Milo (grain sorghum)

Milo is the main ingredient in our chicken's diet.  It is a little round grain which can be rust colored or various shades of tan.  It makes people itch when dealing with it.

Today I had some loaded into the pickup truck at the farmer's storage site.  The truck weighed 4680 pounds before the grain was loaded and 6880 pounds after it was loaded.  Yes, folks, that is 1.1 TONS of grain on a half ton pick up.  This is still less than the first time my sister completed this task. She loaded nearly 2 tons on the poor truck.  The tires were nearly flat!

Generally when we go get grain we put several totes in the back of the pick up to make it easier to unload the grain when we get it home.  I have decided that the next time I get grain I will NOT use the totes if I am unloading it by myself..  Especially for Milo.  Milo weighs 55 pounds per bushel.  One of our totes holds 2 bushels.  One old lady cannot handle many of those easily.  I have amassed several 5 gallon buckets, and I keep collecting them from the grocery store whenever possible.  Next time I will fill the back of the truck with the 5 gallon buckets instead.  They hold about a bushel.  I can deal with 55 pounds a lot easier than I can deal with 110 pounds.

The price for grain has doubled since the last time we bought a truckload.  I am afraid we may need to raise the cost of our eggs.  That may disappoint some folks, but since there are rarely any left over for my own use, that might not be a bad thing.

I did unload about half the grain when I got home so the truck isn't complaining anymore.  I, on the other hand am definitely in a complaining mood right now.

And yet another weakness

I got an e-mail today from one of the hatcheries.  They have geese on sale at a fantastic discounted price.  I have a nearly overwhelming desire to send them an order.  We haven't had geese at Prairie House for a few years now.  It is so tempting,  The order would include a variety of different breeds with no guarantee of genders.  We usually order this type of shipment from the hatcheries as it is always so much fun to see what a variety they send.

The minimum order is 8 geese.  So now the question I'm pondering:  Is 8 enough?

Our current fowl count is 49 chickens (roosters and hens), 6 ducks (two trios), and 5 guineas (all males), and 4 turkeys.  Surely I can find room for more feathered friends.

Weaknesses

It is onion ordering time again.  I promised myself I wouldn't overdo it this year.  I managed to partially keep that promise.  I didn't order 5000 leeks again this year.  Actually, I didn't put any leeks on my order form, but when I dropped the order off at the onion coop site I was asked if I would consider ordering some leeks if they didn't have enough for a full order to get the best price.  Okay, I weakened and agreed.

Regardless of the leek situation, I will still have nearly 700 onion plants to put into the ground the week of March 12.  My mind is aware that I need to get out there and have the beds prepared for their arrival.  My body is balking at that idea since the weather has been so totally unpredictable this year.  Now the battle begins.  Who will win:  The mind, or the body.

Spring is arriving early

Spring is arriving early this year.  The crocus are already blooming, the daffodils have already peeked their little stems out of the dirt and the ducks are laying eggs.

Which brings up the following questions:

Will the crocus and daffodils get frozen when winter returns?

Should the ducks be allowed to keep their eggs and raise ducklings (always very cute) or should the eggs be gathered and used for scrumptious Angel Food Cakes?  A difficult decision with pros and cons for each choice.