Official Squatch Watchers

[Chickassan]

Still have three in the coop! Susan came out but Rene, Ethel and Dutch aren't budging. Speckled Sussex and dominiques are supposed to be forageing machines and faverolles built for snowy french winters...either all lies or my girls are spoiled.

 

[Chickassan]

Extra poop is being conservative, they've pooped enough for several more chickens than I actually have. All they're doing is eating though, food, bedding, snacks so iv'e kind of brought it on myself. Bright side, nobody is hungry.

Morning ya'll.

We are not seeing any snow. I will be watering the trees since we are painfully dry here.

Chicky, mine hate snow too. Yup extra coop poop.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Just put my 6 Lavender Guineas up for sale on FB. We'll keep the 4 pearls for now. They are less vocal and stupid than the lavenders. Does $15 each or $75 for all 6 sound like a good price? I think there are 4 females and 2 males.

 

[Chickassan]

Sounds like a deal to me, 75 for 6 birds is practically a steal. Are they just too much guienea for you Rae?

Just put my 6 Lavender Guineas up for sale on FB. We'll keep the 4 pearls for now. They are less vocal and stupid than the lavenders. Does $15 each or $75 for all 6 sound like a good price? I think there are 4 females and 2 males.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Sounds like a deal to me, 75 for 6 birds is practically a steal. Are they just too much guienea for you Rae?

Holy taters, yes. Now that they are between the two houses, they start squawking any time the see a person or hear a loud noise. With 10 of them, it is quite the racket.

 

[apryl29]

Lol! It won't be bad. Anytime we get a dusting here people just go insane. If the roads are icy we just stay home because people certainly don't get any smarter in their cars.

So how bad did it get for you?

Wow, that's so stressful and unreasonable. Christmas is about giving, not receiving and to expect and basically demand something, especially from the kids is just heartbreaking

Yeah, he's always been like that. The first father's day after I left him my oldest was about to turn 3. I asked her what she wanted to get her dad (I was still being nice) and she said she wanted to get him a granny smith apple b/c she knew he liked him. I let her pick it out and she got the biggest one she could. She was so proud of it & gave it to him w/ a big smile. He picked them up, then called me yelling about how terrible I was b/c that's all I got him & how on mother's day he got me something nice (a simpson's dvd set and a flower bought w/ my credit card). I yelled at him. A few years back the kids said he get really mad b/c his dad bought his mom a kindle and didn't get him one too. Clearly they made some major mistakes when they were raising him.

I agree that’s excessive. Maybe they could make a batch of cookies or brownies (something that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to make) instead of a storebought gift.
That way they are still “giving” but it’s not costing them or YOU as much!

The little one said she's going to make him something. The big problem is his bday is the 15th, then there's xmas so they need to find something for both. Lesson learned though... my kids will marry much better than I did b/c they will know the hazards of marrying badly.

Speaking of weird cats, I had a bottle of shampoo in my bed this morning. Leaking.
She also now drinks out of the sink when I turn the faucet on.

Our cat has always loved sink water. Apparently it's better than bowl water.

Eww!

Mine has been caught licking the gingerbread house. The kids are thinking twice about stealing candy off of it now lol. A few of the sweet tarts and bottle caps are filed down on the edges from him licking them and half the nerds are missing from the top!

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That is the best thing I've read in a long time. We had a cat who would lick the hershey kiss on peanut butter blossom cookies. You'd walk away then find cat tongue prints in them. I know chocolate is bad for them, but he was 11 when he died so it couldn't have been that bad. Plus he would have lived longer, but the vet gave him the wrong dose of meds.

Yes, i used to eat Tang when i was a kid. Do you remember those foil wrapped things that were kind of chocolatey that the astronaughts were supposedly eating?

Yeah, that was freeze dried ice cream. You can usually find it in the camping section w/ the other dried foods. My kids loved freeze dried fruit.

Good morning, peeps! It's the wonderful weekend!

I finished my first week on the new job flying solo, and I think it was a success! I'm really liking it there, and am slowly figuring out how to create a new office and system that works for me (the nurse who retired was there 30 years, and she was a bit of a hoarder, with papers and files everywhere, lol).
I just caught up on all the posts, there were almost 300 to catch up on! I still need to respond to many of your "awful in-laws" stories and words of wisdom (and I really appreciate it) because so much of that was so moving, and resonated so deeply.

I feel so much better for speaking my mind to DH and his mother, and saying "I will not take this anymore."

My husband informed hs family that I will not be coming to any of the upcoming family get-togethers this Christmas, and not until I decide to

He is leaving for FL on Monday to spend the week with his rotten kids. (yay! I get to be by myself with the critters, and with you all!)

And here is a small triumph. His family is having a birthday dinner tomorrow for his sister (the one with the ignorant nephew). DH told her that not only was I not going, that he was going to do something with me beofre he goes to FL, and will not be going either! He gave her a card and money and that's that.

I don't think he's ever done that before (usually, he would just go by himself and make some lame excuse for me). But that was him making a stand and sticking up for me, and that is something!

It's a start, right?

How fun. I hope you guys had a nice time. It sounds like he's going to enjoy saying no a bit too.

My Chihuahua is acting weird. He refused to sleep in his bed so I washed it and he still wouldn’t lay in it. He’s hanging around me a lot. He never used to. His personality is the same but different. I don’t know how else to explain it. More concerning he sits outside in the snow. He’s eating. I’ve seen him poop recently. Maybe he’s just slow? He’s 12.
Something I can give him to get things moving but not blow out?

Can you take him for a walk somewhere? My friend had 2 dogs and when I'd walk them for her they were like giant poop machines. Literally walking around the block they'd each poop at least twice.

Thanks my friend!

I agree. I mean, it seems like a really small thing (for me) but he is so used to doing anything and everything for his family, and never saying "no" to them (and subsequently, "yes" to me, and to us). He never really understood that it is OK to set boundaries (not just OK, but necessary!) and part of that is not saying yes to every single thing people ask you to go to (or do something for them) just because they are family.

Call me selfish (and DH has, and I'm sure his family has, but I don't really care) but I have no problem telling people NO. And I don't feel guilty for it. I learned to stand up for myself a long time ago, and part of that is not saying yes to everything and everybody.

That is one thing DH never understood. And he never said "no" to his kids either, and they are all a bunch of spoiled, self-entitled babies who are in their 20's and thirties and all have kids, and never learned to work or take care of themselves.

I've been listening to (and reading) a lot of Brene Brown lately. One thing she says, and I love, is (before automatically saying "yes" or speaking your truth, no matter how difficult) is this:

Choose discomfort over resentment.

As in: The temporary discomfort you feel at the moment of speaking your truth and getting it out there, is way better than having day's (or weeks, or years!) worth of resentments stored up inside you, festering.

Nobody likes a bitter martyr, lol. "Selfishness"--in my eyes--is way underrated (And yes, I do things for people, and say yes, just not to anything and everything).

And PS: Oh yeah, that office WILL be chickenized, lol. Once I can sort through all the piles of papers and charts, reorganize, throw out a bunch of stuff, and figure put exactly what the h3ll I'm doing....

Pfsht. Be selfish, no one else is going to put you first.

That actually makes sense. He’s just not quite himself.

Do you have some kind of air thingy? I read something about someone had tea tree oil in one of those oil infuser things and her dog started acting weird and apparently it's really bad for dogs. Or maybe a carbon monoxide detector.. if he's little it'll affect him faster.

Oh Apryl, this post.... (sigh.)

It hurt so much to read this the first time, and I saved it to answer, because there is no quick response. And there is nothing in here I could bring myself to "like" cuz, well, it's awful, frankly.

There is so much terrible, cringe-worthy, horrible-human-being stuff here that it was hard to read. And I'm sorry. And I wanted to reach out through the Internet and give you a gigantic hug, and tell you how much you never deserved that, and how better off you are being away from those toxic, awful, heartless people.



I can't even pick out one particularly awful story in there, because it's all like "are you freaking kidding me???!!" Which is exactly (and more, although like you, I can't say it because this is a family friendly site) what I kept saying as I read through it.

Ugh. Just.....UGH.

You do know you are lovely, and worthy, and a good person, and a good friend, a good mother...who should have cut and run a long time ago? I'm hoping--and thinking--that you regained a bit of your self-esteem back when you and the ex broke up, and now that there is time and distance, you've gotten it all back?


As far as everything you say at the end: I agree with it all. He's been passive all his life, and the huge fights and breakups we have had were always pretty much about how he never stood up for me with his family.

(The youngest daughter, well now--we met when she was 11, she hated me, she caused a huge amount of trouble through her teenage years, and he basically let her do and say back then whatever she wanted to. So that was a whole other story, but we won't go there, cuz it's over and done, and although she never apologized, she has two babies of her own now, and I think she sees things differently. And I am always gracious when she and her brood come to visit, and it is not bad, not at all. It only took about 7-8 years to get there, ha.)

I actually did start writing a letter to his family. And then I was like: F*ck it. I was so furious from all that built-up resentment and anger that I just unleashed it all on his poor old 93 year old mom, who will now spread the word to the rest of his clan.

And they all know now that I am not coming, to anything. Till (if!) I decide to.

So sorry you had to go through that, my friend. You deserved better. You deserve better.

Edited--as usual--for bad typing.

Thanks.. I'd had enough so I left. It's been 11 years now, but it makes for a great cautionary tale. My younger one had major issues a couple years ago when I was dating someone. Her dad had already remarried and she didn't care, but apparently me seeing someone was a major issue for her. I'd been seeing him for a while before I ever told my kids about him. He turned out to be a huge jerk anyway so it's not been a problem since. She was more afraid about how things would change and she didn't like that. I'm sure it'll be an issue again if I ever meet someone else again. Kids are fun.

Gotta get my butt in gear and get off the puter for now. Been online for hours now!

But I'm gonna answer the rest of you guys who had the ovaries/balls to post your stories (@staceyj ) because it isn't easy. And thank you, guys....you are really a great bunch of friends here And I appreciate your love, your hugs, your advice, everything.

And oh, @Smuvers Farm , if you are out there???!!! We miss you. PLease, please, get your butt back soon. Or answer a phonecall, or a text. I know I'm not the only one who misses you. So there.

Just a quick I'm still alive! would be nice.

I wish we had snow!

No thank you. Though snow would at least make sense w how insanely cold it is atm.

no snow here, and I don't want any has been 10 to 13 at dawn the last few days. supposed to get above freezing for an hour today.

The roo I used for breeding this year had been doing poorly in the cold. CX mix, his dad died this spring about the same age. around 20 months. Looked like heart issues.
I was going to put him down yesterday, but the girls wanted out into the garden and he went with them and looked better. Ate supper fine and I thought about bringing him in, but he has never been handled and I thought the stress wouldn't been good for him.... should have put him down....was dead this morning. His favorite wives were gently pecking him like they wanted him to get up.
So I picked him up and told him I was sorry. I forgot to keep his butt up. coat and pants are in the washer.
He was a white cx mix and they are meaty, clean up nice in the plucker and don't have as many feathers as the barred ones I have gotten out of that breeding... But that lack of feathers doesn't help them, just me, and they don't seem to live long. I have a younger brother,(from halloween last year) that is barred and I think I will use him next year. I also save a barred son of his as a back up... The barred just don't seem to have as much breast meat as the white, but I like the dark better anyway. There are several of his white sons I was thinking about as back ups, but I think I will just butcher them... of course it's too cold to butcher so I may change my mind

Sorry about your boy. LOL About your coat and pants. I guess he got you back.

Yeah, I know I need to delegate. I don't like feeling helpless.

DH just walked up behind me while typing my response to you and pointed to your second sentence and said "Ahem, I agree completely!"

Oh. I realized late last night that I didn't count my 3 Dark Cornish breeders. I also need to get an accurate count on the chicks in the brooder coop too.


I know. I need to go to my Chiropractor tomorrow. I had sciatic pain all through my last pregnancy and pretty bad after my c-section. My core and pelvis feels more unstable this time around. I think that is mainly the fault of the c-section.

I had the same problem w/ my 2nd one. I told my ob and he twisted my back and fixed it, but my back's always been pretty screwed up. After that I pretty much knew what I needed to do, like a stretch and a twist. Carrying around the older one made it worse, also bending over to lay her down into her bed at night I could feel it pop out of place.

Pregnancy hormones loosen up the ligaments. Maybe see if you can get some Pt for the spine. It can be very helpful. The Chiropractor might have some exercises and stretches for you too

That's exactly what my ob said.. basically getting your body ready for changes needed to accommodate the baby. A maternity belt might help too. I needed one later on..

The chicken kids. The wind blows right at the pop door so I haven't been opening it when it's really cold or windy. They won't go out anyway.


If that's what it takes to get it out of here!

I have that problem too. I built a little thing off the side to block the wind/ snow last year, it also gave Odin more space in his little area. I opened the space up so everyone can get in there to get out to the smaller section. I just keep the back door closed since I never got the back space built up.

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The picnic table on our deck is slowly disappearing under the snow.

How much did you end up with, or is it still snowing?

Ohhh...and iv'e been blaming that cat for eating birds. It isn't her, it is Beavis. I caught her killing and eating a bird. Not much I can do about that.

Even more proof that if someone was to die in their chicken coop, that the birds would eat them w/o hesitation.

Hey y’all I’m going to be off and on for a few weeks. I’ve been in Mexico since Friday and will be here a few more weeks visiting the in-laws. Reception sucks and it’s freezing down here we are in the mountains. Hope y’all are doing well

How fun! Have a nice time.

I’ve seen my chickens try to kill birds that come down to mooch off their spilled feed. That is probably what is happening

I had a feeling that The Milk Drinker was a boy and I was right. I feel this one is a girl. We’ll have to wait and see if I’m right again. We have a girl name picked out because we didn’t use the one we had picked last time. I really feel no urgency to pick a boy name out. Of course, I’m only 14 weeks. So baby should be here sometime in the next 25-28 weeks. I’m hoping that I don’t get another c-section this time around. It took me almost 4 months to get back to 75% of normal and a year to get back to 90%. Never got completely over it. Made my abs and pelvis a lot more unstable.

Same. I knew my girls were girls and didn't even consider any boy names. People kept saying What if it's a boy? - He's going to be wearing a lot of pink.

Oh, speaking of being 14 weeks, I’m feeling a lot better. My morning sickness is pretty much nonexistent unless I go too long without eating or smell something horrible.

Good morning still snowy and cold! Only have four house bounds so far, Ethel, Dutch, Rene and Susan everybody else is out. Rene came out, put her feet in the snow and went back in guess she's not a fan. Going to have to poop scoop again, I think thats all they're doing in there.

Mine have had a ton more poop that usual. It's ridiculous. I don't blame them.. It's cold out there... yesterday we had no wind so they got to go outside for about an hour and peck around. Most of them didn't spend much time outside... everything froze and there's no bugs or worms.

 

[apryl29]

I dug around in the snow and the pine pellets have expanded a little, but are still pellets. We're supposed to have temps in the 40's later this week, if the weather people are to believe so hopefully the snow will melt and they'll break up more. I'm really excited about that 37 overnight on Friday.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I dug around in the snow and the pine pellets have expanded a little, but are still pellets. We're supposed to have temps in the 40's later this week, if the weather people are to believe so hopefully the snow will melt and they'll break up more. I'm really excited about that 37 overnight on Friday.
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Pretty bad when 37* is exciting. I know exactly how you feel though. I check the wind speed now too. LOL It’s like I try to calculate if I should open the door and for how long. Most of the time I don’t bother. They won’t go out in it. And yes the new coop is quickly filling with poop! I thought it seemed like a lot but hearing everyone’s chickens have turned into poop machines I feel better.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Oh, speaking of being 14 weeks, I’m feeling a lot better. My morning sickness is pretty much nonexistent unless I go too long without eating or smell something horrible.

Glad you are doing better!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Our power went out today for about 4 hours, so i brought my Tolbunt chicks back in the house. Hoping it doesn't affect the eggs in the bators!