Linda,
My Pet Chicken sells sexed bantams. I checked, and they do carry silver sebrights, male and female separate. They're sold out for this season, but spring always comes again, with another chance to be first to order!
--a friendly enabler
~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~
- Thread starter gryeyes
- Start date
Linda,
My Pet Chicken sells sexed bantams. I checked, and they do carry silver sebrights, male and female separate. They're sold out for this season, but spring always comes again, with another chance to be first to order!
--a friendly enabler
- Thread starter
- #1,602
Ah, yes! I've ordered from MPC before ("Pullet Surprise - 25 chicks") and been very happy with the collection. Hmmmmmmmmm.Linda,
My Pet Chicken sells sexed bantams. I checked, and they do carry silver sebrights, male and female separate. They're sold out for this season, but spring always comes again, with another chance to be first to order!
--a friendly enabler
I love every member of the flock but I gotta tell ya, the bantam breeds are just so interesting to see in amongst the large fowl. I have 5 broody banty hens right now (including Alice Sebright) AND got word yesterday all six eggs I sold to the couple with a broody banty have hatched! ALL SIX. They're so excited - particularly about having a "variety" of chicks; their hen is reportedly being a great momma, and I'm thrilled more of "my" mutt chickens have invaded the world. (Whoops! Wasn't 'sposed to type that last bit out loud....)
Two bantam hens (Little Bit and Grace) are broody in the 10-hole roll-away nest, each occupying an "apartment." I've blocked the slope so they can actually sit on the marked eggs I stole from another broody's nest. Angel is broody in one of the covered litter boxes. Alice, as I've mentioned, is broody in the top level of the rabbit hutch. Monica (Little Bit's daughter) is broody in the same nest box on one of the two mini-coops with Lola, a standard - and quite large - Cochin. They had about a zillion eggs under them, which I've redistributed. I suppose I should get a photo of them in there together.
Duckling stories.
A scary one: Mama Duck has been bringing her brood out of the coop just before the auto-door closes. She sets up camp under a piece of John's equipment right near the coop's people door, exactly in the path TO the door. The rest of the adult ducks and both geese have been sleeping outside of the coop for quite some time; they plop themselves down in two groups (youngsters pretty close to each other, and older adults spread out a bit further apart, but in a semi-circle) as a perimeter for the new family. I KNOW - it's SO COOL they do this! The spot is well-lighted by the security light on the coop wall. LAST night she took the kids on a ramble onto the first, "apple tree" terrace. From inside the house, I could hear duckling peeps from an area I shouldn't have heard 'em, so I investigated. They'd walked too closely to the edge and half of the brood had slipped onto the next lower terrace, in the maze of pruned tree branch "rabbit safety zone." The other half, minus one, were milling about with a very distressed Mama Duck. That single duckling was swimming in the stock tank - and couldn't get out.
I rescued the Olympic candidate first, risking a severe flogging by its agitated mother. Then I captured ducklings when they ran out of the Rabbit Sanctuary and behind the stock tank, placing them on the higher level. A few kept going, thwapping the soil at the base of the terrace wall with their little webbed feet until the two terraces joined at the end of the wall and they reunited with the rest of the brood. I herded them back to the coop, opening the people door to usher everybody under four inches safely inside. Plus Mama Duck, of course.
In case you didn't know it, 14 ducklings can take over an entire waterer. Such mass maneuvers require traffic control. Kate made sure NOBODY interfers with the brood.
I moved two of my solar fountains around, putting the smaller one on the flat area next to the short retaining wall and new porch steps. I topped it off last night, so was surprised to see the water level lower than full this morning. (I don't get up with the chickens - I managed to get outside around 8:30 A.M.) Odd. Overnight temperatures did not drop below 70 degrees, but that's a lot of evaporation when the sun's rays hadn't even hit the solar panels yet.
The explanation became obvious a little bit later.
So, I'm sitting on a vanity chair at the top of one side of the driveway, just outside the coop, with one of my turkeys on my lap. Edna and I were pretty happy with the arrangement when Lizbeth decided she should also sit on my lap. So, I'm sitting on a vanity chair with a turkey and a cat on my lap, grooving on the day, just watching the junior members of the flock challenge each other for seniority rights. The flowering quince bush (which I call "The Chicken Bush") is a shelter for yet another generation of feathered "tweenagers."
After a while, Lizbeth got down to sprawl nearby. A bit earlier, I had been entertaining Jack on my lap on that vanity chair before Edna decided she wanted to take the favored spot. Jack jumped down, muttering imprecations. Once Lizbeth got out of my lap, he started to stalk her.
.
After Lizbeth wandered amiably away on some feline errand, Dylan approached. He is jealous of the attention I give to Jack but doesn't want to settle down on my lap for more than a minute or two. Jack will fall asleep there if I let him. .(How could I not?!?!)
All this time, Edna sat comfortably and companionably on my lap. S/he drifted off to sleep a couple of times. S/he'd wake up, look around, peck at spots on my skin very softly (unlike Edith, who jabs at such things). But my earrings were too much of a temptation, so I finally put him/her down on the ground.
I've learned turkey necks can change color; at various times Edna and Edith display quite reddened neck skin. Other times that same skin on their necks is pale... well, white, I guess. Or beige.
John and I have discussed some plans for my garden area which include a Poultry Tunnel (tall enough for geese, ducks and turkeys so I can't name it a "Chunnel" as much as I would like to call it thus). Y'see, when I put up the temporary fence material around my garden, I used the back fence for one wall of the sectioned-off area. This blocked a well-traveled path from one side of the house to the other side via the skinny "back yard." Hence the idea for the Poultry Tunnel: John will build the fence panels, two gates - for PEOPLE, so *I* don't have to walk completely around the house to get from the garden to the back yard or other side yard, either - and a potting/gardening bench thingie to be set against the back fence. The area underneath this long bench will be covered with chicken wire to make the tunnel.
It was such a great idea I spent this weekend using some chicken wire to make a fourth section of fence parallel to the back fence (shortening the length of the garden about 18 inches) to create a pathway for the flock. Multiple youngsters braved the Chute Adventure, later investigated by Belinda Barred Rock. She found it quite useful, as she has been laying her egg in the Infirmary Coop next to the pet door into my bathroom. No long trek completely around the house to get to it, now!
It's pretty makeshift, but will do until John gets going on that project. (He's still finishing all the trim and painting on the two opposite sides of the house.)
After I spliced the cut in the cable from the solar collector to the pump for my largest solar fountain (previous goose damage), I moved the bulky fountain into the center of my garden. A pair of gold finches has been visiting to drink and bath in the top section by the bubbler. I still have to level the fountain for the best water effects, but it's been far too hot in the daylight to muscle it around. Once I get it set just right, I'll take pictures of it and hopefully some shots of the finches dabbling in the fountain, too.
During the past couple of weeks, I've left the property only to pick up a few things at the Mt. Aukum General Store every three days or so. Items are a bit pricier than going into Placerville or Sacramento, but it's SO convenient. I can get hardware, feed, food, wine (if I want some), and even paper and envelopes there. Tonight I'm setting up the printer/copier/fax/scanner and I had to get a ream of paper for it. I forgot to look for a dual phone jack, though. Ah well. Haven't any plans to fax anything anywhere just right now.
I love my life. I could use cooler weather and a larger pension check, but it's all good. My "get things finished" driver may work at a sluggish pace, but I'm happy.
How could anybody be unhappy with a flock of such varied feathered personalities as Carl, Alice, Edna, Jack, Molly, Belinda, Beatrice, Bernard, Maximilian, Elvis, Angus, Kate (just a few of the more remarkable members) AND 14 ducklings to watch all day?
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So glad you are happy. I too love to stay at my home. So many things to do. But Im in for a bunch of driving for a while since my Newfoundland had her cruciate repaired. They do such wonderful PT for her, I think if I ever need anything similar, I want to go to this vet! Don't think they handle chickens, though. Have never seen any in the waiting room...
RE: "I love my life. I could use cooler weather and a larger pension check, but it's all good."
I love to hear that. I love my life, too; living simply in the Blue Ridge Mountains, sitting on my porch overlooking the creek, listening to the water rushing around the rocks, watching my girls, talking to my cats; appreciating the simple things. Wish I could retire, but I need a few more years to get things paid off. At least I *have* a job in this economy, so I won't complain.
It seems too few people are content with what they have and, therefore, can't make the same statement about their lives. How sad for them. I've learned that happiness can't be found in owning "things" or in being with the "right" person ... it's a sense of gratitude that nothing and no one can give you. Happiness is not the giddy, ephoric feeling promoted in the media ... those feelings are only temporary, like when your first child is born, or you've received recognition for a job well done. I believe true happiness is a feeling of contentment and satisfaction that comes from a deep appreciation of the simple things we already have. Glad to hear you've found it!
I love to hear that. I love my life, too; living simply in the Blue Ridge Mountains, sitting on my porch overlooking the creek, listening to the water rushing around the rocks, watching my girls, talking to my cats; appreciating the simple things. Wish I could retire, but I need a few more years to get things paid off. At least I *have* a job in this economy, so I won't complain.
It seems too few people are content with what they have and, therefore, can't make the same statement about their lives. How sad for them. I've learned that happiness can't be found in owning "things" or in being with the "right" person ... it's a sense of gratitude that nothing and no one can give you. Happiness is not the giddy, ephoric feeling promoted in the media ... those feelings are only temporary, like when your first child is born, or you've received recognition for a job well done. I believe true happiness is a feeling of contentment and satisfaction that comes from a deep appreciation of the simple things we already have. Glad to hear you've found it!
- Jul 17, 2012
- 18
- 0
- 22
Hey their,it's Ireland again.Love your pet's picture's.Such a wonderful mix,your duckling's are absolutely beautiful!!!! I have just two duck's,cayugas,Percy and Pegasus.Their just about 6 week's old and are so much fun to watch.
Okay Gryeyes, climb out of the duck pond and sit down at the computer. It's been a week and we are having withdrawls......
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- Thread starter
- #1,608
Oh, okaaaaay....... I'm finally back at my computer. It will take me all day to post an update with all the stories to tell and photos I've taken in the past week and a half.
I've had wonderful, lazy days and a few not-so-great fibro pain sessions, but every day retired has been far better than any recent pre-retirement day. I've certainly been able to catch up on a bunch of recorded TV programs and become enamored of quite a few series and/or specials I'd never known existed. This is the hottest time of year and such temperatures have always kicked my butt, so a huge chunk of my time is spent in the embrace of my Enchanted Recliner.
I did, however, attend another summer concert at Helwig Winery. "Renegade," a Styxx tribute band. This was a GREAT concert - even better than the Blues Brothers tribute band a month or so ago. Although *I* didn't join the dancers at the stage, I did manage to tire some muscles whilst rocking out - just a tad - in my spot in the amphitheatre. They complained the next day. A lot. Oh, plus I'd attended the Friday Night Pizza get-together at Charles Mitchell's Winery the previous night. (We even managed to talk John into attending it, too! He declined to join us in Amador County for the Renegade concert, though.)
.
.
In the past two weeks, 8 baby roosters have gone to live with others in HH & FL's Freezer Camp. There are still at least four more who will most certainly begin to crow before too long.
They're all from the Easter Hatch; more than 50% of the chicks are/were cockerels. Due to the agreement I've made with neighbors, there should only be two crowing roosters on my property. I have ALWAYS wanted to have a Buff Orpington rooster in my flock and am really pleased to learn HH & FL will keep one of the BO cockerels (instead of processing him for food) to breed with the two BO pullets in their flock. One of those two BO boys is turning into a GORGEOUS rooster.
I'm currently ignoring the fact that Max the Silkie is crowing; a couple of times I've brought him inside during the expected crowing times of the day. He watched TV from his perch in my lap. On the sofa, next to both dogs and occasionally Lizbeth. Woo hoo! However, upon his return to the yard, the rascal would stand up tall and crow out his presence to the world.
My Salmon Fav cockerel is becoming more and more adorable and has just named himself in the past three days: Simon. He is not crowing yet...
Rusty, the next door neighbor's cat, has been harassing my poultry. His owner told me to "throw rocks at him" whenever Rusty is in my yard. I thanked him for the permission, although I said it wasn't in my personality to throw rocks at domestic cats. Usually just yelling at him works fine - he skedaddles. I've noticed the neighbor has blocked a gap under the wire fence where we've seen Rusty enter and exit the "gully" section of my yard.
Between the time I started this update and this very minute I'm typing right now, I was interrupted by a call from Bradshaw Feed. Amy was "gifted" with 7 chicks she doesn't have the energy to artificially brood right now, so she offered them to me. They're BCM x Silkie crosses. They cannot be kept at the feed store in the chick populations because they didn't come from a hatchery. I hastened down the hill to pick them up. Once again I have the happy cheeping sounds of day old chicks in the house.
A few days ago and before I got around to snapping a photograph of Lola and Monica broody in the same large nest box, they hatched two chicks. They are sister-mothering them together. For some reason, Kate the Goose (who is assisting Mama Duck with her 14 ducklings) goes after both Lola and Monica. I am thinking she's being hyper-maternal about those two itty bitty chicks; at first I thought Kate was attacking the chicks - dunno why, that's just what I thought was happenings - but it turned out to be the hens she would actually attack. Most of the time Kate and "her" ducklings are in other parts of the yard when Lola and Monica bring their two chicks out of the main coop. (They lived in the mini-coop for a few days, with their own food and water, then took the kids into the main coop at night about two days after I let them "range freely.")
Yesterday, two hens got through, over, under or around the fence into the property "behind" mine. Pretty sure they took advantage of one of the two known spots where the soil dips below the bottom of the fence in the "gully" area. Samantha, who has done this before and always gotten back into the yard, performed the same feat this time, too. She's a very smart EE, my very first GrandChick, daughter of Carl and Rebecca, hatched and raised by Buffy. Josie is the last White Leghorn from my Trader Joe's hatch in January, 2011. She wandered along the back fence all the way over to my chicken-keeping neighbors' yard. Suddenly I noticed an all white chicken "communing" with the neighbors' hens in their pen, through their fence.
With the help of the Senior Human Carl on HIS side of the fence, we managed to encourage Josie to find a spot in the wire fence through which she could squeeze back onto my property. I am obviously going to have to get off my butt and run some chicken-wire along that whole side of the fence to keep my kids on my side (and those two little chihuahua mix barkers on THEIR side). They often visit, which makes Dooley absolutely nuts. Zorro gets all barky about their incursions, from the safety of the porch, but Dooley takes 'em on in noisy skirmishes as close to the fence as he can push 'em. I'd already covered one section but those two dogs - and now one of my chickens - have located other places where they can squeeze through the barrier. Josie didn't go there on purpose; she followed my back fence line until it stopped at the inadequate fence material at the neighbor's yard. It was only natural for her to go hang out with other chickens, as far as I'm concerned. Once she got back onto her own property, she went straight for one of the ducks' kiddie pools for a good, long drink.
Speaking of drinking from the duck ponds....
.
.
Such cheeky incursions cannot occur when the Duckling Hoard has swimming practice, however.
.
.
.
Kate always gets into the tank as the first ducklings dive into it, then she swims across it to clamber up onto the rim for Guard Duty.
They are swimming more frequently and for longer periods of time each time. Mama Duck and Kate have even taken them swimming in the dark. Although they all now know how to get out of the stock tank, I had to double-check the tank when less than 14 ducklings milled about on solid ground after each swimming session. Sometimes a couple ducklings would slip over the edge onto the lower terrace and would need some direction to rejoin the Hoard. This is not easy to do when a Mama Duck believes you may harm her babies. One afternoon I heard very weak peeps and saw ripples in the tank, but no duckling. Mama Duck was agitated, standing on the wooden bridge ramp, while the rest of the Hoard plopped themselves down to nap around Kate.
When I checked at the stock tank, I discovered duckling had managed to get caught BEHIND the expanded metal "Wildlife Escape Ramp" which all the ducklings use to clamber out of the pool. It must have occurred when that little fella did some submarine swimming, and it came up under the ramp. Poor baby - it was very waterlogged and weak when I rescued it. It fell over twice running to Mama Duck. The entire Hoard roused and surrounded the nearly drowned duckling, billing it gently and peeping. They all plopped back down in their new location, so the saved duckling could nestle in amongst them all. This was one day I was thankful for high temperatures; there was little chance of the pitiful thing getting chilled. Within an hour, the whole group trooped back to the area around the coop - and I couldn't tell which one had suffered the mishap.
You can bet I pay a whole lot of attention to any distress peeps I hear, and check the stock tank and adjacent "Rabbit Habitat" next to it after every swimming session. Well, the ones I know about... I HAVE left the property a few times. But any time the duckling count is short, I'm out there looking for the peepers.
The garden was visited by a dragonfly which surprised me - I've never seen one with black and white barred wings!
Little bitty lizards have snuck onto the porch to hang about looking for tasty flies within the screened area. Lizbeth, Great Hunter of Lizards, is quite capable of catching lizards in the garden, so I capture the "screen lizards" and release them in the yard. I think that's more fair. I wish I could say I just pluck them off the screen, but that wouldn't be true. Screen Lizard Rescue is accomplished through the careful use of an envelope and a few squeals as the reptiles scamper about inside the envelope during transport. Lizards don't squeal, by the way. I do.
Angus Gander is not the only large waterfowl utilizing the dishpan for a quick splash and a tidy-up grooming session.
Green Acres Nursery has two locations, one in Sacramento and one in Folsom. I've never visited the latter, but had been telling John about the Huge Metal Rooster at the Florin-Perkins/Jackson Road site. I lust to own it. He made a trip to Green Acres Nursery in Folsom last weekend and took pictures of metal sculpture roosters (and other animals) for sale there. Yup those are what I'm talking about.
.
.
If I can't have all the roosters I want, I think I should someday have one o' those big metal ones in my yard. The more garishly painted, the better. Can I see a show of hands raised in agreement??
With all the barge rafter and trim work complete, John is nearly done with items on the list related to the house structure itself. (New roof next year.) All that's left to do right now is power-wash, paint all the newly installed window trim and the two shorter sides of the house.
Next project is a proper fence for my garden, with two gates.
Edna and Edith are getting quite large. Still pretty sure they're both hens. But they no longer need to stand on anything to drink from the small solar fountain.
Some of the juvenile chickens have taken to using The Horse Docking Station as it was intended, but they ALWAYS get down when I come over with my camera. This is the best I could do, so far.
.
.
I am often greeted by a whole passel o' poultry whenever I get home from any excursion.
Oh, yah.... after the Garden Fence has been built, John will make a dump run with all the bits of lumber left over from all the construction thus far. And anything else not identified as "I'm Keeping That."
The next major project after the Garden Fence is The Waterfowl Pond. I'm currently researching Gold Country and Gold Panning websites for good images of sluice boxes. John and I think a "waterfall" fashioned like a gold mine sluice box would be an excellent visual effect.
I've had wonderful, lazy days and a few not-so-great fibro pain sessions, but every day retired has been far better than any recent pre-retirement day. I've certainly been able to catch up on a bunch of recorded TV programs and become enamored of quite a few series and/or specials I'd never known existed. This is the hottest time of year and such temperatures have always kicked my butt, so a huge chunk of my time is spent in the embrace of my Enchanted Recliner.
I did, however, attend another summer concert at Helwig Winery. "Renegade," a Styxx tribute band. This was a GREAT concert - even better than the Blues Brothers tribute band a month or so ago. Although *I* didn't join the dancers at the stage, I did manage to tire some muscles whilst rocking out - just a tad - in my spot in the amphitheatre. They complained the next day. A lot. Oh, plus I'd attended the Friday Night Pizza get-together at Charles Mitchell's Winery the previous night. (We even managed to talk John into attending it, too! He declined to join us in Amador County for the Renegade concert, though.)
In the past two weeks, 8 baby roosters have gone to live with others in HH & FL's Freezer Camp. There are still at least four more who will most certainly begin to crow before too long.
I'm currently ignoring the fact that Max the Silkie is crowing; a couple of times I've brought him inside during the expected crowing times of the day. He watched TV from his perch in my lap. On the sofa, next to both dogs and occasionally Lizbeth. Woo hoo! However, upon his return to the yard, the rascal would stand up tall and crow out his presence to the world.
My Salmon Fav cockerel is becoming more and more adorable and has just named himself in the past three days: Simon. He is not crowing yet...
Rusty, the next door neighbor's cat, has been harassing my poultry. His owner told me to "throw rocks at him" whenever Rusty is in my yard. I thanked him for the permission, although I said it wasn't in my personality to throw rocks at domestic cats. Usually just yelling at him works fine - he skedaddles. I've noticed the neighbor has blocked a gap under the wire fence where we've seen Rusty enter and exit the "gully" section of my yard.
Between the time I started this update and this very minute I'm typing right now, I was interrupted by a call from Bradshaw Feed. Amy was "gifted" with 7 chicks she doesn't have the energy to artificially brood right now, so she offered them to me. They're BCM x Silkie crosses. They cannot be kept at the feed store in the chick populations because they didn't come from a hatchery. I hastened down the hill to pick them up. Once again I have the happy cheeping sounds of day old chicks in the house.
A few days ago and before I got around to snapping a photograph of Lola and Monica broody in the same large nest box, they hatched two chicks. They are sister-mothering them together. For some reason, Kate the Goose (who is assisting Mama Duck with her 14 ducklings) goes after both Lola and Monica. I am thinking she's being hyper-maternal about those two itty bitty chicks; at first I thought Kate was attacking the chicks - dunno why, that's just what I thought was happenings - but it turned out to be the hens she would actually attack. Most of the time Kate and "her" ducklings are in other parts of the yard when Lola and Monica bring their two chicks out of the main coop. (They lived in the mini-coop for a few days, with their own food and water, then took the kids into the main coop at night about two days after I let them "range freely.")
Yesterday, two hens got through, over, under or around the fence into the property "behind" mine. Pretty sure they took advantage of one of the two known spots where the soil dips below the bottom of the fence in the "gully" area. Samantha, who has done this before and always gotten back into the yard, performed the same feat this time, too. She's a very smart EE, my very first GrandChick, daughter of Carl and Rebecca, hatched and raised by Buffy. Josie is the last White Leghorn from my Trader Joe's hatch in January, 2011. She wandered along the back fence all the way over to my chicken-keeping neighbors' yard. Suddenly I noticed an all white chicken "communing" with the neighbors' hens in their pen, through their fence.
With the help of the Senior Human Carl on HIS side of the fence, we managed to encourage Josie to find a spot in the wire fence through which she could squeeze back onto my property. I am obviously going to have to get off my butt and run some chicken-wire along that whole side of the fence to keep my kids on my side (and those two little chihuahua mix barkers on THEIR side). They often visit, which makes Dooley absolutely nuts. Zorro gets all barky about their incursions, from the safety of the porch, but Dooley takes 'em on in noisy skirmishes as close to the fence as he can push 'em. I'd already covered one section but those two dogs - and now one of my chickens - have located other places where they can squeeze through the barrier. Josie didn't go there on purpose; she followed my back fence line until it stopped at the inadequate fence material at the neighbor's yard. It was only natural for her to go hang out with other chickens, as far as I'm concerned. Once she got back onto her own property, she went straight for one of the ducks' kiddie pools for a good, long drink.
Speaking of drinking from the duck ponds....
Such cheeky incursions cannot occur when the Duckling Hoard has swimming practice, however.
Kate always gets into the tank as the first ducklings dive into it, then she swims across it to clamber up onto the rim for Guard Duty.
They are swimming more frequently and for longer periods of time each time. Mama Duck and Kate have even taken them swimming in the dark. Although they all now know how to get out of the stock tank, I had to double-check the tank when less than 14 ducklings milled about on solid ground after each swimming session. Sometimes a couple ducklings would slip over the edge onto the lower terrace and would need some direction to rejoin the Hoard. This is not easy to do when a Mama Duck believes you may harm her babies. One afternoon I heard very weak peeps and saw ripples in the tank, but no duckling. Mama Duck was agitated, standing on the wooden bridge ramp, while the rest of the Hoard plopped themselves down to nap around Kate.
When I checked at the stock tank, I discovered duckling had managed to get caught BEHIND the expanded metal "Wildlife Escape Ramp" which all the ducklings use to clamber out of the pool. It must have occurred when that little fella did some submarine swimming, and it came up under the ramp. Poor baby - it was very waterlogged and weak when I rescued it. It fell over twice running to Mama Duck. The entire Hoard roused and surrounded the nearly drowned duckling, billing it gently and peeping. They all plopped back down in their new location, so the saved duckling could nestle in amongst them all. This was one day I was thankful for high temperatures; there was little chance of the pitiful thing getting chilled. Within an hour, the whole group trooped back to the area around the coop - and I couldn't tell which one had suffered the mishap.
You can bet I pay a whole lot of attention to any distress peeps I hear, and check the stock tank and adjacent "Rabbit Habitat" next to it after every swimming session. Well, the ones I know about... I HAVE left the property a few times. But any time the duckling count is short, I'm out there looking for the peepers.
The garden was visited by a dragonfly which surprised me - I've never seen one with black and white barred wings!
Little bitty lizards have snuck onto the porch to hang about looking for tasty flies within the screened area. Lizbeth, Great Hunter of Lizards, is quite capable of catching lizards in the garden, so I capture the "screen lizards" and release them in the yard. I think that's more fair. I wish I could say I just pluck them off the screen, but that wouldn't be true. Screen Lizard Rescue is accomplished through the careful use of an envelope and a few squeals as the reptiles scamper about inside the envelope during transport. Lizards don't squeal, by the way. I do.
Angus Gander is not the only large waterfowl utilizing the dishpan for a quick splash and a tidy-up grooming session.
Green Acres Nursery has two locations, one in Sacramento and one in Folsom. I've never visited the latter, but had been telling John about the Huge Metal Rooster at the Florin-Perkins/Jackson Road site. I lust to own it. He made a trip to Green Acres Nursery in Folsom last weekend and took pictures of metal sculpture roosters (and other animals) for sale there. Yup those are what I'm talking about.
If I can't have all the roosters I want, I think I should someday have one o' those big metal ones in my yard. The more garishly painted, the better. Can I see a show of hands raised in agreement??
With all the barge rafter and trim work complete, John is nearly done with items on the list related to the house structure itself. (New roof next year.) All that's left to do right now is power-wash, paint all the newly installed window trim and the two shorter sides of the house.
Next project is a proper fence for my garden, with two gates.
Edna and Edith are getting quite large. Still pretty sure they're both hens. But they no longer need to stand on anything to drink from the small solar fountain.
Some of the juvenile chickens have taken to using The Horse Docking Station as it was intended, but they ALWAYS get down when I come over with my camera. This is the best I could do, so far.
I am often greeted by a whole passel o' poultry whenever I get home from any excursion.
Oh, yah.... after the Garden Fence has been built, John will make a dump run with all the bits of lumber left over from all the construction thus far. And anything else not identified as "I'm Keeping That."
The next major project after the Garden Fence is The Waterfowl Pond. I'm currently researching Gold Country and Gold Panning websites for good images of sluice boxes. John and I think a "waterfall" fashioned like a gold mine sluice box would be an excellent visual effect.
Have enjoyed reading your retirement saga from the beginning. I,too, am recently retired. I so agree with you that it is the best thing we have ever done. We haven't raised chickens since our DD was in 4-H and she is now a grandmother. So, we had to have a few of these and a few of those and of course we couldn't resist just a couple more of some of the old favorites and then there were the new ones that weren't popular then. How did we get to 50 chickens? We were just going to have a few fresh eggs. Is that what they call chicken math?
Anyway, hope you don't stop writing. We have 8 acres on a little lake that we bought with the idea of retiring someday. We have only visited for a couple of weeks during the summer for the past few years as working was interfering with pleasure. Now we awaken every day and marvel at how beautiful the property, lake and animals are. How great it is to hear our first roosters crowing.
Just joined BYC last month, although we have been using it to remind ourselves of the ins and outs of raising chickens. And have used great recipes (now that I actually have time to cook). Of course have also been following great threads like yours. So, don't stop now.
Anyway, hope you don't stop writing. We have 8 acres on a little lake that we bought with the idea of retiring someday. We have only visited for a couple of weeks during the summer for the past few years as working was interfering with pleasure. Now we awaken every day and marvel at how beautiful the property, lake and animals are. How great it is to hear our first roosters crowing.
Just joined BYC last month, although we have been using it to remind ourselves of the ins and outs of raising chickens. And have used great recipes (now that I actually have time to cook). Of course have also been following great threads like yours. So, don't stop now.
Love the Personnal Protection goose
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