Helpful hints for building coops

[CapricornFarm]

Hubby helped me unload the panels for the run from the truck. Not having much ambition in the heat. Dry as a bone outside, no rain for many weeks.

 

[NewBoots]

tomorrow we are going to bury our recently deceased brothers ashes.
.......jiminwisc......

I'm very sorry for your loss Jim.

 

[NewBoots]

Just got back to Portland after visiting the new place in Lakeside. I was gone since Thursday and I was worried the garden would be a wreck but evidently there was a big rainstorm while I was gone and everything looks good.

While in Lakeside we caught a bucket of crappies and had a lovely fish fry. It was the first meal in the new house.

 

[jvls1942]

Hi All,
thanks for the condolences ..
yesterday I went to check the tension on the alternator v belt on the tractor. I didn't get my hand on it. Instead I got stung three times. those nasty bees are back. I think I saw a nest on the bottom of the radiator. I didn't hang around long enough to make sure, though. those nasty bees followed me all the way across the yard.
last year they built their nest in the dash panel by the gauges.. Wasp/Hornet spray doesn't work on them. I found out that a fogging type of spray works best.
I like crappies. bluegills and perch are my favorite, though.
I take those very small perch and filet them. No skin, no bones. then I get a kettle of very salty water boiling and drop them in; just long enough for them to turn white.. probably a minute or so.
then I cool the fish in cold ice water.
dip them in Hoffman shrimp sauce and eat them like shrimp.
.....jiminwisc.......

 

[aart]

I like crappies. bluegills and perch are my favorite, though.

Crappies are best thru the ice....soft in summer.

 

[NewBoots]

I like crappies. bluegills and perch are my favorite, though.
I take those very small perch and filet them. No skin, no bones. then I get a kettle of very salty water boiling and drop them in; just long enough for them to turn white.. probably a minute or so.
then I cool the fish in cold ice water.
dip them in Hoffman shrimp sauce and eat them like shrimp.
.....jiminwisc.......

You'd love Tenmile and Eel Lake, the crappies are in Eel Lake and the bluegill and perch are in Tenmile. The small perch are considered a pest but right now when we catch them we toss them to Charlie the blue heron (right on the dock a few feet from us) or kill them and toss them out into the lake then the ospreys (who keep an eye on the dock area) swoop in and take them. Once we are fully set up we'll keep them and use them for dog food (and the chooks will get some too).

There are largemouth bass, trout, and sometimes steelhead salmon in the lakes as well. Plus the ocean is 5 minutes away with charters, clamming, crabbing, and huge oyster farms 10 minutes away. And we haven't even begun to explore the beaches that are within a 5 minute drive.

Crappies are best thru the ice....soft in summer.

Never ice fished and it looks fun, but the water here never really freezes.

I take those very small perch and filet them. No skin, no bones. then I get a kettle of very salty water boiling and drop them in; just long enough for them to turn white.. probably a minute or so.
then I cool the fish in cold ice water.
dip them in Hoffman shrimp sauce and eat them like shrimp.

I will be catching so many perch I'll have a chance to refine my filleting skills with the smaller ones and your method sounds interesting Jim.

And oh man, watch out for those hornets, they are one of the only insects I won't allow on my property. Nasty jerks!

 

[aart]

Instead I got stung three times. those nasty bees are back. I think I saw a nest on the bottom of the radiator. I didn't hang around long enough to make sure, though. those nasty bees followed me all the way across the yard.

Probably yellow jackets(wasps)?

 

[jvls1942]

we spray bombed those bees. they are a bit smaller than a honey bee. they build a nest we call a paper nest. they attach it to where ever they can,, sort of like a swallows nest.
this time the nest was right on the choke cable under the shroud..
I dragged the garden. DD wants to plant some hemp there. they ran out of
pots (5 gal pails) and my garden spot is organic. I have never had it certified, but I don't need anybody's stamp of approval.
........jiminwisc......

 

[aart]

we spray bombed those bees. they are a bit smaller than a honey bee. they build a nest we call a paper nest.

 

[boggart]

If they have a paper nest perhaps they are Paper Wasps! Neutral to beneficial for you garden (they eat insects that eat your plants) and shouldn’t attack unless intentionally disturbed. I would reconsider spraying them.

Here are some Paper Wasps that I allowed to nest on a kitchen window, below them is a flower bed. They create a beautiful nest structure.