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.