~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~ - Page 113

THREE silkies now! 

I've moved them to their own little nursery (the white cage) with an EcoGlow20.  The eggs from which they hatched are marked: W, Buff, and Bla(something) Sp.  That's either Blue or Black splash, I guess. 

In the large Rubbermaid brooder, the older chicks are getting more and more feisty.  As I am really good at hatching roosters, I suspect my "luck" is holding with these babies too.  I am NOT good at sexing chicks by sight, not at all.  I'm one of those folks who simply wait for eggs or crowing.  Unless it's obvious before then. 

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The flock has been in heaven today, with all the rain bringing up worms and bugs.  A little bit earlier, almost all of the flock - including Kate and Angus - were in the meadow, happily foraging.  The rain has filled the kiddie pools, stock tank and all the bird baths brought up from the rental property.  Kate just wandered past the guest room French door.  That door has added so much to this room!  Smudge likes to sit in front of it and look out into the side yard.  When Kate passed, Smudge's ears got a little flat but he didn't move from his observation point.  Those two geese have "chased" Smudge into the house more than once.  No real chasing involved, just a tug at his fur and then a casual waddle after him as he gets out of their way.  Smudge always seeks refuge inside the house. 

John has told me he's seen more than one chicken walk up the ramp to the pet door and attempt to gain entrance. 

Gotta go to Placerville and order that heater today.

I picked up HHandbasket - she met me at the bottom of her long, steep driveway so I wouldn't have to deal with their drive gate - and we went to Placerville together.  She navigated.  I get awfully turned around because I can count on one hand the number of times I've driven to Placerville from my new home. We found the Stove Place again without ANY trouble.

There was no store demo model of the propane heater I'm buying, but that doesn't mean we didn't ooh and ahhh over those displayed in the store.  "Yes, like this one, but with solid sides, no glass.  Lighter color than that, but like that. This size.  Yes, it heats 900 square feet."  And so on...  She's seen the web-site page I provided earlier, but hoped there was one in the store to actually touch.  Ah well. 

The salesman had sent me three quotes in PDF via e-mail: one heater I'd first mentioned with little information other than the model name (very pricey), one of a much less expensive, imported brand and model he included as an alternative, and later after we talked, one of the model I really, really liked once I had looked at the second quote and wandered off into the Interweb from there.  Same brand as the first quote, but smaller - why would I need something that can heat 1,800 square feet???  One of the things I like about the brand is that it is American made. 

But when we went over everything the quote entailed, HHandbasket zeroed right in on the "programmable wall thermostat."  You betcha!  For a propane heater.  Beauty, comfort, AND convenience.  I paid my deposit and the heater will be ordered on Monday, then the office manager will call me to schedule installation.  (If the one I want is in the West Coast warehouse, that will cut out 10 days of the wait.) 

Then we went grocery shopping at Raley's.  I've never even been INTO a Raley's grocery (there weren't any in or near the locations where I have lived most of my life, and there wasn't one close to where I used to live once I moved to the Sacramento area).  I'm also not much of a comparison shopper.  I go get what I need or want.  The Pokerville Market in Plymouth, which is right on my way home from work each day, is quite nice, if pricey for some things.  It's an IGA store.  The Holiday Market in ... well..... Pleasant Valley, I guess.... is VERY nice, but it's not in the direction I travel on a daily basis.  I like that it's employee owned. 

I'm nearly a decade older than HHandbasket, but she is much more savvy about shopping than am I.  She should be at my side during every grocery shopping trip I make. 

We stopped at my house on the way back so she could see (and hold) all the chicks, then I took her and her groceries home. 

During the time it's taken me to compose this post, the same little BR chick has escaped the Rubbermaid Prison TWICE and run around on the floor, peeping with excitement.  Or maybe that was distress.  It was more urgent than the routine cheep cheep, but not as shrill as the "I'm in danger!" peeping.  It stopped as soon as I picked it up.  Bet it's a roo.

Gonna need to find some of that extra bit of hardware cloth and make a cover for the brooder REALLY soon.  The Chicken Kindergarten needs to be dried out a bit more before the babies go back out into it.

I have hired a housekeeper!  You know, a cleaning lady...  not a live-in "keeper" of my house. 

I have needed one for my entire adult life but have been unwilling and ashamed to "deal" with the fact that I am not a housekeeper. The first first job I ever held was motel maid.  I hated it. I would rather do ANYTHING than clean house.  I am a home-owner, but not a "keep one clean" person.  Y'all have NO IDEA how ecstatic I am about this! 

Point one - my house will be clean.  Point two - I will be providing income to someone.  Point three - I won't be ashamed to invite co-workers I like to my house (eventually).  Point four - If, and this is a very big "if" - I ever decide to...  ummm... start dating, fer instance... or invite someone really nice to stay longer.  It could happen.  Just sayin'.

I called John to thank him for his referral.  She's wonderful.  She did not run out of the house, screaming in horror.  He laughed, then said, "She's good people. You'll like each other.  Then you'll have TWO friends in [his community] and you'll have river beach rights. In the summer, it's like the best swimming pool in the world, a mile long, sparkling clean water, no chlorine, just wonderful.  Beautiful trees all around.  People pay millions of dollars to make their property look this good, like nature, and we have it just by living here." 

I had re-scheduled our appointment for this afternoon, right after she got out of church.  She was dressed in really nice clothes but changed into "yard boots" in the car at the gate.  In our "here's who I am" discussion, she explained she grew up locally - in Omo Ranch - and had experience in raising goats and keeping winter-born kids in boxes in the kitchen, for bottle-raising.  "We're country - that's just what you do."  She can't keep chickens in her community but spent some time admiring the chicks in their brooders in my guest room.  She's got two sons and four cats. 

She won't use bleach (or Pine-Sol, which *I* consider to be an invention of the devil) but prefers ammonia for sanitation. Her favorite cleaning product is Bon Ami.  I will be providing the cleaning supplies and equipment; she told me not to get Windex, as "it's just water and ammonia, anyway."  409 spray is good, too.  I do have 409 spray already.... 

She said she dislikes cleaning for people who keep their houses clean, because they're usually "anal and hoverers;" in the case of my house, she'll have a sense of accomplishment for what she's completed and I'll be able to tell where she's worked. 

That's a great attitude, I think.  I've hired her for weekly cleaning services. 

This is just the greatest thing for me. Y'all have NO idea how much this is going to improve my life. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by coloradochick 
More Silkie pics please   

"More?"  I haven't posted any yet.  The last chick photos were of the NYD Hatch chicks.  However, ask and you shall receive! 

The first photo was taken by Farmer Lew using his cell phone - he and HHandbasket came over with a bottle of wine to celebrate with me last night. (Oh, yah, folks who really know and love me realize the major blessing of yesterday's event) . 

Today's photos. Please forgive the blurred ones!

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I must admit I have been thinking these little silkie chicks are quite stupid.  Every other NORMAL chick has learned to use a nipple or water bottle drinker within minutes.  These little fuzzybutts hadn't figured it out in two days, so I had to add that small bin of moistened chick starter so the goobers wouldn't dehydrate.  Farmer Lew, who is an honest-to-goodness Chicken Whisperer, worked with all three chicks last night and I THINK one of them has made the connection between drinking and that silver thing they gotta peck. For the time being, there is also a peanut butter jar lid half full of water in the cage with them. 

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When I entered the Nursery/Guest Room/Office/Incubation Room this morning, I discovered evidence of chick exploration. Everybody (NYD Hatch)  was either in the brooder bin or perched on the edge, looking all adorable and innocent.  Well, the door had been closed, and THAT right there doesn't look like Simba the rabbit got out of his hutch, or Zorro the elderly and obstinate wiener dog who doesn't want to go outside in the cold, wet weather managed to open the door to the room, sneak in, poop, then exit and close the door behind him.  Now, does it??

Plus some other "evidence" on the towel covering half of the silkie's brooder cage.  Hmmmm.  Oh MY!  Who else do y'all know has ever found chick poop on an iPad!???!  Good thing it's easy to clean..and it was a "better" poop than the one in the picture.... but I guess I can't leave it to charge on that low stool any more..... My chicks can FLY!  Lordy... who brags about where their chicks poop??? 

I am reminded of that old joke where scientists studying optimism and pessimism - genetics or environment? -  put a happy, upbeat little boy in a room absolutely full of horse poop to watch his behavior.  He drops to his knees in the stuff and begins to fling hands full of it around the room, laughing gleefully.  They activate the observation speakers in the room and ask, "WHY are you so happy in there??"  The little boy looks up at the camera with a big grin and says, excitedly, "Are you kidding??? There's gotta be a pony in here somewhere!!!!"