October 2007 | Main | December 2007
November 30, 2007
I really thought Kiki was the smarter dog
But she managed to find a skunk this morning, run through the house and leave skunk molecules all over the house.
I really hate that.
Posted by Beth at 10:25 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 29, 2007
Farm Life
I am finally feeling a lot better about losing my job. I found this week that I could actually complete some projects!
I have been working on building nesting boxes and installing it on the outside of the coop for - um - awhile. Yesterday, I finished it! And I was very please to see that 2 of the hens figured out what it was and laid their eggs there, only the bedding was not thick enough for one egg - it was cracked at the end, so I have added more stuff to the boxes. The chickens really like to relax in these old planters I have - they seem to like the cocoa fiber that lines the planters, so I took the liner out of one of them and put it in the nesting area.
I have been spoiling the fowl - it was only 22 degrees this morning, so I made them a whole bunch of hot oatmeal with milk and sugar - they loved it!!
Actually, they love just about everything. What's very handy is that I no longer have to worry about trimming the grass around the house or barn - the chickens have done it all for me!
Satchmo has learned to climb the steps to the deck. When he wants me to come out, he crows from the deck. I swear, the bird grins at me!
The temperature got up to 47 degrees today, and it is nicely sunny. I replaced the weather stripping on the back door this afternoon - the old stuff was as brittle as glass. I think the new should really help with the draftiness. I still need to do the door to the garage, the front door and the door from outside to the garage. I have not checked the door from the basement to outside yet, so I guess I'll check that.
We have new French Doors in the bedroom - they seem to have a pretty tight seal, so I'll not worry about them - the windows, however, are very drafty. I have been putting off putting up the quilted curtains( I got the red floral) I got at great expense because Plow and Hearth screwed up and only sent one curtain rod. I finally just went to Wal-Mart and got a couple of very nice curtain rods for less than half of what Plow and Hearth charges for theirs. I love the stuff Plow and Hearth carries, but I'm not impressed with their customer service!!
And I will, of course, buy more from them in the future.
John is a bit chagrined that my decorating desires have turned kinda countryish. Well, darn, we are in the country now! So, even though I have fallen in love with chickens and roosters (Venomous Kate will laugh so hard at this!), I will not buy the quilted rooster wall-hanging that would be perfect on the wall in the hearth room across from the fireplace.
I do want to remove the ivy border in the hearth room - and I'd like to paint this room eventually. And naturally, I want to paint it RED!!!!! But I need to do much outside first.
I only have 4 chickens and two hens and I'm already planning to add to the flock in the spring. I figure I'll double the size of the Chicken Run and build a real 8x10 building and put the big chickens there, and my current coop can be converted to use as a brooder and as a coop for Satchmo and other bantams that I need to get to keep him company, and the guineas, of course, assuming they are still coming in every night.
I am sure I can sell the fresh eggs from free range chickens who leave the chicken runs early every morning and don't return until about 4 pm at night.
Also, all my chickens have names - I think it would be fun to have a picture of them on the egg cartons with their names. If it doesn't cost too much!
I have not yet gone for my daily walk, so I'm going to head out now and check on the horses. Major has a black pregnant mare who was looking a little wobbly earlier, she is getting pretty big. I don't know when her due date is, but if she looks to be in labor, I'll bring her into the barn.
Posted by Beth at 2:58 PM | Comments (1)
Did you know that saying the word 'noose' can get a kid suspended?
Lee's Summit, Missouri, is a very nice suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. The public schools there have decided that a kid in the band must be punished for admitting that he knows how to tie a knot for a noose -
From the Fox Article:Travis Grigsby loves playing drums, but he and his friend Alex Coday weren't able to play for two weeks after they were suspended. It started after the band's performance at a football game. Some kids on the drum line said they were talking about the best knots to use to tie up the drum equipment.
"Someone asked if anybody knew how to tie a noose and Travis did admit he knew how to tie a noose," Kim Grigsby said.
Travis' mom said her son is almost an Eagle Scout, he knew how to tie it, but told his friends he wouldn't because you could get in trouble for that. Later, a black student on the drum line told the teacher he was offended.
"Travis was accused of using a racial slur for saying the word 'noose.' Then he was suspended for 10 days," Kim said.
She said the school district accused the boys of having a racially charged conversation about nooses, but Travis and Alex insist that's not what happened.
"I don't feel they let Alex or Travis tell their side of the story," Kim said.
Alex's parents wrote to the district saying this is pushing the kids apart instead of bringing them together. Other kids and parents agree.
"We just want what's fair for our boys," Kim said. "They're good boys, get good grades, participate in school activities."
The school did shorten the kids' school suspension to only five days, but it will affect their grades.
"They are being punished beyond what is even near reasonable," Kim said.
The school district said it can't comment because of privacy issues, but said no one is aware of any racial tensions at the school. The administrators said they did investigate it thoroughly.
Please, read the entire story here.
I originally heard about this incident while listening to Darla Jaye on KMBZ Radio. One of the mothers was interviewed. She is talking about this on the radio now, and I can only say that I'jm so glad that Andy is in college, not high school!!!
I wonder if they school hands out a list of verboten words at the beginning of the school year? I'd love to know what words are on it.
Have they verified that the word, noose, is not in any history books? It's crazy.
Posted by Beth at 10:46 AM | Comments (2)
The Yuck Factor
This morning, I thought I would try to be very quiet and put the dogs out via the front door and keep the lights off so John could sleep in a little. Not turning on the lights was my first mistake. My bare left foot stepped into a huge pile of squishy, yucky, cold and deep stuff. I believe I may have shrieked, because John was now up.
Not wanting to spread whatever it is I was ankle deep in around the living room carpet, I tried to hop on my other foot to at least get the damned dogs out the front door. Only there was more yucky cold, unidentified stuff, and now my right foot was covered with it.
I did get the dogs out by walking on the sides of my feet, leaving only a small trail of the stuff. I was pretty sure that it was some kind of critter vomit, because it did not smell like poop, thank God for small blessings. I got to the lamp and turned it on and an unbelievable amount of semi-digested dry dog and/or cat food was covering an area the size of Rhode Island on my living room carpet.
The sheer size of the mess pretty much discounted the cats, except for maybe Hal, who has a bit of a problem with his weight. It really had to be one of the dogs, and since Kiki sleeps on the foot of our bed all night long and never touches her paws to the cold floor until I'm out of bed, it had to be Gunner.
Well, it took nearly a roll of paper towels just to pick the gunk up, and I have yet to tackle the stain with Resolve, but I imagine that will take up a good part of the morning.
Oh, and would anyone like some fresh eggs? We don't eat as many as the girls are producing. It's not like I have a lot of eggs, but if anyone wants some, let me know - they are better, really!
Posted by Beth at 6:19 AM | Comments (5)
November 27, 2007
Farm Life
So, the dogs started barking like crazy. They were in the living room, throwing a fit! I went it to see if someone was at the door - there were 10 Guinea Fowl at the doorstep, on the picture window ledge, on the rocks, everywhere - they were admiring their reflections in the window. I must buy them a mirror and put it over by the barn so they can admire themselves there!
Posted by Beth at 12:05 PM | Comments (1)
Chicken Update
We are now up to 3 eggs this morning! Since I'm pretty sure that Helga is laying her eggs behind the barn somewhere, that means that all four hens are doing their jobs!
Thank you, Ruby, Helga, Brownie and Pebbles!
Posted by Beth at 11:44 AM
Ouch
Yesterday, I made my really yummy pasta sauce. It takes nearly all day to do it right, and I have some ingredients that need to be grated.
So, as I was grating my carrots, I looked down and saw that I had also grated my thumb.
Ouch.
I told John that I put a lot of myself into dinner! (Heh)
Although, no blood was in my sauce - just on my thumb, which still hurts and is still bandaged.
At least I did not bayonet myself!
Posted by Beth at 10:52 AM | Comments (4)
November 26, 2007
Operation Santa
My dear friend, Carrie, asked me to publish this for her, and of course, I will!
Over the next 6 weeks, we'll be surrounded by Christmas carols of all
types. One that always tugs at the heartstrings for me is "I'll be
Home for Christmas". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWWXeNy_dJg
"I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams"
What a line for the times we live in.
It will ring true for our military servicemembers in Iraq or
Afghanistan or some other far flung location.
Their families will miss them and they will miss their families.
Operation Santa has programs to assist in sending Christmas love to
them this holiday season.
Operation Santa also focuses on another group of heroes this
Christmas season. Those men and women who will be in the hospital at
Brooke, Bethesda, Balboa and Walter Reed.over the holidays.
They won't be home for Christmas either. Operation Santa at the
Hospitals
will bring them some Christmas love in the form of a handmade, stuffed
stocking.
We're stuffing stockings with all kinds of goodies like candy,
cookies, crackers, little pads of paper and pens, gift cards to local
fast food restaurants, cards from people all over the country, etc.
We can help them be home for Christmas even if it is only in their
dreams. It's easier than you think.
This year, I'm partnering with Marine Moms-Bethesda and again operating
under Marine Corps Family Foundation's Operation Santa project.
Marine Corps Family Foundation is a 501c3 organization so monetary
donations are tax deductible. If you are donating to our Operation
Santa at the Hospitals project, please note that on your check and mail it to:
Connie Riecke
Marine Corps Family Foundation
4000 Lancaster Drive- Suite 57
Salem, OR 97309
or in the note box at the paypal link.
http://www.marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org/santa.html
The Marine Moms-Bethesda website is here:
http://www.marinemoms-bethesda.org/operationsanta.html
Posted by Beth at 3:08 PM | Comments (1)
November 25, 2007
Sunday Morning Walk
John and I went for a walk this morning. We have been taking a lot of walks lately, it is a good way to check on the fields, the streams and the horses!
It was pretty cold when we started out, but we quickly warmed up as we walked. I thought I'd share some pictures with you, so you can get an idea of how pretty the lands of Castle Argghhh! are.
This is on the top of the hill that overlooks the big pond:
After walking around the pond, through the woods, across the creek and up another wooded hill, we end up here:
Our intent is to check on the horses, but there are no horses yet.
Finally, Petey shows up:
And then Willy: 
And then the rest of the herd starts milling around, hoping for treats (which, of course, they got!)
It was a lovely, yet cold, morning. Hope all of you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Posted by Beth at 2:04 PM | Comments (2)
November 24, 2007
Chickens can be so weird!
Helga, my big black chicken (I have no idea what her breeding is), is one of my favorites. She runs to see me when I open the door to the run to let the chickens and guineas range. If she spies me on the other side of the yard, she will run over to see if I have a treat for her. By the way, when chickens run to see you, it's very funny - they look like cartoon characters.
Anywho (as my mom used to say), I went out this afternoon to chase the guineas and chickens back into their run for the night. The dogs were dying to go out, and though they seem to be trustworthy now that they are used to the birds, I prefer to have the birds safely in before I let the pups out.
I got everyone in, but, I could only find 3 hens! I looked in the coop, in the nest boxes, everywhere - I only had 3 hens instead of 4. Helga was missing. I searched under bushes and in brush, all around the barn and the house. No Helga. I am pretty sure that she has started laying eggs - there was an extra egg on Wednesday - it was a darker brown and a bit larger than Ruby's eggs. But no eggs that looked like that since.
John got home from shopping at Cabela's and helped me search for Helga. Finally, we gave up. We figured a coyote must have been brave enough to grab her during the day. I'm pretty sure no hawk could pick her up - it had to be a dog or a coyote or a fox.
So we both went into the house and did whatever. Then, John decided to go out on the deck, to play with his new laser boresighter and there is Helga - trying to get into the chicken run with the rest of them!
I'm thinking she has found a place she likes to lay her eggs. I have NO idea where it is, though. So tomorrow, around 3:30 pm, I'll have to be sure to keep an eye on her and see where she runs off to for egg-laying purposes.
I have to get a digital video camera. You have got to see how goofy these critters are, and how sweet!
Oh, and John discovered that the Guinea Fowl will chase a laser pointer. I think they think it is a bug!
Posted by Beth at 4:47 PM | Comments (4)
I never knew the true meaning of Cacawphony before
The sounds of 10 Guinea Fowl, free ranging through the yard, is almost deafening. All the females walk around saying BuckWheat, BuckWheat. (John, though, swears they are saying ButtCrack, ButtCrack).
And then, Satchmo, my little rooster crows, and Rocky, the huge rooster tries to crow (he does not have it down yet - he sounds pitiful) and the rest of the chickens walk around clucking and cooing.
It's funny. Loud, loud, loud and very unharmonious! I need to figure out how to record the noise so I can make an MP3 and put it here.
And they are not the prettiest birds, in fact, they are so ugly, only a mother can love this face:
But they are much fun and they eat bugs!!!!
Posted by Beth at 10:16 AM | Comments (3)
November 23, 2007
Holidays
This will be the first time in many, many years when I will not be working between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
All those years I worked for Cerner, it seemed that I traveled most between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As a result, our house was never decorated, cookies were never made and gifts were poorly conceived. In short, not being home kinda sucked.
Now, thanks to the powers that be at my old company, who felt I no longer 'fit in', I am home for the holidays. And I find, I have no idea where to start.
Part of this is guilt. I have always felt pretty good about contributing monetarily to our bank accounts. Now, I'm more of a drag on the family coffers. Don't get me wrong, I love being home. I'm learning so much about our land and our critters and I'm planning how to make some money from our land in the future. But, because I'm still climbing out of the depression caused by losing my job, I'm not exactly a dynamo. It takes me a very long time to get things done - mostly because I think about all the possible ways I could screw it up before I actually get off my dreaming ass and just do it.
So, back to the holiday stuff - do I make cookies? And if I do - which kind? And what will I do with them? John and I hardly need the excess of calories all the family cookie recipes will provide!
Do I attempt to send out Christmas cards? I've never succeeded in that, ever! I feel like a failure every time we get another card in the mail, that I know I will never reciprocate. Maybe I should do it this year. Maybe I'll try to take a photo and turn it into a card.
Depression really sucks. It slows me down. I know what I need to do, but I rarely get it done in a reasonable amount of time. I need to mow some of the pastures - get the weeds cut down. That alone could take a week or more. That is not nearly as bad as it sounds - I bought an MP3 player, joined Audible.com and I can now listen to books as I mow the fields.
I bet most of you have no idea how slow a tractor moves!!! It takes patience. Lots of patience. And for me, it takes being able to listen to something, anything, to help pass the time.
Now that it is so wintry, I will need to really bundle up when I'm mowing or moving rocks, or whatever, but I figure I'll bring some hot chocolate with me in a thermos, and my MP3 player with the noise reduction headphones - tractors are really loud!
If any of you have any idea about what I might do to decorate the house or prepare for Christmas, I welcome your comments!
Oh, heck, I welcome your comments no matter what!!!
Posted by Beth at 3:13 PM | Comments (10)
November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
I am thankful for so much. I am thankful for my wonderful husband, John, my wonderful son, Andy, and his wonderful girlfriend, Ashley.
I am thankful that I was born in this great country, the USA. Nowhere else on Earth comes close to providing the most opportunities - no government test determines what we can be or do in this life.
We can live anywhere we want. We can start our own businesses, we can hang out with the people we want to hang out with, we can choose the religion we want.
It's not perfect, but our system of government is better than any other. And if any one disagrees, then go move to the country with the government you might like better and find out for yourself!
I am very thankful for everyone in my life, except maybe the people at my ex-job who felt I was too old and 'unadaptable' to work for them anymore. Phooey on them!
I am thankful for my sister, Anne, and her family. I am thankful for John's sister, Kathy, and her family.
I'm thankful for John's dad, a better father-in-law does not exist!
And I'm thankful for all 4 of my readers!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Posted by Beth at 11:36 AM | Comments (9)
November 21, 2007
EEK! SNOW!
Yesterday, it was 70 degrees until the front moved in, quickly, with a lot of swirling wind and the temp dropped about 30 degrees in 30 minutes.
I was still pulling ticks off the horses.
Today, snow and wind and sleet. Naturally, my birds are not really warm enough, for my taste, anyway. And the horses stayed in their stalls overnight, but were anxious to get back out to the pasture this morning, so that is where they are - they know that if they hang out by the gate, I'll bring them into the barn, but they are hanging out with the herd, I imagine - and probably way out there - this pasture is really about half our property or so, with woods, hills, ponds and grass.
I imagine they will be able to keep warm enough - horses have been outside for thousands of years, and both of ours have their winter coats.
I need to go out and check the birds' water. Don't want it to freeze. I think I'll see if I can scare up a special treat for them, too - some salad greens, maybe!
Posted by Beth at 3:29 PM | Comments (6)
Ruby, our laying hen!
I finally discovered who has been laying one egg each morning for the past 3 mornings - Ruby!
Posted by Beth at 10:22 AM
The Chickens
I never would have guessed it, but chickens have very unique personalities. I'm having way too much fun watching them and playing with them. Rocky the rooster, Pebbles, Brownie and the black hen yet to earn an appropriate name, though I'm leaning towards Helga, will all eat from my hand without pecking at me. In fact, those 4 chickens will rush out of the chicken run to meet me as soon as I open the door in the morning.
Here is a picture of Rocky and his ladies:
Posted by Beth at 8:43 AM | Comments (2)
November 20, 2007
Autumn is a great time for exploring!
John and I explored our creek over the weekend. The leaves and weeds are nearly gone, so we can see the ground and manage to walk in and along the creek bed.
Here is one of the pictures of the creek:
Posted by Beth at 1:36 PM
Guinea Fowl update
The Guinea Fowl are maturing. The older they get, the uglier and noisier they get, but that is what makes them so much fun.
Here is Blanche. She is the noisiest of all. I believe she is mostly gossiping about the chickens.
Blanche tends to lead the gang of guineas around the farmyard and they all chant, loudly, BuckWheat, BuckWheat, BuckWheat.
I think they are protesting something, but I'm not sure what!
Posted by Beth at 7:16 AM | Comments (1)
November 19, 2007
OMG! One of the hens laid an egg! Our first egg!!
And I don't even have their nest boxes finished! I guess I should look around and see if there are any others - I do have four hens, after all!
Gee, I wonder which one laid it?
It's a perfect, brown egg. Perfect!!
Whoo hoo!
Posted by Beth at 4:52 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
How long does the odor of skunk linger on a dog?
Gunner managed to piss off a skunk last night - yuck.
Posted by Beth at 3:33 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 17, 2007
Some future chores around the farm
We have an awful lot of trees with thorns - some honey locust, some Osage Orange (hedge trees) and another one or two that are very annoying. There are a lot of baby thorny trees in the pasture, and I have flattened at least one tire of the Ranger when I've driven over them.
They need to be removed, at least the little new ones. I am NOT fond of them. So, I need to get a chainsaw and have Major and Andrew get rid of them this winter.
Here is a picture of the thorns of one of the trees, looking up in the evening:
Posted by Beth at 9:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 15, 2007
Research and more research
I can't begin to tell you all how much I love living on our farm. I wake up in the morning and I can hear my rooster, Satchmo, crow, and I watch the sun rise over the trees.
Some people think that Cock-a-Doodle-doo is an awful noise, but after living on a busy street in town, with the sounds of cars and trucks and motorcycles and stereo's with so much bass that things rattle on the shelves, Satchmo's crowing is a delight.
I love to go outside and feed the guineas, the chickens, check on the horses and cats and play with the dogs. But I want to do more. I want to figure out some way to make enough money off the farm to make the mortgage payment, and maybe even a little more.
So, I've been talking to the County Extension Agent, reading books, and trying to find some on-line resources - ideally a web community dedicated to family farming - but I'm having no luck at all. I don't know what to do!
I'm thinking maybe berries - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. It takes a couple of years to get a decent crop, but the plants are long term plants, and if I can find the right spots to plant them, I think it could be a crop that people at the local farmer's markets will purchase.
I also want to raise some goats for their wool - Angora Goats, to be exact, but I want to start with a couple of baby goats, so they won't be wild, and they can be used to my brushing them.
And of course, I have the horses.
If any of you can suggest any resources for me, please do!
Posted by Beth at 8:38 AM | Comments (4)
November 13, 2007
What kind of marketing idiot thought this up?
Why does Lowe's think that selling an upside down Christmas Tree is a good idea? Bad enough they no longer call them Christmas Trees at Lowes, but what kind of a crazy insult is it to sell one that can be displayed upside down?
What's next? Upside down Menorahs?
Lowes is a wonderful home improvement store. I'm afraid, though, that they are tarnishing their image by making statements like this in their catalog! And if you think an upside down Christmas Tree is not a statement, well . . .
Posted by Beth at 7:43 AM | Comments (5)
November 5, 2007
This is my new rooster!
When Major and his brother, Andrew, came over to put a wire poultry netting roof on my chicken/guinea run, they brought me this cute little rooster. His name is Satchmo. He is so tame, I can pet him and pick him up and one of the guineas has taken a real liking to him - I've been told that guinea fowl can mate with chickens - wouldn't that be a sight to see - a 1/2 guinea 1/2 Satchmo chick?
Posted by Beth at 5:43 PM | Comments (6)
November 2, 2007
Hee hee hee
Posted by Beth at 6:59 PM | Comments (1)
Sex and love and rock and roll Robots?
Stacy has discovered a scientist who believes that in the not to distant future, humans will marry robots.
What a sad, sad future that would be.
Posted by Beth at 5:39 PM | Comments (2)
Weather too good to spend time blogging!
It's November, and with cold weather just around the corner (we have already had a hard freeze), I have a bunch of building chores to do. I am finally shingling the chicken/guinea house, and I'm building nesting boxes and I'm going to enclose the run with chicken wire on top. I have three nice days to get this done.
In addition, Major has switched out some of his horses and my horses, Willy and Petey, are having some pecking order issues with a couple of very nice black geldings - one of whom looks to be recently gelded (by his neck size and his attitude). I've patched up a couple of bites and cuts, but I think they are now settling down and getting along with each other.
Speaking of pecking order, Rocky, our Barred Plymouth Rock rooster, has decided that he needs to also lead the guinea fowl. The guineas do not quite understand this, and look at him quizzically as he tries to heard them around.
Kiki and Gunner spent 6 hours exploring the farm - 6:00 am until noon! I was getting worried, and I looked around and the two of them were right behind me.
And Smudge, the outside cat, has decided that her job is to watch all the birds. The horses were just a bit too big for her to keep an eye on.
I need to get back outside. I promise to bring my camera with me, so I can post some pictures of all the goings on at Castle Argghhh!
Posted by Beth at 11:47 AM