Michigan

[M.sue]

I need to wake up...

We over slept this morning. Has to be the time change, hot weather and all the out door work combined with regular daily routines.

 

[RaZ]

RaZ I came home from getting the fence and saw that she dug up the mums I planted out by the tree she is itching about.
Uugh. She sounds like one of THOSE kinds of city people...... the ones who like sterile, grass only lawns, preferably with no critters to speak. You got your work cut out for you! You still SURE you can't just rent that place out for those last 2 years???! No one who truly loves plants could've dug them, even for spite.

Do you know what kinds of willows are native to us? I may have boy and girl pussywillows, not 2 kinds! I didn't even know that there was a "boy" willow. The book i was reading yesterday said weeping willows are not native. but didn't mention pussywillows at all. Is there anything that willows are needed to host for? Sorry, so many questions, but i am still learning about natives, fits right into the permaculture style of gardening/landscaping i am trying to do

According to Barnes and Wagner, Jr., there are 400 species of willow (Salix spp.) worldwide with 24 being native to Michigan. Willows are dioecious, meaning they are either a male or a female. Most are shrubs and only a few reach "tree" stature. Weeping willows are not native, they are the result of cultivars and hybrids. Because they hybridize so readily they are difficult to key to species.

Is anyone here a birder by chance? I can't get enough of birding!

Michigan is perfect for it!

I would say that I am. But I can't readily identify many species. I wish I lived in the country where there is a wider variety. I'm in the city so the variety isn't good and I absolutely can't stand pigeons.

 

[Olive Hill]

I would say that I am. But I can't readily identify many species. I wish I lived in the country where there is a wider variety. I'm in the city so the variety isn't good and I absolutely can't stand pigeons.

I come from the country so when I have to stay in the city when I travel I'm always amused by the pigeons.

Out here we have Mourning Doves but it's not the same.

 

[NovaAman]

Ok.. I took a swig of my iced coffee... That is some good stuff that is in the cooler. I'd say better than the Starbucks, especially since 2 quarts cost the same as 1 large bottle, or a fresh one from the Starbucks store...


SO, this morning, I already got the ducks pool emptied, its refilling. Their coop levered up so it now slants in the wash out direction. Got it washed out too. Now its drying. And the girls are digging their own breakfast from the puddle of mud. In an hour, you will not be able to see the bottom of the boat.

I read that you got more snow CR. Isn't it just nuts? I am glad I have a well. Why? I figure at this rate, even with the expected cool down coming, we are going to be in for a sh*t hole of a summer and I am going to need a pool for me instead of a pond for the ducks!

Olive, I am thinking maybe I might get a huge water trough, put ramps up outside and inside, maybe bury it down a bit with an exit pipe attached with a plug. Think that'd work? Or, do you think that it maybe a a problem? I have a dip of sorts that runs about 20 feet behind the pole barn into the woods, so drainage would go that way. Heck I am considering getting one of them troughs for the kids to play in! We used to have a metal round water trough when we were kids. LOL. Hey, it worked.

 

[Olive Hill]

I think it'd be very hard to really clean anything with a plug for drainage. Those darn ducks (and geese) make SUCH a poopy mess. Even two days of swimming with a couple ducks and there's a layer of poop sludge in the bottom of their pool. That's why I like kiddy pools, they're light, easy to dump out and wash out on a regular basis. Plus, as someone who has to buy stock tanks for actual stock, those pools are a HECK of a lot less expensive. LOL! You can buy a nice big one for $15 at the big box store, plenty of room for several ducks at a time and it'll last for years even through the abuse of being flipped over to dump it out every other day all spring, summer and fall. Plus: no ramps needed; they can jump/fly in and out without help.

I've found the waterfowl don't much care about the depth of their water; it's the surface area they like. Big enough to zoom around in, get your friends in with you. To get the same surface area in a stock tank you're looking at upwards of $200. Even if you replaced your kiddy pool yearly you'd be looking at a decade to get your money back out of the stock tank and with it buried it probably wouldn't last that long anyway.

ETA: I've had the same big, $15 kiddy pool for the ducks and geese now for 3 years and it's still going strong. And that included one summer of it being abused by pigs, to boot.

 

[RaZ]

Olive, I am thinking maybe I might get a huge water trough, put ramps up outside and inside, maybe bury it down a bit with an exit pipe attached with a plug. Think that'd work? Or, do you think that it maybe a a problem? I have a dip of sorts that runs about 20 feet behind the pole barn into the woods, so drainage would go that way. Heck I am considering getting one of them troughs for the kids to play in! We used to have a metal round water trough when we were kids. LOL. Hey, it worked.

Nova, I have a couple of 100 gallon Rubbermaid water troughs that have a pipe threaded bung at the bottom. It would quite easy to use one of those and run the waste pipe anywhere you wanted, just put a ball valve at the end.

Right now mine are being used for brooders, but as soon as the ordinance guy leaves, one will be taken outside to make a duck pond for my mallards. I'm going to partially bury it at an angle so the duck poo settles near the bung and can be rinsed out easily. Once I get it installed, I'll take some pictures.

 

[NovaAman]

Ok... just going to go with the original pond plan...

 

[1muttsfan]

I'm graduating with my vet tech degree in a couple months...does anyone know of any animal hospitals/veterinarians in the Charlotte/Lansing/Eaton Rapids area (and surrounding) that are looking to hire a tech? Or know a place that might need one but isnt officially hiring? I am doing a day of resume distributing next week and wondered if there were any in particular that I should visit. Thanks in advance for any info you might have.

Congratulations Sarah

 

[ladyfeather]

Congrats from us too Sarah! If I hear of anything I will let you know but I am a bit far from the area. I have some friends who live there so I will ask them.

I'm also leaving most of the chores be due to heat after getting very little done this morning. I've got a million things to do today out of the house so it can't be helped.

Hope you all have a great day.

 

[NovaAman]

Right now, the ducks are using a little tykes tug boat. They like it better than the kiddie pool they had. Has a drain plug also, so, tipping it up on end when its near empty and hosing it out is very convenient. And it holds about 100 gallons.

Hey Sarah, did you do any study specifically in the chicken arena?