Animals
- The Price Of Winter
With the slightly warmer weather we've had this week,I've been able to open the henhouse doors wide. During the colder winter months,I try to conserve a little warmth in the houses and either clip the doors openat about 6 inches, or close them...
- Staying Within The Lines
I really cannot complain about the amount of snow that we have.We actually don't have a lot of inches on the ground right now. We had about 6 inches on the ground a week ago,and then we had a day of freezing rain...which compacted that snow down...
- Pests
Every afternoon for the past couple of weeks,as I enter the upper chicken houses to gather eggs,I am greeted by a flock of Grackles hastily exiting the chickenhouse as I open the door.Each time it happens, I am expecting it...but am startled none-the-less....
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To me, mornings on the farm are the best time of day. By 5:15 AM the air is filled with cheerful melodies as the wood thrushes call "eee-olaaaay" back and forth to each other. Most mornings are relatively the same...early rising followed by the same daily...
- For The Birds
Yesterday afternoon, we headed out to the barn to feed the horses and goats. Jack continued on up the hill to the chicken house and yard. Usually, on our late afternoon rounds, the chickens are let out to run around the farm a bit. Even though they have...
Animals
Birds' Eye Views
One of my every-afternoon chores is to gather eggs from the henhouses.
And every afternoon when I open this henhouse door...
it becomes a scene from the movie The Birds!
A flock of starlings escapes the cold each day...
eating the chicken feed in this house and then leaving behind a large helping
of bird poop (which I then clean up, along with refilling chicken feeders.)
[Note to self: video this bird craziness!]
The funny thing is...
the chickens actually spend their afternoons in the large goat run-in.
And who could blame them!
At least here, with the atmosphere of a small cafe, they have a little peace and quiet so that they can gossip and chit chat.
Meanwhile, the henhouse seems more like a busy bus terminal in the afternoons...
certainly not conducive to a hen party!
Our cold, windy weather continues... with no end in sight.
We've been going through hay like crazy this winter.
Luckily, I have two more loads being held by a couple of local hay farmers...
so we will have enough to get through the season.
I saved a couple of moments for you as I went about morning and afternoon chores...
just to give you a little taste of my day....
And then, back in the house...
I finished these two aprons.
One homespun chore apron...
and one special order for a special blogger...
If you have never checked out Jeri Landers' Hopalong Hollow,
do yourself a favor and go look at her blog.
She is a incredibly talented Tennessee artist, author, gardener.
I have purchased all of her books... and believe me, each one is a treasure!
This apron is sewn from her own fabric designed from her paintings.
I had a request for a map of the farm so that you could understand the layout.
Here you go... it's a satellite photo from a few years ago
(we aren't important enough to be kept current!)
1. house and guest house
2. old log cabin at the side of the road
3. duck pond
4. front pasture
5. apple orchard
6. pig yard
7. barn, greenhouse, outhouse, and 2 dry lots in front...home of horses and donkeys
8. picnic pavilion and pizza oven
9. large garden
10. indoor arena
11. 3 horse pastures
12. pasture for fainting goats with houses and run-in shed
13. dwarf goat yard and 3 chicken houses, pumpkin patch
14. blueberry field and fruit orchard (Dr. Becky's is to the left of 14)
15. outdoor riding arena surrounded by our hay fields
16. 100 Acre Wood
I had a request for a map of the farm so that you could understand the layout.
Here you go... it's a satellite photo from a few years ago
(we aren't important enough to be kept current!)
1. house and guest house
2. old log cabin at the side of the road
3. duck pond
4. front pasture
5. apple orchard
6. pig yard
7. barn, greenhouse, outhouse, and 2 dry lots in front...home of horses and donkeys
8. picnic pavilion and pizza oven
9. large garden
10. indoor arena
11. 3 horse pastures
12. pasture for fainting goats with houses and run-in shed
13. dwarf goat yard and 3 chicken houses, pumpkin patch
14. blueberry field and fruit orchard (Dr. Becky's is to the left of 14)
15. outdoor riding arena surrounded by our hay fields
16. 100 Acre Wood
- The Price Of Winter
With the slightly warmer weather we've had this week,I've been able to open the henhouse doors wide. During the colder winter months,I try to conserve a little warmth in the houses and either clip the doors openat about 6 inches, or close them...
- Staying Within The Lines
I really cannot complain about the amount of snow that we have.We actually don't have a lot of inches on the ground right now. We had about 6 inches on the ground a week ago,and then we had a day of freezing rain...which compacted that snow down...
- Pests
Every afternoon for the past couple of weeks,as I enter the upper chicken houses to gather eggs,I am greeted by a flock of Grackles hastily exiting the chickenhouse as I open the door.Each time it happens, I am expecting it...but am startled none-the-less....
-
To me, mornings on the farm are the best time of day. By 5:15 AM the air is filled with cheerful melodies as the wood thrushes call "eee-olaaaay" back and forth to each other. Most mornings are relatively the same...early rising followed by the same daily...
- For The Birds
Yesterday afternoon, we headed out to the barn to feed the horses and goats. Jack continued on up the hill to the chicken house and yard. Usually, on our late afternoon rounds, the chickens are let out to run around the farm a bit. Even though they have...