Recent content by granmahen

We're having to move. After living in a house 11 years, it doesn't matter if one rents, as we do, or is buying, it becomes yours in so many ways. The walls painted our favorite colors. The arch over the front sidewalk that finally is covered in roses. The back yard was a sea of grass when we...

January is flying by, or with all the needed rain we're having, I should say its floating by. So much is going on, out in the back 1/4 acre and in the house. Out back, the girls are loving the rainy days. Well, the breaks between the rain. I let them out and they first run over to the dog's...

Happy New Year to everyone. Hope your Christmas was joyous. The older Tom and I get, the quieter our Christmases get. Well, at least early in the day. We sleep in (no little ones to wake us). Tom walks the cross down one of our main thoroughfares, stopping as people come up for prayer. What a...

We started February right, with a new grandson. Simon Don Kline. Born Feb. 1, at 8:22pm, 7lb.2oz., 20 inches long. Some of you have heard me talk about his sister, Gemma (11yrs). She got me started with chickens. Well, she was right there, encouraging her mom, watching the doc do his thing while...

We are soooooo excited. Its only the 11th of December and it looks like it will be a cold, wet winter for us here in Bakersfield, CA. Normally, drought is.....well, the norm. We are the city with a riverbed running through it. Now I'm smiling but not so sure about the hens and bunnies and dogs...

I love, love, love our chickens. I don't know how I survived before they came into my life. They weed my gardens, eat bugs, dethatch the lawn, break down the fall leaves so more fit into the composter, give me eggs every day to use and share, and provide free entertainment by the hour. Watching...

Funny, it happens every year here in Bakersfield. The County Fair starts last week of Sept. and is in the high 90s and low 100s and almost always ends in the 70's. Last day of the fair was 67. (Fair only runs 12 days). It always amazes me. I must digress a little and say DGD really wowed us in...

This September is full of new adventures, some exciting and some a little lonely. This will be the first year since dgd, Gemma, started kindergarten that I have not been fully involved in her education. My daughter finally gets to stay home and teach Gemma the whole day (she worked part time...

July has been no fun and it still isn't over. Yes, its the 30th but the next 24 hrs. will just lead up to Aug. Okay, so we had a beautiful June. Temps in the 80's and 90's, cool evenings, smiles all around though everyone knew what was coming. Then July 4 it all started. Every day over 100...

Ladies seem to be eating us out of house and home. First tried having feed available at all times. Bought 50lb. bag of crumble. Took 5 gal. container, drilled holes in sides and placed in a large pan. Bucket held 25 lbs. of crumble. Didn't seem to be much waste (lifted whole thing up onto...

I love banties. They are cuddly sweet, don't eat much or take up much room, and lay the cutest eggs in the world. Having said that, a little history. Our lone silky was living with a turkey and two quail when I upset her entire life by moving the others into a new home. I thought she would...

Loved this, hope you do too: LEST WE FORGET WHO WE ARE 1. We are the peole of the great God, not the people of the great godlessness. 2. We are the people of the great prophecy, not the people of the great lie. 3. We are the people of the great incarnation, not the people of the great impostor...

I was so sure of myself. Down right righteous about it. We have hens for the eggs and when the time comes we'll eat them. I figured they'd at least be good for chicken soup. Now after only one year I have a meanie who might have to go. No problem, I thought. Soup pot for her. Then I checked out...

Gotta love composting. It gives me another excuse to have chickens, besides the fresh eggs. We started composting when our bunny population grew from 3 to 10 over the course of a year (only two bunnies came the natural way, the rest castoffs from friends who had to move). We built two compost...