Dog Days of Winter?

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Kansas sunrise with double sundogs. I would much rather have the "dog days of summer" than winter! I guess it's mother nature's way of showing us the beauty in the 12 inches of snow.

Kansas sunrise with double sundogs. I would much rather have the “dog days of summer” than winter! I guess it’s mother nature’s way of showing us the beauty in the 12 inches of snow.

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It was an adventure doing chores. The horses, goats and chickens tolerated the heavy snow, blowing winds and sub zero temperatures, well maybe with the exception of....

It was an adventure doing chores. Everyone –  horses, goats and chickens tolerated the heavy snow, blowing winds and sub-zero temperatures, well maybe with the exception of….

Wylie, the snow was deeper than he is and if there wasn't a path to follow he had to be carried. His little feet get so cold that he will just stop, sit and raise his paw, that's a sign for me to come back and carry him.

Wylie, the snow was deeper than he is and if there wasn’t a path to follow he had to be carried. His little feet get so cold that he will just stop, sit and raise his paw, that’s a sign for me to come back and carry him.

Around the Farm January 5

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I’m going to use my Farmers’ Almanac to start a fire. How could they be right in predicting this cold snowy weather?!? I don’t know how much snow we received as it’s blowing and drifting. Wylie and I went out this morning at 4:30 ( his idea not mine) and was surprised that the paper had been delivered. We didn’t go back out until 9 to do our chores, that way the hens would be done laying their eggs. They are still keeping us supplied with plenty of eggs! I didn’t let them outside today, it’s way to windy and cold, we would have to shovel their run again, as they don’t like their feet in the snow. They are very comfortable and content in their coop. Always glad to see me because I’m giving them lots of extra healthy and nutritious treats, meal worms, homemade flock block, and some milo heads that we gathered after they harvested the field.

The goats are doing fine. They have their hay hut, which Bill uses to get over the fence into the horses hay.

Enjoy the pictures, I’m staying inside the rest of the day (maybe) cooking comfort food, old fashion pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and butterscotch pudding.

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Farmer Days December

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The beautiful Christmas season is over and we are gradually returning to everyday day winter life on the farm. It was so wonderful spending the holiday with family. May God bless us and keep us safe, healthy and happy in the days to come.

Here are a few photos from a very cold and wintery Kansas.

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Thursday August 8, 2013

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” Happy Birthday” to my Brother.  Have a wonderful day.

Inside Tour

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My day starts out at 5:30 am when Wylie and I go out and get the newspaper. We then walk over to the coop and wake up the rooster when we open the door to the run. We go back to the house, Wylie goes back to bed, but I stay up. It's around 7:30 when I head back out to feed and clean up the coop.

My day starts out at 5:30 am when Wylie and I go out and get the newspaper. We then walk over to the coop and wake up the rooster when we open the door to the run. We go back to the house, Wylie goes back to bed, but I stay up. It’s around 7:30 when I head back out to feed and clean up the coop.

 

The feed room is the first room you walk into when entering the coop. I store the layer and scratch grain in the large blue containers. The small green containers hold the grit and oyster shell. The chicken treats of mealworms are in the little pink bag. In the far pink bucket are my cleaning supplies.

The feed room is the first room you walk into when entering the coop. I store the layer and scratch grain in the large blue containers. The small green containers hold the grit and oyster shell. The chicken treats of mealworms are in the little pink bag. In the far pink bucket are my cleaning supplies.

 

Another view of the feed room. I use pine and cedar chip for the coop floor. It's easier than raking up straw and of course the pine and cedar smell so good.

Another view of the feed room. I use pine and cedar chip for the coop floor. It’s easier than raking up straw and of course the pine and cedar smell so good.

 

One of my favorite products is Nesting Box Blend. I add it to the nesting boxes and sprinkle some on the floor. It contains lavender, chamomile, bay leaves, eucalyptus leaves, oregano, peppermint, tansy, wormwood, marigold petals, spearmint and catnip. It repells pest and is an anti-mite preventive. It wards off bugs, is also antifungal, antiseptic, soothing and healing. It's no wonder I am relaxed and calm after I clean the coop! I get the nesting box blend from a company called "Treats for Chickens". They have a lot of other products that the girls love such as Chicken Crack and Worms and Harvest Flakes.

One of my favorite products is Nesting Box Blend. I add it to the nesting boxes and sprinkle some on the floor. It contains lavender, chamomile, bay leaves, eucalyptus leaves, oregano, peppermint, tansy, wormwood, marigold petals, spearmint and catnip. It repells pest and is an anti-mite preventive. It wards off bugs, is also antifungal, antiseptic, soothing and healing. It’s no wonder I am relaxed and calm after I clean the coop! I get the nesting box blend from a company called “Treats for Chickens”. They have a lot of other products that the girls love such as Chicken Crack and Worms and Harvest Flakes.

 

These are some of the products that I use daily. For fly control, I use a mixture of Melaleuca products, 1 tsp of Tough and Tender, 1 tsp of Renew Bath Oil, and 10 drops of T36-C5 Melaleuca Oil (tea tree oil). I disinfect the walls and roost daily with Sol-U-Guard, another Melaleuca product. Anti-Icky-Poo is a great odor control. It is a live bacteria to eliminate any organic bacteria. Anti-Icky-Poo's friendly microbes eats away the source of odor and eliminates the problem from returning. I also put apple cider vinegar in their water. ACV causes an alkaline effect which reduces the likelihood of illness and helps to support the immune system. I enjoy using these products and they are all safe for the environment and pets, and they really, really work! If you are interested in Melaleuca, let me know as I can get you in touch with some wonderful people who would be more than happy to help you get starting with Melaleuca.

These are some of the products that I use daily. For fly control, I use a mixture of Melaleuca products, 1 tsp of Tough and Tender, 1 tsp of Renew Bath Oil, and 10 drops of T36-C5 Melaleuca Oil (tea tree oil). I disinfect the walls and roost daily with Sol-U-Guard, another Melaleuca product. Anti-Icky-Poo is a great odor control. It is a live bacteria to eliminate any organic bacteria. Anti-Icky-Poo’s friendly microbes eats away the source of odor and eliminates the problem from returning. I also put apple cider vinegar in their water. ACV causes an alkaline effect which reduces the likelihood of illness and helps to support the immune system.
I enjoy using these products and they are all safe for the environment and pets, and they really, really work!
If you are interested in Melaleuca, let me know as I can get you in touch with some wonderful people who would be more than happy to help you get starting with Melaleuca.

 

I have a lot of help, or maybe they are inspecting the coop to see that I am doing a good job. I love the pine roost that Jack, my interior coop designer built for them.

I have a lot of help, or maybe they are inspecting the coop to see that I am doing a good job. I love the pine roost that Jack, my interior coop designer built for them.

 

Another pine roost and the nesting boxes. I have a whole wall full of boxes, but we only have 3 open as you only need 1 box per 5 birds. Blocking them off keeps the chickens out of them, so I don't have to clean them up!

Another pine roost and the nesting boxes. I have a whole wall full of boxes, but we only have 3 open as you only need 1 box per 5 birds. Blocking them off keeps the chickens out of them, so I don’t have to clean them up!

Ramblings

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There is always something beautiful in nature. I love being able to see the sun rise, the moon, storms in the distance and this year I've seen so many rainbows. Sights like these make you slow down and let you reconnect with the beauty that surrounds you.

There is always something beautiful in nature. I love being able to see the sun rise, the moon, storms in the distance and this year I’ve seen so many rainbows. Sights like these make you slow down and let you reconnect with the beauty that surrounds you.

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I'm really enjoying the garden this year. The tomatoes are slow in setting on, but when we get some they are so delicious. The cucumbers are doing well, and we are enjoying them with vinegar,sugar and some oil. The basil is really doing great, I put in 7 plants and I have made a lot of pesto. The other night I combined basil, parsley, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and oil as a marinade for shrimp and grilled them. The beets are almost gone, have pulled all the onions, the peas were wonderful, that season doesn't last long enough, and we are just waiting on the okra. See the dill right behind Wylie, that was where the rescued caterpillar was relocated. I was so disappointed that I missed seeing it come out of its cocoon.

I’m really enjoying the garden this year. The tomatoes are slow in setting on, but when we get some they are so delicious. The cucumbers are doing well, and we are enjoying them with vinegar,sugar and some oil. The basil is really doing great, I put in 7 plants and I have made a lot of pesto. The other night I used basil, parsley, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and oil as a marinade for shrimp and grilled them. The beets are almost gone, have pulled all the onions, the peas were wonderful, that season doesn’t last long enough, and we are just waiting on the okra.
See the dill right behind Wylie, that was where the rescued caterpillar was relocated. I was so disappointed that I missed seeing it come out of its cocoon.

This is one of the windy day dust storms. Thankfully we've been getting some moisture and now the soybeans are up and he field is no longer blowing.

This is one of the windy day dust storms. Thankfully we’ve been getting some moisture and now the soybeans are up and the field is no longer blowing.

To The Rescue

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Most people rescue dogs, cats, horses, even chickens, ferrets, the list sadly goes on and on. I haven't heard of very many caterpillar rescues, but that is what I was involved in the other day. I had gone to visit my aunt and we were out looking at her fennel. It was a big plant that was a couple years old , but it had quite a few caterpillars on it and they were feeding heavily. She wanted the fennel more than the caterpillars so we put them in containers along with some roly polys that the grandkids wanted to move to a new home too. I was more than happy to bring the caterpillars to my garden as I had planted dill and butterfly milkweed, just in hopes of attracting monarchs!

Most people rescue dogs, cats, horses, even chickens, ferrets, the list sadly goes on and on. I haven’t heard of very many caterpillar rescues, but that is what I was involved in the other day. I had gone to visit my aunt and we were out looking at her fennel. It was a big plant that was a couple of years old , but it had quite a few caterpillars on it and they were feeding heavily. She wanted the fennel more than the caterpillars so we put them in containers along with some roly polys that the grandkids wanted to move to a new home too. I was more than happy to bring the caterpillars to my garden as I had planted dill and butterfly milkweed, just in hopes of attracting monarchs!

This is what it looks like now. I can't wait to see a monarch butterfly! They are such amazing little fragile creatures.

This is what it looks like now. I can’t wait to see a monarch butterfly! They are such amazing little fragile creatures.

Baby Birds

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This is how The House finch nest looked when I first discovered it in the evergreen tree in the back yard. Five little eggs in a nest.

This is how The House finch nest looked when I first discovered it in the evergreen tree in the back yard. Five little eggs in a nest.

A week later, there were five little birds that looked like a fluffy dandelion. They had survived several severe storms with high winds. I couldn't believe that they weren't blown out of the nest! It's amazing that something so little and fragile could survive.

A week later, there were five little birds that looked like a fluffy dandelion. They had survived several severe storms with high winds. I couldn’t believe that they weren’t blown out of the nest! It’s amazing that something so little and fragile could survive.

They are almost 2 weeks old and it won't be long before they fly. That will be a good thing, I never knew nor had I given it any thought as to what they do with their waste. A wren and all cavity nesting birds keep their nest very clean by carrying out the fecal sac and depositing it away from the nest. The nesting birds, like House finches, the parent eats the fecal sac for about five days, then after that the chicks deposit the sac on the edge of the nest.

They are almost 2 weeks old and it won’t be long before they fly. That will be a good thing, I never knew nor had I given it any thought as to what they do with their waste. A wren and all cavity nesting birds keep their nest very clean by carrying out the fecal sac and depositing it away from the nest. The nesting birds, like House finches, the parent eats the fecal sac for about five days, then after that the chicks deposit the sac on the edge of the nest.  Did you know this?