Life on the farm - Updates from Bethel

[beefy]

thats a smart idea--planting hedges around your garden to keep the chickens out--i might have to try that.

 

[soonerdog]

Gorgeous place! I see "NO" rooster in your pictures!

 

[ruth]

Hey Beefy - don't believe it keeps them out for a nano second. They jump right over the hedges - heck they jump the picket fences too.

Soonerdog - you're right I don't have any adult roosters but have two RIR's that are 3 weeks old and 2 BRs that are 7 weeks old and I think a couple of EEs that are also 7 weeks old. So by continuously hatching eggs I've gone from 13 chickens to 50 and from no roosters to too many roos. Things should really start to get interesting when these baby roos mature.

 

[beefy]

well if you need another rooster i have some Rare and Assorted ones i could probably part with one or two. i went from 4 to 21 with 8 more under the house due next week.

 

[ruth]

Well now I have a big bat buzzing by my head. I'm guessing now that it's spring all sorts of creepy crawlies are going to start showing up. Where's my brave husband? In bed and refuses to get up and do anything about the bat.

It's been an interesting week - found a dead possum with a live little baby I tried to hand feed; had a huge snake get in Ms. Broodys nest; Ms. Broody got killed; two bats in house tonight. It's definitely not boring here.

 

[BirdBrain]

Ruth,
I am not a fan of bats, but where I grew up we had sort of a utilitarian building we used for church meetings and everything else of importance. It was cooled by ceiling fans that hung down on long poles. We also had a pair of bats living there. It always got interesting on Sunday nights when the bats began to fly in figure 8's around the upper part of the building. I always expected one of them to hit the fans, but they never did and it was always something of a challenge to keep the kids attention on what was going on in front, rather than what was going on above.

 

[ruth]

Well not many updates around here other than chicks and ducks everywhere eating me out of house and home. But funny story today of how my hubby is making us the laughing stock of the town.

He calls a woman in town who raises cows and tells her he's interested in getting some cows. She says "What kind of cows do you want?" He says "Oh I don't know. I just want to get some calves and put them in the pasture and see what happens."

She proceeds to tell him that he can't have any of her registered Angus cows and she will call around and see if anyone has some cheap cows or sick cows or something disposable since he obviously knows nothing about cows and "just wants to put some calves in pasture and see how it goes."

So he doesn't stop there. Proceeds to tell her I raise chickens and that "they freerange". Again she laughs and says basically "boy you must be from the city. This is the country - around here you don't tell anyone your chickens free range. Of course they free range - where else would they be except running around the farm?"

Now that he has most of the town folk laughing at us and calling us stupid city people - I've asked him to stop making these phone calls.

 

[BamaChicken]

Ruth your home is gorgeous. How grand to get blessed with this home. I didn't see this last year so glad I could go back and read your post. The whole thing is country dream. Must have been the Lord for sure.

 

[ruth]

Thanks so much BamaChicken. It is a blessing and I am working hard to get it in shape for whatever the Lord has in mind for us. It would just be great if my hubby wasn't having the town folk laughing their heads off at us.

The other day he was in the hardware store buying a long fishing net telling the guy that he was going to catch the bats that get in the house. That guy still hasn't stopped laughing (happens he was born in this house built by his grandfather). He said "Would ya'll please let me know what time at night this show starts so I can come over and see it?"

 

[BamaChicken]

Oh well, it might work if he doesn't break anything. The garden areas are so lovely. They remind me of an English Garden. Of course I love picket fences. We are working on ours. We took down the picket fence that was up and we are moving it as time allows and price of new fencing. In my mind I know just how it will look. I planted a Cherokee Rose on one small section about a month ago. Can't wait till it gets going.