The Front Porch Swing

[Blooie]

Nothing like going hunting with a classy lady!!

Blooie, how long do you all get snow? Is this the norm?

Lisa

It really sounds like more than it is! We don't get much - we usually get dustings, with significant (6 inches) snowfalls a few times a season. This year has been unusual across the entire country! We moved here in '96 or '97 and this was the first year we've ever used a shovel. We normally sweep it off. We are surrounded by mountains. We have the Pryors to the north, the Big Horns to the East, and the Absaroka/Beartooths to the west. The Big Horn Basin looks like a thumbprint stuck in northern Wyoming when you look at a map. Those mountains divert most storms around us, or wring most of the moisture out of the clouds before they come into the Basin. We are considered high desert here, which should tell you how dry we normally are. Our temps are milder and our average precip is less than much of the state, so this year has been really weird! That said, my family all came out for Jamie's high school graduation on Memorial Weekend in 2007. First three days they were here we had great weather - went to Yellowstone for the day, explored the Big Horns a bit, and spent time fossil hunting in the Pryors. The day of the graduation it snowed! <sigh>

 

[Beekissed]

hey! I thought that's what our looked like!

Ours is much, much bigger....

that one looks like a chicken coop compared to ours!




This is sort of what it looks like but bigger....much bigger...and with scads of comfy furniture and tables loaded down with all sorts of heavenly edibles.

Don't know yet, though I know my wife bought some seeds. GUARANTEED: peas

We did Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes a few years ago - hope you have a TALL fence! The tomatoes were tiny, like 1/2 the size of a standard cherry. Very sweet and the branches/vines? grew to 10' to 12'. I had a trellis outside the window of the enclosed porch. Picked some tomatoes from the outside, some by opening the window inside the porch 3' higher than the ground outside.


There is no sense in planting a tomato or pepper until the air and ground temps are up. They will just sit there and wait for that to happen so you should be OK if you start the seeds soon.

She did indeed. And has quite a few in the freezer. I suspect you are a BIT too far to go pick up a few

Bruce

Thanks for the heads up, Bruce....I know just where to place one of these!

The rest will just have to lay horizontally on the trellis I'll put up for them in the garden, once they reach the top.

Well, we tried to beat the weather...didn't make it. We still have 3 "arches" to cover with chicken wire and all of the hardware cloth to get done. Then we want to put up "baseboards" (1 x 12s all around the inner perimeter) to help keep at least some of the sand in the run! But it was getting so cold and windy we just couldn't work anymore. We had no sooner put all the tools and rolls of wire away when we saw the first snowflakes - and the wind picked up so much that we were dodging tree branches running back into the house. But I think it's looking pretty good! The girls (and Charlie) won't know what to do with so much space!


!
In their temporary pen while we worked on the new one.


I think it's going to work out nicely!


Walking back to the front....there's an entire mountain range hiding behind those snow clouds, and check out the lantern - it's a wrought iron lantern with sand in it - we always fill them with sand in the winter so they don't pack with snow and blow around so badly. I know, we could just take them down and store them until summer, but they make a fun wind gauge!

Deb, the news about your goat is fantastic! I got chills! Nice job on the turkey, Leslie! I have never in my life even learned to properly cut up a chicken! If you were to take the pieces I cut off and try to put them back together to form a whole chicken, you'd be pulling your hair out! Nothing would fit back together!

Blooie that looks excellent! Love the cattle panel hoops....will you be using shade type tarps or clear ones...or both? What? No deep litter in the run??

Just sand?

They were so sleepy, but I loved how this one looked like it was praying!

Lindz, I love this pic!!! He does look like he's praying...or mourning all the dead chicks at his feet!

That's my little favorite red one....

 

[Blooie]

Ours is much, much bigger....

that one looks like a chicken coop compared to ours!




This is sort of what it looks like but bigger....much bigger...and with scads of comfy furniture and tables loaded down with all sorts of heavenly edibles.

And buckets, don't forget buckets!

Blooie that looks excellent! Love the cattle panel hoops....will you be using shade type tarps or clear ones...or both? What? No deep litter in the run??

Just sand?

Thanks, Bee! Our yard is so cotton pickin' shady that I look forward to a spot of sun somewhere - anywhere! Can barely grow anything that requires "full sun, part shade"! We have willows (not the weeping kind) that are so big around Ken, me, Jenny, Kenny, Tammy, Katie and Evan holding hands can't span the trunks, with topsand foliage to match. There's an apricot tree almost touching the run, Hanson Cherry trees flanking the North side of the coop, and thick lilacs running the entire length of the coop and run. Of course, if we need a tarp we'll use one, but I don't think we will. I'm almost thinking that a tarp would hold in heat that would otherwise dissipate in the shade. My poor chickens will be fighting over any little patch of a sunning spot they find! I'll see if can find a summertime picture or two of my yard. And nope, doing sand in the run and deep litter in the coop.

Lindz, I love this pic!!! He does look like he's praying...or mourning all the dead chicks at his feet!

That's my little favorite red one....

I agree, Lindz! They are all so adorable, but that little red one is captivating!

 

[lovingmyhens]

They were so sleepy, but I loved how this one looked like it was praying! 9 little chickies, all in a pile! So tired! Peek-a-boo Hi! What is this?!? These guys were hatch-mates! Black copper maran cockerel, and Bantam Buff Cochin pullet: 31 weeks Dust bath She wanted to know what I was doing on my phone! It surprised me when she jumped up on my shoulder! This was about 5 minutes before! I think I may still have chick food in my hair.... Brought them a bunch of weeds/greens from my grandma's today.

They are just sooo cute!!

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I invited Missjellybean to this thread after she was, for whatever reason, blindsidedly (is that a word?) attacked in the Texas thread. I do not know her nor do I know any of you guys, but she seemed to be in the same boat as I am, single, no support from family or ex, and children who tend to take advantage of their mothers. My heart had a soft spot for her. She works two jobs, and still seems to not be able to stay afloat in this boat that God has put her in.
One thing that I am constantly reminding my students and my own kids, is that words are like toothpaste-once you squirt it out, you can't shove it back in. Sure, you can apologize. but the toothpaste is out. A poster I keep up in my room at school says "A person may not remember what you say or do, but they will always remember how you make them feel." 
If you go back and read her posts on here and on the Texas thread, you will see that she does a lot of reading and investigating. I can't find anywhere that she says something she has found is the God's Bible truth. Even the most expert of experts of anything is going to make mistakes. 
I emailed her because I want to keep that connection and she said "I try, but I just can't seem to get it right".
Makes my heart hurt. 
For those of you who are married, think about doing everything in your life alone. Raising your kids, making ends meet, sharing ideas and thoughts and fears...with no one. Wondering how you are going to pay for something that breaks or leaks. Having desires for your life and not being able to find the way to make those desires come to fruition because life just keeps kicking you just when you are about to get to your feel again. After I divorced, it was months before I remember to get the trash out on trash day. I'd hear the truck and run around trying to get all the trash out to the curb before they got there, or I'd be leaving for work and see all the trash cans out by the curb. If I wasn't running late I'd rush back in and get what I could. Sometimes, 2 or 3 trash days would go by before I remembered to get it out on the right day. It wasn't my job before the divorce.   
I used to be a stay at home mom and it was the joy of my life. I was so blessed to be able to have that time with my girls before I divorced. But now, oh how I wish I could get my 3rd grader off to school...fix her hair and be home when she gets here. Be able to cook a good dinner before it is bed time. Play games instead of grading papers. Live in a nicer neighborhood so she can go to a better school.
Not be exhausted by 8. I wish we could take vacations. 
But this God's plan B for me so I just do what I can to make our life the best I can given the circumstances. I am not looking for sympathy-don't want any. But maybe a little understanding about a life most of you don't know about. 
As far as MissJellybean giving advice that is not well founded in fact and backed up by years of research, well when I was looking into getting chickens, I read EVERYTHING I could about back yard chickens. I talked to people that had them and I read some more. I took all that I found out and crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. And I realize by reading everyone's posts that my situation with my chickens is not the same as yours, or yours, or even yours! 
But if someone is thinking about getting chickens and reads one person's posts about some ideas and thoughts and then takes those ideas and thoughts as Bible truth about chickens, well I think they deserve what they get. They didn't take the time and effort to do the research needed when investing in a venture like chicken rearing. Just like getting a dog. You don't go to the pound and take home just any dog without doing the research needed to even figure out if getting a dog is the right thing for you. 
Some of my favs: 

Proverbs 12:18
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 21:23
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Proverbs 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday. I have soccer and tutoring this afternoon. Is that a grill over there I see???
Let's get it fired up tonight and I will bring some steaks-love yall

Melanie

I think this is what real support is. Not a private message, but a public stand for everyone to see. Not concerned with who is right or wrong, or who is better qualified or worse, but understanding a person's reality and not judging. This is a huge site. There ought to be room for everyone's voices. I think the loss of any individual diminishes us all.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Now that porch, that is what I'm talking about!!! And my little bookstore/cafe will be right around the corner and down aways!

 

[rrrmamma]

Blooie, laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. Read it to my husband and he could hardly understand me I was laughing so hard. Guess I had better go get the screen wipes again. Wonder how many of your stories my computer screen can take

 

[Blooie]

A few shots of Oleo Acres..

.
My contractor daughter working on our hot tub room...had her and her SO come out to Wyoming for a week to build it. Sure could have used them on the coop build! Notice the difference between my yard and the brightness in the street.


The North side of my house and my loaded pear tree. Taken in August. See the cute little patch of sunshine? That's all we get - patches.


Welcome to my Front Porch - not real big but it's cool and shady! South side of the house. We've since taken out the pond - too risky with Kendra in the wheelchair because of the angle of the steps to the deck. And now I have new deck furniture so lots of room for all of you!


This little bird just appeared in - yes, IN - my kitchen one fine day. He let me pick him up and take him outside, but not before I got tons of photos of him, including some of him inside the house sitting on my hand just like this shot! I chose this one because you can see the shade in the yard at high noon!


Hiney shot of Terrin working on the tub room. Never even got a sunburn!


This is another little bird that was sitting on my fence, and when I went out to the car he hopped onto my shoulder. Scared the peewadding out of me - I didn't expect that! But this shot is looking north. Can you say "Shade"?


The sunniest spot in my yard. See the lawnmower back there? That's now the home of the coop and run.


This shot was taken from the exact area where the chicken run is now. See? Shady!

 

[TexasLisa]

GOOD MORNING YA'LL!!

Lindz, I love your pictures. You really need to name the one chick 'Preacher'.

Blooie, you have a beautiful place and a beautiful daughter!

Lisa

 

[Blooie]

GOOD MORNING YA'LL!!

Lindz, I love your pictures. You really need to name the one chick 'Preacher'.

Blooie, you have a beautiful place and a beautiful daughter!

Lisa

Thanks, Lisa.....Ken's family has owned this place since that old trailer house was showroom new! His aunt and uncle bought it, then his grandparents bought it from them when they moved. Ken's mom and dad bought it when Ken's grampa died so Gramma would always have a place. When she moved into the retirement center, Ken's Aunt Norma lived in it, while Mom and Dad still owned it. About 6 or 7 years after Ken retired, they offered it to us for a price we couldn't resist. It's paid off, it keeps the snow off our heads, and it's home! We've been fixing it up a little at a time and it feels right. Terrin, our daughter, is Jamie and Little Diane's mom. We might have taken her to court to win custody of the kids, but we managed to maintain a good relationship with her, even when she didn't make it easy. So glad we worked so hard to make that happen.


This is the little bird who flew showed up in my kitchen! LOL