The Front Porch Swing

[zinia8]

too much rain here. Think I'll turn the coop into an ark.
Hope it clears up soon. MUD MUD MUD STINKY MUD. Not even enough time in between storms to put anything down in the run to help.

 

[ducksanddoxies]

too much rain here. Think I'll turn the coop into an ark.
Hope it clears up soon. MUD MUD MUD STINKY MUD. Not even enough time in between storms to put anything down in the run to help.

We were like that a few weeks ago.

 

[bruceha2000]

You all in the parched areas can have a little of the rain we got this morning. Rained so hard some of it was dripping down beside the beam in the kitchen. It had to be coming down around the plumbing vent stack. Right area and the only penetration in the roof. This from a house that was totally rebuilt last summer. I called the roof guy and he said most likely the snow and ice last winter pushed the "boot" down. Now I have to figure out how to get up there safely to check if that is the problem and potentially fix it.

Bruce

 

[LindaB220]

You all in the parched areas can have a little of the rain we got this morning. Rained so hard some of it was dripping down beside the beam in the kitchen. It had to be coming down around the plumbing vent stack. Right area and the only penetration in the roof. This from a house that was totally rebuilt last summer. I called the roof guy and he said most likely the snow and ice last winter pushed the "boot" down. Now I have to figure out how to get up there safely to check if that is the problem and potentially fix it.

Bruce

Ooooo. Hate that. We've had a really good rain yesterday and it's thundering again. Hope to get a little more. You know how dry it gets in August. You be careful.

 

[LBejaran]

Hey everyone! Ignore any typos that may pop up in this post. Mom demanded that I get my nails done yesterday while she was getting a manicure and pedicure. Now I have too-long acrylic nails and typing is hard. Not to mention all the things I'm having trouble doing just because I'm worried about breaking a nail off my own finger (and wasting the $25 Mom paid just for me to get these little pieces of plastic glued and cemented onto my fingertips).

While the family is in Huntsville, I'm taking a one-day break from the house-revamp. It was a rainy day (all the way down here in Deep South Texas, woot!), so I only went outside to make sure everyone was okay. I did find one chick in the water bucket today, dead. I'm fairly certain that chick had a death wish because he has been found in the pool, in a large puddle and in a shallow tub of water, always freaking out. All the other chicks have been fine, never fallen in water before, but he just seemed to fall into anything that was wet. It's a shame, I really liked that chick. He was a cutie.

I found out who my egg eater is. I found Kimchi, my rat terrier, lying in one of my Mom's plants on her side, balancing an egg between her paws, holding it up just a little so the egg would drip slowly out of a tiny hole she had between into the shell. As soon as she saw me, she continued licking. I put a quick end to that. After she got a spanking and a scolding, I went inside and watched from the window as she ran back to the plant to retrieve her treat. It was gone and I caught her before she got out of the pot. She quickly huddled down and crawled away, obviously aware of what she'd done. I doubt it'll put a stop to it, but I'm hoping it'll make her think twice before she starts eating eggs again.

For a day off, there was just a bit too much excitement. Oh well, tomorrow I get back to work on all the chores I have. The kitchen and the bathrooms need to be cleaned, two bookcases have to be moved/sanded/painted, and I have to add some more hay to the coops, just to make sure no one gets flooded out. The lights went out here today and the incubator got shut off, but it looks like everything is fine. The temperature stayed stabilized for the most part. Hopefully we won't have any quitters. I kinda want to put in some more of my large hens' eggs, just to make sure I have plenty of large-breed birds next year. Hm, decisions decisions.

 

[bruceha2000]

Hey everyone! Ignore any typos that may pop up in this post. Mom demanded that I get my nails done yesterday while she was getting a manicure and pedicure. Now I have too-long acrylic nails and typing is hard. Not to mention all the things I'm having trouble doing just because I'm worried about breaking a nail off my own finger (and wasting the $25 Mom paid just for me to get these little pieces of plastic glued and cemented onto my fingertips).

While the family is in Huntsville, I'm taking a one-day break from the house-revamp. It was a rainy day (all the way down here in Deep South Texas, woot!), so I only went outside to make sure everyone was okay. I did find one chick in the water bucket today, dead. I'm fairly certain that chick had a death wish because he has been found in the pool, in a large puddle and in a shallow tub of water, always freaking out. All the other chicks have been fine, never fallen in water before, but he just seemed to fall into anything that was wet. It's a shame, I really liked that chick. He was a cutie.

I found out who my egg eater is. I found Kimchi, my rat terrier, lying in one of my Mom's plants on her side, balancing an egg between her paws, holding it up just a little so the egg would drip slowly out of a tiny hole she had between into the shell. As soon as she saw me, she continued licking. I put a quick end to that. After she got a spanking and a scolding, I went inside and watched from the window as she ran back to the plant to retrieve her treat. It was gone and I caught her before she got out of the pot. She quickly huddled down and crawled away, obviously aware of what she'd done. I doubt it'll put a stop to it, but I'm hoping it'll make her think twice before she starts eating eggs again.

For a day off, there was just a bit too much excitement. Oh well, tomorrow I get back to work on all the chores I have. The kitchen and the bathrooms need to be cleaned, two bookcases have to be moved/sanded/painted, and I have to add some more hay to the coops, just to make sure no one gets flooded out. The lights went out here today and the incubator got shut off, but it looks like everything is fine. The temperature stayed stabilized for the most part. Hopefully we won't have any quitters. I kinda want to put in some more of my large hens' eggs, just to make sure I have plenty of large-breed birds next year. Hm, decisions decisions.

I don't know Laura, fancy nails might hurt your cred as a chicken farmer

Sorry about the chick, never fun to lose one.

Bruce

 

[TexasLisa]

Hey everyone! Ignore any typos that may pop up in this post. Mom demanded that I get my nails done yesterday while she was getting a manicure and pedicure. Now I have too-long acrylic nails and typing is hard. Not to mention all the things I'm having trouble doing just because I'm worried about breaking a nail off my own finger (and wasting the $25 Mom paid just for me to get these little pieces of plastic glued and cemented onto my fingertips).

While the family is in Huntsville, I'm taking a one-day break from the house-revamp. It was a rainy day (all the way down here in Deep South Texas, woot!), so I only went outside to make sure everyone was okay. I did find one chick in the water bucket today, dead. I'm fairly certain that chick had a death wish because he has been found in the pool, in a large puddle and in a shallow tub of water, always freaking out. All the other chicks have been fine, never fallen in water before, but he just seemed to fall into anything that was wet. It's a shame, I really liked that chick. He was a cutie.

I found out who my egg eater is. I found Kimchi, my rat terrier, lying in one of my Mom's plants on her side, balancing an egg between her paws, holding it up just a little so the egg would drip slowly out of a tiny hole she had between into the shell. As soon as she saw me, she continued licking. I put a quick end to that. After she got a spanking and a scolding, I went inside and watched from the window as she ran back to the plant to retrieve her treat. It was gone and I caught her before she got out of the pot. She quickly huddled down and crawled away, obviously aware of what she'd done. I doubt it'll put a stop to it, but I'm hoping it'll make her think twice before she starts eating eggs again.

For a day off, there was just a bit too much excitement. Oh well, tomorrow I get back to work on all the chores I have. The kitchen and the bathrooms need to be cleaned, two bookcases have to be moved/sanded/painted, and I have to add some more hay to the coops, just to make sure no one gets flooded out. The lights went out here today and the incubator got shut off, but it looks like everything is fine. The temperature stayed stabilized for the most part. Hopefully we won't have any quitters. I kinda want to put in some more of my large hens' eggs, just to make sure I have plenty of large-breed birds next year. Hm, decisions decisions.

Laura, back in the late '70's I worked with a girl who had long nails. She hit the keys with her nails. She was a court stenographer.

I am glad you found the egg-eater, but sorry it was Kimchi.

Lisa

 

[tntchix]

Hey everyone! Ignore any typos that may pop up in this post. Mom demanded that I get my nails done yesterday while she was getting a manicure and pedicure. Now I have too-long acrylic nails and typing is hard. Not to mention all the things I'm having trouble doing just because I'm worried about breaking a nail off my own finger (and wasting the $25 Mom paid just for me to get these little pieces of plastic glued and cemented onto my fingertips).

Wow does this take me back to the days of my "dragon lady" fingernails. I would sit in my room for hours making sure they were the longest, prettiest nails around. Sad huh?

I haven't had nails like that in many moons.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Laura, back in the late '70's I worked with a girl who had long nails. She hit the keys with her nails. She was a court stenographer.

I am glad you found the egg-eater, but sorry it was Kimchi.

Lisa

Remember the movie "9 to 5" with Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin? Listen to it....the sound of the typewriter were actually her acrylic nails and were recorded as part of the percussion part of the tract. During the filming of the movie, she realized that the clacking of her nails sounded like a typewriter, and that actually inspired her in the writing of the song.....

 

[Blooie]

We seemed to have struck a balance so far this season between rain and dry days...we've been so terribly dry the past several years that our recent weather has been a blessing! We had some snow really late in the year and when I look out of the windows I still see quite a bit of snow on the mountains, something else that has been lacking for the last years. The mountain snow pack has a great deal to do with moderating our temps here in the Basin (the wind coming down off the mountains is cooler because of it, and the additional moisture in the air helps too) and since everything here has to be irrigated to grow we need that runoff. Then too, it helps with tourism - there's always a car or van pulled off to the side of the road taking pictures of the family in snow in late June!

I'm glad that you found your egg eater too, Ibejaran, but like everyone else sorry it was Kimchi. I don't know that you'll ever break him of it....nothing teaches a dog faster than self-reward. We had a saying in dog training - "once is tried, twice is learned, three times is forever". If you have a dog who sneaks food off the counter top, the only thing to do is quit putting food up there because you'll rarely break him of the habit totally. You might have some control, but he'll be a countertop opportunist for life. When he grabs that first beef roast off the counter, he gets an instant and lasting reward, which negates any discipline you might hand out. From that first steal, he knows he's going to get into trouble, but because his behavior was so richly rewarded in the past it's hard to ever over-ride that self reward. (not impossible, but very hard)

I had to laugh when I was reading about the nails. I have been blessed (or cursed) with nails that grow very quickly and are very strong. When I was young Ma was always making me cut them. She said, "You look like a trollop with those talons!" So I've always tried to keep them long enough to be feminine but short enough to be practical. Tam and I had a whole circle of friends on this cruise and we seemed to congregate on Deck 14, just talking and laughing and getting to know each other. On the first formal night most of them weren't going, but insisted that we come up and show off our dresses. Mary's reaction was so funny! She looked at me and said, "Chicken farmer from small town Wyoming, huh? Better try again, and tell us the truth this time!" She'd never really noticed my hands until she saw them in combination with the dress.

Still waiting for egg number one. The boys have a date with freezer camp this weekend. Ken's been working out at a friend's place putting in power to his mini-horse barns. Riley has 8 little barns, each one different. He has a chapel, a saloon, a few houses, a general store, and a doctor's office. It looks like a miniature village. So Ken is there from about 7 am until usually 5 or 6 and he's really tired when he gets back. He usually showers, has supper, then putters around in the yard until he crashes. Not quite fair to expect him to do all of that all day long, then deal with processing chickens when he should be relaxing.

We are having a bit of a discussion about whether to skin them or pluck them. I want to pluck them - I like the idea of leaving the skin on to help keep them moist during cooking and to get that golden crispy skin, but he doesn't want to mess with it. Not sure what we'll decide to do yet, but one thing is sure, the boys have to go! Floyd nipped my leg this morning when I went out to clean the poop board and feed and water them. I had a knee jerk reaction - as soon as I felt the bite my foot shot out and made contact with him. It sent him flying and he stayed where he landed, but who knows? Maybe next time he'll come right back at me. By the way, he's the one that Bruce and I thought was a roo early on, formerly known as "Florabelle". Wish we'd been wrong. <sigh>

Went to the post office last night to pick up mail, and got a surprise. On the community bulletin board just outside the post office, someone had posted a homemade campaign poster supporting me. It had my photo and it said, "Keep Diane where she belongs......in our corner!" Wow! That was nice to see! And finally, I'm on a wanted poster at the post office!