~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~

[gryeyes]

Remember once you get the porch enclosed, the hitching post!!!! I would not be surprise if they hang around at night, joining your company.

Funny you should mention that "hitching post" idea, as John and I discussed it Wednesday.

Once the porch is power-cleaned, all the replacement balusters painted, and the mosquito screen is in place, anything directly in front of the porch railing would detract from how "finished" and complete it will look. So I am considering other places for a hitching post roost rail.

I put up a temporary roost for daytime practicing in the yard between the coops and the pergola. This is mostly for the tweenagers who like to roost just about anywhere as long as it's above the ground. I think it will be better than the tree branch perches they currently use.

But a permanent roosting bar would probably look best directly in front of the front coop wall, from the edge of the Dutch doors to the side of the coop. I don't know if they'll use it, but it looks good in my mind's eye.

 

[gryeyes]

I wrote most of the previous post before I left to attend "Endless Pizza Night" at Charles Mitchell's Winery in Fairplay (next to the Stoney Creek Alpaca Farm). I am home now, quite lubricated with pretty darned good wine and lots of great pizza created and baked on site. First Friday Night of my retirement spent with a group of local folks (including HHandbasket, Farmer Lew and some other friends of ours in amongst at least 50 other locals). We celebrated my retirement with Charles Mitchell red wines and superior pizza. I either gathered an egg customer or an admirer there at our shared table. Hopefully he will only order eggs if he calls the number I wrote on a piece of paper for him.

Once full of pizza and before I would have to refuse another glass of wine, I drove next door to the Alpaca farm to sober up a bit at HH and FL's place, then headed home when my BA was not as high as it was a couple of hours earlier.

4 miles to travel. It's so handy they are so close to me.

Next Wednesday evening I'm gonna try Burger Night at the Gold Vine Grill in Somerset.

 

[Casey3043]

Here's a caption for the ninth picture down (John looking at his hand): "Was that chicken poop I just put my hand on?"

Sorry, couldn't resist! Your porch and steps are absolutely beautiful. It will be so nice when you have your own area, clean and screened. Do you think the birds will let you free range, or do you have to stay in there all the time? Don't worry---they'll make sure you have food and water!

I know you will enjoy retirement. I sure do, five years now. I never run out of stuff to do---garden, chickens, dogs, cats, knitting, sewing, home improvement projects, etc.

I enjoy reading about everything happening at your home in the foothills!

 

[gryeyes]

I've been retired for a full week now. Honestly, I've only had ONE day without personal interaction with people... no, wait, even that day did involve a brief visit by John delivering some materials.

I have tried like heck to get some shots of the two newly hatched ducklings as their mama leads them around, but I can't get close enough for good shots. Mama duck is pretty protective most of the time. The couple of times she wasn't, it was during "duckling rescue" moments. You know, when one is on one side of a wire fence and everybody else is on the other side... that's pretty harrowing for a duckling. Assistance is required. (I just love holding their little bodies as they wiggle and flap their wing stubbies.) Totally impossible for me to take a picture at those moments. I need camera EYES because my hands are busy!

<* blink - got it! blink blink blink - 3 quick shots in succession *>

Perfect idea, no? Hmmm. Gotta figger out a way to download the images, though....

Today I was lightly chastised by the Postmistress for not picking up my mail often enough. Because the road I live on "doesn't exist" according to the USPS, the thrice-weekly local newspaper to which I have subscribed has to be mailed to me. Whoopsies. Bad retireee, must remember to pick up mail at least every other day...

Carl, Jr. (human) from next door, asked me if I had cut down on smoking.... Uh, yup. Quit, except for the electronic cigarette nicotine...

He mentioned my voice sounded "richer" and they haven't heard me coughing as frequently or as harshly. I thought, "Oh GREAT, my hacking is louder than my ROOSTERS??"

He and his wife and kids have been trying to get Carl, Sr. to quit smoking. I guess I'll just have to make an effort to talk up the e-cig to Senior, because not only do I feel better, breathe more easily, walk up the driveway without getting winded, but I am beginning to taste foods differently. Last time I quit for any length of time, it was during the ten months I was off work during breast cancer treatment. Food was NOT an issue.

Let me just throw in a picture of Carl, claiming the "new" end of the porch railing. Okay, two.

.

When John delivered the 3 peeler cores and more retaining wall concrete blocks, we chatted about The List of Projects which gets something new added to it fairly regularly. He said he'd just upgraded his satellite programming to "everything" and surely didn't mind the work.

I've noticed he can say things with a psychic wink. You don't see it, but it's there.

Yesterday, he couldn't remember the normal, non-chicken related term for the thing he's building from the peeler cores. The use - for chickens to roost during the day once the porch is enclosed and Chicken Free - and the concept of its appearance warred with each other, obviously. It came out "horse docking post."

Here is the beginning of that project.



Clever use of the empty soda bottles, eh? John never leaves any upward metal protrusion uncovered.

I broke down and actually sold four of my layers - named ones, too! - today. Cagney SLW, Penny RIR, Becca EE, and one of the Josies, WL. Two gals came out, one to buy and one for moral support. I carefully explained how difficult it is for me to relinquish any of my girls, especially named ones. But the Not Yet Named birds aren't old enough for me to be POSITIVE they're pullets or cockerels.

John assisted with the chicken capture efforts by blocking a favorite egress point and calling out the particular hen's movements as we moved to net each selection.

Two turkey poults have hatched and I've got the little cuties in the white brooder "cage" with an EcoGlow and six "tutor" chicks.

Oh! The friend who came out to the house I rented in West Sacramento to "harvest" used coop bedding came out with his 12 year old son and cleaned my coop on Sunday. Down to the dirt floor. It all went into the tarp-lined bed of his humongous pick-up to be delivered to his In-Laws' gardens. His son became enamored of Rupert, the partridge silkie. (Even if we don't know if Rupert is a boy or a girl.) After they tied down the load, they followed me over to the Alpaca ranch where HHandbasket and Farmer Lew are care-takers. There's been a cria born this week and another last week, so there were adorable, nursing babies as well as lots of adult alpaca to see.

So my coop is VERY poop-diminished. I moved the three Cayuga ducklings out into the Chicken... errrr.... Poultry Kindergarten area. With their EcoGlow brooder they hardly need in the house, but may need at night for a while. During one "duckling rescue" mission, I tucked one of the two duck-hatched ducklings into the Kindergarten pen with the 3 older ducklings while rounding up the second one. The littlest duckling melded right into the group and the 3 older girls accepted her just fine. (This may be useful later.) When I secured the second duckling and retrieved the first so I could give them back to Mama Duck, the baby was snuggled down in bedding with its bigger "sisters."

The baby ducklings are horrifically adorable. Mama took 'em into the vinca yesterday and today. Some of the time she wandered off a ways whilst the babies napped or amused themselves in the greenery. They'd migrate, or gravitate, near or next to any other bird, usually a chicken. At one point, they were active and Molly, my BA, walked by them; they immediately began to follow her. "Real big, black feathers, maybe it's Mama!" Mama Duck is not even a year old, so she can be excused for her lack of mothering skills.... I've reunited her with her babies a ton of times in the past two days.

Something well worth retirement, so I can be here to participate in all these delightful events.



John put some of the flock to work scratching soil back into the void behind the short retaining wall. The above shot shows two of the conscript chickens after they were done.



..

 

[theoldchick]

Wonderful!

 

[1muttsfan]

That Carl sure is a handsome fella

 

[HHandbasket]

Isn't it nice? I can't wait until I can retire, too. I have another 15 years to go, though.

 

[wolftracks]

I love reading along with this thread and it's so nice that now you have more time to enjoy what you've worked so hard for. I'm so thrilled for you. You have no idea.

 

[Wisher1000]

Okay, Linda, I have spent several (enjoyable) days reading your thread from beginning to end and now it's been 4 days since you posted? Wha?! I know you are finding all sorts of delightful distractions but don't leave us hanging! I don't have another thread to keep up with so it is your responsibility to keep writing! Even if you are too busy, HH could keep us updated with what's going on.....com'on ladies, give us a fix!!!

 

[nikki1]

I agree! As an official lurker on this thread, I'm starting to have Linda Adventures withdrawls.

--Nikki