Fall Finds

Overnight we lost our sunshine and some much needed rain set in.  But best of all, fall is most certainly upon us.  Autumn is my favorite season by far and I have been anxiously awaiting fall on the farm.  I have so many beautiful trees and the changing colors are stunning.  In preparation for colder weather, when it will be harder to get done some of the outdoor projects, my parents came over yesterday and helped with a few chores that required more than just me to do.  We finished putting up some wire inside the chicken coop to cover a gap at the top of the shed.  Although Frannie has shown no predilection for running away from home thus far, it made me nervous that she roosted way up there next to the gap between coop and freedom.

I bought some lovely kale and perennials for my deck planters in preparation for fall weather and the need for hardier plants. 

Husky colors!  Notice the newly stained deck.

 

The first sign of pumpkins was found at my local grocery store.  Hannah and I will go to a local farm so we can do the corn maze and pick our own big pumpkins but in the meantime, I needed a couple to tide me over.  Thus the temporary front porch pumpkins:

 I hear the chickens love the innards so these two fellows are in grave danger of being sliced and diced for chicken food.

Speaking of the girls, I made a trip to Lowe's today and purchased some lumber in order to make the long awaited ramp for them.  Since it's been wet and rainy, their old ramp has been slippery and useless so I decided it was time to furnish the coop.  So I made a ramp.  Voila:

If you saw me with a saw and hammer, you would be suitably impressed with this.

While my dad was out stapling up wire in the chicken coop with me yesterday, we watched as Frannie became very broody and began rearranging a nest box, appearing to be getting ready for laying.  She uttered the same coos and clucks that Libby does when she is laying and seemed completely unperturbed that 2 people plus a 6 foot ladder were in there at the same time.  My dad insists this is because he is the chicken whisperer.  (Bear in mind this is the same person that wants to get each of my girls a rhinestone collar and leash!)  However, despite Frannie's going through the motions, nothing appeared.  I had thought she had laid two eggs since I have had her as she is my only white egg layer but I am questioning my ability to tell the difference between white and very light brown.  I am not positive the eggs were hers any longer so I am hoping for a definitive sign.  Today when I delivered some scratch to them along with their new ramp, I found Frannie again in her nest box, busily rearranging the straw and getting settled.

Maybe I will and maybe I won't!

Today my mom and I went to a local feed store that had some neat antique type farm items.  Since we didn't find anything worth purchasing we decided to drive through old Monroe and see if we could find any other antique shops or places with rustic type farm decor.  We discovered a very small street crafts fair to our delight.  Although there were only a small number of booths, we found lots of great items.  The first thing I bought was this:

Fill me with eggs.

 

Then I found this for $20.  I immediately decided I had to have it as it goes perfectly next to my shed/barn and the log I recently weeded around and cleaned up.

Yes, I looked funny walking through downtown Monroe with a wheelbarrow.

Another trip to Lowe's and this is what emerged:

But the real find was a birdhouse that was at the first booth we stopped at.  They told me it had been sold to an antique store around the corner and that the owner of the antique store may or may not be willing to sell it.  I fell in love with it and duly traipsed over to the antique store.  The owner was also in love with it but was also willing to make a buck so she sold it to me at what was undoubtedly quite a mark up but well worth it to me.

Dexter checks out the newest addition for the birds.

I love the peeling paint and rustic look of the roof.  I will put a preservative on it but I have no wish to refinish it and have it look shiny and new.  Part of its charm is that it's old and a little worn.  So it was a very unexpectedly productive jaunt into town today!

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, I came home to Stabby and Hook lying on my clean laundry showering each other with love.  They have become inseparable and are almost always together these days.

Fold this laundry mom.  It's kind of lumpy.

 

The hot tub has suddenly developed an inexplicable allure for all the animals.  Lola uses it as a platform bed:

What?  It's warm!

 

 

Even Dexter likes to hop up there and challenge me to make him come inside.  He has been sneaking out the doggie door quite frequently now and he knows I frown on him being outside.

 Just try to herd a cat.

 

 

Meanwhile I was inside brushing PB who has been shedding like crazy.  This is the result of 15 minutes of brushing:

 Sweater anyone?

So we have been keeping busy getting all the yard projects done before the weather really turns on us.  Lola will soon be registered for her first class for obedience school and the start of her therapy work.  My other winter project will be learning how to knit.  I am on a mission to find a local yarn store that offers some classes.  In the meantime I will taking advantage of all the great fall activities, farmers' markets and pumpkin pickings that are coming up.  Next week I have a class on winterizing one's hen house so the girls will spend this winter in warmth and comfort.  

I'll leave you with a photo of the horses that live across the street from me.  They are such a pleasure to watch and are obviously the best of friends.  I often see them chasing each other around the pasture or just dozing with their noses on each other's withers.

The joys of living in the country.

 

 

Happy Fall!

Multiple Personalities

My girls are settling in and as they do so, I am getting to know each of their personalities.  You wouldn't think three creatures not renowned for intelligence could have such distinct and entertaining personalities but you would be wrong!  There is a very noticeable hierarchy which was established on day one.  

Libby is clearly the most dominant chicken and if Petunia is too pushy or gets to the treats too fast, Libby will roundly chastise her with a few squawks or hen pecks to help her remember where she falls in the food chain.  Petunia, being as social as Libby but not as dominant, is left to trail closely behind, picking up the bits Libby leaves and trying to get a sneaky peck in here and there to grab some of the goodies before Libby inhales them all.  

Frannie, well Frannie is my special child.  She is my Asperger's chicken.  A little stiff and socially awkward, she hangs around on the outskirts of everything but happily skips treat time and shows no interest in participating in the games with the other two.  Frannie is a creature of habit, always in the same roosting space, always watching from afar and if you look at her sideways she skittishly runs away with a look of disdain.  Frannie chooses to remove herself completely from the hierarchy as though she doesn't understand and doesn't much care anyway.  Watching them all interact fascinates me and I am learning their body language and what their various coos and clucks mean.

The bossy eldest child.

 I get through life on my looks thank you very much.

Petunia, my beta chicken.

Here is a very brief video in which you can hear some of the sounds that greet me when I go visit the girls.  Libby as always, is by far the most vocal and she will tell me in no uncertain terms that she does not approve of the fact that I brought a camera and not cracked corn with me.







Meanwhile, fall has settled in seemingly overnight.  Despite our beautiful days, it's been quite cold at night and my beech trees are showing the first signs of their glorious fall colors.

 The lovely gold of the beeches and in the foreground, the deep red of my blueberry bushes.

 

Stabby watches the leaves change from her new favorite perch on my printer.

My crab apple tree is heavy with fruit.  Stand back...I'm going to try making chutney and jelly! 

One of the things I have learned since moving out here is to appreciate things that suburbia used to make me squeamish about.  Nature is a little closer on the mini-farm and I am far less likely to intrude on it than I used to be.  For instance, I've been keeping my eye on this (sorry to those of you who are going to shudder...)

Art in nature.

This guy set up shop between the hot tub and the beam of the covered part of my deck.  There was a time when I would have suppressed a shriek, run inside, grabbed the can of Raid and used it in its entirety.  But I have let him be.  You can't see the web on the photo but it is a thing of perfection.  What you can see are all the bugs he's eating for me and I just don't see any reason to mess with him since he's not messing with me and he picked a good location where I am not going to accidentally run into him.  I like the idea of letting things be and intruding as little as possible with my little ecosystem. 

Finally, I attended the Washington Outdoor Women's workshop this weekend.  Fantastic classes, really inspiring women - both participants and instructors - and incredibly well run and organized.  For an entirely volunteer endeavor, I was enormously impressed.  Not only will I return next year but I signed up to volunteer with the production next year. 

My next post will shamelessly poach some fantastic photos my mom took during their recent 3 week road trip to Alaska.  Stay tuned...

Farm Travails: The Sequel to Farm Tales

Several days ago, I decided to do some much needed weed whacking.  I have never weed whacked before.  Now I know why.  That sucker is heavy!  There is a good reason my dad was so eager to trade weed whacking in exchange for sweeping the lawn when I flew off the mower in disgust.  (See Farm Tales)  By the time I was done, my left arm was having mini-epileptic seizures that didn't quit until the following day at which time it simply hung limply as though I had suffered a stroke.  I will be weed whacking in smaller increments from now on.  

Once I was done weed whacking, I too suddenly saw sitting immobile on the lawn mower as a welcome relief.  So, using my handy new John Deere, I happily trundled around the yard.  For about 15 minutes.  Then the blades disengaged and refused to work.  At all.  I quickly sent a mildly frantic text to the guy I bought it from who has been fabulous and offers better customer service than everyone else associated with this house despite having been a craigslist find.  Andy asked me if the belt had broken.  Ha!  "Andy", said I, "If I knew where the belt was, what it looked like and if it was broken, I could probably fix it myself".  He then remembered who he was dealing with and offered to come pick it up, fix it and leave me a loaner.  Thank god for the good people in this world.  Meanwhile, my grass continues to grow into a field and clearly I will not be weed whacking my lawn.  

Thus that leaves me oodles of time to obsess over my new chickens.  Last night, I went out to their coop with a can of cracked corn per Katie's instructions to put them to bed in their shelter.  To my utter horror, I could not find Fran.  Anywhere.  Utter panic descended as I imagined having to tell Katie and her kids that somehow, in the few hours since they left my house, I managed to lose or kill a chicken.  After calming myself and performing a thorough search pattern, I *finally* located Fran in the very upper rafters of the shed behind a piece of wood.  Katie wasn't kidding when she said Fran could fly high!  I briefly considered turning Fran into a boiler chicken, tried to regain the 10 years I lost off my lifespan and rounded them all up and locked them securely in for the night. 

 What?  I like high places.  Look harder next time.

This morning, I went out to inventory the girls and make sure they were all still there and to my immense relief, all 3 came trotting out to see me and have some mealie worms.  I spent the day googling and drawing up plans for my vision of a more sustainable, environmentally friendly mini-farm that hopefully will provide me with eggs and next year, veggies so I am less dependent on others for the things I need around the house.  I may also have spent some ill advised time surfing petfinder, my ultimate downfall as we all know.

 Sliding down the ramp.  Steps will be added soon.

 

 

This afternoon, I went to visit the girls and noticed that Libby had the regrettable affliction of a clogged vent area.  In short, lots of chicken poop where those eggs are going to come from.  So...fortifying myself with a glass of wine, I went out with a warm, wet towel as instructed by Raising Chickens for Dummies (which is my bible.  Where oh where is Homeownership for Dummies?) and attempted to clean Libby up.  Which turned out to be laughably ineffective.  Chicken surgery was required.  I traipsed back in and retrieved my blunt gauze scissors and managed to wrassle Libby into a secure position while I trimmed her nether regions and cleaned her up.  She happily clucked and sat still for me the whole time.  Seeing as how I had a pair of scissors in my hand, that was probably even better for her than it was for me.  Flushed with the success of my first chicken surgery, I gave the girls some nice wormy crab apples as a reward for their good behavior. 

You want to do what to my vent?

Meanwhile the dogs, both of whom have been apathetic about the chickens, are suddenly taking a greater interest since mom is out there all the time.  

What do they have that I don't?

 

Nesting has begun to take place!

Could I just eat in peace please?

Do you see me now?

The chicken French Doors.  Only the best for my girls.

Hopefully by next time we will be back to farm tales instead of farm travails.  The weed whacker will be lighter, the mower will be working, the grass will be cut, the chickens will be easily seen....

Three Lovely Ladies

My new friend Katie brought over her 3 delightful children along with their 3 delightful chickens today.  Katie and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time talking about chickens, the outdoors, animals in general and veggie gardens.  Needless to say, we have much in common.  

The kids, while initially a little sad to give up 3 of their girls, were thrilled when they saw my huge coop and the luxury the ladies will be living in.  They quickly cheered up and I assured them they were always welcome to come visit.  I was then filled in on the quirks of each of the girls.  Fran is a white leghorn and a little flighty (excuse the pun) but still definitely tame enough to pick up and pet.  Petunia is a Wyandotte and I have to laugh as Petunia has a cross beak which you will see below.  She fits right into my home for special needs animals!  I assured Katie I wasn't put off in the least by a creature who isn't quite normal!  Libby is a Plymouth Rock and all are quite beautiful in my humble if biased opinion.  I have to restrain myself from running out to check on them every half hour as I want to let them get settled.  Without further ado, meet the girls:

Libby in the background, Fran and Petunia in the foreground, avoiding the camera.

Petunia's cross beak.  She manages remarkably well in spite of it.

Fran and Petunia with their sandbox in the back.  Who knew chickens need a sand box?!

A somewhat blurry Libby who would not pose for her photo shoot.

Hook was unimpressed by the new arrivals.

Neither was Lola to my immense relief.   Neither she nor PB seemed the least bit interested in those waddling birds in the back yard.  

A view of the mountains from my office, and the unprecedented dry spell we've been having.

Hook's, well, hook, seems to be improving.  He can now stretch it out to a greater degree and often lays with it draped over Dexter.

A beautiful harvest moon at sunset last night.

Stabby, in her now familiar place at the top of the stairs in the sun.

So the farm tales will continue with the arrival of the girls.  While we are hoping for eggs, I would be just as happy having the girls for pets and watching their interactions.  My farm somehow seems a little more complete with them here.  

Finally, Katie's mom is director of what looks like a fabulous organization called Washington Outdoor Women.  They run various workshops and classes and in two weeks, I will spend a weekend at a local camp site in a tent taking classes which range from archery, to big game hunting to dutch oven cooking.  They have a plethora of classes to choose from although this year's workshop is now full.  I managed to get in just by the skin of my teeth.  I'll be taking Canine First Aid, Survival Skills (probably something I should have taken long ago!) and Kayaking.  There wasn't much left to choose from but I will definitely get in early next year.  Check out their website here.  I'll post a review once I've attended but I've heard from previous participants that they put on a great weekend.

Time to go give the girls some treats!