The Old Folks Home

[Sequel]

Good morning All. Looking at the ocean from a balcony in S C. Beautiful!

Nice!

 

[CanuckBock]

Good evening Old Folks! Canuckbock sounds like you had a busy but productive day! I drove 60 miles each way to visit with youngest daughter; got home just in time to do evening chores. I'm glad we don't have to winterize like you do. Here in southern Alabama we have relatively mild winters. I'm always glad when it gets cold enough to kill off the mosquitos!

Heel low:

We live in Pear-A-Dice...everything about it suits us.

After 25+ years on the WEsT Coast, I shiver just thinking of the humidity and abhor the bare ground. Way too many years of overcast drab 90 days of rains; we wore sunglasses for two years after moving here to central Alberta--as coastal moles, we could not stand how many hours of sunshine we received...enjoyed 25 years since of crisp sunshine dwelling. Brings me so much joy to see the sun shining!

Gonna get moisture but my preferred form is in white...right proper dry winter white. Pile it up, melts into June but unlike the WEsT Coast, we don't have to contend with putrid mud for months on end. I'd have never had Call Ducks if we had remained there.

We did not winterize much on the Coast...occasional -10C (think we had that once and the Bay froze & tons lost their plumbing!!) but now that is my fav temperature of all. Don a wool sweater and you can work bug free. Have bacon, eh...yer gonna burn through those calories tout sweet!

Winter is winter but because of the close proximity to the ocean, I wasn't able to sneak over to the garage in my slippers to bring back a loaf of bread outta one of the freezers for toast. Nope, had our fill of a mild climate because there is no distinction between summer and winter...kinda drags along all the same old, same old without much of a POP!

Green...

White...

Winter preparations mean now I can be lazy and enjoy we are stocked up with feed, bedding and other whatnot's. That's a reason to do all this and the glide along enjoying yer ready for most anything without running short.

When green season arrives again, we go about summerizing with setting up the two fish & water plant ponds, planting containers, and gardening. When the season switches to white again...I am SO thankful for the change...tired of green.

I am currently removing and replenishing the Duece Coop straw. Birds love it and I love that all this messy used bedding goes into our dirt. Don't matter this time of year, how long you have light as it is a pretty simple job.

I like tidy and getting ready for white season is a great excuse to set the scene so snow removal is not impeded with lawn ornaments, messy projects on the go. Work until a white blanket covers the area and there...time to crank socks, spin yarn, weave or with my spouse, build inside from the comfort of the shop.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[pennyJo1960]

I took a great hot shower after the heat made my room warmer.
Sitting here with a couple left over donut holes.

 

[CanuckBock]

As always, I love seeing your place! Pretty! Pretty!

Fancy new birds!

Heel low:

Ah yer sweet Al...

Exotic pheasants are really kewl. Had Red Golden for about 25 years now...same for the Silvers.

The new ones for us are Amhersts in 2023. Some new blood and the ability to sit back & see how tame we can make them.

The trio of Silvers will sit on their perch and let me tickle their feets, but not for too long as I start getting the stink eyes!

So how many eggs is good in an omelette...I'd say fourteen this time. This is what seven standard chicken eggs results in.

With the hours of sunlight getting shorter, the need to blow feathers for the winter outfits to come in means cackleberries may be in short supply but the need to use them up is a conflict.

Waxwings are coming thru. The Mountain Ash has lots of berries on them still so planting them decades ago is reaping a great bounty. The Waxwings were not very commonly seen here when we started out...now, expected. I guess we've made the sightseeing map as a must stop location. Stop and chub up, eh.

Nov 10, 2020; massive flocks in the new Orchard feasting on small crabapples.

June 20, 2020; boogers are eating the very flowers (Thunder child Crab) that would have produced fruit for them later in the year. Silly birds!

End of the week suppose to get some white...be nice as I am starting to power out with being able to continue to clear out coops and runs. No rest for the wicked...please snow...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Alaskan]

Today we got our first "real" looks like it is going to stick, snow.

My flock of American Buff geese on my driveway. My pond is to the right.

 

[Sally PB]

Very much feeling my age today! Yesterday we split and stacked wood for 5-6 hours. Hubby does the heavy lifting and splits, I walk a lot and stack and stay out of his way. I racked up 32,000+ steps. Pick up logs, walk 8 steps (or 4 or 10) to the woodpile, stack wood, walk back. Repeat 500 bajillion times.

 

[pennyJo1960]

My day was fun not. Slept after I let dogs out woke at 9.
Oh crud pay Sirius radios back.
Now go do the banking and bread store.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Very much feeling my age today! Yesterday we split and stacked wood for 5-6 hours. Hubby does the heavy lifting and splits, I walk a lot and stack and stay out of his way. I racked up 32,000+ steps. Pick up logs, walk 8 steps (or 4 or 10) to the woodpile, stack wood, walk back. Repeat 500 bajillion times.

Dang, that's impressive!

 

[microchick]

Very much feeling my age today! Yesterday we split and stacked wood for 5-6 hours. Hubby does the heavy lifting and splits, I walk a lot and stack and stay out of his way. I racked up 32,000+ steps. Pick up logs, walk 8 steps (or 4 or 10) to the woodpile, stack wood, walk back. Repeat 500 bajillion times.

I hear ya, Sally. I was out this morning shoveling dirt into a tire flowerbed that I'm hoping to plant tulips in, if Walmart ever gets off it's duff and gets them to me that is, and thinking how miserable my energy levels are. After this month, I am through the roughest six months of my shoulder surgery and rehab. I would estimate that I have about 70% of my use back in my right arm. But almost 18 months post injury, I've learned to use my left arm TOO well and now it's my dominate arm, meaning I need to notch up using my right arm more now. I still have 6 months left before everything is considered to be totally healed. I cannot say I will miss this initial rehab and healing because I won't. It's been a cold hearted you know what as anybody who has had rotator cuff repair or biceps repair can tell you.

Still I would like to get my energy levels back up. Ahhhh. Being old and going through surgery. What fun. NOT!

@CanuckBock Haven't seen any of your cedar waxwings down here in Missouri yet. I always enjoy seeing them show up at the bird feeder chomping down sun flower seeds. I love your pheasants. Truly beautiful birds. But the snow. Sorry, you can hang on to that up there in the cold white north, lol. One of the many things that spirited us away from Illinois and into Missouri was less snow. DH was raised in WI but even he admitted he was getting tired of fighting our way into town over the winter months thanks to towers of snow on the road that took days to get cleared out. But.....I love looking at pictures of snow and living vicariously through others, though so keep posting them!

@Alaskan Love your geese. We haven't seen any snow yet...thank God, I'm not ready for it this year. Still have a lot of stocking up to do. Have been thinking about y'all though and wondering how the family is doing. Hope all are well.

 

[microchick]

Oh, if anybody wants any Japanese beetles or lady bugs, let me know and I'll box up about 10,000 of them and send them to you free of charge. Want more? I can do that.