Day 3 of the Greenhouse build

Today, day 3, I came home to this!

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More to come on day 4!

And today.....

I came home to this.

What do you think it is going to be?

Whats this?

I came home Saturday to find this had been delivered.  Any guesses as to what it might be for???

Outside Life

Spring is here, but next week they say it may snow....again.  I hope that is wrong.

I worked outside most of today.  I am not raking out the gardens yet, as we still have frost as the plants need protection.  Bees and butterflies may still be wintering in the leaf cover as well.  So, until it is consistently warmer, I won't rake them out.

But, things are sprouting, budding and blooming.

I went to pull out this rosebush, as it died mid year last year.  Only, it is sprouting new growth.  So, I left it and we will see how it goes this year.

Tiger Lily, daffodils and iris are starting to come up.

I have 4 different types of daffodils.  This is the only type in bloom so far.

My forsythia is budding.

My clematis has really taken off.  Some branches of the vine are 6-8 feet long.  This will be its 3rd summer

These are tiger lilys I brought back from the family farm in NW Missouri.  They were my grandmothers.  I thought I had lost them, as this area had flooded and was under water for some time.  But, they are coming up.  I plan on moving some of them to higher ground in the event this area floods again.

Spring Babies

This is our second baby this week.

Poultry Pen Update

We are still getting caught up for the tornado of 2016.  We just had our 2 year tornado anniversary.  Of course repairs to the house, barn and fencing came first.

We have several who come out and cut firewood here on shares--from the 40+ trees that came down (most were in the hedge row).  You can start to tell a difference where they are working.

My poultry pen never got a good gate on it.  This week, we put a gate together, and I got it up yesterday.  I still need to line the gate with hardware cloth to keep raccoons from climbing through it.   And, I still need to mount a headboard across the 2 supporting posts.  Then we can finish securing the poultry netting on that side of the pen and put up the support cables.  That was supposed to be done today, but its too windy.  So, saving it for another day.  Here is the before and after of the pen.
Due to all the snow melt, rain and such (much flooding not far from us) it is still a muddy mess.  But, we are making headway.

Before the new gate

After the new gate

Dyson fix

Never underestimate the power of a determined woman and youtube how to videos.

The brush on my Dyson vacuumed quit spinning.  I could tell the belt was stretched.  My particular model actually has 2 belts.  To change the belts, requires taking the entire vacuum apart and taking the clutch apart.  So, that is what I did.  However, putting the clutch back together was a bit tricky.  At the end of a post that comes out of the clutch, a microscopic c clamp fits.  It holds the entire clutch together.  And, it is spring loaded.  I made this repair in the office.  The first time that spring loaded clutch flew off, it landed on the floor nearby.  The second time, it landed behind the desk, requiring the desk to be moved to retrieve it.  The third time it landed on the printer.  The fourth time, we could not find it anywhere.  Of course Dyson doesn't just sell the little clamp by itself.  I ended up having to buy a new clutch, an after market one off of ebay.  It arrived and it is now back together.  I saved over $250 doing it myself, based on a phone call I made to a Kansas City repair place.  For my model, they stated it would be 287, to replace the clutch (parts, labor and tax).  It would be more than that for me, since I don't live in Kansas City, so I would have also had to add in my time and fuel to go and come back from their shop.

The worse part of the entire ordeal was the going 2 weeks without a vacuum.  Here on the farm, we track in a lot of dirt, hay and mud.

In all seriousness, when you run into issues on this, check out youtube.

 

Talented Chicken

One of my hens laid an egg above the door, on the frame, in the hen house.  That took talent.  I am happy it didn't roll off and come down on my head.

I found it today, while cleaning out the chicken coup.  During the winter I use the deep litter method in the coup to keep the chickens warm.  Now that we have warmer days, I took all the deep litter out (which is pine shavings).

To make it easier to clean, I line all 14 of the nesting boxes and under their roost,  with cardboard before I put shavings in the nest.  Then, when it is time to clean, I just lift up the cardboard and it all goes into the compost.  Makes it much easier than raking it all out and it keeps the wooden floor dry.  I do similar for the duck house, although the ducks rarely use it.  However, a couple of my chickens do lay in it, and the cat hangs out in it a lot.

?? Spring??

Very little snow remains on the ground.  In its place, we have mud.  Lots and lots of mud.  We also still have ice, as it drops below freezing at night.  So, areas that were snow melt down during the day, then freeze at night into ice.  Needless to say, its a muddy, muddy  mess.

Awhile back, the chickens split into 2 groups.  Half of them remain hanging out in their own coop (which is a Lowe's shed).  The other half have claimed the ducks house.  I have no idea what caused this split up.   However, they all are laying in the chicken coop.

With the days getting longer, the chickens are again laying, and the ducks have started to lay.  I don't use artificial light, so we get few eggs during the winter.

Since there is a gang of chickens in the ducks house, the ducks have revolted and are now just laying their eggs where ever they happen to be when the urge to lay strikes.   They are fully capable of running the chickens out, but they don't.

So, today when I went out, I found the chicken eggs in the chicken coop in the nesting boxes where they belonged.  And, the duck eggs were scattered all over, in the mud.

Chicken Gone Wild

Fed Ex truck was here this morning. But, a bit ago, Fed Ex returned. I could not figure out why. Truck turned around, way down the driveway by the barn and poultry pen. and the driver opened the back door and …...shooed out one my my hens. Evidently she had gotten in the truck this morning. Of course, this would only happen here. Years and years ago, our dog Bo got in the UPS truck and ate the guys lunch...… Only here.

Meanwhile, I still wait for the mail.  Hopefully they will bring me the new clutch for my Dyson vacuum......Hopefully, no critters will get into the mail truck.....

Loud Geese

Canadian geese in the far back, snow geese in front, and our ducks in the middle. They are all literally screaming at each other. And, to top off the entertainment, earlier this morning the calves were chasing the geese every time they landed.

I am Done with Winter

I am done with winter.  Finished.  Someone take it away please.  So far, the school district I work at has missed 8 days of school due to the snow.  Making these up with just about run into summer school.  No fun.

The numerous snows have taken their toll on the poultry pen.  The netting has been pulled down twice.  Its back up now, but will need to be tightened back up.  But, since we are into March and it is again snowing, and cold temps predicted for much of this week, it won't be done anytime soon.

The picket fencing we put up around the front flower garden has worked well this winter for stopping the blowing snow that normally piles up in the driveway.  Now, it piles against the fence.  We need to add about 2 more sections before next winter and then there should be no drifting at all left.  It has saved us a lot of shoveling this winter.

Catching Snowflakes

George H W Bush

A friend of mine shared a site with me.  It contains an article written by a licensed mental health counselor and a mom.  She mentions in it how often the Bush family commented on how the former president treated and loved his wife, Barbara.  It is something we often don't see in families any more.

It is a very good article.  You can click here to find it to read.

Christmas Cupcakes

She Only Wanted a Chicken Hammock

Sunday we did not let the chickens out.  While the ducks love the snow, the chickens would rather it go away.  Yesterday they were out for a short time.  This morning I let them out for the day.  A few stayed out and a couple went back into the much warmer coop.

Tonight I went out to lock up their coop.  We still have not managed to trap the possum, so I have to check the coop first to make sure it has not gotten back into the coop again.  No possum in the coop, but I was one hen short.  I could hear her, but could not find her.  Then I spotted her.

Our poultry pen is covered with poultry netting.  Somehow, she managed to get out of the pen (I suspect she followed me walking out this morning and I didn't notice).  She evidently tried to fly back into the pen, which she could not do, due to the netting on the top.   So, she was settled in on top the netting, with her legs through it, like it was a hammock.  I have no idea how long she has been there, but she wasn't there when I was last out around 3pm, so at the most she was up there less than 3 hours.  Needless to say, she was glad to see me.

I have been pleased with this net so far.  However, the hen, probably is not too pleased with it.  The snow did not weigh it down, the snow went right through it.  When the weather clears up some, I will need to tighten it up in the area where she came down.

Winter Storm

Sunday morning it starting raining.  Rain that quickly turned to sleet.  The sleet quickly turned to snow.  Schools canceled for Monday and today (Tuesday).  Some are already cancelling for tomorrow as well.  All day Sunday we had high winds.  Poles broke, power lines were down and roads drifted shut as soon as they were cleared.  Parts of Missouri and Kansas were closed.  I 70, I 29, 291...Kansas City alone had close to 400 accidents.  Many were stranded, trying to get home from Thanksgiving travels.

Here are a few pictures around the farm taken after it was safe to venture out.

Our newest little girl, born a couple of days before the storm.  Her name is Lucy.

Possum Wrangling.

Tonight, we went possum wrangling.  Something has gotten 5 of my chickens.  I could not figure out what is was, but was pretty sure it was either a racoon or a possum.  We have a large poultry pen, fully fenced with a 7 foot fence all the way around it, and covered in poultry netting.  So, I knew it wasn't a hawk or owl.  And, snakes are hibernating this time of year (are at least are supposed to be, but with the luck we have around here, who knows......)

Tonight, we found out what the predator is.

I have a hook I was needing the husband to hang for me in the chicken coop, so I could hang their feeder.  They kept spilling it where it was, or the ducks would come into the chicken coop and get into it.  As he was hanging the hook, I decided to count the chickens before I locked them in for the night.  I started counting, "1, 2, 3, 4"  then my counting changed to screaming, "that's not a chicken, that's not a chicken".  Husband looks over and gives a nice slow "nope".  Curled up in a nesting box, acting like he belonged there, between 2 hens, was a fat possum.

I went and got a pitch fork, and  got him out of the nesting box and he ran behind a bale of straw.  From there he ran out the people door of the coop and outside and under the duck house.  So, basically he got away.

But tomorrow, I will set traps and catch him.  I will win this battle.

I am sure there are most likely more than one.  And, I will need to figure out how to catch possums in the traps and not cats, chickens and ducks.  Most likely cat will have to sleep in the garage, and I will have to lock up the chickens first.  The ducks rarely use their house-they prefer to sleep in the pen, so hopefully no ducks will get trapped. If I can find where he got into the pen, I can set the trap on the outside and try there.

Missouri Voters Guide McCaskill vs Hawley

Meal Planning

How does a busy family keep supper meals organized?  I am sure there are many methods but this is the one that has worked for our family for quite a few years.

It is simple to do, and has many advantages:
#1 You can start with what you have in your pantry and know what you need to purchase to fill in for the week.
#2 No wondering what do I fix tonight?  You will already have it planned and what you need for it.
#3 No one asking "Mom, whats for dinner?"
#4 The first one home can start planning.
#5 You can cycle your food so that you use up leftovers, such as I am doing this week with the chili on Sunday and chili dogs on Tuesday.

It requires space--either a cabinet, table, counter or what I use is a bakers rack.

You will need one tub for each day of the week, and some index cards.

On the tubs, label each one with a different day of the week.

On the index cards, put your meal or recipe.  You may want to laminate them, or leave as is.  I have them both ways.

Set them up in order.

Now, put your non perishable ingredients into the tubs on the night you want to prepare and eat them.  My Sunday tub is holding chili beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, angel food cake mix and a can of fruit.  Monday is grilled cheese and tomato soup and blueberry muffins.  Tuesdays card reads chili dogs (to finish up Sundays chili).  Nothing is in the tub (except for the index card reading chili dogs, and a can of corn) as the hotdogs are perishable and I have not made the buns yet.  Wednesdays card says biscuits and gravy and apple crisp, bacon and eggs.  Thursdays need to be changed to a card that reads pizza hut, Fridays is set up for home made chicken and rice soup with apple sauce, and Saturdays for tuna casserole.

So, simple.  What your are eating that doesn't have to be refrigerated goes into the tub.  You can even put a card in the Tuesdays tub that says to take the meat for the Wednesday supper out of the freezer and put in the fridge to thaw.