Whose that crazy Chicken Lady?

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Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Spring has sprung!




I'm thrilled Spring is finally here. Everything is a wonderful shade of green, flowers popping up all over. I have my garden in for the most part. I'm still undecided what else to plant. I don't want to put too much in that it is too overwhelming for me to take care of. 

Mr. Awesome made a raised bed that helps tremendously since my knee is still healing. Speaking of my knee, it's doing much better. It will be six months in a few weeks since the dastardly incident. I have been riding my stationary bike. I'm nowhere near the miles I put on when I began training. That kind of bums me out but these things happen for a reason. So, if I don't ride across the States on or before I'm 50 I would very much like to walk the Appalachian Trail or maybe the other great ones in the U.S.

Now for the sad news and good news. 

 First the good- Fred appears to be healed from the fox. The adorable wee chicks are doing good and we have seven more ducks from a friend!

The bad- We lost two chicks. A raccoon or possibly a cat attacked one of the bigger chicks (Rooster) in the middle of the night. I put out some of the chicks early since the temps are running above 60 at night but a few days back it dropped to the low 50's with rain and one chick decided to stay out in the rain with the big chicks and may not have been able to get warm again. It died overnight. 

We have a feral cat that had kittens. I believe our dog injured either the Momma or one of her kittens. There was a terrible mournful sound that came out of her hiding spot. That was before we realized she has kittens. She did defend herself and both of our dogs have some scratches from the scuffle. Momma cat has since moved her nest under some wood poles we have. We can't see her but the dogs know she's there. They got into it again a few days ago. No one was hurt except some pride. 

The mole is back in the yard and garden. But since using the raised bed and an old tractor tire with chicken wire underneath the beds are doing wonderful! 


In fantastic news, Peanut graduated! She is unsure of her future. We are trying to be supportive of her. If you haven't heard our story, my girls have PTSD with social anxiety. The thought of going away or starting another job scares her. 

I have two new books out! Find out more here- Hope when there was none or on my Facebook page. Or go to Amazon to purchase. 

In homeschool news. I'm pretty proud of how far Mini Man has come. I didn't push him. I introduced subjects that were of his interest. I did purchase The Playful Pioneers curriculum through The Peaceful Press. It's based on The Little House on the Prairie books. We love it! 


I ended up getting off track after injuring my knee and one too many Lyme flare-ups. I relied on YouTube and Netflix to help me through that time. I also picked up worksheets, workbooks and textbooks from Teachers Pay Teachers, yard sales and Dollar Tree. I've found books on poetry, history, and more. I'm pretty tickled. I have enough to keep him schooled through the 4th grade. I decided to teach him cursive handwriting straight out of the gate. Right now we are just learning letters with a sprinkling of words. Next year I plan to introduce usage in all of his writing. 

There is a learning curve. Despite the fact I have three grown children they went to public school so I never had to really assist them with homework. This is new.  I do enjoy it. I can go at his pace. We can take more time to work on things that he doesn't understand or that he needs to keep practicing. I don't make him do more than two hours of work. He is antsy after 20 minutes. We take breaks. Have YouTube/Netflix learning videos only days. We have game day or reading day. We also work on Art, Social Studies, History from time to time. Every day is Reading, Writing, Math. No, if's, and's, or but's.


I had to do what works for both of us and I told Mr. Awesome that I would like to school him year round. We will take breaks for the holidays of course. 


It's been busy around here. How is it in your neck of the woods?

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Tales from the farm

Where has the time gone?! I can not believe it has gone by so fast! I remember not too long ago just moving into this dusty, airy, rambling home that I have come to love.

Home improvement projects have taken a bit of a slow down. Mr. Awesome found a job! That job was a second shift job of picking orders. He and I felt like "Strangers in the night" due to our hours.
I would go to my gig as a Breakfast Attendant at a local hotel from 5 am to 10 am or so. We would spend a few hours together and than he would be off until the wee hours of the morning. I felt blessed to have this time, some couples don't have that luxury.

In his 3rd week there, a posting for and IT position was available, so he applied. He interviewed and did get the position. I feel there was a higher purpose involved as no one else put in an application. Seriously! He is getting his bearings and enjoying the work.

Where did that put me in flinging coffee and eggs? I was able to quit that position to take care of Mini Man and get rest for myself. My Lyme cooties is still having a party in my body. I remain optimistic that I will be healed and this means I still need to make peace with my past. A major blessing has been to reunite with my eldest Son! This has been a big prayer since I left my ex- See my story here- Hope when there was none He has grown into a handsome man. We are catching up and trying to mend what was lost. His Fiance is beautiful Woman that is strong and he needs that.

Our baby Duck has kicked the awkward teen years to the curb and is female. So, Frank is now Frankie. She is adorable but still not allowed to mingle with the other 4 Ducks. I'm hoping they will give her an in. She looks at them longingly to belong to the group.

Yes, even in the barnyard there are cliques. It can be rather alarming when you first see this in action. Feathers flying everywhere, as a Chicken or Duck literally show who's the boss. This is where "The pecking order" comes from.

How long does this last? A few weeks to months. There are times of danger that brings the flock together.

That beautiful Hawk, adorable Raccoon, majestic Fox, Coyote, Skunk, Cat or Possum can spell trouble for our flock. It doesn't take long for one of these to whittle down our group in a matter or a day or days.

This year we kicked the flock out of the hen house into the Abbey and the Bat brooder. In doing so, many of our Hens went rogue, opting instead to find a spot randomly here and there. We found a bunch in the Yucca plants by our cars! But, once we found this spot, it was as though they banded together to find another hiding spot that we have yet to find.

The Ducks will just randomly squeeze out an egg and if we don't cut the grass for awhile you may hear or feel the crush of it under foot. Of course our Dog has found a majority of these eggs, though her coat now looks marvelous, this isn't what she was supposed to do.

There seems to be a romanticized view of a farm or having animals. Though, the charm has not been lost to me.

The Hen house is dusty, smelly and buggy. I don't care how many glamorous looking pictures you see on Pinterest or other social media. I does not stay pristine. I do look on these with great "Oh's and Ah's".

They do take some work.

Which brings me to the Bees! I enjoy looking at the beehive. I open the top and stare in awe at these
busy bees. They are so fascinating to watch. To see their back legs with multi-colored pants of pollen. Blue, Purple, Orange, Yellow and Red. It is amazing to see the change in the honey through the year. From light color, scent, and taste of Clovers to a richer color this Fall and a much hardier taste.

I admit I didn't check the whole hive as much as I should have. Perhaps it was nerves. Mind you, I wanted to get over my fear of Bees by raising Bees. My two lower Super boxes remained untouched this year. YIKES! I know! Bad Beekeeper! I also had a hard time lifting them. Oh, I recently attempted to wrangle and wiggle them apart to check to make sure all was well but, I couldn't get them apart. I did manage to lift bother of them simultaneously, with dismay to the Bees. A good group of them started to attack my suit. I felt horrible and tried to sing to them. As though this would calm them down. I tried to talk gently to them that I was doing these for their own good.

Nope didn't work. I didn't want my 7 year old to laugh at me if I ran away, flailing my body every which way to get the angry bees runaway screaming hysterically. I maintained my composure, rambling to try to calm the Bees down. I managed to check what I could and closed it back up. I called a few Beekeepers in the area that came highly recommended to mentor or help me out for tips but I didn't get calls back. YouTube has become a great friend to me but it would be nicer to have a buddy in person.

Our view from the top has improved! The barn that was next door was burnt down. It was sad and a big relief. Many of our troubles from varmints came from them shacking up there. We can see a lot further down the road.

The Butterflies were beautiful! I don't recall so many last year. Monarchs, Swallow tails and more, danced and fluttered all around us. It was so beautiful! I can not wait until next year.

We do have to hit the Thistles and Prickly lettuce around the house. The farmer that plants in the fields around us mentioned this is not good. He offered to give us something to help. I'm not sure abut that. I want to be as organic or natural as possible. Of course, after you get "bit" by one of these spiny green plants, your mind does have second thoughts.

There is so much more I need to catch up on but it is almost time for church. Later, Peanut and I will be heading to volunteer at a local farm for harvesting wild flower seeds. She has to volunteer for so many hours but I really am loving this so though she may decline on attending, I may continue to.

I have decided to take a break from my small business. I don't know exactly what direction to go. I posted on my page on FB Legacy Antiques & Estate Sales that I was unsure. I have so many ideas! My main thought is that I do need to just rest. Let my body heal and pray for wisdom. Now, if I wasn't so impatient this would be fine.

I hope your day and upcoming week are wonderful! Don't forget to check out our YouTube channel. I do need to throw on some newer videos. And learn how to edit them. Someday...


BIG HUGS!
Mel

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Ultimate fails on a Homestead

I don't always show the failures of this sustainable lifestyle. I admit I am still learning bunches about this.

Here's a bit of my garden experience:

I was trained as a Master Gardener what seems like years ago. I had a small grass cutting company I managed and ran. I wanted customers to have a better experience so I took the class out of U of I and loved it!

I was able to provide weed identification, applied fertilizers, potted plants and gave a few basic ideas for landscaping. But I didn't focus at that time on how valuable it was to feed the earth.

Fast forward to present, I can truly see how much more I could have given to my clients if I had seen the Permaculture/Sustainable/Biodiverse community at that time. I always had a heart for homesteading but didn't really know what it was until I met my 2nd Husband, Terry too had a interest in learning to live off the land someday.

We made the leap into homesteading after being apartment dwellers in 2011. We were blessed to rent a HUGE old hunt lodge that was off the Kankakee river- see some of those goings on here-Redrum hotel .

Now to get off track a little here is some info on Terry (A.K.A- Mr. Awesome) has a background with Radio/TV and as recent as a few year ago as an IT Specialist for FEMA. He was gone at least 8 months out of the year and I missed him. At the time of the change from the apartment to the hunt lodge he was gone. I did as much as I could by myself and when he could come home on the weekends, he would become a weekend warrior. But that was really heard on him and our relationship.

I missed him and made a deal that I would work so he could stay home. They money was definitely not anywhere what he was making but he was home.

During this time we started to make plans to open a B n B with antique shop inside. We were already hosting Barn sales that were building steam! We had people knocking on our door to ask when the next one would be.

We also toyed with the idea to have a small cafe that would serve tea, coffee, soups, sandwiches, and desserts. We were approached by the park service to host "Wild game dinners" this would be held a few times a year and cooked by the employees.

I wanted to host classes that covered: Hunting, Fishing, Cast iron cooking, Foraging in the backyard, Canning, Survival skills and First aid in emergency situations. Of course crafty type of classes featuring old and new skills. I had asked a small group of friends that are amazing with these skills to help us learn, connect us with others so we could make almost a fest out of it.

We were so EXCITED!  These plans came to a screeching halt when there were some changes to our handshake agreement with our rental company. Everything fell through.

We managed to be blessed a second time to find our forever home. Here we could raise the animals, garden as much we want, run naked if we wanted to. (Scary thought I know!)

So what does all this have to do with our fails and why share them?

This is kind of a "Do as I say not as I do" type of thing.

I don't think I was as prepared as I thought I would be to start raising animals, the garden took more time then I hoped, and I was battling exhaustion. (My teen helpers weren't always very helpful)

Canning had several mishaps. We lost dozens of jars due to someone who shall remain nameless
popping the caps on my jars before they were done. This person liked the sound it made while cooling. Some of my canning was mushy despite following directions. I have learned some things about that since then!

There are the bugs that infested our tomatoes so I lost almost the whole lot. The chickens that flew in and ate my herbs to nubs after being in the garden the whole day. Or the rows and rows of veggies that didn't come up or were damaged due to the weather. My water person didn't water for long enough or often enough and many plants died.

Living in old homes has it's charm but when it rains it could pour literally! There were some mold issues in our old place so bad the kids and I were miserable. Also that is the 2nd time I was infected with Lyme. Deer are pretty normal to see in the country, since living off the river it was a water source for Deer so ticks were all over. So were mosquitoes! We couldn't go out at times when they were too thick to make a run just to go to the car. And by the way it was either a mosquito or spider that infected me with Lyme.

We did fogging, DIY fan units, sprays, essential oils, keeping the lawn short, cutting down any old wood, dumping standing water and bug zappers. They were too intense.

Our new home also has some water issues, not as bad as our rental thank goodness. I have pots and containers strategically placed in our attic to collect water. The roof is a job that is not readily affordable at this time.

We knew the house was a challenge when we purchased it! We hope to barter, trade and work out some sort of agreement to help with repairs that may be a bit too large or not in Mr. Awesome expertise.

There are always cooking fails! The old joke when the smoke detector goes off food is done. I am notorious at forgetting (Brain fog darn you Lyme!) to put things in my recipes. Eggs or Butter are on my forgetful list. So you may have a brick for banana bread or the cookies just are a bit off. And we did splurge for a new oven that we realized later has to be leveled. Cakes usually come out lopsided.

We had the animal fails. I embarrassed and sad to say it was our error in many cases.

As an example, a friend had sexed a rabbit we had gotten from a animal auction. Our friend said it wasa Doe.

We should have double checked. But several weeks later much to our sad dismay Fluffy (an Angora rabbit) had babies. Unbeknownst to us at a time when we were taking apart the rabbit hutch so they were in a dog crate for temporary use on the ground.

Needless to say some of the babies wiggled out and ended up being food for hungry chickens. I felt awful! I heard a wee voice screaming and didn't know until too late what it was. We tried to save a remaining injured baby but it succumbed a few days later. 2 others did survive! They stayed by Momma and were safe and sound. (Pictured above) We no longer have them. We had planned to go across the country in a renovated School bus but ended up finding our forever home as well as becoming Grandparents for the first time. A few months later we found out we were going to be Grandparents a second time too!

There was time we ran an errand into town and left our dogs outside, chained to a in ground stake, while our chickens were ranging. Now I did ask Mr. Awesome to put the dogs in. But he figured we wouldn't be gone that long.

We came home quickly to a view of white puffy looking clouds on the grass. It looked like snow piles here and there in the grass. We jumped out of the car, quickly realizing the dogs were gone and something was horribly wrong with those piles!

Up bounded one of the dogs, Blue, with a white hen mustache in her mouth.

We had a flock of 12. Key word there is "had".

It appeared the Rooster, Combs, put up quite a fight. He seemed to die doing exactly what Roosters are supposed to do. Protect the Hens.

We were angry, sad and upset with each other and the dog. It took a lot of restraint for Terry not to take care of the dog with his pistol.

Of course the dog was just doing what part of her breed does. Hunt. They are part Lab/Australian Shepard.

We did find a good home for Blue as soon as we could and kept Vi. 

Vi has more of a Shepard in her and seems to herd our animals. Not that given the chance she won't eat wee one We closely monitor her whereabouts and never leave her alone with chicks or ducklings.

There is the great beehive disaster! Mr. Awesome built a really cool hive for our first set of bees. We made it through the Spring, Summer and Fall without injury. Buttoned up the hive for the winter and thought all was well. We had some freezing, warm and then freezing again with a sprinkle of icy rain. This lead to the wood on the hive expanding and cold rain getting into the hive. Which ultimately caused them to die. In case your wondering Mr. Awesome didn't think the hive needed the dovetails, which would have been more secure, maybe there would have been no lose of the hive. We did have about 5 lbs of wax and several jars of honey. 

We lost our Mason bees the placement was not the best at our new digs. They area had too much rain and wind. They re homed themselves.


We have lost Chickens, Ducks, Guinea Fowl, Quail, and Rabbits to:

Coyotes

Owls

Den of Foxes

Some large fish that devoured one of our 2 year old Ducks at our old house while she was swimming a week after a flood near the house.

Hawks

We have also lost these to other Chickens, Guinea Fowl, and Rabbits.How?!

Remember the pecking order? It is not uncommon for a flock to peck at a younger group brought in. They seem to know the weaker ones even if we don't. Chicks may climb all over a chick that is down, eventually killing it.

They may keep the odd one away from food and water. They may fight to the death. A momma Rabbit may not feed her litter. She may eat them, step on them, push them out of the nest and they freeze if they get too cold (if it's the Fall or Winter). Finding a half eaten baby is not something you will see me post on social media. But it's nature, it happens.

Even with our efforts to rescue these babies, it isn't always pretty or a happy ending.

A chick can end up with Splayed legs, notice down below. Even after binding this wee one up after this picture was taken. It was weak and died. I thought for a few days it was on the mend but I was wrong.

Then there were deaths that happened and we had no idea why they died. We found them in the cage/coop in the morning.

Now many of these things we could have prevented. Some things you can't. I have heard stories from other homesteaders/farmers that have dealt with larger animals deaths.

Sows that rolled on their babies, killing them.
Mother animals that walk away from their babies leaving them to fend for themselves.
Animals that die during birthing.
A group of people  bought a pregnant cow and though the cow was considered healthy she and the baby died overnight.
Animals that chocked on something too big for it.
Whole crops gone in an instant due to flood, tornado or fire.
Crops gone to severe insect infestations

While we have those moments of stupidity, anger or sadness; it is still beautiful to celebrate life, something green that we grew, and feeling grateful for a job well done. 

We have learned many valuable lessons that comes for caring for our animals. We have a roof over our head, food in the fridge, cars that run, love and support from friends and family.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Crazy chickens taking a bath in our window!

WHAT?! You heard me! I've noticed the basement window has been filled with dirt granted it appears to need some serious TLC and perhaps regrading along the house. There are some water issues in the basement. Every once in awhile there is seepage after a rain or when the snow melt.

I was hanging out clothes when I saw this chick in action! I did take a video of her and a few other silly hens caught in the act that you can find on our YouTube channel.

It was an amazingly beautiful day that we have been blessed with over the past week or so. We have been taking advantage as much as we can. I put my mulch project on hold for a few days as Mr. Awesome decided to burn along the fence line of our garden before I start wheeling in more. Also the no-till process maybe better with the chickens doing they're thing. Some of the spots where I mulched in has already been fiddled with by the Girls. The plan is to get them in the Chick-saw or in their own run. They will have room to free range but we are going to limit it to certain spots that need to be picked free of bugs or weeds.

We are offering eggs for sale! We have a about 3 dozen available and I will be posting on my FB if you are in the area and would like to buy them. $2.00 a dozen! You heard me right! We want to make them affordable for anyone that would like free range eggs.

We had an unexpected visit from Brian who is Terry's oldest and dearest friend from grade school. I was too tired to sit and visit as much as I would have liked and then this happened...


There was an incident I will mention later so I was down in the basement to get the water rolling for the duck pool when I nearly stepped on this little one! We found a Salamander last year before the winter set in but I had Mini Man set it free. This wee one is a bit smaller then the other he had. Mr. Awesome is talking about putting into a tank. But it's missing a top so he will create a new one. Right now this wee one will stay in the shoe box.

There are holes for breathing. Mini Man already has found some spiders and worms for feeding and I threw in a fly that almost given up the ghost when I found it.

It was an interesting day! I had energy over the past few days to sweep and vacuum. This is a major feat for me! Most days I come home, visit with the family for a 1/2 hour or so shower and sleep for an hour or more.

It felt good to do some housework. Dusting sounds in order depending on how I feel. Though we have this glorious weather, my head has been achy and my joints have been on fire. I did have a bit of perspective yesterday during my Lyme meeting that meets on the 3rd Tuesday on the month at a local library, some of the Women had shared a bit of what symptoms they were facing and mine pale in comparison. I thanked them for sharing as I felt normal compared to what they deal with! Crazy right!?

I learned I can't be an Organ donor but our fearless leader Bonnie advised that John Hopkins or perhaps another group maybe interested in my parts for researching of Lyme. OH! I have no plans on joining the Lord, of course when He calls me home it will be a blessing!

I don't mean to sound macabre there is a high rate of serious health issues with chronically ill patients. There is also a high rate of depression and suicide as dis-ease progresses in many cases symptoms can have many cross over to a breaking point. No, I am not considering this alternative!

I am just trying to share awareness about this difficult and tragic matter. I'll be creating some FB Live vlogs to discuss Lyme and Domestic Violence both subjects are near to my heart. I have mentioned before I share my story to let others learn about and know they are not alone. They are also not crazy! My story is no different then the countless others that are still unknown.

These Ladies at the Lyme group opened up to share how much havoc and damage this dis-ease has caused. The challenges, broken relationships as well as the cost! Many times health insurance does not cover the expense of testing, medications, special equipment and supplements needed.

Now back to our critters! This girl right here...
Rolled in POOP! Mr. Awesome noticed her fur was kind of funky and her collar had what appeared to be mud on it but it wasn't mud. I promise I didn't laugh, when he wrinkled up his nose after realizing what was on his hands. Though I did give him an apologetic EW! He suggested turning the hose on her. I wanted to fill the duck pool anyway and you read the above about finding the Salamander!

I heard from my bestie as she offered prayers for my Dad whom is going for open heart surgery tomorrow. I was hoping to pay them a visit but I haven't been up for a long ride. SAD FACE! I did get to talk to him for a bit until a great shriek and cries came from the living room.

Peanut and Mini Man were being silly when Mini Man met Peanuts elbow/arm in the nose. No blood, no broken bones but plenty of howling. I thought his nose was broken. Peanut was beside herself I assured her all is well. The episode of melancholy was broken by Mr. Buttons walking in and proceeding to lick his private parts... Anything related to butts or private parts are hilarious to a 5-7 year old child. Of course 17 year old girls think it's just too funny too. Especially when I start interjecting voices into the mix!


Today like every other day was a blessed day. Tomorrow I'll share my plant starts from earlier this month. I plan to start some more as well. Did I say come on Spring?

Hope your day is wonderful!

Whatever your journey is I #believeinyou

Check out our YouTube channel Melinda Kunst or follow our family dysfunction, homestead adventures, Lyme Awareness through Instagram and FB as the same name!

Or perhaps you know someone suffering in silence from Domestic Violence please view my blog at www.hopewhentherewasnone.blogspot.com