Animals
- The Saga Of Roy Boy
There's a newcomer in the upper chicken yard. Can you tell who it is?Yes, you are so right...it's Roy Boy! It seems that we had a happy accident on Sunday morning. Roy Boy, as you might remember, had been sleeping on top of the henhouse by the...
- Who's Who....part 5
Years ago, when we decided to have hens for eggs,we made it a point to avoid roosters.We bought our hens as chicks at the feed store.And all were hens. And there was peace on the farm. The next summer, we decided to increase our flock;and ordered 25...
- Four Weedings And A Funeral
Why is it that the mayhem always occurs on the weekend?I was hoping for a relatively calm weekend...spent in the garden, happily weeding my vegetable boxes. I must admit,I did get the weeding done.Thanks to Hubbs.Hubbs took care of afternoon chores each...
- Happy Hank
I am writing this post for those of you who worried that a bachelor's life would be too stressful for Hank, the rooster. Ever since he has been banished from the fancy chicken's henhouse (you don't bite the hand that feeds you!), he...
- The Rooster Saga Continues (and Happy Birthday Hubbs!!!)
I won't bore you by telling this whole tale from the beginning. But I will summarize for those of you who are new to my blog. This past summer I ordered 25 fancy chicks. I also ordered a very colorful rooster chick (enter Hank)....
Animals
This Cold Is For The Birds!
This is it, friends.
The coldest cold has arrived.
Never before during my time here on the farm has it been this cold.
Early this morning, as I do the morning chores, we are to have -30F
(which is -34C) windchill temperatures.
The days activities will include...feed, feed, feed, break the ice in the heated water buckets and refill with warm water....repeat....repeat....repeat....and so on until the day is done.
It's a great day to watch the birds on the feeders (which have to be refilled twice daily)
from the window of our warm log cabin...
a fire roaring inside.
The feeders are a frenzy of goldfinches with their drab winter attire...
with cardinals....Mr.....
and Mrs.....
bluejays,
woodpeckers,
dark-eyed juncos,
white throated sparrows,
at least a hundred of these finches...
and many others flitting from bush to tree to ground to feeder to bush.
It seems that everyone needs extra fuel to burn to keep warm in this brutal weather!
It's also a great day to reminisce about some of the crazy birds
who have added to the personality of the farm over the years...
Who could forget our dearly departed Edith,
who kept Tom and Chuck on their toes,
and who had a habit of making a nest in the first fairy garden...
(and why not?)
luckily it was early and Spring and the garden had not yet been planted!
There was Babbs, who would come to my feet and stand there waiting to be picked up...
And Amelia Earhart who had a bad habit of flying the coop...
a bad habit that caused her demise
to be by the talon of an owl.
There was handsome Elvis, who would croon so sweetly every morning as I did the chores...
Dear sweet Ivanka, the Transylvanian Naked Necked chicken
(modelling the latest in neck-warmers)...
who lived the last year of her life in the barn,
sleeping each night nestled up to Moll (one of the barn kitties)
Rod Stewart...
who bore a striking resemblance to his namesake...
Most unforgettable was Hank,
the attack rooster.
Believe me, we tried everything to keep this rooster from attacking...
resorting to carrying a SuperSoaker around with us at chore time,
so that we could use water to keep him away!
Sadly, Hank eventually met his demise at the end of a lethal injection.
(I am always opposed to the killing of animals, however Hank attacked anyone who happened to
walk across the barnyard...usually drawing blood. With children around, we cannot have an attack rooster.)
Birds add a lot to our life on the farm.
And like humans, they each have their own personality.
PS: I've had a few questions about the deer and our garden.
We have an 8 foot deer fence around the perimeter of our big garden...
so we have never had problems with deer nibbling in the garden.
I also have a smaller fence around the pumpkin patch...and luckily, no deer have been in there either.
I think the presence of the farm animals helps to keep the deer in the woods
and off the main property.
- The Saga Of Roy Boy
There's a newcomer in the upper chicken yard. Can you tell who it is?Yes, you are so right...it's Roy Boy! It seems that we had a happy accident on Sunday morning. Roy Boy, as you might remember, had been sleeping on top of the henhouse by the...
- Who's Who....part 5
Years ago, when we decided to have hens for eggs,we made it a point to avoid roosters.We bought our hens as chicks at the feed store.And all were hens. And there was peace on the farm. The next summer, we decided to increase our flock;and ordered 25...
- Four Weedings And A Funeral
Why is it that the mayhem always occurs on the weekend?I was hoping for a relatively calm weekend...spent in the garden, happily weeding my vegetable boxes. I must admit,I did get the weeding done.Thanks to Hubbs.Hubbs took care of afternoon chores each...
- Happy Hank
I am writing this post for those of you who worried that a bachelor's life would be too stressful for Hank, the rooster. Ever since he has been banished from the fancy chicken's henhouse (you don't bite the hand that feeds you!), he...
- The Rooster Saga Continues (and Happy Birthday Hubbs!!!)
I won't bore you by telling this whole tale from the beginning. But I will summarize for those of you who are new to my blog. This past summer I ordered 25 fancy chicks. I also ordered a very colorful rooster chick (enter Hank)....