The Old Folks Home

[Latestarter]

I have some nice wooden brooders, 4x4 and 2x4s. Very easy to make. Not sure if you've seen the pictures, but these might inspire.

Just curious, but it must be quite a stretch (and hard on the old back for me at least) to reach into the back of that brooder with it on the floor. Do you find that to be the case? It does look very easy to construct and would do the trick very nicely. I also had to comment... is that a fuel oil tank I see in the back there? an oil fired furnace? I remember that from my childhood as we had one in our basement as well. That has to get pretty expensive with fuel prices what they have become. Thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I have some nice wooden brooders, 4x4 and 2x4s. Very easy to make. Not sure if you've seen the pictures, but these might inspire.

those are nice . I have a good one just need to make another two. just need the space. I just have a carport no garage . trying to start building some sheds as I get time. will make one for chicks and chicken food supplies etc.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Just curious, but it must be quite a stretch (and hard on the old back for me at least) to reach into the back of that brooder with it on the floor. Do you find that to be the case? It does look very easy to construct and would do the trick very nicely. I also had to comment... is that a fuel oil tank I see in the back there? an oil fired furnace? I remember that from my childhood as we had one in our basement as well. That has to get pretty expensive with fuel prices what they have become. Thanks for sharing the pics!

Yes it is difficult to get in the back of the brooder. I generally have to get in the front, squat down and then grab the chicks in the back corners. It's not fun, but it fits a lot of chicks.

And yes, that's an oil tank. The northeast is one of the last holdouts for oil fired furnaces with the majority of us having them. This area just started getting natural gas pipelines installed last summer, and most people don't opt for propane for some reason, so we have little choice. My first two winters here were horrible, the oil prices were hovering around 4.50 per gallon, and I kept my home at 58 (that was all I could afford going through a divorce) and thought I was going to freeze to death. After 2 winters of living like that I saved up to purchase a pellet stove. It goes all day (provided we have electricity), keeps the house really warm and costs between 2.50 and 10 dollars a day, depending on how cold it is. The first year it more than paid for itself in oil savings. I still have two traditional wood stoves, but mostly use them on weekends (when it's easy to keep them going) or when we lose electricity.

Some friends of ours moved here last year and we went house hunting with them. They fell in love with a giant house. I went into the basement and saw that it had three oil tanks down there. THREE! I told them to run. The real estate agent tried to pull some crap by saying "it's so you can buy when the oil is cheaper in the summer." Lady, it's not that much cheaper in the summer. At 240 gallons each... and oil at 4 dollars a gallon that's almost 3K to fill those tanks up. No, thanks.

 

[insanity]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

To all those who stay up to late and get up to early to care for the little ones in the home(furry and feathery kids count). I hope all have a great day.

 

[Pozees]

Beautiful flower, Insanity

SCG I agree with everyone that it is unfair and presumptuous for the neighbor to ask/tell you to watch her kids, my concern is that she is not managing her reality, that is why I would take the gentle approach and ask her parish for help on her behalf. One sign that someone needs help they don't know how to ask for, is to behave unreasonably. Yes, she made the choice to add another child, but she has been caught off guard by news of twins, is under the influence of pregnancy hormones, and is alerting someone whom she believes is in a position to help. There are possibly other factors in the home as well.

 

[Wisher1000]

SCG - Here are my suggestions:

First, go over a tell her you have thought about it and keeping her kids is a definite possibility, but you have some things to work out first. Ask the children's full names and how they are spelled. Also the time they were born and their astrological signs.

Start a collection of skulls, you like skulls, right? Display them in the windows that face her house and put some of the nicer ones on poles on her side of the property or where they can be seen when she passes your driveway.

Next, talk about the phases of the moon, a lot, and stare at the kids whenever they are in sight, don't talk to them, just stare with an ever so slight smile. Get really excited when the full moon is coming up in a day or two, and ask if she needs you to watch them that night.....say, around midnight? Invite her and the kids to "join the fun" next time you process a bird. If they actually come over, collect the blood in canning jars and set them lovingly to the side, while looking at them sideways and smiling really big. You can sew little black bags with drawstrings, to put them in, for a touch of elegance. You could also sew yourself a "house coat" with a hood and a cord to tie in the front, in either white, black, or red. Light candles and arrange them in a circle at night, somewhere where she will see them. Make some torches out of tree limbs and old rags. Walk your property carrying the lighted torches and laugh hysterically at night.

Just kidding, no, it is way out of line for her to ask that of you, and you may be right, she may just be a bit panic stricken (I hope that is the explanation for her overstepping boundaries.) Wait until it comes up again, or at least until she is starting to balloon. It's okay to laugh and say, "Oh, no-no-no, if I had wanted to look after kids, I'd have had some of my own. I'm sticking to animals, if they tick me off, I can kill and eat them, and I won't go to jail!"

 

[superchemicalgirl]

SCG - Here are my suggestions:

First, go over a tell her you have thought about it and keeping her kids is a definite possibility, but you have some things to work out first. Ask the children's full names and how they are spelled. Also the time they were born and their astrological signs.

Start a collection of skulls, you like skulls, right? Display them in the windows that face her house and put some of the nicer ones on poles on her side of the property or where they can be seen when she passes your driveway.

Next, talk about the phases of the moon, a lot, and stare at the kids whenever they are in sight, don't talk to them, just stare with an ever so slight smile. Get really excited when the full moon is coming up in a day or two, and ask if she needs you to watch them that night.....say, around midnight? Invite her and the kids to "join the fun" next time you process a bird. If they actually come over, collect the blood in canning jars and set them lovingly to the side, while looking at them sideways and smiling really big. You can sew little black bags with drawstrings, to put them in, for a touch of elegance. You could also sew yourself a "house coat" with a hood and a cord to tie in the front, in either white, black, or red. Light candles and arrange them in a circle at night, somewhere where she will see them. Make some torches out of tree limbs and old rags. Walk your property carrying the lighted torches and laugh hysterically at night.

Just kidding, no, it is way out of line for her to ask that of you, and you may be right, she may just be a bit panic stricken (I hope that is the explanation for her overstepping boundaries.) Wait until it comes up again, or at least until she is starting to balloon. It's okay to laugh and say, "Oh, no-no-no, if I had wanted to look after kids, I'd have had some of my own. I'm sticking to animals, if they tick me off, I can kill and eat them, and I won't go to jail!"

I love this. Is it bad enough I already have the "house coat" that is red on one side and black on the other?

BF and I are digging holes for apple trees and blueberry bushes around the yard today. She's out there wondering what we're up to (we are soaking the trees for 24 hours so it just looks like we're digging holes) so maybe I should trot out the skulls and candles tonight even though it's not a full moon. There is so much slate in the ground and so much shade we're having a difficult time finding suitable places. We also have to worry about the animals un-gardening (chickens at the roots, goats eating the whole thing) so we still have 4 more places to dig holes.

 

[Cynthia12]

 

[Wisher1000]

Quote:
Maybe put the candles around the holes? If she asks, look nervous and say it is a blessing to the ground so that the trees will thrive, yeah, the trees, that's it.

My idea was not entirely original. There was a nice house on a side of town were the crime rate was really high. The house had belonged to the same family from the time it was built in what was then a very respectable neighborhood, though it's decline, and through the decay, the house was well kept and remained nice. There were two large picture windows out front and along the window sill was a collection of skulls. Glass, marble, plastic, wooden, and some that looked like they might have been real! Occasonally, there were candles burning on the proch rail, and sometimes on the window sills. A co-worker of mine was researching cults and went to talk to them. He found a nice older man and woman lived there. They invited him in and offered tea and cookies. He finally got around to asking about the skulls. They laughed and said that since they started their "collection" they had had no burglaries or thefts from their property!

 

[bamadude]

Shopping list: skulls, candles, post hole diggers, hooded house coat, string, black speedo