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

[Opa]

My darlin' daughter, solitude can be refreshing. One benefit of getting up early is that no one is asking me anything or putting any demands on my time. I can catch up on the news, work the crossword and enjoy a cup or two of coffee.

The weather this past week has been downright balmy but the is about to change. The are predicting light snow for today which isn't condusive to balmy weather. The gun season for deer opens on Monday so the colder weather will actually be a plus but I still would prefer it warmer. Once this cold and snow gets started it will be at least April before it warms up again.

 

[fatboy farms]

Whats up you old rooster? Long time no see. I see PK, Mama g, High lander , H farm And you are still kicking. I have been busy wiyh the farm and work but work is slow now. Well i'm off to judge a 4H chicken show this morning [rosecomb dominiqe] so yall keep em straight out there. i'll check back in later

 

[ranchhand]

Good day everyone!

I'm having comp issues so if I disappear, don't worry about it.

The rest of the bantam Cochins hatched Thursday and I moved them to a small brooder yesterday. Of 12 eggs, 3 were clear, one died a few days before hatch and 8 little ones hatched. Very good hatch rate for eggs shipped from Michigan to South Carolina. They are blue or black mottled, smooth or frizzled. Looks like 2 blues and 6 blacks, so far. JJ is in the same brooder, separated by a wire grid. They need a few days growth before I mix them, he's getting pretty big!

Chicks in brooder - yes, they have their own monkey

JJ, in the other side -

So 9 chicks total to brood in the house for the next 2 months or more. Ack, what a mess!

Fatboy, nice to see you again, judging, eh? That's a tough job!

Highlander, glad you got a break, hope you reveled in it, even though I'm sure you'll be glad to have them all home again.

PK, don't you love the equations? Believe it or not, Pi r not square, Pi r round!

Sam, I love the quiet mornings too, but with 2 large dogs and 3 cats, all demanding attention and food, it's rarely really quiet.

Harlan, she's a lucky little dog, though I prefer the name of Lucy!

Clear and chilly here, but it's supposed to warm up this afternoon. Time to gather some kindling, move some straw and tear down the old coop to make room for the new one. NOT looking forward to that, since I think several snakes have taken up residence under it. DH made me a new improved, bigger snake stick so I'll have that handy at all times.

Oh joy.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Congrats on the hatch, Sally.

I'm with ya on brooding chicks all winter...I've got them in my garage, in my office in the house, eggs in the hatcher, AND eggs in the incubator. And I'm thinking of setting some more. I've completely lost my mind.

 

[Opa]

Hard to believe that something as cute as little chicks can make such a big mess. I know the year that I brooded 3 dozen in the garage was enough to convince me that I needed to come up with a better plan. Expanding the large fowl coop and incorporating a brooder into one wall sure has made dealing with chicks much easier.

Fatboy, good to see that your still around and kicking. I was starting to think you might have fallen of the edge somewhere.

Went to check out my hunting property since the gun season opens on Monday. Lots of buck sign so hopefully something large enough to shoot will come by my stand. I haven't taken a buck in several years since I decided to pass on all bucks that score less than 130. I know that I will take 5 does and David will probably shoot several as well. I need to make a lot more pastrami this year as what I made last year was gone in just a couple of months. Ideally I could use at least 10 deer when I factor in making several different type of sausage and jerky.

 

[mamagardener]

We have a sunroom on our house that we have been wanting to turn into a yearround family room for a long time. Well we finally have scrimped and saved enough money to have it done. My cousin who is a contractor took some time off from his regular job to do it for us. It is great hiring someone that you know and know you can trust, he has done plenty of work for family before so we know he is good.

Well his son came with him on Veteran's Day and yesterday since there was no school. He is 17 years old and a senior in high school. I always hear people complaining about young kids and how lazy they are. Well, I am going to tell you this kid is a hard worker. He was doing alot of the dirty hard work and being a gofer for his father. Granted he did say he would rather be home doing nothing, but he worked hard on his day off with no complaint. I am sure my cousin is very proud of him, and from now on when I hear people say this generation is lazy...I will be able to tell them not all of this generation!

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:

Good to hear, MamaG! And congrats on the new family room, always nice to have more year-round space.

 

[Opa]

MommaG. I'm sure you willl get a lot of use from addition. I added a deck to my house years ago and before I could finish my then wife wanted a roof over it. The next thing I knew it had evolved into a year round room. Five or six years ago I tore it off and built a 20x 24 addition that has become the most used room in the entire house. My middle son was also a young fellow who liked to work hard. He started following me on jobs when he was 3 or 4 and now 40 years later runs our business.

Went hunting yesterday and it was unusually quiet. Very little shooting on the adjacent properties. I sat from 630am till 1130 before I even saw a deer. Normally I would see over 100 deer on opening day. Yesterday I saw 6 does the entire day.

 

[gallinamama]

Good morning all, It was said on the news that we had a lot of deer... far as I am hearing no one is seeing any. maybe they are hiding?

Everyone have a good day.

 

[Highlander]

Morning all. Yesterday was supposed to be my first Christmas shopping day but unfortunately the weather was horrid and we didn't get to go. So we made lists and planned instead and drank lots of tea.

I have a black tie dinner dance tonight so today is going to be spent trying to make myself beautiful - going to be a long day!