Washingtonians

[weaveagarden]

Quote:
I chased all aroung the yard looking for mine yesterday, thinking the same thing. Finally found him half buried in the side of an old sod couch that I am letting the chickens turn into great garden soil for next year. He had his head completely dug into a hole, and looked like one of the hens when I saw him.

 

[weaveagarden]

Quote:
Are they like rubber duckies? My sisters dog (her only child besides the other dog) loves rubber duckies to play with. She would love those PJ's if they are. And if so, where do you work.

 

[justbugged]

I just want to remind everyone that the potluck sign-up thread is at this * Index * » Chickenstocks, Shows, Trades & Swaps * » Potluck Sign-up for the Washington Party link. Please read the first couple of posts so that you will have an idea of what is being planned for the potluck in February. The information to the link was buried fairly fast yesterday. I think I might need to post this information a few more times thru out the next few days. Please ignore the post if you have already posted or subscribed to the thread. This hyperlink should work. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=277133

 

[Nyrial]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/zip/1517624627.html

free dog house in Enumclaw, looks to be a good size.

ETA

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/zip/1517616067.html

nice little coop with some modification

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
I tried to get the dog house, but I was one person to late.

If anyone of you finds a 55 gallon or similar size plastic barrels, on craigslist. (DH needs 2 or 3 of them) I would love to know about it. Of course I would prefer them either cheap or free, if at all possible. (Don't we all) I really do appreciate the heads up on all the interesting craigslist items posted here.

I try not look very often on craigslist for fear that I will find something I really want, and that I should not buy right now, or that I hadn't even known that I wanted it before I saw it.

Oh dear now I have another thing I also need, of course just after I have had to yell the kitten again for scratching on the recliner. I now really need an inexpensive cat post, or things that the kittens can hide in and scratch on.
Now see what I mean that I really shouldn't even be thinking about looking for stuff.

I really am trying to cut down on the number of things I own. I think sometimes that it is a losing proposition.

 

[RonB]

Kevan
Hi and WECLOME , you will meet the nice's people here in Chickenville!!!
Yes I lost a white leghorn just before dark yesterday. It was my own stupid fault. I knew the coyote was around and I should have put my flock away. I came in to send an email on here. was in maybe 10=12 min.
How did you lose your two girls? You said you put an electric line up. Can you give me more details on what you did?
My coop is in the corner of the barn and the run is on the backside of the barn it is 12 X 20 ft. I have a strand of electric fence 10" off the ground and one 10" from the top of a 5 ft fence and then one strand in the middle ALL the way around my run. My flock is pretty safe in there. But I like to let them free range as much as I can.
Like Kim said we are both just off the woodinville-duvall Rd.

 

[RonB]

justbugged
Does the 55 gallon plastic drum have to have BOTH a top and bottom? I have a whit one that I cut the top off so I could use it for rain water. I am asking $150.00 for it

but because you are a member of BYC. you can have it for FREE what are ya going to use it for. if ya want it , let me know

 

[ReiMiraa]

its raining small drops today....
the coop is dripping in spots.....

chickens are having fun making a mess mixing mud and straw where their dust bath spot was...
the roo's feathered feet are muddy....

one of my ee's is pacing back and forth trying to get behind the doghouse (where earlier in the week i found eggs and took them and blocked that area off), my ee finally laid and egg today... i thought my 2 ee were going on strike on me. one is over a year old and the other is 6 months old..... maybe it was trying to be broody???? non of my chickens have expressed any interest in sitting on eggs.....

just looked at the tv. giant hamster. is this kia's new mascot? one of my friends created a perfect acryonym for kia. in my area these cars are looked down upon because every accident that these cars are in the car is toast and the people in it have never survived....

tonight was the last night of christmas lighting here in leavenworth...
even though there was snow, i feel there were less people here than the last 2 weekends....

the chickens were spoiled when i saw them today.... i brought them oatmeal and slowly spooned it out in various locations.... i have figured out how to keep the balance of oatmeal and calicum intake. i boil tums in the water before i add the oatmeal. that stuff looks so weird boiled. they like the fruity flavored tums alot.
7/9 eggs today

 

[Greg Richardson]

Merry Christmas to you ALL!




Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted so bad that year for Christmas.

We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. So after supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."

I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what.

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up the big sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy.

When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me."

The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high sideboards on.

When we had exchanged the sideboards Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood---the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" "

You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked.

The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what? "Yeah," I said, "why?"

"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him.

We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked.

"Shoes. They're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us. It shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"

"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt. Could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children---sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said, then he turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring enough in to last for awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."

I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and, much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks and so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak. My heart swelled within me and a joy filled my soul that I'd never known before. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord himself has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two older brothers and two older sisters were all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, "'May the Lord bless you,' I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that. But on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. So, Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Just then the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children. For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

 

[weaveagarden]

I just thought of something. We better make sure that the Hall for February will let Ron bring his mud pit. Being down here 11 miles from the Rain Forest, I think I can be counted on for the mud.

My house sounds like a zoo tonight. Outside crowing and egg songs, inside crowing and lots of noisy cheeping, pecking and scratching.
I am thankfully done will all of my Christmas shopping. I love when I am able to accomplish it without leaving my house. I hate that I am not able to help out the local businesses, but I avoid stores like the plague this time of year.

Eggs today.... 7 for 12. Seems like they are coming in at an average of 7 eggs per day lately. That is 49 a week you know. I am going to have to get a seperate fridge for eggs alone.