Wild Kingdom

Here are some of the things about Summer that I hate:

We are in the period of heat and stinking high humidity.  You can hardly breathe at midday.  This morning, I was out using the trimmer before seven a.m.  I worked up a good sweat.

A giant black snake is helping himself to eggs in the chicken house.  Okay, okay... he does a service by keeping the mice and rats down to a minimum.  I suppose he is entitled to a share of the eggs in return.  However, I am sometimes startled by his unexpected presence and I have to look in each nest box before placing my hand inside!

Something has killed and eaten three ducks this week.  I'm thinking a little family of possums or raccoons.  They do us no service that I can recall.

The first kill was through hardware cloth which had been pried loose.  I repaired it and thought all was now safe.  Wrong.  The second kill was through a corner of exterior plywood which was pried loose.  I charged up the drill and drilled holes for the new long stainless steel screws.  I screwed them down with the drill into solid wood supports.  "This is a good repair," I thought.  They cannot pull this apart.

It was not pried loose.  The predator CHEWED A HOLE through the plywood in order to slither through and get the third duck.

These are some clever, determined creatures.  I'll have to place a new piece of plywood over the existing one and screw it down in short sections.  But first:

The remaining ducks will not go into the duck house tonight.  I will set a Havaheart trap with dog food inside with the door of the duck house closed and locked.  They can use their entrance hole to get in.

Will this work?  Who knows.  They'll probably manage to eat the dog food and get away.  Why do I feel like a frustrated old fool trying to outsmart a woodland creature -- or like Sylvester trying to catch Tweety Bird?

Pomp and Circumstance

 

The geese are obviously impressed at the flotilla of six former ducklings in their shiny new white suits.  They are being led around the pond by their little "Mother" mallard, who doesn't seem to notice that they are twice her size and a totally different color.  All she knows is that they are ducks, because if it quacks like a duck...  If you click on the picture above, you'll get a little clearer image.

 

The ducks graduated from the chicken house recently to the relief of the chickens, who now have a nicer, dryer, better smelling house.

 

The ducks have always been drawn to water, but never had so much to play in!  It is hard to get them to come in to dry land, but they'll get hungry soon.  I had to wait for the water in the pond to recede to more normal levels before taking them out there.

 

The chicks have also graduated out of their coop and into the Wide World of Chickens.  Pecking order is being established and the guineas are being bullies to be avoided at all costs.

 

The grass is high and will need to be hayed soon.  Vegetables are really developing quickly in this optimal weather.  It's been cool again for the past few days and I got a lot of physical work done.

 



Spring, Continued

We've had some hot days and some moderate days and some decidedly chilly days so far this month.  That's Spring for ya. 

The main thing is that it has rained a good bit of the time and that makes things grow.  After the big electrical storm last week, large trees showed green leaves and the redbuds revealed pink.  The weeping cherry burst into pink blossoms.  Peonies not only sprouted up from the ground, they already have their little globe buds.  Lilacs are just barely in bloom, and so it goes.

The plastic garden was pretty much torn to shreds by winter winds this year.  It looks to be in total disarray, but I am slowly putting it back in order with my grandson's help.  I did a lot of clean up and pulled weeds.  We brought in new heavy junk to keep the replacement plastic in place.  It's progressing.  Cattle panels attached to fence posts serve the dual purpose of keeping plastic down and of providing vertical growing stations.  Peas, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash will be planted at their bases.

The peas I planted are already up.  Ten blueberry bushes have new growth and blossoms.  Different varieties of berries have leafed out and have suckers growing at the base of the main plants.  We've been eating the beautiful kales that overwintered in a circle planted in the Fall.  Lettuces and other leafy crops are just tiny plantlets in the bed I weeded.

The six ducklings have graduated to a coop in the chicken house with the sole female mallard who had been out on the pond.  Their messes had progressed to the point where this became necessary.  Eventually, all ducks will go outside on the pond.  They are still yellow fuzz, with feathers just beginning to form.  I'd want them all white and feathered before they are introduced to deep water.

The chicks, on the other hand, are tiny but beautifully feathered out.  They remain in the large brooder in the shed and won't go to the chicken house until they are big enough to defend themselves.

Over the Hump

We've made it to Solstice, and now the days will gradually get longer and the nights shorter.

I can understand why so many civilizations worshipped the sun.

"It's winter now. The night will be a minute longer. A lot can happen in a minute. Even hope." Kevin Rolly

However the change will be so subtle that most people will be unaware. We're having a very "precipitous" day, with clouds, slippery mud, and chills.

It's hard to keep the barns decent in this weather. Yesterday was the only dry day we've had lately. I'm raking and shoveling while baby goats jump and play all around me. It's nearly as bad in the big barn, where delegations of adult goats keep checking to make sure no food is being given out.

I've been grabbing a goat or two to trim hooves and generally check for problems. So far, so good.

'Guess I'll finish putting plastic on the big windows in the chicken house today to make it as cozy as possible. The ducks and geese are happy for the foul fowl weather. Cows are a worry, but they got a nice, big roll of hay yesterday and seem to still find grazing in the hay field.

The Fruits of Our Labor

Last year, was The Year Without Fruit. Untimely frosts and drought kept tree fruits, with the exception of apples, from setting.

This year we have fruit in abundance. Pears, peaches, and apples are hanging low on loaded trees. Cherries, plumcots, and apricots are already ripe and being harvested. I've spent part of every day since last Sunday processing beautiful apricots from two full trees. Jam is cooking on the stove as I type this. I've dried apricots and cherries for baking during the Fall and Winter. Yesterday, I picked a soft totally ripe purple plumcot and bit into it -- simply wonderful! You just can't buy them like that in the grocery store. Even grape vines I thought were long dead have come to life and are actually bearing grapes. Yippee.

The red and black raspberries are almost finished, but the blackberries have already begun to ripen and I'll be picking them soon.

Asparagus continue to produce, surprisingly. I've picked buckets of pole beans, kale, chard, and cucumbers. Summer squashes are producing, but sadly it looks like the winter squashes are going to be hit by borers. Oh well, I have freezers full of pureed squash from last year. I may try replanting in an effort to outwit the insects.

Nature seems to work that way. One year on, the next off. I try to preserve as much of the year's bounty as possible in order to have a variety on hand.

This morning, I drove through an area to check on blackberries and found twin fawns in the patch. I don't remember seeing twins in the past. It must be a good year for deer reproduction, as well.

A mystery animal has killed a good number of ducks by attacking their night shelter and dragging them out, one by one. My husband kept repairing the structure each time it was torn apart, hardware cloth ripped off, the tin roof bent back... Now, the two remaining ducks are staying on the pond at night. Because the access was narrow in each case and the predator was obviously dexterous and strong, I've been wondering if we have a troupe of baboons in the vicinity. Evidently, a delicious box of quackers is too tasty to be left alone by this bunch.

Overcooked Dinner

Okay, boys and girls. Who thought that, indeed, a goat would give birth yesterday? If you raised your hand, you were right!

Even though I went and checked on ducklings and goats around 4:30 p.m. before going up and starting dinner, when I walked in the barn at about 6 p.m., there was a new mother bawling in fear and pain. She needed a little help. There was also a goat with her head and horns stuck in the panel between stalls. That required bolt cutters to cut and bend back the metal after trying for half an hour to free her. (Logically, you know if she could get her head through the space, there should be a way for her to get back out.) Nevertheless neither she nor two people could get her out.

Add cows figuring out how to get through a goat baffle into the next pasture, and you have a pretty good idea of how the day went.

The roast was overdone but eatable by the time we got up to the house. That's the way it goes some days.

Spring Rush

There were a few warm days when trees and flowers burst into bloom. Violets cover the ground, along with Little Blue Eyes. The peonies have risen above ground and formed buds. Surprises abound in nearly every flower bed. The lilacs have produced beautifully.

Today, we're cooler and "widespread frost" is forecast for tomorrow.

Ducklings are hatching two days before I had even planned on checking the incubator. This morning, I had to drive to the feed store for poultry starter and search the barns for my brooder accessories.

Seedlings came up in the small portion of the garden where I planted them a couple weeks ago. Will I manage to cover them up for tonight?

We're working feverishly on the local farmers' market that will be set up in our county and hope it will be a success.

The federal taxes are done and mailed, but state tax must also be filed before long.

It seems there is much, much more to do than there are hours in the day. Who thinks the goats will produce a kid or two today?

Cold

We've had a little snow; just enough to make life a little more challenging. It will be gone in a day or two and the projection is for a warm-up.

Yesterday, the ducks and geese, who always enthusiastically dive into the pond when let out, crashed into ice instead. Since the ducks are under a year old, this was their first experience with an iced over pond. You could see their confusion as they "walked on water", their webbed feet sliding around as they tried to make their way back to the bank.

The edges of the pond melted by late afternoon, and they were all able to get a drink or two and do a little swimming.

I've been sick for the last couple of weeks, thanks to some germs picked up in a doctor's waiting room. Gee, you'd think Science 101 would have kicked in by now and that waiting rooms would be furnished with cleanable floors and furniture so they could be wiped down with disinfectant at the end of each day. I'm still mad about it, and will be until I stop hacking. Well, I guess it's an efficient way to drum up business.

Anyway, between the cold and the cold, it's been a struggle. I'll recover.