Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I got the cats caught and delivered to their new home. So glad to have this population down. I am missing my favorite Tom and hope he makes it back home. I almost kept his sister who looked much like him but being a female the odds were against her. Those people had a ton of cats already. They are custom harvesters so I'm sure the mice and rat problem can be insane.
I'm just thankful that someone wanted them. I know in the future I am controlling how many cats get rehomed here and making sure they are all tame. We just have the sweetest ones here now.
I got the brooder house cleaned out and hope it stays clean until spring. I did move some more chicks out there today just to get them out of the house.
We got one of the chicken houses moved last night so I can start work on it and get it ready for a new location. It was sitting in the duck pen. I had to take the fence down so we could move the building out. I am going to move some plastic barrel nests I made some time ago in there, then put the fence back up. They should have plenty of shelter when that is done and more room to move.

 

[chicken danz]

More rain this morning. Is it ever going to stop??? I don't know how I'm supposed to accomplish anything if I have to wade to get to everything.
I an worried about my kids. My daughter has lived on a great property which is divided half way in Austin city limits and half way outside the city limits. She's lived there in excess of 7 years. She runs a dog training and dog boarding business and this 3+ acres of fenced property was perfect for her business. The place was an overgrown rat trap full of mice and rats and junk when she moved there. She has cleaned it all up, planted grass, built kennels, has a excercise pen, a potty yard etc etc. She's worked on the house and gotten it in great shape, and stained the concrete floors so it looks decent but is still dog friendly for dogs that have to be kept indoors in kennels.
Her landlord was found 2 days after he passed away. This guy had no close relatives other than an ex wife and maybe some distant relatives. She really liked him and had spent time helping him and taking care of him. He was on a heart transplant list so she had reached out and helped him by making him healthy meals and stopping in to visit him while he recovered. He had let her slide on rent or exchange it for work on the property several times when money was tight. It was a perfect relationship cause she had an established business there and he had improvements that brought his property values up. He also owned some other properties around Austin as well and lived in another one of them. Now she is so sad that she lost her friend and thinks she should have done more for him. I think she did a whole lot more than most would do. But her future is so uncertain. It's yet to be determined who will ultimately have control of the property. If his ex wife ends up with it she will sell it all as soon as she can. At any rate now my daughter is going to be looking at the unknown and may end up with all the work she has put in down the drain. She was also working for a dog rescue group and trained dogs who were unadoptable and nursed them back to health. The rescue group had paid for kennels that were permanently installed as well as humane housing that of course now are part of the property. Not something she could take down and take with her. It honestly makes me feel sick thinking of what she might go through and all the unknowns. She has never married and has no significant other. So there is no one she can lean on for help. Her business is centered there and it would be impossible to pick up stakes and move to another state or general area and carry her clients with her. She of course has her chickens that would have to be moved as well. Properties in Austin are insanely expensive. Especially suburban areas like she is in.
We talked many times and I always said if I came into tons of money I would build us each a house on an acreage near each other and set her up with a permanent business set up so she could continue her work and she could also help me out when I get too old to get around.
Then my middle son called and the wheel bearing is going out of his trailer. He is on his way to a barbecue competition in KC that he does with his older brother each year. DH may have to go up and switch out trailers and somehow get my sons trailer back here to work on. He has so little time off right now and he may be making multiple trips to KC in the next two days to get that taken care of. DS lives over 3 hours from KC so it's not like we can just drop the trailer back at his house.

 

[Trish44]

@chicken danz I'm sorry about your kids, no matter how old they get you still worry about them, same here. You know my situation as well so we need to pray for each other & our kids that everything will work out for the best.

We have had rain a couple of times already this morning, ugh. Winfield is in the middle of the Walnut Valley Festival & nobody was able to camp at the fairgrounds due to the flooding so they all had to move to the lake & they have bussed them back & forth every day, two more days to go. I'll bet those people are wishing they hadn't even come this year. People from all over the US & other countries come to that. The town has been super busy with all of the extra people here.

I've been trying to get everything done outside but it looks like today is a washout.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Sorry the auction was a bust Danz....

Lizzy, in addition to the quiche mentioned above, I like to make custard. Here is a link to my recipe: https://selfsufficiencyandotherassortedhijinks.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/baked-custard/ I adapted it from another I found online because the original only used 4 eggs. I needed to use up both eggs and milk so I doubled the number of eggs and it turned out much better than the original recipe, which would have been a lot thinner and runnier. Of course you're not trying to use up milk like I was but I bet you'll enjoy the custard anyway and probably your little boy as well.

It is another gorgeous day here. I still have a lot to do to get caught up from being gone for a week, especially indoors, as yesterday was so nice I spent a good portion of the day outdoors.

How do you tell when the custard is done? I've got it in the oven right now, and at the end of 45 minutes, it is still very liquidy. The picture in the recipe makes it look like it should gel up. Can you do the knife/toothpick test on it to tell if it is done?

 

[HEChicken]

How do you tell when the custard is done? I've got it in the oven right now, and at the end of 45 minutes, it is still very liquidy. The picture in the recipe makes it look like it should gel up. Can you do the knife/toothpick test on it to tell if it is done?

Yes, the knife test should work on this like it does on a cake. Mine does always gel up but there was one time I had to keep putting it back in over and over again and it took closer to an hour and a half. I'm trying to remember what I figured out the issue was. I know it had to do with the water. Either I had used a different quantity of water or the oven temp was different. In any case, the temp wasn't sufficient to heat the water sufficiently to cook the custard - I know that was the end result. If you start with very cold water or a very high level, you will need to adjust the cook time accordingly as it is the oven heating the water to the right temp that ultimately cooks the custard to perfection, if that makes sense.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz, here's hoping for a good outcome for your daughter. It is so hard to watch our kids going through difficult times. We want to be able to make it all better for them like we could when they were little and got an ouchie, but unfortunately once they're grown, it isn't always that easy.

Rain, rain and more rain here. It started storming before first light and didn't quit until just a little while ago. I've been doing indoor stuff all day other than milking. That was an adventure, getting it done in the rain and the cows had a little fun with me. I walked out to get them and could't see them anywhere. I knew they weren't back at the cow barn since that is where I started. I walked the whole 20 acres they currently have access to, in the rain, and finally returned, very confused as to where they could possibly be, only to find them standing under the horse lean-to. I had walked right past it but would have had to turn around to look back as I did in order to see them and it never even occurred to me to look for them there. I bet they were laughing the whole time I was out there walking the pasture looking for them.

 

[chicken danz]

Its rained here all day and is still coming down but not quite as hard. I have gotten nothing done. I had to go get a prescription filled so I packaged up eggs and took them to both of my sisters. Which meant time talking for a while at each place. I had to wait on the prescription so that was even more time. It shot my entire afternoon. I'm cold cause it is cool out and that makes me want to do even more of nothing. I can't feed the animals with the rain coming down and with the entire place setting in water. I was going to clean house but am totally lacking the energy to even start.
Yeah Trish you and I are in a similar situation when it comes to our children I guess. I really am suffering for them, especially my DD because there is no way to know what will happen when and what options she will have.
HEChicken my babies will always be my babies even though they have all grown out of the stage of wanting to be mothered. But when the chips are down they know I'll be there for them. I just can't shake the fear I feel for her and her future now. And I certainly don't want to see her homeless with no way to continue her livelihood. I feel totally powerless and I hate feeling that way.

 

[sharol]

@chicken danz I'm so sorry about your daughter's friend and the complications for her from his death. That is an awful situation to be in for her. My thoughts will be with her.

I have a Jubilee Orp hen with a swollen eye. She is fine otherwise, no drainage or anything, so I think it may have gotten scratched or bumped. I put some eye ointment for dogs in it night before last, and I'll catch her this morning for another treatment. Any other suggestions? She isn't particularly tame, so that may be a challenge.

My treadmill shot craps day before yesterday. It has sat for several months while I was using the room for foster pups and kittens, and when I went to use it on Thursday it was throwing an error. The error message can refer to several things, and after some intensive troubleshooting with the manufacturer (it is 9 years old), we concluded that the board (electronic brain) is out, and it will cost $250+ for the PART. I'm not planning to put $250 into a 9 year old treadmill even if it was almost $1500 new. I used it nearly every day for 8 years, so I got my money's worth out of it, but.... Anyway, I'm looking at a lighter, smaller one they have at SAMS. Does anyone have any experience with Exerpeutic 1500XL Fitness Walking Electric Treadmill from Sams Club? http://www.samsclub.com/sams/exerpeutic-1500xl-fitness-walking-electric-treadmill/prod2600038.ip The reviews for the same device at Amazon are pretty good, and if I got it from Sams, the extended warranty wouldn't be prohibitive.

I don't need the running treadmill because I can't run anymore, and I could rig this one with a computer desk (motivation to walk). Any opinions (clearly not chicken related).

 

[chicken danz]

@chicken danz I'm so sorry about your daughter's friend and the complications for her from his death. That is an awful situation to be in for her. My thoughts will be with her.

I have a Jubilee Orp hen with a swollen eye. She is fine otherwise, no drainage or anything, so I think it may have gotten scratched or bumped. I put some eye ointment for dogs in it night before last, and I'll catch her this morning for another treatment. Any other suggestions? She isn't particularly tame, so that may be a challenge.

My treadmill shot craps day before yesterday. It has sat for several months while I was using the room for foster pups and kittens, and when I went to use it on Thursday it was throwing an error. The error message can refer to several things, and after some intensive troubleshooting with the manufacturer (it is 9 years old), we concluded that the board (electronic brain) is out, and it will cost $250+ for the PART. I'm not planning to put $250 into a 9 year old treadmill even if it was almost $1500 new. I used it nearly every day for 8 years, so I got my money's worth out of it, but.... Anyway, I'm looking at a lighter, smaller one they have at SAMS. Does anyone have any experience with Exerpeutic 1500XL Fitness Walking Electric Treadmill from Sams Club? http://www.samsclub.com/sams/exerpeutic-1500xl-fitness-walking-electric-treadmill/prod2600038.ip The reviews for the same device at Amazon are pretty good, and if I got it from Sams, the extended warranty wouldn't be prohibitive.

I don't need the running treadmill because I can't run anymore, and I could rig this one with a computer desk (motivation to walk). Any opinions (clearly not chicken related).

Your treadmill sounds like mine. My DIL expressed an interest in mine but it's in the trailer and I have no power in there any more to even test it. It was so expensive and also had the program to hook it to the computer for customized work outs. I had purchased one with an extra wide and long belt so my sons could use it to run on. I can't run either. I used to use it all the time until I tried to move it and ended up with an estrangled hernia which required emergency surgery. There's nothing light weight about it. I think if I remember right it weighed 600 pounds when it was shipped. It's been sitting for years. I had planned to put it in my basement and use it down there when I moved here but it was so heavy we never got it moved. I guess I should just take the time to run some extension cords out there and make sure it still operates. I would be most afraid that mice had chewed the wiring.
We got continuous rain all day yesterday. I never did get out to feed the animals. Poor things. Later in the day I paid for the rain as well. The cooler weather and damp conditions set my arthritis into high gear. My pain level was out the top. Every fall I go through this. I forget how much the cool and the damp hurt me. I feel like someone beat me up this morning. I'll get out soon and hopefully get the endorphins going.
I'm hoping I didn't loose any birds in this mess. It's so easy for them to get bogged down in the mud.

 

[Trish44]

We had rain most of the day yesterday & I didn't get to feed anything till finally about 6 in the evening when it stopped. I'm glad it's not raining today because I sent my DH & a helper to go get the hay for the animals for winter. I was praying it wouldn't rain this morning, whew!