Opa's place -Where an old rooster visits with friends

[Highlander]

It's so hard to watch your parent, the person who used to be invincible to you, grow old and frail. While my mother is still very independent at 71, her senior moments seem to be coming thick and fast lately. I can't put my finger on when the roles were reversed and she ended up being the one that needs watching over and looking after to an extent but it happened. I know I'm lucky that I still have her and she is fairly close by, so although I give her a hard time about her occasional foolishness I am thankful that she is still here for me to shout at!

 

[Highlander]

My lovely neighbour, the one that brought me the marans eggs, just came down again with 4 Sebastopol eggs and 4 lavender Silkie eggs! Time to fire up the other incubator I guess!

 

[NotAFarm]

My lovely neighbour, the one that brought me the marans eggs, just came down again with 4 Sebastopol eggs and 4 lavender Silkie eggs! Time to fire up the other incubator I guess!

I'm living in the wrong neighborhood!! Lucky you!!

 

[EweSheep]

to Opa and Hope Glad Hope is taking matters in her own hands about his welfare!

If he ever raise his fist against Hope (if she was my wife), I would certainly whoop his butt for being out of line. If he is that abusive in real life before his mental illness came about, I'd flatten his butt to the ground and then some! I am sure he is very frustrated and combative right now.

It is a matter of time he certainly needs to go to an assistance living center that can take care of him...no more tractor playing for him.

 

[Opa]

Sure has been a strange year for weather. First we have a mild winter, not bitterly cold and well below average snowfall. The March comes with record high temperature, even a few over 80. Now April has below normal temperature with lots of wind. I find myself wishing for normal weather but think when I think about it this is Michigan, we always have weird weather.

 

[Highlander]

Same here. Virtually no snow all winter, hottest March on record and now the wettest April. It's rained every day for over 3 weeks now, rivers are bursting their banks, fields are flooded and the sun is nowhere to be seen. My poor broody rhea gave up after he discovered his nest had turned into a small loch.

 

[EweSheep]

Pretty decent here but the temps got down to the 30's, good thing I haven't planted anything out there yet. Mother Nature is sure weird out there.

There are plenty of farmers going hell bent to the wire to get their corn planted already in the past two weeks. We had a bit of rain and expecting more this weekend. Good thing because Keokuk, IA Civil War event supposed to be going on and gonna be a wet time for those folks! AND cold. Not a great way of "camping out". Not going there and haven't been back there so for so long, when my daughter was barely a year old. Nearly froze our toes off.

 

[Opa]

I have never understood how just a few days of sun and warmer temperatures can make folks believe that planting a month to early is going to work. Until the ground has warmed up to the upper 50's the seeds that they plant just sit there and quite often rot before germination can take place. I have friends that each year try to plant before the end of May and they wind up having to replace or replant a lot of things. Their gardens never surpass mine and I plant the last of May and first of June. Why go through the added work and additional expense.


Vicki, sorry the rhea quit. It would have be something to have hatched some chicks.

 

[EweSheep]

I think the farmers are worried mostly about the spring rains and how much will be coming. Farmers can only take so much losses on his flooded out crops. How they kept going? I don't know..maybe pride or its a family farm. Corporate farms are really going like gangbusters, buying out parcels of family farms or estate farms.

I'm seeing less livestock, more land plowed up from where the cattle has been grazing on it for years. I love beef and I am predicting that beef is going to skyrocket more, particuarly the grass fed beef.

Got tons of mouring doves.....not sure if they will make good eating. Wished the city would allow us to kill some for meat.

 

[Opa]

Morning dove breast makes excellent fare. I to wish we could hunt them. Despite scientific evidence that proved that hunting them would have no impact on the population, the antis mounted a campaign of lies and deception and a hunting season on doves was rejected. As soon as the birds migrate out of Michigan in the fall they enter states with open seasons.

I have morning dove nest platforms around my shop building that each year host families of doves. On the mornings that it is warm enough to have the windows open it is rather nice to listen to them.