The Front Porch Swing

[LeslieDJoyce]

Hi! 

So today I trapped another opossum.So I wanted to pick it up. So I try to with my hands I cant' quite get it. Then I go get a fishing net to pick it up in and that works so I start to bring it up out of the trap then I get it out it's in the net but then it hops out of the net.Well I was running all over the place trying to catch it again.  Which I did get it again thanks to a hole. This time I put it in a dog box. After that I get it out of the dog box and I got him so I finally did get to pick him up. Also I named him Fred.

Oh for some video ... !

 

[LBejaran]

Remember why you like the DL when you go to pitch all that wet hay out    I had the excavator dig a curtain drain on the high side of the barn last summer when he came to fill around the new foundation for the house and trench a line for power to that barn. Before that, all the rain that came off the 70' long barn went downhill (naturally) and a lot of it into the chickens converted horse stall. 8" of WET pine shavings is HEAVY!

Or Laura could use some of Zorra's triple X jumbos, bigger than Leslie's ducks' eggs! Though, being brown, they might not make as good a canvas. But ... The guy that used to have the painting show on PBS used to paint white canvas black because you can't have light without dark 

Looks like the goldfinch that was flapping up against the window yesterday morning. Not sure why, there is no sun on it until afternoon, so I wouldn't think it was reacting to a reflection. The cats enjoyed it though.

Bruce

I just left all that wet hay there and let the air dry it out. I covered it with more hay and so far, it's fine. Had it been sipping wet, though, I probably would have taken it out. However. The ground beneath the hay really absorbed it and I'm starting to see a little life beneath it (worms, bugs, etc). Once the chicks in there get a bit bigger, they'll be scratching up all that good stuff.

:

I have a mutt hen (Black Australorp/RIR mix) that lays these massive, pointy eggs. She lays regularly and is healthy, so I'm not really concerned about it. I think a couple of her eggs is under a hen and I'm eager to see what offspring, if any, we'll get out of her. She is a beautiful hen an if she has any pullets, I bet they'd be great egg layers like her.

Laura, must have missed your post, that egg is Beautiful!!!

Thanks, Rachael! It was fun and the lady we gifted it to really loved it. I like giving these eggs as gifts.

That's not really DL...that's just hay that's 4 in. thick on the floor.  Deep litter, in the truest and most effective form, doesn't get cleaned out, is carefully cultivated and left in place to digest fecal  matter.  Hay is not a good choice for deep litter unless one lives in a very arid climate.  If you are scooping out wet pine shavings those are just soiled and wet pine shavings, not deep litter, but merely deeply applied bedding. 

My DL is thick on the floor, but it's breaking down really well despite our semi-tropical climate. It hasn't been cleaned out and it definitely shrinks down quite a bit before I apply another layer. I use hay for bedding because it breaks down more easily than shavings (and it's cheaper here). I've already got a good bottom layer that is breaking down really well and by fall, it should be ready to apply to the garden.

I used to just let the dirt floor do the work, but it was messy whenever it rained and my open-air coops couldn't be closed up when it rained. Since using hay as bedding, it has helped keep that problem at bay. When we had more than 4 inches of rain last week, it helped keep the chickens from touching a muddy floor. After the rains passed, the hay broke down a little more an another layer was added. It just works for me.

However, I'm sure hay works here for a reason. I can't say it's work everywhere, though.

 

[wyoDreamer]

One thing I am going to miss about Wyoming is the ease of drying anything. Crackers don't get stale, towels dry without mildewing, my long, thick hair is dry by the time I get to work, and by the time I get done scrubbing the kitchen floor, it is almost dry.

One thing I am not going to miss is the dry air - my skin is always dry and itchy, marshmallows get hard as a rock if you don't use them all as soon as you open the bag, houseplants dry out and turn brown if you forget them for over a week, and the car is always dusty from the gravel road.

 

[Beekissed]

Hi!

So today I trapped another opossum.So I wanted to pick it up. So I try to with my hands I cant' quite get it. Then I go get a fishing net to pick it up in and that works so I start to bring it up out of the trap then I get it out it's in the net but then it hops out of the net.Well I was running all over the place trying to catch it again. Which I did get it again thanks to a hole. This time I put it in a dog box. After that I get it out of the dog box and I got him so I finally did get to pick him up. Also I named him Fred.

The tail...you can pick them up easily if you manage to grab the tail. One day I'll tell you a story about Earl, who came to visit at my house one night, walked right into the kitchen without a by your leave and then wouldn't leave. Earl as in "Earl's Gotta Die" by the Dixie Chicks.....

Bee, maybe I missed this somewhere, how much land do you have?
I know you are making the most of what you have and are an inspiration to a lot of us.

We planted some pasture mix in the back yard. It was when we put in a couple of sprinkler heads during our irrigation project. It was all dug up, so why not. The clover is all that took, so the dog is now running through a field of clover.

We've only got 15 acres here, 3 of which are in meadow and the dwelling sits smack in the middle of that. This 15 is a part of the 110 acres of our original homestead that Dad sold back in the early 90s. He just retained this smaller portion as he felt it would be easier to manage as he aged.

 

[chickenboy190]

The tail...you can pick them up easily if you manage to grab the tail. One day I'll tell you a story about Earl, who came to visit at my house one night, walked right into the kitchen without a by your leave and then wouldn't leave. Earl as in "Earl's Gotta Die" by the Dixie Chicks.....


We've only got 15 acres here, 3 of which are in meadow and the dwelling sits smack in the middle of that. This 15 is a part of the 110 acres of our original homestead that Dad sold back in the early 90s. He just retained this smaller portion as he felt it would be easier to manage as he aged.

Yeah I did get him by the tail finally. Okay I'll be waiting to hear it

 

[ClucksnDucks11]

May I join? I am in OR.

 

[Beekissed]

May I join? I am in OR.

Welcome to the Porch!!

OR checkin' in!

We can't modify the front page any longer so I can't add more states and countries but we have folks from all over on the Porch and the food is phenomenal!!! The music of choice today is Bluegrass and folks are flatfooting out front of the Porch for your entertainment. Pull up a comfy seat, tell us all about you and stay long enough to listen to the stories~don't have anything in your mouth when you read Blooie's, word to the wise~and visit awhile. We love visitors, pics of where you live and any little thing.

I think OR is one of the prettiest states...right up there with Montana, Wyoming, WV, and Colorado.

 

[ClucksnDucks11]

Yep. I am 11.

 

[TexasLisa]

May I join? I am in OR.

Howdy and Welcome to The Front Porch. We have plenty of seating. You have your choice of hay bales, swing, rocking chairs, buckets, or the porch railing. Miss Bee is guarding all the sweets, but help yourself. Would you like some Sweetened Tea or Unsweetened?

Come sit down a spell and tell us about yourself.

Lisa

 

[ClucksnDucks11]

I am Ben.