The Old Folks Home

[ChooksChick]

Quote: I had the stomach bug soooooooooo bad from the middle of Thursday night that I swear my liver and kidneys were dissolving. They hurt!! Hubby left the tv on when he went to work and I lay here half-conscious listening to 12 hours of developments only waking enough to run to the bathroom to worship the porcelain god...no luck finding the remote, so I absorbed every detail over time. Odd situation. I find it sad that people can hate so easily- both the perps and the public.

Quote: We have pterodactyls in Kansas, too. You have to be careful not to be outdoors alone in the evening or they'll carry you off.

I don't know why we grow nasties so big up here.

We have gargantuan Shelob-esque spiders. Last year there was a spider that lived under the roof of my coop and his eyes would REFLECT in the light of my headlamp like a deer. Freaking thing creeped me out.

Crazy big slugs (well... until I had ducks).

Mosquitos from hell.



... my nose...

We have a Midwest tarantula. I love spiders but other people get freaked out. I know they eat things I like even less...

Hi guys and gals, Any poultry raisers here ?

I think we fit the description, but we get a bit obsessive...join us!!

 

[ducklucky]

Sounds like paradise to me, all those animals and not having to worry about snow and ice! Must be beautiful there. Understand your gardening issue, shame you can't cultivate one little plot using all that good manure. Can you maybe do some raised beds? One thing that loves sandy soil is tomatoes, growing up in southern new jersey, we had the best tomatoes in the world, and even added more sand to the soil when we planted. Would think raised beds would be your answer, go up into those fertile hills and truck back some of that soil!

 

[ducklucky]

So sorry Chooks, had that bug a few months ago, it does indeed literally knock you off your feet. Couldn't even have the tv on because food commercials made me leave tracks for the bathroom. You should start feeling better later today or tomorrow, it's like a 3 day thing. Just be careful when you can eat again, take it slow. Can empathize with you for sure, it's horrible, somebody kill me please and put me out of my misery! Yes, Ar, those spiders get gi-gormous, we've had those suckers under the eaves too, creeps us out especially in the mornings when the cobwebs are still hanging around, can't tell whether it's spiders or a simple cob. Their eyes do indeed glow!!!

 

[ducklucky]

OK all you slug and fly lovers, found something yesterday that definitely going to try. Was looking up stuff about pennies as I am going to do a copper penny bar top. Found all kinds of stuff that your extra pennies are good for, and here's one in particular the war on slugs and bug folks can use. If you take an old ball, any old ball, like a tennis ball or old bowling ball, seen it's better days gazing ball, anything round, the bigger the better, gorilla glue pennies all over it to cover it. Set it (or them) in your garden where you have slug problems, it will deter the slugs, they will RUN the other way. If you have hydrangeas and you set one by the bush, it will turn the flowers blue! For flies, and this is supposedly an old dairy farm trick, take a ziploc bag, put 5 pennies in it (don't ask me why 5), add a cup of water and zip it up, hang them from tree limbs, bushes, by your front door, wherever, will deter flies! Apparently the dairy farmers used to hang them all over the place, and it worked for them! Think I will make a necklace out of these little bags and hang them around my neck when black fly season starts. But found it interesting how those penny covered balls will make the slugs go away, will definitely try that as the ducks and chickens are not out at the crack of dawn and the slugs are all over the place! Plus the copper covered balls look pretty scattered all over the place, and you can set them on any pedestal as well, like an old chafing dish stand, or make one out of twigs and branches. Guess we'll have to have the dogs outside more and more to guard them all tho!

You can of course shine up the pennies first using plain vinegar with a few pinches of salt, slosh them around for just a half minute, most of the junk comes off, then put them unrinsed on an old rag with some baking soda and rub them around, you most certainly don't have to do one at a time, just rub a bunch of them, then rinse them off, dry, and they will look like new. Of course, being out in the weather they will oxidize over time, but should stay shiny for most of the summer anyway. The other good thing is you can use the vinegar solution a few times, just add a bit more salt each use. And that old rag can be used a few times too. Can see it now, all of these people working in their gardens surrounded by copper balls and wearing strange ziploc necklaces ;]

 

[ozexpat]

OK all you slug and fly lovers, found something yesterday that definitely going to try. Was looking up stuff about pennies as I am going to do a copper penny bar top. Found all kinds of stuff that your extra pennies are good for, and here's one in particular the war on slugs and bug folks can use. If you take an old ball, any old ball, like a tennis ball or old bowling ball, seen it's better days gazing ball, anything round, the bigger the better, gorilla glue pennies all over it to cover it. Set it (or them) in your garden where you have slug problems, it will deter the slugs, they will RUN the other way. If you have hydrangeas and you set one by the bush, it will turn the flowers blue! For flies, and this is supposedly an old dairy farm trick, take a ziploc bag, put 5 pennies in it (don't ask me why 5), add a cup of water and zip it up, hang them from tree limbs, bushes, by your front door, wherever, will deter flies! Apparently the dairy farmers used to hang them all over the place, and it worked for them! Think I will make a necklace out of these little bags and hang them around my neck when black fly season starts. But found it interesting how those penny covered balls will make the slugs go away, will definitely try that as the ducks and chickens are not out at the crack of dawn and the slugs are all over the place! Plus the copper covered balls look pretty scattered all over the place, and you can set them on any pedestal as well, like an old chafing dish stand, or make one out of twigs and branches. Guess we'll have to have the dogs outside more and more to guard them all tho!

You can of course shine up the pennies first using plain vinegar with a few pinches of salt, slosh them around for just a half minute, most of the junk comes off, then put them unrinsed on an old rag with some baking soda and rub them around, you most certainly don't have to do one at a time, just rub a bunch of them, then rinse them off, dry, and they will look like new. Of course, being out in the weather they will oxidize over time, but should stay shiny for most of the summer anyway. The other good thing is you can use the vinegar solution a few times, just add a bit more salt each use. And that old rag can be used a few times too. Can see it now, all of these people working in their gardens surrounded by copper balls and wearing strange ziploc necklaces ;]

old copper pennies in the bator water will help prevent mold too

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

The pictures some of you are posting are so pretty. If that is what you see on a daily basis - I am so envious. Compared to this dust bowl where I live - your landscapes win big time. LOL I am in the Flint Hills, and although there is a certain beauty to the prairie and the miles upon endless miles of rolling hills and pastures, it is very subtle. I do get to see an impromptu cattle round up now and then and get to see a prairie fire from too close up also.

Mosquitos - it is those tiny little ones that come out in mass at dusk that I hate. They attack so viciously I usually go in and wait a couple of hours to finish anything outdoors that still needs to be done. Anyone know anything about mosquito fish? I am looking into getting some.

I ordered, and received, a few Nankin bantams. Love them!! They put packing peanuts in the box. Now, what am I going to do with 14 packing peanuts that are eating and growing like there is a race to be the biggest chick on the block? Uggg I am hoping that some of the smaller ones are pullets, not likely though. I could use some standard size hens for some bigger eggs.

Did you know that a little bantam egg is perfect for some of the microwave in a cup breads?

 

[dan2]

Wow what a way to answer a question!

Are any Alabama, LF raisers here?

 

[Cynthia12]

Babies! Australorps. Love them for them thar eggs! Keeping a few of these for sure.



So, our weather is going to warm up! Can't wait. We are supposed to have one more day this week that will dip below freezing in the night. Hoping that prediction changes. I'm ready to go out and plant some petunias! My Tulips are coming up. I face the north, so they are just getting pretty on this side of the street, when the neighbors across the street are finishing up. Tulips are my favorite flower. Wish they would stay nice longer.
What's your favorite flower?

 

[ronott1]

Babies! Australorps. Love them for them thar eggs! Keeping a few of these for sure.



So, our weather is going to warm up! Can't wait. We are supposed to have one more day this week that will dip below freezing in the night. Hoping that prediction changes. I'm ready to go out and plant some petunias! My Tulips are coming up. I face the north, so they are just getting pretty on this side of the street, when the neighbors across the street are finishing up. Tulips are my favorite flower. Wish they would stay nice longer.
What's your favorite flower?

Where did you get the hatching eggs?

Beautiful!

 

[ozexpat]

Babies! Australorps. Love them for them thar eggs! Keeping a few of these for sure.



So, our weather is going to warm up! Can't wait. We are supposed to have one more day this week that will dip below freezing in the night. Hoping that prediction changes. I'm ready to go out and plant some petunias! My Tulips are coming up. I face the north, so they are just getting pretty on this side of the street, when the neighbors across the street are finishing up. Tulips are my favorite flower. Wish they would stay nice longer.
What's your favorite flower?

i have 24 Australorps in my bator in the philippines - among another 158 assorted eggs.

when i first started my crazy plan, they were the first on my list. it was amazingly hard for me to get their eggs. in socal its all designer birds

my favorite flowers in four season climates are ranunculus

in the tropics its gingers

we have several species but my mother in law has a spectacular half acre garden of tropical plants








our soil is basically sand. we have onshore sal laden winds during the US winter that bring havoc to our garden, burning just about everything within 100 yards of the beach.

our garden is only 4 years old.


here is the same view as the photo above before we rennovated