Nevadans?

[americanvalkyrie]

Wow that's super simple. If I'm not digging fence post holes tonight I may want to stop by!

Want to borrow a kid for a couple of hours? Free!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Whoa cool! Maybe actually! This weekend? I'll talk to Markie. We definitely would give the boy at least a token of our appreciation

 

[wolftracks]

Sheryl, I want you to know that I'm so sorry you and your family are going through so much. Thinking about you all a lot.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Whoa cool! Maybe actually! This weekend? I'll talk to Markie. We definitely would give the boy at least a token of our appreciation

I can bring him over as early as 9am Saturday.

 

[wolftracks]

I'm doing amazing! I am getting my life back. I'm able to do things I haven't done in years and I'm not living my pain anymore! It's just been 6 months in a few days, a short time compared to the 4 years I spent in pain. I can actually think again!
I know you'll be out of commission for a bit but I was able to function better within a couple of weeks after surgery and felt like I was starting to get back to life by 2 1/2 months. Im not without pain, probably won't ever but at least I can live without constantly thinking about it. Can't wait to be off all meds but that takes time.
Take care my friend and listen to your husband!

So good to hear. I love when I hear that these surgeries work for people.

 

[chicharomirinda]

So my daughter has created a free ranger out of my speckled sussex, Lucy. She's so friendly so Laila likes to pick her up and let her walk around in the yard. Now whenever I open the coop door, Lucy jumps out to walk around the yard and now she has a posse of her flockmates--the jaers, the brahma and a random silkie here and there that join her.

Glad you're doing well with your back, Pam.

sunny, you have quite a few projects on that list! hope your back can hack it until you can get surgery.

whatever you make, aubrey, I bet it'll be delicious. I think peaches are my absolute favorite fruit.

With jam, basically you take chopped fruit and put it in a pan with an envelope of pectin, maybe some lemon juice if the directions call for it. Bring that to a full rolling boil. Stir in the required amount of sugar, and boil for 1 minute. Ladle into jars. At this point you can stick them in the fridge or can them.

Speaking of canning, my class is tonight if anyone wanted to tag along!

I thought I had signed up on facebook while ago but something must have gone wrong so I just signed up today. hope that's okay. Hubby is sick so i have play taxi driver and soccer coach but I should be able to make it in the nick of time.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I thought I had signed up on facebook while ago but something must have gone wrong so I just signed up today. hope that's okay. Hubby is sick so i have play taxi driver and soccer coach but I should be able to make it in the nick of time.

Awesome! The building is big, so if you need directions to the right room, just text me when you're there.

 

[sherylreno]

NOOOO! Not little Harmony! She was such a sweetie and you loved her so much!!!

Oh Sheryl! That's terrible!!! If the boys get tested before they get symptoms they can be treated for it yes? Oh you poor thing! What an awful day!

Thank you Sunny! I'll never forget being on the phone with you when she popped out of her shell.

Sheryl I am so sorry for your bad news and for harmony. She was a good Ducky and I'm glad I got to meet her

I loved it when you came over that day and got to see both Harmony and Mo!

Ohhhh, poor Harmony!

I'm so sorry Sheryl.

Thank you Ron! You've been through a lot more than I have and I sure do know how you feel.

Oh, so sorry to hear that! Poor thing. I know that sinking feeling when you see a bird down--when I found my lav am under the ramp. You wish you could do something but it's too late.

You're having a rough go of it! so sorry about this horrible disease in your family. praying that the right treatments can be done.

I know my heart fell into my stomach when I read your post on your little pullet.

Not sure what we are going to do about any treatments right now.

I HAVE A BROODY!!!!

What some duck eggs to place under her?

ok time for CSI chicken and drumroll please time for my first ever PULLET EGG!!!!!!!!!!

So this is compared to my medium-large production red egg so is this from my cochin, showgirl, or wyandotte???

Finally! Seth, I kept feeling bad every time I would post a new egg layer! I'm so glad you finally got your egg. The shape tells me Wyandotte 100% but when mine started laying the color was an off white/very light beige. The color turned darker after they were laying a few weeks.

OK. I need to tell you all how proud I am of my Hubby right now. He has been chosen to represent the local Alzheimers walk-a-thon this year!!! It will take place the end of this month in Reno, Saturday the 29th, I believe.

He was being kind of secretive about his diagnosis but this honor has been a huge kick in the butt for him and he is really shining since he was confirmed as a speaker for the event.

He has now told the folks at his work and they have been very supportive (he was very nervous about this before). The kids are trying to get the time off so they can come and show their support as well. He has finally realized that he can use this diagnosis to teach and help others and I am just soooo excited! It seems to have been a real turning point for him in how he views the disease.

He still has good days and bad days but the new treatments the docs have him on seem to be helping quite a bit! They don't have a cure and can't reverse the disease but they can slow it way down and we have actually noticed improvement in many areas since he has been on the new treatment.

Anyway, I hope you will all join me and wish him luck during this new challenge. They wanted someone with early onset diagnosis to represent the walk this year and his doc recommended him. I personally think they made an excellent choice!

That's fantastic! Tell Steve how great of an honor I think this is. I'm huge with anything we can do to help others find a cure or fix a disease! They made the best choice in the whole wide world!

Sunny that is amazing news! Please tell Steve that I am super stoked for him and that I would looooove to come out an show my support as well!!! I know this has been hard for both of you but it's uplifting to hear that his treatments are helping. Big big hugs all around!
Here are out spoils from yesterday! Bonus that they were cemented in, I guess that's one more thing we will be able to save money on. We had expected to spend hours out there dismantling this thing, but it really only took us a half hour to get it done and loaded! The hound was so soft that we didn't even need to dig them out, we were able to just literally pull them out with our bare hands

the worst part was all the driving. Had to go to fernley to pick up my brothers truck, then back to Reno to get directions and Markie. Then south lake, then back to Reno, then fernley to get my car, then back to Reno again. Good six hours of driving I think! Haha.

Anyway so our plans are pretty simple. We happen to have two gates now which is going to work out very well. I am embarrassed to show you guys my backyard but excited to share our plans. Heck this is the first step to beautifying our yard and deck (getting those pesky birds outta the way! LOL.
So we will start in the corner. The fence will be below the retaining wall

It will run along the retaining wall at the back of the yard. We will put a gate at that opening so that we can tend to the small trees that we plan on putting there.

Here we will jump the retaining wall which will bring the fence about fifteen feet away from the wooden fence on the side of the yard

And it will cOme to meet up with the side of the coop. ( that pen will be gone)

Then we will ad the second gate here between the coop and deck for easy access to the water faucet that is under the deck. We will chicken wire the front part of underneath the deck so that the birds can still go under it but can't get out into the unopened area.( make sense?)

We will rewire the coop in a more permanent and safe fashion, and also provide more shelter from predators in the bottom area of the pen. The coop is about three feet from the fence so they will be able to access both sides of the pen from there. We will be putting in a pop door on the deck side of the fence and using the big doors for our access only.
The bottom part of the pen is about 10x80ft. (by my calculations that alone is big enough for 80 large birds right?!?). As of now it is rocky and the dirt is hard and not very fun for chickens. I am going to have to figure out a way to make this area more desirable for them because right now it's just wasted space.

I'm really excited to get all of this done because with the birds out of the way we can begin restoring the deck, rebuild marks garden, and sees some grass! Overall the 100 ft of chain link plus some chicken wire with our existing fence should create an OVER 1500 sq ft pen! That still a ton of freedom for 30 chickens, right???

That was a ton of driving but it sure was worth it! What a great find.

Please don't be ashamed of your yard. I don't think it's bad at all. My yard is all dirt and straw except where the garden is growing and this year the garden wasn't as huge as last year.

Okay awesome, I think I can FINALLY be a part of the conversation around here. So my neighbor gave us some peaches from her tree... Who would like to share their best cobbler or peach whatever recipe with me so I can use em up?

I know right!

I have an easy cobbler you can make and will love! Nothing comes from a box! I make this cobbler with any fruit I have and we eat it up all of the time.

Filling:
Take your peaches and blanch them for 30 seconds and the peelings will just come right off but the peach will stay fresh. Slice them into an oven proof bowl until the bowl is at least 3/4 full. Mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup flour or 2 tbsp instant tapioca. Stir everything together and place 2 tbsp of real butter dotted on top.

Crust:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter frozen
1/2 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients first really well in a bowl. Cut the butter into chucks and mash it into the dry mixture until the whole mixture is crumbly and you can't feel any hard lumps of butter. Pour milk in and mix with your hands until the dough forms. It should only take about 5 swipes. Pull pieces of the dough apart and pat it think between your hands, make sure it's no more than 1/4" thick and places the pieces on top of the filling. Sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon.

Place the cobbler in a pre heated 350 degree oven for about an hour. Place a cookie sheet under the bowl to catch the filling that oozes out sometimes. Let set until warm enough to eat.

Why do chickens with beards don't have waddles?I'm a new member.

I never noticed if they do or don't. I went out and looked and Amanda doesn't have any. I didn't get to Sundae to see because she was busy running around.

Ive never made jam before, or even canned anything. Is it easy?

You can make this too. I buy the Certo Pectin and just follow the simple instructions and you're done.

So proud of you both for taking this diagnosis and turning it around to help others. I think you are right, Steve is the perfect choice. Hugs to you both.

Ooooh yeah! An oat streusal is fabulous too! OK gettin hungry here and I already brushed my teeth. No fair!
Thanks Pam! Huge hugs back. I was just thinking about you. How is the back doing with your return to full-time? Mine is doing fairly well lately *knock on wood* I promised Steve I would call and make an appt with your Doc as soon as the new dog house, run, peafowl coop and atrium are finished.

I know it sounds like a lot but the list is definitely growing much smaller. Oh I forgot about the yard sale. That is a must do as well. I know I'll be no help at all for awhile after the surgery so we are trying to get the major stuff done first.

You're making me really want to eat with all of your great suggestions! Please keep us updated on your back.

Sheryl, I want you to know that I'm so sorry you and your family are going through so much. Thinking about you all a lot.

Oh Kim, Thank you very much! I'm always thinking of you too and how you are doing with everything you have gone through and are still going through.

So my daughter has created a free ranger out of my speckled sussex, Lucy. She's so friendly so Laila likes to pick her up and let her walk around in the yard. Now whenever I open the coop door, Lucy jumps out to walk around the yard and now she has a posse of her flockmates--the jaers, the brahma and a random silkie here and there that join her.

Yesterday, I sat in the backyard just watching the whole flock because when I woke up yesterday I noticed chicken droppings all over the yard and yet all the chickens and ducks were in the fenced area. I was watching to find out who got out and how, then I needed to know how they got back in. Then John came home and asked me what I was doing so I told him a chicken got out and I'm trying to find out how they got out and how did they get back in. That's when he said, I know, all the older ones were out this morning and I put them back in. He said he left one of the doors unlocked the night before and they pushed it open the next morning and the chickens were having a field day in the garden, yard, deck and every where else they felt like going but the ducks and younger ones stayed in the coop.

Amanda jumps up to my shoulder and walks around with me too.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Yesterday, I sat in the backyard just watching the whole flock because when I woke up yesterday I noticed chicken droppings all over the yard and yet all the chickens and ducks were in the fenced area. I was watching to find out who got out and how, then I needed to know how they got back in. Then John came home and asked me what I was doing so I told him a chicken got out and I'm trying to find out how they got out and how did they get back in. That's when he said, I know, all the older ones were out this morning and I put them back in. He said he left one of the doors unlocked the night before and they pushed it open the next morning and the chickens were having a field day in the garden, yard, deck and every where else they felt like going but the ducks and younger ones stayed in the coop.

Amanda jumps up to my shoulder and walks around with me too.

Kung Pao the leghorn flies over into the garden all the time. But she mostly forages and eats grass, then flies back out. All of the bigger birds just watch with jealousy. And Dijon the brabanter, who's the best flier of all of them, doesn't even know what she's missing. I have a feeling that, if that chicken was just a bit smarter, I might actually have to watch her.

 

[sherylreno]

Yes, I think you would need to watch her too. She might actually be smarter than you think though. As long as she's happy where she is then she shouldn't go any where else.