Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

My hands keep getting darker and darker. The sun has been brutal. The heat, well, I have no other choice but to wear long sleeve shirt, a mask around my neck, and another around the top part of my face.

Are you allergic to the sun or just trying to avoid 'tanning'?

By the way, how tall must the pop door needs to be?

Mine are 18 and 14", taller birds have to duck but smaller might work tho I wouldn't go less than 10-12".

 

[SillyChicken]

@Mfranks Girl, that's a super nice grill ya got there,lol Sorry, I do not know how to talk like the youngsters today but I try. That is a very nice tractor. I have a 48inc Husvarqna and I want to get the plow for the front before winter comes. It iwll make my life easier with the snow at least in the front.
@Sally PB Your girls seem to be doing fine. Like any teen, they want to challenge boundaries.
@RaZ hey if corporate wants to the things that way and you can get the benefit, the more the merrier. Looks like you have a good supply to keep you for a while.

I went to HD and got me 6 bags of potting soil for the front beds. and a few garden blocks. I also got a few pieces of wood and the last wall on the east side has began. I finished one third with the hard cloth and chicken wire. But I am tired becasue even though is not sunny, it is plenty hot and I only go outside with long sleeves. I also did the front yard. Tomorrow I will finish the back yard and get on with the bottom part of the remaining wall. I still have to do a corner to closed it to the coop. The girls are doing fine. Odd that Sophia, the naked neck one, her comb and face is all red and even part of her neck. I caught her sizing a nest box. Hopefully she starts laying soon. Blanch the Americauna has her comb red too but she seems like eggs is not in her tiny brain yet. I am getting 3 eggs a day for a week now.

Question, My first layer, Rachel, she is still laying very small eggs. Does it take long for them to lay a decent size egg? Monica and Phoebe's eggs are small but bigger than Rachel's eggs.

I have not been around much hoping to finish the run before the month is over and since I do not want to talk to strangers in another thread, I will do it with you guys because I feel comfortable with you all. I was told that I am pre-diabetic.I do not want to get diabetes because it runs in my family. However, my diet is the worse. I do not eat vegetables and the few times I have try a sald, it does not go well. I am keeping a 24 oz mug of coffee a day instead of 3 or 4. Now the pepsi's, that is very hard to let go. I changed from 20 oz to 12 oz but if I am working a lot outside and it is hot, I am reaching for that pepsi like oxygen. Since my eating habits are so bad, I have no other chice but to do exercises. A plate in an ankle and bad knees will have to get used to it. This Wednesday I went to a zumba class. It was not too bad but talk about soreness!!!! horrible the next day. ! But I have to do it so I can keep my intake low by burning most of it. Why do we have to get old?

Catch up later if I donot go to bed early. Love ya all!

~HUgs~and~Kisses~

Oh I know, pepsi is SO hard to let go of I drank it for years- but, you can do it! Pick a goal, once you get about 3 days in with out it, it'll get easier. Plan to get a withdraw headache that will last a couple days, but after that you'll be golden. It's the sugar that creates it's own addiction in out bodies. My mom was also pre-diabetic and she has reversed it by eating properly (and she doesn't exercise much at 80). I can also say, as a side benefit of cutting out pepsi, you will drop some stubborn weight, helped me.
I like to steam or grill veggies, grow my own herbs to season everything with... grow lettus, onions, radishes, etc... everything actually tastes better when you grow your own. luckily I do like veggies and salads. Though, some root veggies diabetics shouldn't eat, potatoes, carrots etc have high starch content that turns to sugar.

Good to know that the one big meal is bad for you as that's generally how we eat here. I know I need to change my eating habits too... luckily the garden is coming in so I have some fresh stuff to eat. And now we have 25# of fresh lake trout to eat and chicken too!

 

[SillyChicken]

You are all amazing! Thank you so much for all the love that you give me. I have worked so hard these past days. My hands keep getting darker and darker. The sun has been brutal. The heat, well, I have no other choice but to wear long sleeve shirt, a mask around my neck, and another around the top part of my face. Only my eyes are out. Not easy with glasses. My internet has been very slow too, but I have plenty of pictures. Rose, (@chickflick) the shade cloth is up in half of the run,
They girls kind of killed the rose bush. The flowers are not vibrant as they were. I do not care for it at all and want it gone but they used it as shade. They are already going to their new run even as it is not finished. Left part of teh temporary one pen for them too so when I am working in the run, they can go on theother side. They love being under the coop. It had lots of grass and in 2 days, they have it almost down to nothing. Wish they could do teh whole yard so I do not have to cut the grass, However, there are holes everywhere and I trip every so often. Saw the making holes for dustbath under the coop. Hope they start usig the pool I prepared for them. How can I get them to use it? they are so stubburn. I laughed tonight because everyone say about treats to get them into the coop at night and I do not. I barely touched the red plastic shovel and they made a direct line into the coop. It is hilarious. Of course, they forget super easily but I thinkthat they are getting the hang on the schedule. They need to be on the roost in order to get treats. Once they are done, I just pet them and rub their crown and the stay ever so quiet. I turn light off and they stay just the same way until morning. They do not get down from teh roost until 7am when they hear me come outside. They do have great hearing for some reason. Weel, I am beat and have lots of things for tomorrow. After an appointment, I have a survey guy come to mark my property becasue the once nice neighbor, is witching about 6 to 4 inches. Yesterday out of courtesy, I was telling him about the surveyor and he came to talk to me holding a 22 riffle and told me that the surveyor need to go by his stake. I told him that he will go from the records in teh county and he said that he paid 600 dollars to someone from teh state. I am perplexed at all. I do not know much about engenieering but mostly just like teaching, you need to get a certificate and a license from the state you are working in. So my engineer should be licensed and certified by Michigan as well. The difference is that I paid over 1200 buckarros for mine. I consider that fact that he kept holding his riffle is that he is a complete moron and has no education and though he could intimidate me with his riffle. He has no idea who he is dealing with. Legally he is wrong by holding a riffle while talking to me. If it would have been me, I would put my arm down andgo to talkor tell teh person to give me a minute while I take it inside the house. So now the whole joke in the house is all about inches, (some of you might getthe joke,lol)
Hope to be able to give you some pictures soon.
By the way, how tall must the pop door needs to be? Hub is telling me that he will not cut the mtal wire that is covering part of it but I am not sure if the hens will be able to come out once I make a door for it.
Thank you lovelies!

~Hugs~and~Kisses~

It's not illegal to hold a rifle and talk to you... it is however, if he is using it to intimidate you or if he's brandishing it in a threatening manner. If he was already outside or came outside with it and just came over to talk to you, that isn't illegal. However, since he was being an A-hat. and suffering from LMS...(ie: lack of inches)

I do know from experience that surveyors do make mistakes. There was a guy down in my area that messed up a whole county area. My dad almost lost several acres of his field and tree line. They had to go back to his property description (an old one) that states his property was a fence line along the trees, luckily there were remnants of fence grown into the trees!

 

[saysfaa]

My husband was also prediabetic and reversed it with diet changes. In his case, it was spreading his meals out through the day as much (probably more) than changing what he ate. He's never eaten much sugar but for years he basically ate one huge meal just before bed. His Dr said both the one meal and the just before bed are hard on the pancreas.

I have more trouble with sugar and pop. I've tried both cold turkey and gradual reduction. Each has pros and cons. Cold turkey is three days of physical misery then it is over. Gradual is no physical misery but constant attention to it for weeks. I prefer cold turkey.

For what it is worth, they each work until I think I can eat just a little sugar or pop again.

If you don't eat vegetables, a carnivore diet may be an option. I know some people who do that. I detested salads but eventually found ways to make them that I like - add a LOT of beans (navy is my favorite but butter and great northern and red make a nice change) and some real bacon bits and something crunchy. A shot of taste or sour periodically helps too - finely diced hot peppers or canned artichoke hearts, for example.

It is no fun to change eating habits but I took care of people who had leg sores and amputations from diabetes plus friends managing it... that is powerful motivation.

Good luck!

 

[SillyChicken]

We finally found a small camper, we can pull with the Jeep, finding one with a floor plan we like, that was not a bunk house, and reasonably priced proved difficult. We're going down to Indiana Saturday to pick it up. They sure aren't built like they used to be though. Not only that, man is it hard to get your hands on one, they sell out so fast! We actually put a hold on one up here in MI just to go look at it yesterday. I'm sure the other people who wanted to buy that one will be happy to get it now! lol! I look forward to camping again... we go to a seasonal our friends own all the time, but sometimes it's fun to actually go somewhere to get away.

We got the keystone hideout 174 BK.

 

[Sally PB]

The littles seem totally intimidated by the hens, especially Lark. If they poke their heads out of the pop door, Lark is there to give them stink eye. They rarely come outside, because she is right there at the fence.

I'm assuming eventually they'll get tired of being cooped up (ha ha) and realize Lark can't get them if they're a few inches from the fence.

 

[saysfaa]

...told me that the surveyor need to go by his stake. I told him that he will go from the records in teh county and he said that he paid 600 dollars to someone from teh state. I am perplexed at all. I do not know much about engenieering but mostly just like teaching, you need to get a certificate and a license from the state you are working in. So my engineer should be licensed and certified by Michigan as well. ...

It isn't that easy.
There are two main philosophies (methods?) in surveying. One is the "retrace" method... They find the lines that have been accepted since the original 1800's (1840's if I remember right) state surveys were done when most of the state was wilderness. As the land was settled, people dug ditches, put up line fences, left or planted woodlots, etc based on those lines. Retracing accepts that the lines aren't always precisely straight or exactly in the right place but it is fair for two reasons ... one is that none of the lines are precisely straight or exactly in the right place. If both sides of the property bend then you have the same amount of land as you would if neither side bent. The other reason is state law that is similar to adverse possession. I forget what it is called but basically instead of not being checked as you squat on property (as adverse possession is), it is mutual agreement of where the line is regardless of what the description says it should be.

The other is based on following distances and directions as precisely as regardless of where that puts the lines.

The retrace method works well in rural areas where it makes little sense to move a ditch or a fence a few feet or a few inches every couple of years as GPS equipment becomes more accurate.

The GPS method makes more sense in urban and suburban areas where the ditches and fences are taken out anyway and where an inch can mean the difference in whether a developer can put another house in or a homeowner can fit a chicken coop in their yard and still meet zoning setbacks.

The problem is that Hepworths did most of the surveying in Oceana county for many years. They have been (and are) very well respected at the state and local level. They use the retrace method.
Lately, some people have been using surveyors who come in from Grand Rapids or other places. These surveyors often use the GPS system.

Both systems are legitemate. Both are legal. But they don't play well together.

One of the issues that people favoring the GPS method don't seem to realize is that their system isn't more accurate... they have straighter lines but they start from existing corners and roads. And the corners were placed based on the retrace system. And many of the roads are not straight or in the right place... by the GPS system if one looks further out.

 

[1muttsfan]

I had boundary disputes with neighbors in the last 2 places I owned. One of my neighbors here got out a tape measure and measured his own boundaries on a 1200 foot heavily wooded parcel (he was too cheap to hire a surveyor). I had to hire a lawyer to get him to move the fence he put up back onto his property. And he was a total you-know-what, and still is.

My other neighbor was very surprised at where the line was, he also got out a tape measure and measured according to where the small cemetery on my lot was placed on the county map book. Which was totally inaccurate, and not an official document. But he is a good sport and a great neighbor, so he got over it. And I did not make him move some stuff that was on my property, although I did ask he not cut any more trees down.

I have a staked survey done on everything I buy, to give the neighbors a chance to get used to or contest the boundaries.

For adverse possession, a person would have to have exclusive, continuous, obvious and uninterrupted use of the property in question for 15 consecutive years. Occasional or intermittent use does not count.

 

[RaZ]

At the east end of my property there is a stake marking the corner. The measurements are based on that survey stick. The neighbor had her property surveyed. She is a real PITA. She called me after the survey complaining that I had my junk on her property. It was a pair of lawn chairs and a small table. So I moved the chairs. Then I dropped several large logs right on the line. Posted them with No Trespassing signs every 20 feet I have heard a peep from her since. That in and of itself is a blessing. The added bonus of the 40 foot logs is that they are big enough to keep out the dirt bikes, dune buggies, and snowmobiles. The power line guys may not like if they have to inspect the wires. But the way the property is deeded they don't have an automatic easement. They have to get my permission to do anything on my property. One guy even showed me how it is worded on his tablet. They had the old owner's phone number listed as mine so we updated the contact info. A rather unique arangement, eh?

 

[RaZ]

One year ago today I underwent my second open heart surgery. I drove myself to the hospital on Monday morning and drove myself home that Friday afternoon. I was back to work 4 weeks later.