Maine

[yankeehill]

Something has been lurking around the back woods this afternoon. We have a Black Mouth Cur (MS hunting dog) who is a great watchdog. Between him and the geese, they've been on alert, with the dog (Rebel) chasing off into the woods three times now. Soon as supper is done, I'll go out looking for tracks, and get the boys to set a live trap.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

This wouldn't happen to be THRILLER would it??? If it is I vote no giving him away. He has become the mascot and joke for all NN, showgirl and ugly rooster/halloween jokes to ever be had in the this thread by me and anyone to every see his... less than attractive self. Any more pictures of the tomato slurper? And how is the situation with those aggressive bees?
I have this great set of new recipes so they are going to be good. Now, the dilled ones migt be soggy because I didn't have real pickling cukes but the kids don't care and its for them. You could also use those corn ears for shine or seed.
That is one bottle I could never misplace and would be terrified to spill. I have a son. No fox urine needed.

Yes, it's THRILLER. I want to throw my big boy in there in the next few months, and hatch meat birds early in January. If I have both him and THRILLER in there that's a terrible game of sperm roulette to be playing with meat birds. And THRILLER is just too wonderful to cull.

No more pictures of Caramel The Tomato Slurper, I've been canning the tomatoes after work this week. I'm exhausted.

The bees were back again, I again sprayed their nest and put a big rock over it and I think they've dug a new entrance. But I've definitely put a dent in their numbers.

I will give you seeds for the prolific white cukes next year. They are technically picking cukes, but they're good enough to eat. Even Caramel thought so.

 

[yankeehill]

Yes, it's THRILLER. I want to throw my big boy in there in the next few months, and hatch meat birds early in January. If I have both him and THRILLER in there that's a terrible game of sperm roulette to be playing with meat birds. And THRILLER is just too wonderful to cull.

No more pictures of Caramel The Tomato Slurper, I've been canning the tomatoes after work this week. I'm exhausted.

The bees were back again, I again sprayed their nest and put a big rock over it and I think they've dug a new entrance. But I've definitely put a dent in their numbers.

I will give you seeds for the prolific white cukes next year. They are technically picking cukes, but they're good enough to eat. Even Caramel thought so.

Like honey bees?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Like honey bees?

I have honeybees. They are pleasant, and kind, and interesting.

We're talking a bunch of angry, suicidal bumblebees that want to kill everything that gets within 50 feet of their hive.

They attack people, poultry and goats without a second thought.

 

[Widget]

I have honeybees. They are pleasant, and kind, and interesting.

We're talking a bunch of angry, suicidal bumblebees that want to kill everything that gets within 50 feet of their hive.

They attack people, poultry and goats without a second thought.

Are you sure they arent ground hornets? They are nasty critters who hate everyone and everything. Sort of like Daleks or the Borg. No reasoning with them.

 

[yankeehill]

I thought Bumble Bees were loners, as in they don't hive together.

(We have honeybees as well, but at first I thought you might be talking about a swarm of honeybees).

 

[lazy gardener]

I thought Bumble Bees were loners, as in they don't hive together.

(We have honeybees as well, but at first I thought you might be talking about a swarm of honeybees).

Bumble bees nest in the ground... in a group... beware if you get into a nest of them. We had a black lab who nosed into a nest, and her face swelled up so bad that we were afraid she'd die before we drove her 40 minutes to an emergency vet.

Chicken note: I'm so proud of my girls. They've done 100% every day this week!!

 

[buckabucka]

Usually bumblebees are fairly sweet. It must be some strange variety.

DH made pickled beets today and is drying some paprika peppers. I'm making some pear butter. If DH had not quit his job, I would have no hope for canned garden products. It is seriously a full-time job.

I have not found the fox urine yet, but haven't searched very well. We don't keep it in the house, so it is in a plastic bag, either in our rubble heap "entryway", or our rubble heap basement.

Our 7 roosters are now occupying 5 separate spaces. One had a bloodied comb and went into his own cage. 6 days until freezer camp.

Our neighbor, who always took great care of our elderly cats when they were alive, has entrusted me to let her own cat in and out of the house while she is gone for the weekend. Her cat disappeared overnight last night (she normally keeps it in all night) and she had to walk a half mile down the road to find it this morning. She told me to let it out this afternoon, which I did, but I'm worried it will never come back. I've already been down to her house hoping to get the cat back inside, but did not find it and now it is pouring rain. I'm going to make one more trip over before bed. I sure do hope it turns up!

 

[Jazor]

... If I have both him and THRILLER in there that's a terrible game of sperm roulette to be playing with meat birds...

I'll go ahead and add this to the "list of things I never thought I would read".

Visited some camps with the fiancee tonight--potential wedding site (also site of her family's reunion this weekend) and fed their birds. Some buff orps and some kind of barred rock looking mixes that I couldn't quite determine. Interesting looking, but the buffs had my eye. No, Ash, I didn't take any pics so you could tell me what they were--but I should have. Great looking Orps--and were very nice. They loved hanging around us...the treats helped.

Cheers,
Jazor

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Are you sure what you saw was a mink and not a weasel? They are related but Mink tend to be more aquatic. We found that weasels are very crafty and mostly strike after dusk when the birds are less alert. You should make sure your coop has no holes larger than 1/2 inch. and even those can be a problem if the critter gnaws into the wood making the hole bigger.
We had a weasel problem but buttoned up our coop using 1/2 hardware cloth around the bottom of the wooden structure so that no critter will gnaw its way in.

It was much too big to be a weasel. I'm actually worried it may have been a fisher cat. Either way, we'll be going over the coop and run again tomorrow with more hardware cloth, just to be sure!