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.