The Old Folks Home

[Wisher1000]

Not yet, but I may go to the airport to greet the returning warriors!

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Hi everyone. I've been a lurker on this neat thread for about a month now. The title grabbed my interest because my best friends are my Mom who is 76 yrs old, my Dad who is 80 and my longtime family friend John who just turned 87 on Dec 20th. I will be 45 yrs old on Jan 30th and feel so blessed to have these 3 people in my life to learn from.
My Mom is a retired police dispatcher and I followed in her footsteps. I have been a sheriffs dept dispatcher for 27+ years. Mom is a huge crafter and woodworker. She can build and paint just about anything craft related. She also loves to cross-stitch and crochet. My Dad is a retired mechanic and still the proverbial "jack of all trades but master of none". He and John are the ones I go to for any help with mechanics or construction work. John is also a retired mechanic. He still owns his own garage which his son now runs. Problem is John sort of forgot to stay retired in 1997 and still opens the garage everyday and works there at least 7-8 hours a day. He mostly just does test driving, brake jobs and oil changes. John has also been a farmer all his life and owns a 113 acre hay and cattle farm. Together with both my sisters we help him in the summer put up 4-5 thousand bales of hay. He does all the mowing of the hay, all the tedding, all the raking and then we help with the baling and then stacking in the barn. This work my sisters and I do in trade for hay to feed our 4 horses for the winter. And its great exercise!
Not surprising that I am the only one in the family who loves chickens. I've read about so many others here whose families play along with our chicken addiction but just don't quite "undertand" us. So thankful I have BYC I have 2 chickens coops. One for my 14 assorted color bantam cochins and one for my 18 assorted color silkies. I own a house on 5 acres in SW Ohio and both my parents live with me. I have 2 young horses and a barn with a hayloft which I love to sit in and listen to the horses munch hay. My silkies have just started laying so hoping to hatch more babies as the weather warms up. I do have 2 hens practicing being broodies but they get their "practice" eggs removed everyday! Too cold for babies this time of year. Silly girls!
I work 12 hour shifts so get depressed this time of year since I never get to see my chickens except on the roost but so treasure and enjoy the time I get to spend with them on my days off.
I love reading about all your families and pets and gardening and have teared up plenty reading about your losses. Was going to wait until my 45th birthday to join the thread but Wisher says I should jump in now. So glad to be here. You all definitely speak my language.

Jan

 

[ronott1]

Hi everyone. I've been a lurker on this neat thread for about a month now. The title grabbed my interest because my best friends are my Mom who is 76 yrs old, my Dad who is 80 and my longtime family friend John who just turned 87 on Dec 20th. I will be 45 yrs old on Jan 30th and feel so blessed to have these 3 people in my life to learn from.
My Mom is a retired police dispatcher and I followed in her footsteps. I have been a sheriffs dept dispatcher for 27+ years. Mom is a huge crafter and woodworker. She can build and paint just about anything craft related. She also loves to cross-stitch and crochet. My Dad is a retired mechanic and still the proverbial "jack of all trades but master of none". He and John are the ones I go to for any help with mechanics or construction work. John is also a retired mechanic. He still owns his own garage which his son now runs. Problem is John sort of forgot to stay retired in 1997 and still opens the garage everyday and works there at least 7-8 hours a day. He mostly just does test driving, brake jobs and oil changes. John has also been a farmer all his life and owns a 113 acre hay and cattle farm. Together with both my sisters we help him in the summer put up 4-5 thousand bales of hay. He does all the mowing of the hay, all the tedding, all the raking and then we help with the baling and then stacking in the barn. This work my sisters and I do in trade for hay to feed our 4 horses for the winter. And its great exercise!
Not surprising that I am the only one in the family who loves chickens. I've read about so many others here whose families play along with our chicken addiction but just don't quite "undertand" us. So thankful I have BYC I have 2 chickens coops. One for my 14 assorted color bantam cochins and one for my 18 assorted color silkies. I own a house on 5 acres in SW Ohio and both my parents live with me. I have 2 young horses and a barn with a hayloft which I love to sit in and listen to the horses munch hay. My silkies have just started laying so hoping to hatch more babies as the weather warms up. I do have 2 hens practicing being broodies but they get their "practice" eggs removed everyday! Too cold for babies this time of year. Silly girls!
I work 12 hour shifts so get depressed this time of year since I never get to see my chickens except on the roost but so treasure and enjoy the time I get to spend with them on my days off.
I love reading about all your families and pets and gardening and have teared up plenty reading about your losses. Was going to wait until my 45th birthday to join the thread but Wisher says I should jump in now. So glad to be here. You all definitely speak my language.

Jan

I am 53 today and keep getting AARP letters! Also, HR here at work keeps sending me retirement Readiness classes!

44 is a fine age to join us here!

 

[gryeyes]

I retired EARLY at age 58, after 35 years in the Public Safety Communications field. 20 years with my last agency.. I hit that 20 years and retired. I have fibromyalgia and retired before the job made it worse.it was AWFUL last year (fall & winter 2011/2012) because I only saw the flock on weekends due to the shorter days. Law enforcement dispatching was in my blood, but now keeping my flock healthy and happy is so much more restful. I'm sure you know how rewarding it is to just sit and commune with the chickens after a bad shift.

You are so welcome here - we might entertain our friends here with some "war stories," huh!

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Happy Birthday Ron

and thank you for the welcome. In my line of work we are 30 and out so I have a little less than 4 years left before I retire. If this job wasnt so stressful I would consider staying but no way ! May have to find something else to do later on if I cant farm but at this point I am welcoming everything I receive that is retirement related.

 

[DDNONIN2016]

I retired EARLY at age 58, after 35 years in the Public Safety Communications field. 20 years with my last agency.. I hit that 20 years and retired. I have fibromyalgia and retired before the job made it worse.it was AWFUL last year (fall & winter 2011/2012) because I only saw the flock on weekends due to the shorter days. Law enforcement dispatching was in my blood, but now keeping my flock healthy and happy is so much more restful. I'm sure you know how rewarding it is to just sit and commune with the chickens after a bad shift.
You are so welcome here - we might entertain our friends here with some "war stories," huh!

Wow! So neat that you retired from dispatching too. That gives me hope that I can live to retire. This stuff does really start affecting your health. I'm looking at having to take blood pressure medicine anytime now. I am really looking forward to just resting and not being "keyed up" feeling all the time. Don't know what I would do without my chickens

 

[Stumpy]

Hi and welcome! I enjoyed hearing about your life. I have relatives whom I treasure in the same way -- just wish I could do a "brain download" from their heads to mine.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Hi Jan!

Glad you made yourself a legitimate member.


Came into the house today during chores (not my usual M.O.) and caught BF with the Murray McMurray catalog. I explained to him that they come in lots of 25 or more, and his response was "yeah, so?" - think someone is going into egg withdrawals?


Looked on the BST hatching eggs forum and really didn't see anything I wanted. How sad is that? I'm losing my edge. Perhaps it's depression. Whatever it is, I don't like it.

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Hi and welcome! I enjoyed hearing about your life. I have relatives whom I treasure in the same way -- just wish I could do a "brain download" from their heads to mine.

That would be the greatest thing ! I am constantly learning new stuff from all of them and the first thing I say to them is "why have you never shown me that before?"

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I've been trying to figure out which girls give me the lt olive eggs and then put them with the marans boys. Easy enough to know which hen laid the eggs. Oh I know which girl to put in there-- she always lays in the horse trailer nesting box!! My favorite egg.

Lots to do this weekend!!!