Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[NovaAman]

Add...ADHD.... A lot of the symptoms can be alleviated by what you eat and don't eat... I am bi-po. I keep it under control by diet.

 

[ladyrsanti]

So the daughter of the neighbor came over today asking if I'd seen her chickens yet. Oh boy. I could tell she was devastated and I haven't and don't expect to see hide nor feather. I sold her a couple of my reject pullets for cheap. Anyway, I pried a bit to figure out the setup and it sounds like it was a fox, not human. At least that's my assessment. As soon as she said that they thought the chickens had run away... Hm... if the chickens could conceivably get out then wouldn't that mean something could get in? So I talked to the mother and she said the same thing, that they must have run away. Not likely. I told her I suspected a fox and she said she didn't think so because there's no way a fox could take all six at once. She's right but I pointed out that a fox will keep coming back until they're cleaned out. The look on the woman's face!!! They were sleeping on the ground by the way and were not full grown, maybe 12 weeks old. Then she told me that she'd seen a fox, in fact, walking down the street in broad daylight. Well there ya go! Unfortunately, I sold her the chicks before I knew about their setup. They're nothing but fox bait now. After I made that deduction, I kept trying to slip in that the fox WOULD be back. They're over there building their enclosure a bit higher but I'm not convinced they know how to keep fox out. I'm not worried about mine. I've got fort knox going on over here.

Anyway, I've found diet to be of some help with the panic too but I've done all I can do to it. I don't eat processed foods or dairy unless it's fermented. Alcohol can be an issue so I'm careful with that. No caffeine, limited carbohydrates. Not sure what's left.

 

[Opa]

Supper tonight was wild.. Quick fried venison loin. Asparagus picked from the roadside. And deep fried morels. Makes a feller wonder what the poor people are eating.

 

[RaZ]

Makes a feller wonder what the poor people are eating.

I had left over macaroni.

 

[Opa]

The coffee pot has only had one cup taken from it so there is plenty. Help yourself. The cups are in the cupboard to the right and all the fixin's are sitting next to the pot. Come on in, sit a spell. This day will soon be underway and it should be glorious.

Yesterday I worked up most of the garden and with perhaps one more hour of effort with the rototiller the rest will be done. A quick leveling with a large landscape rake and I can start planting. Working the soil required that I first moisten it to soften it enough that the blades of the rototiller could bite in. Even though the garden is 36'x36' a dozen chickens managed to compact the surface to a concrete like consistency. The soil in my garden keeps getting darker and darker each year and by the time they slam the lid on me it should be just about perfect for growing.

Only a month remains until Chickenstock and I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible. For those who have never attended try to make it this year. The food has always been wonderful, the birds beautiful, and the attendees fantastic. Just think about being able to talk about chickens with someone who isn't looking at you as if you have lost your mind.

 

[taprock]

Morning Opa - I'm having Southern Pecan coffee this morning. It was a birthday gift from my SIL.

As some of you may know, we live next to a cemetery. My DH is a veteran, so every Memorial day we climb through the fence and go to the small memorial service they have next door. This year we may not be going. Not to be disrespectful, but I don't think I could stand still for 20 minutes in the black fly swarm that has moved in the past week. To work in the flowerbeds yesterday I put on DH's turkey hunting camo hat and net. Not pretty but it works.


Last night my DH, who said we were not going to get another dog, spent 3 hours looking up boxer breeders.

Maybe there is hope. If any of you know of a good breeder I'd love to hear.

Enjoy your day!

 

[Ferrret]

My Mom makes and releases glass floats in honor of area veterans who have died. I don't know if she releases them after the Memorial Day services in the park anymore, it got rather draining to see so many in the water, waiting to scoop them up and take them home, disrespecting the entire meaning behind them.
I know we used to toss a milk crate full off the docks so they could float along the lake and eventually find the shore, but the past few times I helped they were barely in the water for a minute before someone pulled them out.

She is co-owner of Jordan Valley Glassworks and for Memorial day they make nearly 200 glass balls, and each one has the name of an area soldier engraved on it, along with their birth and death dates and the wars they served in dating back to the civil war. They're modeled after Japanese fishing net floats, and made thick enough they won't break without a serious effort (we accidentally dropped one off a parade float ~10' onto the road, and it bounced).

If you're on the Jordan River or around Lake Charlevoix this summer, you may be able to find one or two. They're free to keep if you do find them.
Here's an older story written about it:
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=463698#.UaNQ89iwVvq

 

[RaZ]

That is very cool.

 

[minniefarm]

All the chickens slept in the coop last night, their dog kennels. We put up a fence to split the coop so the girls and the ladies had separate quarters. The ladies did great and actually laid in their new nesting box. We have two side by side runs so they can all get acquainted without too much pecking!

Now we can get on with the rest of the spring stuff. I have some gardens screaming for attention and we have a big burn to get done. Break time done, moving on! Pictures to come.

 

[jrsckn]

I wish I could make it to Chickenstock this year but I have an internship working in poultry research with strict biosecurity protocols so I can't have any contact with birds outside of work Awesome opportunity but I miss my birds and other chicken enthusiasts!