~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~

[dsqard]

Linda, I am with Wisher and nikki1, how can you possibly be posting less now that you are retired?

BTW it must be wonderful to have the time to do all the things you have been wanting to do but work kept getting in the way.

 

[gryeyes]

Well, it's like this: watching all the flock members, collectively and individually, in addition to the chicks and ducklings and poults in brooders is just taking up SO much of my free time.

Dunno how time gets away from me. And in the evenings, I'm actually watching recorded TV programs from weeks and weeks ago. That is, if I'm not visiting or being visited.

And there are Projects, too. As I type this, John is installing a screen door over the French door out to the deck. I know the idea of putting a screen door "in front of" a beautiful French-style door is making somebody, somewhere, cringe. At some time or another, it's nice to have an open door, for air flow and the ability to hear the flock. Then there are the flies, mosquitos and yellow jackets which one would very much prefer stayed outside, thank you very much.

'Nuff said.

My assistance is needed, probably to instinctively step directly into John's path, stare off into space and forget to hand him something, or to state something clearly obvious to anyone. I don't know how he can keep a straight face when he tells me I am actually helping.

Back in a bit.

 

[Wisher1000]

Remember, Linda, don't be a bench.......

 

[suebee]

...

My assistance is needed, probably to instinctively step directly into John's path, stare off into space and forget to hand him something, or to state something clearly obvious to anyone. 
Back in a bit.


I'm the same way with DH, and feel really guilty when it's My project, coop/chicken related. I try to help him and slowly start drifting off into lala land, day dreaming. He jolts me out of it by saying, "Hey...Where'ya at?" I feel like Gilligan.

 

[HHandbasket]

Yeah, I see her less now that she's retired than I ever saw her when she was working, and I just live up the road from her a couple of miles!

Oh, but she is SO very much enjoying her life. It's like Farmer Lew says... now she gets to LIVE in her house instead of just sleep there.

 

[HHandbasket]

Woo hoo, I'm gonna get to see Linda today!

I haven't seen my buddy ALL week.

Farmer Lew and I are very much looking forward to spending some time with her today. Also, my scooter is going into the shop today after being broken for like 8 months, and now that Linda's retired and the weather is great, she is all out of excuses for not learning to ride the scooter she bought herself over a year ago. When my scooter comes out of the shop, Linda's gonna learn to ride. Once she gets proficient on the scoot, I betcha money the only thing she ever uses her car for is to go places at night or if she has to drive all the way into town or when the weather's bad. Farmer Lew and I have had our scooters about 2 years, and with the exception of long trips, nighttime, or rain, or when my scoot's broken, I can count on my fingers the number of times I've gotten behind the wheel of a car since we bought the scoots. For everything local, as long as the weather's good, we use our scoots.

My scoot gets 80 miles to the gallon, and his gets about 65 (he weighs more & his scoot weighs more and is slightly different). But when everyone was worried about rising gas prices for the summer, we did not. My scooter has a 1.4 gallon tank, and I generally get about 110-120 miles to a tank of gas (closer to the 110 mark since moving to the mountains, but mountains just uses more gas anyway). Getting 80 mpg comes in handy.

Come on, Linda, have John pull that scoot outta the shed so we can get that battery out and put it on the charger over here.

 

[1muttsfan]

That sounds so fun! If I didn't travel constantly with 2 dogs, I would love that (at least in the summer) - only 3 miles to and from work. But I can't see the dogs balancing on the handlebars

 

[HEChicken]

...Once she gets proficient on the scoot, I betcha money the only thing she ever uses her car for is to go places at night or if she has to drive all the way into town or when the weather's bad...

Or when buying feed....

 

[gryeyes]

Well, unfortunately today was a "fibro" day, which was really annoying and disappointing. It appears I was harboring another unrealistic expectation just outside of my awareness: "When I retire I won't have any more fibro days because I'll be all rested." As if retirement would be a cure for Fibromyalgia!

Well, lemme tell y'all it ain't! Fooey, I say.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon before I managed to get out of the Enchanted Recliner. I had moved there before John arrived to do more work on the Porch Project around 9 a.m. I explained I wouldn't even be able to observe him working, much less provide any assistance.

This is what he completed today: replacing two complete vertical posts (rotted) and replacing and configuring all the bottom boards.


A little bit more fiddling with things (perfectionist contractor issues) and then the porch will be power-washed, after which all the bare wood will be painted. THEN we'll screen the porch and install the screen doors at either end of it.

As he got ready to leave, he had to pick up a chicken. I suggested Nugget (for reasons I'll explain later). John had quite a discussion with him.

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Nugget has been challenging Carl.

I know!! Major lunges at each other after facing off with flared hackle feathers. I had wondered why Nugget had some evidence of dried blood on his comb, but now I know the cause. John's conversation went something like this: "You're one of the noisiest roosters around here, boy. She's not going to get rid of Carl, so you better back off and chill out if you want to continue to live here. You may have some killer spurs, fella, but Carl's got you beat. Don't be a bad rooster."

Adding to the scenario, Nugget and Angus are buddies. Angus has also been a bad gander of late, chasing Carl and pulling tail feathers. He's also attacked Buffy twice. Out and out "I wanna kill you" attacks, trapping her, holding her down and alternately pulling out feathers or actually biting her head and heck HARD. I have no clue why he's been doing this, but I've yanked him off her and carried HIM around for a while.

Kinda fun walking around the yard with a full-grown Toulouse gander under my arm. He looks around, regally, as if he's not in trouble, pretending it's not embarrassing to be carried around like that. Every minute or so, he'd look back at me with a steady expression. John shook a warning finger at Angus' bill during one of these sessions. He said, "Oh, that one's not giving up. You may be able to pick him up but he's just waiting it out."

Angus only goes after Buffy in this fashion; none of the other hens have suffered his attention. I have no idea what that's about. He doesn't like conflict and will honk and peck at any chicken or duck engaged in noisy mounting sessions, aiming for the loudest party, which is usually the hen on the bottom. Both geese demonstrate that behavior; if the mounting is consensual, without screaming or flailing, it will not draw the attention of either goose. However, Buffy is acting broody again; maybe a large, clucking, fluffed up Buff Orpington hurrying through the yard on broody breaks is offensive to the gander's sensibilities.

Now that I've been retired almost three weeks, I have had a lot of time to watch more of the yard dynamics. I am constantly shadowed by Rupert the partridge silkie, who often rides on my shoulder. Farmer Lew cut Rupert's feathered crest on one side of his/her head so the silkie could see better. You should have seen that chicken perk right up when s/he was suddenly able to see more! The pair of scissor was dull so only one side of Rupert's face was trimmed.... I have to find a sharpener, I guess, or buy better scissors, so I can take care of the other side. Binocular vision would be much better. Max also runs to me every time I come outside, but he doesn't seem to need the constant attention. I am pretty sure Maximilian IS a boy silkie. His crest stands up so he's never needed it trimmed.

After I hatched two turkey poults (and lost one through misadventure in the brooder) I picked up two poults from Bradshaw Feed. The three poults are in a brooder in the house with the two straight run Salmon Fav chicks and three Delaware pullet chicks I bought a week earlier. In the brooder is also the first chick of my own flock I've ever hatched. Momma is a banty EE and something; who knows who Daddy might have been. She was broody and gave up after hatching about five chicks and either squashing or ignoring them. I picked up the rest of her eggs in hope of salvaging something of her clutch... only one more hatched.

I can tell the difference between the sounds made by the chicks and poults. Poults are little hooters. Chicks are peepers. The chirping sounds from this brooder are so interesting. I think I may have discovered why I like to incubate and hatch: I love to listen to the sounds while I'm in the house. It makes it cheerier. (Not that the house is gloomy or depressing; not in the least.)

Maybe I need a caged song-bird, like a parakeet or canary, so I won't keep trying to fill my house with the sounds of cheeping chicks, hooting poults, or peeping ducklings. It wouldn't ever have to "grow up and go outside." Hmmmmmmm. Of course I'd need two... can't have a lone bird....

Here are two shots of the Project John completed last week. Notice there are no chickens using the new roost rail, which we refer to as the "Horse Docking Station."

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Not yet, anyway. Lizbeth likes it just fine.

 

[EweSheep]

Give it some time, they will see how it suits to their purpose!