delighted to dine on either kind.

We are growing too! And we are pretty cute still as well.

                               Everyone has an opinion!

We're growing and boy! are we cute.

Our sister, Anna, failed to thrive but we are getting bigger and bigger.  We are both healthy.  My name is  JOJO (I'm the grey one!) and will be moving to a new home as soon as I learn to eat solid foods really well.  My brother is still looking for a home.  His name is Sampson.  We are really cute now and just starting to play.  We still drive our Mom nuts by fussing a lot but she has been a really good Momma and comes running whenever we make noise.

OH *&$%+#@.

I WAS STANDING ON THAT SIDEWALK ABOUT 30 SECONDS BEFORE THIS EVENT OCCURRED.

Milo

On Saturday a farmer friend was clearing out his grain bins for the upcoming wheat harvest and loaded about 3/4 ton of milo into the pick up truck.  Last year at harvest time there was some difficulty even finding the milo and what was found was of inferior quality.  This is really nice grain although it does still have some chaff in it.  The price was right.  Free as long as it ALL goes which means another 2-3 pickup trucks full.  Or he may simply load it in the big truck and haul it here to be dumped in a manner similar to the way the wheat arrived last year (which the wild turkeys interpreted as an invitation to make Prairie House home).

It has been in the 90s here during the day.  Milo is not as heavy as wheat, but much heavier than oats for the same size container.  Oats are easy to move around.  The containers of wheat are nearly impossible for one old lady to move and milo isn't much better.  Milo is itchy, scratchy, dusty, nasty stuff to handle (but the chickens and goats think it is wonderful!).  The heat combined with the misery caused from handling the stuff has caused the truck to be only half way unloaded after two days.  It is a slow process.

Thinking about unloading another 2-3 truckloads is not something to look forward to.  The animals at Prairie House are spoiled something fierce.  How did that happen?

Emma Patches

Missing:  EmmaPatches

She didn't come in when I called her Thursday night.  She wasn't here Friday morning.  I hadn't found a body and she has gone missing before so there was hope she was still out there.  I didn't think she would be returning.  I was sad.  But I'm feeling much better now, as she has reappeared looking only a little worse for wear.  I asked her just exactly where she had been, but she was totally mute on the situation.

We did lose our colorful, docile rooster yesterday.  I'm not sure if the new white turkey killed him or if the new white roosters all attacked him.  He was found dead in their pen.  I think the white roosters may receive some assistance at becoming coyote food as they aren't fat enough to send to freezer camp. They are not enjoyable creatures.  Miss Turkey will also be moving to new digs under the mulberry tree by the garden.  She will have more room there and can scratch in the dirt and eat the weeds.  Moving her there could be a challenge because she is really, really heavy.

We also lost one of the Royal Palm Toms to unknown causes.

Spring has been tough on the creatures this year.

On a positive note, Momma hen still has all 3 of her chicks.  They aren't cute anymore.  AnnaBelle's 3 kittens are growing and active.  Their eyes should be opening any day now.  Then the fun begins.  They all have homes elsewhere when they are old enough to go.  That is good.  It is easier not to get attached to them when they are short timers.

Speckled Communist Americauna Rooster

I am often exasperated by the chickens at Prairie House.  I'm on a Yahoo group to share/commiserate with others in the same situation. I enjoyed this post so much I must share it.  The Americaunas are the chickens that lay the blue/green/olive eggs and mine are troublemakers as well.

Thanks, Jack, (Orioneer) for making my problem chicks seem so civilized.

"I've got a speckled Communist in the April 23 piece of the flock that's
giving me no end of headaches. A Communist, or maybe worse, an
anarchist. An independent free-thinking bird that's a leader teaching
the others to range so far I'm not even sure they can find their way
home.

He always tries to sleep in trees, first alone, then next night with a
pack of others following the example of Mr. Trotsky. This might well be
the most hard-headed, most obstinate chicken I've ever encountered. 
Nothing works to get this comrad back into the fortress at night, except
hitting him with the water hose to wear him down so's he'll park
somewhere I know, then coming up on him after it's too dark for him to
avoid capture.

This morning he's got maybe 15 chickens somewhere out there in the deep
woods right now so far out I can barely hear the practice crowing [or
trying to sing The Internationale - it's too far to tell which]. I
hunted them down in the woods to the east earlier and edged them home. 
So they went west this time.

I think I'd better start thinking about putting in an order for more
chicks. No more straight-run orders for me. All pullets from here on
unless I'm ordering cochins, buff crested polish, or heritage.

I'm thinking this one's going to outsmart himself and get offed right
out of the flock gene-pool if it continues. I'm just hoping he doesn't
take any others with him when nature does what it does to the cheeky
lieutenants just out of OCS who know too much to learn.

He ain't even old enough to be a 90 day wonder.

Good chicken though, generally. I'm going to hate to lose him."

Jack

More new arrivals

Two boys and a girl arrived about 5:30AM today.  Momma AnnaBelle is very protective.  Babies are all tiny but healthy with good lungs.

Catching Up

Lots of things happening at Prairie House this spring.  With only one person here to handle it all, time is at a premium.

Mulberry and Kennecot were purchased by a lady in Greeley.  Unfortunately, they did not like their new home and refused to stay there.  After a few days in the garage where they were perfectly happy munching on their very own bale of hay they were taken to the auction in Ft. Collins.  They were headed to a farm in Wyoming with lots of wide open spaces from there.

The dozen goats who are still here have developed a Houdini complex and frequently appear on thewrong side of the fence beside the highway where the grass is green and lush and contains clover.  Fortunately, they generally are easy to get back into the barnyard with the exception of Ginger who has developed a serious case of selective hearing.  All six of the kids are growing, healthy and obnoxious.  The goal is to reduce the herd by half before summer.




The hen who is always a good mother hatched 3 chicks.  She had 12 eggs, all but two were fertile but for some reason the embryos either didn't fully develop or couldn't make it out of the shells.  She is still taking good care of the three that hatched.  They have grown from cute little fluffballs to feathered creatures.  They will not be the kind of chickens you can walk up to and pet.

The turkey is looking much better.  She has staked out her territory in the yard outside the little chicken house and protects it well.  The new white roosters moved from the big chicken house to the small one where she stays.   She has serious discussions with at least one of  them each morning when they exit the house.  It is a loud, boisterous confrontation.  The first time it happened I was sure there was a predator in the yard attacking the birds.  I had to go into the pen and rescue the rooster from the big house when he made the poor choice of visiting the hens in the turkey's territory.  She had him cornered and was about to draw blood.  She is a BIG BIRD.  She still doesn't have a name so please make some suggestions.

Wanda turkey is laying eggs again.  She has wisely put them in a nest in the chicken house instead of out in the middle of the field.  The first 3 she presented have been placed under a chicken hen who decided she was  ready to be a mother.  A week later, 6 more hen eggs were added to her clutch.  Just in case the turkeys don't hatch she will still be rewarded for her efforts.  Baby chicks and turkey poults have been successfully raised by hens here previously.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Anna Belle is "heavy with child" and should be falling apart any day now.  She isn't huge like EmmaPatches was when she popped out 10 kittens.  Hopefully she will have 4 or less.  Two of them have been given away already and have been named Annabell and Jojo.                                              

During the last snowstorm the pump to the well for the houses went bad leaving the homes without water from that well for 3 days.  To compensate, a rubber hose was hooked to one of the hydrants from the well which still worked and attached it to the hydrant from the main house well.  That provided water to use on a limited basis with very little pressure but it was still better than hauling it in by the bucketful.  The bill for that repair hasn't arrived yet.  Undoubtedly it will not be a pretty sight.

Watch for pictures when Annabelle becomes a mother.  Hopefully that will be soon.

Oh yes, Thor is still here.  He is no longer a dog...he is now a small horse.  There are full grown Shetland ponies out there that are not at large as Thor.

Which one is the Senior Citizen?

A friend took me to lunch at the Pizza Hut Buffet today.  When the bill arrived, we had been charged for one regular buffet and one with the "Senior" discount applied.  For 6 months out of the year we are the same age.  Which of us did the discount apply to?

Return of the Wild Turkeys

The spring turkey hunting season must be right around the corner.  There are 7 wild turkeys roosting in the trees behind the house.  They apparently know they are safe from hunters here.  They are NOT safe from the cacophony of the turkeys who live here year 'round.  Those black and white turkeys are obviously seeing red as the wild ones wander through territory that is reserved, in their opinion, for only Royal Palm Turkeys. (and one broad breasted white turkey...males are all alike!)

What's wrong with white?

Apparently creatures with white feathers are not as cute and cuddly as the ones with multi colored feathers.  The roosters who moved to Prairie House last night are pure white, as was the turkey who arrived last week.

The 3 roosters are settling in.  They are enjoying themselves stirring all the straw on the ground in the pole barn.  It is cold and dreary today, but I'll try to get their picture.

In addition to the population increase from the turkey and roosters, we have at least 2 little chicks under Momma Hen in the chicken house.  They, too, are light colored.  She had 8 eggs still under her yesterday.  Not sure they will all hatch but she has always been a good Mother before so hopefully all that do hatch will survive.

Leeks!

Gardening season is officially in full swing.  The potatoes, peas, kohlrabi, radishes, turnips and beets are already in the ground.  Today I planted nearly 500 leeks.  I still have about that many to plant, as well as over 500 onion plants.

I'm pleading temporary insanity due to weather.  The day the onion orders needed to be turned in it was snowing and ugly outside.  I think I may have gotten carried away.  But last year the Prairie House bank account benefited greatly from the onion and leek harvest.  Perhaps that was the incentive to keep adding things to the order.

The last dozen or so onions from last year are on my counter waiting to be added to a recipe of some kind.  The others were sliced and put in the dehydrators last week....nearly 25 trays full.  They dried nicely and will be wonderful additions to our dry rubs and other herb mixes.

Prairie House Rescue Society

I'm thinking a name change may be in order for Prairie House.  Yesterday someone "donated" a turkey to our flock,  The poor hen should have been brought here several weeks ago from the looks of her.  She is truly pathetic. Hopefully with some care and good food she will bounce back.  Since we have 6 Tom turkeys and had only one hen, another hen would be a welcome addition to the flock.


Then while I was in the yard working yesterday, someone drove in and asked if we would take some roosters off her hands.  I have no idea what they look like.  I am supposed to go to her house and help her catch them sometime next week.  Hopefully they will be in better shape than the turkey.

Too bad (or, in their opionion, good) that I don't care for poultry as a food group all that much.  Still, I suspect the roosters could be headed to freezer camp before long.

Spring?

Spring is here according to the grounds at Prairie House.  There are crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths blooming.  The grass is turning green and the weeds are starting to grow.  According to the calendar, spring is also officially here.

Apparently someone forgot to inform the weatherman, however. There is 2 inches of snow on the ground now.

The peas, potatoes, kohlrabi, turnips, beets and radishes that found new homes in the dirt this week will be grateful for the moisture, even if it is white.

Strange request

The other evening one of the neighbors called me and said she needed me to come to her house and catch a wild (untamed but domesticated) cat that was in her house because her husband wouldn't help her catch it.

I wasn't really fond of the idea of having my arms (or other parts of my body) scratched by a cat that wasn't mine and managed to wander inside someone else's house.  Fortunately she called at a time when my mind was in a functional mode.  Thinking clearly, I remembered the "hav-a-hart...or not" trap I have which worked so well for trapping the opossums.  I took the trap to her, showed her how to set it and helped her put some canned chicken in for bait.

She called later that night to say that while she and her husband were at church the cat had been trapped in the cage and they turned it loose in the garage again.

That trap has turned out to be one of the better investments I've made for the farm.

So long, Pegleg.

His kids are cute but his attitude was deteriorating.

After causing his new owner grief, Pegleg took a trip to the sale barn.  He weighed in at 85+ pounds...pretty heavy for a goat who was bred for fiber and not meat.  He sold for over $80 (before all the fees).

I'm glad Mark changed the status of our boys.  It will make it much less likely that they will develop an attitude and give them a chance to stay around if their fiber proves to be worthwhile.

OUCH!

About 10 years ago I met a gentleman named Mark.  Under the category of "small world/6 degrees of separation, he is the brother of my sister's good friend.  He had a doe that was much too sweet to go to the butcher but their herd was too large and they were cutting back.  He had heard that I might be willing to give her a good home.  That was Ginger, the queen who is still the Matriarch of our herd.

Saint Francis is often called the "No Bull Capital of the World" because the bands which are used to castrate young calves were invented here.  Mark stopped by tonight after work armed with his bander and some bands.  His intention was to change the status of all of our little bucklings.  The two of us managed to catch and hold each of the little guys.

I felt so sorry for the little guys.  They cried and looked back to see what was biting them.  Several hours later they were still whimpering.  I was beginning to think they would be crying all night and would call in the coyotes but when I checked on them when I went to close the chickens in for the night they were finally sleeping and quiet.

By tomorrow they will have forgotten all about it.  It happens that way every time.

I'm a little sad, however, because I'm sure Kennecot could have made some beautiful babies.

Road Alligators and More

Living on the highway provides us with many opportunities to clean up everyone else's trash.  Sometimes plastic bottles, sometimes cans (beer and other), sometimes drink cups and fast food wrappers.  Often we find road alligators that have made their way far off the highway (for those who are unfamiliar with the term, a road alligator is the retread from a tire that has become separated).

Today's prize, however, was unusual.  A nearly new pair of Arizona Jeans with a Pizza Hut receipt and a $5 bill in the pocket.  Go ahead...allow your imagination to go wild.

And if you are a size 34X32 slim straight, let me know and I'll hold these until you can pick them up.

GOATS CAN SWIM!

But not very well, as Fawn discovered when she rambunctiously bounded over the edge of the stock tank and splashed into the water.  Fortunately, I was out with Thor.  She was not a happy camper as I fished her out of the tank.  Apparently she got some water in her ears as she shook her head for several minutes.  Also fortunate was the fact that at the time she pulled this little stunt, it was still 69 degrees outside.

I am leaving the country for 10 days.  I certainly hope none of her playmates tries the same thing while I'm gone.

Sorry, no pictures.  I was too busy getting her out of the water and dried off.  She was not happy about the towel drying either.

more jumping and playing

We love to jump and play

Kid Pics

blonde brownie & ivory 

 Midnight Star and Fawn

 Ivory

 Midnight Star & Fawn

 Oxi

 Midnight Star & Kennecot

 Kennecot

Fawn

Kids and cold weather

We are heading into our 5th day of weather that won't break the freezing mark (but at least will make it into double digits on the plus side).  The low has only been a negative 17 on Monday night.  Amazingly, all the kids have come through the cold doing well including DayBreak, the bottle baby.  It has been too cold to be out taking pictures, so you will need to wait another couple of days to see them all here.

I'm not sure I could have found the camera in all the layers of clothing I put on before going outside. (long Johns, Sweat Pants, heavy socks, shoes and rubber boots, tee shirt, sweat shirt, insulated cover-alls, scarf, hat, hood, gloves, and a heavy winter coat.  I'm sure the Michelin Man was jealous.

The goats did much better with the cold than their caretaker.  I am totally miserable.  I generally don't get sick and so when I do I am angry as well as ill.  I've been slathering on the Vicks Vapor Rub and had to resort to actually taking some cough syrup last night.  I don't take drugs unless I feel there is no other option.  Hopefully the cold will run its course, the weather will warm and all will be good.

Ginger had one and now we are done

Ginger had a single little furry kid at 3:15AM.  Other than trying to keep Daybreak out of the mix it was an uncomplicated birth.  He is light rust colored and as yet unnamed, but I'm thinking of calling him Oxidize..Oxi for short.

The total stands at 7 kids: 5 bucks and 2 does (subject to further verification)

Pictures to follow.  Hopefully cameo shots so you can see each of them, but no guarantee as they are all active little ones.  So far all appear to be healthy and the Moms are all doing okay.

Chamomile's kids will be Blonde Brownie and Ivory.